MedStar Health and Georgetown University Host the Annual Research & Education Symposium, Celebrating 25 Years of Partnership

The day-long event recognizes excellence in research and academics across the two organizations and features more than 325 scientific presentations.

WASHINGTON – Today, more than 1,200 physicians, scientists, researchers, educators, students, residents/fellows, professors, collaborative partners, executives, and other members of the academic community attended the 2025 MedStar Health-Georgetown University Research & Education Symposium. The event coincides with the 25th anniversary of MedStar Health and Georgetown University forming an academic health system partnership agreement to transform health, innovate education, and advance research, patient care, and science.

“For 25 years, our partnership has aimed to strengthen connections between research and medicine to advance the health and wellbeing of our communities,” said Stephen R. T. Evans, MD, chief medical officer, MedStar Health. “The Symposium has always been a premier example of what our special relationship makes possible: bringing people together to spark new ideas, create new knowledge to transform how we treat people, and support the next generation of educators and learners in health and medicine.”

Georgetown University and MedStar Health formed the academic health system partnership in 2000. The institutions’ leaders reaffirmed their commitment to expanding and strengthening the academic health system partnership with a new agreement in 2017, stretching a half century.

“Fully realizing the potential of our MedStar Health partnership in research, education and health and health care is imperative,” said Norman J. Beauchamp, Jr., MD, MHS, executive vice president for health sciences and executive dean of the Georgetown’s School of Medicine. “Together, we will redefine academic medicine and demonstrate how academic health systems are driving the changes society needs in the next century that will deliver health, hope and healing to more people.”

Open to all members of the greater research and academic community, the Symposium highlighted more than 325 peer-reviewed poster presentations, dozens of oral presentations, and numerous academic workshops. A highlight included remarks from MedStar Health President and CEO Ken Samet, FACHE who spoke about the health system’s commitment to academics and research.

The event culminated in 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. Drass offered reflections from the past 25 years and remarks on the vision for the future of the partnership. Haramati underscored the importance of ongoing innovation for scholars and leaders of health professions education.

During the Symposium, 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.”

More than 200 attendees also participated in CENTILE’s Colloquium for Educators in the Health Professions, which featured presentations from faculty, staff, and trainees, as well as a plenary session focused on the learning environment. Elizabeth Salm, PhD., and Vaughn Samuel, administrative leaders in Georgetown’s Biomedical Graduate Education program were also awarded best oral abstract among educators for their work titled “Enhancing Premedical Master’s Student Success Through Near Peer Mentorship: Outcomes and Lessons from the One Step Ahead Monitoring Program.”

Other main stage speakers included Neil J. Weissman, MD, chief scientific officer, and Jamie S. Padmore, DM, vice president, Academic Affairs and vice dean, education, Georgetown University Medical Center.

To read more about this year’s event, please visit MedStarHealth.org/Symposium.