Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 32nd Annual Student Research Week March 10-13, 2020 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Lubbock, Texas The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 2020 Student Research Week Committee Director: Bradley Schniers Vice Director of Marketing: Mariacristina Mazzitelli Vice Director of Poster Competition: Rachel Washburn Vice Director of Operations & Judging: Ryan Sweazey Website design and maintenance: Danny Boren, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Communications and social media: Suzanna Cisneros and Amy Skousen, Office of Communications Marketing; Leslie Fowler, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Speaker travel arrangements: Leslie Fowler, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Abstract book design: Deidra Satterwhite, Office of Student Life Student Research Week Banquet: Korac K, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Graduate Student Association; Velia Martinez, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences The 2020 Student Research Week Committee would like to extend their warmest thanks to the following for their contributions and support in making Student Research Week a great success this year: The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences staff: Leslie Fowler, Pam Johnson, Ashlee Rigsby and Velia Martinez The Office of Student Life: Deidra Satterwhite The Office of Communications and Marketing: Suzanna Cisneros, Amy Skousen and Kami Hunt The Office of the President: Bryce Looney The School of Medicine Office of the Dean: Charity Donaldson Educational Media Services: Neal Hinkle The departments of cell biology and biochemistry, pharmacology and neuroscience, immunology and molecular microbiology, cell physiology and molecular biophysics, medical education and graduate medical education; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Lubbock, Abilene, and Amarillo, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, the School of Health Professions, the School of Pharmacy, the Office of Interprofessional Education, and Texas Tech University. Lou Diekemper Endowment fund for providing a travel scholarship. Dr. Beverly Chilton for establishing the Bette B. Chilton scholarship in honor of her mother. We also are very grateful to all the TTUHSC faculty and staff for their guidance and support. TTUHSC Signature, TTUHSC Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Signature and TTUHSC Graduate Student Association Signature are trademarks of the Texas Tech University System and the TTUHSC. Information about the TTUHSC Identity Guidelines can be found at www.ttuhsc.edu. Information about TTUHSC, including information about the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, can be found at www.ttuhsc.edu. Friday, March 13, 2020 KEYNOTE LECTURES Ernest Marshall Wright, Ph.D., D.Sc. Time: 11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Maralice Conacci-Sorrell, Ph.D. Time: 1:15 - 2:15 p.m. STUDENT SPEAKERS Time: 9 - 11 a.m. Using Formative Exams in Clinically Oriented Anatomy: Identifying At-Risk Students and Reducing Stress Megh Gore, Graduate Student, Lubbock A Novel Mechanism of Assembly in the Functional CRES Amyloid Rebecca Kusko, Medical Student, Lubbock Endothelial small GTPase RhoA regulates bFGF-induced angiogenesis: A potential target for anti-angiogenic therapy Fatema Tuz Zahra, Graduate Student, Amarillo Mechanism of Antimony Drug Resistance in Leishmania Parasites Sneider Gutierrez, visiting Graduate Student, Lubbock Progesterone Receptor Membrane Component 1 communicates with classical steroid hormone signaling to promote breast cancer growth Diego Pedroza, Graduate Student, El Paso Multi-color immunophenotyping of M1 and M2 polarized macrophages and mono- cytes in primary mouse tissue that has vast application in mouse models including transplantation Kandis Wright, Medical Student, Lubbock Acetylation of conserved DVL-1 lysines regulates its nuclear translocation and binding to gene promoters in triple-negative breast cancer Monica Sharma, Graduate Student, Lubbock Pancreatic tumor growth suppression through induction of autophagy by a novel anti- Parkinson drug Pimavanserin Sharavan Ramachandran, Graduate Student, Abilene TABLE OF CONTENTS 6 Welcome 9 Schedule of Events 10 Speaker Biographies POSTER SESSIONS 12 List of Judges 14 Judging Criteria 16 Index of Abstracts List 18 Judging Schedule ABSTRACTS 22 Graduate Students - 1st & 2nd Years 30 Graduate Students - 3 Years + 43 Phamarceutical Sciences | Pharmacy 49 Medical Students 1st & 2nd Years | GMS | PH 102 Medical Students 3rd & 4th Years 128 School of Nursing 130 Residents & Clinical Fellows 140 School of Health Professions 145 Undergraduate INFORMATION 153 Poster Regulations 155 Parking Information 157 Community Sponsor Back Cover Vendors 5 WELCOME Greetings! It is my great pleasure to welcome everyone to the 2020 Student Research Week on March 10th-13th. The theme for this year’s 32nd Annual Student Research Week event is “SRW 2020: Visions of Biochemistry.” We are extremely proud this year to host two outstanding and highly distinguished keynote speakers: Dr. Ernest Wright, DSc, professor of physiology and Mellinkoff Professor in Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and 2005 Fellow to the Royal Society; and Dr. Maralice Conacci-Sorrell PhD, Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research and Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at University of Texas Southwestern. I am extremely indebted to the 2019 Student Research Week Organizing Committee: Bradley Schniers (Director), Mariacristina Mazzitelli (Director of Marketing), Ryan Sweazey (Director of Operations), Rachel Washburn (Poster Competition Coordinator), Ksenija Korac (GSA President) and Morgana Kellogg (GSA Vice-President). They have all done a tremendous job! I am particularly grateful for the hard work and assistance from Leslie Fowler, Pam Johnson, Deidra Satterwhite, Amy Skousen, Sharla Cook, Nerissa Farris, the Department of Cell Biology & Biochemistry, and the entire GSBS staff. They have all done a terrific job! Also special thanks to Dr. Ganapathy, the host department chair, and Dr. Betsy Jones for coordinating activities with the School of Medicine, all faculty, staff, and GSBS students for their efforts and time. Finally, I would like to thank Interim President Lori Rice-Spearman, Dean Berk, Dean Evans, Dean Smith, and Drs. Varma, Prien, Sizer, Grisham, Altenberg, Byrd, Philips, Thekkumkara, Neugebauer, Abbruscato, Dissanaike, Jumper, Srivastava, and Bergeson for their support that has made this event possible. In addition, the GSBS and the GSA are very excited about hosting the seventh annual Student Research Week Banquet- Roaring 20’s. Funds raised from donations and a silent auction will be used to support student scholarships. Special thanks to all donors for their help in making this special event possible. Our guest speakers will once again treat us with their “Reflections on Graduate Studies,” with music, entertainment and dancing to follow! Special thanks to the GSA committee, especially GSA president Ksenija Korac, for organizing and hosting the event this year. In conclusion, our event kicks off with the Vendor Show and Career Fair on Tuesday, March 10th. Please come and attend all the great presentations. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet our students, learn about their work, and discuss research in general. Let’s greet all of our speakers and celebrate our 32nd Annual Student Research Week with a fully packed lecture hall. Thanks much and all the best! Brandt L. Schneider, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 6 Welcome! On behalf of the Student Research Week (SRW) committee, we’d like to welcome you to the 32nd annual Student Re- WELCOME search Week 2020: “Visions of Biochemistry”. This is an annual event organized by the Texas Tech University Health Sciences (TTUHSC) Graduate School of Biomedical Science (GSBS), Lubbock Campus. SRW is an incredible event that brings together students from different TTU and TTUHSC schools and campuses; giving them the opportunity to present their research, win awards, and meet with keynote speakers throughout the week. During SRW, students have the opportunity to visit with biomedical vendors, present a poster detailing their research, and learn about scientific discover- ies from distinguished visiting keynote speakers. Each year, SRW features a new theme highlighting advances in various areas of biomedical research. This year’s theme is “SRW 2020: Visions of Biochemistry” and is hosted by the Department of Cell Biology and Biochemistry. Two outstand- ing biomedical scientists will give keynote addresses on Friday, March 13th, highlighting their research in the field of Cell Biology and Biochemistry. Ernest Wright, D.Sc., is a professor of physiology and Mellinkoff Professor in Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and also a Fellow to the Royal Society. Wright, a native of Belfast, Ireland, earned his doctorate degrees in physiology from London University and Sheffield University in England. He joined the faculty at the UCLA medical school in 1967, and became chair of the physiology department in 1987. In his research over transporters and kidney function, Wright’s career in science has yielded several important discoveries over SLGT transporters, the SLC5A family of transporters, as well as the structure and function of other transporters. Maralice Conacci-Sorrell, Ph.D., earned her B.S in Biology, and a master’s degree in Morphology from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, followed by graduate studies in Cell Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science