News

Student Research Day 2019

October 8, 2019

SAVE THE DATE

Since 1985 Student Research Day has provided an on-campus forum for students to showcase their research pursuits. For many students, the day offers the opportunity to share their dissertation research with their colleagues from other disciplines while engaging in discussion and soliciting feedback.

Student Research Day is held in the fall of each year for the students in the PhD programs at the Georgetown University Medical Center. The purpose of Student Research Day is to showcase the scientific research efforts of graduate students at Georgetown University.

Student Research Day is open to all current graduate students in one of the following Ph.D. programs at Georgetown University:

  • Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  • Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Global Infectious Disease
  • Microbiology & Immunology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Physics
  • Psychology
  • Physiology & Biophysics
  • Tumor Biology

Keynote Speaker
Dr. Abigail Marsh

We are delighted to have Dr. Abigail Marsh as the keynote speaker for the 2018 Student Research Day.

Abigail Marsh is an Associate Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Cognitive Science at Georgetown. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University and conducted post-doctoral research at the National Institute of Mental Health.

Her research is aimed at answering the questions: How do we understand what others think and feel? What drives us to help other people? What prevents us from harming them? She addresses these questions using functional and structural brain imaging in adolescents and adults, as well as behavioral, cognitive, genetic, and pharmacological techniques. She is the author of over 70 publications in journals that include Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Human Behavior, American Journal of Psychiatry, and JAMA Psychiatry, as well as an award-winning trade book about her research on the brain basis of empathy and compassion called THE FEAR FACTOR.

Her research has received awards that include the Cozzarelli Prize for scientific excellence and originality from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The S&R Kuno Award for Applied Science for Social Good, and the Richard J. Wyatt Fellowship award for translational research from the NIMH.

Schedule

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

8:00am – 9:00am Registration
Poster presenters should register in the south lobby (first floor) or Medical-Dental building and be prepared to hang their posters within this time period.
9:00am – 11:45am Oral Presentations
New Research Building Auditorium
Oral Presentations Schedule TBD
12:00pm – 1:00pm Keynote Speaker
Dr. Abigail Marsh, Associate Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Cognitive Science
New Research Building Auditorium
1:00pm – 1:45pm Lunch
Preclinical Sciences Hallway
1:45pm-4:00pm Poster Session
Preclinical Sciences Hallway
4:00pm-5:00pm Reception & Raffle
Preclinical Sciences Hallway
We will announce the oral & poster presentation winners as well as the raffle prizes.

Abstract

Abstract Submission

Opens: August 15th
Deadline: September 16th

Abstracts will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis due to a limited number of poster and oral presentation slots. You will receive an email from the Medical Center Graduate Student Organization (MCGSO) indicating whether your abstract has been accepted and which presentation format you have been assigned.

1st year PhD students who have completed a rotation project are welcome to present their data in a poster format. There will be slots separate from poster and oral presentations allotted for 1st year PhD students.

Individuals may only submit one abstract for Student Research Day. Students must be the principal investigator/primary author for the abstract that is submitted. Once an abstract is submitted, it will be considered the FINAL version to be used for the event. Revised abstracts will not be accepted.

Your abstract will not be accepted if it does not conform to these formatting instructions.

  • Be written for a general science audience
  • 2300 character limit, including spaces
  • The abstract should be one paragraph
  • No pictures, diagrams, or charts allowed
  • Single-spaced, Arial 10 normal font for the abstract body
  • If you use symbols such as α, β, γ, or δ in the body of your abstract, make sure that they are formatted to Arial 10 normal
  • Do not include any references or footnotes
  • Title in sentence case (ex: the first word capitalized only.)
  • The principal investigator (the PhD student) should be the first author
  • List other authors or investigators after the principal investigator, separated by a comma
  • Please list each author using the format [Last Name, First Initial]
  • List institutions below the names, using a superscript to indicate each author’s institution affiliation

Posters

Once you have received an email from MCGSO confirming the acceptance of your abstract for a poster presentation, you will need to ensure that your poster is prepared. Keep in mind that like your abstract, your poster and poster presentation should be geared toward a general science audience.

If you have a poster already printed from a recent meeting, you are welcome to use this. Please send us the dimensions of your poster so that we reserve adequate space for you. If you are creating a new poster, we will be able to assist in the cost of poster printing. You will receive details about poster specifications and deadlines in your confirmation email.

As we draw closer to Student Research Day, you will receive further instructions regarding poster placement, evaluations, and schedules for attending your poster.

Oral Presentations

The oral presentation sessions will consist of a series of 10 min talks with PowerPoint followed by 5 min for questions and transition. If you are interested in presenting your research in an oral format, be sure to indicate this during abstract submission. Only a select number of abstracts will be chosen for oral presentations.

Just as abstracts are expected to be written for a general science audience, all oral presentations should be made in the same way.

Presentation Evaluation Criteria

Poster and oral presentations will be evaluated for the following categories: background/introduction, hypothesis or objective, methods, results, conclusion or discussion, future work, overall presentation and handling of questions, and quality of the poster board or PowerPoint presentation. Please see the Poster & Oral Judging Form linked below for more details.