Current Scholars
Kelley Branch, M.D. is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Washington. Dr. Branch specializes in advanced cardiac imaging and works collaboratively with the Department of Radiology for his research projects. Current research projects are the use of cardiac computed tomography (CT) in the setting of acute chest pain. The Triple Rule Out scan evaluates coronary artery disease, pulmonary embolism, and acute aortic syndrome in a single study and is the subject of the ACUTE CT study which is ongoing. In addition, Dr Branch is also investigating the use of fusion positron emission tomography and CT technology to diagnose cardiovascular disease. Dr. Branch is also pursuing the assessment of artificial valves using CT.
Started July, 2006
Elizabeth Broussard, M.D. is an Acting Instructor in the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Washington. She seeks to delineate the role of a newly identified hemoglobin receptor in humans with hemachromatosis.
Started July, 2006
Ian de Boer, M.D., M.S., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine. His research is focused on the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease, particularly in the setting of diabetes mellitus, and on the relationship of chronic kidney disease to cardiovascular disease. Current research examines the role of vitamin D metabolism in these disease processes.
Started July, 2006
Daniel Doherty, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. He is a developmental pediatrician working with the group that focuses on Joubert syndrome and related cerebellar malformation disorders. Joubert Syndrome (JS) is a rare autosomal recessive malformation syndrome involving agenesis of the cerebellar vermis with accompanying brainstem malformations. JS is clinically characterized by the core features of hypotonia, developmental delays, abnormal respiratory patterns, and abnormal eye movements; it exhibits variable additional clinical features, and confusion exists regarding its precise definition. Genetic locus heterogeneity is likely, and genes crucial to cerebellar and brainstem development are functional JS candidates, particularly homeotic genes specifying the vermian domain. This project involves collecting medical records and blood samples for DNA isolation from multiple families with JS and carrying out a genome-wide scan for regions of halotype sharing in pedigrees with consanguinity. From this data, the goal is to discover mutations leading to JS in specific functional and positional candidate genes.
Started July, 2006
Karen Foster-Schubert, M.D., is an Acting Instructor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition. Her research focus is on human body weight regulation, particularly obesity. She has investigated the role of exercise-induced weight loss and macronutrient effects on the appetite-stimulating hormone, ghrelin. Current research projects are aimed at the following: 1) Identifying the effect of varying dietary energy density on body weight regulatory hormones and appetite. 2) Comparing diet versus exercise-induced weight loss adaptations in energy expenditure in a randomized clinical trial context. 3) Development of a novel imaging method to measure parameters of hypothalamic regulation of body weight in humans, using a multi-disciplinary approach.
Started July, 2005
Soren Gantt, M.D., Ph.D. is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics. His research focuses on HIV-1 infection in African children. Current projects include elucidating virologic and immunologic aspects of mother to child transmission of HIV-1 (MTCT) through breastfeeding in Zimbabwe. Dr. Gantt is also involved in studies evaluating the prevalence and clinical significance of resistance to antiretroviral drugs used for prevention of MTCT in Mozambique. In addition, Dr. Gantt is beginning a project that aims to describe the epidemiology of human herpesvirus 8, the viral cause of Kaposi's Sarcoma, in Ugandan children.
Started July, 2006
Amelia Gavin, M.S.W., M.P.P., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work. Her training is in both political science and social work. Research efforts include health disparities among African Americans, particularly the role of socioeconomic position across the life course in the incidence of depression, and the association between depression during the prenatal period, childhood socioeconomic position and preterm delivery when African American women report life event stress.
Started July, 2005
Matthew Klein, M.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Washington Burn Center. Dr. Klein specializes in acute and reconstructive burn care. His research interests include psychosocial and functional outcomes following burn injury and the development of regional systems for the delivery of burn care. Dr. Klein is a co-investigator in the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research Burn Model System program at the University of Washington.
Started July, 2005
Baiya Krishandasan, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. His primary research interest is in the application of new technologies to the management of patients with lung cancer. Current research efforts include investigating the efficacy to Video-assisted thoracic lung resection for lung cancer and examining the outcomes related to lung cancer utilizing adminstrative databases.
Started September, 2006
Victor J. Legner, M.D. is an Acting Instructor in the Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine in the Department of Medicine. His research focus is centered on the perioperative care of older adults. Current research projects are aimed at identifying potentially modifiable factors associated with postoperative functional decline and developing interventions to prevent newly acquired disability following major surgical procedures. Dr. Legner is also interested in assessing cognitive function following lengthy procedures and assessing the association between cognitive decline and general anesthesia.
Started July, 2005
Yvonne Lin, Ph.D. is an Acting Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics in the School of Pharmacy. Her training is in drug metabolism, pharmacogenetics and gene regulation. Her current research is focused on the regulation of drug metabolizing enzymes in children, particularly understanding how obesity and diabetes affect basal enzyme levels. She is also interested in studying the interaction between drugs and obesity and characterizing regulatory pathways in order to prevent unwanted side effects and predict periods of increased vulnerability to drug toxicity.
Started July, 2005
Eduardo Mendez, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Washington. He has worked to define genetic expression profiles of patients with squamous cell tumors of the upper aero-digestive tract, and now seeks to refine the profiles of patients who are susceptible to metastatic disease.
Started July, 2006
Huong Nguyen, R.N., Ph.D. has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems since 2003, shortly after she completed her doctorate in nursing at UC San Francisco. Her clinical background is in the care of older patients with chronic cardiopulmonary diseases. Dr. Nguyenís program of research is focused on the application of information and communication technologies to promote and support patient self-management and long term behavioral change. In collaboration with her colleagues from UCSF, she is the UW site lead in testing the impact of an Internet-based education and support program for dyspnea self-management in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She will continue to lead the UW team in a new 5 year RO1 subcontract with UCSF which will rigorously test the effects of two dyspnea self-management programs to an attention control arm. She recently completed a pilot study that used accelerometry to characterize physical activity patterns associated with illness exacerbations in patients with COPD. The goal of this line of research will be to model patterns of usual physical activity in order to identify patients who have delayed functional recovery for early intervention. The K-12 program will allow her to obtain advanced training in research methods and fully leverage the interdisciplinary mentorship opportunities which will together lay a strong foundation for her to design and evaluate multi-level intervention approaches to chronic illness care and health promotion.
Started July, 2005
Pathmaja Paramsothy, M.D., is an Acting Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology. Dr. Paramsothy interests include early vascular dysfunction in subjects who are at high risk for coronary artery disease.
Started July, 2005
Renee Stapleton, M.D. is an Acting Instructor in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Stapleton completed her fellowship and Masters in Epidemiology in June of 2005. Her main area of research interest surrounds building a research program that focuses on nutritional support and pharmaconutrient interventions in critically ill patients. She is currently conducting a phase II randomized controlled trial studying the anti-inflammatory effects of n-3 fatty acids (fish oil) in patients with acute lung injury. She is also investigating the role of early versus delayed initiation of enteral feeding in ALI patients, and she is involved in studies examining the association between obesity and clinical outcomes in the ICU as well as the accuracy of indirect calorimetry in obese patients. Dr. Stapleton also has research interests in treatment preferences and end-of-life care. She plans to soon begin a study investigating disease-specific outcomes and long-term survival after in-hospital CPR. In addition to the K12 Award, she also receives research support from the American Lung Association. She is currently enrolled in the PhD program in Epidemiology.
Started July, 2005
Hilaire Thompson, Ph.D., R.N., B.C., A.C.N.P., C.N.R.N., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems. Dr. Thompson's program of research has focused on improving outcomes from traumatic brain injury. She has used translational approaches, including animal models in the process of developing evidence-based protocols for the care of the hyperthermic brain-injured patient.
Started July, 2006