Current Research Sabbatical Residents

Years in the Lab: 2023-2025

Funding: Katz Foundation 

Lab: Surgical Oncology

Mentor: Shishir Maithel, MD; Chrystal Paulos, PhD; Greg Lesinski, PhD, MPH

Research Synopsis: Understanding anti-tumor activity of CD26 as a potential target in T cells to treat patients with cholangiocarcinoma.

Years in the Lab: 2022-2025

Funding: Department of Surgery and the VA Office of Academic Affiliations Advanced Fellowships Program

Lab: Atlanta VA Quality Scholars Fellowship

Mentor: Corrine Abraham, DNP, RN; Krista Powell, MD, MPH; Neha Pathak, MD, FACP, DipABLM; Jeanne Cimiotti, PhD, RN

Research Synopsis: Healthcare improvement research and scholarship, operations leadership, and teaching quality and safety.

Years in the Lab: 2024-2026

Funding: Dept. of Thyroid and Endocrine Surgery, Grady Memorial Hospital

Lab: Thyroid and Endocrine Surgery, Emory University Hospital, Administrative Fellowship, GMH

Mentors: Jyotirmay Sharma, MD; Keith Andrew Delman, MD

Research Synopsis: Surgical quality improvement and outcomes research with focus on thyroid tumors.

Administrative Synopsis: Administrative fellow and project manager for structural and EMR-related strategic initiatives to promote workflow efficiency.

Years in the Lab: 2023-2025

Funding: NIH T32 and Department of Surgery

Lab: Surgical Critical Care

Mentor: Randi Smith, MD 

Research Synopsis: Utilization of machine learning to evaluate the use of ultra-massive transfusion in the traumatically injured patient and injury pattern recognition and prevention.  

Years in the Lab: 2023-2025

Funding: Grady research funds 

Lab: Trauma Surgery 

Mentor: Randi Smith, MD 

Research Synopsis: 

Analyzing the social and economic burden of firearm-related injury in our community, and determining the cost-effectiveness of a hospital-based violence intervention program at Grady Memorial Hospital.

Years in the Lab: 2024-2026

Funding: Childrens’ Healthcare of Atlanta

Lab: ECMO Fellowship/Pediatric Critical Care Fellow

Mentor: Allison Linden, MD, PhD

Research Synopsis: Clinical pediatric ECMO fellow with additional pediatric surgery research responsibility, followed by one year of critical medicine fellowship with a concentration in pediatric critical care medicine.

Years in the Lab: 2023-2025

Funding: NIH T32 and Department of Surgery

Lab: Dr. Ford’s Lab

Mentors: Steven Kim, MD, and Mandy Ford, PhD 

Research Synopsis: Transplant Research 

Years in the Lab: 2024-2026

Funding: Department of Surgery and the VA Office of Academic Affiliations Advanced Fellowships Program

Lab: Atlanta VA Quality Scholars Advanced Fellowship

Mentor: Corrine Abraham, DNP, RN; Krista Powell, MD, MPH; Neha Pathak, MD, FACP, DipABLM; Jeannie Cimiotti, PhD, RN, FAAN

Research Synopsis: Utilization of healthcare quality improvement methods and implementation science with a focus on improving health care delivery systems, patient safety, and patient outcomes.

Years in the Lab: 2023-2025

Funding: T32 Critical Care grant via the NIH 

Lab: Dr. Coopersmith and Dr. Ford laboratories

Mentors: Dr. Mandy Ford, Phd; Dr. Craig Coopersmith, MD, FACS, FCCM

Research Synopsis: Elucidating the function of FCyIIB Fc T-cell receptor in sepsis.  

Years in the Lab: 2023-2025

Funding: NIH TL1, Katz Foundation 

Lab: Surgical Oncology

Mentors: Shishir Maithel, MD; Gregory Lesinski, PhD, MPH 

Research Synopsis: Determine how a novel combination immunotherapy approach impacts tumor progression and the tumor immune microenvironment in murine models of colorectal cancer liver metastasis.   

Years in the Lab: 2023-2025 

Funding: University of Pennsylvania 

Lab: Offsite at University of Pennsylvania 

Mentor: UPENN 

Research Synopsis: Thoracic Surgery Research 

Years in the Lab: 2024-2026

Funding: Department of Surgery and the VA Office of Academic Affiliations Advanced Fellowships Program

Lab: Atlanta VA Quality Scholars Fellowship, Behind the Knife Surgery Education Fellowship

Mentor: Elizabeth Hechenbleikner, MD; Corrine Abraham, DNP, RN; Krista Powell, MD, MPH

Research Synopsis: Evaluating bariatric patient reported outcome measures, investigating healthcare improvement research and scholarship, and developing engaging surgical education content.

Years in the Lab: 2024-2026

Funding: Carlyle Fraser Heart Center and the Matt Ryan Fund

Lab: Chan Lab

Mentor: Joshua Chan, MD, FACS, Subhadra Shashidharan, MD, Michael Lowe, MD, MA

Research Synopsis: 

Comprehensive multiomic profiling of primary graft dysfunction and allograft rejection mechanisms following heart and lung transplantation.

Years in the Lab: 2024-2026

Funding: ARPA-H grant

Lab: Lyons Lab

Mentor: John Lyons, MD; Philip Santangelo, PhD

Research Synopsis: Modulating sepsis with novel mRNA delivery therapeutics.

Years in the Lab: 2022-2024

Funding: Institutional Grants 

Lab: Paulos Laboratory 

Mentor: Chrystal Paulos, PhD; Keith Delman, MD; Michael Lowe, MD 

Research Synopsis: Engineering T Cells with high CD26 expression to develop novel immunotherapy agents that improve the current management of locoregional melanoma, and to ultimately expand these findings across solid tumors.