Grad Students Swap Ideas and Share Research
A new generation of biomedical scientists swapped ideas, shared results of their research projects and explored the frontiers of science at the 2019 Southern California Biomedical Sciences Graduate Student Symposium at Cedars-Sinai.
Keynote speaker Sarkis Mazmanian, PhD, the Luis and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, discussed his research on the gut microbiome at the 2019 Southern California Biomedical Sciences Graduate Student Symposium at Cedars-Sinai.
The annual, daylong symposium on Oct. 4 drew about 160 attendees from 18 institutions, with 78 of the students registering to present posters of their work. It was organized by the Cedars-Sinai Graduate Student Association.
The event promoted communication among graduate students and provided opportunities to interact with experts in the scientific community and the biomedical industry. The keynote address also was about communication — specifically, the biological signaling between the human gut and the brain.
Keynote speaker Sarkis Mazmanian, PhD, the Luis and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, discussed his research on the gut microbiome, a hot topic in the biomedical community. The microbiome is the complex and densely populated microbial world that lives inside the human intestinal system, or gut.
"The gut—some have called it the 12th organ—has the metabolic capacity of the liver, and its weight is very similar to that of the adult human brain," Mazmanian said. "Events in the gut can be transmitted via signals to the brain, and brain functions can lead to signals that affect function in the gut."
Mazmanian said scientists hope to utilize this information highway to develop new therapies for diseases. "We are interested in how microbes affect different processes in the gut, and ultimately being able to deliver drugs to the gut to get beneficial effects in the brain," he explained. This type of drug routing has the potential to avoid the blood-brain barrier, a structure that can prevent therapeutic drugs from entering brain tissue.
Michael Workman of Cedars-Sinai won the 2019 Dr. Leon G. Fine Young Investigator Award for his oral presentation.
Mazmanian's current research focuses on Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that robs patients of their ability to control movement. One theory is that Parkinson's may begin in the gut and move its way up to the brain. Mazmanian said he believes his recent studies show the microbiome is a key to dysfunction in Parkinson's.
At the symposium in Harvey Morse Auditorium, 11 of the poster presenters were selected to give oral presentations. They shared work that reflected interest in the gut microbiome, the blood-brain barrier and immune responses, among many other topics. During these poster sessions, attendees gathered in clusters for animated discussions.
"This symposium gives us the ability to connect with other like-minded students in our Southern California scientific community," said Alyson Yeckes, a PhD student in the Cedars-Sinai Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She was a return participant, with a poster presentation on lymphocyte cells in the immune system.
Mazmanian also said the symposium was a terrific resource. "It would have been wonderful, 25 years ago, when I was a graduate student, to have had this symposium where we are learning not just about science being done in the area — which is important — but also about other aspects of science, including business and career opportunities outside of academia," he said.
Prizes were awarded for poster and oral presentations. The poster winners were:
- Kelly Radecki of the University of California, Riverside, first place, for "Estrous Cycle Dependent Changes in Expression of the Prolactin Receptor Isoforms in the Murine Oviduct."
- Katiana Khouri from the University of California, Irvine, second place, for "Methodology to Rapidly Map and Quantify Whole-Brain Microvasculature in 3D."
- Gunce Cinay, from the University of Southern California, third place, for "Cell-based Cancer Immunotherapy Using CAR.NK Cells Surface-Engineered with Drug-Encapsulated Nanoparticles."
The oral presentation winners were:
- Michael Workman of Cedars-Sinai, winner of the 2019 Dr. Leon G. Fine Young Investigator Award for first place, for "Human iPSC-Derived Blood Brain Barrier-Chips for Disease Modeling and Personalized Medicine Applications." The award is named in honor of the former Cedars-Sinai vice dean for Research and Education and chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, who was instrumental in establishing the graduate program.
- Kevin Cheung, from the University of California, Los Angeles, second place, for "Development of Aptamer-Field-Effect Transistor Sensors: Towards Point-of-Care."
- Madelyn McCauley of Cedars-Sinai, third place, for "C9orf72 in Myeloid Cells Suppresses STING-induced Inflammation."