Frank Low Research Day

The premier biomedical research event held annually at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

Named in honor of the former SMHS anatomy professor who came to UND in the 1960s and pioneered a series of new techniques for the electron microscope, Frank Low Research Day is the culminating event of the academic year for many area researchers working in the biomedical and health sciences.

Every year, more than 150 faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and students present oral and/or poster presentations on a wide range of basic biomedical, health sciences, translational, and clinical topics. Poster presentations remain on display in the West Atrium on the first floor of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences.

Learn more about Frank Low in this 1999 article published in The Anatomical Record (No. 257: 48-49).

Frank Low Research Day 2024

The 44^th Annual Frank Low Research Day will be held in-person and online on Thursday, April 11, 2024. Faculty, students, and staff in the basic sciences, health sciences, and all clinical departments are encouraged to participate! 

Susan Amara, Ph.D., scientific director of the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health, will give the keynote presentation: The intimate regulatory relationships between GPCR signaling and neurotransmitter transporters: an intracellular perspective.

Susan G. Amara is the Scientific Director of the National Institute of Mental Health intramural Research Program at NIH. She joined NIMH in 2013 after serving as the Thomas Detre Professor and Chair of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Work in her laboratory has focused on the structure, function, and cellular physiology of neurotransmitter transporters, including the biogenic amine transporters, the major targets for psychostimulant drugs and antidepressants and the glutamate carriers that modulate excitatory neurotransmission within the brain. She received a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and a PhD in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of California, San Diego where her graduate work illuminated one of the first examples of alternative RNA processing in brain and identified a novel neuropeptide, CGRP, encoded within the gene for the hormone, calcitonin. She has previously held faculty positions at Yale University School of Medicine, at the Vollum Institute in Portland Oregon and as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at Yale and in Oregon. Her awards include the Burroughs Wellcome Hitchings Award in Drug Discovery, the Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award, the ASPET John Jacob Abel Award, the Julius Axelrod Award from ASPET and the Julius Axelrod Prize from Society for Neuroscience. She was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 2004. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2007), the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (2018) and the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (2019). She also served as President of the Society for Neuroscience (2010-2011), President of AAAS (2021-2022) and Board Chair of the AAAS (2022-2023).

Schedule for Thursday, April 11, 2024

View full schedule and program here

7:30 AM – Poster setup | Please leave posters up for all sessions
Links to recorded presentations and Zoom links are listed with abstracts in program. 

Poster | Video Sessions I and II (West Atrium, First Floor)

8 A.M. – 10 A.M. | Live Q&A Session I: Basic Sciences and Occupational Therapy Research 

10 A.M. – 12 P.M. | Live Q&A Session II: Basic Sciences, Occupational Therapy, and Undergraduate Research

Lunch

12 P.M. – 1 P.M. | Lunch Served – East Atrium, First Floor

Poster | Video Sessions III (West Atrium, First Floor)

1 P.M. – 3 P.M. | Live Q&A Session III: Medical Science Research, Population Health, Indigenous Health, and Rural Health

Keynote Lecture – Susan Amara, PhD (UND SMHS E101 or Zoom)
The intimate regulatory relationships between GPCR signaling and neurotransmitter transporters: an intracellular perspective

3 P.M. – 3:05 P.M. | Welcome Remarks – Joshua Wynne, MD, MBA, MPH,
UND Vice President for Health Sciences | Dean, School of Medicine & Health Sciences

3:05 P.M. – 3:10 P.M. | Introduction – Roxanne A. Vaughan, PhD

3:10 P.M. – 4:10 P.M. | Keynote Speaker – Susan Amara, PhD Scientific Director of the Intramural Research Program at the National Institute of Mental Health

4:30 P.M. | Awards Announcement to follow if results are available

Poster Winners and Honorable Mentions

Basic Sciences

Graduate Students

Best Posters

• Matthew Johnston, S. Rakoczy, A. Irion, M. Murphy, Brown-Borg – Biomedical Sciences “Skeletal Muscle Characteristics of Long-Lived Dwarf Mice”
• Eloho Ighofose – Eloho Ighofose, Aaron Mehus, Scott Garrett, Donald Sens, Sarmad Al-Marsoummi, Seema Somji – Pathology-CTR – “Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in Renal Progenitor and Differentiated Cells”

Honorable Mentions

• Chidiebele S. Oraegbuna – Chidiebele S. Oraegbuna, Phani K. Kola, and Saobo Lei – Biomedical Sciences  “Ghrelin Increases Synaptic Strength at the Perforant Path-Granule Cell Synapses and Facilitates Spatial Learning and Memory”
• Nirmal Kumar – Nirmal Kumar, Braelyn Liang, Darius N.K Quansah, Pater W. Halcrow and Jonathan D. Geiger – Biomedical Sciences “TRPML1-redox sensing regulates gp120-mediated changes to levels of cellular iron and reactive species”

Postdoctoral Fellow

Best Poster – Geetika Verma  – Geetika Verma* and Kumi Nagamoto-Combs            Biomedical Sciences –  “Prolonged allergen consumption sustains neuroinflammation independent of allergen-specific IgE levels in mice with subclinical food allergy”

Undergraduate Students

Best Poster – Odele Rajpathy  – Odele Rajpathy, Maggie Dervis,  Emily Lygre, Emilie Vomhof-DeKrey – Pathology/Surgery – “A novel drug-like small molecule FAK activator posesepithelial skin healing possibilities”

Clinical Sciences

Medical Students

Best Posters 

• Lauren A. Blum and Sarah D. Streed – Lauren A. Blum, B.S., Sarah D. Streed, B.A., James R. Beal, Ph.D., Abe E. Sahmoun, Ph.D. – “Association of Screen Time and Utilization of Mental Health Services in School-aged Children in the United States”
• Brenna Hanson and Courtney Hanson – Brenna Hanson, B.S., Courtney Hanson, B.S. Megan Miller, MD, and Parag Kumar, MD. – “Delayed Diagnosis of Congenital Imperforate Hymen resulting in Obstructing Hematometrocolpos”
• Claire Diede – Claire Diede BS, David R Carr MD MPH, Kathryn T Shahwan MD – “Impact of Completing Away Rotations During Dermatology Residency on the Mohs Fellowship Match”

Honorable Mentions 

• Courtney Hanson and Benjiman Wilebski – Courtney Hanson, B.S., Benjiman Wilebski, S., Abe E Sahmoun, PhD, James R Beal, PhD – “Association of Rural-Urban Emergency Department Location and Management of Fractures in Elderly visits in United States”
• Mikayla Sabella and Alexa Weninger – Mikayla Sabella, B.A., Alexa Weninger, B.S., Abe E Sahmoun, PhD., & James R Beal, PhD. – “Association Between Rural Residence and Pregnancy Outcomes among North Dakota Women with Pre-eclampsia”
• Trenton T. Bohan – Trenton T. Bohan, BS and Sri Krishna Arudra, MD – "Low-fat" Spindle Cell Lipoma of the Eyelid”

Medical Residents

Best Posters 

• Ramiz Kirmani –Ramiz Kirmani, Arman Saied, Edjay Hernandez, Dane Breker – “Clinical Reasoning: Elderly male with isolated bitemporal hemianopsia”
• Hallie Thompson – Hallie Thompson, MD, PGY-3; Anu Gaba, MD; and Abe E Sahmoun, PhD – “Incidence and Risk Factors of Brain Metastasis in HER-2 Positive Primary Breast Cancer: A Retrospective Analysis”

Honorable Mentions 

• Wade Hopper – Wade Hopper, DO; Alessandra Spagnolia, MD; Alexander Drofa, MD; Andrew Terrell, MD – “Penetrating Intracranial Carotid Artery Trauma: Case Report of a Rare Injury”
• Shubhangi Gupta –Shubhangi Gupta, MD and Avish Nagpal, MD, MPH – “CNS Blastomycosis presenting as a Space Occupying Lesion”
• Valerie J Pendleton – Valerie J Pendleton, DO and Stefan Johnson, MD, FACS- “Post-Graduation Outcomes in a Dedicated Rural Surgery Training Program; a Program Review” 

Physician Assistants

Best Posters

• Justis Caldwell – Justis Caldwell PA-S Jay Metzger, Ph.D., PA-C – Viral Bronchiolitis: High Flow Nasal Cannula versus Non-Invasive Ventilation Management’s Effect on Length of Stay, Prevention of Mechanical Ventilation, and Mortality”
• Chelsea Scheil – Chelsea Scheil and Julie S Solberg, MPAS, PA-C –“Probiotic Therapy for the Treatment and Prevention of Bacterial Vaginosis”
• Rachel Kisse – Rachel Kisse, PA-S and Mindy Staveteig, MMS, PA-C – “Efficacy of Platelet Rich Plasma Injections to Combat Chronic Tendinopathies”

Honorable Mentions 

• Tania Schnepf – Tania Schnepf^, PA-S, and Kristen Carr^, MPAS, PA-C, DipACLM – “Poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) Inhibitors versus Traditional Therapy in BRCA positive HER2 Negative Breast Cancer”
• Allison M. Stoeffler– Allison M. Stoeffler – ”Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on PCOS Outcomes”

Health Sciences – Occupational Therapy and Population Health

Occupational Therapy

Best Posters

• Monicah Nyakoe – Monicah Nyakoe, OTS, and Jessa Hulteng, Ph.D., MOT, OTR/L, CLT – “Addressing Classroom Behaviors through Sensory-Informed Design and Instruction to Support Performance and Participation”
• Jace Allard ∫– Jace Allard, OTS and Jane Loscheider, OTD, OTR/L, ATP, CLT – “Addressing Psychosocial Factors in Upper Extremity Injuries to Improve Outcomes and Quality of Life”
• Emmalee Burtsfield – Emmalee Burtsfield, OTS and Jessa Hulteng, Ph.D., MOT, OTR/L, CLT – “Promoting Physical and Psychosocial Wellness for Individuals with Neurological Impairments”
• Makayla Tucker – Makayla Tucker, OTS and Karrianna Iseminger, OTD, OTR/L, CHT– “An Occupational Therapy Approach to Chronic Condition Self-Management”

Honorable Mentions

• Emily Ray – Emily Ray OTDS, Mandy Meyer PhD and Cassandra Bennett  – “The WYld Outdoors: A Community-Based Occupational Therapy Program to Address Mental Health Strategies in Rural Wyoming”
• Hannah Leisenheimer – Hannah Leisenheimer, OTDS and Nicole Harris, EdD, OTR/L – “Providing Occupation-Based Mental Health Care for LGBTQ+ Youth Through Telehealth Service Delivery”
• Alyssia Pucel – Alyssia Pucel and Julie Grabanski, PHD, OTR/L – “Success With Sensory: A Sensory Processing Guide for Individuals Who Work with Children in Community Settings”

Public Health Students

Best Poster – Mary Labuhn – Mary Labuhn and Andrew Williams, PhD, MPH – “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Utilization of Preventive Healthcare among Children in Rural Communities in the United States (NHIS 2022)”

Honorable Mention – Olivia Rajpathy  – Olivia Rajpathy MPHc & Amber Lyon-Colbert PhD, MS

“Artificial Intelligence and Predictive Analytics in Medicaid and Medicare: Improved Healthcare Decision-making and Efficiency”