2025 MD Student Research Showcase

The Academy for Medical Education is pleased to invite you to the 2025 MD Student Research Showcase.   

Date: Wednesday 22nd October 2025 
Time: 4:00pm to 7:00pm  
Venue: Mary Emelia Mayne Room, Level 4 of the heritage-listed Mayne Medical School building, Herston.

• This showcase is an opportunity to learn about the research being conducted by your MD presented through a 3-Minute Rapid Presentation format and Poster displays. Oral and poster presentations will be judged by a panel and people’s choice, and the best oral and poster presentation will receive an award, celebrating the innovative contributions and achievements of the participants.

This year we are delighted to welcome Associate Professor Aideen McInerney-Leo (Deputy Associate Dean Research, HMBS), as our keynote speaker, sharing insights from her impactful research journey. We will also discuss some of the research opportunities available for MD students and hear about the MD/PhD journey from some students.

Please join us for an evening of research. Whether you're already involved in research or just curious, this showcase is a fantastic opportunity to be inspired, connect with peers, and explore the diverse ways research is shaping the future of medicine.

As this event will be catered, we ask that you kindly register your attendance by 8 October 2025.

If you are interested in attending, please register using the link below. Please note that pictures will be taken during this event and by RSVPing yes, you are consenting to these pictures being taken and posted and used in future advertising.

Keynote speaker:  

A/Prof Aideen McInerney-Leo, Deputy Associate Dean (Research) trained as a genetic counsellor and leads the research group “Integrating Genomics into Medicine” at the Frazer Institute. She has an international reputation in research leadership and is currently the Deputy of the Dermatology Research Centre and lead of the Skin and Skin Cancer Stream within the Frazer Institute. Aideen feels strongly about empowering and advocating for individuals with less power and opportunity and is dedicated to nurturing a positive workplace culture. From 2022-2024 Aideen led the Frazer Institute Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and co-chaired the Consumer Involvement in Research Working Group. Aideen is committed to working with HDR students, D-HDRs and supervisors throughout the faculty and partnering with the Graduate School to optimise the higher degree research student experience.

For more information about this event, please email med.mdresearch@uq.edu.au.

Post-Showcase report

Thank you to everyone who attended and/or presented at the 2025 Medical Student Research Showcase on Wednesday 22nd October 2025 from 4:00pm to 7:00pm in the Mary Emelia Mayne Room, Level 4 of the heritage-listed Mayne Medical School building, Herston. This was a wonderful opportunity to share the high quality, and interesting research undertaken by our students.  

This year, there were 69 abstract submissions from which 10 oral 3MT presentations and 10 poster presentations were chosen. The process of review saw a senior MD Student paired with an experienced staff member to rank and respond to the abstracts. All those who were unsuccessful in being chosen to present at the showcase were provided with the opportunity to receive focussed feedback. The winner for the 3MT presentation will go on to the national Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand (MDANZ) 3M+1Q competition on 22 November 2025. 

Our keynote speaker, A/Prof Aideen McInerney-Leo, Deputy Associate Dean (Research), gave an inspirational talk alongside student presentations. Prizes were presented by A/Prof Bernadette Richards and A/Prof Aideen McInerney-Leo. 

3MT Oral Presentation Winner:  

• Nelysha Damji – Novel Frameshift Mutation in MYH9 Presenting with Congenital Thrombocytopenia: A Paediatric Case Report with Familial Implications 

People’s Choice Oral presentation:  

• Derrick Ma – The Remediation of Thirdhand Smoke Contamination: A Scoping Review   

Poster Presentation Winner:  

• Amanuiel Taddesse – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Experiences of Chronic Pain in Australia: A Qualitative Synthesis 

People’s Choice Poster presentation:  

• Nicholas Kong – Red blood cell salvage during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) decannulation: Clinical audit   

Judges: 

• A/Prof Aideen McInerney-Leo 

• Emerita Prof Di Eley 

• A/Prof Joan Li 

• A/Prof Jayesh Dhanani 

Special thanks go to the Medical School for their sponsorship of the prizes and catering. 

Abstract Reviewers: 

• Chloe Carrington 

• Kate Dent 

• Isaac Rad 

• Michael D’Souza 

• Amit Sikder 

• Benjamin Cai 

• Christina Woloszczuk 

• Aaron Lerch 

• Kieran Power 

• Dr Mina Motamedi 

• Dr Nora Leopardi 

• Dr Robert Nona 

• A/Prof Bernadette Richards 

• Dr Kimberly Haladyn 

Oral presentation list: 

• Brett Berezowski – The Role of Prophylactic Appendectomy in Expeditionary Medicine: A Systematic Review 

• Nelysha Damji – Novel Frameshift Mutation in MYH9 Presenting with Congenital Thrombocytopenia: A Paediatric Case Report with Familial Implications 

• Hasti Fadakar – Personalised Lipid Therapies for Brain-Cardiac Disorders: Advancing from Organ-Specific to Systems-Based Approaches 

• Varvara Kapralova – Alzheimer's disease, gut microbiota and the neurolipidome: investigating the role of gut microbiome-lipid interactions in the pathogenesis of AD as well as new opportunities for personalised therapies. 

• Kiera Little – Challenging assumptions: how can we explain higher rates of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in Māori and Pacific Islander adolescents? 

• Derrick Ma – The Remediation of Thirdhand Smoke Contamination: A Scoping Review 

• Thomas Molloy – Feasibility Study of the Cambridge Knee Injury Tool (CamKIT): 18-Month Analysis of Acute Knee Injuries at an Urgent Treatment Centre 

• Jarvis Noronha – Validation of a Novel Point-of-Care Device for Lipoprotein(a) Measurement: Preliminary Analysis 

• Nikka Sandoval – Efficacy of interventions to prevent eating disorders in people with type 1 diabetes: A systematic review. 

• Raghavan Vijaykumar – Measuring Access to Primary Care in Australia: A Scoping Review 

Poster presentation list: 

• Linda Kim – Rapidly Progressive Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting with New-Onset Seizures and Altered Mental Status in a Previously Healthy 71-Year-Old Female: A Case Report 

• Nicholas Kong – Red blood cell salvage during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) decannulation: Clinical audit 

• Liam Lochhead – Psychiatric Effects of GLP-1RAs in Suicidal Individuals 

• Khwahish Munjal – Use of FCH PET/CT in Primary Hyperparathyroidism due to Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1 - A Systematic Review 

• Naazish Shariff – Access Barriers To Assisted Reproductive Technologies Among Female Cancer Patients 

• Amanuiel Taddesse – Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Experiences of Chronic Pain in Australia: A Qualitative Synthesis 

• Ajay Tupil – Urine-protein-to-creatinine ratio in the nephrotic range during acute kidney injury enables identification of previously unknown glomerular pathology 

• Mayson Williams – Changes in Kidney Transplant Education: Effects on Hospitalization in a Large Transplant Center 

• Holly Williamson – Non-pharmacological interventions to improve sleep quality in hospitalised children: A scoping review 

Visit the 2025 MD Student Research Showcase Gallery