Dr. Michael Flanagan, assistant dean for student affairs at the Penn State College of Medicine University Park regional campus, was thoroughly impressed by the amount of interest in the first University Park Medical Campus Research Symposium.
“We had close to 100 people attending,” Flanagan said of the May 2 event. “It showed there is a lot of scholarly activity and interest at this campus.”
The event created an opportunity for students, residents and faculty to present their research and identify potential collaborations.
“We invited participants who had completed research, had research in progress or had ideas for collaborative research,” Flanagan said. “It allowed presenters to get feedback on their research activities and learn about what their colleagues are doing.”
Medical students, residents, nursing students, graduate students and faculty from the College of Medicine University Park regional campus and Penn State main campus gathered to present their posters at the event.
The topics of the 34 posters ranged from nutrition and hormones to hospital diagnosis protocols and physician wellness.
“The interest was overwhelming, and it indicates we will continue have a robust annual symposium in the future,” Flanagan said.
At the conclusion of the event, Dr. Jeffrey Wong, Dr. Kevin Black and Dr. Mack Ruffin presented four best poster awards, voted by attendees, to:
- Kayley Swope, fourth-year medical student – "Imposter Phenomenon Across the Span of Medical Training"
- Priyanka Shrestha, doctoral candidate, College of Nursing – "Implementing a Two-step Delirium Identification Protocol with Hospitalized Older Adults: A Focused Ethnography"
- Kaitlyn Ruffing, second-year medical student – "Effects of Metabolic and Psychological Stressors on Serum 24-Hour Cortisol and Luteinizing Hormone"
- Chaoran Ma, doctoral candidate – "Low-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol and Risk of Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Prospective Study, Systematic Review, and Meta-analysis"
Flanagan acknowledged the work of Dr. Bei Sun, Dr. Mark Stephens and Ruffin in planning the event.