Fellows
Adriana Ene, MS Heading link
Ms. Ene has a strong academic and research background, including a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bioinformatics and a Master of Science in Bioinformatics, both from Loyola University Chicago. She has employment experience as a research assistant working in microbiology on the wet lab bench as an undergraduate and exploring the distinction between bacteria in the urogenital tract as a graduate student. She has contributed to 15 publications and has presented at multiple national conferences. Ms. Ene’s mentor is Cemal Yazici, MD, MS, and her research project focuses on the “concentration of gut microbiome and microbial metabolites to acute pancreatitis severity.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Carlos Font, MS Heading link
Carlos Font joins us from the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria where he is currently a second-year medical student and CEMED scholar. Carlos is a Chicago native and received his Bachelor of Science from DePaul University in Lincoln Park. It was during college that Carlos decided to pursue medicine and became fascinated with biomedical research. During college, he began researching with the Organic Chemistry Dept. and completed an internship with the radiology department at the University of Chicago. After graduating college, Carlos moved to Philadelphia where he received a master’s in biomedical science with a Research concentration. It was during this time that he worked in the lab of Dr. Arturo Bravo-Nuevo PhD, investigating therapeutics for degenerative retinal disease. His research is still on-going and has been presented at various conferences. This summer, Carlos will be mentored by Professor and renowned scientist, Andrius Kazlauskas PhD. Carlos’ project will be to investigate the Notch pathway set of genes and their involvement with the development of Diabetic Retinopathy.
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Omar Garcia Martinez, BA Heading link
Mr. Garcia is an outstanding medical student with a Bachelor of Arts in pre-medicine and a minor in biochemistry from Augustana College (IL). At UIC, he completed a post-baccalaureate through the College of Medicine Urban Health Program and is currently enrolled in the Equity Innovation Medicine (EquIMED) Scholarly Concentration 4-year Longitudinal Program. Mr. Garcia’s research experience includes work as a research assistant, where he reviewed the latest advancements in genetic engineering and immunology to help design a prototypical experiment that tests the viability of a Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) vaccine using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Mr. Garcia’s mentor is Anand Srivastava, MD, MPH, and his research project focuses on the “evaluation of kidney MRI-derived fibrosis to identify individuals at risk of CKD and ESKD.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Elisa Herrera, BS Heading link
Ms. Herrera is an exceptional medical student with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University. Her research experience includes work as a clinical research coordinator for clinical trials investigating therapeutics for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and as a research assistant contributing to projects that evaluate the effects of anesthesia on neurodevelopment. Ms. Herrera’s mentor is Tanika Kelly, PhD, and her research project focuses on “cardiovascular health, genetic susceptibility, and cognitive decline in chronic kidney disease.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Seok Jin Hong, MS Heading link
Mr. Hong is a first-year medical student with an outstanding academic and research background, including a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience & Medicine, Health, and Society, and a Master of Science in Physiology and Biophysics. In addition, he has employment experience as a senior analyst leading survey research on substance misuse prevention efforts, as a COVID-19 investigator for the Fairfax County Health Department, and as a lab manager and research analyst for a clinical schizophrenia research study. Mr. Hong has contributed to publications and presented at national and international conferences. His mentors in the program are Sirimon Reutrakul, MD, CDCES, and Pamela Martyn-Nemeth, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN. His research project focuses on the “effects of nighttime light on irregular sleep and health in type 1 and 2 diabetes.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Brad Isada, BA Heading link
Mr. Isada is a dedicated first-year medical student with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences and Mathematics from Northwestern University. His research experience includes work as a research assistant at the Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery at the University of Chicago, where he participated in basic science by conducting and analyzing cell cultures and protein measurements. Mr. Isada’s mentor is Anand Srivastava, MD, MPH, and his research project focuses on the association of proteinuria trajectories with CKD progression in individuals with CKD.
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Harish Karthikeyan Heading link
Mr. Karthikeyan is a committed trainee from a combined BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. As a first-year medical student, Mr. Karthikeyan has research experience as a research assistant in a pulmonology lab where he collected and analyzed datasets, developed manuals of procedures, and performed statistical, qualitative, and quantitative analyses. His mentor is Waddah Alrefai, MD, and his research project focuses on the “potential roles of bile acids in the fibrosis associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Emma Pappano, BS Heading link
Ms. Pappano is an outstanding first-year medical student with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research experience includes work at the Wisconsin Institute for Medical Research, where she participated in translational research for childhood cancer treatments. As a part of this work, she performed in vitro bench work and conducted literature reviews of relevant research methods. Her mentor is Santosh L. Saraf, MD, and her research project focuses on the “association of candidate cell-free hemoglobin processing genetic variants with reduced kidney function in sickle cell disease.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Madison Pineda, BS Heading link
Ms. Pineda is an enthusiastic and committed first-year medical student. She has a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Northeastern University. Her research experience includes employment as a research assistant at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, where she processed and analyzed human specimens for peripheral blood mononuclear cell isolation, cell culture, cloning, and Luminex. Ms. Pineda’s research mentors are Michael Fischer, MD, MSPH, and James Lash, MD. Her research project focuses on the “psychosocial health among Mexicans with chronic kidney disease.
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Rayaan Rauf Heading link
Mr. Rauf is a dedicated medical student from a combined BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. As a first-year medical student, his research experience includes working as a research intern at the Mesulam Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center, where he contributed to investigating cholinergic axon abnormalities, brain aging, and neurodegenerative disorders. Mr. Rauf has multiple manuscripts in progress, has contributed to one publication, and has presented at many national conferences. His mentor is Ravinder K. Gill, PhD, and his research project focuses on the “role of intestinal serotonin transport in treating inflammatory bowel disease through modulation of epithelial barrier integrity.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Allison Raymundo, BS Heading link
Ms. Raymundo is a highly motivated first-year medical student seeking a dual degree (MD/MPH) from the University of Illinois Chicago. She received a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from the University of California, Riverside. Ms. Raymundo’s research experience includes employment as a research assistant, where she completed data collection, analysis, literature reviews, protocol development, and working with cell cultures. She has presented at several national and local conferences. Her mentor is Jun Ma, MD, PhD, and her research project focuses on the “PIVOT Trial: Patient Activation Measure and Perceived Stress.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Darren Seaney, BS Heading link
Mr. Seaney is an enthusiastic and dedicated first-year medical student. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. His research experience includes work as a research assistant in the Darbar Lab, where he used machine learning techniques to identify changes in atrial fibrillation ECGs and to categorize disease phenotypes and genetic variants. Additionally, he worked in the Lab of Molecular Therapeutics at the University of Minnesota, where he used computational methods to understand molecular interactions in neurodegenerative disease. He has contributed to two publications, a pending patent, and has experience presenting at multiple conferences. Mr. Seaney’s mentor is Dawood Darbar, MD, and his research project focuses on the “mechanisms of atrial remodeling in diabetic patients with atrial fibrillation.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Zhengxin (Cindy) Tang, BS Heading link
Ms. Tang is a highly motivated and outstanding first-year medical student with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Illinois Chicago. Her previous research experience includes working alongside her mentor, June Ma, MD, PhD, as a clinical research coordinator, where she screened, recruited, and onboarded patients to test the efficacy of a virtual health coach platform for managing depression and anxiety. She is the first author of two publications and has experience presenting at national conferences. Her research project focuses on the “association between discrimination and depression/anxiety symptoms in SPEAC-2 Trial, and intervention design and delivery in IGNITE Trial.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
Benny Tom, BS Heading link
Benny Tom was born and raised in South Florida and received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Miami. Benny has a strong academic and research background. From early on in his career, he was passionate about gene therapy. He believed in treating diseases by addressing the root cause rather than just alleviating the symptoms. His employment experience includes work as a research assistant, where he learned both basic laboratory techniques and advanced genetic techniques. Most of these skills were obtained through gene knockout and rescue experiments using CRISPR-Cas9 on zebrafish. Benny’s mentor for this summer program will be Lewis Hsu, MD, PhD, and his research project will be focused on ways to “improve health education on gene therapy.”
| Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology
T35 Research Fellowship Heading link
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Sinead Marie Campos, MS
Ms. Campos is in her second year of medical school. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology (major) with a chemistry minor (University of Illinois Urbana), as well as a master’s degree in medical physiology (Case Western Reserve University). Her mentor is Pamela Martyn-Nemeth, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, and her research project, “The Experiences of Black/African American Adults with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D),” included the following key findings: high levels of diabetes distress were significantly associated with increased levels of fear of hypoglycemia (p < 0.001); younger participants reported higher levels of diabetes distress; high levels of perceived ethnic discrimination were significantly associated with higher levels of diabetes distress (r = 0.903, p <0.001); and qualitative themes identified: love and hate relationship with technology, education, and accessibility.
Upon completing her fellowship, Ms. Campos presented her research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. She is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where she continues working alongside her mentor.
Sydney Chin, BS
Ms. Chin is in her second year of medical school. She received a Bachelor of Science in biological sciences with a minor in nutrition. Her mentor is Jun Ma, M.D., Ph.D., FAHA, FABMR, FSBM, and her research project, the “RAINBOW Trial Post Hoc Diet Quality Analysis Manuscript,” found the following conclusions: calorie intake and weight decreased, but overall diet quality did not improve; diet quality deteriorated particularly in females; and there is a need for explicit focus on diet quality and behavior change techniques tailored for females and males.
Upon completing her fellowship, Ms. Chin presented her research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day, and at the 2024 AHA Epi Lifestyle Scientific Session.
Chin, S. W., Lv, N., Tang, Z., Parikh, A., & Ma, J. (2024). Abstract P193: Sex Moderates Diet Quality Differences in Integrated Collaborative Care for Comorbid Obesity and Depression: Post-Hoc Analysis of the Research Aimed to Improve Mood and Weight Randomized Clinical Trial. Circulation, 149(Suppl_1), AP193-AP193.
She is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where she continues working alongside her mentor.
Christopher Freeman, MS
Mr. Freeman is in his second year of medical school. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the University of Illinois Chicago. He received a Master of Science in Biotechnology from Rush University Medical Center. Mr Freeman’s mentor is Pingwen Xu, PhD, and he completed his research project, “The Effect of Dietary Fiber (Fructooligosaccharides) on High-Fat Diet-Induced Hypothalamic Neuroinflammation” at the end of 2023. He continues to work alongside his mentor and has a few manuscripts in development.
Hassan Khan, BS
Mr. Khan is in his second year of medical school. He received a Bachelor of Science in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience and a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Loyola University Chicago. His mentor is Emilie K. Johnson, MD, MPH, FACS, and his research project, “Gonadectomy for Patients with Disorders/Differences of Sex Development Treated in a Multidisciplinary Clinic: Trends over Time and Clinical Outcomes,” had the following findings: about half of patients with DSD and elevated tumor risk underwent gonadectomy following multidisciplinary counseling; age at gonadectomy varied by diagnosis, aligning with the patient’s tumor risk (higher tumor risk diagnoses had younger age at gonadectomy); and no discernible trends over time were observed, possibly due to small sample size
Upon completing his fellowship, Mr. Kahn presented his research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. He is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where he continues working alongside his mentor.
Divya Krishnakumar, BS
Ms. Krishnakumar is in her second year of medical school. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois Chicago with a minor in sociology. Her mentor is Lewis Hsu, MD, PhD, and her research focused on the “Efficacy impact of documenting Individualized Pain Plans in EPIC.”
Upon completing her fellowship, Ms. Krishnakumar presented her research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. She is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where she continues working alongside her mentor.
Sarah Medina-Aguirre, BS
Ms. Medina-Aguirre is now in her second year of medical school. She received a Bachelor of Science in global disease biology from the University of California Davis. Her mentor is Amber Pirzada, MD and the work completed during her research project, “Association of sleep-disordered breathing with longitudinal changes in kidney function,” had the following clinical implications: the importance of sleep health and addressing sleep apnea, particularly in men; early diagnosis and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing may provide a better quality of life and attenuate the cardiovascular risk of morbidity and mortality in these patients; and explorations of treating sleep apnea with CPAP for prevention of CKD.
Upon completing her fellowship, Ms. Medina Aguirre presented her research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. She was awarded a scholarship with the Medical Organization for Latino Advancement – Michael Reese Research and Education Foundation (MOLA-MRF Scholars), where she continues working alongside her mentor.
Mohammad Nizamuddin, MA
Mr. Nizamuddin is in his second year of medical school. He received a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts in medical sciences from Loyola University Chicago. His mentor is Michael Fischer, MD, MSPH, and his research project, “Depressive Symptoms, Antidepressant Medication Use, and Cardiovascular Disease Among Participants in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC)/Hispanic-CRIC Study” found: elevated depressive symptoms and incident PAD are common in adults with CKD; depression is an independent risk factor for PAD among adults with CKD; and further efforts to screen, diagnose and treat depression in CKD patients is warranted.
Upon completing his fellowship, Mr. Nizamuddin presented his research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day and at the 2024 National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meeting.
Nizamuddin, M., Missikpode, C., Chen, S., Lash, J., Wang, G., Fischer, M. (2024) Abstract P227: Depressive Symptoms and Incident Peripheral Arterial Disease among adults in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study, National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meeting 2024, CKD/ESRD – Cardiovascular Disease, Abstract 227.
He will present his work at the October 2024 American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week. He is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where he continues working alongside his mentor.
Shashank Sandu, BS
Mr. Sandu is a second-year medical student. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from the University of Illinois Chicago. His mentor is Dawood Darbar, MBChB, MD. Outcomes of his research project, “Clinical and Echocardiographic Impact of Disease-Associated Cardiomyopathy Gene Variants in Ethnic Minorities with Atrial Fibrillation and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors,” include likely pathogenic/pathogenic variants in these genes have been associated with differential mortality, worsening renal function may not be a mechanism contributing to adverse clinical outcomes.
Upon completing his fellowship, Mr. Sandu presented his research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. He is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where he continues working alongside his mentor. He has several manuscripts in development.
Matthew Simonson, MS
Mr. Simonson is a second-year medical student. He received a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Monmouth College. His mentor is Sirimon Reutrakul, MD and his research project, “Metabolomics of Diabetic Retinopathy,” identified the following outcomes: having obstructive sleep apnea was significantly associated with having diabetic retinopathy (DR); Those with DR had significantly lower melatonin/ melatonin metabolites levels than those without DR; and Long sleep, but not short sleep, was significantly associated with DR.
Upon completing his fellowship, Mr. Simonson presented his research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. He will present his work at the ENDO 2024 Conference this June and recently published the following manuscript:
Simonson M, Li Y, Zhu B, McAnany JJ, Chirakalwasan N, Sutabutr Vajaranant T, Hanlon EC, Pannain S, Anothaisintawee T, Reutrakul S. Multidimensional sleep health and diabetic retinopathy: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev. 2024 Apr;74:101891. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2023.101891. Epub 2023 Dec 12. PMID: 38118339; PMCID: PMC10963161.
He is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where he continues working alongside his mentor. He has several manuscripts in development.
Ricardo Suarez, BS
Mr. Suarez is in his second year of medical school. He received a Bachelor of Science in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. His mentor is Waddah Alrefai, MD and he completed work on his research project, “Potential roles of s-acylation in the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)” in 2024. He continues to work alongside his mentor and has a few manuscripts in development.
Alexandra Triko, BS
Ms. Triko is a second-year medical student. She received a Bachelor of Science in molecular and cellular biology from Vanderbilt University. Her mentor is Carol Podlasek, PhD, and her research project, the “Suppression of Collagen Remodeling to Prevent Erectile Dysfunction,” found that sonic hedgehog treatment by peptide amphiphile in the first week after cavernous nerve injury is sufficient to preserve penile smooth muscle and to prevent long-term penile remodeling and erectile dysfunction. It is important to know that treatments given at the time of cavernous nerve injury have a sustained effect on penile architecture, making them valuable for clinical translation.
Upon completion of her fellowship, Ms. Triko presented her research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day was the first author of the following publication,
Triko A, Deng J, Harrington D, McVary K, Podlasek C. MP66-08 Sonic Hedgehog Suppresses Penile Remodeling After Cavernous Nerve Injury and Sustains Long Term Normal Penis Morphology. Journal of Urology [Internet]. 2024 May 1 [cited 2024 May 31];211(5S):e1088. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.JU.0001009468.01097.19.08
She continues to work alongside her mentor and has several manuscripts in development.
Jason Wei, MEng
Mr. Wei is now in his second year of medical school. He received his Bachelor of Science in molecular and cellular biology, with a minor in psychology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He received a Master of Engineering in bioengineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His mentor is Ece Mutlu, MD, MBA, MS, and the work completed during his research project, “Archaea in African Americans with adenomatous colon polyps” had the following key findings: no differences were seen in the abundance of haloarchaea in AA or NHW patients with or without adenomas; haloarchaea abundance did not vary with age, race, sex or BMI; haloarchaea abundance was negatively correlated with habitual calorie-adjusted fiber, potassium and magnesium intake; and finally, no relationship was observed with other
macronutrient or micronutrients.
Upon completing his fellowship, Mr. Wei presented his research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day. He is the second author of an abstract and poster presented at the May 2024 Digestive Disease Week Conference and has a manuscript in progress.
Cissy Xiao, BS
Ms. Xiao is a second-year medical student. She received a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience from the University of Illinois Chicago. Her mentor is Tanika Kelly, PhD, MPH, and her research project, “The association between clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and cognitive impairment in patients with chronic kidney disease,” found that the relationship between clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) and cognitive impairment in CKD cannot be solely attributed to vascular mechanisms. Further studies are needed to confirm the associations of CHIP with cognitive impairment and evaluate the mechanisms of this relationship.
Upon completing her fellowship, Ms. Xiao presented her research at the November 2023 UIC College of Medicine Research Day, and at the 2024 AHA Epi Lifestyle Scientific Session.
Xiao, C., Kurella Tamura, M., Vlasschaert, C., Pan, Y., Missikpode, C., Rao, V., … & Kelly, T. N. (2024). Abstract P337: Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential and Cognitive Decline in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients. Circulation, 149(Suppl_1), AP337-AP337.
She is currently a 2024 UIC James Scholar, an Independent Study Program where she continues working alongside her mentor. She has several manuscripts in development.