2026 Research Day
Save the Date!
The 21st Annual DHLRI Research Day will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2026.
The keynote speaker will be Calum MacRae, MD, PhD, Vice Chair for Scientific Innovation at the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. 
Registration and abstract submissions are due Tuesday, September 8 at 11:59pm.
Visit the 2026 DHLRI Research Day Website for More Information and to register.
2026 DHLRI Research Day Website
DHLRI Research Day / Research SymposiumAbstract Submission & Registration
***New for 2026: DHLRI Research Symposium***
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 from 10am-3pm
In addition to the annual DHLRI Research Day activities, we will host a new half-day research symposium. This year's symposium will focus on the genetic basis of heart and lung diseases and will feature short talks from several OSU and NCH PIs, along with a panel discussion that includes our Research Day keynote speaker, Calum MacRae, MD, PhD.
Registration and more information can be found on the 2026 DHLRI Research Symposium website.
Past Events
2025 Research Day
The DHLRI concluded its week-long anniversary celebration with the 20th annual Research Day. A standing-room-only presentation featured a panel discussion with leaders from the University ERIK office, Wexner Medical Center, College of Medicine, and DHLRI. Highlights included past advancements and future goals as the University, Wexner Medical Center, and DHLRI as we usher in the next 25 years of discovery. The event included short talks and a record number of poster presentations, followed by a keynote address from Juleen Zierath, PhD, of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. Dr. Zierath, Professor in the Departments of Physiology and Pharmacology, and Molecular Medicine and Surgery, presented “Deconvoluting Signals and Metabolic Rhythmicity in Type 2 Diabetes.”
Distinguished Awards
Dana Mack - Director's Award
Ana L. Mora, MD - Melissa G. Piper Distinguished Mentor Award
Daniel Gallego-Perez, PhD - Chuck Webb Innovator of the Year Award
Xianyao Xu - Distinguished Basic Research Staff Award
Kelly Dunsky - Distinguished Clinical Research Staff Award
Karan Rai, MD - Distinguished Clinical Fellow Award
Anna Bratasz, PhD - Distinguished Administrative Staff Award
Xilal Y. Rima, PhD - Post-Doctoral Scholar of the Year Award
Vladimir Bogdanov - Graduate Student of the Year Award
Poster Awards
Undergraduate
1st Place - Colin Doss, Wold Lab
2nd Place - Nishi Suresh, Gowdy Lab
3rd Place (tie) - Anusha Kapoor, Englert Lab
3rd Place (tie) - Katelyn Burns, Smith Lab
Graduate
1st Place Yujia Xie, Lewandowski Lab
2nd Place (tie) - John Bobik, El Refaey Lab
2nd Place (tie) - Hwayeon Lim, Lufang Zhou Lab
3rd Place - Jingru Liang, Stanford Lab
Postdoctoral
1st Place - Pooja Acharya, PhD, Tranter Lab
2nd Place - Vijay Kumar, PhD, Sarkar Lab
3rd Place - Mohamed Shamseldin, PhD, Amal Amer Lab
Clinical
1st Place - Karan Rai, MD, Pulmonary
Research Staff
1st Place - Sourabh Soni, PhD, Mebratu Lab
2nd Place - Dania Abu-Saleh, Farkas Lab
3rd Place - Mithu De, PhD, Fussner Lab
In October, the 2024 DHLRI 19th Annual Research Day was a resounding success. Highlighting the significance of academic and scientific research, the event boasted >130 posters and was attended by hundreds of participants and viewers. Representing a diverse scope of discovery, researchers from undergrads to faculty presented their work through posters and talks. Community partners, such as the American Heart Association, attended , getting a first-hand look at their funding support in action.
OSU's very own Joshua Joseph, MD, MPH, FAHA, ACI (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism) gave the keynote to a standing room only audience, "Cardiometabolic Risk: From People to Populations." Dr. Joseph is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, an investigator in the Diabetes & Metabolism Research Center and Affiliated Faculty, Translational Data Analytics Institute. His engaging talk spoke to approaches to diabetes treatment that reduces cardiovascular risk, the current state of cardiometabolic risk in diabetes and shared real-world examples of interventions to advance cardiometabolic health and health equity.
Distinguished Awards
Sakima Smith, MD - Melissa G. Piper Distinguished Mentor Award
Kristy Townsend, PhD - Chuck Webb Innovator of the Year Award
Daniela Farkas - Distinguished Basic Research Staff Award
Jennifer Smith - Distinguished Clinical Research Staff Award
Priya Roy, MD - Distinguished Clinical Fellow Award
Andy Newland & Phillip Tate - Distinguished Administrative Staff Award
Lorena Rosas, PhD - Post-Doctoral Scholar of the Year Award
Dharti Shantaram - Graduate Student of the Year
Poster Awards
Undergraduate
1st Place - Daniel Koch
2nd Place - Mariam Oueis
3rd Place - Shreya Agarwal
Graduate
1st Place - Jon Fritz
2nd Place - Evangeline Schott
3rd Place - Michael Yaeger
Postdoctoral
1st Place - Yang Yu, PhD
2nd Place - Elisa Felix Soriano, PhD
3rd Place - Lorena Rosas, PhD
Clinical
1st Place - Karl Shaver, MD
2nd Place - Sarah MacDowell, MD
3rd Place - Andrew Wodarcyk, PhD
Research Staff
1st Place - Sourabh Soni, PhD
2nd Place - Daniel Kasprovic
3rd Place - Patricia McCallinhart, PhD
2023 Research Day
Research Day Recap
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On October 10, 2023, the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute hosted its 18th Annual Research Day, showcasing the latest projects and achievements of its faculty and students. The event featured ~130 poster presentations and talks by researchers from various areas of cardiovascular and lung disease. Dr. John Warner, CEO of the Wexner Medical Center and Executive Vice President of The Ohio State University, gave remarks and the introduction to keynote speaker Anthony Rosenzweig, MD, a renowned expert in identifying novel mechanism and therapeutic targets in heart failure, using the exercised heart to understand heart health.
Over the past many years, the DHLRI Research Day successes were due, in part, to the unwavering philanthropic support of our friend Charles (Chuck) Webb. Losing a strong advocate of the Institute in June, we pay tribute to his memory and his continuing legacy for his passion of research and social responsibility. His support provided the platform from which to celebrate our best and brightest.
Awards
Distinguished Award Recipients:
- Lorri Fowler - DHLRI Director's Award
- Orlando Simonetti, PhD - Melissa G. Piper Distinguished Mentor Award
- Yingman Liu, PhD - Distinguished Basic Research Staff Award
- Akash Goyal, MD - Distinguished Clinical Fellow Award
- DeeAnn Willis-Berry - Distinguished Administrative Staff Award
- Tatiana Cuellar Gaviria, PhD - Post-Doctoral Scholar of the Year Award
- Vrishti Phadumdeo - Graduate Student of the Year Award
Poster Award Recipients:
- Sally Diep and Aiden George - 1st Place Undergraduate
- Hank Kern - 2nd Place Undergraduate
- Jeniffer Park - 3rd Place Undergraduate
- Aaron Argall - 1st Place Pre-Doctoral
- Benjamin Johnson - 2nd Place Pre-Doctoral
- Sarah Sturgill - 3rd Place Pre-Doctoral
- Elisa Felix Soriano, PhD - 1st Place Post-Doctoral
- Paula Agudelo Garcia, PhD - 2nd Place Post-Doctoral
- Jyotsna Joshi, PhD - 3rd Place Post-Doctoral
- Mithu De, PhD - 1st Place Research Staff
- Ege Kacira - 2nd Place Research Staff
- Magdalena Blaszkiewicz, PhD - 3rd Place Research Staff
- Ian Bentley, MD - 1st Place Clinical Fellow
- Azariyas Challa, MD - 2nd Place Clinical Fellow
- Ashlee Asada, MD - 3rd Place Clinical Fellow
2022 DHLRI Research Day
DHLRI hosted the 17th Annual Research Day on October 19, 2022. Organized by Jenifer Bennett, Research Programs Manager, 2022 Research Day Featured 130 Posters, talks from exceptional trainees, and a highly distinguished keynote talk with a standing room only audience.
The 2022 DHLRI Research Day Keynote Speaker was Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD. Dr. Wu is the president elect of the American Heart Association, effective July 2022. Dr. Wu is also a physician researcher, Director of the Cardiovascular Institute and Simon H. Stertzer, MD, Professor and Professor of Radiology at Stanford University. His research focuses on the biological mechanisms of patient-specific and disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to understand mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, accelerate drug discovery, develop "clinical trials in a dish" technology, and implement precision medicine for cardiovascular patients.