The MIBRC Digestive Disease Summer Research Program culminates in the annual research symposium, at which the students present their work.

Agenda for the 2023 Summer Research Symposium

Friday, August 11th 2023
Building 114 - 1st Floor Conference Room D 

8:30 – 8:35 am
Bryan P. Hurley PhDIntroduction & Opening Remarks 
Director - MGfC Digestive Disease Summer Research Program 

8:35 – 8:50 am
Emily Casteen, University of Kansas School of Medicine
Mentor: Alessio Fasano MD 
The GEMMA Study and Recruiting for Clinical Research

8:50 – 9:05 am
Julianna Martinez, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Mentor: Enid Martinez MD
Zonulin and Gastrointestinal Function under Acute Inflammatory Conditions

9:05 – 9:20 am
Ryan Lukas, College of the Holy Cross
Mentor: Madhusmita Misra MD MPH 
Tackling Severe Obesity In Neuro-Atypical Adolescents with Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy - Unique Challenges and Caregiver Perspectives".  

9:20 – 9:35 am
Sarah Lee, Boston University
Mentor: Christina Faherty PhD 
Tuning the host range of the Shigella flexneri-specific bacteriophage Φ2457T” 

9:35 – 9:50 am
Katherine Ward, Davidson College
Mentor: Smriti Verma PhD 
Effect of anti-OSP antibody on Vibrio Cholerae - epithelial cell interaction using organoid derived infection model” 

9:50 – 10:05 am
Elizabeth Davis, DePauw University
Mentor: Jason B. Harris MD MPH 
Constructing Capsule Deficient Mutants of Klebsiella pneumoniae

10:05 – 10:20 am
London Cannon-Eckerle, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Mentor: Bobby J. Cherayil MD 
The Role of the rpoS Gene in Salmonella Adhesion

10:20 – 10:35 am
Coffee Break 

10:35 – 10:50 am
Kayla Durand, University of Portland
Mentor: Evan Bordt PhD 
The Impact of Maternal TLR7 and TLR8 Activation on Fetal Intestine

10:50 – 11:05 am
Anna Jee, Boston College
Mentor: James Moon PhD 
Exploring the effects of prior enteric infection on colitis-induced immune responses” 

11:05 – 11:20 am
Luke Kishna, Case Western Reserve University
Mentor: Daniel Irimia MD PhD 
Insights into Neutrophil Swarming from Agent-based Simulations” 

11:20 – 12:25 pm
2023 Keynote Lecture
Introduction of Keynote Speaker – Evan Bordt, PhD 

The Role of Dorsal Root Ganglia Neurons in Autism-associated gastrointestinal DysfunctionLauren Orefice PhD 
Assistant Professor in Genetics 
Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital 
Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School 
New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Investigator 

12:25 – 12:30 pm
Bryan P. Hurley PhD Concluding Remarks & Acknowledgements 

12:30 pm
Lunch 

Past Research Symposiums: