Brittney Newby, a graduate student who studies immunology and microbiology at the Clayton Mathews Laboratory, won the coveted Gold Award for her outstanding research presentation at the 42nd annual Medical Guild-sponsored graduate student research competition on Friday, April 7, from 2.- 4 p.m., at the University of Florida Cancer & Genetics Research Complex auditorium.
Ms. Newby and the other participants each submitted an abstract of their research and curriculum vitae because the awards were based in part on their overall research accomplishments, including publications, presentations, awards and academic performance.
Each contestant also participated in a 15-minute oral research presentation and a 5-minute question and answer session. Their presentations were then evaluated by a panel of faculty judges, who ranked them in terms of excellence.
Ms. Newby and each of the other winners were recognized and presented an award certificate at the Research Day reception immediately after the seminar competition. Each winner also received a cash award from the UF Medical Guild, based on the judges’ final rankings, and their names were inscribed on a plaque for permanent display in the UF Office of Graduate Education.
Please join us in congratulating Ms. Newby and the other winners on their terrific accomplishments.
2017 Medical Guild Research Competition Winners
Gold Award
“Type 1 Interferons Promote Auto-reactive CD8+ T Cell Cytotoxicity in the Islet Microenvironment of Type 1 Diabetes”
- Winner: Brittney Newby (immunology and microbiology)
- Mentor: Clayton Mathews, Ph.D.
Silver Awards
“Disrupted RNA Processing and Myogenesis in Congenital Myotonic Dystrophy”
- Winner: James Thomas (genetics)
- Mentor: Maurice Swanson, Ph.D.
“Two diseases, one gene? The role of ATP13A2 in Parkinson’s disease and Lysosomal Storage Diseases”
- Winner: Sruti Rayaprolu (neuroscience)
- Mentor: Jada Lewis, Ph.D.
Bronze Awards
“Developing Strategies in Tracking Early Oral Cancer Progression “
- Winner: Amani Harrandah (Cancer Biology)
- Mentor: Edward Chan, Ph.D.
“The Epigenomes of Latent and Lytic Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus”
- Winner: Rosha Poudyal (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology)
- Mentor: Michael Kladde, Ph.D.
“It Takes Two: The Host-Pathogen Relationship In Urinary Tract Infection”
- Winner: Allyson Shea (Molecular Cell Biology)
- Mentor: Yehia Daaka, Ph.D.
“Hypoxia-induced Bacterial Invasion of the Fetal Brian and Placenta”
- Winner: Miguel Zarate (Physiology and Pharmacology)
- Mentor: Charles Wood, Ph.D.