The interests of residents who spend academic time devoted to research vary widely, from basic science to education to social determinants of health affecting state and national policies. Residents pursue opportunities on campus as well as research collaborations at other institutions. Information about projects underway by current research residents can be found below. In addition, we invite you to learn about the many achievements of our research residents over the last few years.
Resident Spotlight:
Read about the work being done by Surgery resident Dr. Maia Nofal during her Fogarty Fellowship in Ethiopia, through the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health.
2024-2025 Academic Year
Andrea Alonso, MD - R2
Site: Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Mentor: Jeffrey Siracuse, MD, MBA; Marc LaRochelle, MD, MPH
Area of Research: Dr. Alonso is obtaining a master's degree in population health research, with a focus in epidemiology, through the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, funded by an AHRQ T32 grant through the BMC Primary Care Fellowship. With her primary mentor, Dr. Jeffrey Siracuse, she is working on projects evaluating a diverse array of topics in vascular surgery, with a particular focus on social disparities of health, carotid artery disease, chronic limb-threatening ischemia, and intermittent claudication. Her projects include studies evaluating vascular disease and surgical practice patterns in the U.S., as well as short- and long-term outcomes for vulnerable populations, including patients with health disparities, trauma patients, and elderly patients. She is also working on multidisciplinary quality improvement projects to improve exercise therapy rates for intermittent claudication at Boston Medical Center.
Funding: T32 Hs022242: Training in Health Services Research for Vulnerable Populations
Khuaten Maaneb de Macedo, MD - R1
Site: Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Mentor: Jeffrey J. Siracuse, MD, MBA; Pamela Rosenkranz, RN, BSN, MEd; David McAneny, MD; Megan Janeway, MD
Area of Research: Dr. Maaneb de Macedo is the Quality Improvement Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She focuses on improving the quality of surgical care through both research efforts and institution-wide quality improvement programs. In this role, she aims to lead several multidisciplinary projects to standardize VTE prophylaxis, reduce the risk of breakthrough VTE, assess how language barriers impact the quality of patient care, understand better the social determinants of health that impact our patient population with a focus on immigrant populations, and work to find ways our healthcare community can better serve the underserved. Dr. Maaneb de Macedo currently serves as the Junior Administrative Research Resident.
Funding: NIH T32 Grant: Impact of Biological, Clinical, and Social Determinants on Trauma and Trauma Outcomes
Abdimajid Mohamed, MD - R1
Site: Boston Children’s Hospital
Mentor: Benjamin Zendejas, MD, MSc
Area of Research: Dr. Mohamed’s program will primarily focus on collaborating with the Esophageal and Airway Treatment (EAT) team at Boston Children’s Hospital. EAT consists of a multidisciplinary team of pediatric specialists. His research will center on innovative endoscopic approaches to manage esophageal atresia and related strictures, exploring surgical techniques to improve long-term perioperative care and enhance outcomes and quality of life for affected children.
Funding: Boston Children’s Hospital
Sara Myers, MD - R1
Site: Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Mentor: Kelly Kenzik PhD, MS, and Jennifer Davids, MD
Area of Research: Dr. Myers will be researching geospatial disparities in access to colorectal surgical care at the local and national levels. She will investigate factors associated with urgent and elective presentation for colorectal cancer, financial burden among urban and rural colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery, and investigate healthcare resource differences in urban areas associated with colorectal cancer surgery outcomes.
Funding: NIH T32 Grant: Training in Health Services Research for Vulnerable Populations
Ashlee Seldomridge, MD - R1
Site: MD Anderson Cancer Center
Mentors: Beth Helmink, MD, PhD; Ashley Holder, MD; Jennifer Wargo, MD
Area of Research: Dr. Seldomridge is involved in basic and translational research work on targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and the impact of the gut and tumor microbiome in melanoma, appendiceal cancer, and peritoneal dissemination of cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is also interested in information and data science in oncology and computational modeling for discovery, development, and optimization of precision medicine.
Funding: Training of Academic Surgical Oncologists T32 Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center (NIH T32 CA 009599 and MDACC support grant P30 CA016672
Sophie Smith, MD - R2
Site: Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Research Mentor: Sabrina E. Sanchez, MD, MPH
Area of Research: Dr. Smith is interested in trauma outcomes and reducing healthcare system waste and inefficiencies. Her primary research project is a multistage retrospective evaluation of loss to follow-up, emergency department (ED) utilization, and readmissions after traumatic injury, including identification of high-risk patients for intervention prior to an ED visit or readmission. Dr. Smith currently serves as the Senior Administrative Research Resident.
Funding: NIH T32 Grant: Impact of Biological, Clinical, and Social Determinants on Trauma and Trauma Outcomes