NIAAA@Work
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Trainees Host Research Symposium
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s (NIAAA) Trainee Engagement Committee convened for the NIAAA 3rd Annual Trainee Research Symposium on June 4–5, 2024. About 100 fellows, interns, principal investigators, staff, and others attended the hybrid event, which highlighted the work of research trainees in NIAAA’s intramural research program.
Each day of the two-day symposium featured talks and in-person poster presentations by NIAAA trainees and fellows on a broad array of topics, from alcohol-induced inflammation and organ injury to neurobiology and factors that play a role in alcohol misuse. The symposium also featured keynote lectures by Edith V. Sullivan, Ph.D., of Stanford University School of Medicine and by Scott L. Friedman, M.D., of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, as well as summary remarks by Adolf Pfefferbaum, M.D., Ph.D., of SRI International.
“The depth of thought and effort that the trainees put into organizing the symposium was evident, and the individual presentations were excellent,” said Patricia A. Powell, Ph.D., Deputy Director, NIAAA. “I am impressed with the leadership and professionalism shown by our up-and-coming scientists.”
A highlight of the symposium was a poster competition in which research trainees and fellows enthusiastically presented their work. In the Postbaccalaureate (postbac) and Predoctoral Fellow Division, awardees included:
- Natalie Johnson (postbac, mentor: Resat Cinar, Ph.D.)
- Jessica Sloane (postbac, mentor: Vijay Ramchandani, Ph.D.)
- Olivia Carpenter (postbac, mentor: Andrew Holmes, Ph.D.)
Award recipients in the Postdoctoral (postdoc) and Research Fellow Division were:
- Bryan Mackowiak, Ph.D. (postdoc, mentor: Bin Gao, M.D., Ph.D.)
- Mariam Melkumyan, Ph.D. (postdoc, mentor: Hee-Yong Kim, Ph.D.)
- Cheng Chen, Ph.D. (postdoc, mentor: Bin Gao, M.D., Ph.D.)
“Training the next generation of scientists is critical to the NIAAA mission and a high priority of our intramural research program. The symposium was a huge success, and we are proud of what our trainees and fellows have accomplished,” said David Lovinger, Ph.D., Scientific Director, Division of Intramural Clinical and Biological Research, NIAAA.
