Summer Assistantship Faculty Sponsor List Summer 2016
Below is a list of Brown faculty who have expressed an interest in working with medical
students this summer. We urge you to contact them early in your application process to
discuss potential collaborations. Please note that that you are not limited to faculty on
this list – you may identify other faculty mentors independently.
Faculty were asked if they would be able to provide funding for student work outside of
the Summer Assistantship process. Their answers are included below.
Barbara S. Stonestreet, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
101 Dudley Street, Providence, RI
(401) 274-1122, x 47429
bstonestreet@wihri.org
Title: Neuroprotective strategies in neonatal brain injury.
Brief Description: Hypoxia-ischemia (HI) is the leading cause of neurodevelopmental
morbidities in preterm and full term infants. The only therapeutic strategy to treat HI
encephalopathy (HIE) is hypothermia for full term infants, which is only partially
protective, and treatment does not exist for HI exposed preterm infants except for
supportive care. Based upon the Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Roundtable
(STAIR) criteria, sufficient dose-response and therapeutic time windows, adequate
histological and behavioral outcomes, and understanding mechanism(s) of action for
neuroprotectants are necessary for preclinical drug development to facilitate translation
of neuroprotective strategies from animals to humans. The basis of this proposal is the
identification of novel immunomodulatory proteins, Inter-alpha Inhibitor Proteins (IAIPs)
that are currently in development as effective therapeutic agents in systemic
inflammation/shock syndromes. Results should yield novel preclinical information to
accelerate IAIPs use as neuroprotective agents to treat HI-related brain injury in human
premature and full term infants.
Qualifications: some biology and neuroscience background
Funding: None
Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS, CPE, FACOG
Professor of Medical Science
Multiple health policy projects. No funding available.
Mike (Mai) He, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
101 Dudley Street, Providence, RI
(401) 274 – 1122 x 41310
mai_he@brown.edu; mhe@wihri.org
Title: D-dimer Levels during Pregnancy
Description: Pregnancy is associated with increased risk of deep-venous thrombosis.
The natural course of D-dimer levels during and after pregnancy has not been well
studied so there are no established normal reference ranges for the antepartum and
postpartum periods.
This is a prospective study using residual blood sample combined with chart review.
Qualification/previous experience: None needed.
Funding: Yes. Again, we may need two and able to fund two.
Dr. James Padbury
Department of Pediatrics
401 2741122,x147405
james_padbury@brown.edu
Description: Preterm delivery and preeclampsia are the leading causes of maternal and
newborn morbidity and mortality. We are employing a Pathway Analysis based
approach whereby we are curating the medical literature, public databases and archives
of expression and genetic data for genes with demonstrated relationship to preterm
labor and preeclampsia. We have built a robust, web-based, semantic data mining tool
to curate published literature on preterm birth and preeclampsia. The curators review
each article, identify the genes clearly associated with preterm delivery or preeclampsia,
assign the correct Human Genome Database unique gene ID number for each relevant
gene in the article, review the citations in the article for additional publications that may
not have been captured in the database query, provide annotations on the individual
articles and, lastly, extract SNPs in the genomic region and SNPs in the 10 kb of
sequence in the upstream 5’ region of the gene and 5 kb of sequence downstream of
the genomic region using the UCSC genome browser and dbSNP. This is a robust
educational experience. Bioinformatics is an important new discipline that is allowing
researchers interested in clinical and translational projects to manipulate large data sets
and large amounts of information. This is a very contemporary approach and an
invaluable skill set. This will further be valuable as a scientific experience with
extensive exposure to genetics, cell and molecular biology. Students develop
substantial expertise in genetics, genomics, understanding of gene structure,
understanding the sources of genetic variation between individuals and participation in
the publication process.
Joseph Bliss, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
101 Dudley St., Providence, RI
(401) 274-1122 x 47484
jbliss@wihri.org
Title: Effect of Dietary Medium Chain Triglyceride Intake on Colonization of Preterm
Infants with Candida
Description: A pilot clinical trial in which premature infants who are colonized with the
yeast, Candida, are randomly assigned to receive a nutritional supplement to determine
whether it reduces their colonization. Candida can cause serious invasive infections in
premature infants who are colonized.
Qualifications: Prior experience with human subject research and/or clinical trials is a
plus, but not required.
Funding: None available.
Wael Asaad MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience
wael_asaad@brown.edu
Project Title: Human Neuromodulation Research
Project Description: Our lab studies human subjects in the setting of neuromodulation
to better understand the basic manifestations and mechanisms of neurological diseases
as well as normal brain function, and to understand the mechanisms of
neuromodulation (deep brain stimulation) and devise ways to improve upon it.
Qualifications: Strong interest in neuroscience; coding in Matlab or Python a plus (for
data analysis and experimental task design).
Funding: Students in our lab would be eligible to apply for a Doris Duke Fellowship for
an entire year, but we currently have no mechanism just for summer funding.
Jun Feng, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Surgery Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Lab.
1 Hoppin Street, Providence RI 02903
(401) 793-8065
jfeng@lifespan.org
Title: Diabetic Regulation of SK/IK Channels and Endothelial Function
Description: My current research interests focus on the role of potassium channels in
coronary microcirculation and endothelial function in both animals and humans. My
current project is focusing on the effects of diabetic regulation of calcium-activated
potassium channels and human coronary endothelial function. My strong background in
cardiovascular physiology, pharmacology, microvascular physiology, cell biology and
bio-informatics combined with my specific training and expertise make me well suited
for the key research areas for this application.
Qualification: Medical Students with or without Lab experiences
Funding: None.
Sun Ho Ahn, MD, FSIR
Assistant Professor of Radiology
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Director IR Fellowship
Associate Editor MHRI
sun_ho_ahn@brown.edu
Jerrold Rosenberg, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics
jerrold_rosenberg@brown.edu
Description: Our project would be measuring functional improvement in patients
undergoing rehabilitation.
Qualifications: No specific qualifications. A student interested in PM&R would be
preferred but not required.
Funding: None.