Research Day 2021

Welcome to Research Week 2021

This showcase of research projects from the UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford and the Rockford area is impressive — please join us in this celebration of research activities. This year’s theme is The Mental Health Impact of COVID-19. View the 2021 Award winners here which were announced Friday, April 23, 2021.

View the Welcome video from Research Week 2021 Committee Chair Aftab Merchant, MBBS, FCPS. .

Check out some of this year’s features including:

• Keynote Speakers
• Student Presentations
• Research Posters
• List of Publications
• Abstract Reviewers and Poster Judges
• Acknowledgements
• Research Week Survey

Keynote Speakers

Olusola Alade Ajilore, MD, PhD

The Fire This Time: The Stress of Racism, Inflammation and COVID-19

Learn more about the science behind the disparities African Americans are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, including social determinants of health, biological consequences of the stress of racism, and the neuropsychiatric sequelae of COVID-19 in Dr. Ajilore’s keynote presentation.

Alesia O. Jones, PhD

Unmasking Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call for Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Dr. Jones has published and presented research focused on the relationship between trauma and subsequent psychological, emotional, and behavioral consequences of trauma exposure among ethnic/racial minorities and other underserved communities. She will present the latest research on how COVID has impacted our communities.Watch Presentation Here
Student Presentations

This year’s virtual Research Week features dozens of research posters from students at the UIC Health Sciences Campus-Rockford and other area institutions. A few students were selected from various programs to present a short video of their poster.

Neha Phani Bushan (MBT Program)Ligand targeted therapy: Role of the surface density of anti- αvβ3 peptides on PEG-b-PPS micelles for anti-angiogenic activityWatch Presentation HereAbhinav Chatterjee (MBT Program)

Potential Role of Anti-HMGB1 IgM in Sexual Dimorphism in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in NOD mice

Watch Presentation HereCody Ratermann (RMED) and Ana Carolina Hinojosa Felix (RPHARM)

Food Insecurity Initiative: An Approach to Nutritional Improvement in Centralia/Mt. Vernon, IL

Watch Presentation HereShruthi Selvaraj (College of Pharmacy)Impact of G-quadruplexes on DNA Double-strand Break Repair by End JoiningWatch Presentation HereParshva Shah (James Scholar)Studying Neuromuscular Defects in Spinal Muscular Atrophy using Patient-specific Induced Pluripotent Stem CellsWatch Presentation HereViraj Shah (College of Pharmacy)Characterization of Genome Destabilizing and Oncogenic Mutations in Human Top2αWatch Presentation Here
Research Posters

To comment on a poster, click on a poster to open it, then select the text you’re commenting on and right click. The option to ‘Leave a Comment’ will appear.

Primary Author; *James Scholar; **Craig Fellow
Poster #
All Authors
Primary Author Status
Category
Project Title

1
Adedokun Adedoyin, Tim Morris, Brian Follstad
Industry Participant
Basic Science
Investigating the Impact of Rocking Agitation and Angle on HEK293 Cell Aggregation for Applications in Large-scale Biomanufacturing

2
Oba Akinfosile, Guoxing Zheng, Samuel Pope, Mark Barba, Deborah Hall, Robin Pourzal, Mathew Mathew, Divya Bijukumar
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
MCA macrophages: A unique sub-population of macrophages with altered cytokine and chemokine expression profile induced by CoCrMo wear nanoparticles

3
Vaishnavi Beena Valsan, Oba Akinfosile, Guoxing Zheng, Samuel Pope, Mark Barba, Deborah Hall, Robin Pourzal, Mathew Mathew, Divya Bijukumar
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Exploring implant-derived wear particle mediated macrophage polarization: TLR-2 and TLR 4 co-activation.

4
*Aisha Bhatti, Mathew Mathew, Paul David Chastain, Divya Bijukumar
Medical Student
Basic Science
Role of Vitamin E in Enhancing Implant Procedure Outcomes: In-Vitro Study

5
Eniola Birch, Kai-Yuan Cheng, Ravindra Badhe, Samuel Pope, Guoxing Zheng, Mark Barba, Divya Bijukumar, Mathew Mathew
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Variation in macrophage response to metal wear nanoparticles generated from hip implants: Effect of size and chemical nature.

6
*Mariaelana Brenner, Kai-yuan Cheng, Mark Barba, Mathew Mathew
Medical Student
Basic Science
The Effect of Accumulated Air Pressure on Corrosion Processes in a Hip Modular Junction undergoing Simulated Micromotion

7
Abhinav Chatterjee, Sneha Halwasia, Aoshuang Chen , Guoxing Zheng
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Potential Role of Anti-HMGB1 IgM in Sexual Dimorphism in Diabetes in NOD Mice.

8
Abhinav Chatterjee, Ravindra Vijaykumar Badhe, Kai Yuan Cheng, Joshua Green, Divya Bijukumar, Mathew Mathew
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Quick Bone Fracture Healing: Low-Intensity Electric Current with Osteoblast cells in Electro-conducting scaffolds

9
Zhenyu Chen, Xuejun(June) Li
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Basic Science
Rescue axonal degeneration in human stem cell models of hereditary spastic paraplegia with mitochondrial fission inhibitor

10
Kai-yuan Cheng, Ravindra V. Badhe, Divya Bijukumar, Alfons Fischer, Robin Pourzal, Mathew Mathew
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Basic Science
Accelerated Fretting-Corrosion Damage at Hip Modular Junction Triggered by CoCrMo Particle Challenged Macrophage Media

11
Kai-yuan Cheng, Mahemaa Rajasekaran, Divya Bijukumar, Alejandro A. Espinoza Orías, Mathew Mathew
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Basic Science
Electrochemical Investigation of Additively Manufactured Hip Implant Acetabular Shells

12
*Joshua Dein, Yongchao Mou, Xue-Jun Li
Medical Student
Basic Science
Impact of MFN2 knockdown on human motor neuron survival and mitochondrial function and morphology

13
Edidiong Essien, Vishal Khatri, Ravindra Badhe, Kai-yuan Cheng, Geoffrey Thei, Mathew Mathew, Divya Bijukumar
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
A novel drug delivery system for Rheumatoid Arthritis: L-sulforaphane loaded boronate-PAMAM dendrimers

14
Varsha Ganesan, Vishal Khatri, Divya Bijukumar , Ravindra Badhe , Ramaswamy Kalyanasundaram
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Development of pH-Sensitive Microgels for Oral Delivery of Filarial Cystatin for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

15
Mrunali Jagdale, Xue-Jun Li, Yongchao Mou
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Generation Of 3D Culture Organoid Model for Studying Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

16
Yashashree Karpe, Zhenyu Chen, Xuejun Li
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Investigating Motor Neuron-Specific Degeneration using Human Stem Cell-based Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

17
Nabiha Khan, Dana Thomas, Roberto De Vera, Neelu Puri
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Overcoming TKI-resistance in NSCLC using SphK2 inhibitors

18
Cayla Kleeman, Matthew Summerlin, Les Hanakahi
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
An Investigation of the Role of CYREN Protein in DNA Repair

19
Aishwarya Kumar, Ramaswamy Kalyanasundaram, Vishal Khatri
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Evaluating the Therapeutic Potential of Filarial Parasite-derived Cystatin in a Mouse Model of Atopic Dermatitis

20
Alejandro Magana, Regina Giovanni, Mathew Mathew, Sarah Hagarty, Divya Bijukumar
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Synegistic Effect of Placental Membrane Extract and Hypoxia on Human Adipocyte Differentiation

21
Savita Matapurkar, Gabriela Swan, Karin Nitiss, John Nitiss
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Topoisomerase II trapping by oxidative DNA lesions

22
Yongchao Mou, Zhenyu Chen, Craig Blackstone, Su-Chun Zhang, Xue-Jun Li
Research Scientist
Basic Science
Impaired Lipid Homeostasis Underlies Axonopathy in Human Stem Cell Models of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia

23
Meet Patel, Roberto De Vera, Kavya Sri Racherla, Katrina Dovalovsky, Neelu Puri
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Role of PRMT-1 and p120-catenin as an EMT mediator and in Osimertinib resistance in NSCLC

24
Neha Phani Bhushan, Trevor Stack, Benjamin Mathew, Evan Scott, Mathew Mathew, Divya Bijukumar
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Ligand targeted therapy: Role of the surface density of anti- αvβ3 peptides on PEG-b-PPS micelles for anti-angiogenic activity

25
Frances Quinones, Alexander Pineschi, Tina Sanders, Conley Gustafson, Elina Wagner, Emily Down, Kari Severson
Undergraduate student
Basic Science
Identification and Characterization of an Acinetobacter beijerinckii Natural Isolate

26
Pamela Reyes, Ravindra Badhe, Kai-yuan Cheng, Yongchao Mou, Xue-Jun Li, Paul Chastain, Mark Barba, Divya Bijukumar, Mathew Mathew
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Dynamic Microfluidic Bioreactor for Neurotoxicity Assessment of CoCrMo Metal Particles from Hip Implants

27
Nithila Saravanan, Vishal Khatri, Nikhil Chauhan, Ramaswamy Kalyanasundaram, Sean Gray, Darrick Carter
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Evaluating the immunogenicity and vaccine efficacy of three variants of a human filariasis vaccine candidate, rBmHAXT

28
Shruthi Selvaraj, Jacob Seiver, Erik Larson, Leslyn Hanakahi
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Impact of G-quadruplexes on DNA Double-strand Break Repair by End Joining

29
Hillary Shah, Velavan Bakthavachalam, Stephen Motika, Paul Hergenrother, Gnanasekar Munirathinam
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Evaluation of Ferroptocide (FTC) As a Potential Immunogenic Cell Death Inducing Agent in Prostate Cancer Cells

30
*Parshva Shah, Zhenyu Chen, Xuejun Li
Medical Student
Basic Science
Studying Neuromuscular Defects in Spinal Muscular Atrophy using Patient-specific Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

31
Viraj Shah, Karin Nitiss, John Nitiss
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Characterization of Genome Destabilizing and Oncogenic Mutations in Human Top2α

32
Preksha Shahagadkar, Gnanasekar Munirathinam
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Exploring NCX4040, an Aspirin Derivative, for Treating Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

33
Sejal Sharma, Pradyut Paul, Rahul Das, Arvinder Kapur, Lisa Barroilhet, Jacques Galipeau, Manish Patankar
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Synthetic Fusion Cytokine GIFT4 – Engineered Autologous Peritoneal Immune Cells a Novel Cell Therapy for Treatment of Ovarian Cancer

34
Rashmi Sridharan, Yongchou Mou, Zhenyu Chen, Xue-Jun Li
MS in Medical Biotechnology Student
Basic Science
Investigating the Role of Atlastin-1in Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

35
Farah Auckbarallee, Rhonda Verzal, Suraj Bopanna
Family Medicine Resident
Case Report
Acute bilateral lower extremity weakness following COVID19: a case report

36
Mariaelena Brenner, Melva Navarro, Vibhav Bansal
Medical Student
Case Report
Moyamoya Disease: A Case Report of Caucasian Twins

37
Joshua Dein, Arshad Merchant, Aftab Merchant
Medical Student
Case Report
Pancreatic pseudocyst-induced congestive splenomegaly and its associated vascular abnormalities

38
Sandra Giraldo, Sonia Parmar, Rhonda Verzal
Medical Student
Case Report
Amenorrhea in a young female: Diagnosis, Delivering Bad News, and Addressing Psychological Sequelae

39
Madeline Hunt, Melissa Stenstrom
Medical Student
Case Report
A Case of Dermatomyositis after Breast Implants

40
Akila Khan, David Lyu
Medical Student
Case Report
Takayasu’s arteritis causing multiple watershed region strokes: a case report

41
Jesseca Pirkle, M. Burhan Janjua
Medical Student
Case Report
Cerebellar Stroke associated with COVID-19 patient

42
Jesseca Pirkle, Meghann Houck
Medical Student
Case Report
Life-long drummer with retained singing capability after major left MCA stroke

43
Allison Beggin, Daniel Heller, Alexander Lam, Michael Heller
Medical Student
Clinical
Stop The Bleed! Geniculate Artery Emoblization for Knee Hemarthrosis

44
*Nicole Blumenstein, H Steven Sims, Jan Potter-Reed, Jeff Costello
Medical Student
Clinical
Comparison of Audio Quality of WebEx and Zoom in an Otolaryngology Setting

45
Renee Carter, Matthew Dalstrom, Michelle Brady, Gail Brick
DNP Student
Clinical
Bedside Reporting

46
**Peter Cirrincione, James Girardy, Brian Bear, Geoffrey Van Thiel
Medical Student
Clinical
Informed Consent Documentation in Orthopedics

47
Paige Clayton, Emilee Bocker
Family Medicine Resident
Clinical
Tdap vaccination rates in caregivers of newborns

48
David Fisher, Bailey Terhune, David Fischer, Joel Williams, Jeffrey Earhart
Medical Student
Clinical
Anterior Gluteal Pillar Bone Graft Harvesting using Acetabular Reamer Technique: as effective as Reamer-Irrigator-Aspirator System

49
Daniel Heller, Allison Beggin, Alexander Lam, Michael Heller
Medical Student
Clinical
Keep your Knee, not the Pain: Geniculate Artery Embolization for Treatment of Osteoarthritis

50
*Akash Khurana, Daniel Leffler, Chandrashekhar Thukral
Medical Student
Clinical
Short and Long-Term Follow-Up and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Celiac Disease in a Large Private Practice Setting

51
Gabrielle Kuhn, Hana Hinkle
Medical Student
Clinical
Shingles vaccination perceptions and compliance in a rural community

52
Gabrielle Kuhn, Theodore Guild, Marie Rivers, Rebecca Cheski, Kayeromi Gomez, Brian Bear, Rolando Izquierdo
Medical Student
Clinical
The effect of humeral component retroversion on external rotation and shoulder function outcomes in patients undergoing reverse total shoulder arthroplasty

53
Syndey Mathis, Jose Cataneo, Diana del Valle, Alejandra Perez- Tamayo, Anders Mellgren, Gerald Gantt, Lee Alkureishi
Medical Student
Clinical
Outcomes of Perineal Wound Closure Techniques after Abdominoperineal Resections in Rectal Cancer: A NSQIP Propensity Score Matched Study.

54
Hannah Miller, Brandie Messer, Cynthia McGrath, Alissa Bartel , Andrea Doughty
DNP Student
Clinical
Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems: A Change in Practice

55
Emily Nepomuceno, Kathryn Saulcy, Jillian Kaskavage
Medical Student
Clinical
Assessment of provider confidence and variation in pediatric concussion diagnosis and management in emergency department, urgent care, and primary care practice settings

56
*Saagar Pamulapati, Mitul Vakharia, Jordan Saeed
Medical Student
Clinical
Randomized Controlled Trial of IOL Orientation for Dysphotopsia

57
Saumya Patel, Sarah Grace Bowyer, Joseph Vicari, Aaron Shiels, Chandrashekhar Thukral, Ilche Nonevski, Sunil Patel, Matthew Stier
Medical Student
Clinical
Colonoscopy results after a positive Cologuard test

58
Parshva Shah, Sarah Linder, Vibhav Bansal
Medical Student
Clinical
G-FAST Pre-Hospital Assessment Tool for Stroke Patients

59
Elizabeth Andekian, Shannon Lizer, Michelle Brady, Matt Dalstrom, Mary Westerman
DNP Student
Community
Use of a Farming Specific Website to Improve Farmer Wellness and Stress

60
*Allison Beggin, Rebecca Lyons, Manorama Khare
Medical Student
Community
Needs Assessment Analysis of Muthumandapam and Samuel Nagar Communities in Vellore, India

61
Daniel Bicklein, Lindsay Cohen, Siva Sreedhar, Shashank Sandu, Linda Chang, Heidi Olson
Medical Student
Community
Fostering growth of meaningful relationships between students and older adults in the community targeting social isolation and loneliness.

62
Riley Brubaker, Martin MacDowell, Michael Niederbrach, Alexander Thomas, Paige Marchini, Brooke Heibel, Joshua Crist, Jared Cerny
Medical Student
Community
Assessment of Variation in Stroke Mortality Rates in the USA and IL by Level of Urbanization and Racial Groups

63
Riley Brubaker, Martin MacDowell, Michael Niederbrach, Alexander Thomas, Paige Marchini, Brooke Heibel, Joshua Crist, Jared Cerny
Medical Student
Community
Urbanization Level and Smoking Use Impact on Age Adjusted Mortality Rates

64
*Enrique Ceppi, Manorama Khare, Noemi Rico Moreno
Medical Student
Community
Identifying Barriers to Healthcare Access for the Rockford Latino Community

65
Akila Khan, Umber Waheed, Patrick McIntyre, Martha Crotts
Medical Student
Community
The association between e-cigarette use and mental health in adolescents

66
*Rachel Miller, Kristine Zimmermann, Manorama Khare
Medical Student
Community
Impact of the COVID-19 Illinois Statewide Shutdown on Physical Activity of Rural Women

67
Lauren Rivkin, Emily Bazi, Allison Beggin, Kurt Whisenand, Kayeromi Gomez
Medical Student
Community
Domestic Violence-Related Adverse Childhood Events in Juvenile Violent Offenders

68
Abbey Zacharski, Manorama Khare, Kristine Zimmermann
Medical Student
Community
Assessment of Participant Satisfaction with Physical Activity Tracker Interventions in Rural Illinois

69
Drew Amador, Hana Hinkle
RMED
Rural Medicine
Improving Nursing Home Resident Satisfaction

70
Justin Bailey, Michael Glasser, Michael
RMED
Rural Medicine
Identification of needs in the rural Veteran population

71
Liana Beauchamp, Michael Glasser
RMED
Rural Medicine
Mental Health Awareness in a Rural Community

72
Calee Bresnahan, Danielle Von Ruden, Martin MacDowell
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Impacts of COVID on Heart Health

73
Eric Bulak, Bailey Swan, Martin MacDowell
RPHARM/RMED
Rural Medicine
Rural Opioid Education

74
Timothy Cox, Hana Hinkle
RMED
Rural Medicine
Assessing Potential Barriers to Accessing Mental Health Services in a Rural Community in Southern Illinois

75
Brad Dulee, Austin Reeder, Martin MacDowell
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Community Education on the Opioid Epidemic

76
Aaron Flynn, Erin Roberts, Manorama Khare, Heidi Olson
RPHARM/RMED
Rural Medicine
The Impact of COVID-19 on Influenza Vaccination Uptake: Examining Participant Perceptions and Behavioral Intentions

77
Colin Kavanaugh, Seth Schiffbauer, Martin MacDowell
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Caffeine Consumption & Health Effects in Amboy High School

78
Jonathan Knisley, Hana Hinkle
RMED
Rural Medicine
Community Health Assessment and Strategies to Address Prioritized Needs for Greene County

79
Nassim Mafi, Krystal Do, Martin MacDowell
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Providing a Safe Haven for Families with Autistic Children in Rural Ford County

80
Jennifer Main, Hailey Sellek, Michael Glasser
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Post-COVID Effects within the Wind River Family and Community Health Care Population

81
Chad Martens, Faith Furst, Martin McDowell
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
A Pilot Study of adolescent marijuana vaping in Lee County, Illinois

82
Alexandra McVicker, Hana Hinkle , Dana Thecla Louise Jungbauer
RMED
Rural Medicine
Buprenorphine Treatment during Pregnancy: Charting Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in the Prenatal and Postpartum Period

83
Marek Mlodzianowski, Jared Madden, Martin MacDowell
RPHARM/RMED
Rural Medicine
Assessing the Knowledge About Vaping and E-cigarettes in High School Students Pre/Post Educational session

84
Meagan Nowlan, Michael Glasser
RMED
Rural Medicine
Knowledge of Mental Health in Rural Illinois Teenagers

85
Ravikumar Patel, Heidi Olson, Manorama Khare
RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Assessing the medication adherence and barriers for hypertension medications in a rural setting

86
Cody Ratermann, Ana Hinojosa, Martin MacDowell
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Food Insecurity Initiative: An Approach to Nutritional Improvement in Centralia/Mt. Vernon, IL

87
Ryan Schaab, Mark Foster, Martin MacDowell
RMED/RPHARM
Rural Medicine
Barriers to Suboxone Certification in a Rural Illinois County

88
*Bailey Swan, Martin MacDowell
RMED
Rural Medicine
Social Demographics and Health Literacy Levels as Decision Factors for Nonurgent Emergency Department Utilization

89
Shannon Thoele
RMED
Rural Medicine
Identifying and Correcting Misconceptions of the Effects of Bullying

90
Riley Van Velsor, Hana Hinkle
RMED
Rural Medicine
FAST Test Awareness in Galesburg, Illinois

91
Emily Wheat, Hana Hinkle
RMED
Rural Medicine
Assessing Sports Related Injuries and Student Knowledge in Injury Prevention

List of PublicationsResearch Week showcases some of our research, but our faculty, staff and students have a number of research publications and presentations throughout the year. Find out more about our research from the last year.Publication List (Jan. 2019–Dec. 2020)
Abstract Reviewers and Poster Judges

AcknowledgementsDonations and AwardsUIC Center for Clinical & Translational Science
Crawford Library of the Health Science-Rockford
Dean’s Action Council
Department of Biomedical Sciences
James Scholar Program
Master of Science in Medical Biotechnology Program
National Center for Rural Health Professions
Rockford Ambulatory Surgery Center
Rockford Anesthesiologists Associated, LLC
Rockford Gastroenterology Associates, Ltd
Saint Anthony College of Nursing
Steve Gunderson, DO
Thermo Fisher Scientific
UIC College of Pharmacy at Rockford
University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford – Office of the Regional Dean
Winnebago County Health Department and its Board of Health
Winnebago County Medical SocietyAcknowledgementsLori Dredske
Kayéromi Gomez
Carrie Foust
Patrick McIntyre
Alaina Moore
Cynthia Reynolds
Jennifer Staman
Catherine Wehmhoefer
Vicki Weidenbacher-HoperCampus Committee on ResearchAftab Merchant
Aoshuang Chen
Maichle Bacon
Peter Cirrincione
Mathew Dalstrom
Kayeromi Gomez
Steven Gunderson
Alesia Hawkins Jones
Corey Hazekamp
Manorama Khare
Katie Lam
Sandra Martell
Patrick McIntyre
Janet McMahon
Rachel Miller
Gnanasekar Munirathinam
John Nitiss
Joseph Orthoefer
Neelu Puri
Kelly Rosenberger
Joseph Ross