Improving patient care and addressing community health challenges inspired the work Burrell College of Health Sciences School of Osteopathic Medicine (BCSOM) student physicians shared during the College’s annual Medical Student Research Day in September.
For Thomas Eiting, Ph.D., director of student research and assistant professor of physiology at BCSOM, conducting research helps students understand how scientific discoveries inform medical practice.
“The foundation of being a doctor is science,” Eiting said. “Our students are able to take on a project and dive in to see how science is done. Regardless of the exact project, our students have a chance to see how new knowledge is generated.”
Second-year student physician, Jazzlyn Gonzalez, earned first place in the oral presentation category for her project, “Insertion of an Internal Joint Stabilizer Through a Posterolateral Approach for the Management of Complex Elbow Instability.” The research examined a technique for stabilizing complex elbow injuries through a single incision. For Gonzalez, the experience reinforced the importance of remaining open to new approaches as surgical techniques evolve.
“I believe the best part of this research experience was knowing that, in the future, I will come across certain surgical procedures that will continue to improve. It reminded me to continue thinking through the possibilities and know that there isn’t one set rule. We can work together as a team to figure out a variety of techniques that may make the outcome for the patient so much better,” said student Gonzalez.
Held September 12th in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and September 19th in Melbourne, Florida, the events featured student research spanning surgical procedures, pharmacology, artificial intelligence and other areas of medicine.
The latitude of this year’s presentations stood out to Chris Hague, Ph.D., assistant dean of research, director of the research lab and associate professor of pharmacology at BCSOM.
“I thought the projects were wonderful,” Hague said. “They covered a wide variety of topics across important areas of medical research, ranging from surgical procedures and pharmacology to AI predictive models and meta-analyses.”
Research also gives students an opportunity to connect their medical education with questions affecting the communities they hope to serve. Second-year student physician Christian Morinvil said that work begins with paying attention to the world beyond the classroom.
“I feel that research is important for us as medical students because it encourages us to step outside of the box a bit, look around us and identify issues we might be able to address as a community,” Morinvil said.
Through posters and oral presentations, students shared their findings with faculty, peers, and community members, bringing those questions into a broader scientific discussion. Their work reflected a shared goal: building knowledge that could help them better care for patients and their communities.
You can find a list of all research projects here:
MSRD Abstract And Program Book – Las Cruces 2026
MSRD Abstract And Program Book – Melbourne 2026
2026 Medical Student Research Day Award Recipients:
New Mexico
1st Place Oral Presentation: Jazzlyn Gonzalez
Insertion of an Internal Joint Stabilizer Through a Posterolateral Approach for the Management of Complex Elbow Instability
Co-authors Nikalus Skipp, Ana Love
Mentors: Miguel A. Pirela-Cruz, MD, Deana Mercer, MD
1st Place Poster: Stella Curtis, Rithika Treasa John, Shannon Lee, Julia Taki
Evaluating Cervical Cancer Biomarkers Ki-67 and p16 and Their Relationship to hrHPV Infection
Mentors: Debra E. Bramblett, Ph.D., Chris Hague, Ph.D.
2nd Place Poster: Karen Ngantcha
Development and Characterization of 4D Shape Memory Polymer Hydrogel Scaffolds with Nanosilica Coating for Tendon and Ligament Tissue Engineering
Mentors: Vipuil Kishore, Ph.D., Diya Pillai Babu (FIT)
3rd Place Poster: Hamza Nawaz
Comparative Efficacy of Platelet-Rich Plasma, Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy, and Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy in Tendon and Ligament Repair: A Mechanistic Review and Weighted Matrix Analysis
Mentor: Kunal Mitra, Ph.D. (FIT)
Florida
First Place Poster: “Concentration-Dependent Effects of Common Local Anesthetics on In Vitro HeLa Cell Wound Healing and Cytotoxic Disruption of Monolayer Integrity”
Brandon Stucken, Ari Barskiy, Gabriel Marquardt, Joshua Ramirez and Emily Waddle
Mentor: Christopher Hague, Ph.D.
Second Place Poster: “The Relationship Between Ever Smoking 100+ Cigarettes and Ever Being Diagnosed with an Oral Cavity or Pharyngeal Cancer, Modified by E-Cigarette Use and by Sex”
Brianna Schroeder
Mentor: Mir Saleem, M.D.
Third Place Poster: “3D Glioblastoma Growth Prediction via Fully Convolutional Spatiotemporal Modeling”
Kirolos Shenouda, Jolie Garcia Willis, Wenxi Liu, Michael Trimboli and Matthew Newmarch
Mentor: Xianqi Li, Ph.D.
First Place Oral Presentation: “Public Library-based Intervention for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia”
Tanay Malla, Naomi Codrington, Victoria Amorim, Leah Degard-Edmond, Diana Pop, Diana Sokolov and Sharukh Khan
Mentor: Robert Coni, D.O.
