12th Annual Research Symposium
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | Henderson and South Jordan Campuses
Join us for the 12th Annual
Roseman University Research Symposium
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 | 3:00 – 6:00 pm (local time)
Henderson Campus | 11 Sunset Way, Henderson, NV 89014
South Jordan Campus | 10920 S. River Front Pkwy, South Jordan, UT 84095
Henderson Campus
Henderson One-page Program (view or download)
Henderson Full Program (view or download)
Henderson Abstract Book (view or download)
South Jordan Campus
Documents coming soon.
Henderson - Keynote Speaker
Rick Kittles, PhD
Morehouse School of Medicine
Rick Kittles, Ph.D., is the inaugural Senior Vice President for Research at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Kittles was previously Professor and founding Director of the Division of Health Equities within the Department of Population Sciences at the City of Hope (COH) and Associate Director of Health Equities of COH Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Kittles is also Co-founder and Scientific Director of African Ancestry, Inc. Dr. Kittles serves on many national and international steering committees and advisory boards. He has been a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) for the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI/NIH) and is Past Council Chair of the Minorities in Cancer Research (MICR) of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). He has been at the forefront of the development of genetic markers for ancestry and how genetic ancestry can be used in studies on disease risk and outcomes. He received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from George Washington University in 1998.
Dr. Kittles’ research has focused on understanding the complex issues surrounding race, genetic ancestry, and health. He has published over 260 research articles and is well known for his research on prostate cancer and health disparities among African Americans
South Jordan - Keynote Speaker
Melodie Weller, PhD
Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine
Dr. Melodie Weller is a research scientist and educator specializing in virology, oral-systemic disease, and pathogen discovery. Her interdisciplinary research program focuses on understanding how viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens contribute to chronic inflammatory diseases, with a particular emphasis on the oral cavity as a reservoir and indicator of systemic disease.
Her lab has pioneered studies identifying novel variants of Hepatitis Delta Virus (HDV) in salivary gland tissues of patients with Sjogren’s disease, independent of Hepatitis B Virus co-infection. This work extends to characterizing satellite RNA viruses within the Kolmioviridae family and exploring their potential plant origins and cross-kingdom transmission. She also leads investigations into the oral microbiome and its impact on autoimmune disease, integrating large-scale epidemiologic data with molecular approaches.
In the clinical and teaching arenas, Dr. Weller is committed to advancing diagnostic tools for oral disease, training the next generation of scientists, and promoting translational research that bridges dentistry, immunology, and infectious disease. She actively mentors undergraduate and graduate students and collaborates across disciplines to uncover environmental and microbial contributors to systemic autoimmune conditions.
Abstract Guidelines
- Only abstracts submitted via the online submission form will be considered.
- More than one abstract per presenting author may be submitted.
- Abstracts that have been published or presented at other venues may be submitted. Abstracts presented at previous Roseman Research Symposia, however, are not eligible for submission unless you are submitting an abstract of recent developments obtained after the work was presented.
- Abstracts should be organized into four sections: Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. In some cases, Results and Conclusions may be blank. Abstracts should not exceed a total (i.e. all four sections) of 350 words.
- Posters must be professional in appearance, provide project information (e.g. title, authors, abstract components), charts and figures as appropriate.
- The size of the poster should not exceed 4’ x 6’ (4’ x 3’ non-vinyl posters preferred).
- Student and resident posters will be evaluated as part of the competition, although a presenter can opt out of participation. Only one poster per presenter will be judged.
- At least one author must be available to present the work on the day of the symposium.
- Podium presentations will be presented in a PowerPoint format. Presenters will be allotted 15 minutes for presentation and questions (12 minute presentation with 3 minutes for Q & A).
- For more information regarding poster and podium presentations, please refer to https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3003437/
2025 Research Symposium
Congratulations to our Podium Presenters and Winners of the 11th Annual Research Symposium at the Henderson Campus.
Podium Presenters
- “Environmental Parasite Contamination: A Study Evaluating Soil in Urban Dog Parks,” Kelly Chung, PharmD Candidate 2027, Roseman University, College of Pharmacy
- “Comparison of Minimally Invasive Treatment Modalities for Post-Orthodontic White Spot Lesions,” Jeremy Kasik, DMD, Roseman University, AEODO/Orthodontics
- “Comparative Analysis of Buprenorphine and Buprenorphine-Naloxone treatment on adherence,” Justin Sigmund, DO Candidate 2027, Touro University, College of Medicine
Award Winners
- Samah Olomi, 1st Student-Presented
- Lilian Huynh, 2nd Student-Presented
- Austin Mullaly, 3rd Student-Presented
- Derrick Bush, 1st Resident-Presented
- Maia Stokes, 2nd Resident-Presented
- Jacob Schvaneveldt, 3rd Resident-Presented
- Edward Ramirez, 1st Research-In-Progress
- Jennifer Bermudez, 2nd Research-In-Progress
- Giovanna Park, 3rd Research-In-Progress
Congratulations to our Podium Presenters and Winners of the 11th Annual Research Symposium at the South Jordan Campus.
Podium Presenters
- “Physiological Biomarkers in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Wearable Devices Integration,” Jacob Warner, Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Utah, USA
- “Evaluation of Nasal Airway Volume In Adults after Maxillary Expansion with Clear Aligner,” Omar Badawi, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
- “ComparaJve Analysis of Performance and Reliability of Four AI Large Language Models in Orthodontic Knowledge Evaluation,” Gabriel Eisenhuth, College of Dental Medicine, Roseman University, Utah, USA
- “Prevention of Melanoma growth and invasion by Lipophilic Vitamin B1 derivatives,” Sarah Ngo & Nicholas Bleza, Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, Utah, USA
Award Winners
- Mason Terry, 1st Student-Presented
- William Ho, 1st Student-Presented
- Aman Kaur, 2nd Student-Presented
- Tallon Muhlestein, 2nd Student-Presented
- Kyle Dahlmeir, 3rd Student-Presented
- Logan Parker, 3rd Student-Presented
2024 Research Symposium
Congratulations to our Podium Presenters and Winners of the 10th Annual Research Symposium at the South Jordan Campus.
Podium Presenters
- “Evaluating EEG Monitoring of Standard TMS Intervention for Anxiety,” presented by Jacob Warner, Noorda College of Osteopatheic Medicine
- “Pathological Effects of Electronic Cigarette Exposure in Mouse Pregnancies,” presented by Evan Clark, Brigham Young University
- “Availability of Receptors for Advanced Glycation End-products (RAGE) Influences Differential Transcriptome Expression in Mice Exposed to Chronic Secondhand Smoke,” presented by Ryan Van Slooten, Brigham Young University
Award Winners
- Christina Small, 1st Student-Presented
- Cody Vaughn Gibson, 1st Student-Presented
- C. Yvonne Russell, 2nd Student-Presented
- Amber Zafar, 2nd Student-Presented
- Chelsea Amaefuna, 3rd Student-Presented
- Sandra Farag, 3rd Student-Presented
The Research Symposium at the South Jordan campus is proudly sponsored by
2023 Research Symposium
Podium Presenters
Albert Diep, PharmD
MountainView Hospital
Evaluating the appropriateness of initial febrile neutropenia treatment at an acute care hospital
Brian Decker, DMD
Roseman University College of Dental Medicine AEODO Residency Program
Evaluation of remineralization of white spot lesions with quercetin nanoparticles
Desiree Chong, PharmD Candidate 2024
Roseman University College of Pharmacy
Efficacy of implementing an end-of-day quiz and its impact on academic performance and student attendance in a three-year Doctorate of Pharmacy program
Research in Progress
Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican Hospitals
Student Presented Research
Shreya Govindaraj
Roseman University College of Pharmacy
Resident Presented Research
1st Place
MountainView Hospital
Research Symposium Committee
| Name | Department |
| Kaylee Putney, Chair | Pharmacy |
| Mickayla Clark, Past Chair | Pharmacy |
| David Rawlins | Pharmacy |
| Marife Aczon-Armstrong | Nursing |
| Christopher So | Pharmacy |
| Arup Chakraborty | Pharmacy |
| Chike Okolo | Pharmacy |
| Kimberly Jones-Rudolf | AEODO |
| Emily Espanol | Library |
| Tiffany Garrett | Library |
| Dawn Benson | Pharmacy |
| Kristi Singer | Pharmacy |
| Jason Roth | Communications |
Due to a major Winter Storm, the live, on-campus event was canceled and research was presented virtually. As a result, no judging was not conducted and no awards were presented.
Podium Presenters
Edward Yeates, DMD Candidate 2024
Roseman University College of Dental Medicine
RAGE inhibition reduces TIMP and decreases cell invasion in cigarette Smoke extract (CSE) treated oral squamous carcinoma cells
Wyatt Magoffin
Noorda College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Medicine
Heterodyned Whole-Body Vibration Ameliorates Anxiety in Opioid-Use Disorder
Ryan Wendt
Brigham Young University College of Life Sciences
Gestational dependent responses to secondhand smoke (SHS) in mouse pregnancies
Research Symposium Committee
| Name | Department |
| Danielle Gundrum, Chair | Pharmacy |
| Scott Shipley | Pharmacy |
| Shankargouda Patil | Dental Medicine |
| Shamar Lejardi | Nursing |
| Scott Park | Library |
| Samuel Dyal | Library |
| Rachel Thomas | Marketing |
| Carson Wolf | Communications |
| Sonny Gaul (Secretary) | Pharmacy (student) |
2022 Research Symposium
- 1st place Research-In-Progress: Dr. Michael Trieu
- 2nd place Research-In-Progress: Dr. Arianne Dagdag
- 3rd place Research-In-Progress: Desiree Chong
- 1st place Student-Presented Research: Alexander Koo
- 2nd place Student-Presented Research: Kristheana Rico
- 3rd place Student-Presented Research: Jeffrey Bezard
- 1st place Resident-Presented Research: Dr. Tyler Green
- 2nd place Resident-Presented Research: Dr. Ivy Yang
- 3rd place Resident-Presented Research: Dr. Sunny Lee
Henderson Campus Abstract Book
- 1st place Research-In-Progress: Nomikos Klonaris
- 2nd place Research-In-Progress: Edward Yeates
- 3rd place Research-In-Progress: Amani Sastry
- 1st place Student-Presented Research: Rachel Morris
- 2nd place Student-Presented Research: Carlos Moreno
- 3rd place Student-Presented Research: Parker Gundersen
South Jordan Campus Abstract Book