Past Scholars

Project title: The Role of Endothelial Dysfunction in Atrial Fibrillation

Anna Pfenniger, MD PhD is an Instructor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine (Division of Cardiology, Section of Cardiac Electrophysiology). She received her medical doctorate and her PhD at the University of Geneva (Switzerland). After a post-doctoral research fellowship at New York University, she completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts. She subsequently completed her fellowships in Cardiovascular Diseases and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology at Northwestern University. Dr. Pfenniger’s broad research interests involve identifying mechanisms of arrhythmias to enhance therapeutic strategies for patients suffering from arrhythmias, with a particular focus on atrial fibrillation. Her current research project focuses on the role of endothelial dysfunction in atrial fibrillation by applying non-invasive imaging modalities in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, and gene therapy approaches in pre-clinical models of atrial fibrillation. The results of her study will enhance knowledge of this disease and may lead to novel, mechanism-guided treatments for atrial fibrillation.

Project title: Nuclear Organization in the Pediatric Tumor Rhabdomyosarcoma

Kyle MacQuarrie MD, PhD is an Instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He received both his MD and PhD from the University of Washington School of Medicine as a member of the Medical Scientist Training Program there. He then completed both his pediatrics residency and pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship as a member of the Physician Scientist Training Program at Northwestern University/ Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Dr. MacQuarrie’s broad research interests are in understanding the intersection of pediatric tumor biology and normal developmental biology on the cellular and molecular level. His current work focuses on investigating the organization of the cell nucleus in the most common pediatric soft tissue sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma. Long-term, he hopes to be able to use such work to improve diagnosis, prognostication, and therapy in pediatric solid tumors.

Project Title: Longitudinal Characterization of Disproportionate Left Atrial Myopathy in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction

Ravi Patel MD MSc is an Instructor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine (Division of Cardiology). He received his medical doctorate at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Subsequently, he completed his fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease and his post-doctoral research fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention at Northwestern University. Ravi's global research interest surrounds identification of mechanisms and therapeutic targets for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). His current research aim is to understand the clinical impact and pathogenesis of left atrial mechanical dysfunction prior to the development of HFpEF.

Project Title: Biomarker Assessment of In Vivo Cartilage Response to Stress in Health and Disease

Prakash Jayabalan MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Physician Scientist at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. He received his medical degree from King’s College London and PhD from the University of Missouri in Pathobiology where his research focused on tissue engineering of cartilage and biological markers of joint disease. He completed a PM&R residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he was Chief Resident, and completed Sports Medicine Fellowship at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. His research project focuses on the development of a novel cartilage stress test to evaluate cartilage metabolic state and specifically its response to loading and exercise. This project, under the mentorship of Dr Levi Hargrove and Dr Thomas Schnitzer, will lead to the future development of individualized exercise programs that optimize cartilage health based on individual biological and biomechanical responses to joint loading.