Upstate shines spotlight on student research April 26

“We encourage the Upstate community to attend and show their support for the more than 130 students whose projects will be displayed,” says Mark E. Schmitt, PhD, dean of Upstate’s College of Graduate Studies. “The day’s events also include a keynote address by Dr. Amita Sehgal whose research interests are in the molecular basis of behavior.”

Student Research Day begins at 1:30 p.m. when Upstate President Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, FAAP, announces the winner of the President’s Award for Civic Engagement and Interprofessional Education. The winning abstract reflects research that encompasses civic engagement, interprofessional education, inclusiveness, innovation, and fairness.

Following the award presentation, one student from each college will give an oral presentation in front of their peers and colleagues. The students and their presentations are: Arijita Chakraborty, College of Graduate Studies, Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) promotes genome stability through R-loop regulation; Diana Perez, College of Health Professions, Analysis of MYO1E mutations associated with human kidney disease; Matthew Gumbleton, College of Medicine, Dual enhancement of T and NK cell function by SHIP1 inhibition improves cancer survival; and Laura Wellington, College of Nursing, proton pump inhibitors and cardiovascular risk.

At 2:45 p.m., Amita Sehgal, PhD, will present the keynote address, “Biology of bedtime: Understanding circadian rhythms and sleep.” Sehgal holds dual appointments as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and as the John Herr Professor of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her laboratory investigates the molecular basis of behavior with a major emphasis on the mechanisms underlying circadian rhythms of behavior and physiology, largely using the Drosophila model. Her ongoing work addresses the mechanisms that generate a circadian period in the molecular clock, identifying the neural circuits that drive rhythms of rest: activity, and mapping the specific molecules/peptides that function in these circuits.

A student poster session and reception immediately follows the afternoon presentations in Room 4414, Academic Building.

The Charles Ross Student Research Day is sponsored by the offices of Research Administration, Academic Affairs and the College of Graduate Studies.

For more information contact Jennifer Brennan, College of Graduate Studies, [email protected] or 315-464-4543.

Amita Sehgal, PhD, will present the Student Research Day keynote address, “Biology of bedtime: Understanding circadian rhythms and sleep.” Sehgal holds dual appointments as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and as the John Herr Professor of Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.