Directory of Faculty Projects
| What is your first and last name? | What is your degree? | What is your email? | What department are you in? | What is your project location? | Can this project be completed remotely? | What is your project category? | Please provide a title or general topic heading for your project* | What is your project description? | Please list any prerequisite skills required for this project | Does the project have existing or will require IRB/IACUC approval? | I am interested in working with students for: |
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| Alainna Brennan Brown | Other; | alainnab@uw.edu | Human Centered Design & Engineering | Remote (all locations okay as long as you are a currently enrolled UW student or a UW employee) | Yes | Other | Epistemic Approaches to Everyday Clinical Practice | ***This project is not currently structured for a summer III BUT can easily be structured for one based on student interest and motivation.*** As part of my MD/PhD dissertation research, I am conducting ethnographies of everyday clinical practice in spaces where practitioners design practices and artifacts to support their work. I am currently cleaning an existing dataset collected in a wilderness EMS setting and will be conducting preliminary analyses through the end of 2022. I am looking for UW medical students (specifically UW due to IRB constraints) who want to learn about rigorous qualitative methods and how to use them in medical research by assisting with the two aforementioned activities. No prior background is required. Due to the nature of this methodological approach, most contributions beyond basic data cleaning likely warrant authorship, and students who are motivated to take on portions of the data semi-independently have ample opportunities for authorship (including first authorship) and presentation in medical, design, and sociological spaces. Reasonable time commitment looks like 5-15 hours per week depending on project stage, student's intellectual focus, and priorities for presenting results (i.e. do you want to use this primarily as a learning opportunity, an intellectual contribution, etc.?). | None required, aside from an interest in learning about qualitative, interdisciplinary, design, and/or ethnomethodological methods. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Elizabeth Nguyen | MD;PhD; | edong@uw.edu | Pediatrics | Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Investigating genetic changes leading to kidney regeneration | My lab investigates the proteomic, genetic and epigenetic changes in the setting of kidney injury and repair with the goal of identifying mechanisms by which the response to kidney injury can be redirected from fibrosis to functional organ tissue. We use a unique animal model, the African spiny mouse, which regenerates kidney tissue without scarring after injury. Projects will allow for training in various molecular biology, genetics and bioinformatic methods. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Nicole Bedford | PhD; | nbedford@uwyo.edu | Zoology & Physiology | Univeristy of Wyoming, Laramie | No | Basic Science Research | The development and degeneration of neural circuits for voluntary micturition | The Bedford Lab is interested in understanding the neural circuits in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary micturition, or the cognitive decision of when and where to release urine. We are particularly interested in understanding how these circuits are altered in neurodevelopmental (e.g., autism spectrum disorder) and neurodegenerative (e.g., Alzheimer's) disease states, using the laboratory mouse as a model system. We use a suite of cutting edge tools from systems neuroscience, animal behavior, and bioinformatics to address these questions. Students will learn brain surgeries and implants, automated behavioral assays, molecular biology techniques, and/or bioinformatic analysis skills. | None. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Gail Jarvik | MD;PhD; | pair@uw.edu | Medicine (Medical Genetics) | UWMC-Montlake and hybrid remote | No | Clinical Research | Undiagnosed Disease Program | We have a grant to see and attempt to solve patient's who have had long diagnostic odysseys. We see an average of 1 per week. Each offers a unique research experience. There are clinical, genomic, analytic, and research test components. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Wyeth Bair | PhD; | wyeth0@uw.edu | Biological Structure | HSB G-wing and I-wing | No | Basic Science Research | Encoding in populations of neurons in the non-human primate visual system. | Our lab studies the function of neurons in the visual cortex of the macaque monkey. We are conducing experiments with two high-density recording techniques: (1) multi-photon Ca2+ imaging, (2) neuropixel electrode recordings. We carry out surgeries to implant imaging windows in the skull, or to implant electrodes, and then we present custom designed visual stimuli to the monkey and study how hundreds of neurons in local populations respond. Our goal is to complete complex structure-function studies in collaboration with the Allen Institute of Brain Sciences (AIBS). You can work as part of a group to carry out experiments, and individually to analyze data. | Basic data analysis skills (for example, in python), willingness to participate in non-human primate research. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| David Koelle | MD; | dkoelle@medicine.washington.edu | Medicine | UW South Lake Union, Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Immune response to infection | We focus on the T cell immune response to viral infections of humans, and also have a project on T. pallidum, the bacterial cause of syphilis. Similar to the better known antibodies made by B lymphocytes, T cells also have great variety (> 10 million types per person), great specificity, and long-term memory. T cells are required to generate a high quality antibody response, and can directly kill infected cells or cancer cells. We are currently funded for T cell research for HSV-1, HSV-2, VZV, SARS-CoV-2, MCPyV (a tumor-causing virus), and syphilis. The student will craft a project, likely directed by a PhD-level lab member, to dissect some of the fine details of the T cell response to a pathogen. Examples could include sequencing T cell receptors, cloning and expressing T cell receptors, and determining which specific peptide parts of which specific microbial proteins are recognized by T cells. T cell immunology is central to modern oncology, rheumatology, autoimmunity, and allergy in addition to infectious diseases. A full suite of modern molecular and cellular immunology tools are in use. Please search pubmed on "Koelle DM" for recent papers. | Would be great if student felt comfortable with using a microscope, basic sterile technique, pipetting, and was confident with the math around dilutions and small and large numbers. Any skills with coding and intermediate/advanced Excel-ology would be most welcome too. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Michelle Erickson | PhD; | mericks9@uw.edu | Medicine- Gerontology | VA Puget Sound Healthcare System- Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Blood-brain barrier involvement in neuroinflammation | Our lab is interested in the immunoregulatory functions of the BBB, particularly its involvement in the physiological neuroimmune response to systemic inflammatory insults and alterations of immune functions with aging and Alzheimer's disease. | Willingness to work with mice, including surgeries and euthanasia and with radioactive isotopes (131I, 125I, 14C, 99mTc, etc.). | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Elizabeth Nguyen | PhD;MD; | edong@uw.edu | Pediatric Nephrology | Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Genetic drivers of kidney repair and regeneration | In the Nguyen Lab, we investigate the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms directing kidney repair. Our goal is to investigate how the response to kidney injury can be redirected from fibrosis to functional organ tissue. Projects will involve cutting-edge molecular biological techniques, high-throughput sequencing and computational methods to investigate the role of epigenetic regulation in kidney repair and regeneration. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); | |
| Ashley Vaughan | PhD; | ashley.vaughan@seattlechildrens.org | Pediatrics | Center for Global Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 307 Westlake Ave N, Seattle | No | Basic Science Research | My team works on Plasmodium parasites, the causative agent of malaria. We are interested in the genetic factors involved in life cycle fitness. We are especially interested in understanding the mosquito stages and liver stages of the life cycle and how parasite attenuation can be used to create effective vaccines. | The student will work directly with postdoctoral fellows to investigate fitness of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. You will learn how to maintain the parasite in vitro and how to manipulate the parasite genome. | Ideally, you will have some experience working in a basic research lab. Understanding of aseptic techniques, use of pipettes and awareness of the scientific method are required. | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Jill Johnsen | MD; | jjohnsen@uw.edu | Medicine | UW, SLU campus, 850 Republican | No | Basic Science Research | Genomic variation in inherited bleeding disorders | The projects are to understand the impact of genetic variation on bleeding disorders. Our projects seeks to deeply characterize all of the kinds of genetic variation that impact bleeding disorders and tests the impact of that variation in vitro. Projects for the student may be bench and/or bioinformatics, depending on student's interest. | Some experience preferred in laboratory and/or bioinformatics, but we have accepted novices before. Most important is a keen interest to learn new things and in human genetics and genomics. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Anna Sunshine | MD;PhD; | annab7@uw.edu | Psychiatry | UWMC | Yes | Basic Science Research | Clinical outcomes and genetics of schizophrenia | I am working with individuals with schizophrenia on a longitudinal research project. At project enrollment we do exome sequencing to identify genetic mutations that could contribute to schizophrenia development and/or treatment response/side effect risk. I annually review charts to gather clinical information (eg. labs, PHQ9 scores, medications, diagnoses etc). Student's role would be to 1) assist in chart review and organizing data from already enrolled patients 2) review this complex data set and genetic information to generate hypotheses for future work. Potential to help enroll new participants with schizophrenia as part of the experience if scheduling permits. | Access to Epic (if no access yet we can work on setting that up prior to project start time), detail-oriented and good organizational skills, experience with Excel. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| James Bennett | MD;PhD; | jtbenn@uw.edu | Pediatric Genetics, and Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine | SCRI, in Seattle WA | No | Basic Science Research | We study the role of post-zygotic mutations in pediatric developmental diseases, with a major focus on diagnosis and management of vascular malformations. | We study the role of post-zygotic mutations in pediatric developmental diseases, with a major focus on diagnosis and management of vascular malformations. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Sandhya Panch | MD;MPH; | srpanch@seattlecca.org | Medicine/Hematology | Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Seattle, Washington | Yes | Quality Improvement | Platelet quality and transfusion outcomes in patients with leukemia and stem ell transplant | ||||
| Gail Jarvik | MD;PhD; | pair@uw.edu | Medicine (Head of Medical Genetics) | UWMC-Montlake | Yes | Clinical Research | Return of polygenic risk scores for common disease risk to patients | We are part of a national program to return genetic risk information for common diseases to 25,000 individuals, 2500 at UW. Conditions include risk for diabetes, cancer, cardiac, and other diseases. There should be opportunity to interact with participants. There are additional electronic health record, healthcare outcomes, and patient perspective components. | Excellent people skills. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Jerome Graber | MD;MPH; | jgraber@uw.edu | Neurology | UWMC Seattle | Yes | Clinical Research | Brain Tumor research | I have had 6 students over the last 3 summersyears (both MS1-2 and MS3-4 elective students) conduct a variety of projects looking at effects of sarcopenia/muscle loss on cancer outcomes, imaging correlations, aspects of radiation oncology, mental health screening, retrospective reviews of uncommon disease, or treatments for primary and metastatic brain tumors, DEI issues in education and care, etc. Because my work touches on neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, radiation, neuroradiology, hospice and palliative care and psychosocial aspects, an interested student could pursue a project that matches their particular interests and goals. Can include clinical shadowing if desired. All of my students have had posters accepted to conferences (some winning awards) and most have been authors on publications, and I hope their time with me helps them develop their future interests in any of these fields. | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Paul Drain | MD;MPH; | pkdrain@uw.edu | Medicine, Global Health, Epidemiology | South Africa | No | Clinical Research | Advancing Diagnostic Technologies and Delivery for Infectious Diseases in LMICs. | We have several clinical trials being conducted for HIV, TB, and Covid in South Africa. The student will have an opportunity to travel to South Africa to be part of a research team. The student will be able to work with a research team and lead an analysis of data. The student will also be able to shadow physicians in ambulatory and hospital settings in South Africa. | Prior research experience and skills are desired. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Jordan Roberts | MD;MPH; | jordan.roberts@seattlechildrens.org | Pediatrics | Seattle Children's Hospital/Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA | Yes | Clinical Research | Clinical research in childhood-onset lupus and access to care in pediatric rheumatology | I am a pediatric rheumatologist and clinical and health services researcher. My primary areas of interest are comparative effectiveness and infectious risks of immunosuppressants for pediatric lupus, and disparities in access to pediatric rheumatology care. I have previously worked with a premed undergraduate student in a study on infections in pediatric lupus, and an MPH student on assessing delays in starting medications due to insurance prior authorization. Potential roles on my ongoing projects including reviewing medical charts to validate billing codes for infections, transcribing videos of patient focus groups, and analyzing survey data on medication use for pediatric lupus. A new project on a related area could be developed depending on student interest. | Experience with medical chart reviews, searching medical literature, and/or programming would all be helpful for potential projects, but the role can be suited to prior experience/interests, and students with no prior research experience are welcome to apply! | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Andrew Hsieh | MD; | ahsieh@fredhutch.org | Medicine - Oncology | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center | No | Bioinformatics | Characterizing the cancer tRNA-ome | I am a medical oncologist and physician scientist. My laboratory studies translation regulation in cancer. To determine it importance using human tissues, we can conducted the first tRNAseq analysis of metastatic human cancer. The goal of this project will be thoroughly study this dataset and determine how tRNA are deregulated in disease. You will work in a highly engaging environment with very dedicate group of scientists. https://research.fredhutch.org/hsieh/en.html | Code in R and/or python. Familiarity with genomics. Will work with computational biologist in the lab. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Chineme Nwaichi | MD; | chineme@uw.edu | Infectious disease | Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center | Yes | Clinical Research | Invasive fungal infection in immunocompromised patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplant | We are looking to study our patient population of Hematopoietic stem cell transplants and would want to answer the clinical questions based on recent guidelines on diagnosing fungal infections. These include identifying risk factors for Invasive fungal infections [ IFI ], Which patients may have been unrecognized as having an IFI using new PCR information, Which patients may have positive radiology but negative PCR, Compare pathology with PCR data. We hope to look into our existing data to identify information on pathology, antifungal use, and radiology in addition to an already exiting data set. | Able to use Microsoft Excel Basic skills with obtaining information from electronic medical records [ EPIC software ]. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Scott Weissman | MD; | scott.weissman@seattlechildrens.org | Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases | Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA | No | Quality Improvement | Measuring the impact of a pediatric hospital guideline to permit oral, rather than intravenous, treatment of bacteria in the bloodstream | Historically, antibiotic treatment of bacteria in the bloodstream (bacteremia) has been delivered strictly by the intravenous (IV) route. To lessen the requirement for prolonged IV treatments, Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Program established guidelines in 2019 to enable providers to switch antibiotics from the IV route to the oral (per os, PO) route. In this project, the student will analyze available data to assess how often providers carried out this switch and determine whether any patients failed antibiotic treatment – that is, experienced recurrence of infection (whether detected by positive culture or by clinical or laboratory evidence of infection). | Familiarity with Microsoft Excel and basic biostatistics would be a benefit. | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Philip Louie | MD; | philip.louie@vmfh.org | Neurosurgery | Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Understanding How the Lumbar Spine Alignment Changes Overtime After Spinal Fusions for Degenerative Pathology | Lumbar spine fusions for degenerative pathology has undergone a shift over the last decade, moving from simply trying to decompress the nerves and fuse segments, to a focus on the sagittal plane and its association with patient outcomes and health-related-quality-of-life (HRQOL) scores. There is still much to learn regarding how the remaining levels of the spine change over time once 1-2 levels have been fused. The objective of this study is to evaluate patient radiographic and clinical outcomes up to 2 years following a lumbar fusion for degenerative pathology. Specifically evaluating how the anatomy of the lumbar spine changes above and below a fusion and if we can begin predicting how the lumbar remainder of the lumbar spine changes once 1-2 levels are fused. Students will be performing a literature review, medical record data collection, data synthesis, and writing up abstract(s) and manuscript(s). Main Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rajiv Sethi, MD Co-Faculty Mentor: Dr. Philip Louie, MD | Statistical analysis experience is preferred but not required | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Hamid Chalian | MD; | hchalian@uw.edu | Radiology | University of Washington, Seattle, WA | Yes | Clinical Research | Assessment of Radiologists' Consistency in Reporting S Modifiers in Lung Cancer Screening Computer Tomography? | My hypothesis is radiologists are not consistent in they way their interpret lung cancer screening CTs. One major area of inconsistency is in their understanding of pathologies require S modification. The goal is to prepare a national survey and assess understanding of radiologists in reporting pathologies require reporting S modifier in LCS CTs. Student role is designing survey, collecting data and if interested reporting in a meeting, and writing a manuscript. | Familiarity with google forum or other forums to create a survey. | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Cindy Lin | MD; | lincindy@uw.edu | Rehabilitation Medicine | Seattle, WA | Yes | Clinical Research | ExerciseRx: Improving Physical Activity in Patients Through Digital Health Tools | ExerciseRx is a joint project of The Sports Institute at UW Medicine and the UW Ubicomp Computer Science & Engineering Lab. The focus of the project is improving physical activity in diverse patient populations using mobile health tools. We have several ongoing projects that a med student could be involved in during the summer or school year including related to 1) digital health support for increasing physical activity in specific patient populations (ie diabetes, cancer, MS), 2) mobile phone based home physical therapy tool for adolescents with disabilities through a Seattle Children's Hospital project. 3) economic analysis of healthcare utilization and costs associated with physical inactivity in patients. | Prior clinical or health services research experience is helpful | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Marianne Dubard-Gault | MD; | mdg2019@uw.edu | Medicine | high risk clinic patients at FHCC | Yes | Quality Improvement | Increasing identification of patients with an increased risk of cancer in our system | We are performing chart review of patients in our healthcare system to have a better sense of the denominator of patients at an increased risk of cancer that we are currently underserving or missing altogether before implementing a computer algorithm to guide management their increased risk of cancer. | access to health record for chart review, organization skills, remote check-in meetings with PI and research corodinator | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Thao Truong | PhD;Other; | thtruong@uw.edu | Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology, Clinical Microbiology Division | UWMC, Seattle, WA | Yes | Clinical Research | Clinical microbiology laboratory research, infectious disease diagnostics | Several possible projects with the UWMC Dept. of Lab Medicine and Pathology, microbiology division. This can involve assay development for detection of clinically relevant microbes, requiring benchwork on-site at UWMC. Other options include working on chart abstraction and case reports using our existing data on patient testing for leprosy, Mycoplasma, or Whipple’s disease, with the possibility for remote work off-site. Projects are structured with the goal of submitting work to journals and/or conferences. Student will work closely with laboratory staff and directors. Ideal opportunity for students who are excited to learn about infectious disease diagnostics, microbiology, and molecular microbiology. | Prerequisite wet lab skills helpful but can be learned on the job if needed (pipetting, PCR, sterile technique, sequencing). Experience with R helpful but not required. | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Stephen Smith | PhD; | seps@uw.edu | Pediatrics | Jack McDonald Building (downtown), Seattle Childrens Research Institute, Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Signal transduction networks in pediatric disease | The SEPS lab has several lines of inquiry that could accommodate a summer student. We focus on the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction using a proteomics approach, multiplex co-immunoprecipitation, that models signaling events based on dynamic protein-protein interactions. Our model systems include mouse primary neurons (to study homeostatic plasticity in the context of autism) and CAR T cells (to study signal initiation by the CAR). Please see www.faculty.washington.edu/seps for more info. For example of a prior project, see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35217690/ | Basic lab skills and prior lab experience strongly preferred. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Neel Bhatt | MD; | nkbhatt@uw.edu | Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery | UWMC - Montlake Campus - Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Understanding the neurophysiology of the aging larynx | We are studying changes to the human larynx with aging. The larynx is vital for voicing, swallowing, and breathing. We are studying the larynx during total laryngectomy surgery in humans. At the same time, we are studying the neurophysiology of the rat larynx - a parallel animal model. This work is ongoing, and there will be opportunities for independent projects, if desired. | None | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Monica Pagano | MD; | monibea@uw.edu | Laboratory Medicine and Pathology | University of Washington Medical Center | Yes | Quality Improvement | Evaluating inpatient red blood cell transfusion thresholds for patients with hematologic/oncologic conditions | Current evidence-based guidelines for red blood cell transfusion recommend a restrictive transfusion threshold of hemoglobin of < 7 g/dL for critically ill, hemodynamically stable patients with or without septic shock. These guidelines stipulate that there is insufficient evidence to recommend transfusion thresholds in patients with other medical conditions, including patients with coronary ischemia and hematologic/oncologic conditions. In the absence of evidence-based transfusion recommendations for patients with hematologic/oncologic conditions, RBC transfusion practices in cancer centers vary; for example, more than half of 130 respondents to a survey acute leukemia treaters indicated that they use a Hgb threshold of 7 or 7.5 g/dL for RBC transfusion in inpatients, whereas 35% use a threshold of 8 g/dL, and approximately 10% use different criteria for red cell transfusion. At the Fred Hutch/University of Washington, the standard practice involves transfusing red blood cells using a hematocrit threshold < 26%. The goal of this quality improvement project is to explore new transfusion thresholds for patients with hematologic/oncologic conditions. | The candidate does not need any specific skills, just be eager to learn and to work in a team. | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Marco Pravetoni | PhD; | mprave@uw.edu | Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Pharmacology | UW Medicine, Harborview HRT Building, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Vaccines and monoclonal antibodies to treat and prevent Opioid Use Disorders and Overdose | -Our team is either testing Opioid Vaccines in Phase I clinical trials, or completing the pre-clinical work necessary to initiate Clinical Trials for Vaccines and mAb against a variety of opioids. -Students can be involved in preclinical studies of vaccine and mAb testing in animal models (Pharmacology, Immunology, Behavior, Pharmacokinetics) -Students can be involve in clinical studies analyzing human subjects for antibodies, B cells, sequencing, and other immunorelated or PK-related biomarker. -This is an hands-on role in the lab processing samples, learning new techniques, learning how to address IRB/IBC/IACUC regulatory aspects of the project | Preferred: ELISA, flow cytometry, animal studies, any other immuno related technique. Or any pharmacology or pharmaceutical chemistry technique. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Leo Morales | MD;PhD;MPH; | lsm2010@uw.edu | Medicine/General Internal Medicine | Based in Seattle campus UW | No | Health Services Research | Long COVID Survey of Latinx Patients in Washington State | COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Latinos in Washington State suggesting that there may also be elevated rates of Long COVID symptoms among Latinos in the state, yet little is known about the prevalence or impact of Long COVID in Latino communities. This study will address these gaps by surveying adult Latino patients that tested positive for COVID about their ongoing symptoms and the impact of those symptoms on their physical, mental and social functioning as well as workforce participation. The study is led by the Latino Center for Health in collaboration with SeaMar Community Health Center, Yakima Valley Farmworker Clinic and the Allen Institute. The result of this study will provide data to help guide health policy and resource allocation for Latino communities in Washington State. | Depending on participation dates, could include analysis of survey data, preparation of an abstract or possibly brief qualitative interviews. | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Sebastian Tong | MD;MPH; | setong@uw.edu | Family Medicine | University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA | Yes | Health Services Research | Integrating Chronic Pain and Substance Use Care into Primary Care | Several ongoing projects are potentially available for students including ongoing qualitative studies on chronic pain and integrated behavioral health in primary care (with students helping with coding/analysis, literature review and potentially interviews), secondary data analysis on pain/substance use outcomes in a cohort of COVID-19 patients (with students helping with literature review and manuscript preparation) and/or potentially pilot work around understanding/addressing loneliness in high risk populations in primary care. | None | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Emily Schmitt | PhD; | eschmit4@uwyo.edu | Division of Kinesiology and Health | Laramie, Wyoming | No | Basic Science Research | Circadian Rhythms and Health | Project 1: Our overarching hypothesis is that chrono-timed exercise can restore rhythm in a misaligned molecular clock and lifelong exercise can provide circadian protection to keep the molecular clock functioning normally. Despite the well-known benefits of physical activity, limited studies have utilized exercise as a way to restore clock function. Exercise can entrain peripheral clocks and elicit circadian phase-shifting effects but these details and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Project 2: Almost 20% of the workforce partakes in rotating shift work, about half of which are female shift workers of reproductive age. Frequent fluctuations in the daily circadian rhythm as a result of rotating shift work disrupt the expression of circadian clock genes and this associates with deleterious health outcomes in the female reproductive system. We will use a mouse model to study these changes in both projects. You may choose which project (#1 or 2) you'd like to work on. | None. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Michelle Kuhn | PhD; | michelle.kuhn@seattlechildrens.org | Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine | Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA | Yes | Literature Review | Literature Review: Best practices in screening for prenatal risk factors in pediatric settings, implications for patient rapport and stigma | This project would include conducting a systematic literature review of currently published best practices for retrospective screening for prenatal risk factors (including prenatal substance exposures, maternal stress and social determinants of health, etc) by pediatric providers. While some initial search and literature review has been completed, this systematic review would be led by the student with support from our research team. Based on initial searches, there appears to be a small but important literature base, which has not yet been summarized and which we anticipate would be well received as a peer-reviewed publication. | Interest quickly learning systematic review methods and writing a manuscript for publication | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Indi Trehan | MD;MPH;Other; | itrehan@uw.edu | Pediatrics, Global Health, Epidemiology | University of Washington, Seattle WA | Yes | Literature Review | Comparing treatment outcomes for different forms of severe acute malnutrition | The treatment of childhood severe acute malnutrition (SAM) has been revolutionized over the last 20 years with the advent and widespread usage of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF). This has fundamentally changed the epidemiology of children being treated for SAM by bringing care closer to where children live (and, tragically, die). Traditional dogma is that children with the edematous form of SAM ("kwashiorkor") did "worse" (had higher mortality, worse treatment outcomes, etc.) than those with the non-edematous form of SAM ("wasting"), but this may no longer be true in the modern era. This project will be a systematic review (and ideally meta-analysis) of the literature comparing treatment outcomes for children with kwashiorkor vs. marasmus. | literature review skills (PubMed, finding full-text articles, etc.) | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Jonathan Fromm | MD;PhD; | jfromm@uw.edu | Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology | Seattle, WA (on Fred Hutchison Campus) | Yes | Clinical Research | Validation of a Novel Flow Cytometry Assay for B-Cell Lymphomas after Treatment with Anti-CD19 Therapy | B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL) are a class of cancer where the neoplastic cells are derived from B cells and the analytical technique of flow cytometry (FC) is used for disease classification/post-therapy monitoring. Novel immunotherapies for B-NHL target the pan-B-cell marker CD19, generating CD19-negative cells. Thus, new FC combinations that do not rely on CD19 are needed. Our laboratory has designed such combinations for which we have collected preliminary validation data. A student working on this project will work independently, analyze validation data, and help write the manuscript describing the findings (to be published in a medical journal). | Experience working in a biological science laboratory is preferred. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Mary Crocker | MD;MPH; | mary.crocker@seattlechildrens.org | Pediatrics, Pulmonary & Sleep | Seattle, WA | No | Health Services Research | Equity in Telemedicine Access for Patients in a Pediatric Pulmonary Clinic | This project aims to determine the level of access to telemedicine services among families attending our pediatric pulmonary clinic, and whether there are any disparities in access based on race, language, income, etc. We will administer a clinic-based survey of patients' parents, and use the results to address health disparities and increase equitable access to our services. The student's role includes: offering input on the draft study design and survey questions; data collection, data entry, and assisting in data analysis and interpretation of results. The student will have the opportunity to lead writing of a manuscript for publication. This project will require the student to arrange their own travel to each of our regional sites (Seattle, Everett, Federal Way, Bellevue, and if feasible, Tri-Cities and Wenatchee) in order to administer surveys. | Experience in data entry (either REDCap or Excel) preferred but not required | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Yolanda Tseng | MD; | ydt2@uw.edu | Radiation Oncology | University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA | Yes | Clinical Research | Improving delivery of palliative radiotherapy for patients with advanced, metastatic cancer | Approximately 40% of all patients treated with radiotherapy are with palliative intent, with the primary goal to ameliorate symptoms from advanced cancer. Ideally, patients are seen within a short time frame to initiate radiotherapy. In 2018, we initiated a "RAPID" pathway with the goal to formalize our workflow of seeing patients for palliative radiotherapy in a timely manner. This project evaluates the impact (if any) of the RAPID pathway on time to patients being seen in consultation, starting radiotherapy, and/or the number of treatments used. The interested summer student would help build the database, perform analyses, and synthesize data as an abstract and ultimately a manuscript under the guidance of the faculty mentor. | None, though student will need to complete CITI training prior to the summer so that they can access medical records | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Mary Crocker | MD;MPH; | mary.crocker@seattlechildrens.org | Pediatrics, Pulmonary & Sleep | Seattle Children's Hospital | Yes | Literature Review | Systematic Review | I am a pediatric pulmonologist at Seattle Children's Hospital. I'd be happy to mentor a student in conduct of a systematic literature review. I have experience in the following areas: community and behavioral interventions to address asthma in children, community health workers, telemedicine, access to care, health disparities in asthma, role of environmental exposures in respiratory health, pediatric pneumonia in low-resource settings, global child respiratory health. I will work with the student to develop research questions and a study protocol, and closely mentor the student in conduct of the review and writing a paper for publication. | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Jonathan Weinstein | MD;PhD; | jweinste@uw.edu | Neurology | UWMC HSB BB-857 | No | Basic Science Research | Repurposing the KCa3.1 inhibitor senicapoc for treatment of acute ischemic stroke | Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability. Microglia are resident brain immune cells that play critical role in ischemic brain injury and recovery. KCa3.1 is a potassium channel that is up-regulated in microglia and may contribute to stroke-induced brain injury. Senicapoc is a KCa3.1 inhibitor that has potential as a pharmacotherapeutic agent for stroke. Mice will undergo surgical model of stroke. Senicapoc will be administered twice daily for seven days. Efficacy studies will include: (i) infarct volume and white matter integrity assessments by both MRI and immunohistochemistry and (ii) longitudinal neurobehavioral outcome (NBO) quantification. | Most specific skills for this project can and will be taught in the lab but some foundational basic lab skills such as solution making, scienti | ||
| Jonathan Weinstein | MD;PhD; | jweinste@uw.edu | Neurology | UWMC HSB | No | Basic Science Research | Repurposing the KCa3.1 inhibitor senicapoc for treatment of acute ischemic stroke | Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability. Microglia are resident brain immune cells that play critical role in ischemic brain injury and recovery. KCa3.1 is a potassium channel that is upregulated in microglia and may contribute to stroke-induced brain injury. Senicapoc is a KCa3.1 inhibitor that has potential as a pharmacotherapeutic for stroke. Mice will undergo surgical model of stroke. Senicapoc will be administered twice daily for seven days. Efficacy studies will include: (i) infarct volume and white matter integrity assessments by both MRI and immunohistochemistry and (ii) longitudinal neurobehavioral outcomes (NBO) quantification. | Basic lab skills for solution making, pipetting and lab notebook documentation are expected. Microscopy and/or experience with animal behavior studies are not required, but would certainly be helpful. Student needs to be willing/able to work with rodents. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Kathleen Kieran | MD; | kathleen.kieran@seattlechildrens.org | Urology | Seattle Children's Hospital/offsite | Yes | Health Services Research | |||||
| David D. Luxton | PhD; | ddluxton@uw.edu | Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences | Olympia/Seattle, Washington | Yes | Literature Review | Public Health Risks of the Mass Use of Simulated Virtual Reality Worlds | The rapid emergence of virtual reality worlds and interactive intelligent virtual agents used for entertainment, social interaction, and business applications poses new public health risks and potential for societal harm. This comprehensive literature review will examine the benefits of immersive virtual reality and the emergent risks and deleterious effects caused by mass use of these technologies. We will recommend solutions by building upon ethics and best-practices guidelines associated with related technologies such as social media, robotics, virtual reality, and interactive artificial intelligence. | Basic knowledge of technology such as AI, virtual reality, and social media. | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Kathleen Kieran | MD; | kathleen.kieran@seattlechildrens.org | Urology | Seattle Children's/virtual | Yes | Health Services Research | Disparities in Pediatric Urologic Care | I am currently a Professor and Vice Chair of Urology at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital, and Olympic College faculty. My research interests are in communication skills development, reducing disparities in care among the children of the WWAMI region, and improving medical education. The III research project is typically one that is chosen between me and a prospective student, to be aligned with their interests and doable in the nine-week period. It is expected that students will meet with me once weekly to provide an update on the progress, and will be primarily responsible for the research with mentoring. The scope of projects is such that they will generate an abstract and draft manuscript within the nine weeks. Students do not need any background in research; however, students should have a sense of curiosity and agency that will allow them to take shared ownership of this project. Students are (with oversight and assistance when needed) responsible for study design, IRB submission, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation. | Responsibility and a willingness to learn something new. | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Nabiha Saifee | MD;PhD; | nabiha.saifee@seattlechildrens.org | Lab Medicine and Pathology | Seattle Children's, Seattle, WA | Yes | Quality Improvement | Hemostasis, Transfusion and Coagulation research | Projects may include 1) optimal anticoagulant monitoring and minimizing phlebotomy of neonatal/pediatric patients on ECMO (student would collect laboratory data on patients on ECMO monitored with TEG, heparin or bival level, and PT,INR, PTT), 2) rate of HLA alloimmunization in pediatric patients listed for solid organ transplant, 3) evaluate utility of RHD genotyping in patients with serologic weak D typing | Data may be collected in excel or request from data analyst. Statistical analysis could be performed in excel or other software such as GraphPad or R. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Elizabeth Rhea | PhD; | meredime@uw.edu | Medicine | VA Puget Sound, Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Regulation of Insulin transport across the Blood-Brain Barrier | Insulin must navigate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to enter the central nervous system (CNS) in order to act within the brain. Transport of insulin can be modified by many different factors including diet, exercise, and expression of the CNS insulin receptor. CNS insulin is an important metabolic regulator, implicated in diabetes/obesity, as well as a regulator of cognition, implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. During the summer, the student will learn about the BBB, experience hands-on basic science techniques including mouse and radioactive handling, intravenous and intraperitoneal injections, mouse brain dissections, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation. | Attention to detail and willingness to learn | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Bethaney Fehrenkamp | PhD; | bethaney@uidaho.edu | WWAMI Medical Education | Moscow, ID | No | Other | Early-life feeding exposure and infant immune development | This project utilizes animal tissues to evaluate neonatal immune development in relation to early-life dietary exposure. We utilize transcriptional, translational and histological techniques to investigate immune development, including development of primary and secondary immunological structures. Students should expect to gain practical experience with immunological based laboratory techniques and statistical analyses. | Ideally students will have prior experience in a molecular and immunological lab techniques however training will be provided. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Linnaea Schuttner | MD;Other; | linnaea.schuttner@va.gov | General Internal Medicine | VA Puget Sound, Seattle, WA | Yes | Health Services Research | Incorporating patient values and preferences into primary care for patients with multiple chronic conditions | I am a health services researcher and primary care physician examining incorporating patient preferences and health priorities into primary care, particularly for patients with multiple chronic conditions within the VA Puget Sound. Interested students would assist with one of two sub-projects under an ongoing grant developing a novel care model for building patient priorities into primary care. Two potential projects are offered to students. 1. An optional student role is review available literature, synthesize evidence, and develop novel training content for healthcare staff workshops to teach staff how to use new care model tools. This project would require students to conduct a detailed literature search on best practices for education in healthcare, develop novel content, and potentially iteratively refine this content using feedback from stakeholders and advisory board members. Students would make original intellectual contributions on the format, content, and teaching method to be used for this workshop. Student learning would include implementation science, fundamentals of medical education, and clinical trials research. 2. An alternative role for an interested student would be to head development of a prototype of a new clinical tool that helps assess and incorporate patient priorities into primary care. Students would develop the initial prototype using principles of human-centered design, building from available literature and initial findings from preliminary research. Students would also develop the first "use cases", or profiles of potential scenarios to be deployed in testing this tool in future work. Students would learn aspects of human-centered design and qualitative research. | None | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Matthew Kronman | MD;Other; | matthew.kronman@seattlechildrens.org | Pediatric Infectious Diseases | Seattle Children's Hospital | Yes | Health Services Research | Disparities in Antibiotic Prescribing for Inpatient Children by Race | Antibiotic prescribing for ambulatory children with common infectious conditions (eg, ear infections) differs by race. We propose to evaluate whether antibiotic prescribing for hospitalized children also differs by race. Students will use data from Seattle Children’s Hospital over a 2-year period to perform a retrospective study answering whether use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for children with serious infection differs by race. Students will work with the researchers to submit an IRB prior to the summer work, and will aim to complete a project that can be presented at a national conference and published as a first-author manuscript. | None; facility with Excel or coding will be helpful however | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Shirley Luckhart | PhD; | sluckhart@uidaho.edu | Biological Sciences | University of Idaho, Moscow, ID | No | Basic Science Research | Allergic inflammation in malarial disease pathogenesis and transmission. | Malaria, like nearly all parasitic infections, is associated with allergic inflammation. This allergic inflammation has consequences for malaria-induced bacteremia ("leaky gut"), the host response to infection, the formation of sexual stage parasites and parasite transmission to susceptible mosquitoes. Available projects are currently funded by NIH and students would engage with ongoing studies to provide assistance and learn new techniques across all aspects of the malaria life cycle that are maintained in our BSL2 facilities at the University of Idaho. Our trainees are often included as co-authors on peer-reviewed manuscripts. Please see our lab website here luckhartlab.com. | There are no prerequisite skills, but students who have some lab experience in molecular and cellular biology would certainly progress faster over the 9 week period. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Mae Dirac | MD;PhD; | madirac@uw.edu | Health Metrics Sciences, Family Medicine | Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation | Yes | Other | Global disease burden estimation in Reproductive, Genitourinary and Digestive health | There are several projects available for students on the RGUD team at IHME, in the areas of sexually transmitted infections, gynecology, infertility, urology, or viral hepatitis. Projects can consist of systematic review, meta-regression, or other disease modeling, based on student's background and learning goals. | For systematic reviews - familiarity with basic epidemiologic terminology and measurement concepts is helpful, most important to be a careful reader and have good quantitative reasoning For meta-regression or disease modeling - student would need some familiarity with R statistical programming, or would need additional time available prior to starting project to complete some learning modules in R | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Shelley McGuire | PhD; | smcguire@uidaho.edu | Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences | University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho | No | Clinical Research | Research in maternal and infant health, breastfeeding, and human milk | Our laboratory studies a variety of topics related to maternal and infant health, particularly as they relate to breastfeeding, human milk, and the microbiome. We have collected milk samples from an array of women, including those living in other nations and those with COVID-19 or mastitis. Individual projects will be determined based on student interests and expertise combined with sample and data availability. Projects may involve sample analysis and/or data analysis. Our goals will be for the student to have sufficient data to present by the end of the 9 weeks and (hopefully) be coauthor on a publication. | Critical thinking, solid work ethic, ability to work well with others, self motivation | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Tyler Bland | PhD; | tbland@uidaho.edu | WWAMI Idaho | Moscow, ID | No | Basic Science Research | Muscarinic signaling in chemoresistant lung cancer | Drug resistance remains a major problem in cancer treatment. Our project aims to understand the mechanism of muscarinic receptor signaling in chemoresistant non-small cell lung cancer and utilize this knowledge to develop novel therapeutics for these lethal forms of cancer. The student(s) on this project with learn and utilize cell and molecular laboratory techniques used in cancer research such as cell culture, qPCR, survival assays, and Western blot. | Micropipetting skills | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Jerome Graber | MD;MPH; | jgraber@uw.edu | Neurology | UWMC Seattle | Yes | Clinical Research | Disparities in Care of Paraneoplastic Neurologic Syndromes | Paraneoplastic Neurologic Disorders are rare diseases requiring intense multidisciplinary care for accurate diagnosis and treatment. To date, there is no published literature on disparities in care for PND. Student would compare patients with PND in terms of time from symptoms to diagnosis and treatment and long term outcomes to assess whether any disparities exist in these parameters based on race, socioeconomic status, primary language or geographic regions. | Will need to get IRB approval and access to EPIC for retrospective database search | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Schuttner, Linnaea | MD; | linnaea.schuttner@va.gov | GIM | VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA | No | Health Services Research | Qualitative Interviews with Patients with multiple chronic conditions | This project would enable students to interview and/or analyze interview data from patients with multiple chronic conditions about their health priorities and personal values, and how these values and priorities intersect with their health and health decisions. Interviews would occur over the phone, students would be trained in qualitative interviewer techniques and have an opportunity to analyze the data concurrently. Students would have an opportunity to provide original input to interpreting data for the primary analysis, and may be able to use data for a secondary analysis for answering additional research questions. | Existing VA badging / PIV clearance is a strong plus | Project has existing IRB approval, would require a modification for adding student/subanalysis | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Jonathan Mosser | MD;MPH; | jmosser@uw.edu | Health Metrics Sciences / Pediatric Infectious Diseases | Seattle, WA | Yes | Literature Review | Systematic reviews to support neglected tropical disease and vaccine-preventable disease estimation for the Global Burden of Disease study. | The Vaccine Coverage and Vaccine-Preventable Disease (VPD) and Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) teams at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) use statistical modeling techniques to estimate the burden of 5 VPDs and more than 20 NTDs at global, regional, country-level, and local scales for the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD). In order to produce these estimates, we aim to incorporate all available data on the burden of these diseases, including through systematic reviews. Medical students working on this project would work with the faculty lead to identify a specific gap in available data to inform modeling for one of these diseases, then design, execute, and synthesize the systematic review in the available time period. Students will also be supported by researchers on our teams, attend team meetings, gain exposure to disease burden estimation techniques and computational modeling, and generally be part of the dynamic scientific environment at IHME. If interested and research time allows later in medical school, students can also continue to follow this work through the computational modeling process in collaboration with our researchers. | Ability to read, extract, and synthesize data from epidemiological studies. | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Lisa Force | MD;MPH; | lforce@uw.edu | Health Metrics Sciences and Pediatrics | UW/IHME, Seattle, WA | Yes | Literature Review | Global cancer literature reviews | This project will be an opportunity to work with the cancer team at IHME to lead a literature review on a topic related to global cancer burden. This is an opportunity for someone interested in cancer, epidemiology, and global health. There are multiple topics available, and results would be anticipated to contribute to the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. The student would lead this work, with support, and learn skills relevant in epidemiology while learning about a cancer topic and contributing to policy-relevant findings in the GBD study. We look forward to hearing from you! | No prerequisite skills. Prior experience with literature reviews is welcomed. | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Jeremy Sharib | MD; | jsharib@uw.edu | Surgery | Seattle, though could be virtual | Yes | Clinical Research | Early experience and database for a peritoneal malignancies program | We aim to develop a surgical oncology database to study the early experience of the UW Peritoneal Malignancies Program. Goals for the project include: 1. Establishing/creating surgical oncology clinical database (redcap or other supported database platform) 2. Patient Data abstraction 3. Drafting abstract/manuscript related to clinical variables of interest (preoperative outcomes, patient tracking, survival outcomes, etc) Other associated areas of study or systematic review can be conducted as part of this research. Work toward this project could extend beyond the 9-week study period as interested. | Ideal candidate would have: 1. Experience with coding, database development, redcap, or associated skills 2. Interest in oncology 3. Basic statistical skills | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Jeremy Sharib | MD; | jsharib@uw.edu | Surgery | Seattle, WA | Yes | Quality Improvement | Healthcare access and utilization of a new peritoneal malignancy program during the COVID 19 pandemic | We aim to develop a QI database to study the early experience of the UW Peritoneal Malignancies Program, including potential disparities regarding patient intake, access, and resource utilization. Goals for the project include: 1. Establishing/creating QI clinical database (redcap or other supported database platform) 2. Hypothesis generation related to programmatic quality improvement 3. Patient Data abstraction 3. Drafting abstract/manuscript related to clinical variables of interest (clinical access, utilization, etc) Other associated areas of study or systematic review can be conducted as part of this research. Work toward this project could extend beyond the 9-week study period as interested. | Ideal candidate would have: 1. Experience with coding, database development, redcap, or associated skills 2. Interest in oncology, disparities research 3. Basic statistical skills | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Jeremy Sharib | MD; | jsharib@uw.edu | Surgery | Seattle, WA | Yes | Literature Review | Preoperative chemotherapy for retroperitoneal sarcoma | Conduct systematic review of preoperative chemotherapy for retroperitoneal sarcoma The expectation will be to complete manuscript on this or related topic during the course. | Interest in sarcoma, oncology Ability to conduct systematic literature review | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Bernard Khor | MD;PhD; | bkhor@benaroyaresearch.org | UW Dept Lab Medicine & Pathology, Benaroya Research Institute, Bloodworks NW | Benaroya Research Institute, Seattle, WA | No | Basic Science Research | Understanding immune dysregulation in people with Down syndrome | Our lab has identified that the immune systems of people with Down syndrome resemble that of older (typical) individuals without Down syndrome. We are working to understand the mechanistic basis of this immune aging to improve the health of people with and without Down syndrome. Our previous RNAseq analyses suggest significant remodeling of the red blood cell compartment may contribute to immune aging. The student will help validate key findings and help clarify how which features of RBC biology are dysregulated in the context of Down syndrome and/or aging, and how this might help drive immune dysfunction. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Lindsey Anderson | PhD; | lindsey.anderson5@va.gov | DOM, Division of Geriatrics & Gerontology | VA hospital, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Metabolomics approach to identify mechanisms of sarcopenia in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy | There is no approved treatment for cancer-related muscle wasting, functional impairment, or fatigue. Phase III clinical trials have repeatedly failed to induce functional improvement, which remains the primary barrier to therapeutic development. ADT is used in 50% of men with PCa; however, ADT exacerbates muscle wasting, functional impairment, and fatigue in addition to the cancer burden. By Summer 2023, we will have just completed a 6-month observational study of men with PCa on ADT where we assess body composition, physical function, fatigue (and other quality of life measures) along with obtaining blood & quadriceps specimens for identifying systemic and tissue mechanisms associated with metabolic and phenotypic changes in these patients. | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); | |
| Jose Garcia | MD;PhD; | jg77@uw.edu | DOM, Division of Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine | VA hospital, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Endocrine and metabolic effects of aging or disease including cancer cachexia or traumatic brain injury in Veterans | Participate in various aspects of clinical research including (not limited to) chart review, data integration, image analyses, and literature review related to one or more of the following projects: PILOT STUDY TO ANALYZE INTRAMUSCULAR MECHANISMS OF ANDROGEN DEPRIVATION RELATED SARCOPENIA; Improving Patient-Important Outcomes with Testosterone Replacement in Hypogonadal Men with a Prior History of Cancer; Improving cancer-related fatigue, sexual dysfunction and quality of life in older men with cancer and androgen deficiency; Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy in Veterans with Gulf War Illness and Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency; Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy in Veterans with mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency (AGHD) | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Rachel Safran | MD; | rachel.safran@multicare.org | Internal Medicine | MultiCare Rockwood Clinics - Spokane, Washington | No | Bioinformatics | Standardized abstraction of historical paper charts into an EHR - modernizing a large HIV clinic cohort. | One of the largest and oldest HIV clinics in Spokane, WA has key elements of patient history and medication records retained on custom paper flowcharts and a standardized process is needed to accurately integrate this data into the current EHR (electronic health record). The student will help design templates and workflows for abstracting relevant patient information to improve the quality and consistency of patient records. | Preferred - experience with Epic documentation and chart review functionalities | No, the project will not require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Noah Hull | MPH;PhD; | noah.hull@aphl.org | Global Health | Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique | Yes | Other | Evaluations of data trends from wastewater-based surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens of human health concern from PCR and NGS data. | The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL), in coordination with each country's Ministry of Health, Africa CDC, and The Global Fund, is undertaking a pilot project for wastewater-based surveillance as an early warning system for disease outbreaks. The student on this project will work with the APHL in-country offices to use the diagnostic data (including PCR and NGS) to understand the prevalence and molecular characterization of identified infectious agents. This project may also include a literature review of similar projects in higher-income settings. IRB has been or will be approved before the student starts. | Experience in basic data analysis Experience in interpreting PCR data (cycle thresholds) Experience and understanding of next-generation sequencing technologies Experience in reviewing and elucidating peer-reviewed literature Ability to have flexible working hours to virtually attend meetings (typically early morning and early evening) Ability to work with international groups and demonstrate diplomacy and sensitivity around country-specific and country-owned public health data | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Benjamin Grannan | MD; | bgrannan@uw.edu | Neurological Surgery | UWMC Montlake | No | Clinical Research | Studying hippocampal and neocortical interactions during language learning | Humans have the astonishing ability to infer the meaning of new words based upon sentence and other environmental context. The neural processing underlying rapid word learning and inference is largely unknown. It is hypothesized that the hippocampus plays a critical role in context-based inference of novel word meaning. This study uses invasive, direct brain recordings (stereo-EEG) in epilepsy patients to study hippocampal and neocortical activity underlying this complex human cognitive ability. | -Some computational coding background -Interest in neuroscience and/or cognition | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Benjamin Grannan | MD; | bgrannan@uw.edu | Neurological Surgery | UWMC Montlake | Yes | Clinical Research | Epilepsy surgery cognitive outcomes | In epilepsy surgery, patients and surgeons are often faced with the tradeoff between seizure control and cognitive outcome. Large resections or interventions can achieve better rates of seizure freedom but not infrequently at the cost to cognitive status. Current, pre-operative predictive tools The project aims to identify predictors of cognitive impairment following epilepsy surgery. This project will evaluate imaging, EEG, and stereo-EEG (invasive monitoring) data to explore predictors of cognitive status following neurosurgical intervention. | -willingness to preform chart review, EEG review, perform patient surveys | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Ian M Bennett | MD;PhD; | ibennett@uw.edu | Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Global Health | Community Clinics Association of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA | Yes | Health Services Research | Enhancing Care for Perinatal Depression and Risk of Suicide in Community Health Centers | The Los Angeles Maternal Mental Health Access (LAMMHA) Project is a community partnered 4 year project funded by the California Health Care Foundation. The UW Departments of Family Medicine and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is leading this effort to implement evidence based interventions to improve the detection and care of depression and risk of suicide among low income women/families funded by Medicaid insurance in pregnancy and the year postpartum. A wide range of activities including implementation support with partnering organizations to help with focus groups and individual interviews would be available. The specific project can be tailored to the interests of the student. | None but Spanish skills are a benefit | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| MD; | ajafari@uw.edu | Otolaryngology | UWMC, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Prevalence and Associated Factors of Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis | The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of CD in patients with CRS. This study will require students to collect and organize data collected from a clinical intake form. The project will result in a abstract and likely manuscript by the end of the year. | None | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; | |
| Aria Jafari | MD; | Clinical outcome of post-rhinologic surgery | Otolaryngology | UWMD, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Clinical factors and outcomes associated with patients who undergo rhinologic surgery | The goal of this study is to look at the clinical outcomes and factors following surgery at the UW sinus clinic. This project will require students to input surgical data into the UW sinus clinic database. Once inputted, the data will be organized and statistical analysis will be performed. This project will result in an abstract for a national conference and likely a manuscript by the end of the year. | None | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Aria Jafari | MD; | ajafari@uw.edu | Otolaryngology | UWMC/HMC, Seattle, WA | No | Medical Education | Validation of orbital surgery trainer utilizing a cadaveric model | The goal of this study is to validate a cadaveric model used for endoscopic orbital surgery. This will require students to prepare the cadaveric heads with the appropriate tumor replicates, develop a questionnaire for surgical residents to evaluate the model, and organize the data. This will result in an abstract and likely manuscript in less than a year. | Comfort with dealing with cadaveric model. | The IRB is being completed now | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| David Cvancara | Other; | djcvan@uw.edu | Otolaryngology | UWMC, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Clinical outcomes and factors associated with sinonasal malignancy: utilizing the CORSICA database | CORSICA is a multi-institutional database that collects clinical and pathologic data on patients with sinonasal malignancies. This study will require participants to come up with research question involving sinonasal malignancies (with help of mentor) and utilize data from CORSICA database to answer question. Will also require students to consent participants in the study. This will likely result in an abstract and possible manuscript within a year. | None | Yes, the project has existing IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Ralph Ermoian | MD; | ralphpe@uw.edu | Radiation Oncology | Department of Radiation Oncology, UWMC, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Identifying Patient's Understanding of Radiation Therapy as They Are Referred for Treatment | Most patients referred for radiation therapy have almost no understanding of radiation treatment. The radiation oncologists goals of consultation are to educate patients so they can make informed medical decisions; however, there is a paucity of data about what patients understand. For a decade, I have started all new patient encounters by saying "You are here for a consultation about radiation therapy. I will tell you all about it. However, before we get started, please tell me what you understand about the disease for which you were referred, how radiation fits into its treatment, and what you understand about radiation. This helps me start our conversation." I would like to do a project that explores patients' baseline understandings of radiation therapy so radiation oncologists can better understand the "starting point" for their discussions | No | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Ralph Ermoian | MD; | ralphpe@uw.edu | Radiation Oncology | Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | What are the questions patients have when they "check in" with their radiation oncologist during their treatments? | Radiation treatment takes place M-F, and can last between 1 day and 8 weeks. Once a week the radiation oncologist checks in with her/his patients. We started a pilot program to ask patients to write down their questions before those visits. I think it would be informative to collect the questions that patients ask and categorize them--financial, acute side effects, long term side effects, social support, technical, etc. This research will better inform radiation oncologists about the types of questions patients have. Of course, radiation oncologists may have some sense of this (depending on how open-ended their questions are), but it has not been systematically-studied and patterns of questions may be interesting. | None | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Ralph Ermoian | MD; | ralphpe@uw.edu | Radiation Oncology | University of Washington, Seattle, WA | No | Clinical Research | Improving patient understanding of terms to which they may be exposed during radiation treatment | Radiation Therapy is highly complex and technical. In interacting with patients a variety of terms may be used. This project will examine patient's understanding of a variety of terms used in consent for and daily care for patient in treatment, to assess patient's understanding of those terms. | None | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
| Dorothy Wang | MD; | weiyun@uw.edu | Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine | Harborview Medical Center | Yes | Clinical Research | An examination of neuropraxia and nerve injury in upper and lower extremity surgeries | Retrospective chart review of patients who have undergone elective upper and lower (foot/ankle) extremity surgeries and examining incidences and risk factors associated with postoperative neuropraxia or nerve injury type pain, with a focus on regional anesthesia/peripheral nerve blocks | None | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education;Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement); |
| Indi Trehan | MD;MPH; | itrehan@uw.edu | Pediatrics, Global Health, Epidemiology | Seattle or remote | Yes | Clinical Research | Risk Stratification for Hypothermic Infants | The project aims to describe the epidemiology and prevalence of SBI and HSV among young infants (≤90 days) presenting to the ED with hypothermia, evaluate the role of biomarkers in the prediction of SBI among young infants, and derive and internally validate a prediction rule for SBI among young infants presenting to the ED with hypothermia. | basic computer skills | Yes, the project will require IRB/IACUC Approval | Summer 2023 projects (i.e. the III Scholarship Requirement);Students who completed their III Scholarship Requirement but are interested in research later in their medical school education; |
Every Fall we curate a list of projects from Faculty Mentors who would like to work with medical students over the Summer quarter. The 2022 Directory of Faculty Projects is now open for the academic year 2022-2023. If you are a medical student seeking a research opportunity beyond the III, please see the portion of this website dedicated to helping you do so here.
The Center for Scholarship in Patient Care Quality and Safety is proud to launch the QI Match Tool. This is an online platform where leaders can post QI projects and find collaborators across UW Medicine. QI Project Match Tool: Link
Research Project outside of the Directory will meet the III requirement, if the faculty mentor has UWSOM faculty appointment, and the projected timeline will fit for Summer 2023. Please contact somiii@uw.edu if your faculty mentor doesn’t have UWSOM faculty appointment and if you need to adjust the Triple I timeline for your project.
Faculty: If you are interested in submitting a project to the directory, please fill out the form here.
***database updated 12/28/2022***