Meet our KL2 Scholars

Stephanie Chen, MD
School of Medicine
University of Washington

Primary Mentors:

Jonathan Weinstein MD, PhD
Michael Levitt, MD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2025

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2028 (projected)

Project Title:

Sex Hormones and Inflammation in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Reya Mokaio, MD, MS
School of Medicine
University of Washington

Primary Mentors:

Amanda Fretts, PhD

Jay Mendoza, MD, MPH

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2025

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2028 (projected)

Project Title:

Community-centered cardiometabolic health intervention for youth

Alexi Vasbinder, PhD, RN
School of Nursing
University of Washington

Primary Mentors:

Donna Berry, PhD, AOCN, FAAN
Mohamed Sorror, MD, MSc
Richard Cheng, MD, MSc

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2025

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2028 (projected)

Project Title:

Exercise Prehabilitation Program to Improve Cardiorespiratory Fitness in High-Risk Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Jonathan An, DDS, PhD
School of Dentistry
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

Martin Prlic, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2024

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2027 (projected)

Project Title:

Harnessing Aging Biology to Attenuate Oral Disease in Adults with Down Syndrome

Michelle Guignet, PhD
School of Pharmacy
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

H. Steve White, RpH, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2024

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2027 (projected)

Project Title:

Closing the Gender Gap: Advancing Therapies for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

Kristian Jones, PhD
School of Social Work
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, MD, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2024

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2027 (projected)

Project Title:

Uncovering the Facilitators of Change within Youth Mentoring Interventions to Prevent Interpersonal Firearm Violence Among Youth

Benjamin Lidgard, MD
School of Medicine
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

Nisha Bansal, MD, MAS

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2024

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2027 (projected)

Project Title:

Sphingolipid metabolism as a cardiovascular disease risk factor in kidney disease

Julie R. Boiko, MD, MS
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

Geoffrey Hill, MD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2023

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2026 (projected)

Project Title:

Translating Immune Pathway Single Cell Genomics in Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease

Omeid Heidari, MPH, NP, PhD
School of Nursing
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

Judith Tsui, MD, MPH

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2023

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2026 (projected)

Project Title:

Development and Testing of a Novel Telehealth Intervention for People Living with HIV who use Opioids

Blake O. Langley, ND, MS, LAc, EAMP
Fred Hutch Cancer Center

Primary Mentor:

Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, MPH

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2023

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2026 (projected)

Project Title:

Pilot of Acupressure as a Complementary Therapy (ACT) for Anorexia in Cancer

James D. Lee, PhD
School of Medicine
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

Jill Locke, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2023

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2026 (projected)

Project Title:

Implementation Toolkit to Enhance EBP Among Marginalized Families (I-TEAM)

Hannah Rea, PhD
School of Medicine
University of Washington

Primary Mentor:

Sarah Jane Webb, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2023

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2026 (projected)

Project Title:

Examining risk factors for challenging behaviors for children with Down syndrome

Brittany Blanchard, PhD
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
University of Washington School of Medicine

Primary Mentor:

John Fortney, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2022

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2025 (projected)

Project Title:

Adapting and Implementing a Brief Harm Reduction Intervention for Primary Care Patients using Stimulants and/or Opioids

Julie Crudele, BA, PhD
Neurology
University of Washington School of Medicine

Primary Mentor:

Jeffrey Chamberlain, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2022

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2025 (projected)

Project Title:

AAV gene therapy for GNE myopathy

Kristopher Kerns, BS, MPH, PhD
Periodontics
University of Washington School of Dentistry

Primary Mentor:

Jeffrey McLean, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2022

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2025 (projected)

Project Title:

Classifying Human Inflammatory Responder Types (IRTs) in CAP and OTSCC

Germán Gornalusse, PhD
Instructor
University of Washington, School of Medicine

Primary Mentor:

Florian Hladik, PhD, MD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2021

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2024 (projected)

Project Title:

Characterizing the effects of NRTIs and non-NRTIs cARTs on the activation of type I/III  interferon-associated pathways

Ashley McDonough, PhD
Instructor
University of Washington, School of Medicine

Primary Mentor:

Jonathan Weinstein, MD, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2021

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2024 (projected)

Project Title:

White Matter Injury and Protection: Mechanisms, Outcomes, and Translational Assessments

Cassandra Nikolaus, PhD 
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Washington State University, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine

Primary Mentor:

Ka’imi Sinclair, PhD, MPH

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2021

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2024 (projected)

Project Title:

Characterizing the ‘real-world’ implementation of food security screening in healthcare settings

Kristin Lastwika, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Primary Mentors:

A. McGarry Houghton, MD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2020

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2023 (projected)

Project Title:

Translating Autoantibodies for Small Cell Lung Cancer Early Detection and Treatment

Darcy Rao, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Washington, School of Public Health

Primary Mentors:

Ruanne Barnabas, MBChB, DPhil

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2020

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2023 (projected)

Project Title:

Optimizing cervical cancer screening for women living with HIV in the United States

Sam Rayner, MD 
Acting Instructor
University of Washington, School of Medicine

Primary Mentors:

Ying Zheng, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2020

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2023 (projected)

Project Title:

Cellular Responses to Shear Stress in Engineered Pulmonary Hypertension Models

Melissa Barker-Haliski, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
University of Washington, Department of Pharmacy

Primary Mentors:

H. Steve White, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2019

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2022 (projected)

Project Title:

Additive Impact of PSEN2-N141 Variant and Chronic Seizures on Cognitive Deficits and Neuropsychiatric Comorbidities of Alzheimer’s Disease

Jane Lee, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor
University of Washington, School of Social Work

Primary Mentors:

Jane M. Simoni, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2019

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2022 (projected)

Project Title:

Development of a Peer Intervention to Increase HIV/STI Testing and PrEP Uptake among Latino Immigrant Men who Have Sex with Men

Jennifer Sonney, PhD, ARNP, PPCNP-BC
Assistant Professor
University of Washington, Department of Family and Child Nursing

Primary Mentors:

Teresa Ward, PhD, RN

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2019

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2022 (projected)

Project Title:

Improving Asthma Care Together (IMPACT): A Shared Management Pilot Study

Heather Feldner, MPT, PhD 
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Washington, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Primary Mentors:

Katherine M. Steele, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2018

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2021 (projected)

Project Title:

Improving translational capacity in early powered mobility intervention: Investigating the socio-emotional impacts of modified ride-on car use by children with disabilities and their families

Devon Hansen, MS, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Washington State University, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Sleep and Performance Research Center

Primary Mentors:

Nathaniel Watson, MD, MS

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2018

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2021 (projected)

Project Title:

Naturalistic Monitoring and Treatment for Chronic Insomnia

Laura Riolobos, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Washington, School of Medicine, Division of Oncology

Primary Mentors:

Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD

Appointment Start Date:

March 1, 2018

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2021 (projected)

Project Title:

Development of a Th1 multi-antigen vaccine for lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) prevention

Elizabeth Duke, MD, MA
Senior Fellow
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division

Primary Mentors:

Joshua T. Schiffer, MD, MSc

Appointment Start Date:

June 1, 2017

Appointment End Date:

February 29, 2020 (projected)

Project Title:

Optimizing cytomegalovirus prevention and treatment strategies in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients

Alec Smith, PhD
Senior Fellow
UW Department of of Bioengineering

Primary Mentors:

Deok-Ho Kim, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

June 1, 2017

Appointment End Date:

February 29, 2020 (projected)

Project Title:

Engineering mature human neuromuscular junctions for modeling Charcot Marie Tooth disease

Jennifer Villatte, PhD
Assistant Professor
UW Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Primary Mentors:

David Atkins, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

June 1, 2017

Appointment End Date:

February 29, 2020 (projected)

Project Title:

Automated Quality Assurance and Implementation Support for Behavioral Health Care

Nina de Lacy, MD, MBA
Acting Assistant Professor
UW Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Primary Mentors:

Vince Calhoun, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2016

Appointment End Date:

June 30, 2019 (projected)

Project Title:

Innovative computational approaches to define subtypes, biomarkers and mechanisms in autism

Eri Nakatani-Webster, PhD
Research Associate
UW Department of Medicinal Chemistry

Primary Mentors:

Abhinav Nath, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2016

Appointment End Date:

November 9, 2017

Project Title:

Staphylococcus aureus biofilm regulation from a protein folding perspective: exploring amyloid disruption as a novel therapeutic strategy

Matthew B. Rivara, MD
Senior Fellow
UW Division of Nephrology

Primary Mentors:

Rajnish Mehrotra, MD, MS

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2016

Appointment End Date:

May 31, 2017

Project Title:

Symptom Assessment and Novel Biomarkers in Advanced Kidney Disease

Monica Campo-Patino, MD, MPH
Acting Instructor
UW Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Primary Mentors:

Thomas Hawn, MD, PhD; Kristina Crothers, MD

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2015

Appointment End Date:

June 30, 2017

Project Title:

Innate immune responses to Mycobacterium Tuberculosis in the lung

Jonathan Kocarnik, PhD, MPH
Staff Scientist
Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Primary Mentor:

Polly Newcomb, PhD, MPH

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2015

Appointment End Date:

June 30, 2017

Project Title:

Translating incidental genetic findings into strategies for prevention and personalized medicine

Amanda Fretts, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
UW Department of Epidemiology

Primary Mentors:

David Siscovick, MD, MPH; Shirley Beresford, PhD, MSc, MA; Barbara Howard, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2014

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2018

Project Title:

Identifying effective interventions for lowering cardio-metabolic risk among American Indian (AI) communities

Sharon Kwan, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
UW Department of Radiology

Primary Mentor:

Jeffrey Jarvik, MD, MPH

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2014

Appointment End Date:

May 31, 2017

Project Title:

Toward large-scale, clinically meaningful data from Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Comparative Effectiveness Research: Development of a Natural Language Processing data extraction tool for HCC staging

Abby Rosenberg, MD, MS
Assistant Professor
UW Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology;
Assistant Professor
Seattle Children’s Hospital, Cancer and Blood Disorders Center

Primary Mentor:

K Scott Baker, MD, MS

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2014

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2018

Project Title:

Development of a psychosocial outcomes research program for adolescents and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and their families

Sasha Stanton, MD, PhD, MPH
Acting Instructor
UWMC, Division of Oncology

Primary Mentor:

Mary L (Nora) Disis, MD

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2014

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2019 (projected)

Project Title:

Immunogenecity of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive breast cancer (IBC)

Peter Leary, MD, MS
Acting Instructor
UW Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

Primary Mentor:

Catherine L. Hough, MD, MSc

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2013

Appointment End Date:

June 30, 2017

Project Title:

The Seattle Right Ventricle Translational Science (Servetus) Study

Megan Moore, PhD, MSW
Assistant Professor
UW School of Social Work

Primary Mentor:

Nancy Grote, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

February 1, 2013

Appointment End Date:

June 30, 2017

Project Title:

Social Work Intervention for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (SWIFT): A Pilot Study

Hannah Tully, MD, MFA
Acting Assistant Professor
UW Department of Neurology;
Affiliate
SCRI Center for Integrative Brain Research

Primary Mentors:

William B. Dobyns, MD; Sidney M. Gospe, Jr. MD, PhD

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2013

Appointment End Date:

February 28, 2018

Project Title:

Infantile hydrocephalus: physiologic causes and developmental consequences

Raquel Capote, DMD, MSD, MPH
Acting Assistant Professor
UW Department of Orthodontics

Primary Mentor:

Gregory King, DMD, DMSc

Appointment Start Date:

July 1, 2012

Appointment End Date:

June 30, 2017

Project Title:

Development of an intraoral sensor