Ready – Set – Research!

08.29.2018

The opening week of the fall 2018 semester was a time of firsts for many UT Dallas students, including 50 who participated in the Office of Research’s first Weeks of Welcome poster competition for graduate students.

Grad students displayed posters that summarized their ongoing research projects, occupying several levels of the Bioengineering and Sciences Building atrium on Aug. 24.

The event showcased the wide variety of research being carried out by graduate students and offered a chance for the students to practice explaining their work. A panel of judges visited and scored participants.

Contestant Marc Gallenito (right), a doctoral student in chemistry, discussed his work on a protein called TMEM205, which is thought to be involved in cancer-drug resistance, with judge Steve Guengerich, executive director of UTD’s Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Qin Zhou MS’16, who is working on a doctorate in molecular and cell biology, explained to judges her study of how ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules interact with proteins in the body.

Yeonghun Lee (right), a doctoral student in materials science and engineering whose work relates to low-temperature, electron-enhanced atomic layer deposition, shares his insights with Akash Laturia, a fellow contestant and materials science and engineering PhD student.

 
Participants included student researchers from the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, and the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

In addition to the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the nine judges were drawn from the Office of Research, UT Dallas alumni and the community. They chose three students to receive cash prizes:

First place
Kevin Lam, bioengineering
Project title: “Functional cargo delivery into mouse and human fibroblasts using a versatile microfluidic device”

Second place
Hassan Jahanandish, bioengineering
Project title: “Ultrasound imaging for human lower-extremity motion prediction and its potential for assistive device control”

Third place
Michael Darrow, bioengineering
Project title: “Vagus nerve stimulation paired with rehabilitation increases plasticity and recovery following spinal cord injury”

–Amanda Siegfried