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Eastern campus students and residents showcase investigative skills at annual research symposium

Eastern campus students and residents showcase investigative skills at annual research symposium

Students, residents and fellows at the West Virginia University School of Medicine’s Eastern Campus recently had the opportunity to showcase their clinical research skills as they participated in the campus’s annual research symposium.

This event pairs trainees with Eastern Campus faculty members on in-depth research projects, which typically focus on critical healthcare initiatives in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle and the surrounding Appalachian region. Projects are submitted in the form of research posters and are presented by trainees to a panel of faculty judges.

The 2026 Eastern Campus Research Symposium was held on March 27 at the Health Sciences Center Eastern Division in Martinsburg. A total of 40 posters were submitted by students and residents, setting a new record high for the event.

“This year’s symposium was a tremendous success and reflected the continued growth of scholarship and research across the Eastern Campus,” said Professor Bill Lewis, M.D., who oversees the symposium. “The wide variety of projects showcased the strong scholarly engagement of our trainees and included quality improvement initiatives, case reports and large-scale research studies.”

Following the conclusion of the symposium, judges selected winners for a variety of awards, including Best Original Research, Best Case Report and Best Potential to Expand. A People’s Choice award was also given out, which was voted upon by all attendees of the symposium. See the full list of awards and winners below:

  • Best Original Research: Time to Treatment and Outcomes in Appalachian Cancer care
    Author: Kathryn Schwartzman (MS3)
    Co-Author: Caroline Rieser, M.D.
  • Best Case: Childhood-Onset Psychosis Associated with Frontal Encephalomalacia and Wallerian Degeneration: A Case Report Highlighting Structural Brain Lesions as a Potential Etiology
    Authors: Erin McGowan (MS3); Nicholas Lemon (MS3)
    Co-Author: Ankit Chalia, M.D.
  • Best QI/Programmatic: A retrospective, cross-sectional study of ADHD and learning disorders among school-aged children in rural West Virginia
    Author: Sharmaine Lewis, D.O. (PGY-3)
    Co-Author: Christopher Bellew, M.D.
  • People’s Choice: Examining Rate of Alcohol Use Disorder Following Bariatric Surgery
    Author: Roushini Manjunath (MS4)
    Co-Author: Alexandria Arvon, M.D.
  • Best Potential to Expand: Incidence of Vitamin D. Deficiency Following GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy: A Retrospective Cohort Study
    Authors: Alexis Fritts, M.D. (PGY-1); Maria Kleimann Sanchez Cerro, M.D. (PGY-2)
    Co-Author: Cassandra Clayborne, M.D.
  • Best Potential to Expand: Bridging Trauma and Loss: Treating Subthreshold PTSD and Grief Using Cognitive Processing Therapy
    Author: Oliva Shaffer, PsyD (PGY-1)
    Co-Authors: Samantha Deamer, PsyD; Johnathan Deiches, Ph.D.; Christa Morton, PsyD
  • Honorable Mention Case Report: Atypical initial manifestation of Miller Fisher Syndrome mimicking acute ischemic stroke
    Authors: Yonas Gebeyehu, M.D. (PGY-1); Jacqueline Shoewmaker (MS3)
    Co-Authors: Ryan McCarthy, M.D.; Farman Ali, M.D.
  • Honorable Mention Case Report: Exploring Hormonal Therapy for Mood Disorders in Perimenopause and Postmenopause
    Authors: Joel Wadel (MS3); Sarah Mauro (MS3)
    Co-Authors: Ankit Chalia, M.D.; Michael Ang-Rabanes, M.D.; Raja Mogallapu, M.D.
  • Honorable Mention Case Report: IgG4-RD or Breaking Occam’s Razor? A Case of Retroperitoneal Fibrosis and Infundibular Hypophysitis
    Authors: Noah Albright (MS3); Sarah Michienzi (MS3)
    Co-Author: Emma Morton-Eggleston, M.D., MPH

“One of the major themes this year was the future impact and sustainability of these projects,” Dr. Lewis explained. “We have been working to connect presenters with the research team to help further projects and identify next steps for continued development, presentation and publication opportunities.”

Lewis also added that several studies submitted at this year’s symposium utilized the TriNetX platform to examine nationwide datasets on a broader scale, highlighting a growing interest in larger database-driven research alongside the continued excellence displayed in QI projects and case reports.

View the full gallery of photos from the 2026 Eastern Campus research symposium here.