Meet the 2023-2025 iTHRIV Scholars
Caitlyn Collins, PhD
Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, School of Engineering, Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Raffaella De Vita, PhD
Research Project: Development of strain-associated biomarkers for precision medicine in delayed fracture healing
Lora Henderson Smith, PhD, MEd
Department of Human Services, School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Catherine Bradshaw, PhD
Research Project: Leveraging data from mental health emergency department visits to inform an online, multi-part, mixed-reality training for school mental-health professionals
Jamie MacLeod, MD
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Michael Shim, MD
Research Project: Biomolecular and clinical outcomes of FK-506 immunosuppression in lung transplantation
Jennifer Sasson, MD, MS
Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Virginia
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: William Petri, MD, PhD
Research Project: Acute and long-term implications of IL-13 in COVID-19 associated hypoxic respiratory failure
Mary Wesley, DrPH, MPH
Department of Health Systems and Implementation Science, School of Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Kathy Hosig, PhD, MPH, RD
Research Project: Facilitators and barriers of integrating community health workers (CHWs) into maternal and infant care for rural populations in Southwest Virginia
Meet the 2022-2024 iTHRIV Scholars
Shannon Armbruster, MD, MPH
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Carilion Clinic
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentors: Samantha Harden, PhD and Jamie Zoellner, PhD
Research Project: Group-based exercise intervention for endometrial
cancer survivors: Exploration of physical activity and quality of life impact
Andrew Barros, MD
Department of Medicine,
Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care, UVA School of Medicine
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Randall Moorman, MD
Research Project: Machine Learning to Improve Sepsis Care
Christine Ibilibor, MD, MSc
Department of Urology,
Division of Urologic Oncology, UVA School of Medicine
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor:Tracey Krupski, MD
Research Project: Pre-Habilitation and Mindfulness Program for Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy
Irène Mathieu, MD
Department of Pediatrics, UVA
School of Medicine
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: James Nataro, MD, PhD, MBA
Research Project: Community-based approaches to improving pediatric mental health
Rose Nevill, PhD
Department of Human Services, UVA
School of Education and Human Development
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Micah Mazurek, PhD
Research Project: Advancing the Evidence-base for Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Treating Behavioral Health in Adults with Autism and Intellectual Disability
Rell Parker, DVM, PhD, DACVIM
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, VT Virginia-Maryland College of VeterinaryMedicine
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Andrea Bertke, PhD
Research Project: Investigating Functional Changes in alpha6 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Following Nerve Injury
Patricia Rodriguez Lozano, MD
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology Medicine, UVA School of Medicine
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Christopher Kramer, MD
Research Project: Novel Therapy to treat Microvascular Disease in Women
Jia-Ray Yu, PhD
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
at VTC
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Catherine Bollard, MD, MBChB
Research Project: The Molecular basis of euchromatic dysregulation in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)
Meet the 2021-2023 iTHRIV Scholars
Julia Basso, PhD
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Martha Ann Bell, PhD
Research Project: Examining the clinical utility of dance to support social skills and behavioral and neural synchrony in individuals with autism spectrum disorder
Jessie Gibson, PhD, RN
Acute and Specialty Care,
UVA School of Nursing
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Bethany Teachman, PhD
Research Project: Measurement and Modification of Threat Interpretation Bias to Reduce Anxiety in Huntington’s Disease
Lee Ann Johnson, PhD, RN
Acute and Specialty Care,
UVA School of Nursing
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Sarah Ratcliffe, PhD
Research Project: Comorbidity Profiles and Their Influence on Treatment and Survival Among Underserved Individuals with Advanced Lung Cancer
Shawna Klahn, DVM
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, VT Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
Assosciate Professor
Primary Mentor: Nicola Mason, BVetMed, PhD
Research Project: Nanopulse stimulation as an ablative immune modifier in spontaneous canine
diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Gregory Madden, MD
Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, UVA School of Medicine
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: William Petri, MD, PhD
Research Project: Immune profiling to stratify Clostridioides difficile infection outcomes
Kazlin Mason, PhD
Department of Human Services, UVA School of Education and Human Development
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Silvia Blemker, PhD
Research Project: Improving speech outcomes for cleft and craniofacial conditions through applications of machine learning algorithms and patient-specific pre-operative assessment
Adema Ribic, PhD
Department of Psychology, UVA College of Arts and Sciences
Assistant Professor
Primary Mentor: Jessica Connelly, PhD
Research Project: Vision deficits of non-retinal origin in preterm infants: circuit mechanisms and noninvasive approach for prevention and treatment