Wistar capped off its second-ever Trainee Research Symposium on Friday, February 23, drawing more than 200 research trainees of all levels from across the region and beyond. Next-gen, diverse student scientists, bringing interests spanning a range of research disciplines, gathered at Wistar from schools including Arcadia, Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, St. Joseph’s University, University of Delaware, University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, and Villanova.
Wistar Trainee Association co-presidents Brennah Britten, Ph.D. and SK Reiser, supported by Pratik Bhojnagarwala, Ph.D., and a host of trainees, created a lineup of diverse research representing melanoma and glioblastoma cancers, acetate and mitochondrial metabolism, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), immune activation, tumor microenvironment, and more.
“The symposium is really a fantastic opportunity for students at various levels to share the amazing work that they’re doing, and also interface and learn from others that can help advance their science,” explained Brennah Britten, co-president of the Wistar Trainee Association. “This type of collaboration and information sharing is critical in our field, so we’re excited to hold this event and bring students together.”
The sold-out, all-day event featured poster sessions, a special presentation by Wistar’s Dr. Ami Patel, and a keynote address by Dr. Erika Pearce, Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. The event culminated in the presentation of awards in a variety of categories. Winners included:
Best Talk
Gauri Mirji, Ph.D. (Wistar)
Best Postdoctoral Posters
First place: Qiang Zhang, Ph.D. (Wistar)
Second place: Davide Maestri, Ph.D. (Wistar)
Third place: Christopher Chen, Ph.D. (Wistar)
Best Graduate Posters
First place: Joseph Patria (University of Delaware)
Second place: Fabrizio Bertolazzi (Wistar)
Third place: Sarah Offley (Wistar)
Best Post-baccalaureate Posters
First place: Gabrielle Davis (PCOM)
Second place: Ella Cho (Penn)
Third place: Sarina Smith (CHOP)
Best Undergraduate Posters
First place: Kush Addepalli (Wistar/Penn)
Second place: Emma Burns (Villanova)
Third place: Arslie Louis-Jacques (Arcadia)
Thank you to our sponsors:
Lunch sponsor: AUM Biotech
Gold Sponsors: Genscript, SinoBiological, Miltenyi Biotec
Silver Sponsors: Biolegend, Azenta Life Science, Synbio Technologies, Revvity, Stemcell Technologies, Medchemexpress, Cell Signaling Technology
