TTUHSC Student Research Week to Highlight Immunology

• By Suzanna Cisneros
• March 7, 2022
• Campus Life

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences will host the 34th Annual Student Research Week March 8-11 at the TTUHSC Academic Event Center, 3601 Fourth St.

This year’s Student Research Week theme is “CSI: Immunology (Conducting Scientific Investigations).”

“Student Research Week is a collaborative event organized and implemented by volunteer graduate students,” said Rachel Washburn, a Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences student and event co-director. “The event allows students from our different schools and campuses the opportunity to share their research, learn from each other and interact with prominent scientists in the biomedical sciences.”

“This year’s Student Research Week is unique as it will have both in-person and virtual components,” said Peyton Presto, a Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences student and event co-director. “Because we are offering a hybrid format this year, we have received unprecedented participation by students and faculty from all campuses. Student research projects can be viewed throughout the week both in person and online.”

Along with Washburn and Presto, Student Research Week committee members include Taylor Hibler, vice director of poster competition; Sayanika Dutta, vice director of operations; and Morgana Kellogg, vice director of marketing.

Keynote speakers are Claudia Kemper, Ph.D., a senior investigator and section chief at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health; and Stanley Hazen, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, as well as multiple leadership positions at the Cleveland Clinic.

Kemper’s group discovered that activation of the immune component complement (coined the complosome) serves many non-traditional roles including cell metabolic pathway regulation. She will present, “The unexpected powers of the complosome – the value of thinking outside the box.”

Hazen has made pioneering discoveries in understanding how gut microbiome pathways contribute to cardiovascular and inflammatory disease pathogenesis. His research has led to the development of pharmaceuticals to treat cardiovascular disease in clinical trials and diagnostic tests for cardiovascular disease risk assessment. He will present, “The gut microbiome as a therapeutic target for cardiometabolic disease.”

Student Research Week events include:

• March 8 (Tuesday), TTUHSC Academic Event Center
• Vendor Show and Career Fair, 9 a.m. – noon
• In-person Poster Exhibit I, noon – 1 p.m.
• Virtual Poster Session I, 1 – 4 p.m. (Zoom)
• In-person Poster Exhibit II, 4 – 5 p.m.

March 9 (Wednesday) TTUHSC Academic Event Center

• Virtual Poster Session II, 9 a.m. – noon (Zoom)
• In-person Poster Exhibit III, noon – 1 p.m.
• Virtual Poster Session III, 1 – 4 p.m. (Zoom)
• In-person Poster Exhibit IV, 4 – 5 p.m.

March 10 (Thursday) TTUHSC Academic Event Center

• Virtual Poster Session IV, 9 a.m. – noon (Zoom)
• In-person Poster Exhibit V, noon – 1 p.m.
• Virtual Poster Session V, 1 – 4 p.m. (Zoom)
• In-person Poster Exhibit VI, 4– 5 p.m.
• Student Research Week Banquet “CSI Aftermath,” 7 p.m.                  

March 11 (Friday) TTUHSC Academic Event Center

• Keynote speaker (Dr. Kemper), 9 – 10 a.m.
• Selected student speakers, 10:15 a.m. – noon
• Lunch and alumni career panel, noon– 1 p.m.
• Keynote speaker (Dr. Hazen), 1– 2 p.m.
• Award ceremony, 2:15– 3 p.m.
• Special remarks, 3 – 3:30 p.m.
• Roundtable discussion with keynote speakers, 3:30 – 4:15 p.m.
• Silent auction, 4:15 – 5 p.m.

For more information about Student Research Week, visit the Student Research Week webpage or call (806) 743-2556.