Basic Science

First Place:
Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue-Derived Neural Stem Cells Promote Regeneration Following Peripheral Nerve Gap Injury
Leah Ott
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Second Place:
Ablation of Venous Malformations by Photothermal Therapy with Intravenous Gold Nanoshells
Claire Ostertag-Hill
Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA

First Place:
Patient-Level Social Determinants of Health Risk Factors and Short-Term Outcomes After Major Thoracic and Abdominal Surgery Across a Statewide Academic Healthcare System
Kurt Schultz
Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

Second Place:
The Application of Machine Learning Models in Resource-Constrained Environments
Jaewook Shin
Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI

Basic Science

First Place:
Direct Thrombin Inhibitors Partially Reverse the Negative Effects of Heparin on Lung Growth after Murine Left Pneumonectomy
Savas Tsikis
Boston Children’s Hospital

Second Place:
Long-Term Immunosuppression-Free Heart Allograft Survival in Non-Human Primates Using Mixed Chimerism with IL-6 Signaling Blockade
Jayne Marie Muoio
Massachusetts General Hospital

First Place:
Diagnostic Accuracy of Laryngeal Ultrasound for Evaluating Vocal Fold Movement Impairment in Children
Shawn Izadi
Boston Children's Hospital

Second Place:
Analysis of Demand for General Surgeons in Northern New England
Robin Cotter
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Basic Science

First Place:
Direct Thrombin Inhibitors as Alternatives to Heparin to Preserve Lung Growth and Function in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia
Savas Tsikis
Boston Children’s Hospital

Second Place:
Sleeve Gastrectomy Increases Colitis-Associated Colon Tumor Growth Independent of Diet
Cullen Roberts
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Clinical Research

First Place:
Employing Objective Coagulation Assays to Personalize Postoperative Management in Peripheral Artery Disease
Zach Feldman
Massachusetts General Hospital

Tied for Second:
Non-operative Management of Appendicitis: Considerable Variation Exists in Racial and Social Disparities Across Different Regions of the United States
Chibiueze Nwaiwu
Rhode Island Hospital

Should Lymph Node Harvest Impact the Decision to Administer Adjuvant Chemotherapy for High-Risk T3N0 Colon Cancer?
Vanessa Welten
Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Medical Student Award

Changes in Stage at Presentation Among Lung and Breast Cancer Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Michael Mallouh
University of Massachusetts Medical School

Basic Science

First Place:
Nanoparticle mediated in utero delivery of miR-200b for the treatment of pulmonary hypoplasia in congenital diaphragmatic hernia
Sarah Ullrich
Yale University

Second Place:
Modified Gut Microbiome Induced by Sleeve Gastrectomy Promotes Colitis-associated Cancer
James Luo
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Clinical Research

Tied for First:
Too Sick or Not Too Sick? Transplant Center Variability in Delisting from the Kidney Transplant Waitlist and 1-Year Mortality
Claire Sokas
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Stoma Closure and Reinforcement (SCAR) Trial: 30 Day Safety and Efficacy
Robert Shaw
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Medical Student Award
new for 2021

Moving the Needle in Pancreatic Cancer: The Impact of Modern Treatment Paradigm on Survival
Abdimajid Mohamed
Maine Medical Center

Basic Science

First Place:
Decreased Recurrence in Sarcoma Using Double-Loaded Paclitaxel-Eluting Polymer Films
David A. Mahvi
Brigham and Women's Hospital

Second Place:
Isolation and Characterization of Thioredoxin-1 Engineered Exosomes and its Role in Cardiac Function Following Myocardial Infarction
Jennifer Hubbard
UConn Health; Saint Mary's Hospital

Clinical Research

First Place:
Variable Life Adjusted Display (VLAD): Novel Utility of a Metric for Quantification of Perioperative Patient Lives Gained Following Pancreatic Surgery
Naomi M. Sell
Massachusetts General Hospital

Second Place:
Defining Risk and Risk Factors for Unplanned ICU Admissions of Trauma Patients: Developing a Predictive Risk Score
Stephen E. Ranney
University of Vermont Medical Center

Basic Science

First Place:
Programmed Cell Death Receptor-1 (PD-1)'s Effects on Innate Immune Cells: Unraveling Lung Injury after Neonatal Intra-abdominal Sepsis
Eleanor A. Fallon
Brown University / Rhode Island Hospital

Second Place:
DNA Damage Response Genes Differentiate Colitis from Neoplasia in Colitis-Associated Colon Cancer
Robert A. Malizia
Department of Surgery, Albany Medical Center

Clinical Research

First Place:
What is the Risk of Anal Carcinoma in Patients with Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia?
Grace C. Lee
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Second Place:
Preemptive Analgesia Decreases Pain Following Anorectal Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Trial
Justin T. Van Backer
Department of General Surgery, Albany Medical Center; Department of Surgery, University of Vermont Medical Center

Basic Science

First Place:
Heparin Impairs Compensatory Lung Growth by Sequestering VEGF into Extracellular Matrix and Reducing Mitogenic Signaling of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor 2
Duy T. Dao
Vascular Biology Program and Department of Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital

Second Place:
Detection of Tumor-Specific Mutations in Plasma DNA: A Potential Biomarker for Monitoring Cancer Treatment Response and Recurrence
Jennifer Jackson
Boston Medical Center

Clinical Research

First Place:
Surgical Management of Gallbladder Cancer: Simple Versus Extended Cholecystectomy and the Role of Adjuvant Therapy
Gyulnara G. Kasumova
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Second Place:
Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) Underestimates Morbidity and Mortality in Patients with Ascites
Matthew Fleming
Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine

Basic Science

First Place:
Donor Mesenchymal Stem Cell Trafficking after Trans-Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy (TRASCET) in a Normal Rodent Model
Christopher D. Graham
Department of Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital

Second Place:
Overcoming Barriers to Survival following Pig-to-Baboon Liver Xenotransplantation
Jigesh A. Shah
Center for Transplantation Sciences, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Clinical Research

First Place:
Wide Variation and Excessive Dosage of Narcotic Prescriptions for Common General Surgical Procedures
Maureen Hill
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

Second Place:
Impact of Extramural Vascular Invasion on Colon Cancer Outcomes
Ramzi Amri
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Basic Science

First Place:
Distribution of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subtypes in the Murine Small Intestine
Eleanor D. Muise
Yale School of Medicine

Second Place Tie:
Trans-Amniotic Stem Cell Therapy (TRASCET) for Experimental Spina Bifida
Beatrice Dionigi, MD
Boston Children’s Hospital

Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase Regulates Tight Junction Protein Levels
Wei Liu
Massachusetts General Hospital

Clinical Research

First Place:
Nonoperative Treatment of Acute Appendicitis in Children; A Feasibility Study
Joseph Hartwich
Hasbro Children's Hospital

Second Place:
Prevention of Postoperative Venous Thromboembolism after Hospital Discharge: A Risk Assessment and Adherence Protocol for Thoracic Surgical Patients
Krista J. Hachey
Boston Medical Center

Basic Science

First Place:
Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Accelerate Diabetic Wound Healing in a Murine Model
Roland Assi
Yale University School of Medicine

Second Place:
Eradication of Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas Biofilm from Infected Prolene Mesh with Pulsed Electric Fields
Saiqa I. Khan
Massachusetts General Hospital

Clinical Research

First Place:
Serious Congenital Heart Disease and Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Very Low Birth Weight Neonates: A Prospective Cohort Analysis
Jeremy G. Fisher
Department of Surgery, Boston Children’s Hospital

Second Place:
Is it Time to Stop Checking Frozen Section Neck Margins during Pancreaticoduodenectomy?
Neha L. Lad
Yale School of Medicine

Basic Science

First Place:
Novel KIT/CSF1R Inhibitor is Superior to Imantinib in a Spontaneous Mouse Model of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST)
Teresa Kim
Massachusetts General Hospital

Second Place:
A Novel Approach to Targeted Oncologic Therapy - Co-Culture Viability of Polymer Prodrug Conjugation to Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Kaitlyn Wong
Baystate Medical Center

Clinical Research

First Place:
Mortality and Management of Surgical Necrotizing Enterocolitis in the United States
Jeremy G. Fisher
Department of Surgery, Children's Hospital Boston

Second Place:
Discriminating Thyroid Nodules in Real Time Using an Integrated Elastic Scattering Biopsy Syringe
Nicholas J. Giordano
Boston University

Basic Science

First Place:
Prenatal Tracheal Reconstruction with a Hybrid aMSC-Engineered Construct Derived from Decellularized Airway
Fabienne L Gray
Children's Hospital Boston, Department of Surgery

Second Place:
EphB4 Mediated Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Activation Regulates Vein Graft Adaptation
Michael J. Collins
Yale University, Department of Surgery

Clinical Research

First Place:
A National Survey of Surgical Residents’ Perception of 2011 ACGME Duty Hours Regulations
Brian C. Drolet
Rhode Island Hospital, Department of Surgery

Second Place:
Neonates with Short Bowel Syndrome: An Optimistic Future for Parenteral Nutrition Independence
Erica M. Fallon
Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School

Basic Science

First Place:
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Inhibit the Growth of Neuroblastoma Tumors and Induce a Tumor Specific Essential Fatty Acid Deficiency in a Murine Xenograft Tumor Model
Deepika Nehra
Boston Children’s Hospital

Second Place:
EphB4 Activates Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase to Limit Vein Graft Thickening
Michael Collins
Yale University

Clinical Research

First Place:
Early Fasciotomy in Patients with Extremity Vascular Injury is Associated with Decreased Risk of Adverse Limb Outcomes: A Review of the National Trauma Data Bank
Tze-Woei Tan Boston Medical Center

Second Place:
Combating Resident Fatigue: A Novel Approach to Quantifying the Incidence, Risk and Specific Time-Intervals of Fatigue-Related Impairment
Frank McCormick
Harvard Combined Orthopedic Surgery Program

Basic Science

First Place:
Intestinal alkaline phosphatase detoxifies the bacterial ligand flagellin
Angela Moss
Massachusetts General Hospital

Second Place:
Endothelial-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids promote organ regeneration
Hau Le
Boston Children's Hospital

Clinical Research

First Place:
Hand Hygiene and Hospital-Acquired Infection in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit
Dorothy Bird
Boston Medical Center

Second Place:
Surgical Vampires and Rising Healthcare Expenditure: the cost of daily phlebotomy
Elizabeth Stuebing
Rhode Island Hospital

Basic Science

: First Place:
The Role of VAV Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor in Dectin-1 Mediated Phagocytosis
Jill K. Johnstone
Rhode Island Hospital

Second Place (tie):
Pterostilbene Inhibits Lung Cancer through Induction of Apoptosis
John G. Schneider
University of Vermont

Prenatal Tracheal Repair with Cartilage Engineered from Amniotic Mesenchymal Stem Cells in an Allogeneic Ovine Model
Christopher G.B. Turner
Children's Hospital Boston

Clinical Research

First Place:
Modified Clinical Scoring System Decreases Use of CT scan in Diagnosis of Pediatric Acute Appendicitis
Hussain M.A. Abbas
Saint Mary's Hospital - Yale Affiliate

Second Place:
Modified Combating Fatigue in Surgical Residency Programs
Frank McCormick, MD
Harvard Orthopedic Surgery

Basic Science

First Place:
Improved Outcomes following Peripheral Nerve Repair using a Photochemical Technique
Francis P. Henry, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital

Second Place:
The lack of IL-1 signaling decreases fibrosis in sterile wounds with no effect on tensile strength
Alan A. Thomay, MD
Rhode Island Hospital

Clinical Research

First Place:
Is Hepatitis C (HCV) Recurrence Increased in the Recipients of Live Donor Right Lobe Liver Grafts?
Jennifer E. Verbesey
Lahey Clinic

Second Place:
Tomorrow's Surgeons: Expectations of the US General Surgery Categorical Intern Class of 2007
Heather Lynn Yeo, MD
Yale University School of Medicine

Basic Science

First Place:
MR Surveillance of Human Tissue-Engineered Arterial Conduits in SCID Mice Via Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Labeling
Gregory Nelson
Yale University School of Medicine

Second Place:
Hind Limb Ischemia Reperfusion Accelerates Vascular Injury in Susceptible Vessels
Virendra Patel
Massachusetts General Hospital

Third Place:
Parental Nutrition-Associated Liver Disease and Omega-3 Lipid Emulsions in Infants: Preliminary Findings on Safety and Efficacy
Sang Lee
Children's Hospital

Clinical Research

First Place:
Staging and Treatment of Cancer: How Does Maine Compare?
Paige Teller
Maine Medical Center

Second Place:
Mucinous Cystic Neoplasm of The Pancreas is not an Aggressive Entity. Lessons from 163 Resected Patients
Stefano Crippa
Massachusetts General Hospital

Third Place:
Perioperative and 3-Year Outcomes Of Endovascular And Open AAA Repair in the US Medicare Population
Ami D. Jhaveri
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center