Current Utah StARR Resident Investigators
Dr. Finch is the second Pediatrics Resident in the Program’s history. She completed medical school at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Finch’s research areas of interest are developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), intergenerational health, and preventive medicine. Her UStARR research will focus on the intergenerational transmission of health and risk of disease, especially as mediated by the placental anatomy, physiology, and distinct nutritional profiles. She hopes that this work can ultimately be applied in the context of preventive health and may assist in reducing health disparities. View Dr. Finch’s ORCiD profile here: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8800-1141
Kayla is a 3rd year family medicine resident. Her primary research interests are in understanding how primary care practices can effectively address the social determinants of health and support patients in improving their lifestyles. She attended the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine where her research focused on screening and interventions for food insecurity at rural primary care practices, with an emphasis on challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a Utah StARR scholar, she is working with Dr. Molly Conroy on the MAINTAIN PRIME trial based at University of Utah primary care clinics which evaluates the effectiveness of patient portal-based coaching to help patients sustain healthy weight loss. View Dr. Jordanova's ORCiD profile here: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7650-983X
Anna is a third-year pediatrics resident. Her research interests include the intersection of adolescent health, public health, and infectious diseases. Her previous research has focused on contraceptive education and STIs in adolescents. As a UStARR scholar she is hoping to pursue research related to the epidemiology of pediatric infectious diseases. View Dr. Jones’ ORCiD profile here: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3578-213X
Alex Kolomaya is a first-year internal medicine resident. He has previously explored a variety of research areas and is narrowing his interests to the field of cardiology. Broadly, his interests include health disparities and health policy. He wishes to investigate disparities among vulnerable populations and traditionally excluded groups in the context of cardiovascular disease and prevention. View Dr. Kolomaya’s ORCID profile here: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1742-7812
Meera Nagarajan is a second-year pediatrics resident. Her primary research interests surround the impact of social determinants of health on children’s health and well-being. She has participated in qualitative research about parent and provider perceptions regarding mental health boarding for youth and adolescents while attending the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. She also spent a year in Athens, Greece as a Fulbright research scholar examining the impacts of a public health nutrition program on dietary and quality of life outcomes. She hopes to pursue research as a UStARR scholar studying the impacts of health disparities in order to implement sustainable interventions. View Dr. Nagarajan’s ORCID profile here: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0800-0497
Boomer Olsen is currently an internal medicine resident at the University of Utah. As a person with type 1 diabetes, he has broad interests within both type 1 and type 2 diabetes research. His areas of focus have included diabetes genomics, beta-cell biology, novel therapeutics, management strategies, and clinical outcomes.
Cecilia Peterson is an Internal Medicine resident; she has not decided on what specialty she will pursue but has a strong interest in Primary Care and Geriatrics. Her research interests include interprofessional teamwork and education, the comparative effectiveness of different healthcare delivery systems, and preventative medicine in the geriatric population. She is looking forward to growing as a researcher through the StARR program and hopes to pursue a career as a clinician investigator.
Eric’s research interests include translating modern causal inference methods into clinical neurology research, as well as studying how social factors influence neurologic health and healthcare delivery. He is currently working under Dr. Adam de Havenon on projects involving clinical-epidemiologic features of stroke and continuing his work in BASIC.
RJ Williams is a fourth year Internal Medicine resident working under Dr. Daniel Leung. His current research involves employing sero-surveillance and other location specific parameters to develop a clinical prediction model for Dengue Virus. He plans to pursue a career in Infectious Disease working within the realm of global health and neglected tropical diseases. View Dr. Williams’ ORCiD profile here: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3099-1143
Graduated Utah StARR Resident Investigators
Dr. Alexander Zheutlin’s primary research interest is in better understanding drivers of suboptimal cardiovascular care (e.g., therapeutic inertia, social and geographic barriers), particularly among vulnerable populations, with an ultimate goal of improving implementation of evidence-based treatment strategies. Following his successful tenure as a Utah StARR resident investigator, he has accepted a fellowship at his first-choice Institution - the cardiology program at Northwestern University in Illinois. During his fellowship, Dr. Zheutlin plans to continue pursuing his primary interest in preventive cardiology and working towards the goal of maintaining a career as a clinician-scientist.
View Dr. Zheutlin's ORCiD Profile
Dr. Zheutlin's ORCiD
As a UStARR scholar, Dr. Vardell's research focused on real world outcomes in hematology patients. By using large real-world databases, she aims to improve the understanding and prevention of cardiac and vascular adverse events in chronic myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma patients. She has been involved in multiple projects identifying areas of outcomes disparities in the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies. Her goal is to continue research in the fields of classical and malignant hematology as a clinician-investigator hematologist. Dr. Vardell will be continuing her career locally as a fellow at the prestigious Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City.
View Dr. Vardell's ORCiD Profile
Dr. Vardell's ORCiD
Dr. Lauren Gimbel graduated from Utah StARR in 2022, and since then has continued her clinical and research pursuits in an Obstetrics and Gynecology fellowship position at the University of Utah Health system. Her research while in Utah StARR focused on maternal mental health outcomes, most recently those associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. During her time with the program Dr. Gimbel also developed a plan to create infrastructure for a mental health in pregnancy clinic and program that will form the basis for future work. Dr. Gimbel maintains a close mentee relationship with Utah StARR program directors, and continues to elevate her career goals as a clinician researcher in her position in Salt Lake City.
View Dr. Gimbel's Faculty Profile
Dr. Gimbel's Profile
Dr. Campbell graduated the Utah StARR program in 2021 and is now a Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Fellow at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Her research interests include brain development, autism spectrum disorders, and children with complex medical needs, focusing on neurodevelopment of infants born with critical congenital heart disease (CHD) - namely how neurobehavioral profiles of infants with CHD and their medical course after corrective surgery relate to later skills and behavior. Her work "Abnormal infant behavior and later neurodevelopmental delays in children with critical CHD" was recently published by Cambridge University Press.
View Dr. Campbell's ORCiD Profile
Dr. Campbell's ORCiD