A summary of the main themes and findings presented at the ASM Intermountain Branch meeting (2024).

The annual meeting for the Intermountain Branch was held in April 2024 on the campus of Brigham Young University. There were 127 branch members from Utah, Idaho, and Nevada who attended the meeting and were composed of undergraduate students, graduate or medical students, and faculty. This report highlights the diversity of, and the emerging trends in, the research conducted by American Society for Microbiology members in the Intermountain Branch.

Disentangling the effects of PTSD from Gulf War Illness in male veterans via a systems-wide analysis of immune cell, cytokine, and symptom measures.

Background: One-third of veterans returning from the 1990-1991 Gulf War reported a myriad of symptoms including cognitive dysfunction, skin rashes, musculoskeletal discomfort, and fatigue. This symptom cluster is now referred to as Gulf War Illness (GWI). As the underlying mechanisms of GWI have yet to be fully elucidated, diagnosis and treatment are based on symptomatic presentation.

Symmetric Breast Surgery: Balancing Procedures versus Prophylactic Mastectomy and Immediate Reconstruction.

Background: Various techniques for management of the contralateral breast exist in patients with unilateral breast cancer, including contralateral prophylactic mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction (PMIBR), and symmetrization techniques including augmentation, reduction, or mastopexy. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate and compare complications and patient-reported satisfaction of patients with contralateral PMIBR versus having symmetrization procedures.

Methods: A 7-year, single-institution, prospectively maintained database was reviewed.

Surgical and patient-reported outcomes following double incision and free nipple grafting for female to male gender affirmation: does obesity make a difference?

Background: The efficacy of chest wall contouring in alleviating symptoms of gender dysphoria in transmale and nonbinary patients is well established. As the popularity and indications for these procedures continue to increase, more surgeons are performing these surgeries on obese patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of obesity on postoperative and patient-reported outcomes.