2022 Research Symposium

Poster Presentations and Reception

Congratulations to the 2022 poster award recipients!

Ashley Soucy GSBSE/MaineHealth Institute for Research
- RAB27a-mediated regulation of the vascular microenvironment
Madison Mueth GSBSE/UNE
- Sex differences in susceptibility to develop advanced osteoarthritis pain
Sam Costa GSBSE/MaineHealth Institute for Research
- PD-L1 Expression Promotes Bone Marrow Immunosuppression and Bone Loss with Diet-Induced Obesity
Bailey Blair GSBSE/University of Maine
- Uncovering Candida albicans Factors that Modulate the Host Phagocyte Response

Brianna Gurdon GSBSE/JAX
- Brain-wide spatial analysis reveals cell-type-specific genetic modifiers of Alzheimer’s disease progression
Mubarak Khlewee University of Maine
- The influence of heat and mass transfer on the setting rate of adhesives between porous substrates
Ines Khiara University of Maine
- Engineering the Development of Neuromuscular Circuitry On-Chip

About 85 students presented posters, representing undergraduate and graduate programs at INBRE schools throughout our state. We are grateful to faculty and industry leaders across multiple universities, biomedical and healthcare organizations who took the time to judge posters and discuss research projects with students.

Thank you to our judges!

Anyonya Guntur, Ben Harrison, Benjamin King, Caitlin Howell, Cory Johnson, Daniel Moore, Derek Molliver, Dustin Updike, Frederic Bonnet, Geoff Ganter, Harry Filippakis, Hermann Haller, Jared Talbot, Jim Coffman, Josh Havelin, Josh Kelley, Kerry Tucker, Lucy Liaw, Marsha Rolle, Melissa Maginnis, Melody Needly, Michael Wilczek, Michaela Reagan, Mike Burman, Prayag Murawala, Sally Molloy, Suzanne Angeli, Tamara King, Tim Breton, Zhao Xuan

Thank you to our Symposium Organizing Committee!

Thank you to the eight members of the organizing committee, for planning and sharing costs for a very successful First Annual Maine Research Symposium on Biomedical Science and Engineering.

David Harder, Ph.D.

University Research Professor of Medicine; Director UMaine Institute of Medicine

Hermann Haller, MD

President, Professor, MDI Biological Laboratory
Professor, Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Hannover Medical School

Karen L. Houseknecht, Ph.D.

University of New England

James W. Jarvis, MD, FAAFP

Director of Clinical Education, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Senior Physician Executive, System Incident Command, Northern Light Health

Nadia Rosenthal, Ph.D.

FMedSci, FAAHMS, Scientific Director and Professor, the Jackson Laboratory for Mammalian Genetics

Douglas Sawyer, MD

Chief Academic Officer, Maine Medical Center and Maine Health, Co-Director, Myocardial Biology and Heart Failure Laboratory, Maine Medical Center Research Institute

Raimond Winslow, Ph.D.

Director of Life Science and Medicine Research; Professor of Bioengineering.

Jeremy Qualls, Ph.D.

Dean and Professor
College of Science, Technology, and Health

Thank you to our 2022 sponsors for their support!

BioME

MDI BioScience

Maine Technology Institute

Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering

IDEXX

E4H Environments for Health Architecture

Schedule

9:00am – 10:00am
Registration opens, set up posters, coffee, and snacks

10:00am – 12:00pm
General student poster session viewing

12:00pm – 1:00pm Lunch

1:00pm – 2:30pm Mentoring and Professional Networking Workshop
Moderated by Aileen Huang-Saad, Ph.D, The Roux Institute and Lucy Liaw, Ph.D., MaineHealth Institute for Research

2:30pm – 3:15pm Keynote Address Cliff Rosen, MD, Faculty Scientist Director, Center for Clinical & Translational Research, Maine Medical Center Research Institute

NNE-CTR Building Clinical Research Infrastructure and Rural Health

3:15pm – 3:30pm
Break

3:30pm – 5:00pm
Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering (GSBSE) Student talks

5:00pm – 6:00pm
Welcoming reception

7:00am – 7:45am
Registration opens, coffee and snacks

7:45 am – 8:10am
General Welcome
James Herbert, Ph.D., President, University of New England

8:10am – 9:00am
Jon Lorsch, Ph.D., National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Director
Future of Biomedical Research

9:00am – 11:30am
SESSION 1—Mechanisms of Tissue Regeneration, Aging and Cell to Cell Communication Using Genetic Model Organisms
Session Chair Hermann Haller, MD, MDIBL

9:00am – 9:20am
Suzanne Angeli, Ph.D., UMaine
Molecular and Biomedical Science

9:20am – 9:40am
Prayag Murawala, Ph.D., MDIBL
Signaling During Limb Regeneration in Axolotl

9:40am – 10:00am
Jared Talbot, Ph.D., UMaine
Zebrafish Embryos Reveal how Mylpf Mutations Lead to Distal Arthrogryposis

10:00am – 10:15am
Break

10:15am – 10:35am
Romain Madelaine, Ph.D., MDIBL
Apelin Signaling in Muscle Regeneration

10:35am – 10:55am
Zhao Xuan, Ph.D., UMaine Neurobiology

10:55am – 11:30am
Keynote Address, Nadia Rosenthal, Ph.D., FMedSci, FAAHMS
Scientific Director and Professor, The Jackson Laboratory for Mammalian Genetics

11:30am – 1:30pm
Lunch and poster session viewing

1:30pm – 3:30pm
SESSION 2—Metabolic/Neural Signaling-Mechanisms of Disease
Session Chair Karen Houseknecht, Ph.D., UNE

1:30pm – 2:00pm
Lucy Liaw, Ph.D., MaineHealth Institute for Research
Ian Meng, Ph.D., UNE
Synergizing COBRE Programs for Maximal Impact

2:00pm – 2:30pm
Katie Motyl, Ph.D., MaineHealth Institute for Research
Neural Regulation of Bone Biology/Osteoporosis

2:30pm – 2:50pm
Christine Lary, Ph.D., Roux Institute at Northeastern University
Translational Bioinformatics and the Brain Bone Connection

2:50pm – 3:10pm
Tamara King, Ph.D., UNE
Towards Understanding Sex Differences in Susceptibility to Develop Osteoarthritis Pain

3:10pm – 3:30pm
Derek Molliver, Ph.D., UNE
Do Sensory Neuron Mitochondria Set the Gain on Pain?

3:30pm – 4:30pm
Panel Discussion—Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Biomedical Research
Moderator
Elizabeth Jacobs, MD, MPP, Vice President for Research, MaineHealth & Director, MaineHealth Insitute for Research
Panelists:
Clarissa Henry, Ph.D., Director, Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering, UMaine
Marwa Hassanien, M.Ed., Director Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Northern Light Health
Moses Davis, Ph.D., Director Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, JAX

4:30pm – 6:00pm
General poster session
Reception with cash bar will occur simultaneously allowing participants to chat and meet in a relaxed setting

7:30am – 8:30am
Registration opens, coffee and snacks

8:30am – 10:00am
General poster session viewing

10:00am – 12:10pm
SESSION 3—Public Health and Rural Disparities
Session Chair Doug Sawyer, MD, Ph.D., MaineHealth Institute for Research

10:00am – 10:30am
Elizabeth Jacobs, MD, MAPP, MaineHealth Institute for Research
Overview

10:30am – 10:50am
Teresa May, DO, MaineHealth Institute for Research
Systems of Care for Cardiac Arrest Outcomes in Rural Settings

10:50am – 11:10am
Ben King, Ph.D., UMaine
James Jarvis, MD, Northern Light Health
GWAS Studies Related to Chronic Kidney Disease in Rural Maine

11:10am – 11:30am
Jens Rueter, MD, JAX
The Maine Cancer Genomics Initiative: Overcoming Rural Disparities in Precision Oncology

11:30am – 11:50am
Erika Ziller, Ph.D., USM
Rural Disparities in Public Health

11:50am – 12:10pm
Brenda Joly, Ph.D., USM
Evaluation of the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network

12:15pm – 1:30pm
Lunch

1:30pm – 3:30pm
SESSION 4—Computational Biology and Biomedical Engineering

1:30pm – 2:15pm
Keynote Address Computational Cardiology

Natalia A. Trayanova, Ph.D., M.S. – Murray B. Sachs Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine, John Hopkins

2:30pm – 3:30pm
Panel Discussion – Current State of and Future of AI and Biomedical Research in Maine
Moderator
Agnieszka Carpenter, Executive Director. BioMaine
Panelists:
Doug Sawyer, MD, Ph.D., Chief Academic Officer, MaineHealth
Hermann Haller, MD, President and Professor, MDIBL
Madeleine Braun, Ph.D., Chief of Presidential Initiatives, JAX
Rai Winslow, Ph.D., Director of Life Science and Medicine Research, The Roux Institute
Todd Keiller, MBA, Director of Tech Transfer, MaineHealth Innovation

3:30pm – 4:00pm
Student poster awards: Clarissa Henry, Ph.D. and Jim Coffman, Ph.D.

Adjournment – Closing Remarks

2022 Symposium Gallery