The School of Medicine Office of Research Administration has added two new grant support specialists, Norma E. Aguirre and Madison Denson, to its staff.
Norma E. Aguirre joined the School of Medicine in April. She previously worked in Chillicothe, Missouri, as an office manager. Prior to the office manager position, she worked at the UMKC School of Pharmacy as an administrative assistant. She has also worked at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. Aguirre is originally from Texas and attended Texas Tech University.
Denson, who joined the research administration staff in June, and her husband are both from Nebraska. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney, she previously worked for a company Omaha-based company while being located in the Kansas City area.
The School of Medicine recently welcomed two new staff members.
Kelli Delaney has joined the Office of Research Administration as a new grants support specialist. Cynthia Flanagan is a new Clinical Medical Librarian in the Health Sciences Library.
Beginning in 2019, the school’s research administration department will also be supporting the UMKC School of Nursing and Health Studies for grant proposals and awards. Delaney joins the department as it transition to supporting both schools.
Delaney comes to UMKC from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she worked in the Northwestern Materials Science and Engineering department for 10 years. Her previous experience includes research administration, event planning and general assistance to grant project principal investigators.
A graduate of UMKC with a bachelor’s degree in English, Delaney is located in the Research Administration Department in the School of Medicine 4th floor, Blue unit. She can be reached at kvdq2x@umkc.edu or at 235-6453.
Flanagan comes to UMKC with many years of experience in teaching, instruction, and outreach from a variety of library settings. She has a wealth of library skills including interlibrary loan, reference, cataloging, storage, retrieval, research assistance, and assessment.
Most recently, she worked as the Science, Nursing, and Allied Health faculty liaison, Reference and Instruction Librarian, at Harrisburg Area Community College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. While there she was recognized for her keen focus on both virtual and classroom instruction, and her dedication to student development.
Flanagan graduated with her MLIS from the University of South Carolina. She subsequently worked in many diverse library settings including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency.
She began her work as a CML at the School of Medicine in January and will be working with the Red & Green teams. She can be reached at flanagancd@umkc.edu or 235-1884.
The School of Medicine’s Student Research Program has announced winners of the October 2016 Sarah Morrison Student Research Awards. Eight students received awards to support their research efforts and help fund their presentations at conferences and scientific meetings.
Seven of the recipients are B.A./M.D. students: Muhammed Alikhanm, Hunter Faris, Luke He, Jacob Lee, Imran Nizamuddin, Carlee Oakley and Sai Vanam. One recipient, Ara Staab, is a School of Medicine graduate student.
“We had many excellent proposals,” said Agostino Molteni, M.D., Ph.D., director of student research. “All of the projects selected for funding were of extremely high scientific quality.”
Sarah Morrison award recipients are reviewed by a committee of faculty judges and processed through the school’s Office of Research Administration. Awards of up to $1,500 are presented each April and October. Since 2013, 45 student research projects have received more than $61,000 of financial support from the Sarah Morrison award program.
Each School of Medicine winner at the 2016 UMKC Health Sciences Student Research Summit had received Sarah Morrison award recognition. Two received top awards for research posters at the annual Missouri chapter of the American College of Physicians annual meeting, and others have been invited to present their research at national and international scientific meetings.
Students interested in the Sarah Morrison Research awards are encouraged to apply prior to the April 1 and Oct. 1 deadlines each year. For complete application information, visit the Office of Research Administration’s student research website.
Award winners, abstract titles and faculty mentors
Muhammed Alikhanm, “Achieving blood pressure control through patient engagement in a safety-net hospital; feasibility study of a hypertension education program,” Rebecca Pauly
Hunter Faris, “Regulation of Src Family Protein Kinases in the Rat Striatum by Muscarinic Acetylcholine M4 Receptor,” John Wang
Luke He, “New Insight into Fructose and Retinopathy: Potential Adjunct Treatment with Metformin,” Yun Yan
Jacob Lee, “Sensitivity and Specificity of Abdominal Ultrasound in Diagnosing Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Infants: A Meta-Analysis,” Sherwin Chan
Imran Nizamuddin, “Pharmacological control of endocannabinoid signaling pathways as a strategy for neuroprotective therapy development,” Peter Koulen
Carlee Oakley, “The Effects of Trimethylamine-N-oxide on Cardiovascular Function,” Mike Wacker
Sai Vanam, “Effects of extended storage on cell biological properties, structure and function of cornea tissue,” Peter Koulen
Ara Staab, “Adapting the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet in urban African-American communities: a feasibility study,” Lakshmi Venkitachalam