ÌÇÐÄVlog

Discovery Day 2026
Tuesday, October 27

Thank you to everyone who attended our annual day of research!

Doctoral and master's students, medical students, MD/PhD students, undergraduate students, residents, clinical fellows and postdoctoral trainees from the ÌÇÐÄVlog community presented their research, featuring posters and platform presentations on biomedical science and clinical research topics.

More About Discovery Day 2026

• Discovery Day 2026: A Gathering of Research, Mentorship and Collaboration
• Instagram Reel:
• Meet Keynote Speaker Emmanuelle A.D. Schindler, MD/PhD ’12

Discovery Day 2026 Winners

Bondi Fellowship Recipient

• Marzieh Daniali, Pharmacology & Physiology | Mentor: Peter J. Gaskill, PhD
• Riley Young, Molecular & Cell Biology & Genetics | Mentor: Mauricio Reginato, PhD

Barry Waterhouse Outstanding Platform Presentation

• 1^st Place – Mary Marino, Microbiology & Immunology | Mentors: Joshua Chang Mell, PhD, and Garth D. Ehrlich, PhD
• 2^nd Place – Yash Agarwal, MD/PhD in Pharmacology & Physiology | Mentor: Peter J. Gaskill, PhD

Outstanding Junior Graduate Student Poster

• 1^st Place – Renaldo Facey, Neuroscience | Mentors: Peter Baas, PhD, and Emanuela Piermarini, PhD
• 2^nd Place – Khairah Adedotun, Microbiology & Immunology | Mentor: Michele Kutzler, PhD
• 3^rd Place – Saraf Sharada, MD/PhD in Microbiology & Immunology | Mentor: Michael Nonnemacher, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Josh Harkins, Pharmacology & Physiology | Mentor: Joshua Jackson, PhD

Outstanding Senior Graduate Student Poster

• 1^st Place – Ashley Carper, Biological Sciences | Mentor: Denise Garcia, PhD
• 2^nd Place – Nadia Hyatt, Biochemistry of Health & Disease | Mentor: Patrick Loll, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Celensia Tolson, Microbiology & Immunology | Mentor: James Burns, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Arden Edgerton, Microbiology & Immunology | Mentors: Elias El Haddad, PhD, and Michele Kutzler, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Binh Ha, Pharmacology & Physiology | Mentor: Gabriele Romano, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Isaac Turkson, Pharmacology & Physiology | Mentor: Seena Ajit, PhD

Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellows Poster

• 1^st Place – Bernis Neneyoh Yengo, PhD | Mentor: Eugenia Lo, PhD
• 2^nd Place – Jill Lawrence, PhD | Mentor: Michael Nonnemacher, PhD

Medical Student Award for Basic and Translational Research

• 1^st Place – Dante Freeman | Mentor: Jessica Ausborn, PhD
• 2^nd Place – Sarah Lucenko | Mentor: Chia-Ling Kuo, PhD
• 3^rd Place – Darshan Reddy | Mentor: Yoshihiro Komatsu, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Rohan Chandraghatgi | Mentors: Clifton D. Fuller, MD, PhD, and Saleh Ramezani, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Gnanesh Gutta | Mentors: Robert Mauck, PhD, and Liane Miller, MD
• Honorable Mention – Kian Sahani | Mentors: Bill Frank, DC, and Kathryn Veazey, PhD

Medical Student Award for Clinical Research

• 1^st Place – Anwesha Satapathy | Mentors: Amgad N. Makaryus, MD, and Sanjaya K. Satapathy, MD
• 2^nd Place – Gabriel D. DePinho | Mentors: Boyle Cheng, PhD, and Edward Westrick, PhD
• 3^rd Place – Morgan Labadini | Mentor: Vilmaris Quiñones Cardona, MD
• Honorable Mention – Kelly Minard | Mentor: Janet Chen, MD
• Honorable Mention – Samantha Huebner | Mentor: Kelly Getz, PhD, MPH

Medical Student Award for Public Health, Community & Education Research

• 1^st Place – Alexander Chong | Mentor: Mauricio Reginato, PhD
• 2^nd Place (tie) – Ishita Patel | Mentor: Vivek Joshi, MD
• 2^nd Place (tie) – Tal Kibel | Mentor: Masaki Tsukashita, MD
• Honorable Mention – Shameena Shahzad | Mentor: Manjool M. Shah, MD
• Honorable Mention – Alyssa Truong | Mentor: Edward Schulman, MD
• Honorable Mention – Nicolas Loeb | Mentor: Adam Sigal, MD
• Honorable Mention – Lawrence Wang | Mentor: Michael Weingarten, MD
• Honorable Mention – Etaasha Jain | Mentor: Michael Weingarten, MD

Medical Student Award for Population Data & Outcomes Research

• 1^st Place – Anvi Brahmbhatt | Mentor: Renee Turchi, MD
• 2^nd Place – Victoria Phan | Mentor: Homaira Azim, MD, PhD
• 3^rd Place – Ankith Alluri | Mentor: Stephanie C. Sharpe, MD
• Honorable Mention – Rhema McGee | Mentor: Homaira Azim, MD, PhD

Outstanding Clinical Resident/Fellow Poster

• 1^st Place – Tami Hill, DO, MPH, Pediatrics, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children | Mentor: Folasade Kehinde, MD

Outstanding Undergraduate Poster

• 1^st Place – Sophia Medori | Mentor: Mauricio Reginato, PhD
• 2^nd Place – Nicolas Brattini | Mentors: Geena John, PhD, and Joshua Jackson, PhD
• 3^rd Place – Atoishy Dayve | Mentor: Elias El Haddad, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Faith Clark | Mentor: Seena Ajit, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Milana Kreger | Mentor: Eishi Noguchi, PhD
• Honorable Mention – Saanvi Vereddigari | Mentor: Mitchell Nothem, PhD

Outstanding Poster Award With Use of TriNetX

• 1^st Place – Tyger Hanback | Mentor: Herika Brito, MD
• 2^nd Place – Jaime Luis Villa | Mentor: Eduardo Espiridion, MD
• 3^rd Place – Arhum Imam | Mentor: Rahul Kashyap, MBBS

Doris Willig, MD, Fund – Student Research Award

• Radean Anvari (Medical Student)
  California Senate Bill 855 — Does It Provide Mental Health Parity?
  Examines the effectiveness of mental health parity legislation in improving access to care and identifies ongoing barriers to equitable mental health treatment.
• Alison Bashford (PhD Candidate, Neuroscience)
  Mu Opioid Receptors on Nucleus Accumbens Cholinergic Interneurons Regulate Dopamine Uptake via a Local Circuit Mechanism
  Investigates how opioids affect dopamine signaling in the brain, providing insights into the mechanisms underlying opioid use disorder and exploring potential differences between females and males.
• Margot Bellon (Medical Student)
  RHYME: Reproductive Health Counseling Assessment for Young Multiple Sclerosis Patients
  Identifies important gaps in reproductive health counseling for patients with multiple sclerosis, highlighting opportunities to improve fertility counseling, family planning, and coordinated care.
• L. Taylor Flynn (MD/PhD Student, Neuroscience)
  Investigating the Effects of Adolescent Psilocybin Exposure With and Without Adolescent Social Isolation
  Explores the neurological and behavioral effects of psilocybin during adolescence, contributing to a better understanding of its potential implications for treating psychiatric disorders.

Past Discovery Day Highlights

• Discovery Day 2025
• Discover Day 2024
• Discovery Day 2023
• “A Grand Tradition:” Discovery Day’s Storied Past, Bright Future

Thank You to Our Sponsors

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