Name: Lara McKenzie
Department: Pediatrics
Email: Lara.McKenzie@Nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Dept Contact: Kristin Roberts
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email: Kristin.Roberts@Nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Email
Category of research: Translational
Research Description: Expedited partner therapy (EPT) was legalized in Ohio in 2016. Our team is examining the effect of EPT implementation on STI reinfection rates in an Adolescent Medicine Clinic. We are currently collecting survey data from patients seeking testing/treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomoniasis. A student researcher will have the opportunity to assist with data collection, data entry, and analysis.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Pediatrics/Adolescence; Public Health Research; Research to improve Women's Health
Mentor website: https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/find-a-doctor/profiles/lara-b-mckenzie
Lab website: www.injurycenter.org
Name: Laurie Glader
Email: laurie.glader@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Nationwide Children's Hospital and Pediatrics
Research Description: Cerebral Palsy (CP) refers to a motor disorder that is due to a non-progressive lesion of the developing brain. It is the most common cause of motor disability in children. Although the primary deficit is in the motor system, other streams of development and other organ systems can be affected as well. Common problems include: epilepsy, intellectual and learning disability, hearing or vision deficits, dysphagia with subsequent nutritional or respiratory difficulties, constipation, and osteoporosis. At Nationwide Children's Hospital, we have an interdisciplinary CP program to diagnose and treat the varied problems presented by each patient. Our team includes a Neurodevelopmental Pediatrician, Pediatric Physiatrist, Orthopedist, Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapists, Nutritionist, Social Worker, and a Nurse Coordinator. The medical student working with us is welcome to shadow in our CP program to gain clinical grounding for the research project.
1) The impact of selective dorsal rhizotomy on non-ambulatory children with cerebral palsy – Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) is a neurosurgical procedure involving the spinal cord typically performed in children with mild to moderate forms of CP to help them become more functional in their gait. Increasingly, SDR is being utilized in children with more severe CP who are non-ambulatory in an effort to reduce pain, spasticity and to ease aspects of care and function in daily life. This study is an opportunity to evaluate the impact of SDR in this population, with a focus on the outcomes of quality of life and function. The medical student will work with data collection and extraction and engage in family interviews. Concepts underlying the entire arc of clinical research from project development and management, data analysis, and presentation/writing will be integrated into the experience. Exposure to quantitative and qualitative methodologies will be incorporated.
2) Independently derived database research question - The Learn From Every Patient Initiative is an ongoing effort to break down barriers between clinicians and researchers. In our model, every patient is a research subject and every clinician is a researcher (and vice versa). The data that we collect clinically is fed into a database from which we can generate research questions, examine best practices, and be used to improve outcomes for patients with CP. The database is quite large, and includes 250 data points per patient visit, and we have nearly 600 patients. A medical student with an interest in Pediatrics, Neurology, Orthopedics, Rehabilitation, or Nutrition will have the opportunity to review the relevant literature on CP, generate an independent research question and use our database to answer it. Our team can provide statistical assistance. The volume and quality of our data is such that the student should anticipate publishing the results of their project and/or presenting it at national meetings.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Pediatrics, Neurology, Orthopedics, Rehabilitation, Neurosurgery, Nutrition
Name: Gail Besner
Email: gail.besner@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatric Surgery
Category of Research: Basic
Research Description:
Overview of the project: The Besner laboratory focuses on novel therapeutic strategies to protect the intestines from injury. Studies are conducted at the molecular biology, cell biology, and whole animal model levels. Animal models of necrotizing enterocolitis, ischemial/reperfusion injury, hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation, cecal ligation and puncture, radiation enteritis and intestinal anastomotic wound healing are used. Therapeutic strategies include the use of novel probiotic delivery systems, stem cell therapy, and growth factor therapy with heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) which Dr. Besner initially discovered in 1990. Additional studies focus on the production of tissue engineered intestine. Dr. Besner's research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1994. The long-term goal of Dr. Besner's research is the utilization of HB-EGF in protection of premature babies against the development of necrotizing enterocolitis. Student's role on the project: Students in the Besner laboratory will be involved in direct, hands-on basic science research. Each student will be assigned to a lab mentor who will be in the lab at all times and who will directly assist the student in his/her research. Dr. Besner has a long history of successful mentoring of medical students. Previous students in the Besner lab have become co-authors on manuscripts and presentations, and have presented their work at national medical student symposia in addition to the local annual OSUMC Trainee Research Day.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Cells, Organ Systems, & Integrative Biology, Pediatrics/Adolescence, Tissue Repair and Regeneration
Name: Andrea Bonny
Department: Pediatrics
Email: andrea.bonny@nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email: hannah.lange@nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Dept Contact: Hannah Lange
Preferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager/Dept Contact email
Category of research: Clinical
Research Description: Expedited partner therapy (EPT) was legalized in Ohio in 2016. Our team is examining the effect of EPT implementation on STI reinfection rates in an Adolescent Medicine Clinic. We are currently collecting survey data from patients seeking testing/treatment for chlamydia, gonorrhea, or trichomoniasis. A student researcher will have the opportunity to assist with data collection, data entry, and analysis.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Pediatrics/Adolescence; Public Health Research; Research to improve Women's Health
Name: Christopher Breuer
Department: Nationwide Children's Hospital and Pediatrics
Email: christopher.breuer@nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email: aaron.west@nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Dept Contact: Aaron West
Preferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of research: Translational
Research Description: The focus of the Christopher Breuer lab is to design a tissue engineered vascular graft (TEVG) that can be used during surgery that, over time transitions to a normal blood vessel that will grow with our pediatric patients.
Our goal is to use these TEVGs in surgeries that repair our complex congenital heart patients. And because they transition to a normal blood vessel, they could potentially reduce the number of future surgeries these patients would have due to the graft material not growing.
The process of creating and implanting a TEVG involves placing the scaffold in a vacuum and seeding it with cells obtained from the patient's bone marrow at the beginning of surgery and then placing the graft.
Over the next six months, the body acts as a bioreactor to grow a new vessel, and the scaffold disintegrates. When they started, they assumed that the cells that were seeded onto the scaffold made the resulting vessel, but surprisingly, they found the host cells were the ones that made the vessel.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Tissue Repair and Regeneration
Name: Long-Sheng Chang
Department: Pediatrics
Email: Long-Sheng.Chang@nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty email/ In Person
Category of research: Translational
Previous Mentoring: Yes (not funded)
Research Description: We Dr. Chang's lab is interested in neurofibromatosis (NF), a group of gentic diseases that predispose individuals to the development of multiple nervous system tumors and other debilitating manifestations. Also, his lab has generated an animal model for Meniere's disease. His current research program focuses on three areas: Therapeutic development for NF-associated tumors , Investigation of novel functions of the NF2 tumor suppressor gene during development and tumorigenesis and a potential link between NF2 and breast cancer and Animal models for Meniere's disease and other hearing disorders
The ultimate goal of Dr. Chang's research is to develop efficacious medical treatments for NF-associated nervous system tumors an hearing disorders, ultimately leading to substantial improvement of clinical care and long-term treatment outcomes for these patients.
Mentor website: http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/Long-Sheng-Chang
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Cancer Biology; Cancer Therapy; Neurologic Disorders
Name: Jennifer Cooper
Email: jennifer.cooper@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Nationwide Children's Hospital and Pediatrics
Name of Lab Manager/Assistant/Department Contact: Tiwana Henderson
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of research: Clinical
Research Description: My team does pediatric surgical outcomes and health services research studies using large state and national administrative healthcare databases and registries. We also evaluate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in surgery utilization and outcomes, and study the impacts of multi-level interventions on these in the pediatric and young adult population.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Anesthesia/Surgery;Pediatrics/Adolescence; Trauma
Name: Steven Ciciora
Department: Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Email: steven.ciciora@nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Email
Category of research: Clinical
Research Description: We are investigating the use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in pain-predominant functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs). The work would consist of administering a survey to patients in the GI clinic meeting certain demographics and maintaining a database related to such.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Pediatrics/Adolescence, Psychological Disorders, Other -- Gastroenterology
Name: Ihuoma Eneli
Email: inhuoma.eneli@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Medical Director, Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, NCH
Category of research: Translational, clinical
Research Description: The Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition (CHWN) offers families a comprehensive approach to weight management with programs for both the prevention and treatment of overweight children. CHWN serves as the key referral center for primary care providers in Columbus and surrounding areas. In 2008, CHWN provided care at more than 5,000 visits. Children ages 0-5 years referred to the Center represent a distinct population of severely obese children most often with early onset of non-organic excessive weight gain. The characteristics and outcomes of these patients referred to an intensive weight at such an early age have not been investigated. The time-limited research project will comprise of a retrospective study of the 150 patients seen in CHWN from 2007-2010.
The student will be responsible for: In-depth literature review, Creation of the data abstraction sheet and Excel database Participation in data analyses and interpretation of data Completion of IRB training. The final outcome for the project will be a manuscript submission or an abstract submission to a National meeting.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Obesity
Name: Cheryl Gariepy
Department: Nationwide Children's
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (Not Funded)
Category of research: Clinical
Research Description: My area of interest is pancreatitis in children. The following projects are opportunities for student research:
1. Development of a Pediatric- to Adult-care transition package for young adults with acute recurrent and chronic pancreatitis and the development of a population health management tool to track patients through transition. This is a joint project with adult pancreatology at OSUMC. Following this is collection of stockholder feedback and pilot implementation between Nationwide Children's and OSU.
2. It seems that many children with severe disabilities are impacted by pancreatitis. We will be doing a chart review of patients followed in our ""Complex Care"" clinic who have developed pancreatitis.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Pancreatic Disorders; Pediatrics/Adolescence
Name: Steven D. Goodman Ph.D.
Email: Steven.Goodman@NationwideChildrens.org
Department: Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Research Description: It is estimated that over 80% of bacteria do not exist as single free-living organisms, but reside as multi-cellular communities known as biofilms. A biofilm is a group of cells attached to a surface surrounded by a self-produced extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) composed of proteins, nucleic acids, sugars, and lipids. The EPS provides a physical barrier for the bacterial community, protecting it from a number of harsh elements such as shear force, antibiotics, and host immune factors. Biofilms play a major role in human infections and disease, where they can form on skin and tissues within the body as well as artificial surfaces such as medical implants and devices. Because bacteria within biofilms surround themselves with an extracellular protective layer, biofilms are difficult to treat even with conventional antibiotics. The conversion of planktonic (free-living) cells into the biofilm state is not completely understood and varies between bacterial species. The paradigm for studying biofilm formation within the laboratory is to grow bacteria on artificial surfaces at body temperature (37°C) and visually observe them using fluorescently labeled cells and confocal laser scanning microscopy. In the Goodman laboratory we are interested in a number of bacterial species that cause a variety of different diseases and whose pathogenic life style is often associated with the biofilm state. Specifically we are interested in the major human pathogens Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. These organisms are found within different niches of the body such as the oral cavity, the nasopharynx as well as the skin, and the urinary tract respectively. Because these bacteria are found at different sites within the body, the surface and temperature at which these bacteria are exposed can vary (i.e. the oral cavity is at 37°C, the nasopharynx is around 34°C, and the skin is around 30°C). To better understand the impact temperature and varying surfaces have on biofilm formation, we will test biofilm development using different biological surfaces (fixed bacterial and tissue culture cells) as well as varying temperatures. Bacterial biofilms will be measured using conventional stains and confocal microscopy. Our long term goals are to better understand biofilm formation and to discover new therapeutics that could potentially be used to treat bacterial infections and disease. In vitro competition assay of L. reuteri vs. common human pathogens. The probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri has shown a capacity to reduce established Citrobacter rodentium (a mouse enteric pathogen, very closely related to E. coli) biofilms in vitro. In vivo C. rodentium is used in place of E. coli due to the latter’s inability to effectively infect mice. However, the ultimate goal of studying L. reuteri is the optimization of its capacity to prevent and treat human infection, so this work will involve pitting L. reuteri against common human pathogens in vitro. While there has been ample work done showing L. reuteri can inhibit the growth of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes, this has largely relied on L. reuteri’s production of the antimicrobial compound reuterin, and not helping L. reuteri to thrive in the body. We hypothesize that L. reuteri grown in a biofilm state will increase its capacity to adhere and survive in the body, and thus increase its ability to inhibit pathogens. Along those lines, the biofilm state can be made more robust with the addition prebiofilmics; extracellular biofilm structural components that are limiting in the biofilm, such as DNA and DNA-binding proteins. In addition, we have synthesized biodegradable copolymer microspheres that can serve as a surface for biofilm growth and a vessel for prebiofilmics. Taken together, this novel approach will be tested against common human pathogens such as enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), and Salmonella enterica, and compared against the more traditional non-optimized approach.
Name: Vidu Garg, MD
Department: Pediatrics
Lab Manager: Darian Bauer
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of Research: Basic,Transitional
Email: vidu.garg@nationwidechildrens.org
Research Description: The Garg laboratory focuses on understanding the genetic basis of congenital heart disease and the molecular pathways regulating normal and abnormal cardiac development. Previously, we identified familial cases of congenital heart disease and used traditional linkage studies to discover novel genetic etiologies of human congenital cardiac malformations. We continue these efforts using cutting-edge technologies to identify genetic contributors to congenital heart disease. In addition, we are interesting in understanding how these mutations disrupt normal cardiac development and are generating mouse models to gain insight into the molecular basis of congenital heart disease. The medical student will be involved in analysis of sequencing datasets, mutation screening of congenital heart disease patients using standard Sanger sequencing, or functional analysis of identified variants. The student will be directly involved in the analysis of datasets, performing the sequencing, in vitro functional assays and data interpretation. The student will work under the mentorship of more senior members of the laboratory.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Heart Disease; Molecular Genetics; Pediatrics/Adolescence
Name: Mitchell Grayson
Department: Pediatrics
Email: Mitchell.Grayson@Nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty email
Category of research: Translational
Research Description: Allergies are a major health burden and the number of people afflicted is increasing rapidly in the westernized world. It is not known why these diseases are increasing, but it has been documented that severe viral infections early in life greatly increase a child's risk of developing asthma and allergies. To understand the mechanisms behind how a viral infection can lead to allergic disease, we have been using a mouse model where the mice develop allergies and asthma after a single respiratory infection with a mouse-specific virus.
Our studies are focused on trying to understand the specific cells and mediators that are involved in this response, and seeing how they translate the viral infection into allergic diseases. Additional work has begun to determine whether the pathways identified in mice are also operative in humans. Our data suggest that our model is indeed relevant to human disease.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Immunology, Lung Disease, Other Basic and Applied Research in Inflammation, Infection & Immunology
Name: Judith Groner, M.D.
Email: judy.groner@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Research Description: Links between secondhand smoke (SHS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death in adults are well established, but few studies have investigated the relationship between SHS exposure and cardiovascular status in children. Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Vascular Endothelial Stress in Toddlers. Funded by the American Academy of Pediatrics Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence.
Name: John Gunn
Email: John.Gunn@NationwideChildrens.org
Department: Nationwide Children's and Pediatric
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: No (never applied)
Category of research: Basic
Research Description: Dr. Gunn’s laboratory studies Salmonella and Francisella pathogenesis. The research is particularly focused on regulatory systems that control virulence, modifications of the bacterial cell surface, survival within host phagocytic cells and the implications of this on pathogenesis and immune system recognition.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Microbial Pathogenesis; Infectious Disease
Name: Scott Hickey
Email: scott.hickey@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Genetics, NCH
Category of research: Clinical
Research Description: Retrospective Chart Review of all the Patients seen in the Genetics Clinic for EDS 3 over the Past 3 years and Review of Their Echocardiogram Findings, Including both Baseline and Follow-up Echocardiograms. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hypermobile type (EDS 3), is a commonly encountered condition in pediatric and adult Orthopedics, Sports Medicine, Rheumatology, and Genetics clinics. Patients frequently present with musculoskeletal pain and/or recurrent injuries due to joint hypermobility. The diagnosis is made clinically based on relatively subjective clinical criteria. As many of the other connective tissue disorders have significant cardiac sequelae and as there is no way to objectively confirm the diagnosis, many clinicians routinely order a baseline echocardiogram, in the evaluation of a patient with presumed EDS 3. There are only a handful of reports in the medical literature to help clinicians decide what degree of cardiac monitoring is prudent, and many of them are contradictory. It has been the anecdotal experience of our division that echocardiogram is nearly always normal or has findings that are not clinically actionable, which is in contrast to some reports in the medical literature. This research project is a retrospective chart review of all the patients seen in the Genetics clinic for EDS 3 over the past 3 years and review of their echocardiogram findings, including both baseline and follow-up echocardiograms. The student’s role will be to perform the chart review and record patient data. Because of the subjectivity of the diagnosis, other data to be collected will include: patient age and ethnicity, Beighton score, dermatologic examination, genetic testing, etc. The student will also need to perform a thorough literature search – both on cardiac sequelae in the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes as well as any relevant information on the range of “abnormal” echocardiographic findings in asymptomatic children/adults. It is anticipated that the results of this study will be presented in a poster presentation at the American College of Medical Genetics national meeting with a subsequent publication in a medical journal.
Name: Julie Leonard MD, MPH
Email: julie.leonard@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Director of Clinical Research for the Center for Injury Research and Policy
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Phone: 614-355-5860
Perferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager/Dept Contact email
Research Description: Cervical spine injury, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, prehospital medicine, trauma transport, damage control resuscitation
Name: Kim McBride
Email: kim.mcbride@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Center for Molecular and Human Genetics
Previous Mentoring: Yes
Category of research: Clinical
Research Description 1: As heart defects affecting the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT; bicuspid aortic valve, aortic stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, Shone complex, hypoplastic left heart syndrome) have an increased recurrence risk amongst first degree relatives, it is accepted that they have a genetic cause. Due to the advances in surgical and medical management, children with congenital heart disease are now becoming teenagers and young adults and therefore are themselves having children. Whether these individuals understand the genetic basis of their heart defect and the implications for their children has not been investigated. Therefore we propose to develop a survey to assess these patients’ beliefs surrounding the cause of their heart defect and the risk to their offspring in addition to assessing their genetic knowledge. Two populations of teenagers and young adults will then be surveyed; those participating in a research study entitled “Genetics of Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Malformations” which seeks to determine the genes that cause LVOT defects and those who receive care at Nationwide Children’s Hospital but are not participating in a genetic research study. We will then determine whether their beliefs differ based on the severity of their heart defect, whether they are enrolled in a genetic research study, their age and/or their knowledge of genetics.
Research Description 2: This project is designed to introduce the student to translational (clinic to bench and back to clinic) genetic research. It will provide an opportunity to recruit patients from clinic, collect samples, work with those samples at the bench using cutting edge technology (liquid handling robots, DNA sequencers), and then analyze the results. The student will also be introduced to bioinformatics by: 1) using the latest information from the Human Genome International Haplotype Mapping Project to help design the genotyping experiments; 2) tracking patient information and results in a computer database; and 3) analyzing the data on state of the art computing equipment and software packages. The student will participate in ongoing research on the genetic basis of a group of congenital heart defects called left ventricular outflow tract malformations. This includes congenital aortic valve stenosis, bicuspid aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta, and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. A large set of samples is available for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) present in candidate genes, to search for associations between those SNPs and the malformations, and sequencing genes for mutations. The student will spend some time with a research coordinator, recruiting additional patients from the hospital and clinic settings, and will be able to attend the Cardiovascular Genetics Clinic with the investigator. A variety of techniques will be taught, including some simple cell culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), genotyping by Taqman and SNPlex assays, and DNA sequencing (including next-gen sequencing platforms). Computing experience will include use of Microsoft Access for database work, and also statistical analysis on a PC or Linux operating system. It is expected that work in this project will become part of a research manuscript, so there will also be an opportunity to participate in the publication process. No previous lab experience is required, and the student will only need basic Microsoft Office familiarity for computing skills.
Name: Nichole Michaels
Email: nichole.michaels@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Nationwide Children's Hospital and Pediatrics
Preferred Method of Contact: Email
Category of Research: Translational
Research Description 1: Epidemiological studies related to pediatric injuries, especially child maltreatment, and substance misuse.
Research Description 2: Community-based research to evaluate drug court and family dependency treatment court interventions as well as social and environmental influences on child maltreatment.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Community Research, Pediatrics/Adolescence, Public Health Research
Name: Prajwal Rajappa
Email: prajwal.rajappa@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Nationwide Children's Hospital and Pediatrics
Research Description: Dr. Rajappa is a physician-scientist who trained at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with a focus on precision medicine and immunotherapy for adult and pediatric brain tumors. The Rajappa Translational Neuro-Oncology Lab is dedicated to understanding the role of the immune-microenvironment in brain tumor progression. Our aim is to rapidly translate research discoveries into effective treatment options for patients afflicted with Central Nervous System (CNS) tumors. Specifically, our laboratory is studying the mechanisms that potentiate low to high grade glioma progression. We use transgenic brain tumor mouse models that recapitulate low to high grade glioma progression and translate our findings with peripheral blood and tumor specimens from patients with CNS tumors. These models also serve as a platform to explore the contribution of the tumor microenvironment and myeloid cell heterogeneity in low grade glioma progression and also test novel therapeutic agents aimed at impairing malignant transformation. Currently, our team is using a multi-disciplinary approach that leverages single cell sequencing and NGS with world renown investigators such as Drs. Elaine Mardis and Richard Wilson at the Institute for Genomic Medicine(IGM). This targeted approach will further enhance our ability to investigate the dynamic nature of the immune microenvironment and explore personalized medicine approaches for gliomas and other CNS tumors.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Cancer therapy, Neuroscience, Other Cancer Biology & Clinical Cancer Research
Name: William Ray
Email: ray.29@osu.edu
Research Description 1: Muscular Dystrophy is a devastating degenerative disease that causes progressive weakening of the muscles, and eventually death. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is due to mutations in the dystrophin gene leading to a loss of dystrophin protein expression in skeletal and cardiac muscles. Dystrophin is a large (427 kDa) intracellular protein that sits under the membrane of muscle cells. One end of the protein binds to the actin cytoskeletal network while the other end binds to a large protein complex that spans the plasma membrane and interacts with the extracellular matrix. Loss of dystrophin destabilizes this entire protein complex and renders muscle cells fragile and more prone to die in response to repeated cycles of contraction. The outcome is loss of ambulation by 12 years of age and death from respiratory and cardiac failure around 19 years of age. There are no effective treatments for DMD. However, gene therapy approaches using adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors have proven clinically safe and effective at delivering a partially functional miniaturized version of dystrophin protein (μ-D) to affected muscles. Miniaturization of dystrophin is unavoidable, because AAV vectors can only carry small genes. μ-D corrects most, but not all, skeletal and cardiac muscle disease parameters in dystrophic mdx mice, a mouse model of DMD. The reasons why μ-D cannot fully compensate for dystrophin are not fully understood, but it is likely to be limitations in μ-D’s ability to stably recruit the other members of the Dystrophin Associated Protein Complex that cause this loss of functionality. Our group is working on identifying the pieces of dystrophin that are required for internal stabilization of dystrophin, and external stabilization of the dystrophin associated protein complex. Wet-lab approaches for identifying these internal and external interaction domains are laborious, expensive and time consuming, and even with decades invested in the search, have not resulted in a complete definition of the “social network” between the members of this protein complex. Instead of bench methods, our group uses computational methods to analyze patterns of conserved evolution to infer stabilizing and interacting motifs in proteins. We have had considerable success with this approach for other proteins, and now in collaboration with the Montanaro lab (Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Gene Therapy), we are turning our computational approach to the study of dystrophin and its partners. We are seeking a summer student interested in assisting with this cutting-edge research. Responsibilities would include, but not be limited to, assisting in acquiring and analyzing the sequences and protein families for the proteins involved in the dystrophin associated complex, pursuing literature connections associated with new findings, and potentially assisting the Montanaro lab in developing cell-line constructs to test new discoveries. The ideal candidate would possess simple computer programming skills, but we are happy to teach students who are enthusiastic learners.
Research Description 2: Muscular Dystrophy is a devastating degenerative disease that causes progressive weakening of the muscles, and eventually death. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is due to mutations in the dystrophin gene leading to a loss of dystrophin protein expression in skeletal and cardiac muscles. Dystrophin is a large (427 kDa) intracellular protein that sits under the membrane of muscle cells. One end of the protein binds to the actin cytoskeletal network while the other end binds to a large protein complex that spans the plasma membrane and interacts with the extracellular matrix. Loss of dystrophin destabilizes this entire protein complex and renders muscle cells fragile and more prone to die in response to repeated cycles of contraction. The outcome is loss of ambulation by 12 years of age and death from respiratory and cardiac failure around 19 years of age. There are novel treatments being developed for Muscular Dystrophy, however, the only assessment that exists for determining whether a new therapy is working, is a walking test. Unfortunately, MD patients that are nearest death and most desperately in need of therapies that might improve their condition, have already lost the ability to walk. This disqualifies them from participation in the clinical trials of these new treatments. Our group is working on developing a novel game-based non-ambulatory assessment for muscle fatigue. By gamifying a fatiguing task that involves only the hands and arms, and developing a sensor network that can measure how a player’s performance changes while they play, we can provide a critically needed assessment that will significantly broaden the pool of patients that can participate in clinical trials of promising new MD therapeutics. We are seeking a summer student interested in assisting with developing our assessment prototype. Responsibilities would include, but not be limited to, conducting control and subject tests using the prototype, analyzing data and developing new analyses for the novel fatigue data our prototype will collect, and assisting in developing improvements to the prototype. The ideal candidate would possess simple computer programming skills, but we are happy to teach students who are enthusiastic learners.
Research Description 3: Burns, especially pediatric burns, are a devastating health problem that will never be completely eradicated. Burn victims’ lives are permanently altered, as they face lifelong consequences that range from pain, though disfigurement or death. The care that a burn victim receives, from the moment of their injury, has a powerful impact on the future severity of these life-changing impacts. Unfortunately, one of the most starkly straightforward questions about a burn - “how big is this burn, and how much of their body does it cover” - is becoming harder to answer every day. As pediatric populations diverge in size and shape from the “average” child on which canonical estimating formulae were built, the historical approaches for answering this question, which were never very precise to begin with, deviate further and further from reality. These deviations critically affect patient care, starting with fluid rescussitation estimations by first responders, all the way to surgeons performing skin grafts in specialist burn clinics. Errors in these estimations - which regularly reach as much as an order of magnitude over, or under the true areas - lead to severe treatment complications such as impaired circulation resulting in amputations, extended durations of hospital stays, repeated surgeries, and waste of precious graft tissue. Today, the area of a burn, and the total body surface area of a victim, are primarily estimated using the eponymous Lund and Browder charts, conceived in 1944 as a way to improve the estimation of burn areas for victims of different ages. Lund and Browder recognized that the average child was shaped differently than the average adult, and that burn care could be improved by creating more accurate estimation tools for children. Since then, several attempts have been made to improve upon the Lund and Browder charts, by incorporating finer granularity in the estimates, and small improvements in estimations have resulted. All of these attempts however, fail to acknowledge that few individual children today, are the size and shape of the average child - especially the average child of 1944. As today’s pediatric population becomes more obese, the “outliers” where these approaches produce life-threateningly erroneous results, are becoming the norm, rather than the exception. Our group is developing a sensor-based prototype device that directly measures a burn victim’s body area, and the portion of the body burned. We are seeking a summer student interested in assisting with prototype testing and development, and development of the underlying data models required to accurately represent an individual person’s body. Responsibilities would include, but not be limited to, prototype testing, analyzing MRI and CT data to create gold-standard data sets for comparison, and assisting with studies of the current state-of-the-art methods to accurately quantify the baseline against which our tool will be compared. The ideal candidate would possess simple computer programming skills, but we are happy to teach students who are enthusiastic learners.
Name: Gary Smith
Email: gary.smith@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Director, Center for Injury Research and Policy, NCH
Previous Mentoring: Yes, funded.
Category of research: Clinical, translational
Research Description: Medical students have the opportunity to engage in original epidemiologic research on pediatric injuries in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Injury is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity to children and adults for 1-44 years of age in the United States. Students analyze data from large national injury databases, such as the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) and the National Poison Data System (NPDS) databases. The NEISS is arguably the premiere surveillance system of non-fatal injuries in the world. Our Injury Research Center is one of only eight children's hospitals participating in the NEISS, and we have published more studies using this database that anyone outside of the US government. With assistance from Dr. Gary Smith, founder and Director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy, the student will choose an injury topic of interest (Dr. Smith has a list of nationally-important and exciting injury research topics to choose from if the student does not already have his/her own topic), conduct a literature review, frame an appropriate research hypothesis/objective, conduct data analysis, and write a manuscript as first author for submission to a peer-reviewed academic medical journal. More than 80 students have completed at least one study and written a manuscript(s) during the two-month research period. During these research months, students will increase their understanding of research and statistical methods, manuscript preparation, and scientific approaches to injury prevention through individualized mentoring and student seminars. Past students have published in Pediatrics, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Journal of the American Public Health Association, Injury Prevention, Journal of Preventive Medicine, and other prestigious journals. They have presented their research findings at national scientific meetings; and have had their research receive national awards and media coverage, including the New York Times, USA Today, Time Magazine, US News and World Report, Good Morning America, and the Today Show. Their research has also influenced public policy changes at local to national levels. Dr. Smith has worked with more than 50 medical students on research projects during the past >20 years. He also may be able to provide summer research funding support for students if their research application to the OSU Medical Student Research Scholarship Program is not successful.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Injury Research, pediatrics
Name: John Spencer
Email: john.spencer@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Nationwide Children's Hospital and Pediatrics
Lab Manager/Dept Contact: Jamie Mollett
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email: jamie.mollett@nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (not funded)
Category of research: Translational
Research Description: Our research team is interested in evaluating the role of the innate immune response in preventing urinary tract infection (UTI) and pyelonephritis. Specifically, we are interested in evaluating the biological relevance of antimicrobial peptides, an essential component of the innate immune response. Our research is translational in that we deal with mouse models, human cell cultures, and human biological specimens. We have several ongoing projects that utilize mouse UTI models as well as IRB approved clinical studies.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Endocrine Disorders; Kidney Disease; Research to improve Women's Health
Name: Rajan Thakkar
Email: rajan.thakkar@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Surgery
Lab Manager/Dept Contact: Racheal Devine
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email: racheal.devine@nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of research: Translational
Research Description: The immune response has been evaluated in many areas of critical illness including trauma and sepsis, however little is known regarding pediatric burn injury. The primary objective of our lab is to evaluate the immune response to pediatric burn injury using translational research methods involving whole blood and burn wound tissue. Students will gain hands on wet lab experience using patient samples to evaluate immune function with the use of flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Opportunities also exist for clinical research with respect to pediatric trauma and burn injury. Students will work within the center for pediatric trauma research to conduct studies using national as well as institutional trauma and burn databases. The student will have the opportunity to formulate a clinical question, conduct a literature review, frame a hypothesis, conduct data analysis, and submit their work for a national presentation with a goal of submitting a manuscript.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Immunology; Trauma; Other: Pediatric Trauma and Burn Injury
Name: Joseph Tobias
Email: joseph.tobias@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Anesthesiology
Lab Manager/Dept Contact: Dmitry Tumin
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email: dmitry.tumin@nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email/Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of Research: Clinical
Research Description: The Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at Nationwide Children's Hospital seeks medical students interested in observational clinical studies, retrospective record review, multi-institutional clinical registries, and health services research. Areas of emphasis in current research include clinical monitoring, use of novel pharmacological agents, outcomes of ambulatory and inpatient surgery, tools for risk stratification, managment of acute and chronic post-surgical pain, and risk adjustment in pediatric surgery. Recent projects including medical students have addressed the volume-outcomes relationship in pediatric heart transplantation, the role of enteral nutrition initiation in outcomes of ECMO support, the safety of general anesthesia for diagnostic radiological imaging, and chilren's use of health care services according to presence of chronic pain. Flexible opportunities are available for participation in summer research projects, including data collection, data analysis, literature review, and manuscript development. We strongly encourage students to lead orsignificantly contribute to manuscript writing and submission. Ove the past 7 years, all students working with the department have had the opportunity to be included on authorship of at least on publication. Students will work under the supervision of the department research team and the faculty involved on the specific project.
Lab website: http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/anesthesiology
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Anesthesia/Surgery; Pediatrics/Adolescence; Public Health Research
Name: Jennifer Trittmann, MD, MPH
Department: Center for Perinatal Research, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital
Email: jennifer.trittmann@nationwidechildrens.org
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty email
Category of research: Translational/Basic Science
Research Description: As a neonatologist, I am very interested in the complications of preterm birth and the most common complication is bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is a chronic lung disease that affects these former preterm infants well into adulthood. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) contributes to a significant increase in morbidity and mortality in BPD patients. BPD-PH is characterized by progressive vascular endothelial dysfunction and smooth muscle cell proliferation. Currently, there are no available predictive biomarkers or curative therapies for BPD-PH. Our lab aims to develop farnesoid X receptor (FXR) ligand-mediated endothelial cell- dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase-1 (DDAH1) activation as a novel therapeutic approach that specifically targets pulmonary vascular remodeling to effectively prevent and/or treat newborns with PH in BPD. In the lab we identify 1) mechanisms of DDAH1 in the pathophysiology of pulmonary vascular remodeling and 2) effectiveness of pharmacologic upregulation of DDAH1 expression to prevent/treat BPD-PH in an animal model to inform future clinical trials. Concurrently, we continue translational studies in the development of urine ADMA as a clinical BPD-PH biomarker to safely monitor disease progression and response to therapy in the neonatal intensive care unit. Our long-term goal is to develop DDAH1 activation as a novel therapeutic approach that specifically targets pulmonary vascular remodeling to effectively prevent and/or treat newborns with PH in BPD.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Pulmonary Vascular Biology, Lung Disease, Molecular Genetics, Neonatology/Pediatrics
Name: Chack-Yung Yu
Email: chach-yung.yu@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Center for Molecular and Human Genetics
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Phone: 614-722-2821
Perferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager/Dept Contact email
Research Description: The theme of Dr. Yu's research projects is centered on the molecular biology and genetics of immune effector proteins in human autoimmune and immune-mediated diseases.
Name: Rama Jayanthi, MD and Daryl McLeod, MD
Email: Rama.jayanthi@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Research Description: The section of Pediatric Urology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital cares for children with a wide spectrum of disease processes. Many of the children that we are asked to evaluate are referred for abnormalities identified on prenatal ultrasound screening. With the increased frequency of prenatal imaging in the general population, many more children are now being identified with urologic abnormalities. Although many of the children identified based on prenatal screening will go in to require intervention, a large percentage of these children will resolve spontaneously. In some of these cases children may be subjected to unnecessary invasive testing before a benign process is diagnosed. It is also not uncommon to see patients with significant urologic findings that were noted to have normal prenatal imaging. In these cases it is possible that the imperfect sensitivity of the sonogram lead to the missed diagnosis, the abnormality only became apparent after birth, or that the timing of the prenatal screening occurred too early in the pregnancy to identify it. With the aforementioned questions in mind, it would be interesting to investigate the following: Create a database of children diagnosed with urologic abnormalities on prenatal imaging with assistance from radiologic records, Characterize the spontaneous resolution rate of specific urologic abnormalities (hydronephrosis, hydroureteronephrosis), Investigate the incidence of urologic abnormalities identified within the first 2 years of life that would have been expected to be identified on screening prenatal sonogram, Attempt to determine factors associated with missed diagnosis on prenatal imaging (timing of study).
Name: Bryce Kerlin
Department: Pediatrics
Email: Bryce.Kerlin@nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Email: Amanda Waller
Lab Manager/Dept Contact: Amanda.Waller@nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Phone: 614-355-2731
Preferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager/Dept Contact email
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty email
Category of research: Translational
Research Description: Dr. Kerlin's research program uniquely intersects the fields of Hematology, Nephrology, and Pediatrics. Current ongoing research projects has 3 main focus areas:
- Developing an improved diagnostic assay to directly measure the activity of coagulation factor XIII, the only coagulation enzyme that is a transglutaminase, instead of a serine protease (all other coagulation enzymes).
- Determining the mechanisms underlying the hypercoagulopathy associated with glomerular disease and how the coagulation system interacts with glomerular cells to drive glomerular disease progression.
- Defining the epidemiology of pediatric venous thromboembolic disease to better target prevention strategies to the most vulnerable patient populations.
Opportunities/Objectives
- We are looking for a motivated student who will take on and be responsible for driving their own pre-determined research project within the context of the laboratory team, and will receive guidance, mentoring, supplies, and whatever else is needed to conduct the research effectively.
- If the experiments are successful and the student is so inclined, they will be welcomed and encouraged to continue working on downstream aspects of the research, including working on at least on manuscript for submission to the scientificliterature, and gaining presentation/publication experience via abstract submission and/or poster presentation.
- The student will join a dynamic basic science laboratory currently conducting both clinical and translational biomedical research, and thus will have the opportunity to observe, learn about, and receive bench training in a diverse research environment.
- The sturdent will gain experience from interactions with scientific mentors in Hematology, nephrology, Pediatrics, and Comparative Physiology, with whom the student may opt to review clonical and/or research career development.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Kidney Disease, Other Molecular Biology, Genetics, & Therapeutics, Other: Hematology
Name: Sam King
Email: Samantha.king@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of Research: Basic, Transitional
Research Description 1: A critical step in pathogenesis of most bacteria is adherence to host cells. We have identified a new mechanism of adherence for Streptococcus pneumoniae. We are seeking a medical student to help us whether this mechanism is part of a novel class of adhesins. This project is designed to be completed within an 8 week period. It is a discrete project within a larger body of work to investigate the pneumococcal adherence. Although research experience is a plus, we have taught other students from scratch with success. We are looking for is a motivated, hard-working person looking for a fun and rewarding research experience. We believe in teaching all aspects of science including science writing, practical skills, data analysis, ability to think critically about your work, ability to critically evaluate literature and presentation skills. These skills will be useful in your medical career. The student will be responsible for all aspects of this project under my direct supervision. We have had six medical students in the laboratory. All of whom received funding for their projects and five of which are already authors on published papers. Please contact me to discuss more details of the project.
Research Description 2: We have exciting preliminary data identifying a shared component of pneumococcal carbohydrate transporters as critical for normal biofilm formation. Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality world-wide and biofilms are important for survival of this organisms in many body sites. This project seeks to identify the specific carbohydrate transporter required for normal biofilm formation. This project is designed to be completed within an 8 week period. It is a discrete project within a larger body of work to investigate the mechanisms of pneumococcal biofilms in collaboration with Dr's Hall-Stoodley and Partida-Sanchez. The eventual goal is to target pneumococcal disease by reducing the ability of the organism to form a biofilm by developing a therapeutic to be used in conjunction with antibiotics.
Although research experience is a plus, we have taught other students from scratch with success. We are looking for is a motivated, hard-working person looking for a fun and rewarding research experience. We believe in teaching all aspects of science including science writing, practical skills, data analysis, ability to think critically about your work, ability to critically evaluate literature and presentation skills. These skills will be useful in your medical career. The student will be responsible for all aspects of this project under my direct supervision. We have had six medical students in the laboratory. All of whom received funding for their projects and five of which are already authors on published papers. Please contact me to discuss more details of the project.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Infectious Disease; Microbial Pathogenesis
Name: Benjamin Kopp
Email: benjamin.kopp@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of research: Translational
Research Description: The Kopp laboratory focuses on host-pathogen interactions that impact chronic respiratory diseases such as cystic fibrosis (CF) and lung disease related to sickle cell. The two main areas of this research include macrophage signaling and autophagy and their role in controlling infection, as well as biomarkers/pathways of early inflammatory airway disease. The Kopp Lab is in the process of developing novel therapeutics and targets to allow for improved bacterial killing and regulation of hyper-inflammatory signaling.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Immunology & Lung Disease
Name: James MacDonald
Email: james.macdonald@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Name of Lab Manager/Assistant/Department Contact: Leslie McCann
Lab Manager/Assistant/Department Email: leslie.mccann@nationwidechildrens.org
Lab Manager/Assistant/Department Phone: 614-355-6014
Preferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager/Department Contact Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of research: Clinical
I am involved in several lines of research:
Research Description 1: Pediatric sports-related concussions. I have done reaction time testing over the last four summers. My current research interests in this area have evolved to focus on a test known as the "King-Devick" test. This is a test of visual processing that is affected by concussions.
Research Description 2: Back pain in young athletes. Back pain is a surprisingly common finding in young active individuals. I am involved in two lines of research: 1) looking at back outcomes in young dancers and 2) looking at back outcomes in young athletes with a condition known as spondylolysis
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Musculoskeletal Disorders; Neurologic Disorders; Other: Sports Medicine
Name: John Mahan
Email: john.mahan@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Name of Lab Manager/Assistant/Department Contact: Kim Williams
Lab Manager/Assistant/Department Email: kim.williams@nationwidechildres.org
Lab Manager/Assistant/Department Phone: 614.722.4411
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email; Lab Manager/Dept Contact email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
A variety of medical education research projects involving pediatric resident education are available, including:
Research Description 1: Assessment of factors related to resident burnout and resilience;
Research Description 2: Innovation resident curricula in communication, research, ethics and advocacy skillsp>
Research Description 3: Innovation programs in community office education and elementary student education. Pediatric education collaborators includes Suzanne Reed MD, Rebecca Wallihan MD, Alex Rakowsky MD; and Claire Stewart MD MEd. Projects involve addressing hypothese involved in difining evidence for best educational methods. Already existing datasets are available for study an development of new educational tools and methods are also underway and study opportunities are available in these areas.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Medical Education; Other Biomedical Informatics/ Health care Ed., Delivery, Organization/Research Ethics; Pediatrics/ Adolescence
Name: Irene Mikhail, M.D.
Email: Irene.mikhail@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Preferred Method of Contact: Faculty Email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of Research: Clinical
Research Description 1: Current estimates suggest that 6-8% of children suffer from a food allergy. The only current treatment for food allergy is strict avoidance of the offending food and carrying injectable epinephrine. Despite these measures, many children continue to ingest foods to which they have an allergy. Often, epinephrine is not available or is not used appropriately when these accidental ingestions occur, putting children at risk for having a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction. It is imperative we understand the barriers to complying with avoidance diets and epinephrine use. NCH houses a very busy Emergency Department(ED). The ED offers a unique opportunity to study allergic reactions as families often present to the ED when a reaction occurs. The goal of this study is to describe the details of allergic reactions that present to the ED in order to understand risk factors for allergic reactions and begin to design effective interventions. The project will include a description of all the “accidental exposures” that present to the ED. An accidental exposure is defined as an allergic reaction in a person who knows they have an allergy. The study will be a retrospective chart review of all ED visits for anaphylaxis, food allergy, allergic reactions, urticaria and angioedema in children with a previous diagnosis of food allergy. The reviewer will determine if a food allergic reaction was probable, possible or unlikely based on the history. For probable food allergies, the reviewer will extract clinical data to characterize the ingestion, reaction, clinical history and treatment. Description will include where the accidental exposure occurred (school, home, restaurant, other), what led to the accidental exposure (cross-contamination, lack of information, mistake, etc.), how was the reaction treated (did family have epinephrine available, did they use it, etc.). A description of accidental exposures will help us to determine where to focus education. This will set the groundwork for determining what intervention would be most useful to minimizing accidental exposures and increasing treatment with epinephrine. I plan to submit the IRB for this project in the Fall of 2013 so chart review can begin during the summer. The summer student would be primarily responsible for the chart review. The data can then be described and prepared as an abstract to present to the AAAAI and/or a manuscript.
Research Description 2: Food allergies are a growing public health concern effecting 6-8% of the pediatric population. I would like to perform a retrospective chart reviews of children who receive primary care at a Nationwide Children's Hospital (NCH) pediatric clinic who have a history of food allergy to see how food allergies are diagnosed and treated from the primary care setting and compare to children who receive care for their food allergies in the allergy clinic.
Research Description 3: An oral food challenge is the most definitive test for evaluation of food allergy. However, there is risk of an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis with an oral food challenge. As such, there is great emphasis on selecting the appropriate candidates for the OFC. This study will aim to interview patients as they are undergoing OFC to determine their perceptions on a failed and a passed challenge in an effort to see if we should revise our current guidelines on when to perform an OFC. The study will likely involve direct patient interaction with interviews, as well as analyzing survey results.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Immunology; Pediatrics/Adolescence; Food Allergy; Nutrition/Obesity; Psychological Disorders
Name: Vidya Sivaraman
Email: vidya.sivaraman@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Department Contact: Tyler Ehlers, tyler.ehlers@nationwidechildrens.org, 614-722-5525
Previous Mentoring: Yes, not funded.
Category of research: Clinical
Research Description: My major focus is improving the care and long term outcome of chidlren with lupus and quality improvement in children with rheumatic diseases. We are investigating ways to prevent serious infections in immunosuppressed patients and parent knowledge regarding vaccination in their children. Further, we are measuring response to vaccination in these children after specific vaccines such as the pneumococccal vaccine. Other active projects are focused on improving screening for retinal toxicity in patients on hydroxychloroquine and mental screening in children with lupus. Another research focus is the study of pediatric scleroderma, optimal treatment, biomarkers and impact on quality of life.
Specific areas of Research Emphasis: Infectious Disease, Pediatrics/Adolescence, Public Health Research
Name: Ruoning Wang , Ph.D
Email: ruoning.wang@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Research Description: In an era of moving from molecular to "modular/or system" biology, our research has been focusing on one of the most essential cellular modules/or one of the most complex systems, metabolic network. The cell metabolism can be considered as a process of how “cell” process its food/nutrients. On the other hand, the signaling pathway in cell is a process control the response of cell to the changes of outside environment or inside damages/stresses. Both processes are critical for the function of cell (cell fate), the abnormality of which will lead to diseases (our fate). The two best examples showing that the fate change of one single cell will result in the fate change of ourselves are: one uncontrolled cancer cell will grow into tumor and one uncontrolled lymphocyte (cells require for defending ourselves to various damages/challenges) will expand and attack ourselves (inflammatory and autoimmune diseases). The overall goal of our research is to understand the control of metabolism and signaling, and the impact of such control on cellular fate, and consequentially our fate in the case of cancer or immunological diseases. For this summer program, I propose to "hunt sweet teeth and starve cancer to death". This is based on the idea that the genetic aberrations in cancer render cancer cell addicted to some nutrients in a way that normal cells are not. We are particularly interested in pediatric malignancies, neuroblastoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. The role of the summer student in this project will be to 1) identify the deregulated metabolic program (sweet teeth) via bioinformatic approaches and biochemical approaches; 2) determine the response of cancer cells to metabolic starvation via metabolic modulation of in vitro cultured tumor cell lines. Given that our lab is a pure bench-work lab and will not be able to offer any clinical shadowing opportunities, students who are interested in basic science and have bioinformatic background or bench work experience (cell and molecular biology) are preferred.
Name: Henry Xiang, MD, MPH, PhD
Email: huiyun.xiang@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Director of Center for Pediatric Trauma Research
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Phone: 614-355-5893
Perferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager/Dept Contact email
Previous Mentoring: Yes (funded)
Category of Research: Translational
Research Description: Access to trauma care, regional truama care system evaluation, trauma care clinical guidlines development and evaluation, comparative patient-centered trauma outcome research, novel statistical approaches, pediatrictraumatic brain injury, injury and trauma in low- and middle- income countries.
Name: Ginger Yang, PhD
Email: ginger.yang@nationwidechildrens.org
Department: Pediatrics
Lab Manager/Dept Contact Phone: 614-355-5852
Preferred Method of Contact: Lab Manager/Dept Contact email
Research Description: Epidemiology of pediatric sport-related concussions and orthopedics injuries, sport-injuries and psychological outcomes, impacts of state TBI laws on sport-related concussions.