DOM Annual Research Day 2019

A Successful DOM Research Day 2019: There Were Many Doctors in the House

The Department of Medicine’s Research Day 2019 showcased a record 309 scientific posters—including 60 from our residents—and brought crowds that filled a University Club ballroom and the BST South foyer. The annual event highlights the breadth and depth of research conducted by our junior colleagues, and abstract submissions have risen 45% over the past five years.

Research Day “is a really special day-and-a-half that speaks to our core values,” DOM Chair Mark Gladwin, MD, said in his opening remarks for the conference. “This institution is living and breathing in an incredible environment at the intersection of science and medicine.”

The event was co-chaired by General Internal Medicine’s Sonya Borrero, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Clinical and Translational Science, and Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, and Walid Gellad, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, Health Policy and Management, and Director, Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing.

Clinical resident research was showcased on April 29 at the University Club, while junior faculty, fellows, post-docs, and graduate and medical student research was highlighted on April 30 in the Biomedical Science Tower.

Over 75 faculty members judged abstracts and poster sessions, selecting eight oral presenters and a total of 20 poster award honors spanning the bench or basic science, clinical, health services, medical education, quality improvement, and translational research categories.

Terence S. Dermody, MD, presented two talks, one to residents on April 29, where he detailed his career path; and the keynote lecture, “A Viral Trigger for Celiac Disease,” on April 30, which detailed his research on how viral infections may spur autoimmune responses to newly introduced food antigens. Dr. Dermody is the Vira I. Heinz Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief and Scientific Director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh where he leads a team of over 300 faculty members. He also is Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Our Social Media coverage can be found at #PittResearchDay2019 on Facebook@PittDeptofMed, Twitter @PittDeptofMed, and Instagram pittdeptofmed.

Research Day 2019 Guest Speaker

Terence S. Dermody, MD

Dr. Terence S. Dermody is the Vira I. Heinz Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief and Scientific Director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh where he leads a team of over 300 faculty members. He also is Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Dr. Dermody received his B.S. degree from Cornell University and his M.D. degree from Columbia University. He completed an internal medicine residency at Presbyterian Hospital in New York and fellowships in infectious diseases and molecular virology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh in 2016, Dr. Dermody was Dorothy Overall Wells Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program and Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Research Day 2019 Awards and Oral Presentations