2026 MSSRP available projects

Preceptor: Stephanie Zuo, MD MS
Department: OBGYN
Contact: email: jkt6ma@uvahealth.org. Phone: (516) 589-3756
Project title: Assessing Surgical Knowledge and Understanding
Project description: We are studying older patients’ capability to consent for elective pelvic surgery (urogynecology and gynecology oncology) and the association of consent capability and postoperative complications (ASK-U study: Assessing Surgical Knowledge and Understanding)
Last year, we had a fantastic student who built a RedCap, assisted with IRB, and piloted the study.
This year, we need another student to continue the work of screening, recruiting, and enrolling patients into the study. You will need to be onsite for the summer and available for recruitment. In addition, there may be opportunities for paper writing on other projects.

Preceptor: Chuanxi Cai, PhD
Department: Surgery
Contact: email: txt5pt@virginia.edu / Phone: (434) 924-1749
Project title: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC)
Project description: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the most lethal malignancies, with limited treatment options and a strong association with aging. Exercise has emerged as a promising non-pharmacologic strategy that can improve immune surveillance and therapeutic response in cancer; however, aging-related frailty often limits patient participation in exercise regimens. This highlights a critical unmet need for identifying molecular mediators of exercise-induced tumor suppression that can be leveraged as therapeutic targets, particularly for older adults with PDAC. MG53 (TRIM72) is a muscle-derived myokine released in response to physiological stress, such as exercise, and is essential for tissue repair and cellular homeostasis. Our preliminary studies demonstrate that circulating MG53 levels increase with exercise in young mice but are diminished in aged animals. Similar declines in MG53 function have also been observed in aging human subjects. Using a genetically engineered PDAC mouse model (KPC), we found that MG53 deficiency accelerates tumor growth and abolishes the tumor-suppressive effects of exercise, and that administration of recombinant human MG53 (rhMG53) protein suppresses tumor growth in aged hosts. In addition to its cytosolic functions, MG53 appears to translocate to the nucleus in PDAC cells, where it represses the expression of KIF11, a mitotic kinesin required for tumor proliferation. This project aims to elucidate the mechanistic role of MG53 in mediating exercise-induced tumor suppression and to evaluate rhMG53 as a potential exercise mimetic for PDAC therapy, particularly in aged populations. We will (1) determine the physiological role of MG53 in aging and exercise-mediated control of pancreatic tumor progression using inducible and knockout mouse models; (2) dissect the transcriptional and signaling mechanisms by which MG53 represses KIF11 and modulates PDAC cell proliferation; and (3) evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of rhMG53, alone and in combination with chemotherapy, in aged PDAC-bearing mice. This research will uncover critical insights into the intersection of aging, exercise biology, and tumor suppression, and may establish rhMG53 as a novel, translatable therapeutic for older adults with PDAC who are unable to engage in regular physical activity.

Preceptor: Madhu Misra, MD, MPH ( 2 students requested)
Department: Pediatrics
Contact: email: abp6bd@uvahealth.org / Phone: (617) 413-3410
Project title: Project details listed below.
Project description:
• Oxytocin Effects on Bone in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (BOX)
This is a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of intranasal oxytocin on bone health in children with autism spectrum disorder, ages 6-18 years old. Subjects will be randomized to receive intranasal oxytocin or placebo (30 IU, 2 times daily) for 12 months in the double-blind phase, followed by a 6-month open label phase during which all study subjects will receive intranasal oxytocin (30 IU, 2 times daily). Study visits include screening to determine eligibility, followed by study visits at baseline, week 2, and months 6, 12, 18 and phone calls every two weeks for the first two months and monthly thereafter for the duration of the study. Study assessments include history and physical examinations, anthropometric measurements, electrocardiogram (EKG), adverse event monitoring, laboratory tests for chemistries, hormones and biomarkers for bone metabolism, questionnaires regarding diet and exercise, and imaging to assess body composition, bone density and structure.

• Romosozumab as an Adjunct to Physiologic Estrogen Replacement in Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea
The goal of this study is to determine whether romosozumab will improve bone density in girls and women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (cessation of the menstrual period due to intense exercise, stress, or an eating disorder) who have low bone density. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive romosozumab or placebo for 6 months. All participants will receive one IV infusion of zoledronate at the 6 month visit. All participants will also receive transdermal estradiol and cyclic progesterone. We will investigate whether participants who receive active romosozumab will demonstrate greater improvements in bone density at one year than those who receive placebo. We will also compare bone density over a year with healthy controls (girls and women of similar age who have regular menstrual periods).

• Role of Estrogen on Skeletal Outcomes in Young Women with Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea 14-30 years old.
This 12-month randomized controlled trial examines the impact of transdermal 17-beta estradiol (with cyclic progesterone) versus oral 17-beta estradiol (with cyclic progesterone) versus the transdermal contraceptive ethinyl-estradiol/levonorgestrel patch in improving bone outcomes in young women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea 14-30 years old. Skeletal assessments are performed at baseline, 6- and 12-months. Students will be expected to help with study recruitment, prepare for and assist with study visits, and assist in data collection and entry.

• Bone Metabolism in 12-21 Year Old Youth Undergoing GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy
This is a 24-month pragmatic trial examining the impact of GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy versus routine management on skeletal outcomes in youth with obesity 12-21 years old. Skeletal assessments occur at baseline, 12- and 24-months. Students will be expected to help with study recruitment, prepare for and assist with study visits, and assist in data collection and entry.

Preceptor: Allan Tsung
Department: Surgery
Contact: email: CRF9AA@uvahealth.org / Phone: (434) 924-2158
Project title: Project details listed below
Project description:
1. Pre-operative exercise therapy (PEx) ameliorates surgical stress-induced pro-tumorigenic inflammatory responses and sustains an anti-tumor immune microenvironment in the liver. Our recent findings demonstrate that PEx significantly attenuates liver surgery-induced hepatic inflammatory response (i.e., ischemia/reperfusion). Based on previous novel data, we hypothesize that PEx ameliorates surgical stress-induced pro-tumorigenic inflammatory responses and sustains an anti-tumor immune microenvironment in the liver. One of our publications, “Pre-operative exercise therapy triggers anti-inflammatory trained immunity of Kupffer cells through metabolic reprogramming,” was highlighted by Nature News & Views as pioneering a new milestone in research on preoperative exercise by showing that specific immunomodulatory adaptations can underlie the protection against surgically related stress (Nature Metabolism, 2021; Hepatology, 2024; BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil,2025; Cell Reports Medicine 2026).

2. The role of innate immunity and inflammation in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)-Fibrosis
We are looking into the mechanisms of MASH-induced Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation (Signal Transduct Target Ther, 2024), and the role of NETs in promoting inflammatory injury in MASH. As well as the development of MASH-HCC. Our work has shown that blocking NETs can change the inflammatory environment to a less favorable HCC growth condition (Hepatology, 2018), and target NETs and Treg interactions offers a potential strategy for preventing HCC in patients with MASH (Journal of Hepatology, 2021), and also targeting NETs and hepatic stellate cells can significantly improve the NASH related fibrosis (Hepatology, 2024), which provides a new therapeutic implication to prevent liver fibrosis and cancer in patients with MASH.

3. Targeting NETs to improve the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors for colorectal cancer
Several of our studies have signified a novel approach to target the tumor microenvironment by using DNase I alone or combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced colorectal cancer (Cancer Research 2016, 2019, 2021, Cancers, 2021). We have provided compelling evidence that shown the activation of TLR9 in fibroblastic reticular cells leads to the disappearance of Tim4+ peritoneal resident macrophages, that enhances antitumor immunity and responses to anti-PD-1 therapy in colorectal cancer peritoneal metastasis(JCI Insight, 2022), which suggests a potential new therapeutic strategy to overcome PD-1 blockade resistance.

Preceptor: Lily Cheng, MD
Department: Pediatric Surgery
Contact: email: ptr6ey@uvahealth.org / Phone: (434) 688-6519
Project title: Quality Improvement Project
Project description: We are looking for a student to be involved with a quality improvement project to improve transition from pediatric to adult care for teenagers with a history of congenital colorectal diseases. The student will help consent patients for the study, collect survey data from patients, and analysis/synthesize the data for future publication/presentation. There will be ample opportunity to shadow in pediatric surgery clinic and in the operating room. The student may also participate in other pediatric surgery clinical projects. The ideal candidate should be self-motivated and comfortable interacting with pediatric patients.

Preceptor: Ani Manichaikul, PhD
Department: Genome Sciences
Contact: email: am3xa@virginia.edu / Phone: (434) 982-1612
Project title: Emphysema
Project description: Emphysema is a significant chronic disease with substantial morbidity and mortality and is resistant to most therapies because it is caused by irreversible anatomic destruction. Not much is known about the effects of sex differences on cellular abnormalities in emphysematous damage. In this research, we will leverage data from human cohorts including the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis to examine sex hormones (estrogen, testosterone) and their role in sex differences in emphysema and related pulmonary traits.

Preceptor: Russell G. Witt, MD, MAS
Department: Surgical Oncology
Contact: email: SYD3XZ@uvahealth.org / Phone: (434) 956-0994
Project title: Development and Evaluation of a Shared Decision Aid for Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Cutaneous Melanoma
Project description: This MSSRP project will focus on the development, implementation, and evaluation of a shared decision aid designed to support patients with cutaneous melanoma who are considering sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for melanoma. While SLNB is a standard staging procedure for many patients, the decision to proceed is preference-sensitive and influenced by individualized risk estimates, patient values, and tolerance of uncertainty. Decision aids have been shown to improve patient knowledge, reduce decisional conflict, and promote shared decision-making, yet remain underutilized in surgical oncology.

The student will participate in an ongoing prospective clinical study evaluating a melanoma SLNB decision aid at UVA. Core activities will include exposure to study design, patient enrollment workflows, survey-based outcomes research, and analysis of patient-reported measures such as decisional conflict, knowledge acquisition, and satisfaction with decision-making. Depending on the student’s interests and experience, specific responsibilities may include data abstraction, preliminary statistical analyses, survey instrument interpretation, and preparation of abstracts or manuscripts.

Supplemental Clinical Research Opportunities:
In addition to the primary decision aid project, students will be expected to participate in complementary clinical research projects within the melanoma and soft tissue sarcoma programs. These may include retrospective outcomes analyses, quality improvement initiatives, or hypothesis-generating studies related to melanoma staging, treatment decision-making, or surgical oncology care delivery. This flexible structure allows students to gain broader exposure to clinical research while maintaining a clear primary project focus.

Learning Objectives:
• Understand the principles of shared decision-making and decision aid development
• Gain hands-on experience in prospective clinical research and outcomes measurement
• Develop skills in data interpretation, clinical research ethics, and scientific communication
• Participate in abstract or manuscript preparation, as appropriate

Expected Student Commitment and Deliverables:
The student will be expected to engage consistently throughout the seven-week summer research period, complete required CITI training, participate in required MSSRP presentations, and submit a final written project report by the program deadline. Opportunities for continued involvement beyond the summer may be available for interested students.

Preceptor: Marina Weiler/PhD
Department: Psychiatry and NB Sc
Contact: email: zzs2jq@uvahealth.org / Phone: (443) 454-9787
Project title: Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs): A Brief Clinical Assessment and Response Guide
Project description: Out-of-body experiences (OBEs), in which individuals experience their sense of self or awareness as located outside the physical body, are reported by approximately 10–20% of the general population and occur across a wide range of clinical and non-clinical contexts. Despite their relative prevalence, patients who report OBEs often experience stigma, fear of misdiagnosis, or reluctance to disclose these experiences in medical settings.
In this project, the medical student will contribute to the development and refinement of a clinician-focused assessment and response guide for OBEs. The work will focus on distinguishing benign, non-pathological OBEs from presentations that warrant psychiatric or neurological referral, including differentiation from dissociative symptoms, psychosis, mania, or neurological red flags. The student will assist with synthesizing phenomenological features, clinical risk indicators, and evidence-based communication strategies to support neutral, patient-centered clinical responses.
The project offers hands-on experience at the intersection of psychiatry, neurology, and patient-centered care, with emphasis on diagnostic reasoning, stigma reduction, and ethical clinical communication. The final product will be a practical reference tool intended for use by clinicians and trainees across medical specialties.
Mentorship:
Primary Mentor: Marina Weiler, PhD
Co-Mentor: J. Kim Penberthy, PhD

Preceptor: Nick Brenton, MD
Department: Neurology
Contact: email: jnb8h@uvahealth.org / Phone (434) 924-3035
Project title: Endurance and Physical Activity Levels in Children with Autoimmune Encephalitis Associated with MOG Antibodies
Project description: Encephalitis associated with immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) has been recently described as one of the more common etiologies of AE in children. The majority of children with encephalitis associated with MOG-IgG (MOGAD-AE) require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) and acute immunotherapy administration. Despite favorable neurologic recovery in the majority, neurocognitive impairments are often evident – predominately affecting attention, behavior, executive and visuomotor function. Further, parents frequently raise concern about limitations and reduced participation in physical activities following MOGAD-AE due a variety of issues, including residual pain, fatigue, and impaired endurance. Importantly, the chronic impact of encephalitis associated with MOG-IgG on physical capacity, endurance, and real-world activity levels in children is unknown.

We propose a prospective, cross-sectional study to quantify walking capacity (via a timed 2- and 6-minute walk) and real-world walking behavior (via 7-day continuous accelerometry) in pediatric MOGAD patients with a history of encephalitis (MOGAD-AE) versus pediatric MOGAD patients with non-encephalitis phenotype (MOGAD-nonAE) versus age-, sex-, and body mass index (BMI)-matched controls. We hypothesize that children with MOGAD-AE will exhibit reduced walking capacity in addition to lower levels of real-world physical activity compared to children with MOGAD-nonAE and controls.

Preceptor: Melissa Little, PhD, MPH
Department: PHS/CC
Contact: email: mal7uj@virginia.edu / Phone: (434) 924-1935
Project title: Details listed in description below.
Project description: We have several on-going research projects addressing both tobacco and nicotine product cessation among adult smokers and prevention among youth. These clinical trials are being conducted in community settings under “real world” conditions. Students will have an opportunity to be involved in the four ongoing clinical trials listed below.

1. Randomized clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of QuitAid, a pharmacist delivered smoking cessation intervention in rural Appalachian community pharmacies.

2. Determining the feasibility of UP2UDigital, a 10-week intervention consisting of 30 messages, quizzes, discussion posts and videos delivered to 9th and 10th grade students through existing school learning management systems (LMS).

3. Examining the feasibility of a flipped medical-legal partnership to promote tobacco cessation among coal miners.

4. Testing the feasibility of a pharmacist-delivered smoking cessation program for all smokers, regardless of readiness to quit, plus Lung Cancer Screening modules delivered through pharmacists within a federally qualified health center.

Preceptor: Bon Trinh (2 students requested)
Department: Pathology
Contact: email: bontrinh@virginia.edu / Phone: (434) 243-8343
Project title: Project details listed below.
Project description:
1. Protein-ncRNA coordination in myeloid cell development, innate immune functions, and AML
Failure in myeloid cell maturation is the cause of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer with very poor patient outcome. We hypothesize that ncRNAs coordinate with proteins, in governing expression of important myeloid genes via chromatin looping, and that aberrations in this molecular coordination contribute to AML progression . To this end, we are 1) comprehensively characterizing protein-binding ncRNAs and demonstrate the effect of Protein-ncRNA coordination on chromatin architecture and epigenetic marks at myeloid gene loci, 2) determining ncRNA regulators of myeloid gene expression, and 3) demonstrating that fusion proteins exhibits their oncogenic functions through modulating ncRNAs. These studies will provide important mechanistic insights into protein- and ncRNA-mediated gene regulation in normal development and cancer progression.

2. Therapeutic strategies “renormalizing” chromatin structure
We are developing therapeutic approaches based on protein-ncRNA hubs that regulate the formation of gene-activating chromatin loops. Our strategies include introducing regulatory RNAs, conducting a broad virtual small-molecule screen, and performing de novo design, followed by experimental validation in cell culture and mouse models. The goal is to restore chromatin structures in cancer cells to resemble those observed in normal cells, thereby promoting normal cell growth and differentiation.

Accomplishment of MSSRP students in Trinh lab:

Kevin Qiu: https://tinyurl.com/trinhlaboratory/team/kevin-qiu
Josh Pei: https://tinyurl.com/trinhlaboratory/team/joshua-pei

Preceptor: Jarred M Whitlock PhD
Department: MPBP
Contact: email: JMWhitlock@virginia.edu / Phone: (704) 747-8922
Project title: See project details in the description.
Project description:
In the Whitlock Lab, we love and learn from the multinucleated cell types that manage the life-long development and maintenance of the musculoskeletal system. Our primary goals lie in helping our neighbors better appreciate the beautiful mysteries held in their own bodies and addressing urgent, unmet needs in pediatric skeletal disease. One such disease where our preclinical work is poised to address a pediatric skeletal disease with no currently approved therapy is fibrous dysplasia. Fibrous dysplasia is a metabolic skeletal disease characterized by the development of expansile lesions along the skeleton. The disease progresses rapidly during adolescence and commonly leads to craniofacial deformation, obstruction of the optical and auditory canals (leading to loss of sight and hearing), increased fracture risk, pain, deformity, and rarely, death. The disease reaches a static state at ~20 years of age, and the disease burden continues throughout life. Beyond the clinical presentation of fibrous dysplasia, the disease inflicts a high social and psychologic cost on the families affected, as it is not uncommon for children with craniofacial lesions to have greater than 5 facial reconstructive surgeries before they graduate high school. Everyone struggles to find themselves during their middle and high school years. Pain and facial disfigurement should not be a part of this.

The Whitlock Lab has characterized a positive feedback look underpinning the expansion of fibrous dysplasia lesions and pioneered a paradigm shifting approach to break the vicious cycle that drives the disease’s progression. Utilizing a bone marrow culture model developed in the Whitlock Lab, the group is able to selectively activate the most common mutation causing the pediatric disease in the osteoprogenitor cells where it originates. In response, the multinucleated osteoclasts responsible for destroying bone in fibrous dysplasia patients form and destroy biomimetics of bone in culture. Employing this model, the Whitlock Lab in partnership with Skeletalis Bio is looking for a trainee to undertake assessing the efficacy of a lead candidate (small molecule) in inhibiting osteoclast formation, function, and assessing the singling impact on osteoprogenitors in our Ex Vivo system. Future projects aim to utilize a mouse model where the same mutation can be “turned on” in the animals – mimicking the pediatric, human disease – and assess whether these lead candidates block bone loss and deformity. These experiments will form “proof-of-principal” for translating this approach into future clinical trial assessment.

Preceptor: Francesco Michelassi, MD-PhD
Department: Neurology
Contact: email: gsg6tr@uvahealth.org / Phone: (773) 848-2739
Project title: Exploring the Mechanisms of Analgesia and Neurotoxicity of Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO)
Project description:
Background: Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) is a polar organic solvent used to dissolve many commonly used chemicals in medicine and research. DMSO is thought to have analgesic properties, the mechanism of which is poorly understood, and it is used to treat interstitial cystitis and is available over the counter for arthritic pain. However, there is evidence to suggest that it is neurotoxic. Interestingly, our lab has found preliminary evidence that demonstrates that subcutaneous injection of DMSO into the mouse footpad completely ablates the intra-epidermal nerve fibers, suggesting a connection between DMSO’s neurotoxicity and its analgesic properties.

Description: The student will inject varying concentrations of DMSO into the footpads of mice. The student will perform behavioral tests on the mice to assess numbness, and then the foot pads will be processed and analyzed for loss of the intra-epidermal nerve fibers. Allowing for time restraints, the experiment will be repeated on a genetic strain of mice that does not undergo programmed axonal degeneration: SARM1 knockout mice.

Preceptor: Bradford B Worrall
Department: Neurology
Contact: crx3qp@uvahealth.org / (434) 297-6777
Project title: See details in the description
Project Description:
We have a large number of active research projects focused on a wide range of cerebrovascular diseases – ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, intracerebral hemorrhage, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, intracranial aneurysms, etc. looking at treatment, prevention, and recovery. Our work includes multiple projects focused on stroke health disparities. Options range from research interviews to chart review and data analysis to use of existing datasets including -omics data. Areas of particular interest include sleep and stroke, Social and Structural Determinants of Health and stroke, and applications of technology and health in cerebrovascular diseases.

All participating MSSRP students are encouraged to submit an abstract to the International Stroke Conference held in February the following year. If accepted, the student is encouraged to attend the present the research. The majority of the students over the past 20 years have presented at the ISC often with a travel scholarship.

Regardless of their specific project, students will also have clinical shadowing opportunities and opportunities to shadow our Clinical Research Coordinators.

This is an umbrella posting for multiple stroke neurology faculty.

Preceptor: Christopher McLaughlin, MD
Department: Radiation Oncology
Contact: (434) 243-8885 / cm9rs@uvahealth.org
Project title: Integrating Radiomics and ctDNA to Assess Treatment Response in HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer
Project description: This project investigates quantitative radiomic features derived from diagnostic and treatment imaging as potential markers of treatment response in HPV-associated squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. Radiomic signatures will be analyzed longitudinally and compared with an established circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) biomarker to assess concordance, predictive value, and complementary performance. The project integrates imaging analytics, clinical outcomes, and molecular biomarkers to explore noninvasive strategies for early response assessment and risk stratification in HPV-positive head and neck cancer.

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