The 28th 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, NCI, the Bucksbaum Institute for Clinical Excellence, and The Center for Healthcare Delivery Science. 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. Sola Olopade, Funmi Olopade, Daniel Golden, David Meltzer, Valerie Press, Rachel Wolfson, Erika Claud, 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
Tiffany Xie
Mentor: Elizabeth Tung, MD, MS
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Moderates Associations Between Race/Ethnicity and Hypertension in Chicago
The Sigma Xi Award for Impact on Society
Divya Choudhury
Mentor: Alexander Pearson, MD, PhD
Evaluation of Image Acquisition Hardware: Digital Pathology-Based Machine Learning Models Applied to Low-Resource Settings
The Brain Research Foundation Award for Neuroscience
Mahesh Kumar
Mentor: Harriet DeWit, PhD
Electrophysiological Correlates of Behavioral Inhibition Following Acute Methamphetamine Administration
Healthcare Delivery Science Award
Meredith Hollender
Mentor: Kimberly Stanford, MD, MPH
Utilization of Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) Leads to Improved Uptake of Recommended Services for Sexual Assault Survivors in the Emergency Department
Overall Excellence in Scientific Quality, Content and Ability to Respond to Questions in the Performance of Research in Clinical or Social Sciences
Samuel Chen
Mentor: Mai Pho, MD, MPH
More Drugs, Less Treatment: A Study of Polysubstance use Among People Experiencing Incarceration in the 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates
Tecora Turner
Mentor: Debra Stulberg, MD, MA & Lee Hasselbacher, JD
Illinois Patient Preferences Around Abortion Method Prior to 11 Weeks’ Gestation
Overall Excellence in Scientific Quality, Content and Ability to Respond to Questions in the Performance of Research in Basic Science
Kofi Acheampong
Mentor: Aravind Athiviraham, MD
Augmented Meniscus Radial Tear Repair via Local Transforming Growth Factor-beta 1 (TGF- β1) Gene Therapy in a Rat Model
Michelle Verghese
Mentor: Yu-Ying He, PhD
ALKBH1 as an Oncogenic Factor in UV-Induced Damage and Skin Tumorigenesis
Overall Excellence in Scientific Quality, Content and Ability to Respond to Questions in the Performance of Research in Applied Science
Capri Alex
Mentor: Nicola Orlov, MD, MPH
To DO or not to DO: Exploring the Medical Student Experience of Receiving a Direct Observation (DO) During the Pediatric Clerkship
Wendy Luo
Mentor: Jason Kane, MD
Hospital Admissions for Toxic Ingestions with Acetaminophen Before and During COVID Era
Honorable Mention for Excellence
Rachel Alexander
Mentor: Aravind Athiviraham, MD
Augmented Meniscal Healing via Stem Cell Therapy in a Rodent Model
Nour Asfour
Mentor: Will Parker, MD, PhD
Association of Race and Ethnicity with Priority for Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant
David Fenton
Mentor: David Rubin, MD
Factors Associated with Fecal Calprotectin Sample Collection Compliance: An IBD Center Quality Improvement Project
Allison Liu
Mentor: Debra Stulberg, MD, MA
Short Interval Pregnancy Following Delivery in Catholic vs non-Catholic Hospitals in the National Medicaid Population
Frank Medina
Mentor: John Blair, MD
Prevalence of Myocardial Bridge in Heart Transplant Patients: A Retrospective Analysis of Routine Post-Transplant Invasive Coronary Artery Assessments Using Coronary Angiography and Intravascular Ultrasound
Rimel Mwamba
Mentor: Jeffrey Stepan, MD
The Effects of Area Level Deprivation on the Severity of Cubital Tunnel Syndrome on Presentation to a Hand Surgeon
Simi Ogunnowo
Mentor: Chelsea Dorsey, MD
Exploring the Experiences of Traumatic Microaggressions and Discrimination in Surgery
Natasha Powell
Mentor: John Schneider, MD, MPH
Associations Between Substance Use Stigma and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
Maeson Zietowski
Mentor: Russell Reid, MD, PhD
Appearance-Related Distress After Facial Trauma: A Literature Review and Pilot Study After Facial Ballistic Trauma