30th Annual Research Day Showcases Talents of Biomedical Engineering Grad Students

The Department of Biomedical Engineering held its 30th annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, a showcase for biomedical engineering students in the masters and doctoral programs that gets them to step out of their labs and step in front of a podium and their posters to present their ideas and research, and encourage future collaboration.

"This is a big event for all students, to connect with faculty and fellow students and to design their future career," said department Chair and Professor Yi-Xian Qin.

SUNY Distinguished Professor Clint Rubin, who also serves as the director of the Center for Biotechnology, called the August 22 symposium a "pipeline of turning science into new diagnostics, therapeutics and medical devices." Approximately 75 people attended the event held at the Medical and Research Translation (MART) building in the auditorium and the atrium.

"It gives our students an opportunity to discuss their work, field questions and make connections that will lead to collaboration," said Professor Eric Brouzes in his introductory remarks.

Qin added, "Now is the right time to join Stony Brook University, one of New York's flagship state universities. We have a total of 24 core faculty members now including our two newest, plus about 50 BME faculty, to enhance our research mission." He introduced Assistant Professor Sufeng Zhang and the Empire Innovation Associate Professor Eric Josephs, who recently joined their team.

From left: Professor Eric Brouzes, Empire Innovation Associate Professor Eric Josephs, Assistant Professor Sufeng Zhang and Department Chair and Professor Yi-Xian Qin.

"We are bigger, stronger and really growing," Qin said. He spoke about the strong undergraduate program, too, and noted that this event would help prepare students to present at conferences. Qin, proud of his department's traditions, said, "We also give out our own awards for teaching, research and service excellence."

Five students presented during oral sessions in the morning, and five presented in the afternoon. Two poster sessions were held in the atrium. Students had the opportunity to explain their research and field questions from their peers and faculty members.

Anthony Cheseboro, advised by Professor Lilianne Mujica-Parodi, said, "I find today exciting because I first learned about a lot of the work my thesis lab and our collaborators do at Research Day a few years ago." His research project was entitled, "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 captivated me, and it also serves as a nice reflection on the passage of time as I approach graduation and take on the role of a speaker, rather than just an audience member."

Chris Ashdown presenting at the symposium.

Graduate 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 both peers and faculty members."

Tan, advised by Assistant Professor Amirhossein Goldan, presented "Evaluation of electromagnetic motion tracking and event-by-event motion correction in clinical brain PET imaging." He added, "This event also fosters a strong community among BME graduate students across various disciplines, helping me explore interdisciplinary connections that could improve my work. I truly enjoy this event!"

The following faculty members were also in attendance, alongside Qin, Rubin, Josephs and Zhang: 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.

Students shared their research with those in attendance.

The attendees enjoyed lunch and heard closing remarks by Brouzes and Qin. Students and faculty judge the presentations and certificates were awarded the next day at the department's annual BBQ.

This year's winners are as follows:

• Oral Presentation Faculty Choice: Aishu Sreenivasamurth
• Oral Presentation Student Choice: Chris Ashdown
• Poster Presentation Faculty Choice- Zeming Kuang
• Poster Presentation Student Choice: Xiangyi Wu

One of the awardees, Xiangyi Wu, whose research focuses on developing a novel breast imaging system using a dual-layer, flat-panel-detector to enhance image quality and improve the diagnostic performance for 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 truly appreciate the efforts of the organizers and volunteers. I am honored to receive the recognition, as it makes me feel that my research is appreciated and understood by a wider audience."

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