Caroline Bridgwater
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Rabbitts, UW School of Medicine
Caroline is a junior at the University of Washington studying Microbiology. For the past year, Caroline has worked for UW Family Medicine under Dr. Emily Godfrey on a qualitative analysis of anticipatory counseling for the hormonal IUD. This summer, Caroline will be working on a qualitative study under Dr. Jennifer Rabbitts in the Pediatric Pain and Sleep Innovations Lab at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute. She will be using interviews with healthcare providers, patients, and their families to understand current experiences with post-operative pain in children. The research team intends to use themes that emerge from these interviews to create a psychosocial intervention program that will reduce pain and improve patients’ health-related quality of life after surgery. She hopes to learn more about pediatric pain management as well as explore the field of anesthesiology under the guidance of her mentors. In her free time, Caroline likes playing soccer, exploring Seattle, and canoeing at the Waterfront Activities Center.
Alexie Carletti
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Tonya Palermo, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry
Lexie is a rising senior at the University of Washington studying Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. During the school year she works in the Microbiology department in the Woodward lab studying the interactions between bacterial pathogens and their hosts. Her work is focused mainly on the bacterial nucleotide cyclic di-AMP and its role in cytosolic immune-surveillance. This summer Lexie will be joining Dr. Tonya Palermo and her team in the Pediatric and Sleep Innovations Lab at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. Dr. Palermo is a psychologist and Principal Investigator at Seattle Children’s as well as a professor of anesthesiology, pediatrics and psychiatry at the UW School of Medicine. Specifically, Lexie will be working on a project assessing how adolescent pain deteriorates in the months leading up to an appointment at a pain clinic. In her free time, Lexie enjoys visiting new places, snow skiing, running, wakeboarding, hiking and anything else with family and friends. Lexie’s future goals include earning an M.D., becoming an OB/GYN, and providing cutting-edge medicine centered on patient care.
Alik Myroniv
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Pierre Mourad, Neurological Surgery, Engineering and Mathematics
Alik is a rising senior at the University of Washington, where he is majoring in Biochemistry and Psychology. He spent the last academic year investigating the effects of pulsed focused ultrasound on myelin production, in search of a novel noninvasive treatment for neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis. This summer, Alik is working on pain diagnosis in amputee patients using a therapeutic ultrasound device in the lab of Dr. Pierre Mourad. Outside the lab, Alik enjoys singing with university choirs, playing various musical instruments, and lindy hop. After graduation, Alik plans to either pursue a medical degree or a graduate degree in Neuroscience.
Sara Sagadiev
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Kushang Patel, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
Sara is a rising senior at the University of Washington, majoring in Biochemistry and double minoring in Art History and Chemistry. This summer she will be working with Dr. Kushang Patel in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. Their project focuses on the association between chronic pain and frailty and uses large, nationally representative data from the National Health and Aging Trends Study. During the academic year Sara works in Dr. Renata Bura’s lab in the Department of Bioresource Science and Engineering at UW studying the conversion of biomass into organic fuel. Outside of lab, Sara enjoys learning new languages (right now she speaks 4), traveling, and visiting museums. She also writes and photographs for the Spoon University chapter at UW, a digital food publication for college students. In the future, Sara hopes to earn a PhD.
Becka Warfield
Institution: University of Washington
Faculty Mentor: Ajay Dhaka, Biological Structure
Becka is a rising senior at the University of Washington, Bothell majoring in Chemistry with an emphasis in Biochemistry and minoring in Mathematics. During the school year she works at UWB with Dr. Peter Anderson on a drug development research project aimed at discovering protein-protein interaction inhibitors to cure malaria infection. This summer she is working in the UW Department of Biological Structure under the guidance of Dr. Ajay Dhaka. In the Dhaka Lab Becka will be studying the effects of drugs on zebrafish itch and pain sensation by conducting high-throughput drug screenings. In the future she hopes to earn a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry and gain an industry position where she will conduct pharmaceutical research. In her free time Becka enjoys spending time with friends and family, biking, playing soccer, traveling, and exploring the Pacific Northwest.