Annual Pathology Retreat Showcases Synergies Between Clinical and Basic Research and Hones Residents’ and Fellows’ Presentation Skills

The annual Pathology Research Retreat is an exciting opportunity for residents and fellows from the clinical and basic science arms of Montefiore Einstein’s Pathology Department to come together to collaborate and share their research with fellow scientists. This year’s event gave them a chance to present their research and posters, get important feedback from their peers and mentors, and fine-tune their presentation skills.

“It’s fantastic because we all sit in our departments and do our thing and then suddenly one fine day we have to go out in the world and present,” said Kritika Krishnamurthy, MD, Molecular Genetics Fellow, Pathology, Montefiore Einstein.

More than two dozen attendees in the earlier stages of their training gave poster presentations, while eight more experienced fellows and residents each gave 10- to 15-minute talks, followed by question-and-answer sessions. This year’s retreat was held at Marina Del Rey, a beautiful waterfront venue in the Bronx.

“Every presenter had the chance to learn how to capture an audience’s attention,” said Michael B. Prystowsky, MD, PhD, Chair and Professor, Clinical Pathology, Montefiore Einstein. “There were really great opportunities for individuals to have open discussions with people and to learn how to articulate well, make eye contact with the audience or someone passing by their poster and tell their story.”

The retreat also demonstrated the vast range of research being conducted across the Pathology Department. “It’s really nice to see the diversity of the research that the department does and the implications of the research, showing how the clinical half of our department interacts with the basic research half and the synergy that results from that interaction,” said Louis M. Weiss, MD, MPH, Vice Chair, Academic Affairs and Research, Pathology, and Professor, Pathology and Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Montefiore Einstein.

At the end of the retreat, two presenters were selected as having the best poster presentations:

• Hania Shakeri, MD, PGY4, Pathology Chief Resident, for her abstract titled “Retrospective Evaluation of Adenocarcinoma with Only CK7 Immunostaining on Liver Biopsy”
• Mohd Nauman, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CEO Lab, Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, for his abstract titled “Requirement of MenaINV for Metastatic Colonization of the Lungs by Breast Cancer Stem Cells”