Graduate program researchers celebrated during 50th annual Medical Guild Graduate Research event
Doctoral students awarded prizes for research presentations judged by faculty
Photo by Emily Mavrakis
April 18, 2025 — For half a century, the Medical Guild at the University of Florida College of Medicine has promoted friendship, fun and philanthropy among medical researchers.
During the Medical Guild’s Graduate Research Golden Jubilee April 16, faculty, staff and trainees gathered to celebrate the college’s research community with awards and an annual student competition.
A group of eight faculty members served as judges during the research competition, where seven doctoral students presented their findings to dozens of peers and faculty members at the George T. Harrell, M.D., Medical Education Building. With topics ranging from the role of iron deficiency in Parkinson’s disease to a structural investigation of Bufavirus and an investigation of myotonic dystrophy biomarkers in mice, the students showcased their investigative methods, results and next steps to attendees.
Participants competed to earn gold, silver and bronze prizes ranging from $1,000-$2,500, endowed by the UF Medical Guild Inc.
This year’s top-prize winner was fourth-year Ph.D. candidate Mitchell Gulkis, whose presentation delved into human Bufavirus — a novel virus that causes gastroenteritis — and his study of the biophysical and structural characteristics of the virus to better understand its lifecycle.
As an attendee of several past Medical Guild competitions, Gulkis said it was meaningful to win the competition’s gold prize during the final year of his doctoral studies.
“It’s especially cool that it’s during the 50th anniversary celebration,” he said. “And it was a great experience to come here and see the presentations from this year’s participants, whose research areas cover so many different concentrations.”
Learn more about the competition presenters and other awardees honored during the Medical Guild Graduate Research Golden Jubilee below:
Medical Guild Research Competition presenters
Gold prize
Mitchell Gulkis
Presentation title: “Structural and Biophysical Investigations of Human Bufavirus 1: An Emerging Pathogen”
Concentration: Biochemistry and molecular biology
Mentors: Robert McKenna, Ph.D., and Linda Bloom, Ph.D.
Silver prizes
MacKenzie Bolen
Presentation title: “Investigating the Gut-blood Axis in Parkinson’s Disease Risk and Progression”
Concentration: Neuroscience
Mentor: Malu Gamez Tansey, Ph.D.
Siddhi Chitre
Presentation title: “Investigating host-bacterial communication following Campylobacter jejuni infection”
Concentration: Cancer biology
Mentor: Christian Jobin, Ph.D.
Martin Schonk
Presentation title: Complement Component C5-Signaling Mediates Pancreatic Cancer-Induced Muscle Pathologies”
Concentration: Physiology and functional genomics
Mentor: Andrew Judge, Ph.D.
Bronze prizes
Seth Hale
Presentation title: “Effects of HDAC Degredation by Proteolsis Targeting Chimeras”
Concentration: Molecular cell biology
Mentor: Daiqing Liao, Ph.D.
Yagmur Keser
Presentation title: “Differential Regulation and Function of Type III Interferons in Human Epithelial Cells”
Concentration: Immunology and microbiology
Mentor: Megan Stanifer, Ph.D.
Emma Shea
Presentation title: “Transcript Turnover Influences Biomarker Rescue Following Anti-Sense Oligonucleotide Treatment in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 Mice”
Concentration: Genetics
Mentor: Eric Wang, Ph.D.
View a list of awardees and scholarship recipients recognized during the Medical Guild Research Symposium:
College of Medicine 2024-25 Doctoral Mentorship Awards
Habibeh Khoshbouei, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Malu Gamez Tansey, Ph.D.
Norman and Susan Fixel Professor of Neuroscience and Neurology; Director, Parkinson’s Foundation Research Center of Excellence at UF, Department of Neuroscience
Council of Academic Chairs Scholarship Recipient
Melissa Munzen
Ph.D. candidate, immunology and microbiology concentration
Mentor: Luis Martinez, Ph.D., M.S., M.B.A.
Advancement to Candidacy Award Recipients
Harrison Clarke
Ph.D. candidate, biochemistry and molecular biology concentration
Mentor: Ramon Sun, Ph.D.
Tanzia Tithi
Ph.D. candidate, cancer biology concentration
Mentor: Weizhou Zang, Ph.D.
Noah Rakestraw
Ph.D. candidate, genetics concentration
Mentor: Piyush Jain, Ph.D.
