2023 DRIVE Summer Research Program
Congratulations to the 2023 cohort of the DRIVE in Research Pathway program!
22 Stanford undergraduate students were selected and matched individually with an MCHRI faculty mentor.
Explore the topics below to learn more about the DRIVE 2023 cohort and unique learning opportunities
DRIVE 2023 Student Research and Faculty Matches
Students were paired with faculty advisors and conducted research projects throughout the Summer. Faculty provided guidance and mentorship as the sophomore students worked on maternal and child health related projects.
DRIVE Student: Khusbu Adhikari
Project Title: Predicting Preterm Birth using AI and Machine Learning approaches
Mentor: Dr. David Stevenson
DRIVE Student: Gwendolyne Aguilar
Project Title: Impact of a Childcare-based Center Intervention on Water Intake
Mentor: Dr. Anisha Patel
DRIVE Student: Wendy Angeles
Project Title: Identification of Novel Therapeutic Compounds for Radiation-induced Brain Injury Using Brain Organoid Models
Mentor: Dr. Anca Pasca
DRIVE Student: Norah Asemota
Project Title: Host-pathogen interactions in malaria
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Egan
DRIVE Student: Luciana Bridges
Project Title: Wise Social Psychological Interventions to Improve Outcomes of Behavioral Weight Control in Children with Obesity
Mentor: Dr. Thomas Robinson
DRIVE Student: Senay Dani
Project Title: The role of extracellular mitochondria in pediatric cases of sepsis
Mentor: Dr. Bereketeab Haileselassie
DRIVE Student: Binta Diallo
Project Title: NATPro Study: Improving Pregnancy Outcomes for Frozen Embryo Transfer
Mentor: Dr. Ruth Lathi
DRIVE Student: Richzeska Fandino
Project Title: Examining the Role of Parental Caregivers’ Attitudes, Beliefs and Knowledge in Influencing Pediatric Vaccine Acceptance
Mentor: Dr. Gary Darmstadt
DRIVE Student: Arturo Hernandez
Project Title: Developing a cell-free nucleic acid pipeline for use in an experimental mouse heart transplantation model
Mentor: Dr. Sean Wu
DRIVE Student: Monserrat Hernandez-Escobar
Project Title: Journey in Pain Care for Spanish-speaking families (JIPC-S): Using qualitative research to understand the lived experiences of Spanish-speaking families seeking care for pediatric chronic pain
Mentor: Dr. Laura Simons
DRIVE Student: Paw Mar Gay
Project Title: Identification of bacteriophage in umbilical cord blood
Mentor: Dr. Virginia Winn
DRIVE Student: Constantia Georgiou
Project Title: Neurobiologic and Immunologic Markers in Youth with Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS)
Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Frankovich
DRIVE Student: Isis-Kohle Jackson
Project Title: Durability of immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in pediatric solid-organ transplant recipients
Mentor: Dr. Sruti Nadimpalli
DRIVE Student: Olivia Ledbury
Project Title: Tissue oxygenation in the newborn at risk for brain injury
Mentor: Dr. Valerie Chock
DRIVE Student: Brian Lim
Project Title: Developing an Effective Treatment for SDHB-Deficient Tumors
Mentor: Dr. Justin Annes
DRIVE Student: Xochilt Lorenzo
Project Title: Epithelial Dysfunction in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis
Mentor: Dr. Michael Rosen
DRIVE Student: Nathalie Moreno
Project Title: Tracking the Progression of Neuroendocrine Cells in Distal Regions of Human Lungs through Immunofluorescence
Mentor: Dr. Christin Kuo
DRIVE Student: Melody Moua
Project Title: Examining the Role of Healthcare Providers’ Attitudes, Beliefs, and Knowledge in Influencing Pediatric Vaccine Acceptance
Mentor: Dr. Gary Darmstadt
DRIVE Student: Nina Yen Nhi Nguyen
Project Title: Using Partial Reprogramming to Combat Exhaustion in CAR T Cells
Mentor: Dr. Vittorio Sebastiano
DRIVE Student: Sofia Pesantez
Project Title: PRELUDES: Predicting language development in preterm children
Mentor: Dr. Heidi Feldman
DRIVE Student: Ariyanna Wesley
Project Title: Understanding and Reducing Adolescent Vaping: From Research to Prevention to Policy
Mentor: Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher
DRIVE Student: Angeline Yu
Project Title: Neurobiological Mechanisms of Maternal Separation Stress Effects on Anxiety Behavior and Binge Alcohol Drinking
Mentor: Dr. William Giardino
DRIVE 2023 Poster Symposium
To conclude the internship, DRIVE students showcased their work and accomplishments, with each student creating a research poster, presenting their summer research project, and sharing their reflections on the summer program.
DRIVE 2023 Lunch and Learns
Weekly Lunch and Learns events were held with investigators in maternal and child health fields, where speakers shared their own career journey and a talk on their research interests. The Lunch & Learn events provided DRIVE students an opportunity to learn and discuss initiatives and challenges in the field with a wide variety of experts, and discover the diversity of career pathways in academic medicine and biomedical research.
2023 Lunch and Learn Presenters:
Ananta Addala, DO
Victor Carrion, MD
Kara Davis, DO
Bereketeab Haileselassie, MD
Kim Hazard, MD
Rogelio Hernández-López, PhD
Natalia Gomez-Ospina, MD, PhD
Mary Leonard, MD, MSCE
Fernando Mendoza, MD, MPH
Yvonne Maldonado, MD
Anisha Patel, MD, MSPH, MSHS
DRIVE 2023 Research Training and Career Workshops
Students participated in a wider ange of research training and career exploration workshops.
2023 Workshops:
Careers in medicine and the MD Admissions process
Designing and conducting clinical research
Introduction to community-engaged research
Journal club
Library resources and writing a literature review
MD-PhD pathway and the MSTP BOOST program
Powerful personal statements
Preparing a scientific poster
Research careers and Graduate Education admissions
Scientific speaking and presenting
STEM careers in industry and biotechnology