2022 Honours/Masters student meeting
The 264th Scientific Meeting was held on the 9th November and 8 students presented their research (pictured below).
From left to right:
Yi Zhen Tan, Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology; Barnaby Kelly, Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology; Alisha Dabb, Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology; Chloe Schwass, Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology; Haylea Rodgers, Department of Anatomy and Brain Health Research Centre; Brad Devery, Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Harriet Spoelstra, Department of Anatomy; Inset: Mia Pugh, Department of Women and Children’s Health
Congratulations to the winner, Barnaby Kelly for Second generation curcumin analogue RL71, induces apoptosis via the regulation of growth signals in canine osteosarcoma cells.
…and, Runner-up Chloe Schwass for Raji and Daudi B cell-lines are not appropriate models of blood-derived B cell responses to interleukin-10.
Science Writing Competition – Results!
Science Writing Competition 2022
The science writing competition was expanded this year by offering a writing workshop by Prof Lloyd Spencer Davies (Department of Science Communication) in June. Any student undertaking health-related research at the University of Otago were invited to attend. Following the workshop, we received close to 20 submissions.
The winners were announced in the Hunter Centre on the 5th October (while it started snowing outside!).
From left to right: A/Prof Shyamal Das (Vice-President; science writing coordinator); Dr Emily Gray (science writing coordinator); Simon John-McHaffie (runner-up); Meriam van Os (winner); Liam Hewson; Josiah Edwin; Caryn Thomas; William Davis; Mischa Ruegg; Dr Lara Vlietstra (science writing coordinator); Hayley Gibson; Prof Lloyd Spencer Davies
Winner: Meriam van Os, Department of Anatomy, for: What can ancient poo tell us about health and disease in the past?
Runner-up 1: Caitlin Berry-Kilgour (Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology), for: The Ocean’s Medicinal Gift
Runner up 2: Simon John-McHaffie (Department of Pathology), for: Taking a look at prostate cancer
We thank the following:
Prof Lloyd Spencer Davis for offering the workshop and for judging the short-listed submissions
Blair Hesp for Kainic Medical for sponsoring the runner-up prize and judging the finalists
A/Prof Shyamal Das (School of Pharmacy) for coordinating the contest.
Dr Emily Gray (School of Physiotherapy) and Dr Lara Vlietstra (School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercises Sciences) for judging the first phase and co-coordinating the contest.
Otago Daily Times for publishing the winning piece.
Links
Spencer Davis: https://www.otago.ac.nz/science-communication/staff/spencerdavis/index.html
Kainic Medical: https://www.kainicmedical.com/
Winning title: https://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/what-can-ancient-poo-tell-us-about-past
2022 PhD Student Award – Winner!
The Otago Medical School Research Society’s 263rd Scientific Meeting was held on 17th August. The occasion was marked by 10 excellent presentations from PhD candidates across the Health Science disciplines (pictured below)
From left to right: Chitra Krishnan, John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry
Kushan Gandhi, Department of Anatomy, Brain Health Research Centre, Anastasia Labudina, Department of Pathology, Sung Kyong Lee, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Rackesh Bastola, School of Pharmacy, Panagiotis Papaioannou, Centre for Neuroendocrinology Department of Anatomy, Ian Liddle, Department of Chemistry, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Sarah McQueen, Department of Physiology, Caitlin Berry-Kilgour, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Mifra Faiz, Department of Biochemistry (not pictured)
Congratulations to the winner, Sarah McQueen for Alpha-ENaC overexpression in MDAMB231 breast cancer cells reduces cell migration and proliferation,
and to the runner-up Kushan Gandhi for A Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Drug Delivery System for Parkinson’s Disease
Sarah (left) and Kushan (right) pictured here with the President of OSMRS, Assoc. Professor Gisela Sole
First and runner-up prizes were kindly sponsored by The Otago Postgraduate Medical Society and the Otago Medical Research Foundation respectively.
2022 Research Staff Award
The Otago Medical School Research Society’s 262nd Scientific Meeting was held on 22nd June 2022 and included the 2022 Research Staff Award.
There were five varied and very interesting presentations from:
(left to right)
Paulomi Mehta, Department of Pathology
Reduction of lithium induced interstitial fibrosis on co-administration with amiloride.
Caroline Decourt, Department of Anatomy
Deletion of androgen receptors from kisspeptin neurons can prevent PCOS features in a letrozole mouse model.
Teodora Georgescu, Departments of Anatomy and Physiology
Prolactin-mediated restraint of maternal aggression in lactation.
Paulo Pelicioni, School of Physiotherapy
The “double-edged sword” impact of dyskinesia on the balance of people with Parkinson’s disease.
Linda Hobbs, Department of Psychological Medicine
Seeking of help and support after experiencing sexual violence: Considerations for cisgender women, cisgender men and gender diverse people.
Congratulations to the winner, Caroline Decourt!
Caroline Decourt pictured here with OSMRS President Assoc. Professor Gisela Sole.
We thank the Otago Post-graduate Medicine Society for sponsoring the prize.
Summer Student Awards 2022
The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce the winners of the 261st Scientific Meeting : Pat Cragg Summer Student Awards
There were eight excellent entries to choose from. The participants were:
Pictured (from left to right)
Saane Fakapulia (Department of Anatomy)
Prof Pat Cragg
Muneerah Makarani (School of Physiotherapy)
Jamie Hounsell (School of Pharmacy)
Matt Gillet (Department of Anatomy)
James Davies (School of Physiotherapy)
Madeleine Connor (School of Physical Education, Sports and Exercise Sciences)
Harriet Spoelstra (Department of Anatomy)
Jessica Seow (Faculty of Dentistry, Auckland) – presenting via Zoom
The winner of the Pat Cragg Summer student award of $500 for best presentation was Harriet Spoelstra for:
“The relationship between secreted amyloid precursor protein alpha (sAPPα) and the cell surface expression of NMDA glutamate receptors.”
The runner up, with a prize of $250, was Jamie Hounsell for:
“Exploring the awareness of people affected by Huntington’s disease towards regenerative therapies.”
Pictured (from left to right)
Harriet and Jamie receiving their award from Professor Patt Cragg!
This award is sponsored by The Otago Medical Research Foundation
OMSRS Honours/Masters Student Award 2021
The Honours/Masters student meeting was held on 3rd November 2021. The OMSRS AGM was also held during this meeting.
This year we had joint winners! Congratulations to Brooke Craik (Department of Preventive and Social Medicine) – Title: An exploration of mental health promotion in Aotearoa New Zealand: A qualitative study, and Katerina Thompson (Department of Anatomy) Title: Agmatine attenuates actin dynamic alteration and synaptic dysfunction in aged rats
Brooke (left) and Katerina (right) pictured receiving their award from the President of the OMSRS, A/Prof Gisela Sole
A line-up of all the entrants!
From Left to Right
Lisa Hammersley (School of Pharmacy)
Brooke Craik (Department of Preventive and Social Medicine)
Alistar Machado (Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology)
Dansoa Tabi-Amponsah (Deparment of Pharmacology and Toxicology)
Milly Morice (Department of Biochemistry)
Shivankar Nair (Department of Surgical Sciences)
Hanna Corre (Department of Anatomy)
Katerina Thompson (Department of Anatomy)
OMSRS PhD Student Award 2021
The meeting was held on 22nd September 2021, but alas due to COVID Level 2 restrictions we were unable to share supper together.
Congratulations to the Winner: Jessie King (Pharmacology & Toxicology), prize sponsored by the Otago Post-graduate Medical Society (first photo). Title: Aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands can modulate fructose-induced hepatic insulin resistance.
And to the Runner-up: Travis Gibbons (Physical Education, Sports & Exercise Sciences), prize sponsored by the Otago Medical Research Society. Title: The regulation of cerebral oxygen delivery in hypoxia: the effect of acclimatisation.
Jessie King (left) and Travis Gibbons (right) accepted their prizes from the President of the OMSRS, A/Prof Gisela Sole.
All presenters:
Jessie King (Pharmacology & Toxicology)
Travis Gibbons (Physical Education, Sports & Exercise Sciences)
Brendon Roxburgh (Department of Surgical Sciences)
S Jack Chan (School of Pharmacy)
Neda Nasrollahi (Department of Psychology and Brain Health Research Centre)
Shruthi Sateesh (Department of Psychology and Brain Health Research Centre)
Louise Croizat-Viallet (Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology)
Esther Asamudo (Department of Physiology and HeartOtago)
Val Mereacre (Department of Physiology and HeartOtago)
Prakash Khadka (School of Pharmacy)
OMSRS Science Writing Competition 2021
More than 20 submissions were received and judging followed a three-phase process!
Congratulations to the winner: Hayley Stent (right front), Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, published in Otago Daily Times Title: Incredible possibilities of fish muscle
Runner-up: Meriam van Os (left front), Department of Anatomy; Title: Did we really get tuberculosis from seals?
We thank Kainic Medical for sponsoring the runner-up prize and judging the finalists. A warm thank you also to Kathleen Lucere (PhD candidate, left back, Department of Biochemistry), A/Prof Shyamal Das (School of Pharmacy) and for Dr Johann Zwirner (Department of Anatomy) for coordinating the contest and judging the first phase, and Prof Lloyd Spencer Davis (Centre for Science Communication) for judging the second phase.
258th Scientific meeting, the 2021 Research Staff Awards.
The Otago Medical School Research Society 258th Scientific meeting, the 2021 Research Staff Awards, was held on 23rd June 2021.
Five speakers were selected:
From left to right:
- Zhaoyang Xu (Dept. of Anatomy) – Three-dimensional somatotopic mapping of human trigeminal ganglion neurons in situ.
- Shabah Shadli (Depts of Psychological Medicine & Psychology) – Right frontal anxiolytic-sensitive EEG ‘theta’ rhythm in the stop-signal task is a theory-based anxiety disorder biomarker.
- Teodora Georgescu (Depts of Anatomy & Physiology) – Prolactin modulates maternal aggression through action on neurons in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus.
- Kristina Smiley ((Depts of Anatomy & Physiology) – A novel role for prolactin in paternal behaviour.
- Paulo Pelicioni (School of Physiotherapy & Dept of Medicine) – Gold standard postural, balance and gait measures are reliable and valid to assess healthy older adults remotely.
We congratulate Kristina Smiley on winning the $1000 prize for the best presentation of the evening.
Pictured: Kristina Smiley receiving her award from OMSRS President Assoc. Professor Gisela Sole.
Thanks go to the Otago Postgraduate Medical Society for donating the prize fund.
The First Winners of 2021
Half the year has whizzed past, but we are pleased to announce the first competition winners of the year.
For the Pat Cragg Summer Student prize held on 5th May 2021, there was a great deal of interest with 40 entrants! The following 10 finalists were selected:
From left to right: Jenna Tidswell, Lauren Carr, Haziq Aziz Shamri, Hua Shin Tan, Cameron Young, Hannah Coulter, Joanna Mainwaring, Kate Elgar, Portia Sutherland, and En Watanabe
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First Prize – Hua Shin Tan (Dept of Preventive and Social Medicine) for a presentation titled Cannabis and small airway function in mid-adult life. Sponsored by the Otago Medical Research Foundation
Runner-up – Jenna Tidswell (Dept of Medicine) for a presentation on Experiences of Using a New Blood Glucose Monitoring System in Māori Adults with Type 1 Diabetes – A Qualitative Study. Sponsored by OMSRS
Pictured is Mr Hua Shin Tan and Ms Jenna Tidswell receiving their prizes from OMSRS President Assoc. Professor Gisela Sole.
