Yesterday, forty McMaster trainees, faculty, staff, and members of the aging research community gathered at The Phoenix on McMaster campus for the annual MIRA Trainee Network Pitch Your Project event. This annual showcase asks trainees from across McMaster to present their research projects in aging in a “three-minute-thesis” style, with just one slide.
Twelve trainees, ranging from undergraduates to PhD candidates, shared concise and considered “elevator-pitch”-style overviews on their research projects representing cross-discipline approaches to answering the big questions about how to age well. Presentations explored topics including sarcopenia, accessibility in music, and frailty, and included research into social isolation among Black older adults, amyloids, macrophages, and more.
The MIRA Trainee Network supports McMaster trainees interested in aging research through capacity-building events, and provides information and support about funding, career, and networking opportunities in the field. A valuable exercise in knowledge translation, Pitch Your Project provides a space for the aging research community at McMaster to connect, network, and learn about each other’s work while honing essential knowledge translation skills.
Attendees voted for their favorite presentation, leading to a surprising three-way tie for the “People’s Choice Award.” These awards were announced at the end of the event, following a networking social with complimentary drinks and lunch. The recipients were:
- Amy Hutchinson, an undergraduate in the Department of Biology supervised by Jinhui Ma, for her research using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging to explore cardiovascular indicators in blood vessels in the eye.
- Helana Marie Boutros, a PhD candidate supervised by Anthea Innes in the Department of Health, Aging and Society, for her presentation on coptic women’s lived experiences with spiritual health.
- Rae Elgamal, a PhD candidate supervised by Brian Detlor in the Department of Information Systems, for her research on tablets and the digital divide.
The next MIRA Trainee Network event, a #TraineeTalk, will be held on July 17th at noon at McMaster Innovation Park. All trainees are invited to network and hear presentations from fellow trainees Lisandra Almeida de Oliveira, Samirasad Jamalidinan, Alexandra Mayhew, and Catherine Andary. Please email Gesine Alders to register.
Congratulations to the recipients of the people’s choice awards, and thank you to all the presenters for their excellent work; you truly made 2024’s Pitch Your Project an event to remember. See below for a full list of presenters.
Helana Marie Boutros | PhD student, Health, Aging & Society Supervisor: Anthea Innes
From one “Tasoni” to another: Exploring coptic women’s lived experiences of spiritual health
Anittha Mappanasingam | Master’s student, Rehabilitation Science Supervisor: Ashwini Namasivayam-MacDonald
Swallowing the hard truth about aging: the link between frailty and dysphagia
Miriam Samuel | Undergraduate, Interdisciplinary Science, Life Science Supervisor: Janet Pritchard
Eating for your muscles: A journey to feeling un”beet”able!
Jeff Gajdacs | Master’s student, Engineering Physics Supervisor: Qiyin Fang
Accessibility in playing music
Karla Martinez Pomier | PhD student, Chemistry and Chemical Biology Supervisor: Giuseppe Melacini
Inhibition of toxic metal-alpha synuclein interactions by human serum albumin
Amy Hutchinson | Undergraduate, Biology Supervisor: Jinhui Ma
The eyes are the windows to the…. heart?
Shazelle Lindsay | PhD student, School of Nursing Supervisor: Rebecca Ganann
Exploring social isolation among Black older adults
Stevie Foglia | PhD student, Biomedical Engineering Supervisor: Aimee Nelson
Augmenting the brain to treat chronic pain
Aunika Venables | Level II Research Assistant, Medicine Supervisor: Dawn Bowdish
Aging and macrophages: From phagocytosis to phagocy-slow-sis
Jinfeng Huang | Postdoctoral fellow, Chemistry & Chemical Biology Supervisor: Giuseppe Melacini
Neuron’s enemy: Amyloids
Kémy Adé | Postdoctoral fellow, Pathology and Molecular Medicine Supervisor: Dawn Bowdish
The Old Lung and the Infection: A Frailty Story
Rae Elgamal | PhD student, Information Systems Supervisor: Brian Detlor
Bridging the digital divide: Are tablets the answer?
