Current Research Trainees
Lauren Agoubi, MD, MA, 2022-2024
Dr. Agoubi is a research fellow in the NIH-funded T32 Pediatric Injury Research Training Program at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center. She is working under the mentorship of Drs. Frederick Rivara, Monica Vavilala, and Rebecca Maine. Dr. Agoubi’s research interests include systems-based improvement to surgical care access, the effect of social determinants of health on firearm injury pattern, and evidence-informed policy-making in global health. During her fellowship, Dr. Agoubi will also complete a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology with a focus on Global Health. Following residency, she plans to pursue a career focused on global public health research and injury prevention.
Nina Clark, MD, 2022-2024
Dr. Clark is a T32 research fellow in Gastrointestinal Surgical Outcomes Research funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in the Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE) under the guidance of Dr. David Flum, Professor in the Division of General Surgery. Dr. Clark is studying interfacility transfer and resource utilization in emergency general surgery, with the aim of limiting avoidable transfers while ensuring access to appropriate resources in this population. During her fellowship, Dr. Clark will complete a Master of Science in Epidemiology with a concentration in Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Washington. She is also working to develop surgical education resources with the podcast, “Behind the Knife.” Dr. Clark plans to pursue a fellowship in trauma and surgical critical care, followed by a career in academic surgery.
Lindsay Dickerson, MD, 2022-2024
Dr. Dickerson is a research fellow in the UW Tumor Immune Microenvironment (TIME) Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Venu Pillarisetty, Professor of Surgical Oncology. Her work is funded by the Cancer Research Institute (CRI)/Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation (FCF) Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship program. Dr. Dickerson will be using tumor slice culture and mouse models to investigate the tumor-immune landscape in liver and pancreatic cancers, with a specific focus on fibrolamellar cancer (FLC), pediatric liver cancer. Her ultimate goal is to contribute research that leads to more effective immunotherapy for FLC. Dr. Dickerson is also interested in the incorporation of palliative care into surgical oncology clinical practice, and plans to pursue research focused on surgical palliative care and patient-centered communication in pancreatic cancer.
Alexandra H. Hernandez, MD, 2023-2024
Dr. Hernandez is a PGY-4 General Surgery Resident beginning her research years as a Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE) T32 Fellow. She is originally from Southern California, attended the University of Washington for undergraduate studies, Oregon Health and Science University for medical school, and returned to UW for General Surgery Residency. She has a background in qualitative work through prior education research and completed an ethnographic study on gender bias involving structural competency, which introduced her to Trauma Informed Care. This work ignited her interest in the care of traumatically injured patients, focusing on mental health and functional recovery after injury.
Anna Morenz, MD, 2022-2024
Dr. Morenz is T32 research fellow in Gastrointestinal Surgical Outcomes Research funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in the Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE) under the guidance of Dr. David Flum, Professor in the Division of General Surgery, and Dr. Joshua Liao, Associate Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine. Through research, she is passionate about increasing the access to and quality of health care for historically marginalized communities. Currently she is focused on projects interrogating the impact of insurance type and neighborhood-level measures of social risk on access to kidney and liver transplant for patients living with end-stage kidney and liver diseases, respectively. She is also interested in evaluating the effect of audio-only telemedicine on access to health care for historically marginalized patients. During her fellowship, Dr. Morenz will complete a Master of Public Health in Health Services with a concentration in Health Systems and Policy at the University of Washington. Clinically, she is a graduate of the UW Internal Medicine Residency Program and practices as a primary care physician at Harborview Adult Medicine Clinic. She ultimately plans to pursue a career in academic general internal medicine with an emphasis in health equity research and advocacy or in public policy at the state or local level.
Nzuekoh N. Nchinda, MD, 2023-2024
Dr. Nchinda is a research fellow at the Seattle Children’s Hospital Division of Pediatric General Surgery under the mentorship of Dr. Matthew Dellinger, Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Surgery, who is leading clinical research through the Interdisciplinary Airway and Esophageal Center. Dr. Nchinda's research interests include optimization of systems-based clinical management, and quality of life metrics in patients with congenital aerodigestive malformations and thoracic pathologies. During her research fellowship, Dr. Nchinda will also complete a Master of Public Health in Health Services with a concentration in Health Systems and Policy at the University of Washington School of Public Health. Dr. Nchinda plans to pursue a fellowship in Pediatric Surgery and continue a career in academic surgery.
Divya Ramakrishnan, MD, 2023-2024
Dr. Ramakrishnan is a T32 research fellow in Gastrointestinal Surgical Outcomes Research funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) in the Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE) under the guidance of Dr. David Flum, Professor in the Division of General Surgery. Dr. Ramakrishnan’s research interests include digital communication for patient education, resident and medical education, team communication, and wellness. During her fellowship, she will also complete a Master of Science in Health Services at the University of Washington.
Hannah Wild, MD, 2023-2024
Dr. Wild is a research fellow in the UW Rural Surgery Track Fellowship in the Division of Trauma, Burn, and Critical Care Surgery in partnership with the Billings Clinic in Montana. She is under the mentorship of Dr. Barclay Stewart, Assistant Professor, Division of Trauma, Burn & Critical Care Surgery, and supervising Billings Site Director Dr. Gordon Riha. Dr. Wild pursues this clinical training in rural surgery in support of her long-term career objectives to work in low-resource settings. In her second research year she will be based in an international setting to continue her research related to improving the trauma response to civilian casualties in conflict. Dr. Wild will continue to develop a longitudinal project strengthening linkages between humanitarian mine action and emergency health response to mitigate civilian harm from explosive weapons. This work is undertaken as a core member of the International Blast Injury Research Network and in collaboration with the United Nations Mine Action Service. Dr. Wild plans to pursue a career in trauma surgery, working both clinically and at a policy level to improve humanitarian surgical response for civilians affected by conflict.