2019 Research Symposium Awards & Highlights

April 26, 2019
Research Symposium 2019

On Friday, April 26th, our senior and junior faculty, residents, fellows, graduate and medical students packed the house for the Department of Medicine’s 2019 Research Symposium.

The annual Research Symposium uses oral and poster presentations to showcase current research by the Department of Medicine’s junior faculty, fellows, residents, graduate, and medical students. A total of 65 abstracts were presented at this year’s program, including 7 from junior faculty, 9 from postdoctoral fellows, 17 from residents/fellows, 6 from graduate students, and 26 from medical students. Of those abstracts, five were selected for oral presentation awards. In addition, we instituted several new research-oriented awards which were presented at this year's Symposium. 

Research & Scholarship Award Winners

Dee Ford, M.D., MSCR 
Professor, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, & Sleep Medicine

Devin Blankinship, M.D.
PGY3 Resident

Recognizes faculty member(s) with
CY18 high impact original science publications.

Louis Luttrell, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Endowed Chair, James A. Keating for Diabetes
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases
“Manifold roles of β-arrestins in GPCR signaling elucidated with siRNA and CRISPR/Cas9”
Publication: Science Signaling (September 2018)

John Wrangle, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology
“ALT-803, an IL-15 superagonist, in combination with nivolumab in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer: a non-randomised, open-label, phase 1b trial”
Publication: The Lancet Oncology (May 2018)

Recognizes the Top 10 faculty members in the Department of Medicine with the most Original Science Publications in past calendar year (CY18).

Faculty Member

# of Publications

# of First Author

# of Last Author

# of Mentees

Michael Zile, M.D.

21

1

2

3

Don Rockey, M.D.

12

0

8

6

Ryan Tedford, M.D.

12

0

1

0

M. Lopes-Virella, M.D., Ph.D.

11

0

1

1

Gregory Cote, M.D.

10

1

3

0

Patrick Mauldin, Ph.D.

10

0

1

5

Gerard Silvestri, M.D., MS

10

1

4

6

Carol Feghali-Bostwick, Ph.D.

9

0

3

1

Lynn Schnapp, M.D.

7

0

3

0

Joseph Elmunzer, M.D., MSc

6

0

0

0

 

The MilliPub Club honors and recognizes current faculty who have published one or more individual papers throughout their careers that have each garnered more than 1000 citations. Such a paper is commonly considered a “citation classic” and represents high impact scholarship.

Faculty Member

Article

Journal

Publication Year

# of Citations

Marial Lopes-Virella, M.D., Ph.D.*

Cholesterol determination in high density lipoproteins separated by three different methods

Clinical Chemistry

1977

1241

Peter Cotton, M.D.*

Endoscopic sphincterotomy complications and their management: an attempt at consensus

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

1991

1957

Thomas DiSalvo, M.D., MBA, MPH

Apoptosis in myocytes in end-stage heart failure

New England Journal of Medicine

1996

1134

Louis Luttrell, M.D., Ph.D.*

β-arrestin-dependent formation of β2 adrenergic receptor-src protein kinase complexes

Science

1999

1099

Robert Leman, M.D.

Dual-chamber pacing-or ventricular backup pacing in patients with an implantable defibrillator: The Dual Chamber and VVI Implantable Defibrillator (DAVID) Trial

Journal of the American Medical Association

2002

1459

Daniel Judge, M.D.

A syndrome of altered cardiovascular, craniofacial, neurocognitive and skeletal development caused by mutations in TGFBR1 or TGFBR2

Nature Genetics

2005

1021

Daniel Judge, M.D.

Losartan, an AT1 Antagonist, Prevents Aortic Aneurysm in a Mouse Model of Marfan Syndrome

Science

2006

1108

Michael Zile, M.D.

Irbesartan in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction

New England Journal of Medicine

2008

1053

Neal Axon, M.D., MSCR#

US trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension, 1988-2008

Journal of the American Medical Association

2010

1348

Michael Zile, M.D.

Angiotensin-neprilysin inhibition versus enalapril in heart failure

New England Journal of Medicine

2014

1559

 

PI

Title

K Award

Division

Andrew Schreiner, M.D., MSCR*

Improving the Diagnosis of Liver Disease in Primary Care Patients with Abnormal Liver Function

K23

General Internal Medicine

Deanna Baker-Frost, M.D., Ph.D.

The Role of Estradiol in Systemic Sclerosis

K12 Scholar

(Internal)

Rheumatology &

Immunology

Melissa Cunningham, M.D., Ph.D.

Molecular Mechanisms of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Modulating the Inflammatory Response in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

K08

Rheumatology &

Immunology

Scott Curry, M.D.

Asymptomatic Colonization and Transmission of Clostridium difficile in Solid Organ Transplant Patients

K23

Infectious Diseases

Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D.

Therapeutic Role of Polo-Like Kinase 1 (PLK1)

Inhibition in Triple Negative Breast Cancer

K12 Scholar

(Internal)

Hematology/Oncology

Andrew Goodwin, M.D.

The Role of Circulating Micro RNAs in ARDS Pathogenesis and Outcomes

K23

Pulmonary

Eric Meissner, M.D., Ph.D.

Elucidating Mechanisms of Treatment Relapse for Interferon-Free HCV Therapy

K08

Infectious Diseases

Paula Ramos, Ph.D.

The Role of Natural Selection in SLE Risk Among African-Americans

K01

Rheumatology &

Immunology

 

2019 Poster Winners

Scott Curry, MD
Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases
Category: Junior Faculty
Mentor: Cassandra Salgado, M.D., MS
Title: "Natural history of Clostridioides difficile colonization among a cohort of hospital inpatients at a tertiary academic medical center"

Roula Sasso, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Category: Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Don C. Rockey, M.D.
Title: "Anticoagulation therapy in patients with liver cirrhosis is associated with an increased risk of variceal hemorrhage"

Ashish Solanki, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Division of Nephrology
Category: Postdoctoral Fellow
Mentor: Deepak Nihalani, Ph.D.
Title: "Novel mutations in Kirrel1, a slit diaphragm component cause steroid resistant Nephrotic syndrome"

Nina Thomas, M.D.
Fellow, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy & Sleep Medicine
Category: Resident/Fellow
Mentors: Nichole Tanner, M.D., & Gerard Silvestri, M.D.
Title: "Effect of cigarette type on lung cancer incidence and mortality in the National Lung Screening Trial"

Jiaqian Xu
4th Year Medical Student
Category: Medical Student
Mentors: Marc Heincelman, M.D., & Don C. Rockey, M.D.
Title: "Identification of Inter-Hospital Transfer Patients at Risk for In-hospital Mortality on Internal Medicine Services"

Harsha Karanchi, M.D.
Title: Maternal Plasma AGEs and Preeclampsia in Women with Type 1 Diabetes
Mentor: Timothy J. Lyons, M.D.
1st Place Winner, Junior Faculty Category

Melissa Cunningham, M.D.
Title: Toll-like receptor 7/8 agonism accelerates disease and causes a fatal myeloproliferative disorder in lupus mice
Mentor: Gary Gilkeson, M.D.
2nd Place Winner, Junior Faculty Category

Ahmed Khalifa, Ph.D.
Title: Value of Liver Biopsy in Evaluating Abnormal Liver Function Tests
Mentor: Don C. Rockey, M.D.
1st Place Winner, Postdoctoral Fellow Category

Kamala Sundararaj, Ph.D.
Title: Neu1 mediates cytokine release by mesangial cells through TLR4-MAPK pathway
Mentor: Tamara Nowling, Ph.D.
2nd Place Winner, Postdoctoral Fellow Category

Ahmadreza Karimianpour, D.O.
Title: Left Bundle Branch Block after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Negatively Impacts Biventricular Remodeling and Function
Mentor: Michael R. Gold, M.D., Ph.D., & Daniel H. Steinberg, M.D.
1st Place Winner, Resident/Fellow Category

Devin Blankinship, M.D.
Title: Statin Prescribing Behavior and Built-in Risk Calculators for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk: a Quality Improvement Project Focused on Primary Prevention at an Academic Medical Center
Mentor: Elisha Brownfield, M.D. & William P. Moran, M.D., MS
2nd Place Winner, Resident/Fellow Category

Ben Long, M.D.
Title: Revisiting Primary Care: A Quality Improvement Study
Mentor: Samuel Schumann III, M.D.
3rd Place Winner, Resident/Fellow Category

Myroslawa Happe
Title: Heterogeneity of IgM Memory B Cells and Their Role in Pneumococcal Vaccination in Aging HIV-positive Individuals
Mentor: Julie Westerink, M.D.

Nathan Sairam
Title: The Prevalence of Hepatic Sarcoidosis in a Sarcoidosis Clinic
Mentor: Don C. Rockey, M.D.
1st Place Winner, Medical Student Category

Mark Cromer
Title: Depression, Substance Abuse, Domestic Violence, and Health Related Social Needs in a Free Clinic Setting: The Value of a Universal Screening Tool
Mentor: Amanda Davis, M.D., & Nathan Bradford, M.D.
2nd Place Winner, Medical Student Category

Patricia Jokl
Title: Headache characteristics among patients with epilepsy and the association with temporal encephaloceles
Mentor: Zeke Campbell, M.D.
3rd Place Winner, Medical Student Category