Skip to Content
GSBS Student Research Day
Thursday, June 22
Cooley Center
7440 Cambridge Street
Houston, Texas 77054


GSRDEmblem-2023.png

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS!


Photo Gallery

Oral Presentation Skills
Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS & SMS, 1st Year

1st place: Llaran Turner
(Advisor: George Eisenhoffer, PhD)

2nd place (tie): Peyton High
(Advisor: Kendra Carmon, PhD)
                   Erin Snoddy
(Advisor Kristy Brock, PhD)

1st Year Award: Peyton High
 (Advisor: Kendra Carmon, PhD)


Oral Presentation Skills
Post-Candidacy PhD

1st place: Xin Ru [Cheryl] Jiang
(Advisor: Katy Rezvani, MD, PhD)

2nd place: Heather Tsong
(Advisor: Andrea Stavoe, PhD)


Poster Competitions
Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS & SMS, 1st Year

1st place: Kenzie Peshoff (Advisor: Krishna Bhat, PhD)

2nd place: Morgan Riba 
(Advisors: Stephanie Watowich, PhD & Cassian Yee, MD)

1st Year Award: Morgan Riba
(Advisors: Stephanie Watowich, PhD & Cassian Yee, MD)


Poster Competitions
Post-Candidacy PhD

1st place: Sharvari Dharmaiah (Advisor: Jason Huse, MD, PhD)

2nd place: Oluwadara Coker 
(Advisor: E. Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD)


Elevator Speech Contests
Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS & SMS, 1st Year
 
1st place: Bhargavi Brahmendra Barathi
(Advisor: Jason Huse, MD, PhD)

2nd place: Hayden Scott
(Advisor: Stephen Kry, PhD)

People's Choice Award: Aashish Gupta
(Advisor: Kristy Brock, PhD)

Elevator Speech Contests
Post-Candidacy PhD

1st place: Hunter Mehrens
(Advisor: Stephen Kry, PhD)

2nd place: Barbara Marquez 
(Advisor: Laurence Court, PhD)

People's Choice Award: Barbara Marquez
(Advisor: Laurence Court, PhD)


Winners of the GSRD Scavenger Hunt

Maria Benavente
Joauna Carter
Sharvari Dharmaiah
Samantha Hicks
Alyssa Schulman
Larissa Tavizon

2022 Dissertation Awardees

Alfred G. Knudson, Jr., Outstanding Dissertation: Lalit Patel, MD, PhD
(Advisor: Michelle [Shelley] Barton, PhD)
“Genomewide CRISPR/CAS9 Screen Identifies Network of Protein Complexes that Regulate TRIM24”

Michael R. Blackburn UTHealth Houston Outstanding Dissertation Award: Russell Milton, PhD
(Advisor: Valentin Dragoi, PhD)
“Impact of Brain State on Visual and Prefrontal Population Coding in Behaving Animals”


Sincere thanks to all who competed and all who attended (in-person or virtually)!
We also send gratitude to our judges, emcees and AMAZING keynote speaker!


Keynote Speaker
Donald Patrick McDonnell, PhD

McDonnell_Donald_2023.jpg
Glaxo-Wellcome Distinguished Professor
of Molecular Cancer Biology
Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
,
Duke University School of Medicine

Keynote Speech:
Rethinking Endocrine Therapies in Breast and Prostate Cancer




AGENDA

9:00 - 9:30 am

Breakfast

9:30 am

Welcome



9:45 – 10:45 am

Oral Presentation Skills Finalists’ Competitions

Pre-Candidacy & MS

11:00 am - 12:15 pm


Keynote Seminar with Q&A


Rethinking Endocrine Therapies
in Breast and Prostate Cancer



12:30 pm – 1:35 pm

1:40 pm - 2:45 pm

Poster Sessions and Lunch (first 250 attendees)

Session A

Session B

3:00 - 4:00 pm

Oral Presentation Skills Finalists’ Competitions

Post-Candidacy

4:00 - 5:00 pm

Elevator Speech Finalists’ Contests

5:15 pm

Awards

5:00  - 6:30 pm

Reception

Competitions

  • Oral Presentation Skills Competitions

    Pre-Candidacy PhD & MS Finalists - 9:45 am

    Student Name

    Category

    Advisor

    Program

    Stephen Farmer

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Sheng Zhang, PhD

    Biochemistry & Cell Biology

    Peyton High

    1st year PhD

    Kendra Carmon, PhD

    Biochemistry & Cell Biology

    Penju Gong

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Chunru Lin, PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Erin Snoddy

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Kristy Brock, PhD

    Medical Physics

    Llaran Turner

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    George Eisenhoffer, PhD

    Genetics & Epigenetics

    Post-Candidacy Finalists - 3:00 pm

    Student Name

    Category

    Advisor

    Program

    Heather Sonnemann

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Gregory Lizee, PhD

    Immunology

    Tanvi Visal

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    George Calin, MD, PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Alaa Mohamed

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Heather Tsong

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Andrea Stavoe, PhD

    Genetics & Epigenetics

    Xin Ru Jiang

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Katy Rezvani, MD, PhD

    Immunology


    Oral Presentation Skills Competitions - Guidelines

    Oral presentations sessions are designed to give presenters an opportunity to formally present their research to the GSBS and larger TMC audience. The purpose of the presentation is to clearly convey your research to an educated scientific audience. Presentations should include sufficient information for audience members to understand the methods, results, and significance of the research.

    Eligibility:

    All GSBS degree students who have affiliated with a primary research advisor, and are in good academic standing, may apply.

    Format:

    • Oral presentations will be presented in-person during GSRD at Cooley Center. Students must apply to present an oral presentation. Ten contestants will be selected as finalists to compete. The deadline to apply for consideration for the competition is May 3 by 11:59 pm.
    • Each oral presentation will be allotted 10 minutes consisting of a 7-minute presentation and a 3-minute question & answer period before a panel of judges and the public audience.
    • Finalists should plan to be present for the entirety of their assigned oral session. The order of presentations within each session will be assigned randomly and delivered in the order indicated in the GSRD program.
    • Students will compete in two categories: (1) Pre-candidacy PhD students, MS students and SMS; and (2) Post-candidacy PhD students. Students should apply to the category that best matches their current status at the time of application.
    • Finalists competing in the Oral Presentation Skills competition may also apply to present a poster. Space permitting, they may present their poster, but they may not compete and their poster number will be labeled “NC” [non-competing].

    Application link: 2023GSRD_OPSContests

    Application Materials:

    • Research abstract: This summary should be written in language understandable by a broad general science audience and should be a concise and engaging description of the student’s research project that includes the title, background/objective, brief methods, results/progress, conclusions and future work. The abstract body should be at least 150 words, but no more than 300 words. Abstracts not meeting these criteria will be disqualified.
    • Curriculum vitae: Include past speaking and/or poster presentation experiences.
    • Approval form from advisor addressing the student's presentation skills: 2023GSRD_OPSFacApprovalForm 


    Selection and award criteria:

    • Preliminary judges will select the finalists and students will be notified on May 23. In the preliminary phase, the project abstract and other application materials will be evaluated for scientific merit, and appeal to a general science audience. Evidence of prior presentations will be taken into consideration, but is not a requirement.
    • Finalists will present their oral presentations to faculty and/or PhD-level research scientist judges. Presentations will be evaluated on speaking skills/delivery, scientific content, and overall quality of the presentation. Winners will be announced at the GSRD Awards Ceremony.
    • Rubric for OPS contests

    Prizes:

    • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS

      • 1st prize: $1,000
      • 2nd prize: $500
      • $300 bonus for best 1st year student

    • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD

      • 1st prize: $1,000
      • 2nd prize: $500

     

  • Poster Sessions

    Poster Finalists - Session A - 12:30 pm

    Last Name

    First Name

    Advisor

    Category

    Program

    Caggiano

    Emily

    Cullen Taniguchi, MD, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Chuong

    Vicky

    Fabricio Do Monte, DVM, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Neuroscience

    Coker

    Oluwadara

    Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Diaz Rohena

    Daisy

    Deepa Sampath, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Gillard

    Andrew

    Candelaria Gomez-Manzano, MD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Jacob

    Joan

    Kendra, Carmon, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Biochemistry & Cell Biology

    Jayabalan

    Ruparoshni

    Mauro Di Pilato, PhD

    1st year PhD

    Immunology

    Li

    Yating

    Cassian Yee, MD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Immunology

    Lu

    Kaylene

    Jian Hu, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    McManus

    Sheighlah

    Maria Bertilaccio, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Therapeutics & Pharmacology

    Palacios

    Bridgitte

    Jian Hu, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Neuroscience

    Peshoff

    Mekenzie

    Krishna Bhat, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Neuroscience

    Phi

    Lan

    Anil Sood, MD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Prasad

    Rishika

     Robert Jenq, MD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Immunology

    Scott

    Hayden

    Paola Alvarez, MS, Stephen Kry, PhD

    1st year PhD

    Medical Physics

    Shah

    Rutvi

    Andrea Viale, MD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Shihabeddin

    Eyad

    Jiaqian Wu, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Neuroscience

    Subramanian

    Shraddha

    Kendra Carmon, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Tavizon

    Larissa

    Danielle Garsin, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Microbiology & Infectious Diseases

    Poster Finalists - Session B - 1:40 pm

    Last Name

    First Name

    Advisor

    Category

    Program

    Cao

    Pham Hong Anh

    Daniel Frigo, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Biochemistry & Cell Biology

    Chen

    Hao-Nien

    Dihua Yu, MD, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Immunology

    Chen

    Xinru

    Jinzhong Yang, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Medical Physics

    Clowers

    Michael

    Seyed Javad Moghaddam, MD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Immunology

    Dharmaiah

    Sharvari

    Jason Huse, MD, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Jalloul

    Dounya

    Michael Beierlein, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Neuroscience

    Lanier

    Amanda

    Powel Brown, MD, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Liu

    Muchen

    Radbod Darabi, MD, PhD

    MS

     

    McKenzie

    Takese

    Jian Hu, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Neuroscience

    Miao

    Anna

    Don Gibbons, MD, PhD

    Pre-Candidacy PhD

    Genetics & Epigenetics

    Mondal

    Jayanta

    Jason Huse, MD, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Riba

    Morgan

    Stephanie Watowich, PhD, Cassian Yee, MD

    1st year PhD

    Immunology

    Shaleen

    Menna-t-Allah

    Anirban Maitra, MBBS

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Sun

    Yimo

    Gregory Lizee, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Immunology

    Sunga

    Gemalene

    Simon Young, DDS, PhD, MD,  Andrew Sikora, MD, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Immunology

    Xu

    Ping

    Nicholas Navin, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Poster Session - Guidelines

    Poster sessions are designed to give presenters an opportunity to discuss their research with colleagues and other researchers. The purpose of the poster is to visually stimulate interest in the research, to present sufficient information for viewers to understand the methods, results, and significance of the research, and to promote conversations and networking among GSRD attendees.

    Eligibility

    • All GSBS students who have participated in a research project at the GSBS, and are in good academic standing, are eligible to participate.

    Format:

    • Posters will be presented in-person during GSRD at Cooley Center. Students must apply to present a poster. Space is limited to 40 contestants, so students are encouraged to apply early. Deadline to apply for consideration for the competition is May 3 by 11:59 pm.
    • Students are responsible for printing their posters [size: no larger than 3.3' H x 3.5' W].
    • Poster template and GSBS logo downloads are here.
    • Posters will be on display during the entirety of GSRD. The day before the GSRD (Wednesday, June 21) Poster Session, finalists must set up their posters in the afternoon at Cooley Center. If a finalist cannot go in person, they may ask another student or the DSA staff to set up their poster for them. Each poster board will be numbered. Presenters should attach their posters to the board number corresponding to the number assigned to their poster in the GSRD Program, which will be emailed prior to set up. Presenters should remove their posters at the end of GSRD between the hours of 4:30-6:00 pm. [Presenters are encouraged to display their posters during the reception.]
    • On the day of GSRD, students will present their posters during their assigned session. Students should plan to stand with their posters until their assigned session is completed and they have presented to their faculty and/or PhD-level research scientist judges.
    • Students will compete in two categories: (1) Pre-candidacy PhD students, MS students and SMS; and (2) Post-candidacy PhD students. Students should apply to the category that best matches their current status at the time of application.
    • Students who are chosen as finalists in the GSRD Oral Presentation Skills competition may not compete in the poster session. They may, if space permits, still present a poster and their poster number will be labeled “NC” [non-competing].

    Application link: 2023GSRD_PosterContests

    Application materials:

    • Research abstract: This summary should be written in language understandable by a broad general science audience and should be a concise and engaging description of the student’s research project that includes the title, background/objective, brief methods, results/progress, conclusions and future work. The abstract body should be at least 150 words, but no more than 300 words. Abstracts not meeting these criteria will be disqualified.
    • Curriculum vitae: Include past speaking and/or poster presentation experiences.

     Selection and award criteria:

    • Preliminary judges will select the finalists and students will be notified on May 23. Evidence of prior presentations will be taken into consideration but is not a requirement.
    • Finalists will present their posters to faculty and/or PhD-level research scientist judges. Posters will be evaluated on the presence, quality and details of the key sections of a poster (see abstract), as well as level of content knowledge and engagement. Winners will be announced at the GSRD Awards Ceremony.
    • Rubric for poster contests

    Prizes:   

    • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS

      • 1st prize: $1,000
      • 2nd prize: $500
      • $300 bonus for best 1st year student

    • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD

      • 1st prize: $1,000
      • 2nd prize: $500

     

  • Elevator Speech Contests

    Elevator Speech Finalists - 4:00 pm

    Last Name

    First Name

    Advisor

    Category

    Program

    Lakshmivenkatesh

    Srinath Muralidharan

    Sachet Shukla, PhD

    1st year PhD

     

    Rodriguez

    Mya

     

    1st year PhD

     

    Scott

    Hayden

    Paola Alvarez, MS, Stephen Kry, PhD

    1st year PhD

    Medical Physics

    Benavente

    Maria

    Rodrigo Morales, PhD

    MS

    Neuroscience

    Brahmendra Barathi

    Bhargavi

    Jason Huse, MD, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Genetics & Epigenetics

    Gupta

    Aashish

    Kristy Brock, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Medical Physics

    Hanjra

    Pahul

    Anil Sood, MD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Trusz

    Guillaume

    Laurence Court, PhD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Immunology

     

    Umamaheswaran

    Sujanitha

    Anil Sood, MD

    Pre-candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Marquez

    Barbara

    Laurence Court, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Medical Physics

    Mehrens

    Hunter

    Stephen Kry, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Medical Physics

    Palacios

    Bridgitte

    Jian Hu, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Neuroscience

    Rajkumar Bhanu

    Krithikaa

    Michael Curran, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Immunology

     

    Zorrilla Veloz

    Rocio

    Jian Hu, PhD

    Post-Candidacy PhD

    Cancer Biology

    Elevator Speech Contests - Guidelines

    The scientific Elevator Speech is a 90-second summary of the student’s research project intended for an educated, lay audience. The scientific elevator speech is an excellent career tool for students, helping them to establish credibility, form relationships with other scientists, and gain support for their ideas. It also helps students clarify and articulate their thoughts, build professional confidence, and communicate across disciplines.

    Students are encouraged to attend special workshops to prepare for this competition.
    Sign up to attend: 2023ElevSpeechWorkshops (deadline to register for workshops is April 21)

    Eligibility:

    All GSBS degree students, who are in good academic standing, are eligible to compete.

    Format:

    • Elevator speeches will be presented in-person at GSRD at Cooley Center. Students must apply to present an elevator speech. Twenty contestants will be selected as finalists to compete. The deadline to apply for consideration for the competition is May 3 by 11:59 pm.
    • Each elevator speech will be allotted 90 seconds. The time will begin once a contestant starts speaking. Speakers may use notecards as long as they do not read straight through, and/or may use small props/objects. Speakers are not allowed to use PowerPoint slides. There will be no time allotted for questions during the session.
    • Elevator speeches should be accessible to a non-specialist audience with a basic college education, succinct, and last no more than 90 seconds; they should be well organized and easy to follow, delivered in an engaging manner, and have impact. The speeches should contain key elements commonly found in scientific presentations, including an introduction/background, description of the gap in knowledge or research question being addressed, a brief description of method(s), results if they have been obtained, a statement of significance, and possible next steps if applicable. In addition, the delivery of the speech should be enthusiastic, confident, conversational rather than overly formal, and use accessible language that minimizes jargon.
    • Finalists should plan to be present for the entirety of the elevator speech competition session. The order of presentations will be assigned randomly and delivered in the order indicated in the GSRD program.
    • Students will compete in two categories: (1) Pre-candidacy PhD students, MS students and SMS; and (2) Post-candidacy PhD students. Students should apply to the category that best matches their current status at the time of application.
    • Students who are chosen as finalists in the GSRD Elevator Speech competition may not compete in the poster session. They may, if space permits, still present a poster and their poster number will be labeled “NC” [non-competing].

    Application link: 2023GSRD_ESContests

    Application materials:

    • Tentative title for elevator speech
    • Short description (1-2 sentences) of the impact, relevance, or importance of the research as it relates to science or a lay audience

    Selection and award criteria:

    • Preliminary judges will select twenty finalists and students will be notified on May 23. Evidence of prior presentations will be taken into consideration but is not a requirement.
    • Finalists will present their elevator speeches to a panel of judges on June 22 that includes faculty, PhD-level research scientists, and lay community members. Elevator speeches will be evaluated on the delivery of the speech, organization and engagement with the speech content, and impact. The speech will not be evaluated on the complexity of the project, whether experimental results have been obtained so far, minor grammatical mistakes, or speaking with a non-English accent. The audience will choose the People's Choice Award winner. Winners will be announced at the GSRD Awards Ceremony.
    • Rubric for elevator speech contests


    Prizes:   

    • Category 1: Pre-Candidacy PhD, MS and SMS

      • 1st prize: $1,000
      • 2nd prize: $500
      • People’s choice: $300

    • Category 2: Post-Candidacy PhD

      • 1st prize: $1,000
      • 2nd prize: $500
      • People’s choice: $300

    The GSBS gratefully acknowledges the sponsors of this event: Logan & Sue Brown