For the second year in a row, the Clinical Research Institute (CRI) and the Office of Clinical and Translational Research at the Faculty of Medicine (FM) and the AUB Medical Center (AUBMC) held the 8th Annual Clinical Research E-Open House virtually. Seventy-eight graduating residents, 17 clinical fellows, 5 postdoctoral fellows and 7 research fellows had the opportunity to give oral presentations. The E-Open House was held over 3 consecutive days, May 26, 27 and 28, 2021 from 9am to 5pm each day with 14 WebEx sessions. Sessions were not overlapping to encourage interdepartmental participation. Different panels of 4 faculty members evaluated the oral presentations in each session.
The event also included a hybrid awards ceremony where winners of “best presentation", advisors, department chairmen and FRRP department representatives attended the ceremony in person and all other participants joined the live streaming of the event. The event started with opening remarks from Dr. Samia Khoury, Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Dr. Elie Akl, Director of the CRI, and Dr. Hani Tamim, Director of the Fellowship and Residency Research Program (FRRP). They all expressed their enthusiasm and content for the growth and quality of research at AUBMC. The ceremony included the announcement of awards related to different programs under the CRI: outstanding presentations by residents and clinical fellows from each department under the FRRP, top presentations by research and post-doctoral fellows in the Research Personnel Program (RPP) and Postdoctoral Program, and top research proposals under the Faculty Advancement Program (FAP).
FRRP residents' winning presentations from each department:
· Dr. Nadine Abi Younes – Anesthesiology – Advisor: Dr. Sahar Sayyid
“Factors associated with mental health outcomes: results from a tertiary referral hospital in lebanon during the covid-19 pandemic"
· Dr. Joanna Khalil – Dermatology – Advisor: Dr. Jihane Abou Rahal
“NSAIDS (aceclofenac) versus antibiotics (cephalexin) versus placebo in inflamed epidermal inclusion cysts: a randomized controlled trial"
· Dr. Catherina Zadeh – Diagnostic Radiology – Advisor: Dr. Roula Hourany
“Stroke in children with cancer: a retrospective analysis"
· Dr. Ali El Hajj – Emergency Medicine – Advisor: Dr. Mazen El Sayed
“Factors associated with survival after emergency department thoracotomy for adult trauma patients in the united states"
· Dr. Mohammad-Ali Jardali – Family Medicine – Advisor: Dr. Issam Alshaarani
“Financial wellbeing and its predictors among medical students, residents and attending physicians: a multi centered survey in lebanon"
· Dr. Rozana El Eid – Internal Medicine – Advisor: Dr. Marlene Chakhtoura
“Scoping review of osteoporosis in the arab region"
· Dr. Abdullah Bizri – Internal Medicine – Advisor: Dr. Hussein Ismaeel
“A comparison of artificial intelligence-based algorithms for the identification of patients with depressed right ventricular function from 2-dimentional echocardiography parameters and clinical features"
· Dr. Sidonie Ibrekji – Neurology – Advisor: Dr. Nabil El Ayoubi
“Determinants of exclusion from rtpa treatment in acute ischemic stroke at the largest tertiary center in Lebanon"
· Dr. George Rameh – Obstetrics and Gynecology – Advisor: Dr. Joseph Nassif
“Influenza and pertussis vaccination during pregnancy: prevalence, patient's attitude and knowledge in a lebanese population"
· Dr. Julien Torbey – Ophthalmology – Advisor: Dr. Shady Awwad
“Limited range ct for radiation reduction in children with suspected appendicitis"
· Dr. Omar Baba – Pathology and Laboratory Medicine – Advisor: Dr. Rami Mahfouz
“Tumor profiling of kras, braf, and nras gene mutations in colorectal cancer patients: a lebanese major center cohort study"
· Dr. Dalia Morad – Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine – Advisor: Dr. Faouzi Maalouf
“Iatrogenic withdrawal syndrome in neonates and infants"
· Dr. Moustafa Rashed – Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine – Advisor: Dr. Mariam Arabi
“Infective endocarditis in the pediatric population: a 20-year experience in a tertiary care center"
· Dr. Raghid Charara – Psychiatry – Advisor: Dr. Wael Shamseddeen
“Characteristics and comorbidities of autism spectrum disorder in a nationally representative community sample of children in the united states: an analysis from the adolescent brain cognitive development study"
· Dr. Dima Mahmoud – Radiation Oncology – Advisor: Dr. Zeina Ayoub
“Incidental radiation dose to the esophagus and trachea using conventional supraclavicular fields: a retrospective dosimetric study"
· Dr. Hussein Nassar – Surgery – Advisor: Dr. Eman Sbaity
“Comparing the oncologic outcomes of partial mastectomy for breast cancer patients performed either upfront or following preoperative systemic chemotherapy: a matched retrospective cohort"
FRRP clinical fellows' winning presentations:
An award recognizing the best oral presentation among the graduating clinical fellows was granted to:
· Dr. Tarek Halabi – Neurology – Advisor: Dr. Ahmad Beydoun
“Diagnostic uncertainty in patients with new onset paroxysmal spells: a prospective study"
An award recognizing the best oral presentation among the graduating clinical fellows from the department of pediatrics and adolescent medicine was granted to:
· Dr. Nour Youssef – Advisor: Dr. Ghassan Dbaibo
“Global influenza hospital-based surveillance network (gihsn) – Lebanon"
An award recognizing the best oral presentation among the graduating clinical fellows from the department of internal medicine was granted to:
· Dr. Razan Mohty – Advisor: Dr. Ali Bazarbachi
“Risk adapted therapeutic strategy in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia: refining the outcomes of eln 2017 intermediate-risk patients"
Furthermore, 5 postdoctoral fellows under the RPP presented their research projects and one award for the best presentation was given to:
· Dr. Sara Bou Reslan - Nehme and Therese Tohme Multiple Sclerosis Center - Mentor: Dr. Samia Khoury
“Clinical Characteristics and Disability Progression in Late vs Adult-Onset Multiple Sclerosis"
Moreover, 7 research fellows under the RPP presented their research projects and awards were presented as follows:
· 1st Prize: Dr. Joya-Rita Hindy - Internal Medicine – Mentor: Dr. Souha Kanj Sharara
“Bloodstream infections and patterns of resistance in febrile neutropenic patients with hematological malignancies at AUBMC, a retrospective chart review from 2007 to 2017"
· 2nd Prize: Dr. Nadim El Jamal- Internal Medicine - Mentor: Dr. Hussain Ismaeel
“Incidence of hypertension among Lebanese adults in the Greater Beirut Area"
· 3rd Prize: Dr. Marwan Hajjar- Department of Surgery-Conflict Medicine - Mentor: Dr. Ghassan Soleiman Abu-Sittah
“The multidimensional burden of COVID-19 on Syrian refugees living in Lebanon"
1 RPP mentor received the Mentorship Appreciation Award
· Dr. Ahmed Fawzi El-Yazbi, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at AUB
Finally, 2 awards were distributed in the Faculty Advancement Program (FAP) for the two best research proposals; this year's FAP included faculty members from AUB, Lebanon, and Jordan. The winners were:
· 1st Prize: Ms. Danielle Damianos - Hariri School of Nursing, AUB (FAP advisor: Dr. Suzanne Dhaini)
· 2nd Prize: Dr. Charbel Chater-General Surgery, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK)(FAP advisor: Dr. Elie Akl)
Two FAP advisors received the FAP mentorship appreciation awards:
- Dr. Mona Nabulsi, Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at AUB
· Dr. Suzanne Dhaini, Institute of Nursing Science at the University of Basel