Downstate Student Publishes, Experimental Neurology
SUNY Downstate medical student John Odackal published research initially funded by alumni giving
John won an Alumni Fund Summer Research Grant in 2013, which launched the research published in Experimental Neurology 273 (2015), pp 105-113. The project extended for years beyond with data collection, writing and revision.
Read the full article, here: T-type calcium channels contribute to calcium disturbances in brain during hyponatremia, Odackal
John is an MS4 entering Internal Medicine at UVa in June, 2016, with the goal of pulmonology/critical care
Receiving the Summer Research Grant was “incredibly important,” he said. “It connected me to a fantastic mentor (Dr. Sabina Hrabetova) and led to several additional research experiences, including a year-long project at Columbia, also funded by the Alumni Association.”
The research has been invaluable educationally, and is a significant contribution to medicine.
“The work argues that hyponatremia, an incredibly common electrolyte abnormality, might influence calcium regulation in brain,” John said. “If substantiated in humans, which requires in-vivo studies and human studies, the work might influence how we screen/treat hyponatremia, especially in the elderly.”
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