Prior Scholar Cohorts

NAM Scholars Class of 2023

• Akshar Abbott, MD, ophthalmologist, VISN 23 Clinical Resource Hub, Veterans Health Administration, Minneapolis
  “Promoting Health Equity and Diagnostic Excellence for Eye Care in Rural Communities Using Collaborative Models of Ocular Telehealth”

• Raja-Elie E. Abdulnour, MD, director of educational innovation and lead editor of NEJM Healer, NEJM Group; assistant professor of medicine, part-time, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston
  “Classification of Diagnostic Reasoning Skills with Machine Learning for Precision Education”

• Cecilia Canales, MD, MPH,* assistant professor, department of anesthesiology and perioperative medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
  “Advancing Language Equity in Diagnosing Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders”

• Christina L. Cifra, MD, MS, pediatric intensivist and member of the faculty Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston
  “I-PASS-to-PICU: Effective Communication to Bridge the Diagnostic Process Across Inter- Facility Transitions to a Higher Level of Care”

• Bhavika Kaul, MD, MAS, investigator, Veterans Affairs Center for Innovation in Quality, Effectiveness, and Safety; staff physician, pulmonary and critical care medicine, Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center; assistant professor of medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
  “Lung Texture Analysis: A Novel Machine Learning Tool to Reduce Diagnostics Delays Among Veterans with Pulmonary Fibrosis”

• Bharti Khurana, MD, founder and director, Trauma Imaging Research and Innovation Center (TIRIC), department of radiology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital; associate professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston
  “Uncovering the Imaging, Clinical, and Social Diagnostic Determinants of Intimate Partner Violence”

• Brandon Maughan, MD, MHS, MSHP, assistant professor of emergency medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon
  “Identifying Gender and Racial Implicit Bias to Improve Diagnosis of Pulmonary Embolism”

• Anand Narayan, MD, PhD, associate professor and vice chair of equity, department of radiology, and associate director, diversity, equity, and inclusion, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison
  “Leveraging Electronic Medical Records to Reduce Disparities in the Breast Cancer Diagnostic Process”

• Vinita Parkash, MBBS, MPH, associate professor of pathology, obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive services, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
  “Understanding Patient Perspectives for Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Test-Related Diagnostic Errors to Design Processes for Improved Diagnostic Outcomes”

• Susan Peterson, MD, associate professor/associate medical director, department of emergency medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore
  “Maximizing Individual Diagnostic Feedback in the Emergency Department”

• Valerie M. Vaughn, MD, MSc, assistant professor and director of hospital medicine research, department of internal medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City
  “Addressing and Reducing Diagnostic Momentum in Hospitalized Adults with Suspected Infection”

*Supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation

NAM Scholars Class of 2022

• Reuben Arasaratnam, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center; infectious diseases staff physician and assistant to the medical services chief for education, VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas
  “Advancing the Equity of Penicillin Allergy Diagnosis at a Veterans Affairs Facility”

• Miriam Bredella, M.D., professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School; vice chair for faculty affairs and clinical operations, department of radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
  “Using Opportunistic CT and Machine Learning to Diagnose Osteoporosis and Determine Fracture Risk in Underserved Populations”

• Kimberly C. Claeys, Pharm.D., associate professor, department of pharmacy and practice, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Baltimore
  “Engaging Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacists in Diagnostic Excellence for Urinary Tract Infections”

• Cristina M. Gonzalez, M.D., M.Ed., professor of medicine, department of medicine, division of hospital medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, N.Y.
  “Identifying Specific Behaviors within the Diagnostic Process Influenced by Racial Implicit Bias”

• Alaina J. James, M.D., Ph.D., medical dermatologist, assistant professor, and skin health equity director, department of dermatology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh
  “Do you see me? Visual Learning Equity: Achieving Diagnostic Excellence in Skin Health and Disease”

• Nadja Kadom, M.D., professor of radiology, Emory University School of Medicine; neuroradiologist, department of radiology, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta
  “Developing a Patient Decision Aid (PDA) For Use in Children with Headaches”

• Dimitri Papanagnou, M.D., M.P.H., professor and vice chair for education, department of emergency medicine, and associate dean for faculty development, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
  “‘Unfortunately, I Do Not Have a Diagnosis for You’: Interprofessional Training for the Equitable Communication of Diagnostic Uncertainty in the Emergency Department”

• Michael Pulia, M.D., M.S., assistant professor, department of emergency medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  “Improving Diagnostic Accuracy for Older Adults with Suspected Pneumonia”

• Naykky Singh Ospina, M.D., M.S., associate professor, division of endocrinology, department of medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville
  “Developing a Framework for Understanding the Process of Diagnostic Reconciliation and Supporting Diagnostic Conversations”

• Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., M.P.H., M.P.A., M.B.A., associate professor of medicine and pediatrics and obesity medicine physician-scientist, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
  “Beyond Body Mass Index (BMI): Improving Diagnosis of Obesity to Better Inform Treatment Strategies”
• Sungmin Woo, M.D., Ph.D., director of genitourinary radiology and assistant attending radiologist, department of radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; assistant professor of radiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City
  “Reducing Diagnostic Errors by Improving Communication through Structured Reporting of Ovarian Cancer Imaging Examinations”

Inaugural NAM Scholars Class of 2021

• Jonathan Baghdadi, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor, department of epidemiology and public health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore
  “Diagnostic Stewardship of Multiplex Molecular Panels to Reduce Diagnostic Error”
• Komal Bajaj, M.D., M.S.-HPEd, chief quality officer, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, and professor of obstetrics and gynecology and women’s health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
  “Not a moment to lose! Using simulation to identify and mitigate diagnostic errors that contribute to delays during maternal hemorrhage care”
• Efrén J. Flores, M.D., assistant professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School; officer, radiology community health and equity; radiologist, Thoracic and Emergency Divisions; faculty, The Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
  “A community-based participatory approach to understand current and emerging barriers and promoters to lung cancer screening (LCS) one-year post-COVID-19 pandemic start and guide culturally tailored LCS outreach among Latino communities”
• Linda Geng, M.D., Ph.D., clinical assistant professor, department of medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California
  “Improving the diagnosis of underrecognized diseases in racial and ethnic minorities through patient engagement and empowerment”
• Traber D. Giardina, Ph.D., M.S.W., assistant professor, department of medicine, Baylor College of Medicine; investigator, Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety, Michael E DeBakey Houston Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Houston
  “Overcoming Barriers to Diagnostic Safety for Underrepresented Populations: Implementing Structured Tools to Engage Patients in Diagnosis (The ISTEP Dx Project)”
• Cornelius A. James, M.D., general internist and general pediatrician; medical educator, departments of internal medicine and pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor
  “Data Augmented, Technology Assisted Medical Decision Making and Diagnosis (DATA-MD): A Novel Curriculum”
• Jessica Keim-Malpass, Ph.D., R.N., associate professor, department of acute and specialty care, School of Nursing; department of pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville
  “Developing an economic framework to achieve diagnostic excellence in sepsis: Achieving balance between early diagnostic action and medical overuse”
• Mei-Sing Ong, Ph.D., assistant professor, department of population medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston
  “A data-driven approach towards understanding the patterns of diagnostic delay”
• Jorge Rodriguez, M.D., clinician-investigator, Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston
  "Towards Diagnostic Equity: Evaluating Diagnostic Error in Telemedicine Among Limited English Proficient Patients Presenting with Abdominal Pain”
• Lekshmi Santhosh, M.D., M.A.Ed., assistant professor of pulmonary/critical care medicine and hospital medicine, department of medicine, University of California, San Francisco
  “PAUSE for Uncertainty: Development & Implementation of a Novel Framework for Diagnostic Uncertainty During Transitions of Care”