The 24th Annual Pritzker Summer Research Program proved to be another successful year of scholarship for a large number of second-year students. Funded in part by the NHLBI,  NIA,  the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence, the University of Chicago Office of Diversity & Inclusion, The Center for Healthcare Delivery Science & Innovation, The Comprehensive Cancer Center,  the Diabetes Research and Training Center,  The Society of Hospital Medicine, and the Sleep for Inpatients: Empowering Staff to Act (SIESTA, the Summer Research Program allowed students to work closely with faculty mentors across the clinical, translational, and basic sciences. Thanks in large part to the continued guidance of Drs. Vineet Arora, Eugene Chang, Sola Olopade, David Meltzer, Erika Chang, and V. Leo Towle, the Summer Research Program has often given students a platform for ongoing research and a chance to present and publish their work on a national level.

After presenting their work to a panel of faculty judges, the following students were recognized for their excellence. The Pritzker School of Medicine would like to congratulate these second-year medical students:

The Joseph B. Kirsner Research Award for Excellence

Emily Papazian
Mentor: John Alverdy, MD
Short-term High Fiber Dietary Rehabilitation Prior to Surgical Injury Prevents the Lethal Sepsis that Develops Following Long-term Exposure to a Western Diet and Preoperative Antibiotics

The Sigma Xi Award for Impact on Society

Nichole Smith
Mentor: Monica Peek, MD, MPH
Violence and Hypervigilance as Barriers to Health Management on the South Side of Chicago

The Brain Research Foundation Award for Neuroscience

Sean Lyne
Mentor: Issam Awad, MD
Plasma Biomakers of Cavemous Angioma with Symptomatic Hemorrhage

The Healthcare Delivery Science Award

Max Hemmrich
Mentor: Valerie Press, MD, MPH                                                                         Derivation and Validation of a COPD Readmission Risk Prediction Tool

Overall Excellence in Scientific Quality, Content, and Ability to Respond to Questions in the Performance of Research in Clinical Science

Sarah Follman
Mentor: Mai Pho, MD, MPH
Examining Naloxone Prescriptions Among Individuals at High Risk of Opiod Overdose in a National Database of Commercially Insured Individuals

Andrew Sohn
Mentor: Lewis Shi, MD
Effects of Diabetes Mellitus on Clinical Outcomes and Costs of Rotator Cuff Repair Surgery

Overall Excellence in Scientific Quality, Content, and Ability to Respond to Questions in the Performance of Research in Basic Science

Anase Asom
Mentor: Lucy Godley, MD, PhD
The Role of BRCA1 in Genomic Instability and Hematopoietic Malignancies

Elam Coalson
Mentor: Russell Reid, MD, PhD
A Novel Graphene Oxide Scaffold for Regenerative Bone Formation

Overall Excellence in Scientific Quality, Content, and Ability to Respond to Questions in the Performance of Research in Applied Science

David Cook
Mentor: Nicola Orlov, MD'08, MPH
Design and Implentation of a Quality Improvement Initiative Aimed at Eliminating Unnecessary Monitoring to Improve Pediatric Inpatient Sleep

Gena Lenti
Mentor: Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP'03
Development and Testing a Web Module to IMPROVE Generic Prescribing of Oral Contraceptives Among Primary Care Physicians 

Honorable Mention for Excellence

Tess Allan
Mentor: John Blair, MD
Coronary Microvascular Dysfunction and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Rilwan Babajide
Mentor: Micah Prochaska, MD, MS
The Effect of Red Blood Cell Transfusion on Fatigability in Hospitalized Patients with Anemia

Lia DeRoin
Mentor: Jane Churpek, MD
Clinical Factors Associated with Culture Failure or Delay in Skin Fibroblasts Grown for Germline Genetic Testing

Samuel Kaskovich
Mentor: Valerie Press, MD, MPH
Matching Patients with COPD to Personalized Care: A Novel Prediction Tool for Cause of Readmission

Maria Mihailescu
Mentor: Renslow Sherer, MD
Student Burnout and the Educational Environment at a Medical School in China

Christianah Ogunleye
Mentor: Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP'03
Testing A Peer-Led Social Media Intervention to Improve Interest in Research Careers Among Urban Youth

James Paik
Mentor: Deborah Burnet, MD, MAPP
Children’s Perspectives on Healthy Eating and the Pilot Light Nutrition Curriculum

Maya Rhine
Mentor: Neethi Pinto, MD
Developmental Trajectory of Pediatric Survivors of Critical Illness

Kelly Twohig
Mentor: Jennifer Tseng, MD
Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy in Breast Cancer: A Single-Institution Review