Testimonials 

Jay Kanaparthi

"The summer research program was a valuable introduction to clinical research in medical school. I was connected with the CT surgery group after a lunch session. Since then, I've been working with Dr. Toyoda, Dr. Kashem, and the rest of the CT team. My experience with clinical research has shaped the way I think on the floors and apply evidence based medicine. It is incredibly rewarding to contribute to the body of understanding that physicians use to shape their decision making. EBM promotes better outcomes for our patients, with my research specifically applicable to patients requiring lung transplants or with heart disease. It is especially important for Temple to report its results as a leading lung transplantation center in the country. 

Sharmaine Ross

"It has been a privilege to collaborate with Dr. Beard and others in the trauma surgery department. In addition to gaining confidence in my research abilities, I have learned what it means to be a contributing member of a broader community. Because of our location in North Philadelphia, it is common to see patients who are unjustly burdened by societal factors that render them invisible or worse, less deserving of empathy. Unfortunately, gun violence is a significant factor that deprives our community of physical and psychological health. It has been inspiring to see Dr. Beard respond to this epidemic with both excellence in care and advocacy, and I will carry these experiences throughout my medical career." 

Vipin Dulam

"My experience at the Cardiovascular and Lung Transplant Surgery department was all-rounded, immersive, welcoming, and extremely informative. Under the guidance of excellent mentors, I was able to pursue high quality research in this surgical field. The staff's passion for teaching me in the OR and giving me ample opportunities to witness complex procedures ranging from Double Lung Transplants to Ross Procedures were incredible. My research consisted of proving that there was no significant difference in patient survival post-lung transplant between patients younger than 70 years old and in patients older than 70 years old. Although this is my main project, I also worked on several other projects including one investigating the usage of single shot HTK cardioplegia for cardiac arrest during Pulmonary Thomboendarderectomy surgeries. I was also able to publish a couple of case reports with the help of the attendings. Furthermore, I had the honor of presenting two abstracts at Jacksonville, Fl for the American College of Surgery's Annual Conference. Dr. Mohammed Kashem, Dr. Suresh Keshavamurthy, and Dr. Yoshiya Toyoda are the mentors that I owe a great deal to for all the opportunities they've given me and all the lessons they've taught me."

Maggie Hemphill 

"Last summer, I had the privilege to work with Dr. Ross in the surgery department. I had an outstanding experience where I furthered my academic research abilities, learned about the procedures required for submitting research for publication, and gained clinical shadowing experience. For my project, I studied implicit gender-related bias in surgical residency programs. Dr. Ross was available and more than willing to meet with me whenever I needed guidance, but he also gave me independence to develop the project largely on my own. Dr. Ross helped tailor my project to a topic I was excited to learn about and eager to work on. I learned how to do a literature review, submit an IRB, write a professional manuscript, and find appropriate journals for submission. Ultimately, we collaborated with Dr. Maher to create a set of guidelines and recommendations for surgical residency programs to help identify and combat gender-related implicit bias. Our manuscript was accepted for publication in late 2019. Aside from research, I spent time with Dr. Ross and the residents in the clinic and OR. This was a great, non-stressful exposure to the clinical environment as I prepared for second year of school. I am looking forward to hopefully continuing research in this field with Dr. Ross and Dr. Maher in the future and I highly recommend the program to anyone considering it!" 

Kaitlin Nguyen

"During the summer between my first and second years of medical school, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Karhadkar and Dr. Di Carlo in the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant Surgery. Through this program, I was able to take ownership of my project, which characterized kidney retransplantation following graft failure due to BK virus nephropathy. This included the planning stages, formulation of data sets, performance of statistical analysis, preparation and execution of presentations, and writing of the abstract and final manuscript.

The research experience culminated in the publication of our work, which can be seen as a featured article in the January 2022 issue of Journal of Surgical Research. Our poster presentation won First Place in the 2021 Pennsylvania Medical Society Resident and Student Poster Contest and was also presented at the Metropolitan Philadelphia ACS-PAS Joint Dinner Meeting. In addition, I had the honor of sharing the project as an oral presentation at the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Annual Meeting, the Annual Academic Surgical Congress, and the American Transplant Congress Virtual Connect.

I am extremely thankful for the opportunities and guidance provided by the Department of Surgery, as this experience helped foster a love of research and academic surgery. "