Robust turnout for IM residents at Research Academic Half-Day competition

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The 2026 Internal Medicine Residency Research Academic Half-Day, hosted May 7 in the Forum of the Health Sciences Innovation Building, offered an excellent showcase of residents’ scholarly work this year.

“We received 40 submissions spanning case reports, quality improvement projects, oral presentations and original research. Nearly 60 residents participated in at least one project, highlighting the strong culture of academic engagement and collaboration within our program,” said Vikram Singh, MD, MS, one of five IM chief residents who shoulder a big part of the event’s organization.

“One of the highlights were quality improvement projects from every PGY-2 resident. It was inspiring to witness the evolution of these projects, from early development of initial ideas to polished final products presented at Research Day.”

He also lauded the oral presenters, also all PGY-2s: Jesse Ritter, MD, Nathan Giauque, MD, and Eduardo Garcia Licerio, MD, whose talks followed the poster session.

“Each delivered outstanding oral presentations highlighting work that had been accepted at national conferences,” Dr. Singh said. “We are incredibly proud of all that our residents have accomplished this year and look forward to seeing them continue this momentum and scholarly growth in the year ahead.”

A standout for the day was Dr. Ritter, who won four awards. The full slate of awards follows —  with faculty feedback, a mini-photo gallery and a link to additional photos below.

Poster Session

Among award winners (presenting resident author*) were:

Best Original Research Project (TIE)

“Clinical and Immunologic Correlates of Out-of-Specification Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel in Multiple Myeloma: A University of Arizona Analysis” | Jesse Ritter*, Danielle Bailey, Numaan Mahmood, Laura McPheeters, Krishna Moturi, Abhijeet Kumar, Akshay Amaraneni, Ravitharan Krishnadasan, Sharad Khurana, Muhammad Husnain

“Biology Behind the Disparity: Molecular and Immune Differences in Southern Arizona Hispanic Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer” | Alejandro Recio-Boiles, Sachin Kumar Deshmukh, Cassandra Jean Everly*, Sharon Wu, Ricardo J. Estrada-Mendizabal, Elisabeth Heath, Rana R. McKay, Cynthia Miranti, Ken Batai, Benjamin R. Lee, Juan Chipollini

Best QI Project

“High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Screening in Primary Prevention for Cardiovascular Disease in Primary Care Clinics” | Jackie Maltagliati, Nathan Giauque*, Tolu Popoola, Sarah Busch, Niki Price, Swathi Somisetty, Nellie Toliver, Ann Canelas, Erica Yothment

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Honorable Mention QI Project

“Improving Access to Hepatitis C Treatment” | Celeste Gracey, Will Matloff*, Aarjav Pandya, Anna Morenz

Best Case Report

“Dupilumab Induced Exacerbation of MPO+ Eosinophillic Granulamatosis with Polyangitis with Multiorgan Involvement” | Matthew Lansman*, Tayeb Abbas

Honorable Mention Case Report

“Persistent CAR-T Signal in Delayed Immune Effector Cell-Associated Enterocolitis Following Axicabtagene Ciloleucel” | Jesse Ritter*, Samar Iftikhar, Akira Folk, Daniel Barnett, Candace Revelez, Muhammad Husnain

Rising Researcher (Outstanding Intern Researcher)

Rachael Rosow, MD (PGY-1)

Senior Scientist (Outstanding Resident Researcher)

Jesse Ritter, MD (PGY-2)

Oral Presentations

Best Oral Presentation

“Clinical and Immunologic Correlates of Out-of-Specification Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel in Multiple Myeloma: A University of Arizona Analysis” | Jesse Ritter, MD (PGY-2)

Oral presentations judges included Laura Meinke, MD, IM Residency Program – Tucson director, DOM associate vice chair of education and a critical care physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine; Erica Yothment, DO, an internist at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and a former chief resident (2022-23) of the IM Residency Program here; and Anthony Witten, DO, a hospitalist in the Division of Inpatient Medicine and associate program director of the IM Residency in Tucson.

EXTRA: Feedback from faculty

“I was truly inspired by the exceptional work our internal medicine residents are doing. Their dedication to quality improvement and research reflects a deep commitment to advancing patient care and making meaningful contributions to the field of medicine.”
— Joy Bulger Beck, MD, Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine associate professor and GIM/geriatrics clinics medical director; and Societies mentor

“It was wonderful to see so many residents and faculty participating in our annual Research Academic Half-Day. Research opportunities truly set our internal medicine program apart from others in the region. It’s wonderful to see what our trainees are so diligently preparing and presenting here, and at conferences around the country. I was so impressed by the quality of their work. I thank the faculty who mentor our residents in these meaningful endeavors.” 
— Laura Meinke, MD, IM Residency Program director, PACS division associate professor, and DOM associate vice chair for education

“This was my first year participating as a poster judge for the IM Research Day, and I loved it! It was amazing to see so many posters from the IM residency program. I really enjoyed discussing ID and med ed projects with the residents, and I hope to be able to attend again in future years.”
— Saman Nematollahi, MD, Division of Infectious Diseases associate professor, fellowship director and Transplant ID Program medical director; and IM Medicine Clerkship assistant director, DOM

“I’m honestly so impressed with the quality and clinical impact of the research — it’s clear that when you pair self-driven mentees with faculty who actually have a desire to mentor, the results are on another level.”
— Alejandro Recio-Boiles, MD, Division of Hematology & Oncology associate professor and fellowship program associate director; and Community & Engagement Office assistant director, U of A Cancer Center

ALSO SEE:
“Eleven share honors at Internal Medicine Research Academic Half-Day Awards” | Posted May 5, 2025

(Photos courtesy of David Mogollon, DOM communications manager)

For additional photos from the IM Research Academic Half-Day, see this link.

MINI-PHOTO GALLERY
Click images to enlarge and for captions: