Student Honors and Publications
Adam Back
Prior to matriculating to Pritzker in the fall of 2007, first-year student Adam Back worked with Memorial Hermann neurosurgeon Peter M. Shedden MD, MSc, FRCS(C), FACS. Their numerous research projects include gamma knife radiosurgery treatment of arteriovenous malformations, use of rh-BMP-2 to achieve posterior cervical fusion, use of betadine in lumbar laminectomy surgery to prevent infection post-operatively, diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus, and abnormal presentations of foramen magnum meningiomas. As a result of their work, Dr. Shedden invited Adam to present a CME lecture (Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital Neurosciences Lecture Series) at The Woodlands Memorial Hermann Hospital in Texas. His presentation, “Infratentorial Meningiomas,” took place in December. Adam will also make a poster presentation based on his abstract on gamma knife radiosurgery for the treatment of arteriovenous malformations at the May 2008 Leksell Gamma Knife Conference in Québec.
Neena Kapoor
Third-year student Neena Kapoor will be presenting a poster at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Annual Meeting entitled “TTP or Not TTP.” The poster is a case report from a third-year medicine clerkship, and was written with third-year medicine resident Teresa Nam, David Vanderweele, MD-PhD’07, and Dr. Vineet Arora, Assistant Professor of Medicine.
Joe Novak
Joe Novak, a fourth-year student and former engineer and USAF F-15C pilot, recently returned from Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas after having completed two months of research with NASA physicians. Joe studied shoulder biomechanics in rear-entry space suit doffing, with the goal of determining the safest way (from a shoulder injury perspective) to get out of the next generation Mark III spacesuit. Joe’s study, “Shoulder Biomechanics in Rear Entry Suit Doffing” will be presented at the International Conference on Environmental Systems this June.
Stephanie Peng
Stephanie Peng, a fourth-year student, coauthored a paper entitled “Laparoscopy or Conventional Open Surgery for Patients with Ileocolonic Crohn’s Disease? A Prospective Study,” which was published in the October 2007 issue of Surgery. Stephanie’s work emanates from the project she conducted with Dr. Alessandro Fichera, Assistant Professor of Surgery, during the Pritzker Summer Research Program.
Caitlin Schaninger, Dr. Vineet Arora, and Mary Johnson
Caitlin Schaninger, a second-year student, attended the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) National Symposium in Orlando, Florida this past December, and served as a moderator at several sessions. Caitlin received a student scholarship to attend the symposium. She attended the symposium with Assistant Professors of Medicine Dr. Vineet Arora; Dr. Julie Johnson; Dr. Lisa Vinci; and Mary Johnson, a graduate student in Health Administration and Policy at the School of Social Service Administration.
Caitlin Schaninger
Caitlin’s work on the use of FACE™ Cards has resulted in multiple publications and presentations. She will present her first-authored poster abstract entitled “Improving Patient Identification of Their Inpatient Physicians: Use of FACE™ Cards” at the Society of Hospital Medicine’s Annual Meeting this April. Caitlin will also represent Pritzker in a panel at April’s Institute for Healthcare Improvement Health Professions Education Collaborative Meeting, as well as present a poster, “Improving Inpatients’ Identification of their Doctors: Use of FACE™ Cards.” The discussion will revolve around case studies of learning about improvement, safety, and interprofessional care.
