Suffolk Reporter

The Department of Biomedical Engineering held its 30th annual Graduate Student Research Symposium, showcasing the work of masters and doctoral students. The event aimed to foster collaboration by encouraging students to present their research.

“This is a big event for all students, to connect with faculty and fellow students and to design their future career,” said department Chair and Professor Yi-Xian Qin.

SUNY Distinguished Professor Clint Rubin, who also serves as the director of the Center for Biotechnology, described the symposium as a “pipeline of turning science into new diagnostics, therapeutics and medical devices.” Approximately 75 people attended the event at the Medical and Research Translation (MART) building.

“It gives our students an opportunity to discuss their work, field questions and make connections that will lead to collaboration,” said Professor Eric Brouzes in his introductory remarks.

Qin added, “Now is the right time to join Stony Brook University, one of New York’s flagship state universities. We have a total of 24 core faculty members now including our two newest, plus about 50 BME faculty, to enhance our research mission.” He introduced Assistant Professor Sufeng Zhang and Empire Innovation Associate Professor Eric Josephs.

“We are bigger, stronger and really growing,” Qin said. He highlighted the strong undergraduate program and noted that this event would help prepare students for conferences. Qin also mentioned departmental awards for teaching, research, and service excellence.

Five students presented during oral sessions in both morning and afternoon slots. Two poster sessions were held in the atrium where students explained their research to peers and faculty members.

Anthony Cheseboro, advised by Professor Lilianne Mujica-Parodi, stated: “I find today exciting because I first learned about a lot of the work my thesis lab and our collaborators do at Research Day a few years ago.” His project was titled “Extending next-generation neural mass models to include biophysically-realistic neurons and networks.”

Cheseboro added: “It serves as a reminder of the science that initially captivated me... It also serves as a nice reflection on the passage of time as I approach graduation.”

Graduate student Wanbin Tan remarked: “It has always been a meaningful experience for me. It provides a valuable platform to share my research...” Tan's presentation was titled “Evaluation of electromagnetic motion tracking and event-by-event motion correction in clinical brain PET imaging.”

Faculty attendees included SUNY Distinguished Professors Danny Blaustein; Associate Professors Hassan Arbab; Congwu Du; Wei Lin; Yingtian Pan; Paul Vaska; Jun Wang alongside Qin; Rubin; Josephs; Zhang.

Attendees enjoyed lunch followed by closing remarks from Brouzes and Qin. Presentations were judged by both students and faculty with certificates awarded at an annual BBQ event.

This year’s winners were:

- Oral Presentation Faculty Choice: Aishu Sreenivasamurth

- Oral Presentation Student Choice: Chris Ashdown

- Poster Presentation Faculty Choice: Zeming Kuang

- Poster Presentation Student Choice: Xiangyi Wu

Awardee Xiangyi Wu commented on her recognition: "Research Day is a wonderful opportunity... I truly appreciate the efforts of organizers... I am honored..."

The Pollock-Krasner House will launch its contemporary art series on July 12 with Han Qin's exhibition.

Nearly 6,200 admitted students visited Stony Brook University on March 23rd & April 6th.

An Alda Center program shows promising results combating burnout among healthcare workers two years into implementation.