Pediatrician-Scientist Program Residents

Home Town: New York, N.Y.
Undergraduate Institution: University of Maryland
Medical/Graduate School Institution: University of Minnesota

Research interests: My research focuses on the homeostasis of mucosal immunity, primarily antiviral CD8+ T cells. As I continue training in pediatrics, I am excited to identify areas of translational research that will synergize with ongoing basic research on surveillance and survival mechanisms employed by tissue-resident immune cells.

Fellowship Interest: Allergy/Immunology

Why did you pick Texas Children's/Baylor Pediatrician-Scientist Program?
I chose Texas Children's/Baylor College of Medicine for its thoughtful commitment to training future pediatrician scientists. Our program promotes the development of well-rounded pediatricians by providing early autonomy in medical decision-making. At the same time, dedicated research time has been integrated into every year of training, so that I can continue pursuit of research interests and develop new connections to research centered on pediatric disease. The Texas Children's/Baylor pediatric research community is an outstanding resource and has been very welcoming and supportive of my career development every step of the way.

What do you do for fun?
Cycling, grilling, watching Terps basketball, and spending time with my family
E-mail: sathi.wijeyesinghe@bcm.edu

Home Town: Taipei City, Taiwan
Undergraduate Institution: Washington University in St. Louis
Graduate/Medical School Institution: Northwestern University

Research interests: I am interested in studying disease mechanisms and identify new treatment targets through a global metabolomics approach.

Fellowship Interest: Genetics

Why did you pick Texas Children's/Baylor Pediatrician-Scientist Program?
I love the breadth of research Texas Children's/Baylor has to offer and the strong and rigorous clinical training opportunities.

What do you do for fun?
Binge-watching Netflix dramas
E-mail: jimmy.h.chang@bcm.edu

Home Town: Fresno, Calif.
Undergraduate Institution: Smittcamp Family Honors College at California State University, Fresno
Medical/ Graduate School Institution: Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Research interests: I am interested in healthcare policy research and biomedical informatics. Pediatricians rely on data extrapolated from adults as normative part of everyday practice. The origin of this practice pattern is likely attributable to hesitancy surrounding the conduct of clinical research with this vulnerable population and relatively low disease prevalence, limiting enrollment. A few pieces of legislation have attempted to address these barriers with the goal of making novel therapeutics accessible to more children in a safe and timely manner. We hypothesize that policies governing the use of adult-derived data for FDA approval of pediatric drugs and devices may result in the unintended consequence of disincentivizing the conduct of robust pediatrics studies in lieu of extrapolation from adult data. In turn, we propose leveraging existing clinical data with bioinformatics approaches to inform targeted clinic studies in the pediatric population.

Fellowship Interest: Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Why did you pick Texas Children's/Baylor Pediatrician-Scientist Program?
With the degree of personalized mentoring and encouragement to develop “Texas-sized” ideas, I knew this was a place in which I would not only thrive, but grow into a more autonomous pediatrician scientist.

What do you do for fun?
I enjoy playing soccer, running, listening to music, cooking, and cuddling with my cats.
E-mail: Audra.Iness@bcm.edu

Home Town: Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Undergraduate Institution: University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus
Graduate Institution: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UTHealth Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

Medical School Institution: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine

Research interests: My Ph.D. is in cancer biology and specifically radiation biology. Inspired by my graduate work I was originally interested in toxicities of radiation in pediatric patients and how to mitigate or prevent them. Although I still am interested in those topics my research has completely changed, these days I study how to make EBV specific T cells more effective in the treatment of lymphoma. I am training in the lab of Cliona Rooney at the center for Cell and Gene Therapy. I hope to continue doing work in the field of immunotherapy throughout my fellowship.

Fellowship Interest: Pediatric Oncology

Why did you pick Texas Children's/Baylor Pediatrician-Scientist Program?
Houston was exciting for me and my family since we are Hispanic and the patient population is near and dear to my heart. More important than that the Pediatrician-Scientist Program was an ideal choice because of the well-designed training program that integrates structured mentorship throughout residency. Additionally, it was evident the community within the program was ideal family to grow with as a pediatrician scientist.

What do you do for fun?
I enjoy finding new patios to go out for a meal with my family. I also have fun bowling with friends, cycling around the city and salsa dancing with my husband. We have a new addition to the family so we’ll have to teach him to dance as soon as he’s up and about!
E-mail: marimar.delacruzbonilla@bcm.edu

Home Town: Littleton, Colo.
Undergraduate Institution: University of Denver
Medical/Graduate School Institution: Boston University School of Medicine

Research interests: I an intensely interested in the mechanisms by which pathogenic bacteria breach the human body’s defenses and establish invasive disease. I believe that in these early moments, the dance between host and pathogen largely determines the trajectory of the infection and clinical course of the host. By working to better understand what microbial elements and what host elements impact these early moments of infection, I expect that we may be able to design better diagnostics and therapeutics to identify and prevent disseminated infection and the dysregulated immune/inflammatory reaction that can accompany it.

Fellowship Interest: Pediatric Critical Care Medicine

Why did you pick Texas Children's/Baylor Pediatrician-Scientist Program?
My priority when looking for a residency was finding somewhere that would train me to be the best pediatrician I could be, while understanding and respecting the unique needs to develop a career as a pediatrician-scientist. Baylor/Texas Children's offered an uncompromising, high-volume and high-acuity clinical training program with opportunities for autonomy, procedural training and to operate as a team supervisor. This clinical training was seated within a thoughtfully designed, protected research training curriculum and extensive physician-scientist specific mentorship. This made Baylor/Texas Children's perfect for me!

What do you do for fun?
Bake, cook, eat any type of food, explore new breweries and cafes with friends and my family
E-mail: Ian.Francis@bcm.edu