2025 Statewide Biomedical Science and Engineering Research Symposium
September 24 & 25

Thank you for attending this year’s symposium and congratulations to the ten students who received awards for outstanding posters!

Michael Babcock, Graduate Student GSBSE, University of Maine
- Increasing Rural Lung Cancer Patient Access to Precision Medicine to Improve Overall Survival
John Butts, Graduate Student GSBSE, University of Maine/Jackson Laboratory
- Identifying Functional Non-Coding Variants at Scale with Models of Cis-regulatory Reporter Activity
Samuel Cousins, MDI Biological Laboratory
- Understanding the Organization and Localization of Nucleolar Proteins in C. elegans
Cory Diemler, Ph.D. Candidate GSBSE, University of Maine/Jackson Laboratory
- The Role of Trem Family Genes in an Acute Inducible Model of Ocular Hypertension
Bidhi Diwedi, Graduate Student, MDI Biological Laboratory
- Neural Crest-like Cell Trans Differentiation Underlie a New Mode of Neuronal Regeneration in the Zebrafish Retina

Gabriela Johnson, Graduate Student GSBSE, University of Maine/MDI Biological Laboratory
- Development of Two Mechanistically Distinct Transgenic Axolotl Cell-Ablation Systems
Hilda Opoku Frempong, Graduate Student GSBSE, University of Maine/Jackson Laboratory
- Assessing the Impact of PRDM9 Programmed DSB Sites on the Enrichment of Structural Variants Using Diverse Mouse Strains
Muthumeena Ramanathan, Graduate Student GSBSE, University of Maine/Jackson Laboratory
- Investigating Morphogenesis and Cytoskeletal Polarity of Cochlear Supporting Cells
Courtney Willey, Graduate Student GSBSE, University of Maine/Jackson Laboratory
- NBL1 Correlates with Renal Phenotypes in Mouse Models of Kidney Disease, but is not Causal
Emma Yvanovich, Graduate Student GSBSE, University of Maine/MaineHealth Institute for Research
- Mouse Model of Cardiac Arrest Mimics Human Immune Response

THANK YOU TO OUR JUDGES!

Jacquelyn Ames
Eva Rose Balog
Greg Cox
Jane Disney
Eben Estell
Geoffrey Ganter
Anyonya Gunter
Hermann Haller

Matt Havrda
Gareth Howell
Laura Jackson
Qingchu Jin
Robert Koza
Ghanahshyam Kshirsagar
Daniel Moore
Katie Motyl

Joseph Nadeau
Patsy Nishina
Judith Roe
Douglas Sawyer
Juyoung Shim
Emily Spaulding
Jared Talbot
Phillip West

List of Posters Full Poster Abstracts

This year’s symposium was held Wednesday & Thursday, September 24 & 25 on the University of Southern Maine campus in Hannaford Hall. The event was hosted by the University of Maine – Institute of Medicine, JAX, MDI Biological Laboratory, MaineHealth, Northern Light Health, the Roux Institute of Northeastern, and University of New England.

The symposium kicked off Wednesday with speaker presentations on neuromodulation & vision (session chair Giovanna Guidoboni, UMaine), with lunchtime poster sessions-judging, and reconvening on metabolic factors in aging & disease (session chair Karen Houseknecht, UNE). The day ended with a banquet hosted in the McGoldrick Salon.

Thursday began with a keynote discussion on the State of Biomedical Science & Healthcare in Maine by Drs Clifford Singer, James Jarvis, and Douglas Sawyer. Presentations throughout the day included topic areas on genetic & epigenetic influences on aging & disease (session chair Gareth Howell, JAX), skeletal & cardiac muscle (session chair Clarissa Henry, UMaine), with lunchtime poster sessions-judging, and reconvened on cell signaling & tissue regeneration (session chair Hermann Haller). Integrated into these themes were presentations on stem cells and tissue regeneration.

If you have any questions regarding the symposium, please email tanya.pinkham@maine.edu

We would like to remind everyone the public and social health portion of the symposium will be a part of the Maine Public Health Association’s annual event which will be held at the Augusta Civic Center on Monday, October 27.

vENUE

University of Southern Maine – Hannaford Hall

A warm and welcoming performance space located at 88 Bedford Street on the USM Portland campus, Hannaford Hall is an intimate 520-seat venue with 130-seat mezzanine.

Schedule

9:30 – 9:50 Giovanna Guidoboni, UMaine
Mechanisms of Aging Related Macular Degeneration
9:50 – 10:05 Matthew Havrda, UNE
Inflammasome Signaling in Aging and Disease
10:05 – 10:20 Suzanne Angeli, UMaine
C. elegans as a Model for Inter-tissue Communication During Aging
10:20 – 10:35 Romain Madelaine, MDIBL
Sox10-derived Progenitors Transdifferentiation Underly Neuronal Regeneration in the Zebrafish Retina

10:35 – 10:45 Break

10:45 – 11:00 Teena Joy, JAX
Circuit and Molecular Mechanisms of Brain Repair Post-stoke
11:00 – 11:15 Patsy Nishina, JAX
Genetic Models of Aging Related Macular Degeneration

Cross Institutional Research

11:15 – 11:35 Rai Winslow, Roux
Healthcare Enabled by AI in Real-Time
11:35 – 11:55 Christine Lary, Roux
Collaborative Aging Research in Maine

2:30 – 2:45 Karen Houseknecht, UNE
Factors Leading to Metabolic Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) in Aging
2:45 – 3:00 Michaela Reagan, MH
The Role of Adipocytes in Mediating Progression of Multiple Myeloma
3:00 – 3:15 Briana Taylor, Roux
Changing Sleep Patterns and Metabolic Health in Midlife Women

3:15 – 3:30 Break

3:30 – 3:45 Matthew Lynes, MH
Unique Endocrine and Metabolic Roles of Vascular Smooth Muscle Derived Adipocytes
3:45 – 4:00 Katherine Motyl, MH
Osteoclast Beta 1 Adrenergic Receptors Contribute to Age-related Bone Loss
4:00 – 4:15 Phillip West, JAX
Mitochondrial Control of Immunity in Disease and Aging
4:15 – 4:30 Scott Wood, UNE
Stiffness-Mediated In-Vitro Model of Aging Cartilage

State of Biomedical Science & Healthcare in Maine

Clifford Singer, Acadia Hospital
Douglas Sawyer, MH
James Jarvis, NLH

9:30 – 9:45 Gary Churchill, JAX
Dietary Restriction Extends Lifespan in Genetically Diverse Mice
9:45 – 10:00 Joseph Nadeau, MH
Parsing Disease Complexity: A Phenotype-guided Perspective
10:00 – 10:15 Benjamin Harrison, UNE
The Alzheimer Susceptibility Locus, CD2AP in Aging and Alzheimer’s
10:15 – 10:30 Greg Carter, JAX
Genetics of Plasma Markers in Aging Marmosets
10:30 – 10:45 Kristen O’Connell, JAX
Beyond the Transcriptome Charting the Brain Lipodome in Aging & Alzheimer’s

10:45 – 11:00 Break

11:00 – 11:15 Clarissa Henry, UMaine
Mechanisms of Neuromuscular Development/Degeneration in Congenital Muscular Atrophies
11:15 – 11:30 Anyonya Guntur, MH
Uncovering the Mitochondrial Pathways controlling Osteoblast Activity
11:30 – 11:45 Jared Talbot, UMaine
Mechanisms of Muscle Development and Disruption
11:45 – 12:00 Ilka Pinz, MH
Membrane Lipid Composition Affects Caveolin Expression & Cardiac Performance

2:00 – 2:15 Lucy Liaw, MH
Perivascular Adipose & Modulation of Vascular Tone
2:15 – 2:30 Hermann Haller, MDIBL
Vascular Aging in a New Animal Model African Turquoise Killifish
2:30 – 2:45 Joshua Kelley, UMaine
Yeast as a Model for Cell Polarity & G Protein Signaling
2:45 – 3:00 Emily Spaulding, MDIBL
Exploring Tissue-specific Mechanisms and Requirements for Nucleolar Organization

3:00 – 3:15 Break

3:15 – 3:30 Jennifer Garcia, UNE
RNA Turnover, Phosphate Recycling & Replicative Lifespan: A New Role for RNAase T2 Enzymes in Yeast
3:30 – 3:45 Halyna Shcherbata, MDIBL
Neuropathy Target Esterase NET and Progressive Neuronal Degeneration
3:45 – 4:00 Cara Frankenfeld
Utility of Gut Microbial Metabotypes to Evaluate Gut Microbiome Functionality and Scale Data Collection for Large Observational Studies
4:00 – 4:15 Kwaku Agyekum, UMaine
Unraveling the Delivery and Localization of Endocytic Factors as Synapses in C. elegans

Organizing Committee

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

Professor of Pharmacology, Senior Associate Provost, Vice President for Research

James W. Jarvis, MD, FAAFP

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

Gareth Howell, PH. D

Professor, Diana Davis Spencer Foundation Chair for Glaucoma Research

Kevin Stein, PH. D

Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Population & Health Research (CIPHR); Faculty Scientist III, MaineHealth Institute for Research (MHIR); Associate Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine; Full Member, University of Vermont Cancer Center, Cancer Population Sciences Program

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