New York Institute of Technology

On May 9, projects by 30 undergraduate students from New York Institute of Technology's College of Engineering and Computing Sciences were featured at an event on the university's New York City campus. Eight teams shared projects at this year's event. Since the spring of 2018, more than 300 undergrads have been a part of the highly selective program, which allows students to work on research or entrepreneurship projects in a group setting, under the guidance of faculty mentors. The collaborative projects run for two semesters and each research team is provided $500 to cover the cost of supplies.

Students in New York Tech's School of Health Professions gathered on May 7 for the annual Aletheia Research Symposium. Held every spring, Aletheia (Greek for "truth") provides future healthcare professionals the opportunity to showcase their research findings and defend the capstone projects that they have carried out under faculty supervision. This year, student research was displayed across 30 posters, representing research from the school's five fields: physical therapy, physician assistant studies, occupational therapy, interdisciplinary health sciences, and nursing.

On April 26, New York Institute of Technology undergraduate and graduate students showcased their scholarly work at the institution's annual Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). At New York Tech's New York City campus, 155 students shared their research projects in the form of oral presentations and poster exhibitions. Oral presentations covered an assortment of high-level subjects, including the comparative advantages of using lined paper versus plain paper and the potential impacts on memory, how specific search cues impact physicians' viewing of medical imagery, and proposed solutions to reduce noise pollution in on-campus and local study spaces. Students also shared poster presentations spanning a wide range of topics, including, among many others, an AI chatbot that, through a series of questions and a database of clothing, can help users pick their outfits for professional events. View all student projects at this year's SOURCE.

On April 14, New York Institute of Technology undergraduate and graduate students showcased their scholarly work at the institution's annual Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). At New York Tech's New York City campus, 119 student research projects were shared in the form of oral presentations and poster presentations. Oral presentations covered social impact topics such as the relationship between body positivity and physical health, solutions to greenhouse gas emissions in Puerto Rico, and student-led legislation to end the sale of over-the-counter weight loss and muscle-building products to minors. Technical oral presentation topics included exotic DNA structures and their role in gene instability, genome sequencing of bacteria-infecting viruses (bacteriophages), and the use of bacteriophages to combat MRSA infections. Students also shared poster presentations spanning a wide range of topics, including, among many others, the use of cannabidiols in cancer treatment and the future of telemedicine. View all student projects at this year's SOURCE.

On November 18, 51 medical students showcased their research and scholarly work at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine's (NYITCOM) Fall 2022 Student Research Symposium. The event, organized by the NYITCOM chapter of the American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) under Associate Professor Nathan Thompson, Ph.D., and NYITCOM's Office of Research, took place in Salten Hall on the Long Island Campus. The annual symposium showcased scholarly work from students who participated in NYITCOM's many research-focused programs, including the Academic Medicine Scholar Program, the Summer Research Program, the Osteopathic Medicine, D.O./Medical and Biological Sciences, Ph.D. (D.O./Ph.D.) program, and independent student research. Throughout the day, students and their faculty mentors shared their research projects in the form of verbal presentations and poster presentations. Research topics ranged from community and global health to the toxicity of cancer treatments, concussions, vitamin deficiencies, and a variety of other subjects.

On April 29, 170 undergraduate and graduate students showcased their research and creative scholarly work at New York Tech's annual Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). Throughout the day, students shared their research projects in the form of verbal and poster presentations. Research projects included topics such as the 3-D bioprinting of organs, neuromarketing, virus genome analysis, and robotics in medicine, among many others. View this year's event program for a listing of all student projects.

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is proud to announce the recipients of the 2022 Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Research Grants. The grants of up to $1,500 were designed to support graduate students who are active Society members seeking funding for research in support of career development opportunities.

Five medical students from New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) conducted esports medicine research on the benefits of walking breaks. The new study, led by experts at the university's Center for eSports Medicine, was published in BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine and evaluates whether walking and rest breaks can benefit gamers' processing speed and executive function (planning and non-verbal problem-solving abilities). Competitive gamers spend hours in front of their screens, with some playing for as long as 12 straight hours. During this time, they can perform up to 500 actions per minute on their mouse or keyboard while also focusing at a level of attention that results in significant cognitive stress and physical limitations. While the effects of prolonged sitting have been well documented--even shown to disrupt cerebral blood flow and possibly oxygen flow to the brain--its impact on competitive gaming has not been widely evaluated. Given this, the researchers virtually assessed 21 competitive gamers from seven different countries (12 men and nine women). Gamers were recruited using social media and online platforms, such as Discord, Facebook, Twitter, and Twitch, the largest streaming platform for gamers. Using first-person shooter games such as Overwatch, Valorant, and Fortnite, participants played for two-hour sessions over three separate days. Each day featuring a different intervention selected at random. Interventions included continuous gameplay for 120-135 minutes with no break, a six-minute walking break with 60-75 minutes of gameplay before and after, and a six-minute resting break with 60-75 minutes of gameplay before and after. For the walking break, participants were asked to find a place near their gaming station where they could walk for six minutes on a flat surface, back-and-forth while holding their smartphone to hear the investigators' cues. The same procedure was used for the rest intervention except, instead of walking, the participants laid on their backs for six minutes with their eyes open, to avoid any eye rest that was not given during the walking break. Following the three conditions (walking, resting, and continuous play), players were assessed for factors such as reaction time and executive function. The researchers found that walking produced significantly faster reaction and planning times vs. resting, while continuous play produced results that were slightly better than the resting condition. While there was no impact on game performance, meaning that the percentage of games won was not significantly different following any of these conditions, more than 70 percent of the study's participants felt that the walking break did improve their gaming abilities. "[The] walking break definitely has the best impact on gaming performance," said one study participant. "It helps you clear your mind while doing something physical. Even if you are walking slowly, it helps you calm down and forget the high pressure from the gaming environment. Your brain isn't going overboard anymore." The research was conducted virtually from July through December 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. This study follows a 2019 study published in the BMJ, in which Center for eSports Medicine researchers found that eye fatigue is the most common ailment among competitive gamers.

Twenty students from New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) had research featured at this year's national Osteopathic Medical Education Conference (OMED). The annual conference is the world's largest gathering of osteopathic physicians (D.O.s). This year's event was held virtually from October 22-24.

Seven students from New York Institute of Technology's College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) helped to conduct research that could bring scientists closer to developing more effective, less toxic treatments for some of the world's deadliest cancers. Their report, published May 14 in the journal Cancers, provides a wide-ranging scientific review of 215 studies on the biological processes that enable certain cancers to spread. Each strand of DNA has "tails" called telomeres, which serve as protective buffers. As cells age and DNA strands shorten, telomeres take the brunt of this shortening, preventing strands from losing the critical proteins that code for cell growth. When telomeres get too short, healthy cells signal to stop growing or to simply die. Cancer cells, on the other hand, bypass this necessary process by elongating their telomeres and preventing this signal. Many cancer cells lengthen their telomeres by reactivating the enzyme telomerase, but some cancer cells can lengthen their telomeres without this enzyme through a process called alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). ALT cancers account for an estimated 10 to 15 percent of cancer cases and include some of the deadliest kinds, including glioblastoma, osteosarcoma, and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. The only available treatment option for these cancers is chemotherapy, which is known to injure healthy cells and cause unpleasant side effects. Therefore, researching the mechanisms behind ALT is critical to ensuring that safer, more effective treatments are brought to light. While many clinically relevant ALT cancer studies exist, this latest report is now the first comprehensive ALT cancer study. Working alongside NYITCOM Associate Professors Maria Plummer, M.D., and Dong Zhang, Ph.D., the medical students summarized all existing clinical ALT cancer literature. Their report discusses how to best detect and prevent ALT, highlights how ALT can impact cancer prognosis and analyzes all published attempts to develop therapies targeting ALT cancers. Learn more about this research project in The Box blog.

Students in New York Tech's School of Health Professions gathered on Zoom for two afternoons on May 11 and 12 to share their research findings at the school's annual Aletheia Research Symposium. Aletheia (Greek for "truth") showcases scholarly research that student teams have carried out under faculty supervision. A total of 132 School of Health Professions students pursuing master's degrees in Physician Assistant Studies (PA) and Occupational Therapy (OT) and a doctorate in Physical Therapy (PT), as well as an undergraduate student and medical students from the College of Osteopathic Medicine, uncovered "truth" for this spring's symposium.

Twenty-eight undergraduate students at New York Institute of Technology's College of Engineering and Computing Sciences had the unique opportunity to participate in the college's Undergraduate Research and Entrepreneurship Program (UREP). Since the spring of 2018, 245 undergrads have participated in the highly selective program, which allows students to work on research or entrepreneurship projects in a group setting, under the guidance of faculty mentors. The collaborative projects run for a single semester or extend to multiple semesters, should the team decide to pursue further development. Each research team is provided with $500 to cover the cost of supplies. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, this popular research program has persisted, and on May 12, this semester's cohort of eight teams presented their research to faculty, peers, and others via a virtual event. Each multidisciplinary team member offered information about their research, cited relevant scientific work, and provided next steps. At the end of the program, faculty attendees offered guidance and suggestions, and the teams were able to ask questions of each other and provide feedback.

Read the full story in The Box blog. Dozens of New York Institute of Technology students, including medical students at NYITCOM, as well as several undergraduates, contributed chapters on animal locomotion (walking) to the Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. The project, managed by NYITCOM's Michael Granatosky, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy, offered students a golden opportunity to conduct academic research during a time when the pandemic otherwise limited students' opportunities to gain valuable research experience. It also complemented their traditional coursework. Since animals and humans share many of the same bones, organs, and tissues, studying animal locomotion allowed medical students to gain additional context and nuance for their human anatomy lessons. For instance, pigs and cows commonly serve as predictive models for osteoarthritis in humans. Studying animal locomotion can also be helpful for future mechanical engineers and scientists. Many of today's robots are built as a form of "biomimicry," meaning that machines imitate elements found in nature, including animal movement. For example, NASA's "space custodian" is a robot designed to collect debris orbiting the earth. Inspired by the gecko, whose feet have tiny hairs for suction, the robot clears space debris using a suction method to prevent potential collisions with other spacecraft. In February 2021, all 27 chapters were published. Each chapter shares insight on the locomotive patterns of animals, ranging from bats, falcons, and horses, to lemurs, salamanders, and many other quadrupeds (four-limbed creatures). A few of the themes covered include the stride patterns of dogs depending on domestication, the precision and speed of sharks, and the various forms of flight that hawks can perform.

New York Tech students presented scientific research at the Dec. 11 Math and Physics Student Research Symposium. The virtual event provided an opportunity to sharpen their scientific communication skills, with students translating complex theories into easily understood discussions. The event was organized by physics and mathematics faculty members, who emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between how the public views science and the way that scientists communicate their studies. The ability to effectively communicate scientific findings allows researchers to distill complex findings and share this important work with a wide audience. This, in turn, can improve public understanding of critical topics such as climate change, medicine, engineering, and many other areas. Student presentations included: "Using String Theory to Understand Subatomic Particles," by Trinh La and Patrick Mazza. "The Contact Binary Fraction," by Jax Apollon. "Development of a 3D-Printed Microscope with a Movable Specimen Holder," by Carlos Zuna Largo. "On Mathematical Modeling of Erosion and Sedimentation," by Hamad El Kahza. "How to Efficiently Simulate Granular Materials: From Cell Membranes to Sand," by Samantha Rivera. "Modeling and Controlling the Movement of a 3D Printed Robot," by Avery Gilson. "The Flow and Fouling in a Pleated Membrane Filter," by Dave Persaud. "The effects of Varying Membrane Density in a Pleated Filter," by Mikhail Smirnov. Read more on the Box: https://www.nyit.edu/box/features/symposium_turns_students_into_scientific_communicators

On December 12, students from New York Institute of Technology's College of Engineering and Computing Sciences presented projects at the 2019 Undergraduate Research and Entrepreneurship Program (UREP). Held at the university's New York City campus, UREP provides NYIT College of Engineering and Computing Sciences undergraduate students with opportunities to work on group research or entrepreneurship projects under the guidance of faculty mentors. Each UREP team is awarded $500 throughout the duration of their study at New York Tech to cover the cost of supplies and materials to engage in research activities. This year's projects included Microwave Imaging for Non-Metallic Media, Cancer Detection Using an Array of Split Ring Resonators, Hydrogen-Powered Cars, and many others.

Thirty-six New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) student researchers made an impressive showing at the 2019 national Osteopathic Medical Education Conference (OMED), held October 25 to 28 in Baltimore, Maryland. Medical students from both NYITCOM-Long Island and NYITCOM-Arkansas had poster presentations featured at the conference. Posters spanned a variety of research topics, including Parkinson's disease, eSports medicine, migraines, and chronic kidney disease, among others.

While some medical students took a summer break from their research, NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) student Connor Abramowicz spent his summer researching cancer treatments at the birthplace of DNA's double helix: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. Growing up on Long Island's north shore, Abramowicz's family would often visit Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's science expositions. So when his application to be part of an investigation at the historic research lab was accepted, he took full advantage of the opportunity. Abramowicz joined the research lab of Jason Sheltzer, Ph.D., who studies aneuploid tumors, tumors with cells containing the wrong number of chromosomes. "Dr. Sheltzer wanted the perspective of a medical student, as most of the people in the lab came from a research background. I was extremely lucky to be offered a position at such a prestigious institution," he said. In their study published in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers wanted to understand why the failure rate is so high to determine how future therapies, namely targeted cancer therapies, could be more effective. When a new drug is tested in a clinical trial for a particular type of cancer, 97 percent of the time that new drug does not make it to market. However, the reasons why so many of these drugs fail is not well understood. They discovered, in the case of targeted cancer therapies, that these treatments may not be hitting their intended targets. Unlike other cancer treatments like chemotherapy, targeted therapies, which are used to treat many common cancers such as breast cancer, are meant to be aimed at the particular genes, proteins, or tissues that cancer cells need to grow and thrive. The researchers used CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis, the gold standard of genome editing tools, to see whether ten different targeted treatments were working as intended. They found that the drugs were not effective because they were missing the mark and targeting proteins not essential for cancer cell proliferation-a phenomenon known as off-target toxicity. Their work suggests that one of the reasons why some targeted treatments may fail in clinical trials is because the drugs are not designed properly. The researchers believe their study will spur more investigations into why so many cancer drugs are ineffective, with the hope that their work will pave the way for better treatments. The research was especially inspiring for Abramowicz, who hopes to one day become an oncologist. "Cancer treatment is an extremely important topic in modern medicine because it's one of the few diseases that we're still trying to treat effectively," he said. "Knowing what each cancer medication does in terms of its mechanism of action is important in producing a well-rounded medication profile."

On May 8 New York Institute of Technology students presented research and posters at this year's Alethia Annual Research Symposium. Organized by NYIT School of Health Professions and held at the NYIT Long Island campus in Old Westbury, N.Y., the event's name comes from the Greek word for "truth," encouraging the future professionals to find passion in their work. Among the many topics covered by this year's projects and poster presentations were Parkinson's disease, the effects of vaping, the relationship between exercise and grades, and more. NYIT School of Health Professions prepares students for rewarding careers in fast-growing health professions, including Clinical Nutrition, Health Sciences/Health and Wellness, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies, and Physical Therapy.

More than 160 student researchers presented their work at NYIT's "SOURCE" (Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression), sponsored by NYIT College of Arts and Sciences. Students presented in groups or individually, giving oral presentations or exhibiting posters featuring their research findings.

Eleven New York Institute of Technology students received Edward Guiliano Global Fellowships to pursue an academic or cultural project at least 200 miles from their home or home campus. Grants range from $500 to $5000 and are awarded twice yearly.