Frawley, Calkins, Mindell/Brody Awardees Announced

This year’s Frawley fellow is:

Abhishek Sawant
Trainee in the cardiovascular disease fellowship

Research topic: “Outcomes in nonagenarians presenting with acute coronary syndrome: A Western New York Veterans Administration database study.”

Honorable mentions went to:

Ajay Pratap Singh
Trainee in the neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship

Research topic: “Effects of implementing a regional analgesia program in an observational cohort of neonates undergoing thoracoabdominal surgeries.”

George Ventro
Trainee in surgery residency

Research topic: “The impact of omega-3 fatty acids on hepatic proinflammatory cytokine signaling.”

The Thomas F. Frawley, MD, Residency Research Fellowship Fund supports medical or surgical residents, fellows and new graduates for whom research represents a primary interest and passion.

Frawley, a 1944 graduate of the medical school, was a nationally recognized endocrinology researcher, president of the American College of Physicians and chair of medicine at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

This year’s Calkins fellow is:

Diana Miller
Trainee in the pediatric endocrinology-diabetes fellowship

Research topic: “Reaching outcomes in adolescents with diabetes through home telehealth visits.”

The Evan Calkins, MD, Fellowship for Community-Based Research supports residents, fellows and junior faculty who conduct community-based research or quality improvement projects.

Calkins was chair of the UB Department of Internal Medicine, division chief of geriatrics and founder of the geriatrics fellowship. He served as director of medicine at Meyer Memorial Hospital (now Erie County Medical Center) for 12 years.

The award is a product of his conviction that medical institutions have an obligation to improve the quality of, and access to, health care throughout the community.

This year’s recipients of Mindell/Brody Awards are:

Remon Bebawee
Medical student

Research topic: “Dual IgA protease expression by nontypeable haemophilus influenzae during carriage in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).”

Rutika Mehta
Trainee in the hematology-oncology fellowship

Research topic: “Triple negative breast cancer.”

The Eugene R. Mindell, MD, and Harold Brody, MD ’61, PhD, Clinical Translational Research Award recognizes junior research scientists for the best basic science research that seeks to solve a clinical problem.

Mindell chaired UB’s Department of Orthopaedics from 1964 to 1988. A past president of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, he is credited with initiating the board’s certifying process for orthopaedic surgeons.

Brody was the chair of anatomy and cell biology from 1971 to 1992. He founded UB’s Brain Museum, a world-class collection of brain specimens and slides.

The Office of Graduate Medical Education announced the award winners at this year’s Spring Clinical Day.