A special thanks to all of our presenters at the 2025 MedStar Health-Georgetown University Research and Education Symposium! View the full list of accepted abstracts below.
Hosted by the MedStar Health Research Institute, MedStar Health Academic Affairs, and Georgetown University Medical Center, the MedStar Health-Georgetown University Research and Education Symposium is open to all members of the research and education community interested in learning more about scholarship at MedStar Health and Georgetown. The symposium brings together the MedStar Health and Georgetown University communities to celebrate the breadth of our academic pursuits. The event offers the opportunity to connect with researchers, educators, residents, executive leaders, and collaborative partners from across the region and our system to build meaningful relationships to further advance the health of our community.
Celebrating 25 years of partnership between MedStar Health and Georgetown University
More than 1,200 physicians, scientists, researchers, educators, students, residents and fellows, professors, collaborative partners, and healthcare leaders gathered in May 2025 for the MedStar Health–Georgetown University Research & Education Symposium. This annual event highlights the shared commitment to advancing research, education, and clinical care, and features research presentations, exhibitors, and workshops for attendees of all levels.
This year’s Symposium also marked the 25th anniversary of the academic health system partnership between MedStar Health and Georgetown University—a collaboration dedicated to transforming health, innovating education, and driving scientific discovery.
Highlights from the event included remarks from MedStar Health’s president and CEO Ken Samet, FACHE, and a fireside chat featuring M. Joy Drass, MD, chief operating officer, MedStar Health, and Aviad Haramati, PhD, director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE), Georgetown University Medical Center who offered reflections from the past 25 years and the importance of ongoing innovation for the partnership.
Awards & Recognitions:
More than 325 research posters and presentations from faculty, residents, fellows, and educators took place throughout the day. Ten residents from across the MedStar Health system were recognized for their outstanding research featured in their poster and oral presentations:
First Place:
- Rebecca Cox, MD (PGY-1, Physical Medicine & Rehab): “Pharmacogenomics of opioid consumption after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.”
- Bayley Clarke, MD (PGY-7, Urogynecology & Reconstructive Pelvic Floor Surgery): “Vaginal Injection of Platelet Rich Plasma for the Improvement of Sexual Function (V.I.P. Study.”
- Huanwen Chen, MD (Fellow, Neurology): “Venous sinus stenting versus cerebrospinal fluid shunting for patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension: a nationwide study of peri-operative outcomes and hospital readmissions.”
Second Place:
- Ramya Vasireddy, MD (PGY-2, Internal Medicine): “Association between race and adherence to surveillance colonoscopies after resection of stage I to III Colorectal Cancer.”
- Gregory Perraut, MD (PGY-4, Orthopedics): “Does Hybrid Tibial Fixation of Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone ACL Reconstruction Improve Knee Stability Compared to Interference Screw Alone? A Biomechanical Study.”
- Amanda Soo Ping Chow, MD (Fellow, Surgery): “Fibrinolytic Activation and its Association with Mortality After Traumatic and Thermal Injury.”
Third Place:
- Chuka Obiofuma, MD (PGY-3, D): “Percutaneous Vertebral Tether Release.”
- Jason Galo, MD (PGY7, Interventional Cardiology): “Severe Aortic Wall Thrombus in TAVR: Prevalence and Stroke Risk.”
- Mary Kim, MD (Fellow, Surgery): “Nursing Experiences and Perceptions of Safety and Law Enforcement Officers in the Trauma Bay: A Mixed-Methods Study.”
CENTILE Best Oral Abstract:
- Elizabeth Salm, PhD., and Vaughn Samuel: “Enhancing Premedical Master’s Student Success Through Near Peer Mentorship: Outcomes and Lessons from the One Step Ahead Monitoring Program.”
Check out the full list of accepted abstracts across all categories here.
2024 Symposium: Celebrating our academic community
More than 1,400 members of our academic community attended the 2024 MedStar Health–Georgetown University Research & Education Symposium on April 29, 2024 – our largest event yet! From our humble beginnings at the first Research Day held in 1998 to this year’s event with more than 1,000 attendees, we are proud to celebrate our rich community of scholars, academics, clinicians, and scientists from across our two organizations.
This year’s event featured 275+ juried poster presentations, plus numerous oral presentations and academic workshops. Additionally, we recognized several best-scoring abstracts from residents, fellows, and educators.
Highlights included a keynote address by Anthony, Fauci, MD, Distinguished University Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and the McCourt School of Public Policy, and Distinguished Senior Scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. A renowned physician, leading immunologist and infectious disease researcher, and advisor to seven U.S. presidents, Dr. Fauci served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 38 years until his retirement in 2022.
Other main stage speakers were Stephen R.T. Evans, MD, executive vice president for Medical Affairs and chief medical officer for MedStar Health, Jack DeGioia, Ph.D., president of Georgetown University, Neil J. Weissman, MD, president of MedStar Health Research Institute and chief scientific officer for MedStar Health, and Jamie S. Padmore, DM, vice president of Academic Affairs at MedStar Health.
The day began with Georgetown University’s Center for Innovation and Leadership in Education (CENTILE) Colloquium for Educators in Health Professions, with more than 300 scholars in attendance. In the afternoon, more attendees joined for professional workshops on academic topics including research statistics, institutional review board, and curriculum design. This was followed by resident and fellow oral presentations, presentations from four MedStar Health Research Scholars, and presentations from graduates of the MedStar Health GME Social Medicine and Health Equity and Global Health Equity tracks. The Symposium closed with a reception hosted by MedStar Health Philanthropy.
Awards & Recognitions
Numerous awards were presented at the Symposium. Nine residents and fellows were recognized for outstanding research in oral and poster presentations:
First Place:
Bria Johnson, MD (PGY-2, Ob/Gyn): “Delays, fragmentation, and no alternatives: a qualitative study of patient experience through diagnosis and treatment of endometrial cancer.”
Allison Kumnick, MD (PGY-2, Ob/Gyn): “Establishing normative findings of ovarian anatomy and sex hormones through puberty.”
Kalyan R. Chitturi, DO (PGY-7, Interventional Cardiology): “High-risk percutaneous coronary intervention with or without prophylactic mechanical circulatory support: Will Impella show superiority in the PROTECT IV Randomized Trial?”
Desiree Pinto, MD, MPH (PGY-4, Burn): “Identifying new and unmanaged co-morbities at hospital admission to improve acute and chronic management of burn patients.”
Second Place:
Olivia Wilkins, MD (PGY-1, Internal Medicine): “Associations between myeloproliferative neoplasms, ischemic stroke, and agent orange exposure in U.S. veterans: a comprehensive analysis.”
Andrew Tiu, MD (PGY-6, Hematology/Oncology): “Patient-reported outcomes among U.S. veterans living with myeloproliferative neoplasms.”
Jin Kook Kang, MD (PGY-4, Surgery): "Impact of obesity on neurological outcomes in patients undergoind venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.”
Third Place:
Sean Sequeria, MD (PGY-3, Orthopedics): “Isolated syndesmotic fixation is associates with increased risk of arthrodesis and arthroplasty operations compared to nonoperatively managed syndesmostic injury: A propensity-scored analysis.”
Panagiotis Koutoupias, MD (PGY-4, Infectious Disease): “Analysis of Cabotegravir-Ripivirine use in HIV patients at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.”
Mary Kim, MD (PGY-4, Surgery): “Development and validation of a computer vision-based approach for identifying PPE nonadherence in a medical setting.”
Desiree Pinto, MD, MPH (PGY-4, Burn) also received the 2024 CENTILE Colloquium Best Oral Abstract Award.
Special thanks
The event was a success, thanks to the dedicated planning committee and chairs.
2024 Symposium Chairs were Stephanie Detterline, MD and A. Jay Khanna, MD. Aarthi Shenoy, MD and Kenneth Fan, MD co-chaired the Scientific Review Committee. Aviad Haramati, PhD, was chair of the Education Committee.
