A Superb Symposium

On Wednesday, The Warren Alpert Medical School hosted the largest showcase yet of students’ research, with a record 141 posters on display on the building’s first and second floors.

Stephanie Garbern F’19, MD, MPH, director of medical student research, praised students at the record-setting 18th Annual Academic Symposium, adding that the event was just a small snapshot of the effort that went into creating the research on view.

“It's really inspiring to see how much you all contribute to art, science, and the humanities while helping your patients and communities at such an early stage of your medical career,” said Garbern, who is also an assistant professor of emergency medicine.

Keynote speaker Nina Ayala '10 MD'14 F’21 ScM'23, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and of psychiatry and human behavior, spoke about her path to working in research.

During her residency, she developed an interest in optimism and coping strategies and how that could potentially translate to different outcomes. Ayala focused on early pregnancy optimism and designed her own study, which she used as her thesis project while attending her fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Women & Infants Hospital.

“As optimism went down in early pregnancy, we were seeing major differences in terms of their adverse pregnancy outcomes,” Ayala said. From there her study examined how optimism would impact people’s labor experience, and found those with low optimism would have much less perceived control over the labor process regardless of the outcome.

She emphasized that it was this type of qualitative research that allowed her to engage in focusing on the “bigger impact” while still centering the voices of individual patients. 

“I think a career in research gives you the ability to amplify your impact and it doesn’t have to feel like it’s at odds with providing individualized, compassionate care to patients,” Ayala said. “A career in research gives you the day-to-day, moment-to-moment flexibility that allows you to be present for the people and the moments that matter to you outside of medicine in a way that sometimes more traditional careers don't.”

Among the students who presented their research following Ayala’s address were Claire Lin '23 MD'27 and Diana A. Wang MD'27, who explained their study on the effect of personalized receptive music-based intervention during infusion treatments. Ishaani Khatri '21 MD'25 also helped lead the study.

The students provided 50 study participants with iPads and headphones to listen to music of their choice for 30 minutes while receiving treatment at The Miriam Hospital Infusion Clinic. Participants saw significant decreases in pain, tiredness, nausea anxiety, and shortness of breath, alongside notable increases in feelings of well-being.

“We’re looking to establish this long-term at Brown University Health Infusion Centers and we are working with a lot of nurses and volunteers to make this happen,” Wang said.

Dylan Bush MD'27 presented research that was part of a larger study he participated in during his Fulbright fellowship in the Solomon Islands, which focused on challenges in diabetic amputation and the impact of geographic distance from surgical centers. With only one tertiary care center for the entire nation, it faces “chronic insufficiencies” related to both the medical workforce and supplies, and one of the highest incidences of diabetes in the world.

Bush and his team mapped villages and geodesic distances and discovered the mean distance traveled by patients to surgical centers was 33.3 miles.

“To you and me, 33.3 miles doesn't sound like a lot, but a mile in Solomon Islands is quite different from a mile here in Providence,” Bush said. Patients would face issues with transportation, like poor or nonexistent roads and environmental challenges. “It’s very common for patients to actually die en route to the hospital,” he added.

Nearly 80 percent of patients with diabetic ulcers waited longer than seven days from the onset of symptoms before seeking help, greatly increasing the risk of infection, sepsis, and amputation.

“I'm really pleased to say that because of the data we were able to gather, the World Health Organization has been really receptive to this work and I've been working over the past year with their local office to create a national diabetic plan that helps to address some of these issues in access,” he said.

Alison Meyers MD’27 spoke about her research that compared the incidence of twins and multiple pregnancies between natural and programmed single frozen embryo transfers (sFETs). Twin and multiple pregnancies pose risks not only to fetuses but also to the mother. To reduce these risks, specialists have transitioned to single embryo transfers, versus multiple embryo transfers, but there is still a risk for those having an implantation during their natural ovulatory cycle.

“For individuals undergoing infertility treatment, you really don’t want to increase those risks,” Meyers said.
Her team collected data on patients who underwent sFET cycles and had confirmed twin or multiple birth pregnancies from 2013 to 2024 at Boston IVF clinics. Their study found a significant difference in the likelihood of pregnancy leading to two or more births in the natural cycle compared to programmed. Patients who have intercourse during their natural cycle risk having concurrent natural conceptions.

“This really shows us that patients should be counseled regarding the importance of abstinence during their sFET cycle in order to mitigate the risks that come with multiple gestations,” Meyers said. “Especially because of the mental, social, economical, and physical burden that comes along with infertility treatment.”

Winners of this year’s symposium awards will be announced next week.