Biomedical Engineering hosts the 30th annual Grad Research Day

The Department of Biomedical Engineering held its 30th Annual Doctoral Research Symposium, a showcase for biomedical engineering students in master’s and doctoral programs where they leave their labs and stand before a podium with their posters to present their ideas and research findings and inspire future collaborations.

“This is a great event for all students to network with faculty and peers and plan their future careers,” said Department Head and Professor Yi-Xian Qin.

SUNY professor Clint Rubin, who also serves as director of the Center for Biotechnology, called the Aug. 22 symposium a “pipeline for translating science into new diagnostics, therapeutics and medical technologies.” About 75 people attended the event in the auditorium and atrium of the Medical and Research Translation (MART) building.

“It gives our students the opportunity to discuss their work, answer questions and make contacts that lead to collaboration,” said Professor Eric Brouzes in his introductory remarks.

Qin added, “Now is the right time to move to Stony Brook University, one of New York’s leading public universities. We now have a total of 24 permanent faculty members, including our two newest, as well as about 50 BME faculty members supporting our research mission.” He introduced Assistant Professor Sufeng Zhang and Empire Innovation Associate Professor Eric Josephs, who recently joined their team.

“We are bigger, stronger and really growing,” Qin said. He also spoke about the strong undergraduate program, noting that this event would help students prepare for speaking at conferences. Qin, who is proud of his department’s traditions, said, “We also give out our own awards for excellence in teaching, research and service.”

Five students presented their work during oral sessions in the morning and five more in the afternoon. Two poster sessions were held in the atrium. Students had the opportunity to explain their research and answer questions from their peers and lecturers.

Anthony Cheseboro, supervised by Professor Lilianne Mujica-Parodi, said: “Today is very exciting for me because I first learned about a lot of the work of my dissertation lab and our collaborators on Research Day a few years ago.” His research project was titled “Extending next-generation neural mass models to include biophysically realistic neurons and networks.”

Cheseboro added, “It serves as a reminder of the science that initially fascinated me, and it’s also a beautiful reflection on the passage of time as I approach graduation and take on the role of a speaker rather than just a listener.”

PhD student Wanbin Tan said, “It has always been a meaningful experience for me. It provides a valuable platform to share my research, exchange ideas and receive feedback from colleagues and faculty members.”

Tan, supervised by Assistant Professor Amirhossein Goldan, presented “Evaluation of electromagnetic motion tracking and event-wise motion correction in clinical PET brain imaging.” He added, “This event also fosters a strong community among BME graduates from different disciplines and helps me explore interdisciplinary connections that could improve my work. I am really enjoying this event!”

In addition to Qin, Rubin, Josephs, and Zhang, the following faculty members were also present: SUNY Distinguished Professor Danny Blaustein, Associate Professor Hassan Arbab, Professor Congwu Du, Associate Professor Wei Lin, Professor Yingtian Pan, Professor Paul Vaska, and Associate Professor Jun Wang.

Participants enjoyed lunch and heard closing remarks from Brouzes and Qin. Students and faculty judged the presentations and certificates were awarded the next day at the department’s annual barbecue.

This year’s winners are:

• Oral presentation Faculty Election: Aishu Sreenivasamurth
• Oral presentation, student’s choice: Chris Ashdown
• Poster presentation of faculty choice – Zeming Kuang
• Poster presentation, student’s choice: Xiangyi Wu

One of the award winners, Xiangyi Wu, whose research focuses on developing a novel breast imaging system using a double-layer flat panel detector to improve image quality and diagnostic performance in breast cancer, said: “Research Day is a wonderful opportunity for me to share my work with all faculty and students, receive valuable feedback and reconnect with colleagues. I really appreciate the efforts of the organizers and volunteers. I am honored to receive this recognition as it makes me feel that my research is appreciated and understood by a wider audience.”