Research Symposium
The Annual Research and Scholarship Activity Symposium provides the opportunity for students and faculty to showcase their exciting research projects in basic sciences, clinical sciences, community health equity, and medical education.
“At California University of Science and Medicine our mission lives in the classroom, the community, and the laboratory. As a world class health sciences university, CUSM prides itself on our mission to address core health care needs of our region. That includes educational activities to be sure. It includes the delivery of world class medical care as well. And, like all such universities, it includes the discovery and implementation of new knowledge that helps advance our understanding of the community in which we live. Our 5th Annual research symposium provides us with an opportunity to share and explore the research in which our faculty, partners, students, and residents are engaged. It provides a growing opportunity to review and to celebrate the unique role our university can play in advancing our understanding of the world around us. What began as a modest set of posters in a small, rented space now occupies a full day and a full floor drawing on the expertise of investigators from our region and beyond. All of these investigators have gathered in our new home to share, explore and connect.”
Dr. Paul Lyons
President, California University of Science and Medicine
Dean, School of Medicine
Today, students, residents, clinicians, and faculty are presenting their research, scholarly activities, innovations, and challenges to ignite discussions to inspire explorations of new frontiers to advance the state of knowledge. Our humble wish is to create a symposium that inspires new ideas, collaborations, and initiatives that bring improvement to the IE community and its healthcare and educational systems.
Healthcare and educational systems are holistic in nature, multidimensional, and rely on interdisciplinary approaches to care. This holistic, multidimensional, interdisciplinary nature is reflected in the 2023 symposium. These projects cover the 360 of an individual’s life; starting from the unseen, small molecules that roam every cell of the human body, to clinical challenges and successes, all the way to the individuals in their communities.”
Dean of Research Professor of Biochemistry/Neuroscience CUSM
And,
Dr. Dotun A. Ogunyemi, MD, FACOG
Designated Institutional Official ARMC
“The symposium this year is truly exceptional, showcasing brilliant work from CUSM students and faculty, as well as our esteemed partners and affiliated institutions. The works on display cover a wide range of disciplines, including basic science, clinical science, HE, and medical education. We especially want to acknowledge the students whose research has been chosen for live oral presentations, having been selected from a competitive pool of 180 abstracts.
As the 5th executive board since our organization’s founding, we are thrilled to have planned this event with almost double the number of abstract submissions from last year. Thank you all for your enthusiastic participation and aiding in this event's continued growth and expansion.”
Research Interest Group 2022-2023 Board
Sarah Lu, President
Stephen Chai, Vice President
Trevor Case, Secretary
Birpartap Thind, Treasurer
“At California University of Science and Medicine our mission lives in the classroom, the community, and the laboratory. As a world class health sciences university, CUSM prides itself on our mission to address core health care needs of our region. That includes educational activities to be sure. It includes the delivery of world class medical care as well. And, like all such universities, it includes the discovery and implementation of new knowledge that helps advance our understanding of the community in which we live. Our research symposium provides us with an opportunity to share and explore the research in which our faculty, students and residents are engaged. It provides an opportunity to review and to celebrate the unique role our university can play in advancing our understanding of the world around us.”
Dr. Paul Lyons
President, California University of Science and Medicine
Dean, School of Medicine
“Today, we are holding a complete and in-person research sharing forum, credited to the unprecedented success of developing three vaccines on a very short notice (about 11 months). This accomplishment highlights the prominence of science, curiosity, and inquiry. These are innate aptitudes of the human brain that help us understand ourselves and realize the complexity of our world. Curiosity and inquiry are nourished and maximized by the exchange of experiences and knowledge, which are founded in evidence-based, hypothesis driven research. This is a winning combination that forms the foundation for what we are celebrating today and for what is yet to come. Let us build on today’s opportunity to appreciate what we have accomplished and plan for the next research endeavor.”
Dr. Hani Atamna
Associate Dean for Basic Research
Professor of Biochemistry and Neuroscience
California University of Science & Medicine
“This year’s symposium features brilliant work by students and faculty at CUSM, as well as from our cherished partners and affiliated institutions. We boast works from the disciplines of basic science, clinical science, health equity, and medical education. It is a pleasure to recognize all the students whose research was selected for a live oral presentation - out of a competitive pool of nearly 100 abstracts. As the 4th executive board since our organization’s founding, we recognize what an honor it is to help facilitate the first in-person symposium to take place on CUSM’s beautiful new campus. It is a privilege we will cherish.”
Research Interest Group 2021-2022 Board
Fiona Pudewa, President
Leo Issagholian, Vice President
Nichole Jacobs, Secretary
Ivan Roubal, Treasurer
We’re proud to announce the CUSM 3rd Annual Research Symposium
Research, Innovation, Challenges, and Opportunities During a Pandemic
Held on Tuesday, March 30th, 2021
The Research Interest Group at the California University of Science and Medicine School of Medicine welcomes you to the 2021 CUSM Research Symposium brought to you virtually on Tuesday, March 30th, 2021. Our goal is to help students showcase their essential academic research skills and bolster education for the health professions by providing a forum for sharing innovative ideas.
This symposium features exciting work by students and CUSM faculty spanning basic
sciences, clinical sciences, health equity, and medical education. Fifty abstracts
were accepted to this symposium, and three abstracts were given the opportunity to
deliver an oral presentation. We would like to thank our keynote speaker, Dr. Ronald
Krauss, for an enlightening presentation on his research in the field of cardiovascular
disease risk. Thank you to Dr. Paul Lyons, our Dean and President, for his warm opening
address and our panel of judges for providing their invaluable feedback to our presenters.
Additionally, we would like to thank the CUSM Research Department, especially Dr.
Hani Atamna and Mrs. Wafa Atamna, for giving us the opportunity to organize such an
event and for their tireless efforts along the way. Finally, we would like to give
a special thanks to our wonderful presenters, faculty, and staff for helping to make
the 2021 CUSM Research Symposium a success.
Warmly,
Research Interest Group 2020-2021 Board
Mudaser Basam, President
Priya Vedula, Vice President
David Klein, Secretary
Jonathan Ahn, Treasurer
Key Note Speaker
Dr. Ronald Krauss, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, University of California- San Francisco
Digging Deep into the Relationship Between Cholesterol, Diet, and Heart Disease
Dr. Krauss received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University with honor and served his internship and residency on the Harvard Medical Service of Boston City Hospital. He then joined the staff of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, first as Clinical Associate and then as Senior Investigator in the Molecular Disease Branch.
Dr. Krauss is board-certified in internal medicine, endocrinology and metabolism, and is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, a Fellow of the American Society of Nutrition and the American Heart Association (AHA), and a Distinguished Fellow of the International Atherosclerosis Society. He a member of the U.S. National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults, founder and past Chair of the AHA Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism, and a National Spokesperson for the AHA. Dr. Krauss has also served on both the Committee on Dietary Recommended Intakes for Macronutrients and the Committee on Biomarkers of Chronic Disease of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. He has received numerous awards including the AHA Scientific Councils Distinguished Achievement Award and the Centrum Center for Nutrition Science Award of the American Society for Nutrition.
This is the third research symposium for CUSM. It will present the scholarly productivity and passion of the faculty and the students. The topics presented today reflect the intellectual diversity of CUSM, a culture that is created by all of us and that makes us proud of what we have accomplished together. Basic and clinical sciences, health equity, and medical education all come together for the purpose of seeking progress. Progress that comes through identifying deficiencies, proposing remedies and alternatives, and exploring new creative ideas.
The work that is presented today could be the harvest of lengthy and hard labor for some, and for others it could be the start of a new adventure. Regardless of where you stand on this trail, you will always learn something that either expands a horizon, answers a question, or simply ignites a mind’s wonder… and that is what we are working to achieve.
Hani Atamna, M.Sc. PhD.
Professor of Biochemistry and Neuroscience
Associate Dean for Research
Videos
Clinical Research
Impact of Comorbid Disease on Patients Undergoing Degenerative Cervical Spine Surgery
The Role of Race in Predicting Mastectomy Outcomes: Evaluation against Standard Reimbursement Tools
Basic Science Research
Descriptive Spatial Epidemiology of COVID-19 Social Behavior in California Based on Mobile Tracking Data
Mary-X Spheroids as a Model of Tumor Latency
Medical Education
Clinical Skills in Musculoskeletal System CUSM Virtual Experience