By Lila Berle, postbac in the Tuberculosis Research Section of the Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology
The much-anticipated 2022 NIH Postbac Poster Days took place this year from March 26 through 28, with 940 postbacs presenting their research in a virtual conference hall. The unique platform emulated the experience of attending in-person presentations, as both trainees and judges bounced between rooms to visit the posters of NIH postbacs eager to describe the research they’ve been working on all year.
The event was filled with fantastic presentations, and we will delve into four here.
Isabella Licavoli
Isabella Licavoli
Immunopathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Immunoregulation
Isabella focuses on the relationship between retinoic acid within the gut and the expression of the CCR5 coreceptor. To educate her audience about the application of her work, Isabella explained how HIV uses CCR5 as it adheres to host cells. Isabella then discussed how retinoic acid functions as an immunoregulatory agent and also described her interest in the effect of retinoic acid on MAdCAM and anti-CD28 co-stimulated CD4+ T cells.
Isabella’s experiments ultimately allowed her to show that retinoic acid is related to the upregulation of coreceptors CCR5, CCR9, and beta 7 in cells that are stimulated with interleukin 2. Her work is inspiring when viewed through the lens of basic science research and could also serve as a launch point for clinical or translation studies focusing on the interaction between HIV and CD4+ T cells.
Genevieve McCormack
Genevieve McCormack
B-Cell Immunology Section, Laboratory of Immunoregulation
Like many others, Genevieve is passionate about COVID-19 research. However, she does not focus on primary COVID-19 infections; instead, she studies the risk factors and experiences of patients with Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC). To begin, she oriented her audience by explaining that this condition encompasses persistent symptoms such as a cough, brain fog, and fatigue.
Genevieve’s poster illustrated the clinical data she used to determine whether individuals with PASC are at an increased risk of reinfection and also included information on the relationships between reinfection, vaccination status, and comorbid conditions. Going forward, she is particularly interested in studying whether the symptoms of patients diagnosed with PASC following a primary infection change after reinfection with SARS-CoV-2.
Jacquelyn Spathies
Jacquelyn Spathies
Epithelial Therapeutics Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology
In her research, Jacquelyn combines fascinating aspects of analytical chemistry and biochemistry as she uses mass spectrometry to learn more about cell metabolism. Her poster discussed the data she gathered from studying wound healing of keratinocytes in both cell culture models and biopsy samples. Jacquelyn also explained that she uses her mass spec data and the MetaboAnalysis program to focus on sialic acid metabolism, which is upregulated in wound healing.
Jacquelyn is looking forward to experimenting with the insertion of exogenous sialic acid into her keratinocyte cultures and is interested in testing time-dependent wound healing within this environment.
Micah Young
Micah Young
Mosquito Immunity and Vector Competence Section, Laboratory for Malaria and Vector Research
Micah’s poster invited his audience to view the existence of mosquitos not as a mere nuisance, but as an opportunity. His project focuses on generating transgenic mosquitoes that produce antibodies reactive to Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes malaria. He described how these mosquito antibodies bind a protein expressed on the female gametes of the parasite, which then decreases its ability to use the mosquito as a viable host.
In his talk, Micah addressed the process of optimizing antibody generation to decrease the fitness cost to mosquitos and also expanded on his future directions. Going forward, he is eager to continue optimizing the expression of the single-chain antibody in the mosquito by employing different promoters and is also interested in quantifying the expression of the parasitic protein within the gut of mosquitos.
For many postbacs, poster days serve as an opportunity to step outside of their familiar research to learn from their peers. Additionally, it is refreshing to hear the opinions of other trainees as they ask clarifying questions and inquire about future directions. Perhaps in 2023 this event will occur in person; either way, the 2022 poster days marked another year of both flexibility and productivity.
Congratulations to the 39 NIAID postbacs who received Outstanding Poster Awards at this year’s event! These individuals’ posters scored in the top 20% of all posters presented. See the list of winners.