Internal Medicine Research Day, 2025

The 59th annual Internal Medicine Research Day was hosted by the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine and directed by Alicia Gerke, MD, and Alejandro Comellas, MD.

Kicking off the annual event was a keynote presentation by Nadia Hansel, MD, MPH, DEO of the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHU), as well as Physician-in-Chief of Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Hansel’s presentation, “The Role of the Indoor Environment and Airway Disease,” discussed her work on to uncover additional factors from one’s home environment to their diet, which may affect respiratory diseases such as chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD). Her presentation contained many overlaps with work at Iowa, from clinical trials and investigations to Iowa’s and JHU’s shared memberships in SPIROMICS. At the conclusion of a Q&A period, Gerke presented Hansel with a token of the department’s appreciation for her visit and presentation, a bonsai tree, the care of which Gerke explained mirrored the researcher’s careful cultivation of a career in inquiry.

Five short oral presentations followed Hansel’s address, featuring Organizers’ Choice awardees—researchers who submitted their abstracts for consideration for talks for this year’s Research Day poster session.

Severe, Non-apneic Respiratory Dysfunction and Hypoxia following Generalized Convulsive Seizures
Haley Pysick, MD, Fellow, Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine; StARR Scholar, Iowa PSTP Program

Regional Variation in Airway Mucus Clearance: Insights from a PCD Pig Model 
Rim Nehme, MD, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Occupational Medicine

Inflammatory Monocyte Responses and Endothelial Stress in Young Adult E-Cigarette Users
Andrea Milenia Benavides, BS, PhD Candidate, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology

Long-term Flecainide Exposure Triggers Expression of Neuronal Sodium Channels in the Murine Heart
Christian Anderson, MD, PhD, Fellow, Cardiovascular Medicine; Iowa PSTP Program

Impaired platelet function in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is associated with decreased GPVI and PAR1 expression on platelets
Mariia Kumskova, MD, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation

From there, attendees moved out into the Medical Education Research Facility (MERF) Atrium for the annual poster presentation. More than 80 posters were on display for the afternoon. (Many of which were printed by the department’s Design Center.) Faculty judges circulated the floor, discussing the latest research with presenters.

Here are this year’s winners. In addition to a cash prize, the first place winners will also be invited to present their work at an Internal Medicine Grand Rounds session in the spring:

Best Clinical Research Poster

Syed Ahmed Nadeem – 1^st
Automated Multi-Volume CT Biomarkers of Respiratory Mechanics in COPD: Associations with Mortality and Characterization of Impairments in PRISm and Early Dyspnea

Austin Halupnik – 2^nd
Validation of GEMA-Na and GEMA-AI in an American Cohort of Patients on the Liver Transplant Waiting List

Best Basic Science Poster

Lorena Tran – 1^st
Hydroxymethylation drives post-mitotic epigenetic inflammatory memory in airway basal stem cells

Jasmyn Hoeger – 2^nd
Discovery and Initial Characterization of a Diverse Family of Microproteins Derived from Alternative Open Reading Frames in SCN(NaV) Genes

Best Trainee Poster

Nathaniel Connolly – 1^st
Grp Signaling in the Basolateral Amygdala Promotes a Fear Sensitization Responses After Exposure to Strong Threats

Kailey Said – 2^nd
Sorbs2 regulates phenotype plasticity and mechanotransduction responses in vascular smooth muscle cells

Best Poster by a Resident or Fellow

Ashten Sherman – 1^st
Quantitative Chest CT Analysis to Identify Small Airways Disease After Lung Transplantation

Greta Becker – 2^nd
Lung Function, Radiographic Findings, and Quality of Life in Children after Pulmonary TB

Special thanks to Jess Jensen, Lori Strommer, Drs. Gerke and Comellas, and all the research assistants and poster judges who put their time and effort into making this a great event.