Adrian Jarquin-Valdivia, M.D., left, receives the Grant W. Liddle Award from Bryan Ludwig, M.D.
Photo by Anne Rayner
Research, teaching honors abound at Research Forum
Adrian Jarquin-Valdivia, M.D., is this year's recipient of the Grant W. Liddle Award for “exemplary leadership in the promotion of scientific research” at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Jarquin-Valdivia, assistant professor of Neurology, Anesthesiology and Medicine, received the award from the House Staff Advisory Council during its 24th Annual Research Forum last week. He also was presented the Thomas E. Brittingham Award for excellence in clinical teaching by the third- and fourth-year medical students.
Volunteer faculty evaluated 80 research abstracts by residents, clinical fellows and medical students, and selected the most meritorious for oral or poster presentations. Six oral presentations — three in basic science research and three in clinical science research — were delivered.
Faculty judges chose the best oral presentation in each category to receive the Elliott V. Newman Prize. This year's winners were, for basic science research, Siam Oottamasathien, M.D., a clinical fellow in Pediatric Urology, and, for clinical science research, Jennifer L. Schuberth, M.D., M.P.H., a clinical fellow in Internal Medicine.
Oottamasathien described the “Formation of Bladder Tissue from (Mouse) Embryonic Stem Cells.”
Schuberth reported that shorter shifts for resident physicians correlated with an increased length of stay among heart failure patients. The need to reduce resident fatigue must be balanced against the effect of increased patient “hand-offs,” she concluded.
Winners of the best poster presentations were, for basic science, Ildiko Csiki, a fourth-year medical student, and, for clinical science, Mercy Udoji, a third-year medical student.
Csiki investigated aromatase as a novel therapeutic target in pancreatic, gliobastoma and non-small cell lung cancer. Udoji reported that pregnancy seemed to have a protective effect against disease progression in HIV-infected women.
Joyce Johnson, M.D., associate professor of Pathology, received the Jack Davies Award for the second year in a row for teaching excellence in basic science.
Robert Riviello, M.D., fifth-year resident in General Surgery, received the Jay W. Hillman House Officer Teaching Award. Riviello also has won a Fulbright Scholarship for an international surgical fellowship this summer in Angola.
House staff teaching awards also were given to Sebastian Strom, M.D., chief resident in Internal Medicine; Kristin Ehst, M.D., resident in Medicine and Pediatrics; Patti Scott, M.D., who will be a chief resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology next fall; and Chris Sizemore, M.D., resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology.