Internal Medicine Residency

University of Pittsburgh

Training Program: Clinical Scientist Track

Current Residents and Alumni

Check out the International Scholars Program Residents

Entering 2011:

Mehret S Birru Talabi Primary Research Area of Interest: Cardiovascular epidemiology, rheumatology, psychosocial factors in disease
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Women's health, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease
Research Project Title:
Mentor:
Douglass B Hutcheon Primary Research Area of Interest: Oncology
Primary Clinical Area of Interest:
Research Project Title: Hematology/Oncology
Mentor: Hussein Tawbi
Jonathan S Lee Primary Research Area of Interest: Health Services
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: General Internal Medicine
Research Project Title:
Mentor: Michael J. Fine
Publications: Yu Y, Lee P, Ke Y, Zhang Y, Yu Q, Lee J, Li M, Song J, Chen J, Dai J, Do Couto FJ, An Z, Zhu W, Yu GL. A humanized anti-VEGF rabbit monoclonal antibody inhibits angiogenesis and blocks tumor growth in xenograft models. PLoS One. 2010 Feb 5;5(2):e9072.

Lee JS, Primack BA, Mor MK, Stone RA, Obrosky DS, Yealy DM, Fine MJ. Processes of Care and Outcomes for Community-Acquired Pneumonia. American Journal of Medicine. (In press).


Entering 2010:

Andrea Elliot Primary Research Area of Interest: Racial disparities in ICU and end of life settings
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Cardiology; Heart Failure
Research Project Title: Impact of patient race on ICU admission, communication and end of life decision making.
Mentor: Amber Barnato
Publications: manuscripts submitted for review
Mariel Kerr Primary Research Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology.
Research Project Title: Effect of Chinese Herbal Medicine on Quality of Life in Locally-Advanced Rectal Cancer
Mentor: Edward Chu, MD
Thomas Radomski Primary Research Area of Interest: Obstructive sleep apnea.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: General Internal Medicine and Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine.
Research Project Title: Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Atherosclerosis: Establishing the link between OSA and carotid vasa vasorum neo-vascularization.
Mentor: Patrick J. Strollo, Jr., MD, FCCP, FAASM
Charles W. Atwood Jr, MD, FCCP, FAASM
Jonathon Wertz Primary Research Area of Interest: Cardiac Arrest
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Cardiology
Research Project Title: The relationship of thrombin-antithrombin levels in post arrest patients with survival
Mentor: Jon Rittenberger

Entering 2009:


Sameem Abedin		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Inflammatory bowel disease.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Gastroenterology.
Research Project Title: Chemo Resistance and Methalothionein expression in tissues of patients with metastatic breast cancer
Mentor: Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, FACP
Publications: Abedin S et al. Diversity of NKR expression in aging T cells and in T cells of the aged: the new frontier into the exploration of protective immunity in the elderly. Exp Gerontol. (2005)

Shaikh N, ABEDIN S, Docimo SG, J Urol. Can ultrasonography or uroflowmetry predict which children with voiding dysfunction will have recurrent urinary tract infections? (2005)

Seo HS, ABEDIN S et al.EF-G-dependent GTPase on the ribosome. conformational change and fusidic acid inhibition. Biochemistry. (2006)

Jodie Bryk		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Omega 3 fatty acids and the immune response.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Rheumatology.
Research Project Title: The effect of using omega-3 fatty acid–containing nutritional formulas in the intensive care unit.
Mentor: Juan Ochoa, MD.

William Ceyrolles		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Geriatrics.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Gastroenterology, nephrology, and oncology.
Research Project Title: Relationship between plasma BNP levels and myocardial extracellular volume fraction measured by cardiac MRI.
Mentor: Erik Schelbert
Publications: Myocardial extravascular extracellular volume fraction measurement by gadolinium cardiovascular magnetic resonance in humans: slow infusion versus bolus.

Schelbert EB, Testa SM, Meier CG, Ceyrolles WJ, Levenson JE, Blair AJ, Kellman P, Jones BL, Ludwig DR, Schwartzman D, Shroff SG, Wong TC. J Cardiovasc Magn Reson. 2011 Mar 4;13:16.

Myocardial Fibrosis Quantified by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Is Prevalent and Strongly Associated with B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) and Low Ejection Fraction: Implications for Paradigms of Myocardial Dysfunction (submitted)

Entering 2008:


Deborah Jones		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology.
Research Project Title: Transfusional iron overload and outcomes after non–myeloablative stem cell transplant.
Mentor: Anastasios Raptis, MD.

Hillary Lum		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Complicated care transitions.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Geriatrics and palliative care.
Research Project Title: Complicated transitions: understanding functional status, hospital readmission, and mortality among older adults.
Mentor: Susan Hardy, MD, PhD.

Craig Seaman		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology, apoptosis, and angiogenesis.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology.
Research Project Title: Role of informed decision making in the completion of colorectal cancer screening.
Mentor: Bruce Ling, MD, MPH.

Alumni:


Abid Fakhri		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Cardiology, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute coronary syndrome.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Cardiology and global health.
Research Project Title: Beta-blocker usage in acute coronary syndrome: effects on outcome and barriers to physician use.
Mentor: Ali Sonel, MD.
Current Position: Cardiology fellowship, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh.

Christian Fidler		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology, multiple myeloma, and kidney cancer.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology.
Research Project Title: Effects of resolvins on osteoclast formation and activity in patients with multiple myeloma. Examining the relationship between hypertension and mortality from kidney cancer among participants in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT).
Mentor: Suzanne Lentzeh, MD, PhD, Lewis Kuller, MD, PhD, and Kathleen McTigue, MD, MPH, MS.
Current Position: Hematology/oncology fellowship, Temple University.

Kristen Sanfilippo		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology, breast cancer, and multiple myeloma.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Hematology/oncology.
Research Project Title: Pregnancy associated with breast cancer: oncologist-patient communication regarding prognosis.
Mentor: Victor Vogel, MD, MHS, and Robert Arnold, MD.
Current Position: Hematology/oncology fellowship, Washington University in St. Louis.

Jason Shackelford		 Primary Research Area of Interest: Colon cancer screening.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Internal medicine and gastroenterology.
Research Project Title: Improving compliance with colorectal cancer screening recommendations in veterans.
Mentor: Bruce Ling, MD, MPH.
Presentations: Shackelford J, Ling B. Colorectal cancer screening among U.S. military veterans: have we reached a ceiling? Poster presentation at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 2008.
Publications: Wang J, Shackelford JM, Casella CR, Shivers DK, Rapaport EL, Liu B, Yu XF, Finkel TH. The Vif accessory protein alters the cell cycle of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infected cells. Virology. 2007;359:243-52.

Wang J, Shackelford JM, Selliah N, Shivers DK, O'Neill E, Garcia JV, Muthumani K, Weiner D, Yu XF, Gabuzda D, Finkel TH. The HIV-1 Vif protein mediates degradation of Vpr and reduces Vpr-induced cell cycle arrest. DNA and Cell Biology. 2008;27:267-77.
Current Position: Private practice in the Philadelphia area.

Heather Strah		 Primary Research Area of Interest: The infected airway.
Primary Clinical Area of Interest: Pulmonology.
Research Project Title: The biomarkers of inflammation in blood, sputum, and exhaled breath condensate in patients with cystic fibrosis.
Mentor: Joe Pilewski, MD.
Current Position: Pulmonary and critical care fellowship, Washington University in St. Louis.