Second-year medical students Kristen Woodward, Bailey Frei, and Mitchell Zhang have been selected as Kosaka Best of Meeting Abstract Award Finalists for the International Anesthesia Research Society’s (IARS) 2018 Annual Meeting and International Science Symposium.
The students will present their joint first author research, “Considerations for Scoring the Clock Drawing Test for Impairment of Geriatric Patients in the Perioperative Setting: A Comparison of Three Common Scoring Criteria” at the annual meeting held at the end of April in Chicago. The Kosaka Best of Meeting Session is a two hour session where the top 30 abstract authors in Clinical Research, Basic Science, and Scholar Abstract categories will display their posters for viewing and discussion. The top 9 finalists will be selected to present their original research orally during this session. These top 9 finalists will also compete for the top award in their area and a $500 prize in each category.
These students were selected for their study’s primary scientific merit in the Scholars category. Their research was funded through the UF COM Medical Student Summer Research Program, The Lawrence M. Goodman Research Award program, and the I Heermann Anesthesia Foundation.
Kristen Woodward (on left) graduated with a B.S. in biochemistry and molecular biology with a minor in mathematics from the University of Miami, where she helped investigate and develop the use of bioluminescent proteins in immunochemical assays for more sensitive disease detection. Her current interests include longitudinal post-operative patient outcomes and the better identification of cognitive risk factors, in addition to her continued interest in the application of basic science research to patient care.
Bailey Frei (middle) is from Lawrence, Kansas, and graduated from the University of Central Florida with a B.S. in biomedical sciences. She has a wide range of clinical and research interests including anesthesiology, orthopedic surgery and internal medicine, maximizing post-operative outcomes, and integrating neuropsychologists and primary care physicians into pre-operative cognitive screening and decision making.
Mitchell Zhang (far right) graduated from Duke University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He is currently interested in clinical research regarding avoidable adverse outcomes in anesthesiology and internal medicine, as well as the use of basic science techniques such as CRISPR and novel drug delivery methods in the field of personalized medicine.
Congratulations and good luck at IARS!