MSTP Blog
MSTPublications: December 2020
Dec. 18, 2020—Diflunisal-loaded poly(propylene sulfide) nanoparticles decrease S. aureus-mediated bone destruction during osteomyelitis. Ford CA, Spoonmore TJ, Gupta MK, Duvall CL, Guelcher SA, Cassat JE. J Orthop Res. 2020 Dec 10. doi: 10.1002/jor.24948. Online ahead of print. Osteomyelitis is a debilitating infection of bone that results in substantial morbidity. Staphylococcus aureus is the most commonly isolated pathogen...
Alumni Feature: Dr. Jennifer Watchmaker M.D. PhD. (’19)
Dec. 18, 2020—Dr. Jennifer Watchmaker is a current PGY-2 Mount Sinai Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology resident. Last year, during the first wave of the pandemic, she was serving on the front lines at Elmhurst hospital in Queens and at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. She created an Instagram account that uses bitmojis and fun animations to share...
Zooming into a procedural specialty with Vance Albaugh, MD, PhD
Dec. 18, 2020—Caleb Ford (G5) Anecdotally, Vanderbilt MSTP student interest in procedural specialties has risen during my time in the MSTP. This trend is corroborated by a recent publication exploring the data and possible reasons that MD-PhD trainees are not pursuing careers in orthopedic surgery (an excellent residency choice in my opinion). As you may have reflected...
MSTP Students Featured in Shade Tree Article
Nov. 23, 2020— Both Simone Herzberg (G1) and Emilie Fisher (G1) were featured in an interview about Shade Tree.
Life in the MSTP – Fall Exclusive
Nov. 23, 2020—Natchez house’s (Xavier Bledsoe (G1), Zach Jones (G2), Leeland (VUSM M3), and Patrick (VUSM M3) take on trick or treating. Awesome pumpkin carving skills Jeewoo Kim (M1) and Kimmy Bress (M1) we would like to name “A tragedy in two parts” Roommates Nowrin Chowdhury (G2), Camille Wang (G2), Ericka Randazzo (M1) and Mollie (VUSM M4) Kelsey McNew (G1)...
Life in the MSTP – November 2020
Nov. 23, 2020— Rachel Brown (G4) and Matt Stier (’19) had a pandemic wedding at the courthouse downtown. Rachel’s sister, Sarah (VMS3), served as the witness and photographer. Fun fact: Judge Brothers also married Christiaan Wijers (G3) and Alissa Cutrone (G1) and Natalie Bennett (G2) and her husband Greg! The 11/16 Shade Tree Vaccine event providing flu shots...
MSTPublications: November 2020
Nov. 23, 2020—Safety of Hydroxychloroquine Among Outpatient Clinical Trial Participants for COVID-19. Lofgren SM, Nicol MR, Bangdiwala AS, Pastick KA, Okafor EC, Skipper CP, Pullen MF, Engen NW, Abassi M, Williams DA, Nascene AA, Axelrod ML, Lother SA, MacKenzie LJ, Drobot G, Marten N, Cheng MP, Zarychanski R, Schwartz IS, Silverman M, Chagla Z, Kelly LE, McDonald...
Physician-Scientist Speaker Series
Nov. 23, 2020—by Duncan Smart (G3) In an inspiring Fall edition of the Physician-Scientist Speaker Series, the MSTP honored our two new advising college namesakes, Dr. Kathryn Edwards and Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr. The event featured keynote addresses from Dr. Edwards and Dr. Levi Garraway. Dr. Garraway spoke on behalf of his uncle, Dr. Watkins. Dr. Garraway,...
Additional Namesakes Added to MSTP Advising Colleges
Oct. 29, 2020—by Megan Williams, PhD (MSTP LT) The Vanderbilt MSTP has four Advising Colleges that facilitate advising and community building within our program. These four colleges were named after six prominent physicians and/or scientists affiliated with Vanderbilt: Avery-Cohen, Goodpasture, Stahlman-Thomas, and Sutherland. Why did the Vanderbilt MSTP have four Advising Colleges and six namesakes? Why are...
Alumni Profile: Kristen Eckstrand, M.D., Ph.D. (’15)
Oct. 29, 2020— by Camille Wang (G2) Kristen Eckstrand, M.D. Ph.D., is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and a Post-Doctoral Scholar at the Western Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). For her undergraduate degree, Dr. Eckstrand attended Beloit College, a private liberal-arts college in southern Wisconsin. She then matriculated at Vanderbilt University for her...
MSTPublications: October 2020
Oct. 29, 2020—Association between measured teamwork and medical errors: an observational study of prehospital care in the USA. Herzberg S, Hansen M, Schoonover A, Skarica B, McNulty J, Harrod T, Snowden JM, Lambert W, Guise JM. BMJ Open. 2019 Oct 31;9(10):e025314. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025314. Objectives: The goal of this study was to examine the relationship between measured teamwork...
Alumni Corner: October 2020
Oct. 29, 2020—Katherine Konvinse (’20) and her husband, Ananth, were thrilled to welcome Andrew Naveen Kaushik into their family on 9/11/20. Andrew is demonstrating how peacefully you sleep if you have no idea what a mess this year has been! Alums Nick (MD, PhD ‘20) and Kelly Harris (MD ‘16) wrapped up their last Vanderbilt project with...
Life in the MSTP – October 2020
Oct. 29, 2020—M1s had their first official, MSTP sponsored class bonding social event, with fun virtual games like Skribbl.io and dinner deliveries courtesy of the MSTP! Congratulations to Dr. Chris Williams (MSTP Director) for becoming a grandfather! His daughter McKenna and her husband Derek welcomed Shiloh Laine to the world on 9/30/2020 at 7 pounds 4 oz!
Honors and Awards – October 2020
Oct. 29, 2020—Congratulations to David Tovar (G5- Wallace lab) for receiving the Elaine Sanders Bush Award for Outstanding Neuroscience Research! Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Manz (G5-Grueter Lab) for receiving the Vanderbilt Brain Institute Postdoctoral Award for Highest-Impact Paper! Congratulations to Dr. Lourdes Estrada (MSTP Leadership Team) for being elected as the new director of Vanderbilt’s Academy for Excellence in Education. She...