2024 HCRI Research Day Winners

Please join us in congratulating our 2024 award winners from our 12th annual Research Day event on Monday, April 15, 2024 (each receives a conference travel grant):

DR. MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ MEMORIAL AWARD: Presented to a member of our clinical community who has been highly beneficial to the HCRI Tissue Biorepository.

Camilla M. Shaw, RN, CN-BN - St. Joseph Regional Medical Center

POSTER AWARD WINNERS:

Undergraduate

1st place - Angela Taglione (PI - Donny Hanjaya-Putra)
Micro-Organoids Generation by a Gel Droplet Platform for Cancer Drug Screening

2nd place - Christopher Barile (PI - Sharon Stack)
Roles of Extracellular Vesicles in the Aging Microenvironment and Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Progression

3rd place - Semeon Afework (PI - Tyvette Hilliard)
An Integrated Dual Multiplexing Analysis of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment of Rare Ovarian
Granulosa Cell Tumors Identified Predictors of Recurrence and Potential Therapeutic Targets

Graduate Student

1st place - Courtney Flatt (PI - Laurie Littlepage)
Cxcr2 as a Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis

2nd place - Ria Goyal (PI - Laurie Littlepage)
ZNF217 and NRG1/ErbB3 Signaling Promote Endocrine Therapy Resistance via the
Ligand-Independent Activation of ERα

2nd place - Sarah Nano (PI - Glen Niebur)
Establishing an ex vivo Metastatic Model to Investigate the Role of Mechanical Loading on Breast Cancer Tumor Formation in Human Bone

2nd place - Papa Kobina Van Dyck (PI - Katharine White)
Characterizing the Molecular Mechanism of PH-sensitive Oncogenes, SRC & SHP2

Postdoctoral

1st place - Karla Gonzalez Serrano (PI - Tom O'Sullivan)
Breast Cancer Imaging at the Point of Care Using Noninvasive Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy

ORAL PRESENTATION WINNERS:

Julia Florek Carlson (Stack lab) - Expression and Regulation of Human Endogenous Retrovirus K (HERV-K) in Ovarian Cancer

Koryn Isa (Hilliard lab) - An Integrated Dual Multiplexing Analysis of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment of Rare Ovarian Granulosa Cell Tumors Identified Predictors of Recurrence and Potential Therapeutic Targets

Megna Panchbhavi (Datta lab) - Perivascular CNS Fibroblasts are Associated with Increased Tumor Stiffness and Poor Immunotherapy Response in Glioblastoma Patients

Gaeun Kim (Wang lab) - Tracking Extracellular and Intracellular Journey of Exosomes Using Fluorescence Chiral NPs: Cellular Uptake and Cargo Release

Tiger Shi (Chang lab) - Cancer Companion Diagnostics via Quantification of Enzymatic Small Extracellular Vesicles (sEVs) Using Magnetic Nano porous Membrane (MNM)-based Activity Assay

TJ Walsh (Li lab) - AR Activation Upregulates 11β-HSD2 Expression in Prostate Cancer Cells

N. Keilany Lightsey (Hanjaya-Putra lab) - Oscillatory Shear Stress Modulates Lymphatic Progenitor Cells Maturation into Lymphatic Vessels with Anti-Cancer Phenotypes

Alice Burchett (Datta lab) - Studying the Interaction Between Macrophages and Solid Stress in Novel Models of the Tumor Immune Microenvironment

Gena M. Dominique (Stack lab) - Gut's all the Fuss? Combatting Ovarian Cancer with Healthy Gut Microbiota: A Pilot Study

Verodia Charlestin (Littlepage lab) - Regulation of Cellular Metabolic Stress by Aquaporin-7 in Breast Cancer

EXCEPTIONAL GRADUATE/POSTDOCTORAL TRAINEE AWARDS:

Exceptional Mentor Award - Papa Kobina "Kobby" Van Dyck

Exceptional Team Science Award - Courtney Flatt