Best Abstract and Poster Awards

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