CURRENT TRAINEES
2025 Trainees
Katlyn McKay, MD
General Surgery Resident
Dr. McKay is a General Surgery resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and her MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. McKay plans to pursue a fellowship in Pediatric Surgery after completing her general surgery residency and hopes to improve the clinical outcomes of pediatric patients, specifically pediatric trauma patients. Her T32 research is focused on early identification of children in hemorrhagic shock and improving trauma resuscitation of injured children through trauma video review.
Meredith Monsour, MD
Senior Resident
Dr. Monsour is a senior resident in Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She received her MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Her research centers on neuro-oncology and the comprehensive impact of brain tumor diagnoses and treatments on pediatric patients’ health and wellbeing. Her current work explores the intersection of tumor biology and stress/adversity as it contributes to neuroinflammation and subsequent cognitive decline and associated patient-centered outcomes.
2024 Trainees
Carolina Gonçalves, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr. Gonçalves is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University. She received her PhD in Child Development from Tufts University and is an applied developmental psychologist. Her T32 research project focuses on how chronic stress contributes to conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and other stress-related diseases, and how these effects are transmitted across generations.
Erin Von Klein, MD
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellow
Dr. Von Klein is a third-year Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellow at Vanderbilt University, committed to pursuing a career in academic medicine focused on health-related social needs and neonatal outcomes following fellowship. She received her medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed her residency program at Northwestern. Dr. Von Klein is interested in exploring the long term economic, psychosocial, and physical health ramifications of having a preterm infant on the family unit.
Emily Moore, MD
Infectious Diseases Fellow
Dr. Moore is an Infectious Diseases fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She received her MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and completed Internal Medicine residency training at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA as a member of the Division of General Medicine's primary care track. Dr. Moore is interested in the use of implementation science as a rigorous way to provide excellent medical care to patients in a way that fits into the context of their lives, specifically people living with or at risk for HIV and viral hepatitis with comorbid substance use disorders. Her T32 research is focused on mapping the hepatitis C care continuum at a local office-based opioid treatment clinic in order to optimize hepatitis C treatment.
Youngmin Kwon, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Health Policy
Dr. Kwon is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Health Policy. He received his PhD in Health Services Research and Policy at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Kwon's research broadly seeks to optimize the delivery of cancer care within public insurance programs, including Medicaid and Medicare. His T32 research will incorporate analyses of cancer registries and large claims data to examine various care access and quality challenges that impact diagnosed with cancer throughout care continuum.
2023 Trainees
Christine Cleary Kimpel, PhD, RN, MA
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Nursing
Dr. Kimpel is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Vanderbilt University. She attended Kent State University, earning her BSN and MA in philosophy, focusing on healthcare ethics. Several end-of-life patient experiences as a burn and palliative care nurse motivated her to complete a Ph.D. in Nursing Science at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Her research centers on patient and caregiver autonomy. Her current work explores associations of resilience and childhood experiences with advance care planning among affordable housing residents to build tailored interventions and implementation strategies.
Joseph Starnes, MD, MPH
Pediatric Cardiology Fellow
Dr. Starnes is a Pediatric Cardiology Fellow at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He received his MD and MPH from the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He then completed residency in Pediatrics, including the global health training program, at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Dr. Starnes’s research focuses on the care of children with heart disease. His current research project aims to quantify the efficacy of pulse oximetry screening for critical congenital heart disease and create improved screening algorithms.
Nadia Syed, DO
Pediatric Hematology & Oncology Fellow
Dr. Syed is a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellow at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. She received her DO at A.T. Still Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her residency training at the University of Texas at Houston, then stayed an additional year to serve as Chief Resident. Dr. Syed's research is focused on pediatric oncology patients receiving cancer treatment in the setting of increasing financial cost with advancements in therapy. Her current research project will focus on better understanding how insurance status and financial toxicity impact outcomes for children with cancer in order to develop an evidence-based approach to improve cancer care in the pediatric population.
PROGRAM ALUMNI
2023 Trainees
Christine Cleary Kimpel, PhD, RN, MA - Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, College of Nursing
Joseph Starnes, MD, MPH - Advanced Cardiac Imaging Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nadia Syed, DO - Transfusion Medicine Fellow, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
2022 Trainees
Emily Morrow, PhD, CCC-SLP - Research Assistant Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Michael Cauley, PhD, DMin - Adjunct Assistant Professor of Biomedical Informatics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
2021 Trainees
Shelley Jazowski, PhD, MPH - Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Nadia Markie Sneed, PhD, MSN, FNP-BC - Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt School of Nursing
Kevin Gibas, MD, MPH - Assistant Professor of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Associate Medical Director for Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention
Thomas Strayer, PhD - Manager, Research Programs, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
2020 Trainees
Alison Carroll, MD, MPH - Assistant Professor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Shani Jones, MD - Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Miami
Jennifer Richmond, PhD, MSPH - Assistant Professor, Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
2019 Trainees
Wade Brown, MD - Assistant Professor of Medicine, Clinical Science College Master, Meharry Medical College
Sophia Kostelanetz, MD, MPH - Health Practice Innovation Lead, One Brooklyn Health
Lindsay Sternad, MD, MPH - Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Emory University
2018 Trainees
Beth Prusaczyk, PhD, MSW - Assistant Professor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Juan R. Canedo, PhD, DHSc, MA - Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky
Nicole Senft, PhD - Program Director in Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch of the Behavioral Research Program, National Cancer Institute
Maren Shipe, MD, MPH - Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Utah Primary Children's Hospital