More than 20 students from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine participated in Oakland University’s 2022 Graduate Student Research Conference.
Hosted by OU’s Graduate Student and Office of Research Administration, the annual event features oral and poster presentations from students across the university’s various schools.
Seven OUWB students gave oral presentations, while the remaining 14 showcased their respective research projects via poster.
The in-person event was held March 11 in OU’s Oakland Center. An online audience was able to watch the oral presentations via Zoom.
| Baxa |
Dwayne Baxa, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Foundational Medical Studies, was moderator for one of the rooms where oral presentations were held. He also visited the poster presentation area. Baxa explained the importance of the event.
“For many students, this is their first opportunity to dip their toes in the process of reporting out their data,” said Baxa. “They’re trying to figure out what things are most important…how can you portray information in an unbiased manner, how do you make sure people understand the goals of your project, and so on. This is a great practice point.”
The annual research conference has been held since 2016. OUWB once again accounted for a large amount of the research presented with about half of the oral and poster presentations.
Rachel Harvey, M4, was among the oral presenters. She presented her work, “Let Them Play: A Prospective Student of Postoperative Activity Restrictions in Children.”
She said it was her Embark project and that she has put a lot of time and energy into the work.
“I’m pretty passionate about it and I get excited talking about it and sharing it with others,” said Harvey.
She said the information will be presented at a national conference in May.
“I figured it would be nice to do a trial run on a smaller scale so that when I present it on a bigger stage, I can have answers for some questions that I might be able to anticipate,” she said.
Others who did oral presentations like Prasum Sharma, Mohsen Mokhtari, and Tiffany Loh — all M2s — each said they appreciated having another opportunity to practice.
Loh and Sarah Provencher, M2, presented “Assessing the Educational Value of a Student-Run Free Clinic.” The presentation was about how the leaders of the Student-Run Free Clinic at Pontiac’s Gary Burnstein Community Health Clinic measure the success of the program with regard to educational opportunities.
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| Prasum Sharma, M2, was among those who gave oral presentations. |
“We’re always looking for more opportunities to tell people about what we do at the Student-Run Free Clinic…that was the primary reason (we presented),” said Loh.
Provencher said the clinic can sometimes “fly under the radar” of students.
“It is a great learning opportunity for medical students and this was our chance to put some data behind that,” she said.
Several faculty members from OUWB’s Department of Foundational Medical Studies attended and listened to presentations.
“It’s just so cool to see our students doing research,” said Brianne Lewis, Ph.D., assistant professor. “The stuff that they’re doing is so relevant to their role as an M.D. — it’s great to see the high-quality research that they’re participating in.”
Akshata Naik, Ph.D., assistant professor, said she attended to support the students and that they did very good.
“I was impressed by how much they already know about the topics they presented,” said Naik.
Following the oral presentations, posters were presented in the Oakland Center’s Founders Ballroom.
OUWB students who displayed they posters were happy to have an opportunity to interact with an in-person audience.
Alex Lindahl, M2, presented his poster called, “Time-Based Costing Demonstrates Virtual Clinic Visits are Less Costly to Hospitals that In-Person.” Lindahl did an oral presentation on the topic in December at the inaugural Orthopedic Surgery Research Symposium for Medical Students in Michigan, hosted by the OUWB Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Interest Group.
“As important as it is for everyone to be working on research, it’s also important to come and show it and get everyone involved in it,” he said.
Like the other students who showcased their work, Lindahl said he was especially pleased to see everyone in person.
“It’s nice to have an in-person environment where we can see everyone else…I really appreciate this, it’s a good opportunity,” he said.
For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at [email protected].
To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.
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