Current PSDP scholars are listed by the year PSDP funding was awarded and current institutional affiliation.
The PSDP Steering Committee is pleased to announce the 8 selected outstanding trainees who will begin their PSDP research in July 2025
(2024 PSDP Award Recipients)
Karan Abraham, MD, PhD | Boston Children’s Hospital | Hematology/Oncology | Tracing and Perturbing Evolutionary Trajectories of Cancer Cells with Multipurpose Synthetic Molecular Recorders |
Kristina Boguslawski, MD, PhD | University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | Infectious Diseases | The interface of biomimetic cell-membrane coated nanoparticles and advanced proteomics to study invasive Staphylococcus aureus infection |
Patricia Castillo dela Cruz, MD, PhD | University of Washington | Allergy/Immunology | Epithelial Immune Responses to Rhinovirus in Non-Type 2 Pediatric Asthma |
Jonathan Ghergurovich, MD, PhD | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia | Hematology/Oncology | Uncovering genetic regulators of CD8 T cell exhaustion through temporal screening |
Jacqueline Kading, MD | University of California, San Fransisco (UCSF) | Neonatology | Development of a microfluidic, anticoagulation-free silicon membrane oxygenator for an Artificial Placenta |
Sarah McCuaig, MD, DPhil | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia | Rheumatology | Spatial transcriptomic assessment of microanatomic type I IFN activation in pediatric lupus nephritis |
Mark Ragheb, MD, PhD | Stanford University | Infectious Diseases | Mining the gut microbiome for immunomodulatory microproteins |
B. Cicero Willis Pineda, MD, MSc | UT Southwestern Medical Center | Cardiology | Regulation of Cardiac Atrial Myocyte Glycogen Metabolism by the γ2-Subunit of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase: Pathogenic Implications in the Development of Early Onset Atrial Arrhythmogenesis |
Evida Dennis-Heyward, MD, PhD | Boston Children’s Hospital | Gastroenterology | The Role of the Virome in the Development of Very Early Onset IBD |
Lauren Harasymiw, MD, PhD, MPH | University of California, San Fransisco (UCSF) | Neonatology | Neuroimaging markers that predict long-term brain development and neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants with brain dysmaturation |
Casey Johnson, MD, MS | Boston Children’s Hospital | Gastroenterology | Investigating the role of intestinal epithelial vesicular trafficking in rescuing Microvillus Inclusion Disease |
Bassem Shoucri, MD, PhD | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | Endocrinology | Monounsaturated fatty acids and adipose tissue plasticity in obesity |
Joshua Sheak, MD, PhD | Cincinnati Children’s Hospital | Neonatology | The Interaction of Perinatal Lung Injury and Corticosteroids in the Development of the Primate Lung |
Yue Christine Lu, MD | MSK/Weill Cornell Medicine | Hematology/Oncology | Unraveling MYOD1-L122R Mutant Rhabdomyosarcoma: Identifying Novel Druggable Targets for Improved Clinical Outcomes. |
John Wang, MD, PhD | UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh | Genetics | A dual-model approach to study peripheral nerve myelination in LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy |
Jillian Smith, MD | Children’s National Hospital | Hematology/Oncology | Cells Gene Engineered to Bind IL-8 in the Tumor Environment: A Potential Strategy to Improve Immunotherapy for Pediatric Solid Tumors |
Kelly Orgel, MD, PhD | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | Neonatology | Regulation of interleukin-22 signaling in intestinal development and necrotizing enterocolitis |
May Szeto, MD, PhD | Stanford University | Neonatology | Understanding the molecular mechanisms of neuroprotection by Magnesium Sulfate using a human cellular model for hypoxic brain injury of prematurity |
Martin Grana, MD, MS | University of California, San Fransisco (UCSF) | Neonatology | Neurovascular mechanisms of fetal brain injury after maternal immune activation |
Samantha Coss, MD, PhD |
Nationwide Children’s Hospital | Rheumatology | Autoantibodies, T cells, and Complement in Juvenile Dermatomyositis: Bridging the Gap Between Innate and Adaptive Immunity |
Jonathan Knowlton, MD, PhD | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia | Neonatology | Mechanisms of injury, immunity, and repair in neonatal viral lung disease. |
The PSDP Steering Committee is pleased to announce the 8 selected outstanding trainees who will begin their PSDP research in July 2023
(2022 PSDP Award Recipients)
Natalie Guerrero, MD, PhD | Indiana University | Adolescent Medicine | Evaluation of the Role of Parental Support in Buffering the Negative Impacts of Racial Discrimination on Mental Health |
Jairo Fonseco, MD (NIH Office of AIDS Scholar) |
Emory University | Infectious Diseases | Characterizing the Cellular Mechanisms of HIV Latency in Childhood |
Benjamin Rodrigues, MD | University of California, San Francisco | Neonatology | Targeting Premyelinating Oligodendrocytes in Perinatal White Matter Injury |
Cassandra Simonich, MD, PhD | University of Washington | Infectious Diseases | Mapping the antigenic evolution of respiratory syncytial virus |
Benjamin Solomon, MD, PhD | Stanford University | Allergy and Immunology | Predicting Immune Dsyregulation from the Antigen Receptor Repertoire |
Bob Sun, MD, MA (Cystic Fibrosis Scholar) |
Boston Children’s Hospital | Pulmonology | Volatile Organic Compound Exposure and Respiratory Morbidity in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia |
Sahal Thahir, MD | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Infectious Diseases | The Impact of Soil-Transmitted Helminth and Schistosoma exposure on Plasmodium falciparum immunity in Kenyan infants receiving RTS,S vaccination |
Anna Williams, MD (March of Dimes Scholar) |
Duke University | Nephrology | Improving Acute Kidney Injury Outcomes among Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Survivors |
Aaron Bodansky, MD | University of California, San Francisco | Critical Care | Novel Autoantibody Discovery in Kawasaki Disease and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome-Children |
Sean Cullen, MD, PhD (March of Dimes Scholar) |
Weill Cornell Medicine | Neonatology | Regulation of Germ Cell Small RNAs and Epigenetically-Inherited Disease by Khdc3 |
Xavier Gaeta, MD, PhD | Stanford University | Nephrology | A Wnt signaling approach to improving kidney tubule regeneration and recovery after acute kidney injury in human organoid and mouse models |
Logan Grimes, MD | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia | Infectious Diseases | Leveraging MHC Molecules and Gnotobiotic Mice to Identify Early-Life Microbes That Prevent Autoimmunity |
Tuba Kockar Kizilirimak, MD (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Scholar) |
Yale University | Pulmonology | Does the lack of CFTR result in alterations in circulating myeloid cells early in the disease process, setting the stage for the hyperinflammatory state in CF? |
Taylor LaFlam, MD, PhD | University of California, San Francisco | Rheumatology | The role of the P2RY8 pathway in B cell immune tolerance and systemic lupus erythematosus |
Melody Lun, MD, PhD (American Academy of Pediatrics and American Pediatric Society Scholar) |
University of California, San Francisco | Neonatology | Neurodevelopmental impairment by in utero exposure to pathogenic maternal antibodies |
Rameshwar Rao, MD, PhD | Stanford University | Hematology/Oncology | On-Demand Drug Delivery System Composed of Gold Nanoparticles Targeting the Extracellular Matrix for the Treatment of Osteosarcoma |
Jessica Ruiz, MD (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Scholar) |
Boston Children’s Hospital | Endocrinology | Leveraging Continuous Glucose Monitoring to Define Dysglycemia Induced by Celiac Enteropathy and Parenteral Nutrition |
Ali Reza Rais Sadati, MD, PhD (Burroughs Wellcome Fund Scholar) |
Stanford University | Cardiology | Donor-derived cell-free-DNA in allorecognition and heart transplant rejection |
Jordan Tyris, MD, MSHS (NICHD DIR Scholar) |
Children’s National Hospital | Pediatric Hospital Medicine | Social determinants of health and pediatric asthma: evaluating individuals in the context of place |