Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP)

Dr. Jeffrey Sturek is a physician-scientist with a research program focused on translational pulmonary immunology. He is actively engaged in each research, teaching, and patient care mission. Dr. Sturek received formal research training through the NIH Medical Scientist Training Program. He earned my PhD in Pharmacology, leading a collaborative project investigating the role of cellular cholesterol homeostasis in pancreatic beta cell function. He then transitioned to the clinical phase of his training with residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine, followed by Fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. During the research phase of Dr. Sturek’s fellowship, he trained with Dr. Coleen McNamara, gaining experience in B-1 cell immunology and translational research methods, including mass cytometry. In 2019, he was selected as an invited scholar in the Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV) Scholars Program, a structured, two-year career development program focused on developing early career translational health researchers. Dr. Sturek’s work spans the range of translational research, from clinical to basic laboratory work. He utilizes both mechanistic studies in murine models of disease as well as complementary discovery-based translational studies in humans to bridge the critical gap between basic science and clinical medicine. As a dual-trained physician-scientist, he feels it is his calling to work at this interface. Dr. Sturek’s work has been published in high-impact journals, including JAMA, NEJM, and Science Immunology. On the clinical research end of the spectrum, he co-directs a clinical trials group, the Joint Emerging Diseases Initiative (JEDI), with his colleague Dr. Patrick Jackson from the Division of Infectious Diseases. Together, they bring up both multi-site NIH and local investigator-initiated clinical trials. Dr. Sturek’s basic-translational research laboratory focuses on the interactions between B cells, antibodies, and lung resident stromal cells in lung injury and repair.

Dr. Antonio Abbate joined the University of Virginia as the “Ruth C. Heede” Professor of Cardiology in the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center in July 2022. A native of Fondi, Italy, Dr. Abbate is an experienced clinician, mentor, and established researcher specializing in general cardiology, cardio-immunology, and cardio-oncology. Dr. Abbate received his medical degree from the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, his clinical training in cardiovascular medicine, and his PhD in molecular and cellular cardiology from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy. He has contributed to hundreds of peer-reviewed publications on the role of Interleukin-1 and inflammation in cardiovascular diseases. During his career, Dr. Abbate has received several awards for his research, teaching, and mentoring. Dr. Abbate is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, and Cardio-Oncology and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and European Society of Cardiology.

Emily C. McGowan MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Allergy & Clinical Immunology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She completed her undergraduate education at Duke University and spent a year pursuing research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She completed her medical training at the University of Virginia, internship/residency training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, and fellowship training in Allergy/Clinical Immunology at Johns Hopkins. She also completed a PhD in Clinical Investigation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her primary research and clinical interest is food allergy, and she is actively pursuing projects to understand better the epidemiology and pathophysiology of Eosinophilic Esophagitis and other Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases. Dr. McGowan has received funding through the NIH/National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, AAAAI/ARTrust, FARE, and the American College of Gastroenterology. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. She is an active member of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

Dr. Scialla is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Nephrology, and Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia (UVA). She trained in Internal Medicine, Nephrology, and Clinical Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At UVA, she serves as the Director of Outcomes Research for a joint program in Medicine and Public Health Sciences and Director of the Nephrology Clinical Research Center within the Division of Nephrology. Nationally, she serves as a Deputy Editor at the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. Her research focuses on chronic kidney disease (CKD) epidemiology with an emphasis on cardiovascular and metabolic complications and risk factors for CKD progression.

Ashley grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She attended the University of Virginia for her undergraduate studies. From there, she did one year of research at the National Institutes of Health, studying innate immune responses in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus. She returned to UVA as part of the Medical Scientist Training Program in 2016. Ashley obtained her PhD in the Lukens lab investigating the role of meningeal lymphatics in traumatic brain injury and the impact of aging on meningeal B cells. Ashley then completed her MD and is now a resident in internal medicine at UVA. Ashley is interested in the areas in which neuroimmunology and internal medicine intersect and hopes to have a career as a physician-scientist. Outside work, she enjoys board games, trail running, and spending time with family, friends, and pets.

Fabian grew up in Arnsberg, Germany, and obtained his medical degree at the University of Münster. Afterward, he worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, studying innate immune responses and liver inflammation in chronic viral hepatitis. He then completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Virginia. He is currently a hematology and oncology fellow, and his research interests involve the intersection of extracellular vesicles and the immune system in the context of immunotherapy for patients with genitourinary malignancies. Outside work, he enjoys spending time with family, running trails, hiking, and cooking.

Dr. Brown is an internal medicine resident at UVA who is part of the Clinical Investigator track and is interested in the intersection between immunology and pulmonology. Before UVA, she went to medical school at Pitt Med and was part of the Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP). Through the PSTP, she worked with Dr. Craig Byersdorfer, studying GVHD immunometabolism. During medical school, she saw the great work immunomodulators had done for other fields. She wondered whether the same concepts could be applied to pulmonary immunological diseases, prompting her to join Dr. Sturek’s lab once she came to UVA for residency. Dr. Brown continues her GVHD study by investigating GVHD serositis, including its characterization and underlying mechanisms.

Charlene is a second-year Allergy and Immunology fellow. Before coming to UVA, she completed her residency training in Internal Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. She earned her medical degree from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and her PhD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her current research focuses on the epidemiology and molecular patterns of food allergy in lower- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Thomas C. Hilton attended the University of Florida and was elected to join Florida Blue Key for his contributions to the University through service and leadership on campus. In 2012, he graduated from the Fisher School of Accounting’s premier professional program, the 3/2 Program, with his Bachelor’s and Master of Accounting degrees. He subsequently worked in public audit for a “big four” accounting firm before being hired for a corporate position at a Fortune 500 company.

Dr. Hilton completed his undergraduate pre-med requirements at the University of North Florida and then attended Wake Forest University School of Medicine. As a medical student, his cardiology and point-of-care ultrasound research resulted in numerous award-winning abstracts, poster presentations, and a manuscript. He was awarded the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certificate with Commendation for his research and medical education projects in the field.

Dr. Hilton is currently a second-year Internal Medicine resident at the University of Virginia, where he has continued to pursue his passion for research in cardiology, resulting in abstracts accepted to HFSA Annual Scientific Meeting 2022 and The Global CMR Conference 2024. Most recently, he had five projects accepted to the American College of Cardiology 73rd Annual Scientific Session. Upon completing his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Virginia in 2025, he intends to complete a 3-4 year Cardiology Fellowship where he will pursue his passion to advance science in cardiovascular medicine.

Dr. Hilton is married to Hillary Hilton, a lawyer. Together, they have a daughter, a son, and a dog named Honey.

Dr. Hilton enjoys reading and taking his children to the park in his leisure time.

Dr. Hodges is an ABIM Research Pathway fellow in the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health. She received a dual MD/MPH degree from Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Virginia. Her research interests include designing and evaluating the implementation of patient-centered low-barrier care interventions that increase the uptake of evidence-based treatments for infectious diseases and intersecting substance use disorders. She is currently working on active projects spanning areas including HIV, TB, Hep C prevention/treatment, opioid use disorder treatment, harm reduction, implementation science, and mobile health, located in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Tanzania.

Dr. Sam Konkol, MD, grew up in Wisconsin and attended undergraduate school at the University of Wisconsin. After graduating, he received his medical degree from the University of North Carolina. He moved to Charlottesville to complete a residency at the University of Virginia, serving an additional year as Chief Resident. He continued on at the University of Virginia as a fellow in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine. Dr. Konkol’s research interests are improving diagnostic accuracy in pulmonary fibrosis, focusing on biomarker discovery.

Outside work, Dr. Konkol enjoys spending time with his family, running, hiking, cooking, and reading.

Emily completed medical school at Michigan State University. She is a current third-year resident at the University of Virginia and completed a master’s in clinical research as part of the Clinical Investigator Track. Her research areas of interest are lung biomarkers and medical devices. She plans to pursue a career in academic pulmonary and critical care medicine.

Brandon grew up in Buffalo, NY, and studied biochemistry as an undergraduate at the University of Rochester. He then taught high school science with Teach For America in eastern North Carolina and conducted metabolic research at the NIH before joining the MD/PhD program at UVA. While in grad school, he studied neural mechanisms of homeostatic appetite regulation with an eye toward better understanding the pathophysiology of obesity and disorders of energy metabolism. In his spare time, he still enjoys experimenting with appetite regulation by cooking and enjoying many of Charlottesville’s excellent restaurants. After residency, he plans on pursuing fellowship training in Endocrinology to have a research-focused career.

Dr. Smilnak is currently a PGY1 in Internal Medicine at UVA. Originally from Detroit, MI, he moved to Charlottesville with his wife, Kira, who is also an intern in the Psychiatry program. Dr. Smilnak plans to subspecialize in hematology-oncology, and his research interests include cancer genomics and epidemiology. Outside of work, he enjoys trivia, crosswords, and pickup soccer.

Having originally started his medical career in nursing over ten years ago, Justin is a late-comer to medicine and research. His interest in how well or poorly emergency medicine research is disseminated and performed, and the surge in AI in healthcare and research has driven him to do research. As an early career physician during the rise in AI, he wants to understand better how AI and deep learning can be used in research and also how to explain the research to other physicians.

Sara is a PGY-1 internal Medicine intern originally from Washington. She attended medical school at Boston University, where she focused on increasing healthcare access to underserved populations. She started her residency at UVA, where she is interested in hematology/oncology and is excited to continue exploring her research interests!