Temple Graduate Student Research Showcased at 15th Annual Dawn Marks Research Day

For the past 15 years, graduate students at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University (LKSOM) have had the chance to show off their research accomplishments at the Dawn Marks Research Day. This year’s event, held on June 8 in Temple’s Medical Education and Research Building, attracted 200 attendees and featured 41 student poster exhibits and 11 oral presentations.

Following the presentations, Lynn Kirby, PhD, Associate Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology and the Center for Substance Abuse Research at Temple, was recognized with the Dawn Marks Memorial Award for her dedication to Temple’s graduate students. Dr. Kirby, a faculty member for more than 10 years, is actively involved in the Neuroscience research cluster in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program.

A special travel award established in memory of the late Patrick Piggot, PhD, from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, was awarded to Sarah Tursi, a third-year PhD candidate working under the direction of Çagla Tükel, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Temple.

The Research Day is held each year in honor of Dawn Marks, PhD, who was a full-time faculty member in Biochemistry for 31 years and served as Assistant Dean for Graduate Education from 1984 to 1998. She retired in 1999 and was a Professor Emeritus until her passing. During her tenure at Temple, Dr. Marks co-authored the still widely-used textbook, Basic Medical Biochemistry: A Clinical Approach.

The Research Day is organized by the LKSOM Graduate Student Association, led by association President Taylor Gentile and Vice President Allison Herman.

Photo caption: Pictured (left to right): Antonio Di Meco (2^nd place oral presentation winner), Jeremy Hill (3^rd place oral presentation winner), Lena Lupey-Green (1^st place oral presentation winner), Sarah Tursi (Patrick Piggot Travel Award winner), Neeharika Nemani (2^nd place poster winner), Meredith Manire (3^rd place poster winner) and Timothy Luongo (1^st place poster winner).