Clinical Research

We offer robust clinical research opportunities through our UCLA-appointed faculty both at Olive View and UCLA.

General Internal Medicine

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
Soma Wali, MD Chair of Medicine	Obesity & weight loss, Smoking cessation, Disparities in hypertension, statin use in patients with HIV
Arash Nafisi, MD	Health equity and access to care
Kenneth Pettersen, MD	Addiction medicine
Paul Salama, MD MPH	Associate Program Director / Medical Education and Quality Improvement

Cardiology

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
Anthony Koppula, MD Chief of Cardiology	Echocardiography
Justin Hayase, MD	Electrophysiology
Jonathan Soverow, MD Director of Interventional Cardiology & Cardiovascular Research	Cardiac outcomes, Clinical trials

Endocrinology

Faculty	Research Interests
Nasser Mikhail, MD Chief of Endocrinology	Reviews in endocrinology
Vahid Mahabadi, MD	Male reproductive disorders, Novel therapeutics for diabetes

Gastroenterology + Hepatology

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
Simon Beaven, MD, PhD Chief of Gastroenterology & Hepatology	Liver fibrosis, Porphyrias
Thomas Kovacs, MD	Upper gastrointestinal bleeding, Foregut diseases

Hematology + Oncology

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
David Bolos, MD	Hematologic cancer, LGBTQ health
Phyllis Kim, MD	Medical education
Jared Reed, MD	Genitourinary cancer
Phillis Wu, MD Director of Hematology-Oncology Fellowship	Gynecologic cancer, medical education

Infectious Disease

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
Glenn Mathisen, MD Chief of Infectious Disease	Atypical infections
Arthur Jeng, MD	Clinical trials, Antibiotic stewardship

Nephrology

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
Phuong-Chi Pham, MD Fellowship Program Director	Sodium disorders, Hepatorenal syndrome, Magnesium disorders
Golriz Jafari, MD	Patient education, CKD outcomes
Anita Kamarzarian, MD	Renal outcomes in bevacizumab

Rheumatology

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
Andrew Wong, MD Chief of Rheumatology	Autoantibodies, RA empowerment programs for Spanish-speakers
Phillip Clements, MD	Systemic sclerosis
Emil Heinze, MD Director of Rheumatology Fellowship	T-regulatory cells
Suncica Volkov, MD	Rheumatoid arthritis

Pulmonary + Critical Care

Faculty	Research & Clinical Interests
Nikhil Barot, MD	End of life care
Vincent Chan, MD	Point-of-care ultrasound, Procedural training
Keren Fogelfeld, MD	Interstitial lung disease, Pneumoconiosis
Nader Kamangar, MD Chief of Pulmonary & Critical Care UCLA Profile	Pulmonary infections, Interstitial lung disease
Kathryn Melamed, MD Director of PCCM Fellowship UCLA Profile	Pleural interventions
Kristin Schwab, MD UCLA Profile	Post-ICU care, Interdisciplinary care, ICU outcomes
Dennis Yick, MD Medical Director of ICU	Sepsis, Mechanical ventilation
Jane Fazio, MD	Silicosis
Christopher Miller, MD	—

Recent Resident Publications

Our housestaff produce dozens of papers, presentations, and abstracts every year. Click below to see a sampling of some of our residents’ publications!

Publications

Azizian J, Dalai C, Adams MA, Murcia A, Tabibian, JH. Medical professional liability in gastroenterology: definitions, trends, risk factors, provider behaviors, and implications. Expert Review in Gastroenterology & Hepatologly. 2021 Jun;15(8):909-918.

Azizian J, Dalai C, Adams MA, Tabibian, JH. Medical professional liability risk and mitigation: An overview for early-career gastroenterologists. The New Gastroenterologist. Published online 2021 Mar:1-4.

Azizian J., Dalai C., Trieu H., Rajan A., Tabibian J.H.. (2021, May). Logistic Regression and Machine Learning Methods Predict Choledocholithiasis More Accurately Compared to Current Criteria. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 93(6), AB145-AB146.

De Silva S, Trieu H, Rajan A, Liang Y, Lin JL, Kidambi TD. Flexible sigmoidoscopy may be sufficient for initial evaluation of suspected immunotherapy-mediated colitis: A cross-sectional study. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Sep 21. doi: 10.1111/jgh.15691. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34547818.

De Silva S, Trieu H, Rajan A., Liang Y., Lin J., Kidambi T.. (2021, Jun). Flexible Sigmoidoscopy is sufficient for evaluation of diarrhea in patients with suspected immunotherapy mediated colitis. The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Gopalakrishnan R, Matta H , Choi S, Natarajan V, Prins R, Gong S, Zenunovic A, Narasappa N, Patel F, Prakash R, Chaudhary V, Sikri V, Chitnis SD, Kochegarov A, Wang D, Falat M, Kahn M, Keerthipati PS, Sharma N, Lenka J, Stieben TM, Braun J, Batra A, Purvis K, Ito K, Lee JH, Jeronimo A, Zamora HM, Membreno A, Qiu Q, Peshin S, Namburu L, Chaudhary PM. Topanga: A novel luciferase-based assay for the detection of chimeric antigen receptors. Scientific Reports. 2019;9(1):1957. PMID: 30760795.

Kahn M, Thetford J, Watson RL, Wong JI, Kamangar N. High incidence of barotrauma in severe COVID-19. Journal of Intensive Care Medicine. 2021;36(6):646-54. PMID: 33722090

Law J, Rajan A, Trieu H, Azizian J, Berry R, Beaven SW, Tabibian JH: Predictive modeling of colonoscopic findings in a fecal immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening program. Digestive Diseases and Sciences; August 2021; https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-021-07160-6.

Law J. & Rajan A., Trieu H., Azizian J., Berry R., Beaven S., Tabibian J.H.. (2021, May). Predicting false-positive fecal immunochemical test (FIT) result and of adenomatous polyp number in a FIT-based colorectal cancer screening program. Gastroenterology, 160(6), S203-S204.

Law J, Singh S. Rings Round the Colon: An Early Diagnosis of Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma of the Colon. Proceedings of UCLA Health. [Internet]. Aug 2020; 24(1).

Law J, Zhornitskiy A, Tabibian JH. Staying “on tract”: a grave case of right upper quadrant pain in a patient with a cholecystostomy tube. Gastroenterology. 2019; https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2019.10.045.

Rajan A., Smith J., Chang L., Weiss G.. (2021, Jun). Constipation as a Cause of Non-Responsive Celiac Disease. The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Rajan A., Trieu H., Lin J., Kidambi T.. (2020, Jun). Does Thrombocytopenia Predict Poor Outcome After Endoscopy For Evaluation of Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Hematologic Cancer Patients with Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant?. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy,, 91(6), AB534 – AB535.

Rajan AV., Trieu H., Chu P., Lin J., Kidambi T.D.. (2020, Oct). Assessing the yield and safety of endoscopy in acute graft-vs-host disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplant . World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 12(10), 341-354. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 33133371.

Sadek, R., Vu, Q., Gordin, J., Sanchez, D., Shantouf, R., & Soverow, J. Radial Artery Access: Palpation Vs Ultrasound. Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions Journal. April 2021 97 (1) 59.

Thetford J, Manwani P, Heinze E, Belani H. Gout of the Ordinary: A Case of Clavicular Gout in HIV. UCLA Proceedings. Volume 24. Published online February 3, 2021.

Wu B, Woo JS, Vila P, et al. NKD2 mediates stimulation-dependent ORA1 trafficking to augment Ca2+ entry in T-cells. Cell Reports. 36, 109603, Aug 24, 2021.

Batiuk E, Bassett M, Hakar M, Lin HC, Hunter AK. A rare case of primary gastric Hodgkin lymphoma in an adolescent with Nijmegen breakage syndrome. BMC Pediatr. 2023 Apr 21;23(1):189. doi: 10.1186/s12887-023-03929-y. PMID: 37085783; PMCID: PMC10120165.

Lin HC, Batiuk E, Hunter AK. Assessment of dietary interventions including low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols diet as management for fructose intolerance. J Ped Gastro Nutr. 2023;e12113. doi:10.1002/jpn3.12113

Malik A, Hanson J, Han J, et al. Sudden cardiac arrest in athletes and strategies to optimize preparedness. Clin Cardiol. 2023;1-13. doi:10.1002/clc.24095

Marshall M, Malik A, Shah M, et al. Patterns of electrocardiographic abnormalities in children with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Pediatr Cardiol. 2023. doi:10.1007/s00246-023-03252-4.

Gulhar R, Jiang M, Hayase J, Malik AM. Association between ventricular arrhythmias and myocardial fibrosis in patients with Chagas disease without known cardiomyopathy. Circulation. 2023;148(Suppl 1):A17652.

Jiang, M, Gulhar, R, Malik, A. et al. Association between antiparasitic treatment and development of cardiomyopathy in patients with Chagas disease. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024 Apr, 83 (13_Supplement) 405. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0735-1097(24)02395-7

Marks J, Sridhar A, Ai A, et al. Precision Immuno-Oncology in NSCLC through Gender Equity Lenses. Cancers. 2024;16(7):1413. doi:10.3390/cancers16071413

Wright, A.; Schreiber, R.; Bates, D. W.; Aaron, S.; Ai, A.; Cholan, R. A.; Desai, A.; Divo, M.; Dorr, D. A.; Hickman, T.-T.; Hussain, S.; Just, S.; Koh, B.; Lipsitz, S.; Mcevoy, D.; Rosenbloom, T.; Russo, E.; Ting, D. Y.-C.; Weitkamp, A.; Sittig, D. F. A Multi-Site Randomized Trial of a Clinical Decision Support Intervention to Improve Problem List Completeness. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association 2023, 30 (5), 899–906. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocad020.

Tran, H; Ai, A; Gallardo-Huizar, O; Kahn, M; Mathisen, G. Vertebral osteomyelitis secondary to Streptococcus cristatus infection. Heliyon. 2023, 9(4):e19616. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19616

Patel, S. R.; Suero-Abreu, G. A.; Ai, A.; Ramachandran, M. K.; Meza, K.; Florez, N. Inequity in Care Delivery in Cardio-Oncology: Dissecting Disparities in Underrepresented Populations. Frontiers in Oncology 2023, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2023.1124447.

Patel, S. R.; Riano, I.; Abuali, I.; Ai, A.; Geiger, G.; Pimienta, J.; Ramirez Roggio, A.; Dhawan, N.; Dizman, N.; Lizette Salinas, A.; Pomares-Millan, H.; Florez, N. Race/Ethnicity and Gender Representation in Hematology and Oncology Editorial Boards: What Is the State of Diversity? The Oncologist 2023, 28 (7), 609–617. https://doi.org/10.1093/oncolo/oyad103.

McCullough, M, Tai, J. Diagnostic Challenges in Cavitary Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis. UCLA Proceedings Health Vol 27. 11 July, 2023.

Tai, J, McCullough, M. Diagnostic Considerations in the Evaluation of Cavitary Lung Lesions. UCLA Proceedings Health Vol 28. 4 April, 2024.

Loui H, Nguyen J.H., Fazio J.C., Kamangar N., and N. Barot. Silicosis: A Rare Cause of Endobronchial Lesions (abstract). Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2024;209:A5984.

Abiri P, Jeong ISD, Verdell A, Shah S, Entabi R, et al. (2024) Improvement in inpatient discharge planning for patients with alcohol use disorder with the implementation of a team-based multidisciplinary workflow. PLOS ONE 19(6): e0306066.

Wang S, Cui Q, Abiri P, Roustaei M, Zhu E, Li YR, Wang K, Duarte S, Yang L, Ebrahimi R, Bersohn M, Chen J, Hsiai TK. A self-assembled implantable microtubular pacemaker for wireless cardiac electrotherapy. Sci Adv. 2023 Oct 20;9(42):eadj0540. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adj0540. Epub 2023 Oct 18. PMID: 37851816; PMCID: PMC10584332.

Chen J, Wang S, Wang K, Abiri P, Huang ZY, Yin J, Jabalera AM, Arianpour B, Roustaei M, Zhu E, Zhao P, Cavallero S, Duarte-Vogel S, Stark E, Luo Y, Benharash P, Tai YC, Cui Q, Hsiai TK. Machine learning-directed electrical impedance tomography to predict metabolically vulnerable plaques. Bioeng Transl Med. 2023 Oct 20;9(1):e10616. doi: 10.1002/btm2.10616. PMID: 38193119; PMCID: PMC10771559.

Jeong ISD, Abiri P, Cai J, Yim C, Powell L. A Case of Non-cirrhotic Hyperammonemic Encephalopathy in a Patient With Metastatic Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor. Cureus. 2023 Apr 13;15(4):e37541. doi: 10.7759/cureus.37541. PMID: 37193452; PMCID: PMC10182871.

Turkiewicz J, Garcia M, Li Z, Surampudi V. Micronutrient deficiencies in patients with gastrointestinal cancer: To treat or not to treat. Nutr Clin Pract. 2023 Aug.

Hilder R, Tsai K, Quandt Z, Isaacs D, Drakaki A, Xing Y, In GK, Angell TE, Lechner MG. Safety and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor cancer therapy in patients with preexisting type 1 diabetes mellitus. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023 Oct 31;14:1242830. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2023.1242830. PMID: 38027216; PMCID: PMC10643762.

Leuchter RK, Gulhar R, Maynick JD, Dardick LD, Vorobiof G, Tabibiazar R, Yang RM, Sarkisian CA, Woo HE. Evaluation of an Electronic Health Record Tool to Identify Echocardiograms That Do Not Change Clinical Care. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2023 Dec;36(12):1329-1332. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2023.08.019. Epub 2023 Aug 26. PMID: 37640087; PMCID: PMC11162694.

Gulhar R, Ashraf MA, Jialal I. Physiology, Acute Phase Reactants. 2023 Apr 24. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 30137854.

Lee M, Thomas M, Joodi G, Koppula A, Soverow J. High-output heart failure due to a giant left circumflex coronary aneurysm with a left atrial fistula and atrial septal defect: a case report. Eur Heart J Case Rep. 2024 Apr 25;8(5):ytae171. doi: 10.1093/ehjcr/ytae171. PMID: 38715624; PMCID: PMC11074988.

Law J, Trieu H, Kaleka G, Turkiewicz J, Palmer S, Lee JM, Chen KT, Tabibian JH. Clinical Features and Outcomes of Patients with Pancreaticobiliary Malignancies in Los Angeles County and Their Association with CA 19-9 Levels. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Mar 11;15(6):1723. doi: 10.3390/cancers15061723. PMID: 36980609; PMCID: PMC10046349.

Sinha M, Betts C, Zhang L, Griffith MJ, Solman I, Chen B, Liu E, Tamaki W, Stultz J, Marquez J, Sivagnanam S, Cheung A, Pener D, Fahlman A, Taber E, Lerner K, Crocker M, Todd K, Rajagopalan B, Ware C, Bridge M, Vo J, Dragomanovich H, Sudduth-Klinger J, Vaccaro G, Lopez CD, Tempero M, Coussens LM, Fong L. Modulation of myeloid and T cells in vivo by Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. J Immunother Cancer. 2023 Jan;11(1):e005425. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005425. PMID: 36593070; PMCID: PMC9809229.

Lin E, Patel A, Young E, Gao Y, Peng J, Woloszyn J, Volk ML, Rakoski MO. Outcomes and Resource Utilization in Liver Transplant Recipients Who Underwent Expedited Transplant Evaluation. Prog Transplant. 2023 Sep;33(3):223-228. doi: 10.1177/15269248231189870. Epub 2023 Jul 28. PMID: 37501560.

Oral Presentations

Kahn M, Suthar L. How to Teach the Teacher: Using Lesson Plans to Build Residents’ Teaching Skills, Workshop Presentation at Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine, Denver, CO, October 2019. National.

Kahn M, Suthar L. How to Teach the Teacher: Using Lesson Plans to Build Residents’ Teaching Skills, Workshop Presentation at American Medical Association, Sacramento, CA/Virtual, October 2020. National.

Wong JI, Sadek R, Mehrabani A, Koppula A, Soverow J. Echocardiographic Characteristics, Cardiovascular Factors, And Disease-directed Therapy Do Not Explain Differences In Covid-19 Related Hispanic Outcomes. American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2021. Virtual. November 2021.

Posters + Abstracts

Azizian J, Dalai C, Tabibian JH. Risk Factors for Choledocholithiasis: Investigating the Validity of the 4 Fs and Other Potential Predictors. Poster Presentation, American College of Gastroenterology Virtual Conference 2020.

Azizian J, Dalai C, Trieu H, Chen F, Tabibian JH. Logistic Regression and Machine Learning Methods Predict Choledocholithiasis More Accurately Compared to Current Criteria. Poster of Distinction, Digestive Disease Week 2021.

Azizian J, Trieu H, Beaven SW, Kovacs TO, Tabibian JH. Yield of Post-Acute Diverticulitis Colonoscopy: Analysis of an Underserved Patient Population in the Los Angeles County Dept of Health Services. Poster of Distinction, Digestive Disease Week 2021.

Dalai C, Azizian J, Chen F, Tabibian JH. Clinical Epidemiology of Choledocholithiasis: Examining Recent Trends and the Notion of the “4 Fs” . Poster Presentation, Digestive Disease Week 2020.

Kahn M, Benjamin L, Fathizadeh P, Kamangar N. Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica with metastatic breast cancer. Poster presentation & abstract published in: Chest 2020 Annual Meeting; October 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.chest.2020.08.1472

Kahn M, Seo JY, Kyung SR, Barot N. Bosutinib-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia. Abstract published in: American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2020;201:A3775. Poster presentation & abstract published in: American Thoracic Society International Conference 2020; Philadelphia, PA; May 2020. DOI: 10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2020.201.1_meetingabstracts.a3775

Kahn M, Thetford J, Watson R, Wong JI, Kamangar N. High Incidence of Barotrauma in Critically Ill Patients with COVID-19. 50^th Critical Care Congress 2021. Virtual January 2021.

Kahn M, Watson R, Thetford J, Kamangar N. E. coli Pneumonia with pneumatocele, empyema necessitans, and bronchopleural fistula in a patient with severe COVID-19. Poster presentation & abstract published in: Chest 2020 Annual Meeting; October 2020. DOI: 10.1016/ j.chest.2020.08.485

Kahn M, Suthar L. Goal-directed teaching: A movement for module-based learning on the wards. Poster presentation at: UCLA Solomon Scholars Research Program 2019; April 2019; Los Angeles, CA.

Kahn M, Thetford J, Watson R, Wong JI, Kamangar N. High Incidence of Barotrauma in Severe COVID-19. Oral research presentation & abstract published in: Society of Critical Care Medicine 2021 Annual Conference; January 2021.

Law J, Rajan A, Trieu H, Azizian J, Berry R, Beaven SW, Tabibian JH. Predictive modeling of colonoscopic findings in a fecal-immunochemical test-based colorectal cancer screening program. Poster Presentation, Digestive Disease Week 2021.

Sadek R, Soverow J. (October 2020). Scorched Earth: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and the Heart. Poster presented at: Southern California American College of Physicians; Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Thetford J, Heinze E, Belani H. GOUT OF THE ORDINARY: Clavicular Gout in HIV. Poster presented at: 2019 SGIM Annual National Meeting. Washington DC. May 2019.

Thetford J, Jasuja S, Barot N. Improving High Output Heart Failure with Trans-jugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt Revision. Poster presented at: 2020 American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference. August 2020.

Thetford J, Meymandi S, Mahabadi V. AN UNLIKELY PAIR: Using Diabetes Insipidus to Treat Heart Failure Exacerbation. Poster presented at: 2020 SGIM California-Hawaii Regional Meeting. Irvine, CA. January 2020.

Thetford J, Kahn M, Barot N, Kamangar N. Pneumomedastinum and Pneumothorax due to Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in COVID-19 Pneumonia. Poster presentation & abstract published in: Chest 2020 Annual Meeting; October 2020. DOI: 10.1016/ j.chest.2020.08.1171

Thetford J, Mosaferi T, Belperio. A Grave Conundrum: Thyrotoxicosis and Bacteremia with an Unusual Pathogen. Poster to be presented at: 2020 ACP Southern California Virtual Poster Competition. October 2020.

Vila P. “Timely Primary Palliative Pain Management in a Safety Net Oncology Clinic: Results of a Year-Long Palliative Care- Oncology Partnership”. Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care Poster Presentation. Nashville, TN. 02/2022.

Vila P. “Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and renal failure in a young Hispanic woman”. ACP Poster Presentation, Carlsbad, CA. 10/2019. 2nd place in Southern California Region I.

Wong JI, Agarwal M, Patel J, Yang EH. Plication of a High-Flow Arteriovenous Fistula Resulting in Improvement of High-Output Heart Failure. Heart Failure Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting 2021; Virtual September 2021.

Wong JI, Chen A, Vila P, Mehrabani A, Salama P, Peterson K. Reducing Inappropriate Prescribing of Aspirin for Primary Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. 21st Annual Southern Hospital Medicine Conference; Atlanta, GA. October 14 2021.