‘Makes me so proud’

Eight students from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine recently presented their research at the world’s premiere gathering for eye and vision scientists.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting was held May 4-9 in Seattle.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) describes its annual meeting as “the premiere gathering for eye and vision scientists at all career stages, students, and those in affiliated fields to share the latest research findings and collaborate on innovative solutions.”

Medical students from OUWB who attended were Forrest Bohler, M2, Vincent Le, M2, Neelesh Peddireddy, M2, Rima Stepanian, M3, Min Young Kim, M2, Suhani Gupta, M3, Sharukh Naseer, M3, and Jonahtan Blake, M3.

Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, M.D., founding director, OUWB’s Eye Research Center, said attendance at events like ARVO bodes well for the future physicians.

“It makes me so proud to see our students at ARVO,” he said. “They get new experiences in learning, presenting research, networking, and more. These are things that shape any successful person, so it is great for them and their careers.”

The student experience

OUWB students presented research primarily done through their respective Embark projects. 

Embark is a required scholarly concentration program of OUWB that provides a mentored introduction to research and scholarship. The four-year longitudinal curriculum consists of structured coursework in research design and implementation, compliance training, research communication, and scholarly presentation, with protected time to develop mentored projects in a wide-range of community and health-related settings.

Neelesh Peddireddy said he was urged to attend ARVO by his Embark mentor, Amany Tawfik, associate professor, Biomedical Science, Oakland University.

Peddireddy conducted his research after his first year of medical school, in the summer of 2023, and was excited to share his findings.

“[The conference] gives you a sense of ‘there's more to it,’” Peddireddy said. “What I'm doing right now is just one tiny drop in the ocean of research. It was really, really cool to see people from all over the world, coming together, trying to change things about the eye.”

His research project, titled “One-Carbon Metabolism in Aging Eye Disease: Exploring Preventive Therapeutic Targets,” aimed to see if certain treatment options would slow the progression of retina deterioration.

“Our research is looking at one-carbon metabolism,” Peddireddy said. “Previous studies in our lab have linked hyperhomocysteinemia to aging eye diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. So, we have a mouse that we were looking at to see if vitamin B supplementation would decrease some of the retinal changes.”

Young Kim, who presented research related to traumatic optic neuropathy, attributed her participation at ARVO to the motivation she received from her mentor, Al-Shabrawey.

“He's been really supportive,” Young Kim said. “He’s a great mentor. He wants what's best for students. He knows that these things are beneficial for us. You put in the work, and you get the result, and they're there to support you.”

Young Kim attended ARVO for the second year in a row.

“Going to these conferences is great because you get to meet a lot of scientists,” Young Kim said. “Presenting this work in front of other post-docs and scientists in general is great because…they give you suggestions, then you come back with more ideas and ways to improve your research.

Vincent Le’s research looked at the pathogenic variance in patients’ genomes, and he gave credit to his Embark mentor as well, Kenneth Mitton, Ph.D., associate professor, Biomedical Sciences, Eye Research Institute, Oakland University.

“He’s really pushed me to get more involved in research,” said Le. “He’s always proactive about giving me opportunities, which I really appreciate.”

Le, who also completed his research in the summer of 2023, presented at ARVO and said he felt immense gratitude for attending such a conference.

“It was pretty overwhelming, pretty intimidating,” Le said. “But at the same time, it's really inspiring. You're in a room of 1,000 different posters, with people doing completely different research.”

Attending ARVO was of special importance to Peddireddy, Le and Young Kim, all of whom have an interest in future residency in ophthalmology or have previous ties to the field. The conference, along with the teachings at OUWB, will mold the group into great physicians one day.

Young Kim, who is currently taking up other research opportunities in California, viewed the conference as a way to get further into the field of ophthalmology.

“I'm interested in going into ophthalmology,” Young Kim said. “You get to meet a lot of people, a lot of scientists in ophthalmology.”

Le has shown a vested interest in ophthalmology since he stepped foot on OUWB’s campus. He committed his Embark project to the area of ophthalmology as an M1 student, and ARVO only further solidified that interest.

“Going to a conference like ARVO is really neat,” said Le. “I really enjoyed the experience and doing research. Ophthalmology is really rewarding.”