Faculty Joining the Department of Medicine Between 6/1 ... · Faculty Joining the Department of Medicine Between 6/1/2015 ... The overriding theme linking all of his career activities

Faculty Joining the Department of Medicine Between 6/1/2015 & 12/31/2015

Assistant Professor

Hometown: Santa Clarita, CA

Previous Role/Title: Resident

Specialty: Internal Medicine

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Katelyn Atwater is interested in providing high quality primary care to her patients at the institution where she completed her training, Vanderbilt University. She also has interests in geriatrics and palliative care but has chosen to apply these interests through primary care practice. Outside of medicine, she enjoys jogging, swimming and being outdoors with her husband, Thomas, and her daughter, Iris. She looks forward to continuing to work with the great mentors/colleagues she has come to know at the One Hundred Oaks Internal Medicine Clinic.Katelyn Atwater, MD

Previous Institution: Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health

Education/Training: M.D. - University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Instructor

Hometown: Plano, TX

Previous Role/Title: Fellow

Specialty: Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Bachmann received an AB in Economics from Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2005 and her MD from the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio, Texas, in 2009. Her postgraduate medical training included residency in internal medicine from 2009-2012 at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, and fellowship in endocrinology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, Massachusetts, from 2012 to June of 2015. Dr. Bachmann has clinical expertise in osteoporosis, diabetes, and pituitary disorders and hopes to pursue a career in clinical investigation. Her clinical research interests include bone disease/fracture risk, obesity, insulin resistance, and metabolism. During residency, she studied predictors of fracture risk in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy. During her endocrinology fellowship at MGH, Dr. Bachmann has conducted clinical research on bone density, strength, and fracture risk across the BMI spectrum (in anorexia nervosa, lean, and obese populations) under the mentorship of Dr. Karen K. Miller and Dr. Anne Klibanski. In addition, Dr. Bachmann has held a leadership role in an ongoing clinical trial at the MGH Neuroendocrine Unit investigating potential therapies for impaired bone density and strength in anorexia nervosa.

Katherine Bachmann, MD

Previous Institution: Massachusetts General Hospital

Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism

Education/Training: M.D. - University of Texas Medical School

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Professor

Hometown: Scarsdale, NY

Previous Role/Title: Director, Section of Vascular Medicine

Specialty: Cardiovascular Medicine

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Joshua Beckman recently joined the Vanderbilt faculty in the Cardiovascular Division to found the Section of Vascular Medicine. The overriding theme linking all of his career activities is vascular function in health and disease. He is an active clinical practitioner, caring for patients in all settings and receiving referrals for a wide range of cardiovascular and vascular medicine consultation including coronary artery disease, vasculitis, venous thromboembolism, vasospastic disorders, non-coronary atherosclerosis, secondary hypertension, and related medical issues. In addition to these activities, in coordination with the Pre-Admission Test Center, he has organized a perioperative beta blocker program, increasing the use of these medications in high-risk patients from 50% to more than 90%. Nationally, his clinical contributions are focused in two areas: the writing of guideline documents and participation in clinical specialty organizations. The motivation behind each of these is to advance the care of patients with vascular disease through improvements in the education of physicians and the lay public. Dr. Beckman’s primary research focuses on the mechanisms by which diabetes mellitus impairs vascular function. Secondary investigations involve studying the effect on endothelial function of non-diabetes-related insulin resistance, androgen deprivation, and vascular function in venous bypass grafts. When not at work, his time is spent with family. He enjoys riding his road bike, listening to live music, and travel.

Joshua Beckman, MD

Previous Institution: Brigham and Women's Hospital

Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

Education/Training: M.D. - New York University

Research Assistant Professor

Hometown: Nashville, TN

Previous Role/Title: Research Assistant Professor, Medical Administration and Education

Specialty: Personlized Medicine; Translational Operations

Interests/Achievements:

Erica Bowton, PhD

Previous Institution: Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research

Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine

Education/Training: Ph.D. - Vanderbilt University

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Assistant Professor

Hometown: Topsfield, MA

Previous Role/Title: Staff Physician/Assistant Professor

Specialty: Medicine/Cardiology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Jonathan Brown is a cardiologist and basic scientist studying transcriptional mechanisms relevant to the pathogenesis of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and atherosclerosis. A central premise of his research involves a deeper understanding of the gene regulatory networks controlling disease pathogenesis to identify novel therapeutic targets to treat these prevalent and often fatal conditions. More specifically, Dr. Brown aims to study how chromatin regulators—as determinants of enhancer function and transcription—are involved in driving pathologic gene expression programs that alter vascular cell and adipose tissue function and result in cardiovascular disease and metabolic dysfunction. Because of his interest in the interplay among inflammation, metabolic disease, and atherogenesis, he is pursuing overlapping areas of investigation examining (1) how proinflammatory activation of vascular endothelium and macrophages drives enhancer remodeling and gene activation through the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) bromodomain proteins (BRD2, BRD3 and BRD4) and (2) how BET proteins control adipocyte plasticity and differentiation relevant for obesity and systemic metabolic diseases.

Jonathan Brown, MD

Previous Institution: Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School


Education/Training: M.D. - New York Medical College

Instructor

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Previous Role/Title: Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychology and Human Development

Specialty: Developing and evaluating interventional programs

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Steven Brunwasser's research program examines well-being in adolescents and young adults, particularly related to depression and responses to stress. He has a strong interest in risk and protective factors, stress and how young people respond to stress, and developing and evaluating intervention programs that promote mental health and well-being in young people. He has research and clinical expertise in adolescent and adult mood and anxiety disorders, cognitive-behavioral treatment and prevention, and positive psychology interventions. Dr. Brunwasser’s most current research is focused on the treatment and prevention of unipolar depression. In particular, his work aims to identify the contexts in which depression interventions are most (and least) effective and the mechanisms driving intervention effects. He is particularly interested in developing interventions to prevent perinatal depression among women who have experienced past depressive episodes.

Steven Brunwasser, PhD

Previous Institution: Peabody College of Vanderbilt University


Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Michigan

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Hometown: Temirtau, Kazakhstan

Previous Role/Title: Trainee, Affiliate Research Assistant Professor

Specialty: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Sergey Budko’s research interests involve the structural and functional organization of extracellular matrix (ECM), collagen models for normal and pathological processes, the biology and structure of rare collagen types, tissue/cell targeted therapy and diagnostics using collagen mimetics and combinatorial proteins, and ECM-based protein engineering of bioactive scaffolds. He is addressing fundamental questions in the mechanisms of collagen folding and has found structural evidence for the co-existence of two triple-helical geometries within the natural sequence of collagen. He is also working to develop unique tools to study structure, folding, and function of collagen. Dr. Budko is currently a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of Nephrology. Other interests include kids’ development, skiing, ice skating, gardening, and photography.

Sergey Budko, PhD

Previous Institution: Shriners Hospital for Children

Division of Nephrology and Hypertension

Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Basel, Switzerland

Instructor

Hometown: Erie, PA

Previous Role/Title: Advanced Fellow

Specialty: Hematologic Malignancies & Blood Marrow Transplant

Interests/Achievements: Clinically, Dr. Michael Byrne is interested in the care of patients with hematologic malignancies and the role of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in this population. Within this area, he has additional interest in the management of graft versus host disease and in relapsed/ refractory leukemia after allogeneic transplantation. At the University of California-San Francisco, he worked closely with Sequenta, now Adaptive Biotechnologies, to refine their immunosequencing technology and improve its sensitivity in the peripheral blood. He looks forward to continuing this collaboration at Vanderbilt in the search for ways to personalize and improve the care of these patients. During his fellowship and postdoctoral training, Dr. Byrne worked in a basic science laboratory studying the impact of protein kinase R (PKR) in high-grade myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia using cell lines, patient samples, and a murine model. He is interested in continuing these close, basic/translational sciencecollaborations at Vanderbilt.

Michael Byrne, DO

Previous Institution: University of California San Francisco

Division of Hematology Oncology

Education/Training: D.O. - Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine

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Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine

Hometown: Huntsville, AL

Previous Role/Title: House Officer, Resident

Specialty: Hospital Medicine

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Campbell recently joined the Vanderbilt faculty in the Section of Hospital Medicine. After growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, he graduated summa cum laude from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in history. He attended medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and graduated in 2012. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Michigan in 2015. His interests are hospital quality improvement and patient safety. He also has a strong interest in the history of medicine, particularly the history of medical technology, and his research as a medical student and resident focused on the history of the fiberoptic endoscope. When away from work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and their dog. He also enjoys listening to music and playing guitar and bass guitar.

Ian Campbell, MD

Previous Institution: University of Michigan


Education/Training: M.D. - University of Alabama School of Medicine

Assistant Professor

Hometown: Lima, Peru

Previous Role/Title: Instructor in Medicine

Specialty: Endocrinology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Carranza Leon's clinical interests involve inpatient and outpatient management of endocrinologic disorders with a primary focus on medical management of obesity and metabolic disorders. Her research interests include pharmacologic and non-phamarcologic weight loss therapies, behavioral interventions for weight loss, obesity in Hispanics, and Evidence-Based Medicine. In 2015 Dr. Carranza Leon received a Young Investigator Award from the Women in Endocrinology Society.

Barbara G Carranza Leon, MD

Previous Institution: Mayo Clinic


Education/Training: M.D. - Universidad Peruana Cayetano, Lima, Peru

Assistant in Medicine

Hometown: Lorton, VA

Previous Role/Title: Physician Assistant

Specialty:

Interests/Achievements: Carlie received her BA in biology from the University of California-Berkeley in 2004 and her Master of Physician Assistant Studies from Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. She is currently certified as a Physician Assistant through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Her general interests include crafting, traveling, and lacrosse.Carlie Hooff Casella, MPAS

Previous Institution: Allegheny Health Network

Division of Infectious Diseases

Education/Training: M.P.A.S. - Eastern Virginia Medical School

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Assistant Professor

Hometown: St. Paul, MN


Specialty: Dermatology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Rachel Champion is interested in general medical dermatology in adults and children, as well as resident education. She received her undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University and earned her MD at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Dr. Champion completed an internship in internal medicine and residency in dermatology at Vanderbilt. In her final year of residency, she served as Chief Resident of Dermatology and was awarded the Lloyd E. King, Jr. Excellence in Teaching Award.Rachel Champion, MD


Division of Dermatology

Education/Training: M.D. - University of Texas Medical School


Hometown: Jackson, MS

Previous Role/Title: Nurse Practitioner in Clinical Research

Specialty: GI Oncology

Interests/Achievements: Ms. Chestnut graduated from Covenant College with a BA in biology in 2008 and obtained her MSN from the Vanderbilt School of Nursing in 2010 with a focus in family care. After graduation, she worked for two years in a traditional family practice setting in the Nashville community. In that setting she saw a variety of patients from ages two to over one hundred. For the past two and a half years, she has enjoyed working in research in the Department of Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt. This has given her the unique opportunity to learn how new knowledge is generated and to understand how research is translated to patient care. Her research focus has been delirium in critically ill children and the effect of critical care on the developing brain as children transition back into the community. She considers it a privilege to have been a part of the ICU Delirium and Cognitive Impairment Team at Vanderbilt where she gained experience in this area of research across the lifespan. She hopes to continue many of the relationships she has formed and draw on past experiences to provide excellent care to her patients moving forward. Outside of work, Ms. Chestnut enjoys reading classic literature, writing poetry, crocheting, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.

Mary Chestnut, MSN



Education/Training: M.S.N. - Vanderbilt University School of Nursing


Hometown: Bossier City, LA



Interests/Achievements: Dr. Kaylin Smith Craig's research interests focus on safe transitions of care. She is involved as a volunteer with education of medical students through the Shade Tree Clinic and in the internal medicine residency program through coordinating the Women's Health Journal Club.

Kaylin Smith Craig, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

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Assistant Professor

Hometown: Youngstown, OH

Previous Role/Title: Private Practice Physician

Specialty: Allergy and Immunology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Jeffrey Culp is board-certified in both allergy and immunology and in internal medicine. He is a Fellow of two outstanding societies in his field: the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Dr. Culp earned his baccalaureate degree in biology in 1998 from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and his MD degree in 2003 from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Following his internship and residency (2003-2006) at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Dr. Culp entered a two-year fellowship program in allergy and immunology at the University of Virginia under the direction of Dr. Thomas A. E. Platts-Mills. His research interests have included steroid-dependent asthmatic and primary immune deficiency studies, as well as translational research studies on molecular mechanisms involving the role of leukotrienes in aspirin intolerance and putative molecular mechanisms of aspirin desensitization. He takes a special interest in the underlying immune and molecular mechanisms of unusual presentations of disease and has worked to identify individualized treatment approaches. His clinical research interests also include chronic sinusitis, asthma, food allergy, and immunotherapy. Dr. Culp worked as a private practice physician in the specialty of allergy and immunology prior to returning to an academic setting.

Jeffrey Culp, MD

Previous Institution: OSF Medical Group


Education/Training: M.D. - University of Cincinnati College of Medicine


Hometown: Brentwood, TN

Previous Role/Title: Postdoctoral Fellow

Specialty: Interventional Cardiology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. David Dantzler's interests include improving radiation safety and monitoring in the cardiac catheterization laboratory and providing quality cardiovascular care. He has additional interest in peripheral vascular disease and intervention. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. A native of middle Tennessee, Dr. Dantzler enjoys spending time with his family and is an avid sports fan.

David Dantzler, Jr, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - Meharry Medical College

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Assistant Professor

Hometown: Tuscaloosa, AL

Previous Role/Title: Research Associate, Assistant Professor of Genetic Medicine

Specialty: Genetic architecture of complex traits

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Lea Davis's work explores the "genomic architecture" of complex traits, defined as the type, frequency, and function of DNA variants en masse that contribute to the genetic predisposition of a given trait. Until recently, the human genetics field has been highly focused on the identification of individual DNA variants associated with complex phenotypes. However, recent research from the Davis lab and others has demonstrated that many complex traits, including Tourette Syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder, are highly polygenic with risk distributed across hundreds or thousands of polymorphisms. Through the application of quantitative genetic methods, the Davis lab seeks to answer questions that follow from this observation including (1) How does genomic architecture differ across complex human traits? (2) What kinds of selective pressures shape the polygenic landscape of different phenotypes? (3) How do functional elements (e.g., eQTLs, enhancers, methylation QTLs) influence or concentrate risk? (4) How does sexual dimorphism influence the expression of polygenic burden? The overarching goal of the Davis lab is to integrate functional knowledge of the genome into polygenic approaches to answer such questions. To do this, the Davis lab uses state-of-the-art computational and statistical methods to inform classical quantitative models (used for decades in animal and plant genetics) along with biologically relevant expression data, rare variant data (e.g., exome data, copy number variant data), and environmental data (e.g., prenatal infection or smoking history). Through these integrated approaches, Dr. Davis hopes to understand the biological basis and genetic architecture of common complex phenotypes.

Lea Davis, PhD

Previous Institution: University of Chicago

Division of Genetic Medicine

Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Iowa




Specialty: Molecular Neuroscience

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Kathleen Dennis’ research interests focus on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the development of disease and the contribution of environmental agents to the process of disease development, particularly with respect to neurodevelopmental disorders. Her current efforts include defining the promoter region of the rat class III neuron-specific gene, establishing a role for epigenetic regulation of the gene encoding brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) during regional brain development, and defining the ubiquitin signaling cascade as an adverse outcome pathway for aberrant cell function due to environmental toxin exposure. Another component of her scientific work includes the academic development of young scientists. Dr. Dennis has worked with students in the laboratory and formal classroom settings, honing their critical thinking and problem solving skills. While these students have a strong desire to learn, many are from academically desolate backgrounds and are often plagued by personal challenges. Dr. Dennis’ efforts focus on teaching these students biology and the experimental approaches utilized to explore this field while also helping them define an individual approach to learning and develop creative thinking. Together they work to establish good study habits and strategies for utilizing available academic and community resources.

Kathleen Dennis, PhD



Education/Training: Ph.D. - The George Washington University

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Hometown: Greenville, SC

Previous Role/Title: Resident Physician


Interests/Achievements: Dr. Nidhi Dole received her BS in biology from the University of South Carolina and went on to earn her MD from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. She completed a combined internal medicine and pediatrics residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Dole joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2015 as a hospitalist. Her interests include transitions in care and quality improvement with a focus on medical communication.

Nidhi Dole, MD

Previous Institution: University of Tennessee Health Science Center


Education/Training: M.D. - Medical University of South Carolina


Hometown: Fayetteville, TN

Previous Role/Title: Clinical Instructor/Relief Charge Nurse/Staff Nurse

Specialty: Cardiovascular Medicine

Interests/Achievements: Sara Dorris’ research interests are primarily in cardiology with a specific interest in acute coronary syndrome among the geriatric population. Depressive symptoms are positively correlated with subsequent major adverse coronary events. Discovering a relationship among depression, genetics, inflammatory protein levels, and subsequent major adverse coronary events in an acute coronary syndrome subgroup will provide a rationale for studying the effects of depression interventions on inflammatory protein levels. Decreasing morbidity and mortality in acute coronary syndrome clients will improve the health of the geriatric population. Her clinical interests include the treatment and management of cardiac arrhythmias using anti-arrhythmic drugs, cardioversions, ablations, pacemakers, and defibrillators. During her studies, Sara received an Academic Excellence Award, was a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, and graduated cum laude.

Sara Dorris, MSN

Previous Institution: Huntsville Hospital


Education/Training: M.S.N. - University of Alabama

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Assistant Professor

Hometown: Arlington Heights, IL

Previous Role/Title: Endocrinologist and Partner

Specialty: Endocrinology & Diabetes

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Paul Epstein graduated with honors from Princeton University and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He completed medical school at Yale University and completed his internal medicine residency at Northwestern University. At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Epstein completed fellowship training in endocrinology and diabetes. He entered into clinical practice and for 28 years attended to patients in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. His primary area of interest is diabetes, and he believes strongly in taking full care of his patients--not only through glucose control, but also by addressing the usual associated risk factors of hypertension and elevated cholesterol. He has also treated general endocrine patients with thyroid disease, pituitary disease, and osteoporosis. Dr. Epstein believes that the privilege of practicing medicine is the best possible profession, and he looks forward to continuing his personal care of patients in the university setting at Vanderbilt. Other interests include traveling with his wife on her research forays and visiting national parks.

Paul Epstein, MD

Previous Institution: Suburban Endocrinology & Diabetes


Education/Training: M.D. - Yale University

Instructor

Hometown: Shelby, NC


Specialty: Hematology/Oncology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Brent Ferrell's research interests include the study of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia using single cell biology. He is particularly interested in using primary patient samples to understand changes in cancer cells during and after therapy at the single cell level. Key areas that drive his work include (1) identifying signaling properties associated with therapy resistance and relapse in acute myeloid leukemia; (2) cellular subsets (both malignant and non-malignant) that influence therapeutic outcomes in these diseases; and (3) how these signaling properties can be used to guide treatment and clinical trial development. He is currently in the lab of Dr. Jonathan Irish, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology.Brent Ferrell, Jr, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill


Hometown: Wheeling, IL

Previous Role/Title: Nurse Practitioner In Hematology/Stem Cell Transplant

Specialty: Hepatology

Interests/Achievements: Hava graduated with her MSN from Vanderbilt University in 2004. Over the last nine and a half years, she has worked as a nurse practitioner in the Stem Cell Transplant Department at Vanderbilt. She is now looking forward to her new role as nurse practitioner in hepatology in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.

Hava Fife, MSN


Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition


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Hometown: Griffith, IN


Specialty: Hematopoletic stem cell biology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Melissa Fisher received her PhD in biochemistry from Vanderbilt, where she studied the role of myeloid translocation gene 16 (MTG16) in hematopoietic stem cell function and myeloid development. She is interested in applying her expertise in hematopoietic biology to the development of preclinical assays to test novel drug therapies for myeloid malignancies.

Melissa Fischer, MS, PhD




Assistant Professor

Hometown: New Orleans, LA

Previous Role/Title: Fellow, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Department of Pediatric Cardiology

Specialty: Pediatric Cardiology and Adult Congenital Heart Disease

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Ben Frischhertz is interested in caring for patients of all ages with congenital heart disease, particularly those who have reached adolescence and adulthood. He is trained in both pediatric and adult medicine. Dr. Frischhertz completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of California-San Diego followed by a fellowship in pediatric cardiology with additional training in adult congenital heart disease at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. He has published on aortic dissection in conotruncal congenital heart disease. His clinical interests include late repair of congenital heart defects, pulmonary hypertension in congenital heart disease, mechanical support in congenital heart disease, and aortopathy. His administrative goal is to improve the transition process in adults with congenital heart disease.

Benjamin Frischhertz, MD

Previous Institution: Baylor College of Medicine


Education/Training: M.D. - Louisiana State University School of Medicine

Instructor

Hometown:

Previous Role/Title:

Specialty:


Anthony Gamboa, MD

Previous Institution:


Education/Training: M.D. - Georgetown University School of medicine

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Research Associate Professor

Hometown: Fremantle, Western Australia

Previous Role/Title: Associate Professor

Specialty: Immunogenetics

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Silvana Gaudieri’s main research interest involves understanding the host/pathogen interaction and its influence on infection outcome in order to inform vaccine design and the use of anti-viral agents. She was the first to show that host immune responses can affect hepatitis C virus variation at a population level and how this phenomena has important implications in vaccine design for hepatitis C. Subsequent papers in this area expanded on the original concept and were published in the highly-ranked Hepatology and Gut journals. She has been awarded fellowships from international and national funding bodies to pursue this research and has been part of successful funding applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Australian medical research funding body, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Dr. Gaudieri has also been invited to present her research findings at national and international conferences and to chair sessions. She has authored more than 90 original articles, reviews, and book chapters including seminal papers in high-ranking journals with more than 3,000 citations. She has been involved in delivering and coordinating units at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels for several years in the areas of genetics, immunology, and infectious diseases and has mentored several PhD and Masters students to completion. She has been actively involved in the administrative aspects of academia in the roles of Deputy Head of School, Graduate Research Coordinator, and member of faculty boards.

Silvana Gaudieri, PhD

Previous Institution: University of Western Australia

Division of Infectious Diseases

Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Western Australia


Hometown: Porhara, Nepal

Previous Role/Title: Assistant Professor

Specialty: General Internal Medicine

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Bikki Gautam recently joined the Vanderbilt faculty in the division of General Internal Medicine as a part of the Hospital Medicine Section. After growing up in Porhara, Nepal, he completed medical school at Tibhuvan University, Institute of Medicine, in Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal, and completed internal medicine residency at Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut. Dr. Gautam is now on the clinical practice track, and his primary interests are in resident education and high value care. When away from work, he enjoys hiking and traveling.Bikki Gautam, MD

Previous Institution: Michigan State University


Education/Training: M.B.B.S. - Tribhuvan University

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Hometown: Ceyssat, France

Previous Role/Title: Director of Research

Specialty: Gastroenterology, Microbiology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Gobert has a particular interest in the study of host/pathogen interactions and has significantexperience in the study of nitrosative stress as a mediator of the immune response. After a PhD inChemistry from the University of Bordeaux, France, Dr. Gobert completed postdoctoral training at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where he conducted research on the role and the regulation of nitric oxide (NO) during infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. More particularly, his work uncovered the essential role of arginine metabolism in the control of H. pylori infection, inflammation and gastric cancer. He was then awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from The Pasteur Institute in Paris, France, to pursue his research on the inflammation associated with the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori. He began his independent research program at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research in 2003 where he and his group highlighted the molecular mechanisms by which NO regulates cellular attachment and toxin production by intestinal pathogenic bacteria. After a three-year sabbatical in the Division of Gastroenterology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Dr. Gobert is now joining the new Center for Mucosal Inflammation and Cancer headed by Pr. Keith T. Wilson. His work will yield important insights into how pathogen-induced inflammation leads to carcinogenesis and will have directly translatable utility in therapeutic strategies to treat gastric cancer.

Alain Gobert, PhD

Previous Institution: National Institute of Agronomic Research, France


Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Bordeaux, France

Research Instructor

Hometown: Medellin, Antioquio, Columbia

Previous Role/Title: Research Instructor in Medicine

Specialty: Blood pressure control and kidney development

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Jose Gomez received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellin, Colombia, in 1995. He earned his master’s degree in chemistry in the laboratory of Dr. David Petering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2003. Here, he employed various biochemical techniques to elucidate the process of activation of bleomycin. He earned his PhD in pharmacology with Dr. Shigemi Matsuyama at Case Western Reserve University in 2009. Dr. Gomez’s project focused on the mechanism of apoptosis in mammalian cells, specifically to develop cell permeable Bax-inhibiting peptides (BIP). He received a predoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association to examine the apoptotic pathways that could be activated after myocardial infarction. In 2009, he joined Dr. Victor Dzau’s laboratory at Duke University as a postdoctoral fellow. In the Dzau laboratory, he was initially involved in a project elucidating the role of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in the response of the kidney to changes in blood pressure. He found that a subset of renal MSCs became renin-expressing cells in vivo. He used microarray technology and compared the differential expression of genes in juxtaglomerular cells versus kidney MSCs. At Vanderbilt his studies will focus on elucidating the protein network required for the conversion of renal MSCs to renin-expressing cells, which may play a role in renin regulation and blood pressure homeostasis.

Jose Gomez, PhD

Previous Institution: Duke University

Division of Clinical Pharmacology

Education/Training: Ph.D. - Case Western Reserve University

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Instructor

Hometown: Hastings, NY

Previous Role/Title: Clinical Fellow

Specialty: Nephrology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Gould is currently a Clinical Instructor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology. He completed medical school in 2009, graduating with honors from Upstate Medical School in Syracuse, New York. He came to Vanderbilt as a medical resident and subsequently became Chief Medical Resident (2009-2013) and completed his nephrology fellowship (2013-2015). His clinical expertise is in general nephrology, but he has specific interest in polycystic kidney disease, kidney stones, and glomerular diseases. His research interests have centered on pharmakokinetic modeling of antibiotics in dialysis patients, medical education, and physician documentation practices.Edward Gould, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - Upstate Medical University

Instructor

Hometown: Bartow, FL


Specialty: Medical Oncology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Scott Haake’s passion is studying the molecular biology of kidney cancer in an effort to improve the lives of affected patients. While genomic approaches to the study of cancer remain indispensable, a chasm of information and regulation exists between the transcribed messenger RNA and the function of the individual cell. The study of post-translational modifications of proteins is one approach to illuminating this gap. Rather than rely on the production of antibodies targeting these many events, we have used the mass spectrometer to identify and quantitate these post-translational modifications in both cell line and human samples. For example, we combined immunoprecipitation of tyrosine phosphorylated peptides with mass spectrometry-based peptide sequencing and quantitation to study tyrosine kinase signaling in tumors from patients with clear cell and papillary renal cell carcinoma in an effort to seek out activated signaling pathways as therapeutic targets and further resolve the divergent biology of these kidney cancer subtypes. This work led to an ASCO Young Investigator Award which will fund validation and follow-up studies, including how the tumor microenvironment impacts kidney cancer biology through tyrosine kinase signaling. Moving forward, we plan to leverage this approach to study how mutations in chromatin-modifying genes activate downstream pathways that can promote kidney cancer growth and survival. Our expectation is that this proteogenomic approach will reveal perturbed yet druggable pathways that will enlighten our understanding of kidney cancer biology and suggest novel therapeutic strategies.

Scott Haake, MD

Previous Institution: H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute


Education/Training: M.D. - University of Miami

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Instructor in Clinical Medicine

Hometown:


Specialty:


Philip Harrelson, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - Medical College of Georgia


Hometown: San Antonio, TX



Interests/Achievements: Dr. Tyson Heller was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and is most proud to be a part of his wonderful family. He is the oldest of five kids and admits that he’s a bit of a momma’s boy. For undergraduate study, Dr. Heller attended Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he fell in love with biking, giving campus tours, and keeping traditions alive. He took a year off between undergraduate and medical school and spent six months volunteering in a clinic in Guadalajara, Mexico, and another six months mentoring orphans in St. Petersburg, Russia. He then attended medical school in San Antonio, Texas, before moving to Nashville for residency. He is currently in his third and last year of internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt. When not taking care of patients on the wards, he has dedicated his free time to improving IV access in wards floor patients and house-wide codes through quality improvement projects. Dr. Heller has dabbled in research pertaining to the diagnosis of GERD and outcomes in ECMO patients, but he most identifies himself as a clinical educator of residents and medical students and is a member of the resident teaching academy. He considers his greatest achievement to be the honor of presiding over the recent wedding of one of his best friends and old college roommates.

Lawrence Heller, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - University of Texas Health Science Center

Page 15 of 32



Hometown: Kingwood, TX

Previous Role/Title: Fellow-Interventional Cardiology

Specialty: Internal Medicine/General Cardiology/Interventional Cardiology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Keswani earned his MD from St. George's University School of Medicine and completed his internship at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. He then completed his residency in internal medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and his general cardiology fellowship at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, Louisiana. He completed his interventional cardiology fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas. Dr. Keswani's research interests include the evaluation of atherosclerosis, restenosis, and neointimal formation following balloon angioplasty and stenting. He also studies coronary and myocardial perfusion using non-invasive quantitative cardiac positron emission testing (PET), invasive angiography, and fractional flow reserve (FFR). Additionally, he has an interest in structural heart disease and minimizing risk factors associated with transaortic valve replacement (TAVR). During his general cardiology fellowship he was named 'fellow of the year,' a peer-nominated award, and he has dozens of peer-reviewed publications, articles, abstracts, and presentations.

Amit Keswani, MD

Previous Institution: University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston


Education/Training: M.D. - St. George's University School of Medicine

Research Instructor

Hometown: Osaka, Japan

Previous Role/Title: Research Fellow

Specialty: Epithelial, Cancer Developmental Biology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Jumpei Kondo has been working on animal models to understand diverse disease phenotypes such as intestinal motility disorder and cancer. He is heavily focused on the evaluation and manipulation of the cells expressing Lrig1, both in epithelial and muscular layer of mouse intestine. He is also interested in the in vitro culture technique of intestinal epithelial cells and cancer cells as an approach to study cancer biology and has significant expertise in this area.

Jumpei Kondo, MD, PhD



Education/Training: M.D. - Osaka University

Ph.D. - Osaka University

Page 16 of 32



Hometown: Jackson, TN

Previous Role/Title: ACNP-BC

Specialty: Cardiology

Interests/Achievements: Jennifer Koonce has been interested in the field of cardiology throughout her career. Originally from Jackson, Tennessee, Jennifer worked at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina, for the past three years. She is excited to return to Tennessee to be near family and friends and to begin work with Dr. Larry Markham in caring for patients in the Adult Congenital Heart Program.

Jennifer Koonce, MSN

Previous Institution: The Medical University of South Carolina


Education/Training: M.S.N. - University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Assistant Professor

Hometown: Buffalo, NY


Specialty: Interstitial lung disease

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Jonathan Kropski is a physician-scientist with strong interest in interstitial lung diseases. After completing his baccalaureate degree (cum laude) at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, Dr. Kropski entered medical school at Vanderbilt and received his MD in 2008. After graduation he continued at Vanderbilt as intern and resident in internal medicine (2008-2010), following which he completed a three-year fellowship training program at Vanderbilt in pulmonary and critical care medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine. His combined residency and fellowship training through the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Research Pathway was specifically designed to foster the career development of young physician-scientists. Dr. Kropski completed his clinical training in pulmonary and critical care medicine in July 2013 and has worked as a research fellow since then. Currently, he has a part-time faculty appointment at the Nashville Veterans Administration Medical Center. Dr. Kropski is developing a promising career in biomedical research, focused on interstitial lung diseases. He has worked and published with Drs. Timothy Blackwell, James Loyd, John Phillips, and several other scientists at Vanderbilt who have published widely on interstitial lung disease. Dr. Kropski has received numerous awards for his academic achievements. In 2014, he was awarded the American Thoracic Society Foundation/Boehringer Ingelheim Career Development Award in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. He is a member of the top societies in his field and speaks at national and international meetings. Dr. Kropski is well published in the prominent peer-reviewed journals of his field.

Jonathan Kropski, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - Vanderbilt University

Page 17 of 32


Assistant Professor

Hometown: Grenoble, France

Previous Role/Title: Associate Professor of Medicine

Specialty: Interventional pulmonary, lung cancer

Interests/Achievements: Fabien Maldonado received his MD from the University of Dijon, Dijon, France, in 2003, and completed his internal medicine residency at Western Reserve Care System-Forum Health in Youngstown, Ohio. He went on to complete a pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Upon completion of his fellowship, Dr. Maldonado pursued six months of advanced training in interventional pulmonology in Marseilles, France, under the mentorship of Pr. Philippe Astoul and Hervé Dutau, both internationally recognized experts in the field. He also completed the Center for Translational Science Activities (CTSA) Postdoctoral Certificate Program at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. During his time at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Maldonado served as the Co-Program Director for the Interventional Pulmonology Fellowship. He has received numerous awards, including a OneBreath Clinical Research in Lung Cancer award, Teacher of the Year from the Mayo Fellows Association, and a Burgher Endowed Fellowship award. On the clinician educator track, Dr. Maldonado’s clinical areas of expertise include interventional pulmonology, lung cancer, and pleural diseases. His research interests include novel imaging techniques for non-invasive characterization of lung cancer and pleural disease research. He has spoken about his research at national and international academic conferences and has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Fabien Maldonado, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - University of Burgundy, France


Hometown: Jackson, MS

Previous Role/Title: Resident Physician

Specialty: Dermatology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Sally Monahan, a native of Jackson, Mississippi, joined Vanderbilt in the Division of Dermatology in September 2015. Her primary focus is on general and medical dermatology in both pediatric and adult patients. Dr. Monahan completed undergraduate school at Mississippi State University where she graduated summa cum laude. She attended medical school at the University of Mississippi where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, earning her MD and graduating magna cum laude. Dr. Monahan completed a residency in pediatrics at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital. She then went on to complete a three-year dermatology residency, also at Vanderbilt. Dr. Monahan is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery.

Sally Monahan, MD


Division of Dermatology

Education/Training: M.D. - University of Mississippi

Page 18 of 32


Instructor in Clinical Medicine

Hometown: Ashville, OH

Previous Role/Title: Family Physician

Specialty: Family Medicine

Interests/Achievements: Dr. James Mosley was born and raised in a very conservative small town in CentralOhio. He was one of five children and graduated from a small country high school. In 1980, he graduated from Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, with a degree in biology. He met his wife Damaris there, and they married in 1981. He worked for one year in the OhioState University Toxicology Laboratory and began medical school at the Ohio State University in 1981. After receiving his MD in 1985, Dr. Mosley completed his residency in family medicine in 1988 at Mt. Carmel Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. He started a family practice that summer with Northridge Family Practice in Circleville, Ohio. He was a partner there until 2010 when, due to financial pressures of running a private practice, he went to work for Berger Health System as an employed physician. He and his wife have raised four children, three of whom are now married and live out of state, and their daughter attends college in Nashville. Their first grandchild was born in September 2014 to Dr. Mosley’s son and daughter-in-law, and they live in Franklin, Tennessee. Dr. Mosley and his wife have wanted to live closer to some of their children and made the decision to relocate to the Nashville area in the fall of 2015. Dr. Mosley is working at the Vanderbilt Walk-In Clinics and is excited to become a part of the Vanderbilt team.

James Mosley, MD

Previous Institution: Berger Health System


Education/Training: M.D. - Ohio State University College of Medicine


Hometown: Highland, MI

Previous Role/Title: Genetic Counseling Student and Research Assistant

Specialty: Genetics

Interests/Achievements: Andrea is a native of Michigan and received her BA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She completed her MS degree in medical genetics at the University of Cincinnati Genetic Counseling Program in Cincinnati, Ohio. Andrea's academic and research interests include cardiovascular genetics, genetic testing, and prenatal diagnosis. She was awarded a competitive research grant in 2014 from the Jane Engelberg Memorial Foundation provided by the National Society of Genetic Counselors for her research study, “Adolescents' Attitudes Towards Biobanking.”Andrea Murad, MS

Previous Institution: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center


Education/Training: M.S. - University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Page 19 of 32


Research Instructor



Specialty: Laboratory scientist in endocrinology, reproductive biology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Gladson Muthian has joined the laboratory of Drs. James D. West and Joshua Fessel at Vanderbilt to investigate the physiology of pulmonary vascular disease, cardiovascular function, and cellular and organismal metabolism. Dr. Muthian will oversee ongoing projects related to cellular and whole organism metabolism in complex disease models with a focus on pulmonary hypertension. Born and educated in India, Dr. Muthian came to the US after receiving his PhD in endocrinology from the University of Madras in 1998. In 2001, Dr. Muthian worked in the Department of Neurology at Vanderbilt University as a postdoctoral fellow, and from 2006 through 2012, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at Meharry Medical College. Dr. Muthian has gained strong expertise in reproductive biology, and his experience and research skills are beneficial to the work he has undertaken in the West laboratory, where laboratory animals are frequently included in the research. Dr. Muthian has trained numerous research assistants, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers at Vanderbilt and at Meharry Medical College in various research techniques. He will continue this role as a part of the West-Fessel laboratory team. Dr. Muthian is a member of the Endocrine Society, the Society for the Study of Reproduction, and the American Association of Cancer. Further, he is a lifetime member of the Indian Society for Reproductive Biology and Comparative Endocrinology.

Gladson Muthian, MPhil

Previous Institution: Meharry Medical College


Education/Training: M.S. - Madurai Kamaraj University



Previous Role/Title: RN in Medical Surgery


Interests/Achievements: Lucas Neufeld is interested and intrigued by the world of oncology and surgical oncology. His previous experience has been in surgical oncology as an RN. He enjoys the continuity of care involved with oncology patients and their families. More generally, his wife Amy, is a nurse, and they have been married for four years. They live in East Nashville with their newly adopted golden-doodle puppy, Molly. They are both fitness enthusiasts and have recently discovered crossfit as an outlet for this obsession and need for physical challenge. Growing up in Nashville and having parents who have ties to Vanderbilt makes Lucas excited about starting his career at such a prestigious university and medical center.Lucas Neufeld, MSN

Previous Institution: St. Thomas Midtown



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Assistant Professor

Hometown: Knoxville, TN



Interests/Achievements: Dr. Andrew Nickels' work and interests span public health, ethics, and specialty issues in allergies, with a particularly strong interest in medical and professional ethics. He was one of two inaugural fellows in the scholars training program in biomedical ethics at Mayo Clinic. He comes to Vanderbilt fully trained in clinical medical ethics, has published on the topic of medical ethics in the allergy literature, and will continue to pursue medical ethics within the field of allergy and immunology. During his fellowship he has pursued studies in the field of ethics that have resulted in five peer-reviewed journal articles, one book chapter, five oral presentations, and eight poster presentations--a high level of academic output. He has a passion for teaching and has been lauded for his teaching skills in allergy and immunology. His leadership skills are evidenced by his active involvement in the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) as a member of the Board of Regents and as senior Chair for the Fellows in Training Committee at Mayo Clinic. Dr. Nickels' research is varied. Recent research includes (1) exhaled nitric oxide performance compared to methacholine challenge in pediatric patients and (2) the role of a positive exhaled nitric oxide in evaluating the pulmonary patient: exhaled nitric oxide versus methacholine challenge -- both presented by Dr. Nickels at international meetings in 2014.

Andrew Nickels, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - University of Tennessee Health Science Center


Hometown: San Francisco, CA

Previous Role/Title: Nurse Practitioner-Emergency Medicine

Specialty: Family Health

Interests/Achievements: Dyan was born in the Philippines, the youngest of four sisters, and moved to the US when she was five. She was raised in the San Francisco Bay area. While completing her undergraduate degree in biology at the University of California, Berkeley, Dyan took a job as a home health aide caring for two college students with cerebral palsy. She realized how much she loved the art and science of caring for people, so she decided to pursue a career in nursing. Dyan completed her undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees at the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated magna cum laude. As a bedside nurse and charge nurse, she cared for surgical trauma and orthopedic patients. In 2010, she was honored with the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses.Dyan Pace, MSN

Previous Institution: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania


Education/Training: M.S.N. - University of Pennsylvania

Page 21 of 32


Research Instructor

Hometown: Roseland, NE

Previous Role/Title: Research Fellow

Specialty: Nephrology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Parr's research interest involves the study of acute kidney injury (AKI). She is specifically interested in prevention of AKI in hospitalized patients and in determining the long-term impact of AKI on kidney function. She is additionally interested in investigating and operationalizing biomedical informatics tools to maximize the safety and quality of care delivered to patients with kidney disease.

Sharidan Parr, MD

Previous Institution: Creighton University Medical Center


Education/Training: M.D. - Creighton University School of Medicine

M.S.C.I. - Vanderbilt University School of Medicine


Hometown: Cleveland, GA

Previous Role/Title: Nurse Practitioner

Specialty: Gerontology

Interests/Achievements: Ms. Haley Patton is interested in the geriatric population and howto maximize functional status,help improve perceived quality of life, and assist elderly individuals to be independentmembers of the community for as long as possible.

Haley Patton, MSN

Previous Institution: WellStar Medical Group

Division of Geriatric Medicine

Education/Training: M.S.N. - Vanderbilt School of Nursing

Page 22 of 32


Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

Hometown: Birmingham, AL

Previous Role/Title: Clinical Fellow


Interests/Achievements: Dr. Brandon Perry received a BS in biomedical sciences and a BSN from the University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama. He worked as a registered nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, for almost two years before entering medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he received his MD. He completed both his internal medicine residency and his endocrinology fellowship at Vanderbilt. His special areas of clinical interest include male reproductive health and metabolic bone disease. Outside of work he enjoys running, reading, spending time with family, and traveling.Brandon Perry, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - University of South Alabama


Hometown: Nalchik, Russian Federation

Previous Role/Title: Postdoctoral Researcher

Specialty: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Interests/Achievements: Originally trained as a biophysicist, Dr. Elena Pokidysheva has always been fascinated by the complexity of living biological systems. She gained training in a number of structural techniques (NMR and Cryo EM reconstructions), as well as experience in animal (mouse) models. Her major research interests are extracellular matrix (ECM) organization and ECM alterations in the disease process, particularly in collagen and its posttranslational modifications. Some of her scientific achievements include (1) 3D reconstruction of dengue virus in complex with one of its receptors (DC-SIGN); (2) advances in understanding the molecular mechanism leading to the recessive form of osteogenesis imperfecta as a result of the prolyl 3-hydroxylase 1 (P3H1) knockout; (3) discovery of the function of prolyl 3-hydroxylation in type IV collagen; and (4) the role of type IV collagen in the early stage embryogenesis. Downregulation of the enzymes accomplishing prolyl 3-hydroxylation lead to a number of pathological conditions, some of which are well known while others are currently being identified as part of Dr. Pokidysheva’s research. Aside from science, she is a figure skating mom since one of her two daughters is a competitive skater.

Elena Pokidysheva, PhD

Previous Institution: Shriners Hospital for Children


Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Basil, Switzerland

Page 23 of 32



Hometown: Huntington Beach, CA



Interests/Achievements: Dr. Potter recently joined the Vanderbilt faculty in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health in the Section of Hospital Medicine, and he is currently on the clinical practice track. He has broad interest in clinical education as well as quality improvement. After growing up in Southern California, he completed medical school at the Ohio State University and residency at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He is looking forward to his mentorship role with medicine residents and students. When away from work, he enjoys reading, watching live music, and spending time with friends and family.Matthew Potter, MD

Previous Institution: Wexner Medical Center


Education/Training: M.D. - Ohio State University


Hometown:


Specialty:


Jill Pulley, MBA



Education/Training: M.B.A. - The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Page 24 of 32



Hometown: Maryville, TN


Specialty: Hematopathology & Hemostasis

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Haley Ramsey received her BSc from the University of Tennessee and her PhD from the Medical University of Vienna, where she was credited with creating the first murine model of alloreactive mismatch T memory cells for use in bone marrow, heart, and skin transplantation studies. Prior to moving to Vanderbilt in 2015, she was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, where she studied myelodysplastic syndrome and hemostasis. She is the recipient of awards from the American Society of Hematology, Harvard Medical School, Children’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Roche. Her expertise in the modeling of malignant hematologic disorders is accompanied by her interests in determining the underlying mechanisms of novel cancer therapies.

Haley Ramsey, PhD

Previous Institution: Harvard Medical School


Education/Training: Ph.D. - Medical University of Vienna

Professor

Hometown: Sheffield, IA

Previous Role/Title: Associate Professor of Medicine

Specialty: Oncology/Urology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Kimryn Rathmell is a physician-scientist focused on renal cell carcinoma. She earned her MD and PhD in biophysics at Stanford University, completed internal medicine training at the University of Chicago and University of Pennsylvania, and completed a medical oncology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Departments of Medicine and Genetics at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 2003, and was a founding member of the Department of Urology in 2013. She helped to lead several Cancer Genome Atlas efforts and has a clinical and translational trials program focused on pre-operative therapy and integrated genomics and functional imaging. In the UNC Lineberger Cancer Center, she served as the Associate Director for Education and Training, and she has been involved with the UNC Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) since 2004, acting as co-director. She also has leadership roles in the American Society of Clinical Oncology, having served on the Fellows and Junior Faculty Task Force, the Ethics Committee, and currently as the Tumor Biology Track Leader for the Education Committee. She was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigators (ASCI) in 2011 and currently serves on the ASCI Council as the Secretary/Treasurer and as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Clinical Investigation. She has held roles in the Kidney Cancer Association, Society of Urologic Oncology, NIH Kidney Cancer Task Force, and VHL Alliance, and holds a K24 supporting her mentoring activities of physician-scientists. In sum, her interests and experience make her ideally positioned to lead the Division of Hematology and Oncology in the Vanderbilt Department of Medicine.

Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD

Previous Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill


Education/Training: M.D. - Stanford University

Ph.D. - Stanford University

Page 25 of 32


Instructor

Hometown: Clarksville, TN


Specialty: Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Bradley Richmond is a postdoctoral research fellow in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Vanderbilt. Dr. Richmond completed his baccalaureate degree (summa cum laude) at the University of Evansville in 2003 and his medical degree (cum laude) at the University of Louisville in 2007. In 2006, he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. After completing his internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt in 2010, Dr. Richmond spent a year studying sarcoidosis pathogenesis in the laboratory of Dr. Wonder Drake. From 2011 to 2014, he remained at Vanderbilt to complete his clinical fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine. During his research fellowship, he has worked in the laboratory of Dr. Timothy Blackwell where his research focuses on how alterations in the mucosal immune system of the lungs contribute to the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Dr. Richmond continues to perform research in this area while also pursuing a doctoral degree in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt. Dr. Richmond’s research is funded by a Senior Research Training Fellowship from the American Lung Association, and he has also successfully competed for a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Loan Repayment Award and an NIH K12 award. He has a part-time faculty appointment at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Nashville. He is board-certified in internal and pulmonary medicine and is a member of the American Thoracic Society.

Bradley Richmond, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - University of Louisville School of Medicine


Hometown: Memphis, TN

Previous Role/Title: Palliative Care Clinician and Program Coordinator

Specialty: Palliative Care

Interests/Achievements: Sam Robbins recently joined the faculty in the Department of Medicine as a nurse practitioner. He was recruited to help develop the outpatient palliative care program. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University of the South, he completed a master’s degree in theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School. His passion for palliative care began during his work as a hospice volunteer. In 2007, he completed his MSN at Vanderbilt School of Nursing and received the Amy Francis Brown Prize for Excellence in Writing. In 2009, he helped initiate the palliative care consultation service at Saint Thomas West Hospital. He is currently completing his DNP at Belmont University. His academic interests include the effects of palliative care consultation on hospice referral, the role of spirituality in end of life care, and the history of palliative medicine.

Samuel Robbins, MSN

Previous Institution: St. Thomas West Hospital


Education/Training: M.S.N. - Vanderbilt School of Nursing

Page 26 of 32



Hometown: Memphis, TN



Interests/Achievements: Dr. Scott Rosen recently joined the Vanderbilt faculty in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health. His focus is on quality control strategies to improve patient outcomes with a broader interest in lowering inpatient morbidity and mortality. After growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, he completed medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and internal medicine residency at the University of Arizona. Dr. Rosen is now on the clinical practice track working in the Section of Hospital Medicine. His primary scientific interests are in digestive diseases and how nutrition plays a role in disease processes and treatment. His wife, Ashley, is a nurse, and they have two beautiful baby girls. When away from work, he is an avid music lover and enjoys playing drums, cooking, traveling, and spending time with his family.

Scott Rosen, MD

Previous Institution: University of Arizona


Education/Training: M.D. - University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center

Instructor

Hometown: St. Louis, MO


Specialty: Lung transplant biology and management

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Ciara Shaver's primary clinical interest is in lung transplantation with a particular focus on the early postoperative events that predict long-term outcomes. Her research interests include mechanisms of acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Her scientific approach combines data from multiple animal models of acute lung injury with data from patients with ARDS. Currently, Dr. Shaver's primary focus is to understand the inflammatory consequences of extracellular hemoglobin in the airspace. Dr. Shaver received the Elliot V. Newman Prize for the best oral presentation in 2014 and the award for best basic science poster at the Vanderbilt Research Forum in 2015. She also received two subsequent scholarships to attend the American Thoracic Society International Conference for her superior abstracts. In 2015, Dr. Shaver was awarded a Vanderbilt Faculty Research Scholars Award to support continuing development toward independence as a physician-scientist. She is excited to continue pursuing both basic science and translational studies with clear clinical applications. Her husband, Aaron, is a hematopathologist at Vanderbilt.

Ciara Shaver, MD, PhD



Education/Training: M.D. - Northwestern University Feinberg School of MedicinePh.D. - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Page 27 of 32


Research Instructor

Hometown: Murfreesboro, TN

Previous Role/Title: Graduate Student in Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology

Specialty: Long noncoding RNAs in the immune system

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Charles Spurlock's research interests are in the regulation and function of newly discovered RNA molecules called long non-coding RNAs and how they contribute to diseases of the immune system with special emphasis on autoimmune disease. Knowledge gained from these studies may be employed to better understand the functions of the immune system, to more accurately diagnose autoimmune diseases, to potentially identify novel therapeutic targets, and to contribute to the development of novel therapies. His primary career goal is to develop an independent research program. Dr. Spurlock received his undergraduate degree from the University of the South in 2009 and was awarded Phi Beta Kappa and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion. Dr. Spurlock was admitted to the graduate program at Vanderbilt and received his PhD in 2014. He was also awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and the Sidney P. Colowick Award for Outstanding Research from the Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology in 2014. He has spent one additional year at Vanderbilt as a research fellow to complete several additional projects outside the scope of his PhD research. His body of work has resulted in nine publications of original research (seven as first author) and publication of two book chapters with several more in preparation.

Charles "Chase" Spurlock, PhD

Previous Institution: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Division of Rheumatology and Immunology



Hometown: Hutchinson, KS

Previous Role/Title: Registered Nurse in Emergency Department

Specialty: Cardiology

Interests/Achievements: As a new ACNP, Kaycee is very interested in providing comprehensive medical care to the acutely ill hospitalized patient. Metabolic syndrome and its effects on the cardiovascular system are of particular interest. There is increasing evidence that the presence of three or more metabolically linked risk factors (such as HDL, body mass index (BMI), triglycerides, glucose, and total cholesterol levels) increases the risk of heart disease. In graduate school, Kaycee researched the association between CRP levels in persons with elevated risk factors of metabolic syndrome and those without elevated risk factors in an adult population. She is also interested in chronic inflammation and how it contributes to the pathogenesis of heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and many other diseases.

Kaycee Timken, MSN

Previous Institution: Hutchinson Regional Medical Center


Education/Training: M.S.N. - Wichita State University

Page 28 of 32


Research Instructor

Hometown: Japan



Interests/Achievements: Dr. Shinji Toki's long-term career goal is to establish himself as a productive, independent investigator in the field of immunobiology. His most significant aims are (1) to determine the ability of prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) to regulate Alternaria-induced group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2) activity; (2) to determine the ability of PGI2 to regulate lipopolysaccharide-induced lung inflammation; (3) to determine the ability of PGI2 to regulate allergic inflammation through thymic stromal lymphopoietin production. Dr. Toki is publishing as first author and has presented his work at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI) annual international conference. He is a key researcher in the laboratory of Dr. Stokes Peebles, Jr., at Vanderbilt in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine.

Shinji Toki, PhD



Education/Training: Ph.D. - Kochi Medical School



Previous Role/Title: Nursing Student

Specialty: Adult-Geriatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner

Interests/Achievements: Allison’s interests are in personalized oncology care, symptom management, and continuity of care.

Allison Walker, MSN

Previous Institution: Vanderbilt University School of Nursing




Hometown: Brentwood, TN

Previous Role/Title: Nurse Practitioner

Specialty: Nursing


Charla Walston, MSN




Page 29 of 32



Hometown: Hanover, NH



Interests/Achievements: Eleanor Weaver grew up in New Hampshire and moved to Texas where she studied history at Rice University. She attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Waco, Texas, where she focused on care for underserved populations. She completed her internal medicine residency and a fellowship in gastroenterology at Vanderbilt before joining the Department of Medicine in the Section of Hospital Medicine as Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine.

Eleanor Weaver, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - Baylor College of Medicine

Assistant Professor

Hometown: Cleveland, OH


Specialty: Gastroenterology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Dawn Wiese is interested in the effects of nutrition on gastrointestinal diseases—how nutrition therapy can modulate disease activity and how disease can affect nutritional status. Her past research has focused on nutrition and its role in inflammatory bowel disease. Clinically, she will focus on diseases that affect the small intestine, particularly celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease. She hopes to improve care for patients with celiac disease at Vanderbilt by creating a Celiac Disease Center. The goal of this center will be to offer multidisciplinary care to patients with celiac disease and to create a foundation for research.Dawn Wiese, MD



Education/Training: M.D. - Case Western Reserve University

Page 30 of 32


Research Instructor

Hometown: Taiwan


Specialty: Genetics, Developmental Biology, Stem Cell Biology

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Yang’s research focuses on the investigation of stem cell-derived colorectal cancer mouse models. She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology with Dr. Christopher Wright, PhD, before joining the Department of Medicine as a Research Instructor in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.

Yu-Ping Yang, PhD



Education/Training: Ph.D. - Duke University

Research Instructor

Hometown: Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China

Previous Role/Title: Research Instructor, Department of Biostatistics

Specialty: Computational biology, biostatistics

Interests/Achievements: Dr. Xue Zhong's early work focused on spatial models used to estimate plasmid transmission rates in surface-attached bacterial populations with spatial heterogeneity of cell-to-cell contact. Dr. Zhong also utilizes network-based approaches to address health-related problems such as pertussis epidemiology and tumor subtype classification. Her work on the development of a mathematical model that incorporates a detailed age-specific contact network has led to an explanation for the enigmatic changing pattern of pertussis incidence in Sweden in the vaccine era. Her recent work on tumor subtype classification revealed the effectiveness of using small panels of cancer genes for tumor subtyping in comparison to interrogating all genes for mutations in coding regions. Dr. Zhong has also collaborated on multiple projects including human microbiome, cancer, and genotyping. Her current research focus is leveraging biobank and electronic health records to investigate human disease comorbidity, disease progression, and the underlying genetic architecture via the use of computational and statistical methods.

Xue Zhong, PhD


Division of Clinical Pharmacology

Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Idaho


Hometown:


Specialty:


Jozef Zienkiewicz, PhD



Education/Training: Ph.D. - University of Wroclaw

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Hometown: Dallas, TX



Interests/Achievements: Dr. Zoffuto recently joined the Vanderbilt faculty as an Academic Hospitalist in the Division of General Internal Medicine. After growing up in Dallas, Texas, she completed her MD and MPH at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. She is interested in women’s health, quality improvement, and medical education. In her free time, she enjoys antiquing (and refurbishing her finds), reading, and spending time with her black lab, Liv.Teresa Zoffuto, MD

Previous Institution: University of Alabama


Education/Training: M.D. - University of Texas Health Science Center

M.P.H. - University of Texas Health Science Center

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