Internal Medicine Residency Program – Recent Resident Scholarly Work

Resident: Katie Oakes, MD PGY-3
Project Title: EKG of the Day - A Novel Teaching Approach for the Third Year Medicine Clerkship
Description: Katie is passionate about medical education. Alongside faculty mentors, she launched a medical education initiative focused on improving medical students' ability to read EKGs through spaced repetition using artificial intelligence. This intervention was well received by our medical students, and Katie presented her work at the University of Southern California Innovations in Medical Education Conference 2025. 
Mentor(s):  Gordon Huggins, MD

Resident: Sravya Shankara, MD PGY-2
Project Title: Mind the Methadone - Keeping Patients on Course, Not on Edge
Description: Sravya is interested in quality improvement and, through the QI Week initiative, she and her peers led a project addressing missed methadone doses that precipitated withdrawal in a patient. Her team identified key issues such as time constraints and challenges with the electronic medication record. They ‌are continuing this work by using proven quality improvement methods like process mapping, Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles, to reduce the number of missed methadone doses for inpatients at TMC.
Mentor(s):  Jake Kantrowitz, MD, PhD

Resident: Aneesh Singal, MD PGY-3
Project Title: First author manuscript, “Association Between Serum Adiponectin and Risk of Incident Hypertension: the REGARDS Study” in the Journal of Hypertension.
Description: Aneesh studied whether adiponectin, a cytokine secreted by adipocytes, is associated with hypertension, a well-established risk factor for heart disease. Aneesh found that among adults, a lower adiponectin level was associated with a greater risk of hypertension. Aneesh continues to research the relationship between adiponectin and hypertension in a study focused on adiponectin changes in obesity. Aneesh is a member of the Research Track.
Mentor(s): Timothy Plante, MD and Brian Downey, MD

Residents: Asha Dash, MD PGY-2 and Andy Huang, MD PGY-3
Project Title: Perioperative Outcomes of As Needed versus Routine Intravenous Fluid for Patients Receiving Ambulatory GI Endoscopies Following Hurricane Helene
Description: Asha and Andy studied what happened during the intravenous fluid shortage that occurred after Hurricane Helene. They used clinical data after EGDs evaluating which patients were given fluid and whether this made a difference in vital signs and other outcomes. They also surveyed nurses, gastroenterologists and anesthesiologists about their perceptions on the need for intravenous fluids for patients.  Results were presented as abstracts a Digestive Disease Week and both gave oral poster presentations at GLOW week.
Mentor(s): Sonnia Friedman, MD
 

Manuscripts

In addition to presenting at academic conferences, our residents have published in many major national and international journals over the past year, including:

• American Journal of Medicine
• American Journal of Gastroenterology
• JAMA Neurology
• Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC)
• The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplant (JHLT)
• British Medical Journal (BMJ)
• JACC Heart Failure
• Liver International
• Digestive Diseases and Sciences (DDS)
• Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE)
• Artificial Organ Research and Development (ASAIO)
• Biomaterials, European Heart Journal Cardiovascular Imaging
• Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM)
• BMC Global and Public Health
• BMC Health and Justice
• Journal of Invasive Cardiology (JIC)
• American Journal of Kidney Disease (AJKD)
• American Journal of Health System Pharmacy (AJHP)
• Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

Below is an incomplete list of resident publications during the 2024–2025 academic year

• Ludwig CG. Londonderry Air. JAMA Neurol. 2025 Feb 1;82(2):121-122.
• Sherrill C, Ehrhardt-Humbert L, Salem D. The Role of Lipoprotein(a) in the Progression of Aortic Stenosis. Am J Med. 2025 Jul;138(7):1074-1077.
• Ton VK, Li S, John K, Li B, Zweck E, Kanwar MK, Sinha SS, Hernandez-Montfort J, Garan AR, Goodman R, Faugno A, Farr M, Hall S, Kataria R, Guglin M, Vorovich E, Pahuja M, Vallabhajosyula S, Nathan S, Abraham J, Harwani NM, Hickey GW, Schwartzman AD, Khalife W, Mahr C, Kim JH, Bhimaraj A, Sangal P, Kong Q, Walec KD, Zazzali P, Fried J, Burkhoff D, Kapur NK. Serial Shock Severity Assessment Within 72 Hours After Diagnosis: A Cardiogenic Shock Working Group Report. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024 Aug 1:S0735-1097(24)07740-4. Epub ahead of print. Erratum in: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2025 Mar 25;85(11):1288.
• Kochar A, Vallabhajosyula S, John K, Sinha SS, Esposito M, Pahuja M, Hirst C, Li S, Kong Q, Li B, Natov P, Kanwar M, Hernandez-Montfort J, Garan AR, Walec K, Zazzali P, Sangal P, Ton VK, Zweck E, Kataria R, Guglin M, Vorovich E, Nathan S, Abraham J, Harwani NM, Fried JA, Farr M, Hall SA, Hickey GW, Wencker D, Schwartzman AD, Khalife W, Mahr C, Kim JH, Bhimaraj A, Blumer V, Faugno A, Burkhoff D, Kapur NK. Factors associated with acute limb ischemia in cardiogenic shock and downstream clinical outcomes: Insights from the Cardiogenic Shock Working Group. J Heart Lung Transplant. 2024 Nov;43(11):1846-1856.
• Velury DK, Rajapreyar I, Konstam MA. Late Cardiac Allograft Failure: The Importance of the Metabolic Syndrome. JACC Heart Fail. 2025 Jun 25;13(8):102517
• Alabdul Razzak I, Fares A, Stine JG, Trivedi HD. The Role of Exercise in Steatotic Liver Diseases: An Updated Perspective. Liver Int. 2025 Jan;45(1):e16220.
• Youn J, Hsia K, Khadilkar S, Zeina T, Rai P, Rastogi A, Hussani S, Spence S, Adavelly P, Yanes J, Kotlier J, Sweigart B, Levy AN, Friedman S. The Impact of Obesity on the Prevalence and Complications of Perianal Fistulas of Crohn's Disease. Dig Dis Sci. 2025 Jan;70(1):323-332.
• Wessler BS, Tsoi M, Dehn MM, Patel AR. Complete Hemodynamic Assessment of the Aortic Valve. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2024 Nov;37(11):1120-1121.
• Wohlfahrt A, Ablavsky A, John KJ, Kiernan M, Kapur NK, Kawabori M, Chweich H. Mesenteric Ischemia During Intra-Aortic Balloon Counterpulsation Therapy: Case Series. ASAIO J. 2025 Feb 24.
• Wang F, Ning A, Sun X, Zhou Y, Deng H, Zhou H, Chen S, He M, Meng Z, Wang Y, Xia H, Ma X, Xia Q. Fabrication of a transforming growth factor β1 functionalized silk sericin hydrogel through genetical engineering to repair alveolar bone defects in rabbit. Biomaterials. 2025 May;316:122986.
• Karmiy S, Huang Z, Velury D, Mai E, Li J, Dehn MM, Balian DR, Ramsingh D, Martin J, Kantrowitz J, Patel AR, Hughes MC, Wessler BS. Machine learning-enabled screening for aortic stenosis with handheld ultrasound. Eur Heart J Imaging Methods Pract. 2025 May 8;3(1)
• McGrath D, Lee H, Sun C, Kawabori M, Zhan Y. Right transaxillary transcatheter aortic valve replacement is comparable to left despite challenges. Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2024 Oct;72(10):641-648.
• Ghosalkar R, John K, Li J, Steinhauer R, Wessler BS, Patel AR, Downey BC. Indexing Aortic Dimensions Using Ideal Body Weight Significantly Reclassifies Aortic Dilation in Overweight and Obese Patients. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2024 Oct;37(10):1012-1014.
• Miki A, Tandon M, Murad D, Loughman J, Gilman J, Jangi S. Increasing Prevalence of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome in Young Adults and Minority Populations. Am J Gastroenterol. 2025 Jun 13.
• Berake TB, Almeqdadi M, Negash L, Ualiyeva S. A Case Report of Mycophenolate Mofetil-Induced Fulminant Colitis in a 76-Year-Old Renal Transplant Recipient. Cureus. 2024 Dec 28;16(12):e76505.
• John KJ, Wahoud M, Rago C, Kawabori M, Leung LY, Kapur NK, Chweich H. Pattern and Outcomes of Stroke in Cardiogenic Shock Patients Supported by Impella 5.5. ASAIO J. 2025 Apr 4.
• John KJ, Belani DJ, Kapur NK, Lussier L, Chweich H. Comparison of Mixed Venous Oxygen Saturation and Premembranous Venous Oxygen Saturation in Patients on Peripheral Venous-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. ASAIO J. 2024 Sep;70(9):e130-e132.
• Erenler F, Katcher B, Phan V, Arkun K, Safain MG. Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone/Growth Hormone Cosecreting Pituitary Adenoma With Normal Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Level. JCEM Case Rep. 2025 Apr 11;3(5):luaf063.
• Surya N, Wu CH, Ryan H. Rasburicase-induced methemoglobinemia and haemolytic anaemia in a patient with G6PD deficiency. BMJ Case Rep. 2025 Mar 31;18(3):e262830.
• Tenner RA, Grussing ED, Manning D, Ngassa Y, van den Berg JJ, Vazquez GA, Doron S, Campion M, Wurcel AG. "It's easier to take a pill than fix a problem:" qualitative analysis of barriers and facilitators to antimicrobial stewardship program implementation in carceral settings. BMC Glob Public Health. 2024 Aug 26;2(1):59.
• John KJ, Chweich H, Kimmelstiel C, Resor CD, Kapur NK. Clinical outcomes of the post-closure technique for arteriotomy closure with the Impella cardiac power percutaneous left ventricular assist device. J Invasive Cardiol. 2025 Feb;37(2).
• John KJ, Chweich H. In Response to Broman et al .: Time to Throw Out the Elephant in the Room: Proper Use of SvO2 in Extracorporeal Life Support. ASAIO J. 2025 Jan 1;71(1):e19
• Moises AI, Tighiouart H, Testani JM, Tuttle M, Banlengchit R, Oka T, Lee KJ, Ferguson K, Sarnak H, Harding C, Kiernan MS, Sarnak MJ, McCallum W. Association of Volume Overload With Kidney Function Outcomes Among Patients With Acute Decompensated Heart Failure. Am J Kidney Dis. 2025 Jun 6:S0272-6386(25)00874-1.
• Beaudrie-Nunn AN, Poyant JO, Groth CM, Rappaport SH, Kruer RM, Miller E, Whitten JA, Mcintire AM, McDaniel CM, Betthauser KD, Mohammad RA, Kenes MT, Korona RB, Barber AE, MacTavish P, Dixit D, Yeung SYA, Stollings JL. An international, multicenter post hoc analysis comparing in-person and virtual medication management strategies in post-ICU recovery clinics. Am J Health Syst Pharm. 2025 Feb 20;82(5):e262-e273.
• Port JJ, Weber BN, Kadiyala M. Inflammation and INOCA: Can Fat Attenuation Indexing by Coronary CT Angiography Help Identify Coronary Inflammation? JACC Case Rep. 2025 Apr 16;30(8):103215.
• Wu X, Toskic D, Zhou P, Scalia S, Ma X, Bhatt P, Fogaren T, Pilichowska M, Arkun K, Patel J, Riesenburger RI, Larson DP, Comenzo RL. Case Report: Avoiding misdiagnosis in amyloidosis-navigating transthyretin genopositivity and monoclonal gammopathy in a patient with advanced heart failure and spinal stenosis. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2024 Dec 16;11:1479676.
• Grussing ED, Sato T, Cabrera A, Wurcel AG. Offering is not enough: an attempt to increase infectious diseases testing at a large county jail in Massachusetts. Health Justice. 2025 Mar 15;13(1):15.
• Wu X, Toskic D, Zhou P, Scalia S, Ma X, Bhatt P, Fogaren T, Pilichowska M, Arkun K, Patel J, Riesenburger RI, Larson DP, Comenzo RL. Case Report: Avoiding misdiagnosis in amyloidosis-navigating transthyretin genopositivity and monoclonal gammopathy in a patient with advanced heart failure and spinal stenosis. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2024 Dec 16;11:1479676. 
• Grussing ED, Sato T, Cabrera A, Wurcel AG. Offering is not enough: an attempt to increase infectious diseases testing at a large county jail in Massachusetts. Health Justice. 2025 Mar 15;13(1):15. 

Posters

Over the past year, our residents have presented at a many national and regional conferences, including American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Digestive Disease Week (DDW), CHEST, American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAIM), New England Society of General Internal Medicine (NE SGIM) and the Massachusetts Society of Clinical Oncologists (MSCO).

Below is an incomplete list of resident poster presentations at conferences during the 2024–2025 academic year:

• Teclistamab in relapsed/ refractory systemic AL amyloidosis
• In-Hospital Complications of Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Rheumatic Diseases
• Risk of Postpolypectomy Bleeding in Patients with Cirrhosis: A Single-Center Retrospective Study
• Contemporary Trends in Utilization and Safety of Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Heart Failure
• GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy Does Not Increase Gastrointestinal Adverse Events in Patients with IBD
• Automated Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Software for Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
• Identifying the gap between clinical exposure and expected knowledge in Oncology for Internal Medicine residents
• Contemporary Topics in Team-Based Care
• Clinical Outcomes of Cardiogenic Shock Patients Supported with VA-ECMO: Insights from the Cardiogenic Shock Working Group
• The prevalence of chronic opioid use in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a nationwide register-based study between 1996-2021
• Perioperative outcomes of prn vs. Routine iv fluids for patients receiving ambulatory GI endoscopies following hurricane Helene
• Unhoused patients with alcohol-associated liver disease are associated with greater incidence of complications and hospital-related outcomes
• Long-duration fluconazole therapy may be associated with faster time-to-remission in patients with active inflammatory bowel disease
• Adverse outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease on glp-1 receptor agonist therapy
• Perioperative outcomes of PRN vs. routine IV fluids for patients receiving ambulatory GI endoscopies following Hurricane Helene
• Angry Purkinje Syndrome: Cases Requiring a Unique Treatment Approach
• Standardizing the Hospital Course Template
• Obesity and Echocardiographic Predictors of Sudden Cardiac Death
• The path of least resistance: A case of a clinically stable alveolopleural fistula with continuous air leak
• Clinical Comorbidities and Two-Dimensional Echocardiographic Features Associated with Cardiac Amyloid Subtypes
• Proper Utilization of the National Inpatient Sample to Assess the Safety of In-Patient Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation in the US: Correcting the Mistakes of the Past
• Stressed Out: Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy as an Alternative Cause of Wellens T Waves
• Improving Internal Medicine Resident Confidence in Managing IBD Exacerbations Using a Triage Algorithm
• Accuracy and Variability in Echocardiographic Measurements of Left Ventricular Mass
• Optimal LDL targets for overall survival in the heart transplant population
• Meningitis due to an Anterior Sacral Meningocele Communicating with a Rectal Abscess
• Modelling Diabetic Vasculopathy Through 3D Vascular Grafts from Vascular and Progenitor Cells
• Towards the Development of an Endothelial Progenitor Cell - Based Vascular Graft for Drug Screening
• Chronic disseminated intravascular coagulation in patient with metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor: treating a case of bleeding with anticoagulation