I’ve been very fortunate during med school to participate in, and spearhead, research projects that I find meaningful and rewarding. During my undergrad studies, I did wet lab research on the Hedgehog pathway, earning an Honors distinction with my department award-winning honors thesis presentation on GIPC as a potential modulator of the pathway. While I appreciated the possible (and powerful) translational health implications of such important research, this type of research did not excite me as much as the kinds of research I’ve done as a Stanford med student.
The summer after my first year of med school, I traveled to Sudan (thanks to a Stanford Medical Scholars research grant) to train a local research team and collect data on surgical informed consent. I presented my findings (talk entitled: Surgical Informed Consent Perceptions in Sudan) at the Association for Surgical Education 2018 annual conference in Austin, TX.
I also was on a research team, through the Stanford Department of Pediatric Surgery, that investigated the correlations between congenital lung malformation imaging and post-operative pathology. We presented our findings at the 2017 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons and later published a paper in the Journal of Surgical research.
I am currently on a fully funded year of research and my research projects include:
- a ten-year review on the Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy procedure, used to restore biliary drainage in biliary atresia, the number one indication for liver transplantation in the pediatric population
- a study analyzing post-operative complications in imperforate anus/anorectal malformation pediatric patients, viewing barriers to successful recovery through the lens of health disparities and communication barriers
- a ten-year review on ileal-anal pouch anastomoses, a corrective surgery for ulcerative colitis, in the pediatric population
- a study that looks into using AI technology and machine learning to analyze pathology slides in potential solid organ transplants
- a needs assessment of homeless community health needs in the Palo Alto and surrounding Silicon Valley area
Natasha Abadilla, MD 