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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
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