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  1. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
  2. Translational Research Institute
  3. Funding Opportunities
  4. K12 Mentored Research Career Development Scholar Awards Program
  5. Career Development Scholars

Career Development Scholars

2026 Scholars

Sarah E. Diamond, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology Division
“Metabolomic Profile of Extremely Preterm Neonates with a Hemodynamically-Significant Patent Ductus Arteriosus”

Mulu Tesfay, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pathology
“Immuno-virotherapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)”

Leah Tobey-Moore, PT, DPT, MBA, Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
“Pain Neuroscience Education for Patients with Spinal Cord Stimulators”

2025 Scholars

Meghan Breckling, Pharm.D., Assistant Professor
College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Center for Implementation Research
“Improving Opioid Education and Naloxone Use in Rural Community Pharmacies”

Maegan Calvert, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Brain Imaging Research Center
“Neural Patterns of Affect in Parent-Child Interactions”

Mokarram Hossain, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
“Novel Immunotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer: Extracellular Matrix-Targeting Myeloid Engager”

Whitney Norris, Ph.D., Instructor
College of Nursing
“Multivariate Coherence Neurofeedback for Trauma Treatment: A Mechanistic and Feasibility Pilot Trial Using High-Density EEG”

2024 Scholars

Lauren Appell, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
“STRONGER ALL: An Early Exercise Regimen for Pediatric Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)”

Shiloah Kviatkovsky, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics
“Effects of Collagen Supplementation on Surgical Outcomes Following TKA”

Ramey Moore, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Institute for Community Health Innovation
“Enhancing HPV Vaccine Recommendations in Clinics Serving Rural Arkansans”

Bernard Muriithi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Health Professions, Department of Occupational Therapy
“Adapted Lifestyle Redesign for Diabetes Management”

Mollee Steely Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
“Adaptation and Implementation of an Evidence-Based Parenting Intervention for Postpartum Women Receiving Medications for Opioid Use Disorder”

James Williams, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
“scRNA seq Analysis of Lower Respiratory Tract Immune Cells to Uncover Immuno-Endotypes in Sepsis-Associated Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome”

2023 Scholars

Mary “Katy” Allison, Ph.D., MPH, Research Assistant Professor
Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior & Health Education
“Optimized Implementation Strategies to Support Pregnancy-Related Remote Patient Monitoring”

Michail Mavros, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Surgery (Oncology)
“Venous Thromboembolism in Pancreatic Cancer Patients Undergoing Pancreatectomy: Risk Factors and Effectiveness of Pharmacoprophylaxis”

Brian D. Piccolo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
“Mechanisms by Which Culturally Specific Foods Influence Infant Gut Development and Barrier Function”

Megha Sharma, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology
“Beyond Race: Objectively Assessed Skin Color and its Association with Pulse Oximeter Bias in Critically Ill Infants”

Ankita Shukla, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology
“PERFORM: Persistent Effects of Intrauterine Growth Restriction on Infant Brain Development: A Comparative MEG Study”

Alicja Urbaniak, Ph.D., Instructor
College of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
“Monensin and its Derivatives as Adjuvants to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for the Treatment of Metastatic Breast Cancer”

2022 Scholars

Jennifer Andersen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Northwest Regional Campus, Office of Community Health and Research
“Feasibility and Acceptability of a Remote Glucose Monitoring Program for Pregnant Marshallese Women whose Pregnancies are Complicated by Diabetes”

Timothy “Cody” Ashby, Ph.D., M.S., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Informatics
“Determining Multiple Myeloma Risk and Heterogeneity at a Single-Cell Resolution”

Nishank Jain, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology
“Platelet, Inflammation and Thrombosis in Chronic Kidney Disease”

Akilah Jefferson-Shah, M.D., M.Sc., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology.
“Delineating Individual and Population-level Factors that Contribute to Disparate Pediatric Asthma Outcomes and to Develop Predictive Models for Identifying Children at Risk for Poor Outcomes”

Nakita Lovelady, Ph.D., MPH, Assistant Professor
Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education.
“A Feasibility Study for the Implementation of a Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program in the Rural South”

Sayem Miah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
“Targeting BRK with PROTAC to Halt Metastatic Triple Negative Breast Cancer”

Deepa Raghavan, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care
“Implementation of COPD Clinical Practice Guidelines with Incorporation of Telehealth”

Jennifer Rumpel, M.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Neonatology Section
“Advancing Care of Neonates with Acute Kidney Injury Utilizing the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium Database”

Amy Sato, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology
“Identification of Cardioprotective Signatures Induced by Targeting MuRF1 and Vitamin D Signaling in Glucocorticoid-Associated Cardiac Disease”

2021 Scholars

Maryam Y. Garza, Ph.D., MPH, MMCi, Instructor
College of Medicine, Department of Biomedical Informatics
“Innovative Solutions to Streamline Data Collection, Exchange, and Utilization in Translational Research”

Joseph Hunter Holthoff, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Nephrology
“Investigation of the Role of IGFBP-1 in a Murine Model of Acute Kidney Injury”

Yong-Chen “William” Lu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Pathology; and Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
“A Pilot Study of Developing T Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapies Across Populations”

Adam Wolfe, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor
College of Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology; and Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
“Targeting Homologous Repair to Overcome Genotoxic Therapy Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer”

Cohort 10 (2020)

Kimberly Stephens, Ph.D., MPH
Britini Ayers, Ph.D.
Jure Baloh, Ph.D., MHA

Cohort 9 (2019)

Tara Johnson, M.D.
Stefanie Kennon-McGill, Ph.D.
Pearman Parker, Ph.D., MPH, RN
Isabelle Racine-Miousse, Ph.D.
Jennifer Vincenzo, Ph.D., MPH, PT

Previous Career Development Scholars Cohorts (2009-2017)

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Mailing Address: 4301 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 686-7000
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