CAREER PATHWAYS
Fellows Take the Stage Presenting Their Research
By Rudolph Nowak, MPH, senior specialist, Marketing and Communications
Over the past year, fellows have not only participated at conferences as attendees but are showing up as presenters. They have presented their research at the 2024 Newborn Screening Symposium and 2025 ID Lab Con, and another has submitted an abstract for the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians( AAVLD) this November.
The experience gained from the Public Health Laboratory Fellowship Program: An APHL-CDC Initiative has translated into confidence and a willingness to participate in conferences as more than attendees.
Chatting About Chatbots in Nebraska
Courtney Gauchel
Courtney Gauchel, a newborn screening fellow in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Utah, spoke during the 2024 Newborn Screening Symposium’ s Ignite the Night presentations in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Gauchel and her mentor, Karen Eilbeck, MSC, PhD, FACMI, thought the Ignite presentation would be a good opportunity to get their research about a chatbot that answers parents’ questions about screening results in front of scientists dealing with newborn testing.
“[ Dr. Eilbeck ] didn’ t feel like we had enough research data to submit an abstract, but she sent me an e-mail saying,‘ Hey, you’ re going to the symposium. You should really think about applying for this cool presentation. It would be great to get our research out there.’ So, I did,” Gauchel said.
Each Ignite presentation is a five-minute talk featuring 15 – 20 slides advancing automatically every 15 seconds on any topic a participant would like to share.“ When I found out the format and I thought,‘ Oh my gosh. Good thing I’ ve done public speaking before and I’ m not afraid of it,’” Gauchel said.
Gauchel’ s public speaking experience comes from having taught college students at the university’ s nursing school and having spoken at trade shows earlier in her career. Her mentor and other laboratory staff helped prepare her by reviewing the presentation and giving feedback. Her preparation helped her navigate another surprise.
“ I didn’ t realize it was going to be 300-400 people. I thought we would just be in one of the smaller rooms,” Gauchel said.
She credits her preparation for staying cool under pressure. In addition, the subject was something Gauchel is passionate about.
“ I’ m talking about my research. This is something I really love doing and so I think that came across in my speech, too.” Gauchel said.
From Abstract to Panel Discussion
Dr. Majie Foster, an infectious disease fellow at the New York State Department of Health- Wadsworth Center, gave her first presentation to the laboratory community at ID Lab Con in March. Foster originally planned on presenting a poster but saw the opportunity to give a presentation.
“ I wrote my own abstract, which was approved by my mentor. I took the plunge and applied,” Foster said.“ My abstract was accepted, and I was notified that I would be sitting in a panel discussion a few weeks prior to the conference.”
The panel, featuring other bacteriologists, focused on the screening of
Dr. Majie Foster
antibiotic-resistant organisms. Foster’ s research focused on molecular screening and ways to improve workflows and cut costs.
“ Currently, there isn’ t a standard workflow because not all laboratories have the ability to screen quickly. Many use a culture method, and this is a molecular method showing that not only is it time efficient, but it is cost effective. So, it is an alternative for other microbiology laboratories that screen similar organisms,” Foster said.
Foster believes herself lucky since she had to give presentations as part of her doctoral program. Also, as part of her fellowship at Wadsworth Center, fellows give a presentation on their research once a year. Foster also worked with her mentor, Chief of Bacterial Disease Dr. Kimberlee Musser, to refine the presentation.
“ I wanted to make sure that this presentation fit that audience better. She made suggestions on how to improve it.” Foster said.
More Presentations to Come
Zoe Rice, a food safety fellow at Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory( MSUVDL), has submitted an abstract for consideration for the AAVLD conference. Her research, in cooperation with the US Food and Drug Administration, looks to develop and optimize a method for extracting fat-soluble vitamins from animal tissue in
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