Jill Erickson graduated from MSU with a dietetics degree in 1998, but her education is far from complete.
She spent her Friday afternoon among a group of students from the Department of Epidemiology for its second Research Day, an expo held to showcase the different research projects students are completing.
For Erickson, it’s a glimpse at what will be expected of her once she comes back to school as an epidemiology graduate student.
“For me, it’s a good introduction to the department,” she said. “It’s good exposure to see what’s out there.”
Epidemiology graduate students spent the afternoon presenting posters that detail the progress and results of their ongoing research. Epidemiology studies how diseases are caused and spread.
Andrew Mullard, an epidemiology graduate student, showcased his progress on a prototype database for registering stroke patients. He’s shown his work before at conferences around the country, but it’s not often he gets to present his work in East Lansing - an experience he says is helpful.
“Part of the game is presenting this stuff at conferences,” he said.
The conferences can sometimes draw extra money for the researchers, which is necessary to keep up the more expensive projects, like Mullard’s database. The project outfits nurses with $700 hand-held computers to keep track of patients’ data.
“The single most important thing is for students to get practice in presentations,” said Nigel Paneth, chairman of the Department of Epidemiology.
About 16 students, a little more than one-third of the entire class of graduate students, volunteered to present their projects at the program, Paneth said.
“A lot responded this year,” he said.
Event moderator Madeleine Lenski said she was pleased with the day’s turnout. She praised the quality of the students’ work and the worth of the opportunity to present research in front of a group of their peers.
“We’re so proud of our students, and I think it’s rare for students to be able to show off their work,” she said. “It’s good training for national presentations.”
Research Day culminated with the department officials choosing a top presenter. This year, the honors went to Michael Brown, an epidemiology graduate student. Brown’s project analyzed the usefulness of a commonly used test to check for blood clots in the lungs in the emergency room.
He said he had fun at the shows because he often gets inspiration for his own work from what he sees in other researchers.
“Beyond the opportunity to share my poster, it’s nice to see what others are doing,” Brown said. “That’s what I enjoy most.”
