Resident Research Projects
Browse below to learn about the investigations recently conducted by our residents. For information on residents' quality improvement projects as part of their research fellowships, visit the Surgical Outcomes & Quality Improvement Center page.
Current Research Projects
Emily Cerier
General Surgery Resident
2021-Present
Mentors: Ankit Bharat, MD, Scott Budinger, MD, Harris Perlman, MD, & Alexander Misharin, MD
Description: Dr. Cerier's research is investigating the pathogenesis of primary graft dysfunction, an important risk factor in chronic lung allograft dysfunction following lung transplant, in cystic fibrosis patients under the mentorship of Dr. Bharat. Specifically, she aims to better understand the impact of the mutated cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene and lung restricted autoantibodies on recipient non-classical monocytes in lung allograft injury and chronic rejection following lung transplantation. She is a T32 post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Allergy and Immunology and recipient of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation Research Reward to fund her studies.
Calvin Chao
Integrated Vascular Surgery Resident
2022-Present
Mentors: Bin Jiang, PhD, Karen Ho, MD, Mark Eskandari, MD
Dr. Chao’s research is focused on the development and delivery of biotechnologies for the treatment of vascular disease. Specifically, he is interested in elucidating the pathogenesis of aortic aneurysms and the implementation of novel regenerative therapies. Additional areas of study include the neointimal hyperplastic response after vascular injury and intravascular biomaterial design. He works predominantly in the Jiang Lab, a collaborate effort between the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Division of Vascular Surgery. He is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Vascular Surgery Scientist Training Program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Brooke Golisch
General Surgery Resident
2022-Present
Mentor: Anne M Stey, MD
Dr. Golisch's research interests include surgical quality improvement with an emphasis on innovative methods in surgical education and identifying trends and outcomes in hepatobiliary and oncologic surgery. She is currently pursuing a two-year research fellowship with SOQIC under an R38 training grant. During her fellowship, Dr. Golisch is obtaining a master’s degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern University's Institute for Public Health and Medicine.
Jessie Ho
General Surgery Resident
2021-Present
Mentor: Hasan Alam, MD
Dr. Ho's research is focused on hemorrhagic and septic shock. She is investigating pro-survival strategies in the setting of prolonged damage control resuscitation and REBOA usage. Additionally, she is developing a project studying mechanisms of a novel pathway affecting cellular dysfunction in sepsis. She is pursuing a Master’s in Science in Clinical Investigation from the Northwestern University Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. She is funded by an F32 by the National Institute of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Brandon Jackson
Plastic Surgery Resident
2022 - Present
Mentors: David Bentrem, MD, Greg Dumanian, MD and Jason Ko, MD
Dr. Jackson’s research focuses on plastic surgical outcomes, veteran's health, quality improvement, and patient safety. He is specifically interested in analyzing postoperative complications and follow up measures in order to enhance perioperative care. He is a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University's Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center (SOQIC). Additionally, his interest in veteran’s care has led him to pursue a position as a Chief Resident in Quality and Patient Safety at the Jesse Brown VA. This one-year program will help Dr. Jackson develop expertise in leadership/professional development, as well as the use of quality improvement methods and implementation science at the vanguard of patient safety.
Lauren Janczewski
General Surgery Resident
2022-Present
Mentor: Ryan Merkow, MD
Dr. Janczewski's research interests lie in outcomes and quality improvement in surgical oncology, specifically gastrointestinal malignancies. Her focus is on postoperative and oncologic outcomes following hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on providing cancer care. She is a T32 postdoctoral fellow in Surgical Oncology at Northwestern University's Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Collaborative (SOQIC), under the guidance of Dr. Ryan Merkow as well as a Commission on Cancer scholar with the American College of Surgeons. She will also obtain a Master's Degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern University.
Charles Logan
General Surgery Resident
2021-Present
Mentors: David Odell, MD, David Bentrem, MD, & Ryan Merkow, MD
Dr. Logan’s research focuses on surgical outcomes, health disparities, quality improvement, and patient safety. He is specifically interested in rural health, veteran’s health, surgical oncology, and thoracic surgery. He is a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University’s Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center (SOQIC). He is also completing a Master's degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern’s Center for Education in Health Sciences.
Steven Papastefan
Pediatric Surgery Fellow
2022-Present
Mentors: Aimen Shaaban, MD & Evan Scott, PhD
Dr. Papastefan’s research is focused on developing in-utero gene therapy strategies for the treatment of congenital and placenta-based disease. He is investigating an mRNA delivery technique utilizing endogenous retroelements as packaging vectors for targeted, minimally-immunogenic gene therapy delivery to the placenta. Additionally, he is working on the development of miniaturized continuous monitoring devices for fetal surgeries, which is being validated in a lamb model of prenatal myelomeningocele repair. His research goal is to improve treatment strategies for developmental diseases prior to the onset of irreversible damage that occurs in utero. Dr. Papastefan is currently a Pediatric Surgery Research Fellow at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital and is funded by the NCATS TL1 Multidisciplinary Training Program in Child and Adolescent Health.
Eric Pillado
Integrated Vascular Surgery Resident
2021-Present
Mentors: Andrew Hoel, MD & Karl Bilimoria, MD
Dr. Pillado's research is focused on health services outcomes research. His focus is on healthcare disparities among diabetic patients with peripheral arterial disease and improving patient education in limb salvage. Currently he is working on creating simulators for percutaneous arterial access and closure. He is a T32 postdoctoral fellow in the Vascular Surgery Scientist Training Program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute.
Audra Reiter
General Surgery Resident
2021-Present
Mentors: Mehul Raval, MD & Karl Bilimoria, MD
Dr. Reiter's research focuses on Health Services and Outcomes Research and delivery of high-quality surgical care to pediatric patients. As a Research Scholar for the SOQIC group and the Northwestern Division of Pediatric Surgery, she will be spending two years working on quality improvement and outcomes research for Pediatric Surgery under the mentorship of Dr. Mehul Raval. Dr. Reiter holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Romance Languages, her Medical Degree, and a Master in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is currently taking 2 years away from her General Surgery training at Northwestern to focus on her research interests while pursuing the Methodology Certification for Health Services and Outcomes Research through Northwestern University's Institute for Public Health and Medicine.
Jes Sanders
General Surgery Resident
2022-Present
Mentors: Joseph Leventhal, MD PhD; James Mathew, PhD
Dr. Sanders’ research focuses on developing regulatory T cell (Treg), adoptive cellular transfer therapies in the context of solid organ transplantation. He is investigating the large scale, ex-vivo expansion of autologous Tregs with donor specificity in an effort to utilize this therapy in a phase 1 clinical trial of solid organ transplant recipients. His research goal is to develop a post-transplant treatment strategy that would minimize long term immunosuppression. Additionally, he will be functionally characterizing Treg exosomes in order to better understand their role in Treg function through the use of an NSG-skin graft mouse model. Dr. Sanders is currently a Transplant Surgery T32 Research Fellow and additionally received funding through the Steven J. Stryker, MD, Gastrointestinal Surgery Research and Education Endowment.
Kareem Termanini
Plastic Surgery Resident
2022-Present
Mentor: Arun Gosain, MD
Dr. Termanini is a Research Fellow in the Gosain Plastic Surgery and Craniofacial Biology Lab at Lurie Children's. The primary focus of the lab is tissue expansion. He is investigating the molecular, cellular and biomechanical consequences of tissues expansion, which may pose therapeutic targets to improve the process and clinical outcomes of tissue expansion. In addition to his research interests, he is interested in microsurgery, education and international health outcomes.
Catherine Valukas
General Surgery Resident
2022-Present
Mentors: David Odell, Ryan Merkow, David Bentrem
Dr. Valukas' research interests are in surgical oncology and health disparities. Specifically, her research is in identifying barriers in access to surgical oncologic care for vulnerable populations and improving outcomes for these populations. She is a T32 postdoctoral fellow in Surgical Oncology at Northwestern University's Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Collaborative (SOQIC) and is obtaining her Master's Degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern University.
Samantha Warwar
General Surgery Resident
2022-Present
Mentor: Dr. Hu
Dr. Warwar's research focuses on surgical outcomes and quality improvement with particular interest in surgical oncology, health disparities, and resident education in surgical training. Dr. Warwar holds both her bachelor's degree in Microbiology and her medical degree from the Ohio State University. She is currently taking time from general surgery residency at Northwestern to focus on her research interests as a SOQIC Fellow while obtaining a master's degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research at the Northwestern Institute for Public Health and Medicine.
Past Research Projects
Sofia Aronson
Integrated Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Resident
2021-2022
Mentor: Arun Gosain, MD
Dr. Aronson is a Research Fellow in the lab of Dr. Arun Gosain, where she is primarily focused on studying the impact of tissue expansion on skin. She is investigating the molecular, cellular and biomechanical consequences of tissues expansion, which may pose therapeutic targets to improve the process and clinical outcomes of tissue expansion. She is expanding this investigation to the setting of irradiated tissue, which is of particular relevance to oncologic reconstruction. Dr. Aronson earned her Bachelors and Medical Degrees at Brown University in Rhode Island. In addition to her research interests, she is interested in microsurgery, general plastic and reconstructive surgery, and education and mentorship.
Jenny Bai
Integrated Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Resident
2021-2022
Mentor: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Dr. Bai is doing a fellowship at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for research year. She is a Senior Staff Fellow working as a Medical Officer at the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) in the Office of Surgical and Infection Control Devices. She is responsible for clinical review of the total product life cycle for plastic and general surgery device files, including pre-market, post-market and compliance work. Dr. Bai went to Dartmouth College for her undergraduate degree and the University of Maryland for her medical degree. In addition to her work at the FDA, she is interested in microsurgery, innovation and opioid reduction.
Brian Brajcich
General Surgery Resident
2019-2021
Mentor: Karl Bilimoria, MD
Dr. Brajcich’s research interests include surgical quality improvement and outcomes research. Specifically, he is studying outcomes related to surgical oncology and colorectal surgery procedures. Additionally, he is researching current practices in surgical residency training and their impact on resident well-being. He is performing this work as part of the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center of Northwestern University and is a Clinical Scholar in Residence of the American College of Surgeons. He will also obtain a Master’s degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research.
Matt Chia
Vascular Surgery Resident
2019-2021
Dr. Chia’s research is focused on vascular surgery outcomes and surgical training. His projects are on benchmarking local outcomes of lower extremity bypass against centers in the Vascular Quality Initiative and analysis of selective shunting in carotid endarterectomy. Additional areas of investigation include the implementation of Entrustable Professional Activities in the medical student surgery clerkship and patterns of wellness/burnout in vascular surgery trainees in the United States. He is pursuing a Master’s in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern’s Center for Education in Health Sciences. He is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Vascular Surgery Scientist Training Program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
PubMed
Courtney Lanese Furlough
Integrated Vascular Surgery Resident
2018-2020
Mentor: Andrew Hoel, MD
Dr. Furlough is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in Vascular Surgery Scientist Training Program. Her research is focused on vascular surgery outcomes and surgical ethics research. Her primary project focuses on long term outcomes following elective aortic aneurysm repairs using the Vascular Quality Initiative-Medicare linked database. Additional projects involve evaluation the ethical decision-making climate in subspecialty intensive care units. She is currently completing a Master's degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research at the Northwestern Graduate School.
Andres Guerra
Integrated Vascular Surgery Resident
2020 - Present
Mentors: Ashley Vavra, MD, Karl Bilimoria, MD
Dr. Guerra is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Vascular Surgery Scientist Training Program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern’s Center for Education in Health Sciences. Dr. Guerra is currently interested in outcomes and quality improvement research, specifically in the field of vascular surgery. Current interests include incorporating patient reported outcome (PRO) measures in patients with critical limb ischemia who undergo either open or endovascular interventions to improve quality of life in this patient cohort. Additionally, looking at our institutions experience performing endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) under monitored anesthetic care and outcomes with carotid bypass and trans-carotid artery stenting (TCAR). Finally, Dr. Guerra is also interested in improving vascular resident training and autonomy via video-based feedback and review of endovascular interventions.
Courtney Harris
General Surgery Resident
2018-2020
Mentors: Erin Rowell, MD & Monica Laronda, MD
With estimates of childhood cancer survival of 80 percent, awareness of long-term quality-of-life concerns for survivors has increased. Encompassed in this focus is fertility preservation. Unfortunately, some treatment protocols are gonadotoxic, and thus both males and female survivors are more likely to be infertile or have difficulty getting pregnant when compared to their siblings. Dr. Harris’ research aims lie in improving fertility preservation options for prepubertal and young adolescent patients who are diagnosed with both benign and malignant conditions that require gonadotoxic treatments. Specifically, Dr. Harris is investigating the varying techniques of laparoscopic oophorectomy for ovarian tissue cryopreservation, analyzing its effects on ovarian follicle health, and perfecting processing techniques to ensure no tissue is wasted. The overall goal of her research is to create a best practice guideline to ensure the highest quality tissue is cryopreserved and thus give patients the best chance at future fertility restoration. Dr. Harris is currently a Pediatric Surgery Research Fellow at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She is also a Surgical Fellow with the Fertility and Hormone Preservation and Restoration team at Lurie Children’s.
Amy Holmstrom
General Surgery Resident
2019-2020
Mentors: Eric Hungness, MD & Ezra Teitelbaum, MD
Dr. Holmstrom's research aims to better define the anatomy, physiology, diagnosis, and treatment of esophageal disorders. Her primary focus is on achalasia, a rare neurodegenerative esophageal motility disorder. Additional areas of investigation include gastroesophageal reflux disease and other non-achalasia esophageal motility disorders. Dr. Holmstrom also works in the Northwestern Simulation Lab, where she is focused on surgical mastery-learning and education. She is in the Medical Education Clinical Scholars Program through McGaw and received the Surgical Education Research Fellowship through the Association of Surgical Education.
Andrew Hu
General Surgery Resident
2020 - Present
Mentors: Mehul Raval, MD, Karl Bilimoria, MD
Dr. Hu's research focuses on health services and outcomes research as well as surgical quality improvement relating to pediatric surgery. His focus is on improving the overall quality of postoperative care in pediatric surgery patients in addition to novel video-based surgical education methods. He is pursuing a Master's Degree in Health Service and Outcomes through Northwestern University
Rachel Hae-Soo Joung
General Surgery Resident
2020 - Present
Mentors: Karl Bilimoria, MD, Ryan Merkow, MD
Dr. Joung's research interest lie in outcomes and quality improvement in surgical oncology as well as health services and health policy research. Her focus is on identifying predictors of guideline adherence and identifying targets for surgical quality improvement. Additionally, she is interested in utilizing patient reported outcomes to improve cancer care delivery. She is a T32 postdoctoral fellow in Surgical Oncology at Northwestern University's Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center (SOQIC), under the guidance of Dr. Karl Bilimoria. She will also obtain a Master's degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern University.
Julian Klosowiak
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Resident
2020-2021
PubMed
Bona Ko
General Surgery Resident
2020 - Present
Mentors: Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS, Jacqueline Kruser, MD, MS
Dr. Ko's research is focused on surgical outcomes and palliative care in the intensive care unit. Specifically, she is interested in understanding and improving the quality of care that is delivered to patients at the end of life. Additional areas of investigation include projects that involve outcomes related to surgical oncology. She is performing this work as part of the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center of Northwestern University. She is the recipient of the NIH F32 postdoctoral fellowship, which is funded by the Agency for Health Research and Quality.
Simon Moradian
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Resident
2020-2021
Mentors: Levi Hargrove, PhD & Todd Kuiken, MD, PhD
Dr. Moradian’s research is focused on the new and evolving field of osseointegration (OI) and it’s combination with targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR). In OI, a titanium implant is surgically anchored and integrated into bone. This skeletal integration then allows for a robotic prosthetic limb to be attached directly to the implant in lieu of a socket based approach. Additionally, by combining OI with TMR, which was invented by Dr. Dumanian here at Northwestern, this will allow for eventual seamless control of a robotic prosthetic for daily use. Dr. Moradian will be spending this year at the Center for Bionic Medicine at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Levi Hargrove and Dr. Todd Kuiken where he will also be using an animal model to test novel EMG sensing implants to further aid in control of a myoelectric prosthetic. His overarching goal is to help bring this technology to Northwestern and establish a center for osseointegration though collaboration with plastic surgery, orthopedics, and the Shirley Ryan Ability lab for rehab.
Katherine Ott
General Surgery Resident
2019-2021
Mentor: Aimen Shaaban, MD
Dr. Ott's research aims to better define immunologic and physiologic mechanisms underlying neural tube defects in utero. Working under the mentorship of Dr. Aimen Shaaban, her primary focus is on understanding the role of maternal NK cells in the protection from fetal teratogenesis in both mouse and human studies. She is in the Lurie Research Scholars Program through the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital. She was also awarded an NIH Loan Repayment Award for her research.
Vivek Pamulapati
General Surgery Resident
2019-2021
Mentor: Karen Ho, MD
Dr. Pamulapati’s research is focused on exploring the role of the gut microbiome in modulating neointimal hyperplasia after vascular injury under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Ho. His research includes the use of germ free mouse surgical models and techniques in molecular biology. He is a T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Vascular Surgery Scientist Training Program funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. He is pursuing a Methodology Certificate through the Northwestern University Health Services and Outcomes Research Department.
William Phillips
General Surgery Resident
2018-2020
Mentors: Yolonda Colson, MD, PhD & David Odell, MD
Dr. Phillips’ research is focused on improving the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer. Under the mentorship of Yolonda Colson at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he is working on sentinel lymph node mapping in non-small cell lung cancer to identify metastatic disease and help minimize the morbidity associated with extensive lymph node dissections. This is accomplished utilizing near infrared technology to visualize a fluorescent dye (indocyanine green) tracking to nearby lymphatics following peritumoral injection. Additionally, with the collaboration of David Odell at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, he is working to expedite the time to diagnosis and standardize the treatment of lung cancer patients identified as vulnerable in the greater Boston area. Dr. Phillips’ research is supported by the American College of Surgeons Resident Research Scholarship.
Cary Schlick
General Surgery Resident
2018-2020
Mentors: David Bentrem, MD & Karl Bilimoria, MD
Dr. Schlick’s research interests lie in quality adherence and access to healthcare across geographic and health system boundaries. Specifically, she is interested in adherence to cancer care metrics in relation to geographic and financial variables and how patient outcomes are impacted by treatments available to them. Dr. Schlick is originally from rural Minnesota and ultimately aims to lessen healthcare disparities across America through both her clinical and research efforts. She is a research fellow in the SOQIC group under the guidance of Karl Bilimoria. Additionally, she is working with David Bentrem at the VA to assess the quality of cancer provided to this population. Dr. Schlick is currently completing a Master’s degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research through the Northwestern University Institute for Public Health and Medicine.
Matthew Snyder
General Surgery Resident
2020-2021
Dr. Snyder's research aims to better understand the physiology, diagnosis, and surgical treatment of esophageal disorders. Achalasia, a rare neurodegenerative esophageal motility disorder, is his primary focus. Additional areas of clinical investigation include the understanding and utilization of functional lumen imaging probes and their role in interoperative assessment of esophageal physiology. Dr. Snyder also works in the Northwestern Simulation Lab where he designs and implements surgical based mastery-learning curricula for residents and medical students. He has been accepted to the Medical Education Clinical Scholars Program through McGaw and has completed a Simulation-Based Mastery Learning Education Course.
PubMed
Tarik Yuce
General Surgery Resident
2018-2020
Mentors: Karl Bilimoria, MD & Ryan Merkow, MD
Dr. Yuce’s interests lie in outcomes research as well as surgical quality improvement relating to minimally invasive benign foregut and bariatric surgery. His focus is on identifying possible avenues for improving bariatric outcome measures, such as readmission and surgical site infections. He also is exploring methods to augment minimally invasive surgical training for general surgery residency. He will complete a Master’s in Health Services and Outcomes Research while a T32 postdoctoral fellow at the Northwestern Center for Education in Healthcare Studies.