Highlights of the 23rd Annual Research Symposium

By Lynn McCain | November 22

Each year, the Molecular and Cellular Pathology graduate students host the Pathology Research Symposium. This year was their 23rd symposium, which kicked off with a welcome by MCP co-directors, Drs. Simon Hogan and Jeff Rual. This exciting symposium highlights the work of current graduate students, alumni, faculty, and guests.

Dr. Humsa Venkatesh presents her keynote lecture.One of the day's highlights was keynote speaker, Humsa Venkatesh, PhD, assistant professor of neurology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School who presented on the neural regulation of cancer. Our MCP alumni were represented by Allison Naumovski, PhD, who graduated from the MCP program in 2004, having completed her research under mentor Dr. Nicholas Lukacs. She is now the scientific director of clinical development at Alpine Immune Sciences, a Vertex Company. She reviewed her professional history moving from a bench scientist to a medical science liaison, where she learned how to run clinical trials and to communicate science to non-scientists. She then transitioned to clinical development, translating basic science and disease to clinical research design and execution. Dr. Naumovski presented two drug studies for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. We are grateful to these guests for presenting at our symposium.

MCP Research Symposium poster session.The symposium also highlighted three faculty mentors from the MCP program. First, Dr. Andrew Muntean, associate professor in the Department of Pathology presented “Choline Transport Contributes to Methionine Demand and Survival of Acute Leukemias.” Next on the agenda was Dr. Rajesh Rao, the Leonard G. Miller Professor, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences. His presentation was “Human Genetics – Stem Cells in the Lab and the Operating Room.” Retinal cells do not regenerate, so Dr. Rao’s research focuses on using stem cells and organoids to find a way to restore the retina and rescue vision loss. Faculty mentor Anuska Andjelkovic-Zochowski, MD, PhD, then presented on “Cerebral Cavernous Malformation Type 3: Solving the Problem of a Leaky Lesion.” In CCM, small brain capillaries are enlarged and as they enlarge, they become leaky, leaving hemosiderin deposition in the brain, which leads to inflammation.

Our MCP Students

Four of our MCP Graduate Students offered platform presentations on their current research, including Joanna Lum, an MCP student working in the Dr. Sriram Venneti laboratory; Grace McIntyre from the Dr. Analisa DiFeo lab; Koral Campbell, an MCP student in the Dr. Andrew Muntean laboratory; and Rodolfo Ismael Carera Silva from the Drs. Asma Nusrat and Charles Parkos lab.

After a day of exceptional research presentations, it was time for awards!

MCP Award Recipients

Best Undergraduate Student Poster: Rijul Mehta (Mentors: Siva Kumar Natarajan and Sriram Venneti)

Best Research Fellow Poster: Navyateja Korimerla (Mentor: Daniel Wahl)

Best Non-MCP Graduate Student Poster: Nicole Jerome (Mentor: Phillip Palmbos)

Best MCP Graduate Student Poster: Kristen Lozada-Soto (Mentors: Asma Nusrat and Charles Parkos)

Best Clinical Trainee Poster: Andrew Valesano (Mentor: Stephanie Skala)

Symposium planning committee with our guest speakers. Left to right: Sydney Musser, Max Keller, Laura Jacobus, Dr. Allison Naumovski, Dr. Humsa Venkatesh, Franchesca Franzen, Charukesi Sivakumar, Madeline Sykes, Grace McIntyre.Best Oral Presentation: Joanna Lum (Mentor: Sriram Venneti)

MCP Outstanding Service Award: Noah Puleo (Mentor: Analisa Difeo)

MCP Outstanding Research Award: Sanjana Eyunni (Mentors: Arul Chinnaiyan and Abhijit Parolia)

Congratulations to the winners and to all the MCP students for putting on another fantastic symposium! Next year’s Symposium will be held on Friday, November 7, 2025, so mark your calendars and plan to attend.