As far as research day... if you're already in then it makes no difference if you come for it or not. If you want to come because you want to see if you can get involved in research early, see what goes on here, maybe try to do some work the summer before med school (please don't do that), then fine. But otherwise there's no point. Come for yourself - don't think anyone will think more or less of you if you come or don't come. If you really don't feel the need to shadow a student before matriculating, then don't. I didn't.
For the record, I'm a Downstate student graduating this year and I didn't even know we had a research day. lol. I'm also completely not into research whatsoever - not bench/basic science research, at least, so that's why, but I can't say I'm surprised. I'm not really the person to ask, but Downstate's biggest research is in neuroscience and memory - it's been in the newspapers, etc, and those researchers are well known in the neuro/memory research community (of which I'm not a part, but still). In addition we have at least one internationally known neuropathologist here too (obv in the neuropathology circles.. others won't know her, of course). There is also molecular bio, genetics, neuro-ophthalmology, and other stuff too, I'm sure. Interested students definitely have opportunities to do work with the Ph.D's here and the MD's that do research too - its just a matter of looking for it and finding the right person and project.