Inquiry Symposium 2021: Highlighting Scientific Discovery

The 2021 Inquiry Symposium, which was held virtually on May 5, highlighted medical students’ culminating research projects. 

“The events of 2021 underscore the critical role of research and scholarship and how it contributes to advancing health worldwide,” said Director of the Inquiry Curriculum Rita Redberg, MD. “From addressing systemic racism in medicine to pushing forward biomedical vaccine discoveries, we are so pleased to congratulate each student and mentor today on their special contributions.” 

Daniel Grossman, MD, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, delivered a keynote address about the role of research in informing evidence-based policy. Specifically, Dr. Grossman discussed the use of telemedicine for medication abortion. Research he conducted found that using telemedicine for medication abortions is not only safe, but it led to a reduction in second trimester abortions.  His research then was used to inform court cases and policies expanding access to medication abortions via telemedicine.

“As you all move on in your medical careers, I really encourage you to look for opportunities to share your expertise with policymakers and the general public.”

Watch 

Keynote address
Poster sessions

Dean’s Prize Award Winners

Ten prestigious Dean’s Prizes are awarded twice annually to medical students who demonstrate outstanding scholarship and research during Summer Explore (five prizes) and Long-term research terms (five prizes).  Finalists are selected based upon the submission of a one-page abstract, letter of nomination, and successful presentation to the faculty review committee. 
 
Rebecca Barber                                                                                                                  
“PDE10A as a novel target to suppress β-catenin and other oncogenic pathways in ovarian cancer cells”
Mentor: Jennifer Scalici, MD
 
Christopher Cai                                                                                                                    
“Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Outpatient Visits Across 29 Specialties”
Mentor: Sam Dickman, MD
 
Chih-Chiun Chang                                                                                                              
“Developing a tutor curriculum for the Clinical Skills Tutoring Program (CSTP) at UCSF School of Medicine”
Mentor: Abigail Phillips, MD
 
Alan Elbaum                                                                                                                        
“Sick of Body and Sick of Heart: The Experience of Illness Among the Jews of Medieval Cairo”
Mentor: Victoria Sweet, MD, MA
 
Joseph Garcia                                                                                                                      
“Targeting Glioblastoma Multiforme Metabolism at the Invasive Tumor Front”
Mentor: Manish Aghi, MD, PhD
 
Parth Kumar                                                                                                                        
“Evaluating the use of Radioactive Analogs of Doxorubicin for Quantifying Chemofilter binding and Whole Body PET/MRI Biodistribution”
Mentor: Steven Hetts, MD
 
Iris Liu                                                                                                                                       
“Novel Pedal Arterial Calcification Score Is Associated with Ineffective Revascularization and Major Amputation in Chronic Limb-Threatening Ischemia”
Mentor: Shant Vartanian, MD
 
Brittany Robinson                                                                                                            
“Perceived Reasons for In-Hospital Delays to Emergency Surgical Care at a Tertiary Hospital in Central Malawi”
Mentor: Michael Lipnick, MD
 
Emily Siegel                                                                                                                        
“Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators Play an Important Role in the Resolution of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome”
Mentor: Michael Matthay, MD
 
Carol Tran                                                                                                                            
“Automated Fetal Brain Volumetry on Clinical Fetal MRI Using Convolutional Neural Network”
Mentor: Andreas Rauschecker, MD
 
Adam Zakaria                                                                                                                      
“Predictors of Post-discharge Follow-up Attendance Among Hospitalized Dermatology Patients: Patterns, Disparities and Potential Interventions”
Mentor: Erin Amerson, MD

Watch

Dean’s Prize Winners and select presentations

Deep Explore Prize Award Winners

Five prestigious Deep Explore Project Prizes are awarded annually to medical students who demonstrate outstanding scholarship and research during Deep Explore. Winners are nominated by their mentors and selected by the Inquiry Advisor Board based on the following criteria: Importance of project, Independence in work, and Significance in findings/output. 

Amanda Li                                                                                                                            
“Mental and Physical Health of Older Incarcerated Persons Who Have Aged in Place in Prison” 
Mentor: Lisa Barry, PhD, MPH
 
Chloe Nicolaisen                                                                                                                
“Pregnancy Pop-Up Village: Utilizing PRECEDE-PROCEED to disrupt perinatal care delivery systems”
Mentor: Malini Nijagal, MD, MPH
 
Gregory Ow                                                                                                                          
“Morning Report for All: A Qualitative Study of Disseminating Case Conferences via Podcasting”
Mentor: Geoff Stetson, MD
 
Christina Wang                                                                                                                    
“Is There an Increasing Risk of Receiving Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in a Low-Volume Hospital, and How Does This Differ by Race, Class, and Insurance?”
Mentor: Renee Hsia, MD, M.Sc
 
Tianyi Zhang                                                                                                                        
“Corresponding about Death: Analyzing Letters from Patients with Cancer to Medical Students”
Mentor: Sam Brondfield, MD

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Deep Explore Awards and Presentations

Exceptional Mentorship Award

Winning mentorship is not just a commitment of time and resources, but also a special dedication to nurture leaders, innovators, advocates and researchers here at UCSF. The Inquiry program recognizes mentors twice annually for their work on projects of all size and scope for this passion and commitment to student scholars.

Lindsay Hampson, MD, MAS                    Mentee: Michael Sadighian
Jennifer Lai, MD, MBA                               Mentee: Kacey Berry
Michael Lipnick, MD                                   Mentee: Brittany Robinson
Michael Matthay, MD                                Mentee: Emily Siegel
Gabriel Sarah, MD                                       Mentee: Pasha Rahbari

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Mentor Award Presentations