Summer Scholars: Meet Luis Acevedo

The Medical Student Summer Research Scholars (MSSRS) Program is a summer research opportunity open to rising MS-II students only. The project period is 7 weeks during the summer, and students are expected to devote at least 6 full weeks to the project. Students attend weekly work-in-progress sessions and provide the opportunity for MSSRS participants to present their work to student peers.  A final report is presented in the form of a poster or oral presentation at a local, regional, or national meeting. The Interprofessional Education Symposium held each spring at Campbell University is an opportunity to present, and all MSSRS participants are encouraged to present a poster at the event.

Name: Luis Anthony Acevedo

Hometown: Gainesville, FL

Undergrad: Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences, University of Florida

Hobbies: Competitive Powerlifting and coffee connoisseur.

Name of your MSSRS project and your role in the research:
Comparison of fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and their combination for assessing diabetes risk.
PI:  Dr. Nick Pennings

My role in the project was to do a deep dive of current research utilizing insulin to predict the progression to diabetes. Our analysis would provide more evidence to this body of research by analyzing the CARDIA cohort for the utility of fasting insulin as a predictive blood marker for progression to diabetes in a large population of people.

Why you chose to participate in the summer scholars program and/or what you are learning from the experience: I have always had a great interest in metabolic health and the pathophysiology of insulin resistance. I was very excited to work with Dr. Pennings who shares this passion and has performed numerous studies looking at this very topic.

Advice to MS-Is:  : Year 1 is a busy year, but if something catches your interest try to reach out to the lecture professor to learn more about that idea. Our professors are real people with real interests, and  they would love to spend the time sharing their passion with you.