Several Research and Clinical Experience in Pathology (RaCE4Path) students presented posters at the 2025 UAB Heersink School of Medicine Dale J Benos Medical Student Research Day on September 15 and the UAB Undergraduate Research Expo on July 24.
RaCE4Path is an 8-week summer program that represents an innovative and unique medical education opportunity focused on growing the pipeline of first year medical students into pathology as physician-scientists. The program blends both clinical and research training in the area of pathology for a shared-science approach to learning.
The Heersink School of Medicine Dale J Benos Medical Student Research Day celebrates the research accomplishments of medical students and provides them with the opportunity to present their projects to fellow students and faculty. Three RaCE4Path students presented at the event.
Tessa Davison presented the poster, “The Rising Need for Alternative Methods of Decedent Identification in Jefferson County” mentored by Brandi McCleskey, M.D., Vice Chair for Education, Associate Professor, Forensics.
Michael Durant presented the poster, “Toward Personalized Automated Red Cell Exchange: Consistent HbS Control, Definition-Driven Hct, and High-Utilizer ED Patterns” mentored by Elizabeth Staley, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Nirupama Singh, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Laboratory Medicine.
Elizabeth K. Lee presented the poster, “Preliminary Analysis on Deaths in the LGBTQ Population in Jefferson County, Alabama” mentored by Dr. McCleskey.
“The RaCE4Path program aims to foster an environment in which medical and undergraduate students are exposed are exposed to both research and clinical areas of pathology as a career,” McCleskey said.
Two RaCE4Path undergraduate students presented at the 2025 UAB Undergraduate Research Expo, hosted at the UAB National Alumni Society House. The expo celebrates excellence in research, creative activity and scholarship by showcasing the academic endeavors of undergraduate students. RaCE4Path is part of the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Clinical and Research Undergraduate Summer Program.
Carly Jia, a student in the laboratory of Andrea Comba, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Neuropathology, presented the poster, “Uncovering the Roll of Collagen-1 in Glioblastoma Astrocyte Reactivity.”
Meghan van Tol, a student in the laboratory of Daniel Tyrrell, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cellular Pathology, presented the poster, “The Power of Multiplex Confocal Imaging of Immune Cells in the Brain.”