Medical Student, Graduate Students, Residents, Fellows and Post-docs News
Family Medicine
Dr. Rachel Johnson and Dr. Mathilda Carew (Rural Family Medicine) won second place in the resident case study poster contest
for their poster Neuroendocrine Hyperplasia of Infancy: It isn't just a Wheeze at the 2025 American Academy of Family Medicine FMX (AAFP FMX) Conference in Anaheim,
California.
Medicine
The department was well represented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension
Scientific Sessions 2025, held in Baltimore, Maryland:
- Swati Sharma, a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Rajesh Mohandas’ (Nephrology) laboratory, delivered an oral presentation titled “Microglia Depletion Mitigates Excess Sympathetic Hyperactivity in Chronic Kidney Disease.” She was recognized with a travel award for her outstanding research.
- Walia Zahra, also a postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Mohandas’ laboratory, presented her work in an oral session titled “Rho-kinase: A Key Mediator of Diastolic Dysfunction in Chronic Kidney Disease.”
GI Fellow Dr. Katherine Westbrook Cates, together with Dr. Catherine Hudson (gastroenterology faculty) were published in the international journal Frontiers in Gastroenterology. The editors featured their work in the "Rising Stars" edition, based on the quality of their work and the early stage of their respective careers. They were identified as gastroenterologists to watch in the future for their anticipated contributions to the field.
Dr. Erika Haviland (IM Resident) and colleagues have been selected to present a Presidential Poster session at the upcoming American College of Gastroenterology. The poster is titled "Unlikely Clues to Colorectal Cancer: Recurrent Headaches and Amenorrhea Unveil Bilateral Kruckenberg Tumors from a Sigmoid Primary.” Authors include Dr. Erika Haviland, Dr. Chloe Spears (Med-Peds Resident), Dr. Mitch Capella (IM Resident), Dr. Michelle de Jesus (Pathology Resident), Dr. Hunter Hall (GI Fellow) and Dr. Stephen Landreneau (Gastroenterology).
Medicine Research Day 2025 poster presentation award winners included:
Clinical Vignette:
- Claire Karcher: Kenalog Injection for the Treatment of Postoperative Seromas: A Case Series
- Jacob Duplantis: A Case of ST-segment Elevation on ECG and Gastric Volvulus
Translational Research:
- Maansi Solanky: Assessing the Tumor Suppressive Impact and Regulatory Mechanisms of SPDEF Expression in Breast Cancer
Quality Improvement:
- Addys Bode Hernandez: Screening for Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Diseases in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
Fourth-year resident Dr. Carley Boyce was the lead author of Role of perinasal musculature in ipsilateral nasal obstruction during synkinesis progression.
Fifth-year resident Dr. Colleen Cecola was the lead author of Surgical management of unilateral cleft lip.
First-year resident Dr. James Warren was recently published: Health inequities in head and neck cancer: disparities across the continuum of care.
Pathology
Residents, mentored by department faculty, had several abstracts accepted by the ASCP
conference. These include:
- “Bone Marrow Erythroid Hypoplasia in a Complex Patient with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis” - Angelle Jolly, MD, Hiba Fazal-ur-Rehman, Rachna Jetly, MD, MPH
- “Transient Pseudo-Pelger-Huet Anomaly Associated with Zanubrutinib Treatment in a Patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia” - Dr. Jolly, Carson Hebert, Dr. Jetly
- “Breast carcinoma metastatic to renal cell carcinoma: A rare example of Tumor-to-Tumor Metastasis” - Yu Liu, MD, PhD, Zhiyan Fu, MD, Ritu Bhalla, MD
- "Gastric Sarcina ventriculi: Case Report and Literature Review" - Yaomin Chen, MD, Dr. Liu, Dr. Fu
- “A Rare Case of Cardiac Metastasis from Breast Carcinoma" - Dr. Chen, Dr. Fu, Ellen Connor, MD, PhD
- “Sterile Hyphae from an Immunocompromised Patient with Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis” - Ayesha Younus, MBBS, Gordon L. Love, MD
- “Myelodysplastic Neoplasm with Multi-hit TP53 Mutation in a Young Adult” - Younus, Catilin Sullivan, Dr. Jetly
Residents Dr. Yaomin Chen and Dr. Yu Liu, with faculty member Dr. Zhiyan Fu were recently published: Gastric Sarcina ventriculi: A Report on Two Cases. Reports. 2025; 8(3):128. https://doi.org/10.3390/reports8030128
Residents have been active at conferences this past quarter, including at the Tri-State Conference and CAP:
Tri-State:
“Impact of Discontinuing Manual Tube Screening Following Negative Solid Phase Antibody
Panels - Yu Liu, MD, PhD; L. Granier; Sharon Stradley; Shaun Lawicki, MBBS. This won the Committee Choice Award. (Image, PGY3 Dr. Liu)
“APL-Like Presentation of NPM1-Mutated AML: Two Case Studies” - Ayesha Younus, MD, Julia Rivera, MD, Bushra Nazir, MD. (Image, PGY3 Dr. Younus)
CAP:
Dr. Zhiyan Fu and Dr. Ayesha Younus (PGY3) presented posters at the 2025 CAP Conference, held in Orlando, FL: (Image, Drs. Fu and Younus)
- “Diagnostic Dilemma in Reporting of Cribriform Pattern of Prostate Carcinoma: A Retrospective Review” - Dr. Younus, Yu Lie, MD, PhD, Yaomin Chen, MD, Ritu Bhalla, MD
- “Aberrant Hep Par-1 Expression in Well Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors Metastasized to the Liver: Clinicopathologic Study of Seventy-Five Cases” - Dr. Fu, Yan Wang, MD, Keiko Yamamoto, MD, Yukihiro Nakanishi, MD
Pediatrics
The department’s fellowship programs hosted their annual Scholarship Academy.
Physiology
Meagan Donovan was awarded the 2025 Michael G. Levitsky, PhD Excellence in Teaching Award. This award recognizes and celebrates excellent teaching service of a physiology trainee.
Stephanie Lee was granted United States citizenship for being a stellar MD/PhD trainee and good
steward of NIH funding.
Surgery
Dr. Justin Ring from the University of Manitoba matched the LSU Microsurgery Fellowship.
Dr. Hiba Saifuddin (PGY-3, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) presented her work on the characterization of patients with carpal coalition at the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Annual Meeting.
Dr. Harel Schwartzberg (PGY-4, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) shared his study on the optimal time interval for postoperative flap monitoring after autologous breast reconstruction at the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM).
Dr. Rebecca Brantley (PGY-2, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) delivered a talk on autologous fat grafting to the superior sulcus in patients with age-related enophthalmos at the Aesthetic Society Meeting.
Alex Germann (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) will continue his training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Breast and Body Fellowship in Nashville, TN, starting July 1, 2026. This one-year fellowship is a mix of breast reconstruction and full body cosmetic surgery. Fellows are involved in one to two DIEP flap reconstruction cases per week, and the remaining time is spent performing cosmetic surgery with a focus on breast and body contouring. The fellowship also has its own fellow-run cosmetic clinic where they can perform facelifts, rhinoplasties, breast augmentations, body contouring, and more.
Richard Guidry has matched at UT Southwestern for a prestigious Microsurgery Fellowship. This high-volume program is part of one of the largest academic plastic surgery residency programs in the United States offering exposure to complex breast reconstruction (DIEP, LAP, SIEA, PAP, TUG, SGAP/IGAP), dynamic facial palsy reconstruction, trauma and oncologic reconstruction, and extremity limb salvage. The fellowship at UT Southwestern is renowned for its cutting-edge techniques and high-volume clinical experience, offering an ideal environment to further refine microsurgical skills.
Zach Buchbinder is Seattle-bound for a one-year fellowship in microsurgery at the University of Washington Medical Center. Since 2009, the UW fellowship has provided advanced training in the full spectrum of microsurgical techniques including autologous reconstruction of the breast, extremities, and head and neck, along with nerve repair and advanced lymphedema treatment.
Adeem Nachabe (PGY-4) represented the Division of Plastic Surgery at the 2025 Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (SESPRS) Annual Meeting, held in Palm Beach, Florida. Dr. Nachabe presented his research on optimizing the timing of the dangle protocol following free flap lower extremity reconstruction.
Dr. Womac hosted his much-anticipated crawfish boil, an annual event that takes place
the weekend after the resident in-service exam. In addition to the delicious food,
attendees enjoy playing games and friendly competition on Dr. Womac’s golf simulator,
making this event a highlight of the spring and a cherished tradition in the residency
program.