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.
Kyle Bilodeau, MD, 2021-2023
Dr. Bilodeau is a research fellow in the T32 NIH-NIGMS Institutional Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Trauma, Injury and Inflammation under the guidance of Dr. Grant O’Keefe, Professor in the Division of Trauma, Burn, and Critical Care Surgery. Dr. Bilodeau is focused on clinical and translational research involving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). His interests include the association between ECMO support type, complications, and mortality, as well as the effect of current circuit technologies on hemostasis, thrombosis, and inflammation. During his fellowship, Dr. Bilodeau will also complete a Master of Science in the UW School of Public Health and Health Services, with a concentration in Clinical and Translational Research. Following his residency, Dr. Bilodeau plans to pursue a fellowship in Cardiothoracic Surgery.
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.
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.
Elina Serrano, MD, MPH, 2021-2023
Dr. Serrano is a research fellow in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK ) funded T32 fellowship in Gastrointestinal Surgical Outcomes Research at the Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE) under the mentorship of Dr. David Flum, Professor in the Division of General Surgery. She is studying the impact of language barriers on commonly reported surgical outcomes such as complication rates, readmission rates, and mortality, as well as on patient reported measures of health, satisfaction, and quality of life. Dr. Serrano hopes to accomplish this through an integration of qualitative and quantitative research. Her goal is to use research findings to inform interventions aimed at improving surgical care access and delivery for underserved communities. During her fellowship, Dr. Serrano will also complete a Master of Science in Health Services with a concentration on Clinical and Translational Research at the University of Washington. She ultimately plans to pursue a career in academic surgery with an emphasis on surgical disparities research.
Mike Weykamp, MD, 2021-2023
Dr. Weykamp is a research fellow in the T32 NIH-NIGMS Institutional Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Trauma, Injury and Inflammation under the guidance of Dr. Grant O’Keefe, Professor in the Division of Trauma, Burn, and Critical Care Surgery. Dr. Weycamp is interested in translational research with a focus on pre-hospital trauma care, shock, and device development and is collaborating with researchers at Madigan Army Medical Center including Chief of Surgery, Dr. Jason Bingham, to develop therapies to improve the care of combat casualties. Dr. Weykamp plans to pursue a fellowship in trauma and critical care.
Frank Yang, MD, 2021-2023
Dr. Yang is a research fellow in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK ) funded T32 fellowship in Gastrointestinal Surgical Outcomes Research at the Surgical Outcomes Research Center (SORCE) under the guidance of Dr. David Flum, Professor in the Division of General Surgery. Dr. Yang’s research interests include clinical outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and resource utilization in general and endocrine surgery. Dr. Yang will also be enrolled in the Master of Science program in Health Services with coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, and other methodology in health services research. Following general surgery residency, Dr. Yang plans to pursue a fellowship in surgical oncology or endocrine surgery.