The abstracts and poster presentations for the Research Showcase were judged by an independent panel of faculty reviewers. Outstanding submissions were selected from across the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences academic medical enterprise: medical school students, medical residents, PhD candidates in Integrated Biomedical Sciences, and students in Health Sciences, including biomedical laboratory sciences; clinical research and leadership; health, human function, and rehab sciences; and physician assistant studies. Below are the recipients of these awards.
2025 Awardees
MD Awards
Abdulla Ali
Title: Adapting and Beta Testing Rare Group Problem Management Plus for Family Caregivers of Children with Rare Diseases
Faculty Mentor: Maureen Lyon, Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children’s National
Emily Alpin
Title: Evaluating the Reproductive Health Preferences and Outcomes of Adolescents Living with HIV
Faculty Mentor: Natella Rakhmanina, Special Immunology, Children’s National
Scarlett Bergram
Can AI Teach Sex Ed? A Systematic Review of the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Sexual and Reproductive Health Education
Faculty Mentor: Brian Zanoni, Pediatrics, Emory University
Rachel Bernardo
Perioperative Outcomes of Same-Day Discharge After Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy: A National Cancer Database Analysis
Faculty Mentor: Michael Whalen, Urology, GW SMHS
Emily Bolland
Title: Feasibility of Measuring Fetal Electrocardiogram Signal With a Miniaturized Amplifier System
Faculty Mentor: Anita Krishnan, Cardiology, Children’s National
Abigail Delapenha and Amanda Maille
A Mixed-Methods Feasibility Evaluation of a Sexual and Reproductive Health Peer Education Program for Women Experiencing Incarceration
Faculty Mentor: Newton Kendig, Medicine, GW SMHS
Kathryn Ezenwa
Neural Correlates of Verbal Fluency and Cognitive Resilience in Dementia: an FDG-PET Study
Faculty Mentor: Ana Ritto, University of São Paulo – FMUSP
Malavika Mahendran
Early Child Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Following Antenatal SARS-CoV-2 Exposure
Faculty Mentor: Sarah Mulkey, Neurology, Children’s National
Ena Oboh
Utilizing Sickle Cell Disease point-of-care testing in febrile children to estimate disease burden and infectious complications at a Ghanaian Pediatric Emergency Department
Faculty Mentor: Andrew Campbell, Sickle Cell Disease Program, Children’s National
Vincent Pecora
Evaluation of Dermatology Procedure Perceptions and Seeking in LGBTQ+ Patients: Redefining "Cosmetic"
Faculty Mentor: Adam Friedman, Dermatology, GW SMHS
Matthew Seebald
Title: Genetic Contributions to Trigeminal Neuralgia: a Meta-Analysis of GWAS Data
Faculty Mentor: Ellen Yeung; Psychological and Brain Sciences, GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
Cleo Whiting
A Cross-Sectional Review of Sun Protection Education and Product Availability at Major Running Road Races in the United States
Faculty Mentor: Adam Friedman, Dermatology, GW SMHS
Biomedical Engineering (BME) Awards
Mahtab Ebad Najafabadi
Title: Computational Modeling of Microwave Ablation with Adjuvant Gels
Mentor & Department: Punit Prakash, Biomedical Engineering, SEAS
Keuntae Kim
Title: Data-Driven Natural Behavior Model Design with Large Language Models for Robotic-Animal Assisted Interventions (RAAI)
Mentor & Department: Chung Hyuk Park, Biomedical Engineering, SEAS
Ritish Raghav Maram
Title: Comparative Analysis of In Vivo and Ex Vivo Tumor Imaging Features
Mentor & Department: Murray Loew, Biomedical Engineering, SEAS
Pouria Talebibarmi
Title: Ultrasound Stimulation of Pancreatic Cells: Investigating Insulin Secretion Mechanisms
Mentor & Department: Vesna Zderic, Biomedical Engineering, SEAS
Zhenhao Zhao
Title: AV-FOS:Transformer-Based Audio-Visual Multimodal Interaction Style Recognition for Children with Autism Using the Revised Family Observation Schedule 3rd Edition (FOS-R-III)
Mentor & Department: Chung Hyuk Park, Biomedical Engineering, SEAS
Integrated Biomedical Sciences Awards
1st Place
Kevin Nestler
Title: Transposable Element Expression in Long-term Survivors of High-grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
Mentor & Department: Katherine Chiappinelli, Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, SMHS
2nd Place
Shatha Salameh
Title: Investigating the Effects of Myocardial Immaturity on Milrinone and Dopamine Drug Response
Mentor & Department: Nikki Posnack, Pharmacology & Physiology, SMHS, and Children’s National
Third Place
Sarah Grieco
Title: Promoting Resolution of Inflammation as a Potential Therapy for DMD
Mentor & Department:James Novak, Genetics Medicine, Children’s National
Fourth Place
Claudia Melo
Title: Optimizing ADCC of HIV-Infected Cells via Targeting the CD16 (Fc_RIIIa) Receptor
Mentor & Department: Alberto Bosque, Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, SMHS
Fifth Place
Joselyn Padilla
Title: Lactate Regulates BACH1 in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Mentor & Department: Jiyoung Lee, Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, SMHS
Pre-Candidacy Honorable Mentions
Abigail Haffey
Title: Synergistic TCR-CAR T Cells as a Dual-Targeting Immunotherapeutic Strategy in High-Grade Gliomas
Mentor & Department: Dalia Haydar, Center for Immunology Research, Children’s National
Gabriel Batzli
Title: Defining Macrophage Heterogeneity in Murine Skin Wounds During Inflammation
Mentor & Department: Brett Shook, Biochemistry & Molecular Medicine, SMHS
Resident Awards
TBA
Health Sciences Awards
Undergraduate/Graduate Students
First place
Michael Dobler
Title: Validation of a Cytomegalovirus qPCR Laboratory-Developed Test at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory
Mentor & Department: Graciela Lopez Gamboa, Biomedical Laboratory Sciences
Second Place
Neha Bagga
Title: Easing the Flow Out of the Leaky Pipeline: Supporting Pre-Medical Students towards Meaningful Alternative Career Paths
Mentor & Department: Lisa Schwartz, Biomedical Laboratory Sciences
Third Place
Sadichhya Shahi
Title: Identifying Content Gaps in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Assessments through Mapping to World Health Organization International Classification of Functioning (WHO ICF) Domains: A Scoping Review
Mentor & Department: Trudy Mallinson, Clinical Research & Leadership
Doctoral Students
First Place
India Willis
Title: Enhancing HIV Screening and PrEP Uptake through Provider Training in Chicago: A CFIR-Guided Approach
Mentor & Department: Sabrina Figueiredo, Clinical Research & Leadership
Second Place
Shannon Loiseau
Title: Post-Sport Transition:Impact on Well-Being, Identity, and Occupational Engagement of Elite Female Athletes
Mentor & Department: Leslie Davidson, Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences
Third Place
Amy Arrellano
Title: Implementation of Professionalism Content in a Hybrid Occupational Therapy Doctoral Program
Mentor & Department: Sheila Moyle, Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences
Honorable Mention
Sarah Gilman
Title: Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to a National HPV Screen-and-Treat Program in the Coastal, Highland, and Amazon Regions of Perú Using a Mixed-Methods Implementation Science-Informed Approach
Mentor & Department: Paige McDonald, Clinical Research & Leadership
Collese Daley
Title: Understanding Experiences of Implicit Bias in Fieldwork
Mentor & Department: Kellie Sawyer, Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences
Robert Baillieu
Title: The Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the United States Opioid Overdose Epidemic: The Role of Social-Environmental Vulnerability and Healthcare Access
Mentor & Department: Joyce Maring, Health, Human Function, and Rehabilitation Sciences