Student Research Week Showcases Research Highlights

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences will host the 25th Annual Student Research Week March 4- 6.

Every year Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences students organize Student Research Week to showcase the next generation of biomedical researchers and their work and invite distinguished national and international speakers to present discoveries on a specific theme as chosen by students. The theme for this year’s Student Research Week is Genomic Revolution: Personalizing Medicine.

Along with distinguished seminar presentations, students from different disciplines will participate in a poster competition. Students will present research projects to faculty and peers. Students then will present research posters to the community from 5 to 6 p.m. March 4 and 5 at the TTUHSC Academic Classroom Building, 3601 Fourth St. first floor lobby.

Brandt Schneider, Ph.D., dean of the TTUHSC Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, said the event provides a glimpse into the quality of TTUHSC student researchers.

“Student Research Week is a great opportunity for us to share and discuss research progress amongst our colleagues at TTUHSC and the community,” Schneider said. “Our theme this year highlights how genetic research is being tailored to provide better personalized patient care.”

Keynote speakers are Dan M. Roden, M.D., assistant vice chancellor for personalized medicine and director of the John Oates Institute for Experimental Therapeutics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and Richard M. Weinshilboum, M.D., Mary Lou and John H. Dasburg Professor in Cancer Genomics Research and chair of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

Roden will present, “The Vanderbilt Program in Personalized Medicine: Moving Pharmacogenomics to the Bedside,” from 11 a.m. to noon March 6 at the TTUHSC Academic Classroom Building Room 100.

Weinshilboum will present “Pharmacogenomics: Genome-Wide,” from 1 to 2 p.m. at the TTUHSC Academic Classroom Building Room 100.

Akash Pandhare, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences student and event director, said this year’s goal is to learn more about the recent advances made in genomics and how this advancing field in research will allow accurate predictions to be made about a person’s susceptibility of developing a particular disease, the course of the disease and its response to treatment.

“The speakers are nationally known for their expertise in genomics research,” Pandhare said. “We are extremely excited and fortunate to have the high caliber of keynote lectures at this year’s event.”

Connor Hall, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences student and event marketing director, said the event is an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to learn about what research is being done at TTUHSC.

“Many people may not understand the world of research and what it encompasses,” Hall said. “This gives people the opportunity to see first hand how research is such a vital part of academics as well as the daily lives of everyone.”

For more information about Student Research Week, email Hall at connor.p.hall@ttuhsc.edu.

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