DoP Shines at SSPR
L: SRP students Natalie Lanners and Katherine Le proudly display their awards; R: Lanners (middle) stands with other recipients of the SSPR David Oelberg Honorary Trainee Travel Award, including fellow Frank Abene, DO, (far right).
The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Division made an excellent showing at the 2025 Southern Society for Pediatric Research Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 13 to 15: 4 posters, 13 oral presentations and 7 awards. Dr. Findley led her group of NICU Summer Research Program (SRP) participants through the conference, some of whom received travel awards and made presentations:
- Katherine Le (pictured above) was an SSPR Young Investigator Award Clinical Finalist and Richard D. & Gloria J. DeShazo Showcase of Science Selection presenter.
- Gracelyn Mechem; Anna Melendez-Smith; Aman Jain, MD (PGY-6); Natalie Lanners; Frank Abene, DO (PGY-6) received SSPR travel awards.
- Maria del Mar Romero Lopez, MD, MS, PhD; and Thu Tran, DO, received SSPR young faculty awards.
L: SRP student Maisie Nievera (left) presenting poster; R: Dr. Findley (fifth from left) with NICU SRP students.
The Pediatric Resident and Fellow Research Education Fund enabled PGY-2 Resident Dominique “Nikki” Dagdag, MD, to attend SSPR as well. Dr. Dagdag shared her experience with the education leaders:
“I presented my poster on ‘Double Trouble: A Tale of Two Viral Villains in a 7-Week-Old Preemie’ during the Pediatric Clinical Symposium. I discussed Parechovirus and Epstein-Barr Virus and the importance of molecular testing in management of complex cases. I was proud to disseminate what I learned when developing the case report.
Furthermore, I learned about the advanced research occurring regionally. I also had the opportunity to listen to and support other UTHealth Houston medical students, residents, and attendings present both oral and poster presentations in topics such as NICU, Adolescent Medicine, and more. I have also attached pictures of me presenting my poster and two sessions with UTHealth Houston representation.
This conference was very beneficial in networking but also becoming more knowledgeable on unique case reports and research that will shape our future work in pediatrics. I also attended workshops on applying for fellowship and early career planning which was beneficial to experience as a rising PGY-3,” Dr. Dagdag said.
