Feinberg Home > Home >
Education >
T32 Transplant Surgery Scientist Training Program >
Meet the Fellows
Education
Meet the Fellows
Current Fellows Joy Obayemi, MD Program Dates: 7/2023 - 6/2025
Primary Mentor: Daniela Ladner, MD MPH, Dinee Simpson, MD & Karrie Kershaw, MD MPH
Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: Striving for Racial Equity in Kidney and Liver Transplantation: A Mixed Methods Assessment of Disparities in Transplant Access and Outcomes for Marginalized Communities
Jes Sanders, MD Program Dates: 6/2022 - 6/2024
Primary Mentor: Joseph Leventhal, MD PhD & James M Mathew, PhD
Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: A Phase I Clinical Trial with Donor-Specific Expanded Recipient Regulatory T cells in Living Donor Liver Transplant Recipients
Bima Hasjim, MD Program Dates: 6/2022 - 6/2024
Primary Mentor: Daniela Ladner, MD MPH
Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: Drivers of poor outcomes in low MELD cirrhosis
Graduated Fellows Andrew Benintende, MD Program Dates: 6/2020 - 6/2023 Primary Mentor: Richard Green, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: An In Vitro Model for Hepatocyte Lipotoxicity in Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis using Patient Derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
"Transplantation research is more exciting than ever and T32 training grants are a great way for postdocs to get involved!"
Avesh Thuluvath, MD Program Dates: 3/2020 - 2/2022 Primary Mentor: Daniela Ladner, MD MPH Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: Patient-centered interventions to improve frailty and patient-reported outcomes in liver transplant candidates
Current Role: GI/Hep Fellow, Northwestern University
"As a T32 fellow, I have the opportunity to pursue a MSCI. My classes on biostats and big data analysis have been so helpful in my research. "
Bridget Whitehead, MD, MS Program Dates: 1/2020 – 7/2021 Primary Mentor: Estella Alonso, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: The Impact of Bacterial Translocation and Inflammation on Growth in Children with Chronic Liver Disease
Current Role: Transplant Hepatology Fellow, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Osama Siddiqui, Student Supplement Program Dates: 7/2020 - 8/2021 Primary Mentor: Daniela Ladner, MD MPH Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Research Project: Routine Assessment of Patient Reported Outcomes(PROs) in Liver Transplant
Current Role: Medical Student, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University
Mark Antkowiak Program Dates: 7/2019 - 6/2020 Primary Mentor: Rich Green, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Identification and characterization of structural factors that facilitate development of steatosis in iPSC-hepatocytes grown in 3D culture
Current Role: Resident, University California San Diego
Nikhilesh Mazumder, MD MPH Program Dates: 1/2018 - 12/2019 Primary Mentor: Daniela Ladner, MD & Josh Levitsky, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: Demonstrating pathways to Value-Based Care for patients with liver cirrhosis from waitlisting to liver transplantation (Phase II)
Current Role: Clinical Instructor
Frances Tangherlini Lee, MD Program Dates: 7/2017 - 6/2019 Primary Mentor: Xunrong Luo, MD PhD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Tolerance for Xenogeneic Islet Cell Transplantation
Current Role: Endocrine Surgery Fellow, University of Chicago
Jessica Heinrichs Voss, PhD Program Dates: 7/2017 - 6/2019 Primary Mentor: Joseph Leventhal, MD PhD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Personalized Tolerance: Alloantigen Specific T Regulatory Cell therapy Following Organ Transplantation
Current Role: Associate Medical Director of Transplantation, Sanofi Genzyme
Jessica Hoch Brown, PhD Program Dates: 6/2016 - 6/2018 Primary Mentor: Jason Wertheim, MD PhD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Development and Evaluation of a Synthetic 3D Scaffold for Production of Functional iPSC-derived Hepatocytes
Current Role: Senior Medical Writer, BostonGene
Ramiro Fernandez, MD Program Dates: 7/2016 - 6/2018 Primary Mentor: Ankit Bharat, MD Kofi Atiemo, MD Program Dates: 7/2015 - 6/2017 Primary Mentor: Daniela Ladner, MD & Abel Kho, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: Factors associated with increased mortality among patients with Cirrhosis and a low MELD
Current Role: Assistant Professor of Surgery, Abdominal Transplant, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Stephen Chiu, MD Program Dates: 7/2015 -6/2017 Primary Mentor: Ankit Bharat, MD JP Savaryn, PhD Program Dates: 7/2013 - 6/2015 Primary Mentor: Michael Abecassis, MD & Neil Kelleher, MD PhD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Top-down proteomics todetect complex diseasephenotypes intransplant patients
Current Role: Senior Scientist II
McCarthy, Derrick Program Dates: 7/2013-6/2015 Primary Mentor: Stephen Miller, MD Lisa McElroy, MD Program Dates: 7/2013 - 6/2015 Primary Mentor: Daniela Ladner, MD & Jane Holl, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: System and process vulnerabilities in the handoff of liver transplant patients
Current Role: Assistant Professor of Surgery
Nadine Lerret, PhD Program Dates: 7/2011-6/2013 Primary Mentor: Xunrong Luo, MD PhD Marina Serper, MD Program Dates: 7/2011 - 6/2013 Primary Mentor: Michael Wolf, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: Medication regimen adherence in transplant
Current Role: Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Josetta Houlihan, PhD Program Dates: 8/2010 - 7/2011 Primary Mentor: Xunrong Luo, MD PhD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Role of CD8+CD25+ FoxP3+ T cells in transplant rejection tolerance
Neehar Parikh, MD Program Dates: 6/2010 - 6/2012 Primary Mentor: Xeeshan Butt, MD Bara Sarraj, PhD Program Dates: 7/2009 - 6/2010 Primary Mentor: M. Javeed Ansari, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Requirement for CD44 and L-selectin for the development of autoimmunity and proteoglycan-induced arthritis in BALB/c mice
Current Role: Assistant Professor of Biology
Colleen Jay, MD Program Dates: 6/2008-6/2010 Primary Mentor: David Cella, MD & Anton Skaro, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Outcomes Research
Project Title: Outcomes research; cost-effectiveness deceased brain death versus deceased cardiac death donor organs in transplantation
Current Role: Associate Professor of Surgery, Abdominal Organ Transplantation
Aaron Martin, PhD Program Dates: 9/2007 - 7/2010 Primary Mentor: Stephen Miller, MD Read Bio Area of Interest: Basic Science Research
Project Title: Molecular aspects of tolerance induction in the regulation of relapsing EAE
Current Role: Principal Scientist, Cell Therapy Discovery
