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 eli_adashi
Multiple health policy projects. No funding available.
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

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.
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.

David Egilman MD, MPH
President GHETS
Clinical Professor of Family Medicine
Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University
8 North Main Street
Attleboro, Massachusetts 02703
Cell 508-472-2809
Office 508-225 –5091 Ext 11 degilman@egilman.com
Project description: This person will be responsible for providing critical support in family medicine program development in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. They will provide logistical and programmatic support to our partners at various medical institutions for a variety of projects including curricula development projects, faculty exchange and training projects, as well as projects seeking to improve primary care. It is a great opportunity for a student seeking hands on experience in global health.
Qualifications: An ideal candidate will possess strong interpersonal skills, and be extremely organized and detail-orientated. The ideal candidate will also possess prior experiences in cross-cultural settings, field experience in a developing country, foreign language skills, and a background or demonstrated interest in public health, development, media, or social justice.
Funding: None available.
Beatrice E. Lechner, MD
Neonatologist, Department of Pediatrics
Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island
101 Dudley Street, Providence, RI 02905
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University |
401-274-1122, ext. 47438
2 possible projects:
1. Defining the role of proteoglycans in preterm birth. In this project, a cell culture scratch test model will be used to assess the role of various proteoglycans in the maintenance of intact fetal membranes throughout pregnancy, including rescuing the phenotype. Some experience in basic research methods, ideally cell culture, is helpful.
2. A survey based analysis of the communication gap between healthcare providers and parents of sick newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit. In this study, a survey will be developed and administered to healthcare providers as well as parents. Some experience in qualitative research methods is helpful.
Funding: none available

Roland C. Merchant, MD, MPH, ScD
Associate Professor
Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology
Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Rhode Island Hospital
(O): (401) 444-5109
(F): (401) 444-4307
Researchers from the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry and Human Behavior are seeking a highly motivated medical student for an interesting study on an emergency medicine-based intervention to decrease risk of sexually transmitted infections. The research involves direct contact with adult emergency department patients at Rhode Island Hospital during summer 2016. The medical student chosen for the study will recruit adult emergency department patients to watch a video about sexually transmitted infections and complete a survey. The study particularly aims to recruit racial/ethnic minority patients into the study. The intent of the study is to determine the efficacy of this type of intervention in the emergency medicine setting. The ideal candidate for the position will be someone who can work independently, is comfortable with approaching patients and recruiting them to the study, is interested in the topic under study, and has an interest in racial/ethnic minority health promotion.