Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine held its annual Research Day on Friday, January 9, that saw a record-number of more than 75 presentations and 168 total students that registered for the event held at the Center for Medical and Health Sciences.
There were 77 total presentations, which is a record-setting number and the most since the inception of the event seven years ago. The most recorded presentations prior to this year were 46 back in 2024. Students from the school seized the opportunity to share their findings with others in the medical profession in the annual event that featured 10 oral presentations and an atrium full of posters outlining the work student-doctors have been doing under the direction of LUCOM faculty.
Associate Professor of Anatomy, Laurieanne Hemric, Ph.D., was thrilled to have so many participants in her first year leading the event.
“We were delighted with the large increase in participation in Research Day this year,” Dr. Hemric stated. “We attribute this in part to increases in our OMM clinical faculty research and use of cadaveric donors for studying anatomical variations and other measures not easily studied in live human subjects. Also, we saw presentations by our osteopathic colleagues who travelled from Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) and Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM). We were especially honored by President Costin’s visit to both oral and poster presentation sessions. This was a real encouragement to students and faculty in LUCOM’s research program.”
The oral presenters spoke on their work that ranged from osteopathic manipulative medicine, cadaveric education, and stigmata, opioids, and standardization to utilizing community shadowing experiences to support wellbeing and strong academic performance. Posters on display represented a wide variety of medical fields, including infectious diseases, physiology, and psychology.
This year featured one winner for Best Oral Presentation and five winning categories for poster presentations. These categories include Best Poster Presentation in Basic Science Research, Best Poster Presentation in Clinical Research, Best Poster Presentation in Case Report, Best Poster Presentation in Systematic Review/Meta-analysis, and Best Poster Presentation in Educational Projects.
The winner for Best Oral Presentation was L. Spencer Fitch, DO, for A Novel Application of OMM of the Accessory Nerve in Treatment Resistant Cervicogenic Headaches (CEH). He presented a case of chronically debilitating CEH in an 84-year-old male successfully treated with a novel form of osteopathic manipulative treatment for the spinal accessory nerve, termed Neural Integration Technique.
The winner for Best Poster Presentation in Basic Science Research was Rebekah Satalino with “A DASH Complex Ortholog Mediates pH Adaptation and Virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans”. Sarah Byrd Rice (OMS-III) won Best Poster Presentation in Case Report with “Resolution of Infant Torticollis with OMT”. Second-year student, Matthew Karpel, won Best Poster Presentation in Educational Research with his poster titled, “Developing a Central Histology Lab to Support Academic Research”.
A pair of third-year students, Ciera Miller and Nicole Muhlenbruck, won Best Poster Presentation in Clinical Research with “Gestational Diabetes Mellitus vs Pre-Gestational Diabetes and Pre-Eclampsia: A Retrospective Study Comparing the Incidence of Pre-Eclampsia in Insulin Treated and Diet Controlled Patients”. “Association Between ctDNA Levels and Stage III Melanoma Prognosis: A Systematic Literature Review” was the winner of the Best Poster Presentation in Systematic Review/Meta-analysis. It was composed and presented by three second-year students, Deborah Shim, Enoch Pan, and Yanghwa Hong.
“The foundation of medical advancement is research,” Hemric concluded. “It is imperative for medical students to understand the research process, since their future effectiveness in treatment and healing of patients will depend on their participation in research and, fundamentally, reading and understanding medical research. In particular, medical students were able to see several oral and poster presentations exemplifying the clinical application of OMT (osteopathic manipulative treatment) for patient healing which is central to osteopathic medical training.”
Many students are involved in research through an optional summer elective following their first year at LUCOM. During the elective, they are paired with faculty members to assist in ongoing research and scholarly activity. Student engagement in the elective has steadily increased over the past 5-years, with almost 100 students completing the elective last year.
LUCOM actively promotes and funds research among its faculty through its Center for Research. At over 8,500 square feet, the center features eight state-of-the-art molecular and cellular labs, a large central lab, a dedicated administrative suite, and an expanded animal facility.
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