2024-2025 Scholarships

The AAST Research and Education Fund is funding three scholarships for 2024-2025. The scholarship recipients will receive their scholarship plaque at the 83rd Annual Meeting of AAST & Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery in Las Vegas, NV, and will present their research findings at the 84th Annual Meeting of AAST & Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery in Boston, MA.

Melike Harfouche, MD, MPH
University of Maryland School of Medicine

"Evaluation of Hemorrhage Control Techniques in Hemodynamically Unstable Pelvic Fractures: A Feasibility Study"

I am currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and an attending surgeon at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. Most of my time is divided into clinical and research activities. My passion for research started as a resident in general surgery and became more focused during my fellowship years. During my fellowship, I pursued research on the topics of REBOA, vascular trauma, pancreatitis, and gun violence prevention and have several publications in these areas. I have had the opportunity to continue and grow much of the research I started working on as a fellow after I accepted a position as an attending surgeon at the same institution. During my fellowship and as a junior attending, I completed a part-time MPH program which also helped me hone my biostatistical skillset. Currently, my research is predominantly focused on two domains: gun violence prevention and hemorrhage control techniques. I am currently working closely with the Shock, Trauma and Anesthesiology Research (STAR) center on my AAST multi-institutional trial "AAST HIPS" which is being supported by departmental funding. My long-term goal is to develop a track record in implementing high-impact clinical trials on hemorrhage control in trauma that translate research being conducted in the lab to the bedside. My intention is to obtain large scale federal funding so that I can achieve this goal.

Lacy LaGrone, MD, MPH
Medical Center of the Rockies

"Trauma Clinical Guidance Optimized for the End-User: A Mixed-Methods, Observational and Consensus-Building Intervention of, and by, the Injury Community"

I am the Associate Director of Trauma Medical Research at my institution. We are currently participating in professionally facilitated strategic planning, with my contribution being developing the approach for building a regional center for surgical mixed-methods, global health, and implementation science research collaboration and support. I am completing a Graduate Certificate Course in Implementation Science from the University of Colorado, recently first-authored a ‘how to' commentary on implementation science for trauma provider for Injury. I am the Associate Editor of Dissemination and Implementation Science at Trauma Surgery Acute Care Open. I will continue to grow my implementation science expertise, leadership roles, and collaborations in the form of Implementation Science co-investigators, additional Implementation Science short courses, work-in-progress meetings, and potentially as serving as instructor at a graduate level. With regard to research impact, I will continue to primarily focus on improving provider access to relevant, accessible evidence-based guidance, and initiatives which build capacity for trauma research outside of the United States. In the next few years, this means additional research, as proposed herein and ultimately applying for an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality R-18 Dissemination grant. This will also mean working with professional societies and industry to identify long-term sustainable funding for implementation work surrounding trauma clinical guidance. The work to re-design the development and dissemination of trauma clinical guidance will also include advocacy, policy education and participation, and project management, which are well facilitated by my role as a Future Trauma Leader within the Committee on Trauma. With regard to global partnerships, I will continue to partner with the Panamerican Trauma Society where we have a long track record of successful research productivity and speaking engagements. As an invited speaker for the 2024 congress, I am also initiating partnerships within the International Association for Trauma Surgery and Intensive Care.  

Grace Martin Nizolek, MD
Washington University in St Louis

"Determining the Impact of Traumatic Brain Injury and Hemorrhagic Shock on the Cerebral Vascular Endothelium"

As first year faculty I currently spend half of my time working clinically with the other half dedicated to preclinical research. In the coming two years I will be preparing to submit an NIH-K08 junior investigator award. My research mentors, division chief, and department chair have all committed to ensuring me enough protected research time to achieve this goal. Continuing to develop my skills as a trauma surgeon are very important to me, however, as I begin my second year on faculty my clinical time will decrease to allow for more time to be spent in the lab. Our division and department have hosted many K08 awards in the past and understand how this will impact my clinical schedule in the future.

2025-2026 Scholarships

The AAST Research and Education Fund is funding three scholarships for 2025-2026. The scholarship recipients will receive their scholarship plaque at the 84th Annual Meeting of AAST & Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery in Boston, MA, and will present their research findings at the 85th Annual Meeting of AAST & Clinical Congress of Acute Care Surgery in Dallas, TX.

Sarah Lombardo, MD, MSc, MS

University of Utah

"Secondary Insults During Extracranial Surgery and Their Impact on Neurocognitive Recovery after Traumatic Brain Injury"

This research addresses the challenge of safely managing patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who require surgery for other injuries during the early post-injury period. Extracranial surgeries in trauma patients often require general anesthesia, and these events have been associated with worsened 6-month neurocognitive recovery.  The incidence of intraoperative hypoxia and hypotension, occurrences known to negatively impact TBI recovery in other care settings, are poorly understood in patients with new TBI. 

Using detailed surgical and physiologic data from a national database, the team aims to identify which patients are most at risk, define critical thresholds for concern, and explore ways to reduce these harmful events. This project will also prospectively follow a small group of patients over time to assess how these intraoperative events affect long-term cognitive outcomes.

The results of this work could lead to improved perioperative guidelines and better recovery for TBI patients undergoing extracranial surgery.

Tanya Anand, MD, MPH

University of Arizona

"The Impact of Aging on Glycocalyx Shedding and Metabolite Activity After Injury"

Our study aims to elucidate metabolic pathways associated with glycocalyx breakdown after injury and differentiate patterns based on age and specific injury phenotypes. This is crucial for developing targeted therapeutics and refining prognostication across the age spectrum.

Kent Garber, MD

University of California San Francisco

"Accessing Blood Bank Systems and Population Access to Blood Transfusions in Conflict-Affected Low and Middle Income Countries: Foundational Evidence from South Sudan"

Dr. Garber is investigating civilian access to blood transfusions in conflict-affected settings, with a focus on South Sudan. He is collaborating with government, UN, and NGO partners to measure barriers and gaps in the blood supply system. The project involves developing a validated tool to assess the availability and capacity for blood transfusion services at health facilities and conducting geospatial analyses to estimate population-level access. Findings will support efforts to strengthen trauma care systems in South Sudan and provide insights for improving access to blood in other conflict-affected settings.