Where Questions Become Impact
By Office of the President | May 22, 2025
Downstate came alive this spring with curiosity, connection, and discovery as students across all five colleges and schools took center stage during Research Day events. Whether through posters, oral presentations, or keynote lectures, one thing was clear: research is more than an academic requirement. It is a mindset, a skillset, and a pathway to real-world impact.
Research Day events provide students with a platform to explore big questions, communicate evidence clearly, and grow as professionals who understand that advancing health equity starts with knowing how to ask and answer the right questions. With nearly 250 student posters and presentations shared across the university, the common thread was purpose, and the breadth and depth of ideas reflected the diversity of Downstate’s rigorous academic training.
The season kicked off with the School of Graduate Studies in March when students and residents from every academic division and hospital trainees gathered for a daylong celebration of scientific inquiry. David Christini, Ph.D., dean of the School of Graduate Studies, opened the event with a timely message, acknowledging the national challenges facing science funding while calling on institutions like Downstate to lead with local action and support.
The program included a compelling keynote by Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology at Vanderbilt University, whose energy constraints and brain development theory sparked lively discussion. Three interactive poster sessions and multiple platform presentations followed, with Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., Nursing, Health Professions, Public Health, and Medicine students presenting original research. The event was a success in communication, mentorship, and interdisciplinary learning.
A few weeks later, the College of Nursing held its Research Day, hosting the Accelerated BSN students as they presented their capstone projects. These projects, organized around the PICO model—Patient/Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome—helped students ground their clinical questions in evidence-based research. The posters tackled pressing issues like nurse staffing ratios, burnout prevention, and the effects of GLP-1 weight loss medications on mental health. One team analyzed how high nurse-to-patient ratios endanger care in med-surg; another explored strategies to reduce nurse turnover, highlighting successful models from peer institutions. Faculty judges praised the students’ poise and depth of analysis, emphasizing how critical it is to enter the field with clinical skills, strong research literacy, and leadership potential.
Earlier this month, the School of Health Professions hosted its annual Student Research Forum that featured work from six academic programs: Health Informatics, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Diagnostic Medical Imaging, and Midwifery, focused on oral presentations built from previously reviewed posters, allowing students to practice public speaking while making their findings accessible and impactful.
Project topics were equally diverse and relevant, ranging from textbook bias and health equity to maternal health outcomes and screening tool effectiveness. Judges evaluated design, clarity, and relevance of projects, and faculty mentors guided promising students toward publication and conference submission. Plans are also underway to create a searchable archive of SOHP student research, ensuring these efforts continue to inform and inspire.
The sense of community, ambition, and shared purpose united all these events beyond the posters and presentations. Downstate students are learning to think like researchers across disciplines to investigate, interpret, and advocate. And in a healthcare landscape where data and equity must go hand-in-hand, these skills will define the next generation of health leaders.
At Downstate, research moves from the lab into clinics, communities, and classrooms, bringing evidence to life and turning ideas into action.
See the video here.