Annie J. Kruger, MD PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital will be researching “Mechanisms of Chemokine Antagonism in Generating Reparative Macrophages and Inhibiting Hepatic Stellate Cell Activity.” She is evaluating the effects of chemokine receptor 2 and 5 antagonists in decreasing the pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic activity of macrophages and stellate cells, respectively, in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, one of most prevalent liver diseases in the world today. She is mentored by Dr. Jill Smith from the Division of Gastroenterology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Dr. Fung-Lung Chung from the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center.
Katherine G. Michel, PhD MPH, Instructor of Medicine at Georgetown University will work on “Quantifying immune functionality and crosstalk with the cervicovaginal microbiome among women who naturally control HIV infection”. She seeks to understand the complex relationship between mucosal microbiota and the immune system among women living with HIV, to refine HIV therapeutics and prevention as well as improve women’s health. She is mentored by Drs. Seble Kassaye and Dan Merenstein from the DC MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study and the Georgetown University Medical Center; Jacques Ravel at the University of Maryland; Daniel Douek at NIAID and the Vaccine Research Center, and Adam Ratner at New York University.
Chukwuemeka Ihemelandu, MD, FACS, Associate Professor of Surgical Oncology at Georgetown University will study “Improving Detection of Microscopic Disease to Improve Survival of Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancers.” He seeks to establish a proof of concept for the utility of intra-operative optical fluorescence imaging with NIR light using antibodies that specifically target cancer cells in colorectal cancer (CRC). Dr. Ihemelandu is mentored by Dr. Christopher Albanese from the Departments of Oncology and Pathology at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. | Dr. Ihemelandu NIH Feature
Alejandra Hurtado de Mendoza, PhD, Research Instructor of Oncology at Georgetown University, who is “Testing a Culturally Adapted Telephone Genetic Counseling Intervention to Enhance Genetic Risk Assessment in Underserved Latinas at Risk of Hereditary Breast Cancer.” She is adapting an evidence-based Telephone Counseling intervention to reduce disparities by broadening the reach and accessibility to genetic counseling while enhancing the quality of the service for underserved at-risk Latinas. She is mentored by Drs. Kristi Graves and Marc Schwartz from the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Georgetown University and by Dr. Heidi Hamilton from the Department of Linguistics at Georgetown University. | Dr. Hurtado de Mendoza NIH Feature
Matthew A. Edwardson, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, and Rehabilitation Medicine at Georgetown University will study “Plasma and exosomal markers of neural repair following stroke.” He seeks to identify changes in the concentration of central nervous system lipids that make their way into the bloodstream and can signal the process of brain repair with a goal of identifying new targets for neurotherapeutics. Dr. Edwardson is mentored by Dr. Alexander Dromerick, of MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and Georgetown University Medical Center, and by Dr. Amrita Cheema, from the Departments of Oncology and Biochemistry at Georgetown University. | Dr. Edwardson NIH Feature
Evgenia Gourgari, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Georgetown University, whose research is focused on “The impact of insulin resistance and its treatment on cardiovascular risk in youth with type 1 diabetes.” With co-mentorship by Drs. Alan Remaley of NHLBI, Kristina Rother of NIDDK, and Joseph Verbalis of Georgetown University, she is assessing the relationship of insulin resistance, and its treatment with metformin, with novel molecular and functional CVD risk markers in youth with T1DM.
Anna Greenwald, PhD, Research Assistant Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University and at MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital studies the “Impact of right-hemisphere (RH) stroke on functional performance and brain organization.” Her discipline-spanning research, with co-mentorship by Drs. Alexander Dromerick of MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital and Elissa Newport of the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery at Georgetown University, is defining the functional reorganization that occurs after RH stroke, develop and validate new assessment tools, improving the detection of specific deficits, and informing the development of targeted rehabilitation interventions. | Dr. Greenwald NIH Feature
Seble G. Kassaye, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University, whose research is focused on “HIV Transmission Dynamics in Washington DC,” is applying viral sequencing and advanced informatics to identify HIV transmission clusters and transmitted antiretroviral resistance. Her research was mentored by Drs. David Katzenstein of Stanford University and Frank Maldarelli, at the NIH.
Patrick A. Forcelli, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Physiology at Georgetown University will study “Dendritic BDNF in hippocampal epileptogenesis and memory function,” focusing on a novel role for this mediator in human and experimental temporal lobe epilepsy and memory function. His research was mentored by of Dr. Gholam Motamedi from the Department of Neurology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Dr. Ludise Malkova of the Department of Pharmacology at Georgetown. | Dr. Forcelli NIH Feature
Roxanne E. Jensen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University, whose research is focused on “Electronic symptom assessment: an opportunity for health communication in cancer survivorship.” She is conducting a randomized trial to assess a novel strategy for providing feedback to breast cancer survivors on symptom severity Her research was mentored by Drs. Arnold Potosky and Kathryn Taylor, of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University.
Adeyinka O. Laiyemo, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine at Howard University, whose research is focused on "Improving colon cancer screening among underserved blacks in primary care setting.” He is evaluating the effect of directly involving a social contact, chosen by the patient, on completion and quality of out-patient colonoscopy for cancer screening. His research was mentored by Dr. Elizabeth Platz, of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Dr. Duane Smoot, of Meharry Medical Center, and Dr. Robert Taylor, of Howard University.
Ihori Kobayashi, PhD is a Research Assistant Professor with the Howard University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her KL2 project, titled “Can blocking the orexin system enhance sleep’s benefit to therapeutic exposure for PTSD?” used a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of suvorexant to examine whether it enhances therapeutic effects of written narrative exposure (WNE) through modifying sleep. Her research was co-mentored by Thomas A. Mellman, MD, Director, Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Stress/Sleep Studies Program, Professor of Psychiatry, Howard University College of Medicine; and Larry Sanford, PhD, Professor, Vice-chair for Research, Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Ana Barac, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University. Dr. Barac is also the Director of MedStar Heart Institute's Cardio-Oncology program and Medical Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Her KL2 project, “Cardiac function in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers with a history of breast cancer treated with anthracyclines”, encompassed three closely related clinical studies which aimed to investigate cardiac risk factors associated with anticancer therapies, discover cardiac risks which may be unique to BRCA 1/2 mutation carriers, predict risk for treatment-induced cardiotoxicity, identify early subclinical markers of cardiac dysfunction, determine the feasibility of early cardioprotective treatment, and assess cardiac safety of HER2-targeted therapies in patients with mildly reduced cardiac function in the setting of close cardiac monitoring and use of cardio-protective therapies. Her research was mentored by Claudine Isaacs, MD, Professor of Medicine and Oncology, Director of the Clinical Breast Cancer Program and Director of the Fisher Center for Familial Cancer Research at Georgetown’ Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. | Dr. Barac NIH Feature
Peter E. Turkeltaub, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University and MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital (MNRH). His KL2 project, “Psycholinguistic and neurobiological factors that predict and track response to electrical stimulation for post-stroke aphasia”, builds on his randomized clinical trial of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to improve recovery from post-stroke aphasia by enhancing left lateralization of the inferior frontal lobes. He was co-mentored by Rhonda B. Friedman, PhD, Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University Medical Center, and Alexander W. Dromerick, MD, Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Neurology, and Vice President for Research for the MNRH. | Dr. Turkeltaub NIH Feature
Pradeep Karla PhD is an Assistant Professor in Pharmaceutical Science at Howard University School of Pharmacy. His KL2 project, titled “Nanotherapeutic Mediated Efflux Modulation for Improved Ocular Drug Disposition”, investigated the role of the MRPs in conferring resistance to the absorption of four major classes of glaucoma treating agents and anti-viral drugs. Dr. Karla was co-mentored by Betty L. Herndon, PhD, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Muhammad Habib, PhD, Howard University, Leslie Jones, MD, Howard University, and Anthony K. Wutoh, PhD,R.Ph., Howard University. | Dr. Karla NIH Feature
Vanita Aroda, MD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University. Her KL2 project, titled “Electronic Medical Record (EMR)-Facilitated Translation of Diabetes Prevention to Bridge the Gap in the Healthcare Community”, investigated the extent to which health information technology can influence healthcare behavior and promote the systematic uptake of evidence-based guidelines into routine practice in the area of diabetes screening and prevention. Her research was co-mentored by Marc R. Blackman, MD, Washington DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Robert E. Ratner, MD, American Diabetes Association), and Daniel Merenstein, MD, Georgetown University.
Luisel Ricks-Santi, PhD is an Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health and Research Associate in both the Howard University Cancer Center and the National Human Genome Center. Her KL2 project, titled “Characterization of mutations associated with aggressive breast cancer and the utility of mutation status for clinical decision making”, focused on triple-negative breast cancer in African American women and its relationship to BRCA1/2 positivity, previously thought to be rare in this population. Dr. Ricks-Santi was co-mentored by Georgia Dunston, PhD, Howard University, and Dr. Christopher Loffredo, Georgetown University. | Dr. Ricks-Santi NIH Feature
Victoria K. Shanmugam, MD, MRCP is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University. Her KL2 project, titled “Cutaneous Vasculopathy and Etiology Study (CuVES)", focused on the primary hypothesis is that connective tissue disease-associated lower-extremity ulcers will be a useful compartmental model to study dysregulation of angiogenesis and vasculogenesis in autoimmune disease. Her research was co-mentored by Anton Wellstein, MD, PhD at Georgetown University; Christopher Attinger, MD, FACS at Georgetown University; and Virginia Steen, MD at Georgetown University.