No wind, no rain, just sunshine above big tents at COM-T Research Day Poster Session

With 163 research posters under two tents in the plaza outside of the college’s south entrance, the Poster Session for the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson Research Day 2026 had fair weather to thank for its success. Last year, high winds on Research Day forced a postponement of the Poster Session for nearly three weeks.

Nineteen Department of Medicine faculty members served as poster mentors for presenting students, residents and fellows and several served as reviewers in a new format rolled out to evaluate presenters and present awards. See a mini-photo gallery from the event below.

Debra McMaster, executive assistant to the college’s vice dean for research and graduate studies and U of A associate vice president for health research Jason Wertheim, MD, PhD, noted the format was based on a model Hossein Ardehali, MD, PhD, participated in at an American Heart Association meeting. Dr. Ardehali, a professor in the Division of Cardiology and Sarver Heart Center associate director, is the college’s associate dean for translational research and training and Medical Scientist MD/PhD Training Program director.

“‘Poster professors’ were introduced this year to ensure every presenter had quality engagement with college faculty,” McMaster said. “The poster professors acted as host and judge, leading a group of presenters through each poster in their small group, encouraging discussion across presenters. Each poster professor awarded a blue ribbon to one poster of distinction within their small group. We did not track the winners.”

Poster professors from the DOM were Dr. Ardehali and Franz Rischard, DO, MSc, the college’s associate dean for clinical research and Pulmonary Hypertension Program director in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine or PACCS — plus Ron Banerjee, MD, PhD, Division of Endocrinology chief; Jennifer Carew, PhD, Division of Translational Medicine chief and the college’s director of investigator-initiated clinical trials; PACCS Adult Allergy Program director Tara Carr, MD; John Chorba, MD, a Cardiology division associate professor who joined the U of A faculty in February; Josh Farr, PhD, a Division of Rheumatology associate professor; and Jennifer Stern, PhD, an Endocrinology assistant professor. 

“It was wonderful to see so many trainees out on Research Day showcasing their exciting research at the poster session,” Dr. Stern said. “Serving as a ‘poster professor,’ guiding trainees through the metabolism-focused research posters, was a fun avenue to explore the cutting-edge research being conducted at the College of Medicine – Tucson.”

The GGP division’s Kris Abbate, MD, a poster mentor and the Internal Medicine Sub-Internship associate program director, added, “I found the projects’ diversity and extent of collaboration between departments to be inspiring. The students’ research efforts bolster the college faculty’s connectedness to one another, our learners and the community.”

Dawn Coletta, PhD, an Endocrinology associate professor and DOM vice chair of academic engagement, agreed. “The poster session brings together trainees and faculty in a really vibrant, energetic space to share their work. I make it a point to connect with my mentees, but also to visit presenters outside my field, always walking away having learned something new.”

Jocelyn Gerken, an undergrad student doing her honors thesis in the lab of Paul Langlais, PhD, an Endocrinology associate professor, said, “Research Day gave me the opportunity to give my first poster presentation and win an award on the exciting research that I have been working on with my fellow undergraduate honors students. My experience on this team and as part of the Langlais Lab enabled me to be introduced to research and I look forward to continuing to grow as a researcher next year.”

Her diabetes and metabolism themed poster, for which she won a blue ribbon, was titled, “Assessing candidate proteins identified by quantitative proteomics for a role in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake.”

DOM biostatistician Maryam Emami, PhD, said of the Poster Session as a whole, “I was impressed by the overall diversity of research, ranging from basic science to clinical applications and case studies. Another aspect that caught my attention was that several posters addressed health disparities and challenges faced by underserved communities, highlighting a strong commitment to socially relevant research.”

Research mentors (with the number of posters and their division/primary department) from the DOM for presenting medical students, residents or fellows were: Steven Goldman, MD (8 - Cardiology); Hossein Ardehali, MD, PhD (6 - Cardiology); Joseph Finkelstein, MD, PhD (3 - GGP); Julie Ledford, PhD (3 - DOM’s PACCS division/CCM); Jennifer H. Stern, PhD (3 - Endocrinology); Soham Dave, DO (2 - Inpatient Medicine); Paul R. Langlais, PhD (2 - Endocrinology); Lalitha Madhavan, MD, PhD (2 - DOM’s GGP/Neurology); Kristopher J. Abbate, MD (1 - GGP); Hina Arif-Tiwari, MD (1 - DOM’s Gastroenterology/Surgery); Danielle deMontigny Avila, MD (1 - Infectious Diseases); Tara F. Carr, MD (1 - PACCS); Thomas Erwes, MD (1 - Infectious Diseases); Janet L. Funk, MD (1 - Endocrinology); Krisstina Gowin, DO (1 - Hematology & Oncology); Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD (1 - Gastroenterology); Salma I. Patel, MD, MPH (1 - PACCS); Puneet Shroff, MD (1 - PACCS); and Marvin J. Slepian MD, JD (1 - Cardiology).

Additional DOM faculty attendees included (with their division/primary department or organization): Daniel Combs, MD (PACCS/Pediatrics), Sandesh Dev, MD (Cardiology/SAVAHCS), Anita Koshy, MD (Infectious Diseases/Neurology), and Steffan Nawrocki, PhD (Translational Medicine).

Other mentors from the Department of Dermatology, which last year was a DOM division, included Daniel C. Butler, MD (2), Mahdieh Jedlowski, MD, PharmD (1), and Mohammad Fazel, MD, PharmD (1).

ALSO SEE:
“Research Day 2026 fanfare delivers on promise of collaborative engagement” | Posted April 20, 2026
“DOM well represented at delayed 2025 College of Medicine – Tucson Research Day poster session” | Posted May 6, 2025
“DOM faculty host 3 of 7 sessions and grand rounds at COM-T Research Day 2025” | Posted April 11, 2025

(Photos courtesy of David Mogollon, DOM communications manager)

For additional photos from the COM-T Research Day Poster Session, click here.

MINI-PHOTO GALLERY
Click images to enlarge and for captions: