Research and Education Pilot Award Recipients

Congratulations to all of our Department of Medicine Education, Clinical and Research Pilot Grant recipients!

2026 Recipients

Jennifer Barnas, MD, PhD. Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology. "B cell–Derived Pro-Fibrotic Factors Drive Myofibroblast Differentiation in Lupus Nephritis."

Catherine Glatz, MD. Division of Hospital Medicine. "Advancing Patient Autonomy Through HCP Documentation."

Elizabeth Pope-Collins, MD. Division of Hospital Medicine. "Understanding and Enhancing Peer Recovery Support Services in the Inpatient Setting for Adults with Substance Use Disorder."

Hafsa Tariq, MBBS. Division of Nephrology  "Kidney Transplant Knowledge and Decision-Making Process in Older Population: Perceptions of Patients and Development of a Decision Support Tool."

2025 Recipients

Mark Marinescu, MD. Division of Cardiology. “Silent Pollutants: Characterizing the Infusion of Microplastics to Patients Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass.”

Dominick Roto, DO. Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine. “6-Minute Walk Test Compared to Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test.”

Adnin Zaman, MD. Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism. “Impact of Weight Gain Perceptions on Hormonal Contraceptive Selection: Examining Differences Across BMI Categories.”

Ehsan Hoque, PhD. (Ronald Epstein, MD, co-Investigator). Department of Computer Science/Oncology. “SOPHIE: AI-Driven Virtual Avatar Platform to Improve Clinicians’ Communication Skills with Older Patients with Advanced Cancer.”

Farhan Bajwa, MD. Division of Cardiology/Oncology. “Study for Optimization of Cardiac Imaging in Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer (POCEB).”

Adam Bracken, MD. Division of Hospital Medicine. “Evaluation of Curriculum Training Hospital Medicine Division and Internal Medicine Residents in Caring for Patients with an Eating Disorder.”

Previous Recipients

2024

• Jason Wu, PhD.
• Rickinder Grewal, MD.
• Maria McGreevy, MD.
• Rachel Rodenbach, MD.

2023

• Erica Miller, MD
• Sullafa Kadura, MD, MBA
• Brenda Tesini, MD

2022

• Carlos Díaz-Balzac, MD, PhD
• Margaret Connolly, MD
• Janice Cheong, MD
• Fahad Saeed, MB, BS

2021

• Olga Astapova, MD, PhD
• Francis Coyne, MD and Ashley Jenkins,MD
• Ajay Dakal, MBBS
• Eric Huselton, MD
• Jennifer Readlynn, MD

2020

• Angela Branche, MD
• Thomas Fountaine, MD
• Brian McGarry, PhD
• Jennifer Pascoe, MD and Amy Blatt, MD
• Rachael Roswell-Turner, MD, PhD

2019

• Kaval Chhabra, MPharm, PhD
• Cynthia Monaco, MD, PhD
• David Nagel, MD, PhD
• William Novak, MD and Valerie Lang, MD, MHPE
• Jessica Stern, MD

2018

• Douglas Anderson, PhD
• Daniel Croft, MD, MPH
• David Levy, MD
• Susanne Miedlich, MD
• Melissa Mroz, MD
• Tanya Sahay, MD
• Maria Slack, MD
• Lisa Vargish, MD
• Himabindu Vidula, MD, MS

2017

• Scott Cameron, PhD, MD
• Richard Dunne, MD
• Shannon Hilchey, PhD

2016

• Aritro Sen, PhD and Mike Sellix, PhD
• R. Matthew Kottmann, MD
• Allison Magnuson, DO
• Ananta Paine, PhD