HMS Professor of Medicine Jeffrey Katz (bottom) asks students Jason Li (left) and Kanika Kamal a question during their oral presentation.
On a Tuesday in April 1940, students at Harvard Medical School presented research they had conducted that year, beginning a tradition that continues to the present day.
Organized by beloved HMS educator Soma Weiss and four other faculty members, the group “optimistically—and accurately—billed it as the first” of an annual event dedicated to showcasing student research, according to Edward Hundert, dean for medical education at HMS, in his welcoming remarks at the 82nd Soma Weiss Student Research Day, held on March 15.
Named in 1942 to honor Weiss’s keen support of student research after his sudden death, the event is still going strong, weathering snowstorms and the Covid pandemic, and continuing the tradition of holding the event on a Tuesday.
This year, more than 50 research posters were presented by medical students in the categories of basic science research, clinical or translational research, global health, and medicine in society. Four students gave oral presentations, and awards were presented for the best posters.
Taylor Boyd, a fifth-year MD student in the Pathways program who is also pursuing a master’s in medical education, said it was a “treat to see the work of colleagues” at this year’s event.
“Presenting is special because we are passionate about our work, and it’s a joy to share that with the HMS community,” Boyd said.
She presented a poster titled “Encouraging Lifelong Learning Skills Among Medical Students Through a Self-Regulated Learning Intervention.”
Although the event was again held remotely because of COVID, attendees were able to visit virtual breakout rooms where students presented their posters, described their research, and answered questions in small groups, just as they would at an in-person event.
This year’s research showcase drew approximately 60 faculty, staff, and students.
Weiss’s son, Bob Weiss, who died in January, had attended the research day named for his father several times over the years. This year, his wife, Joyce DeBona, attended in his place.
“Doing research at HMS has been so rewarding,” said Colby Hyland, a fourth-year student in the Pathways program.
Hyland has done research remotely, conducting a literature review, and collecting data in person at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His research project was titled “Implementing Patient-Reported Outcomes in Routine Clinical Care for Diverse and Underrepresented Patients: A Scoping Review.”
“Like so many things at HMS, you’re reminded of the shoulders you stand on … and you’re building on the repertoire of work from the past,” Hyland said.
“Thank you to all the faculty, poster judges, and staff in the office of scholarly engagement for planning the event, especially Marcie Naumowicz,” said Hundert.
Naumowicz, senior education coordinator at HMS, has organized the event for the last nine years.
“I have had to reschedule it twice due to a snowstorm—two different years,” she said in an email after the event. “In 2020, it was canceled at the last minute because of the pandemic, then it was virtual the last two years.”
“Fingers crossed we can go back to in person next year,” Naumowicz said.
2022 Student Presenters
Caroline Behr presented “Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody Distribution to High-Risk Medicare Beneficiaries, 2020-2021”
William Curley presented “Electrophysiological Correlates of Thalamocortical Network Function in Acute Severe Traumatic Brain Injury”
David Severson presented “Multi-site Profiling of the Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma Microenvironment Reveals Tumor-Specific Histomolecular Heterogeneity”
Kanika Kamal and Jason Li presented “Psychiatric Impacts of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic on U.S. Sexual and Gender Minority Young Adults”
2022 Awards
Sara Al-Zubi received the Martin Prince Award for Student Innovation for the presentation “VATARA (Vacuum-Assisted wound Therapy Affordable foR All)”
Lestat Ali received the Elizabeth D. Hay Prize for Basic Science Research for the presentation “Inhibition of CDK4/6 Promotes T-cell Memory Formation”
Alexander Munoz received an honorable mention for the Elizabeth D. Hay Prize for Basic Science Research for the presentation “Transcriptomic Profiling of Mosaic Chromosomal Alterations at Low Cell-Fractions in the Adult Human Brain Identifies Clonal Gliopoiesis”
Bryce Starr received the Judah Folkman Prize for Clinical/Translational Science Research for the presentation “Characterizing Hemodynamics of Soft, Bileaflet Prosthetic Venous Valves for Single-Ventricle Physiology”
Reid Grinspoon received an Honorable Mention for the Judah Folkman Prize for Clinical/Translational Science Research for the presentation “Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis Admissions in a Large Urban Hospital System”
Bruce Tiu received an Honorable Mention for the Judah Folkman Prize for Clinical/Translational Science Research for the presentation “Safety of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease”
Stephanie Bousleiman received the Charles Janeway Prize for International Research or Service for the presentation “A Retrospective Data Analysis of Psychiatric Cases in Hargeisa, Somaliland Between 2019-2020”
Catherine Wu received the Robert Ebert Prize for Health Care Delivery Research or Service for the presentation “The Current Medicaid Coverage Landscape for Gender-Affirming Surgery”
Jade Connor received the Leon Eisenberg Prize for Medicine in Society Research for the presentation “Promoting Inclusive Recruitment: A Qualitative Study of Black Adults’ Decision to Participate in Genetic Research”
