Matthew Barajas, MD, is a cardiothoracic anesthesiologist investigating post conditioning in a diabetic rat model of cardiac arrest. One such method of conditioning is ischemic post conditioning instituted through short pauses in compressions after the initiation of CPR. In addition, he continues to evaluate peripheral intravenous waveform analysis (PIVA) and its utility across several types of shock, including hemorrhage, respiratory arrest, and acute obstructive shock. He will remain on faculty as assistant professor as he transitions off the T32. Dr. Barajas looks forward to continuing his success under the mentorship of Matthias Riess, MD, PhD, and Susan Eagle, MD.
Stephanie DeMasi, MD, MS, is an emergency medicine physician focused on improving care of patients requiring time sensitive interventions in the Emergency Department and ICU. She is using pragmatic clinical trials with advanced regulatory constraints, such as waiver of informed consent or exception from informed consent processes, to conduct comparative effectiveness research. A current focus is the design and execution of the INtubation with Sedation only to Preserve Independent Respiratory Effort (INSPIRE) trial, a single center, pragmatic randomized controlled trial of sedation only vs. sedation with neuromuscular blockade to impact the incidence of hypoxemia, successful intubation on the first attempt, and awake immobility in critically ill adults undergoing emergency tracheal intubation. Dr. DeMasi is mentored by Wes Self, MD, Matthew Semler, MD, MSc, and Jon Casey, MD.
Brandon Farmer, MD, PhD, is a CA-1 resident in the Department of Anesthesiology. He is interested in how intracellular fatty acid accumulation in the brain impacts patient response to anesthesia. He was recently nominated for the FAER Resident Scholar Program, and he attended and presented at the 2023 ASA Annual Meeting. Dr. Farmer continues to build his mentorship team which includes BH Robbins leadership and Brad Grueter, PhD.
Gloria Han, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology. She is a clinical psychologist with primary interests in quantitative methods, co-occurring psychiatric and medical conditions in autism, and pediatric chronic pain. She is currently a research fellow supported by the Training in Perioperative Science Fellowship T32 grant and is preparing a K23 award examining the prevalence, assessment, and mechanisms underlying chronic pain in children with autism. Dr. Han's primary mentor is Stephen Bruehl, PhD.
Abby King, DO, MPH, is a PGY-1 resident in the Department of Anesthesiology interested in optimizing perioperative care in patients with chronic pain to improve pain-related outcomes and recovery. Her future work looks to examine clinical and psychosocial dimensions affecting pain control among opiate-tolerant individuals in the post-surgical period. Dr. King continues to expand her mentorship team with primary guidance under Stephen Bruehl, PhD.
Dan Larach, MD, MSTR, MA, is an assistant professor in the Department of Anesthesiology. A clinical anesthesiologist and pain physician, his research focuses on the assessment and optimization of risks related to perioperative opioid prescribing. He recently received a K23 award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study the abuse potential and analgesic efficacy of low-dose buccal buprenorphine in the laboratory and perioperative settings. He is interested in whether buprenorphine may be a potential alternative to traditional full mu-agonist opioid prescribing following surgery. Dr. Larach is mentored by Stephen Bruehl, PhD.
Hannah Lonsdale, MBChB, FRCA, is a pediatric anesthesiologist investigating the applications of machine learning in perioperative medicine. She is currently supported by the Training in Perioperative Science Fellowship T32 grant. She is interested in the implementation of modeling to predict length of stay and bed availability, facilitating timely surgery, and interventions to support discharge from hospital. She was recently awarded the Association of University Anesthesiologists Junior Faculty Perioperative Medicine Research Award. Dr. Lonsdale's primary mentor is Robert Freundlich, MD, MS.
Kaille Meguiar, DO, is a pediatric hematology/oncology fellow investigating psychosocial outcomes in adolescent and young adult patients in the survivorship realm. The initial results of her work will be presented at the annual American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) meeting. She is completing a Master of Public Health through Vanderbilt University. She is the current Lily's Garden Fellow through the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Meguiar is mentored by Deb Friedman, MD, MS, Adam Esbenshade, MD, MSCI, and Bruce Compas, PhD.
Kimberly Rengel, MD, is an assistant professor in the Division of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine interested in improving long-term recovery for patients after major surgery or critical illness and the role of skeletal muscle health in acquired disability. Her research program is focused on the use of ultrasound to examine skeletal muscle health throughout critical illness and its relationship to long-term acquired disability. Further, working with her mentors, she plans to translate this research into the perioperative space, identifying patients at risk for acquired disability and using interventions like prehabilitation to prevent physical decline after major surgery. She is supported by a Vanderbilt Faculty Research Scholar mentored research training grant and is completing the esteemed Master of Science in Clinical Investigation program over the next year. Dr. Rengel is mentored by Christopher Hughes, MD, and Pratik Pandharipande, MD, MSCI.
Matthew Zapf, MD, is an assistant professor in the Divisions of Multispecialty Anesthesiology and Informatics Research investigating machine learning approaches to clinical decision support. He is currently developing an algorithm to predict intraoperative transfusion to guide type and screen ordering. He is currently earning a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation through Vanderbilt University with the hope of using this knowledge to rigorously test the clinical application of machine learning based tools. Dr. Zapf is mentored by Robert Freundlich, MD, MS.
Three scholars completed the program June 2023: Drs. Rohini Chakravarthy, Eric Mace, and Amanda Stone. Congratulations to these Scholars for their ongoing success and commitment!
Rohini Chakravarthy, MD, is a pediatric hematology/oncology fellow investigating late health outcomes following pediatric stem cell transplantation. Her research focuses on using the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database to understand readmission rates and indications for readmission to the hospital following pediatric allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The initial results of her work have been presented at the annual American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) meeting. She recently completed a Master of Public Health through Vanderbilt University. She is the current Lily's Garden Fellow through the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. Dr. Chakravarthy is mentored by Deb Friedman, MD, MS, Carrie Kitko, MD, and Justin Godown, MD. She will be completing additional clinical and research training at the University of Colorado in Denver next year.
Eric Mace, MD, is a general surgery resident and T32 research fellow working in the PROTECT Laboratory. His research focuses on the effects of excess oxygen on vascular reactivity in murine ischemia and reperfusion injury, as well as potential treatments for these effects in perioperative and critically ill patients. His recent work was presented at the 2023 Shock Society Annual Conference. He recently published a primary research manuscript in Shock and a review on targeting soluble guanylate cyclase during ischemia and reperfusion in Cells. Dr. Mace is mentored by Josh Billings, MD, MSc, and Marcos Lopez, MD.
Amanda Stone, PhD, is an associate professor in the Division of Research and a clinical psychologist with primary interests in pediatric pain and intergenerational factors affecting children’s health outcomes. After completing the T32 training period, she received a K23 from NICHD to evaluate biopsychosocial predictors of opioid use for pediatric postsurgical pain. She has also received the Early Career Research Grant from the International Association for the Study of Pain to further her work on the intergenerational transmission of risk for chronic pain. She aims to optimize pediatric pain management and prevent adverse outcomes. Dr. Stone is mentored by Stephen Bruehl, PhD.