The talented and dedicated researchers working at the Mass General Research Institute are pushing the boundaries of science and medicine every day. In this Research Awards and Honors series, we highlight some of the individuals who have recently received awards or honors for their research achievements:

Shady Abohashem, MD

Research Fellow, Cardiovascular Imaging Division, Massachusetts General Hospital
Instructor in Radiology, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Abohashem received an honorable mention in outcomes research in the 2022 Young Investigator Awards from the American College of Cardiology and a Young Investigator Award in Population Science and Public Health from the European Society of Cardiology for his work in cardiovascular outcomes, population science and public health research.

He also won second place in the Research Project Abstract Competition at the 2022 American College of Cardiology – Massachusetts Chapter’s annual meeting. This award recognized his work assessing the nationwide impact of primary care providers’ supply on cardiovascular mortality rates.

“Being recognized for my contributions to the cardiovascular science is a great accolade. I’m proud to be among an elite group of young investigators who been recognized for their work, which poses a fervent incentive to do more, and to set my eyes on my next goal.

Receiving these awards means I have an obligation to continue to learn and grow within my professional development. It’s a commitment to giving back what has been given to me so generously in hours of mentoring and support.”

– Shady Abohashem, MD

Margarita Alegría, PhD

Chief, Disparities Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital
Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Harry G. Lehnert, Jr. and Lucille F. Cyr Lehnert Endowed MGH Research Institute Chair

Dr. Alegría received the 2022 Inclusive Voices Award from the American Association for Public Opinion Research for her work on the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS), which provides national information on the mental illness and service use of Latinos and Asian Americans. (She was co-recipient of the award along with David Takeuchi, PhD, from the University of Washington, who is co-PI on the project).

Alegría was also named a 2022 Champion of Mental Health Equity by the McSilver Institute at NYU.

“To me, receiving this award means that we are really bringing the voices of many ethnic groups into research and that we truly have been able to include populations often invisible in research. Receiving the 2022 Inclusive Voices Award means that the work that Dr. Takeuchi and I have done with The National Latino and Asian American Study has been truly significant.”

– Margarita Alegría, PhD

Rachel Jimenez, MD

Chair for Quality and Safety, Department of Radiation Oncology
Associate Program Director, Harvard Radiation Oncology Residency Program
Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School

Rachel Jimenez, MD, received the 2022 Advanced Clinical Research Award for Diversity and Inclusion in Breast Cancer from Conquer Cancer, the American Society of Clinical Oncology Foundation.

This award will help fund her project, “A randomized clinical trial to study the impact of emerging radiation techniques on cardiac injury in the treatment of women with breast cancer.”

“It is my hope that the results of this research will improve our understanding regarding the pathophysiology of radiation induced heart disease and improve methods of early detection of injury, while limiting toxicity and optimizing care for our patients.”

– Rachel Jimenez, MD

Annie Kathuria, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Center for Genomic Medicine,
Massachusetts General Hospital
Instructor in Psychiatry , Harvard Medical School

Dr. Kathuria received a 2022 Samuel Gershon Junior Investigator Award from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders. The awards are presented to up to four young investigators and are named in honor of Dr. Samuel Gershon, an early pioneer of lithium research.

“These awards are great honor to me and our team. The recognition sheds a light on the hard-work we have being doing and will continue do. It also recognizes psychiatric biology, a field in its nascent stages. We are building a platform using patient derived brain organoids, taking the first step towards personalized medicine.”

– Annie Kathuria, PhD

Sabrina Paganoni, MD, PhD

Co-Director, Neurological Clinical Research Institute (NCRI), Massachusetts General Hospital
Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Paganoni received the Diamond Award from the Muscular Dystrophy Association. This award recognizes a scientific leader dedicated to the eradication of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“This is an exciting time in ALS clinical trials. The drug pipeline is robust and growing, we are using innovative trial designs, and the research and patient communities are active and engaged. We are testing more experimental drugs than ever and are hopeful we will see positive development in the near future.”

– Sabrina Paganoni, MD, PhD

Viral Shah, MD, PhD

Research Fellow in Medicine (Rajagopal Lab), Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Shah received the LeRoy Matthews Physician-Scientist Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This award encourages outstanding newly trained pediatricians and internists to enhance clinical proficiency in cystic fibrosis-related subspecialties and to develop the research capabilities to become independent biomedical investigators. The award will provide Shah four years of funding for his project, “Defining the Role of the Ionocyte in Cystic Fibrosis.”

“It is a true privilege to be awarded the LeRoy Mathews Physician Scientist Award. I hope to continue to develop my skills as both a physician and scientist to conduct translational research aimed at deeply understanding mechanisms of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) lung disease to generate new therapies.”

– Viral Shah, MD, PhD

Jian Shu, PhD

Assistant Investigator, Cutaneous Biology Research Center
Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School

Jian Shu, PhD, received a 2022 Next Generation Pregnancy Initiative Award from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a 2022 Expansion Award from Additional Ventures, MLSC Women’s Health Innovation Award, and an Additional Ventures SVRF Award. All of these rewards are related to developing innovative single-cell omics, imaging, and machine learning technologies to investigate women’s health and pregnancy.

“I am very grateful for all this generous support. These foundations’ commitments to support early-stage investigators will open new paths to innovative technologies and breakthrough discoveries.

Historically, women’s health has been extremely underfunded and studied. I have my greatest respect for all the pioneers, clinicians, and researchers, who tackle many difficult problems related to women’s health. Meanwhile, we also know that there is a significant need to bring in more innovative technologies to better understand women’s health.”

– Jian Shu, PhD

Jana Jarolimova, MD, MPH

Infectious Disease Fellow at the MGH and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Jana Jarolimova, MD, MPH, received the 2021 Maxwell Finland Award for Research Fellow Excellence from the Massachusetts Infectious Disease Society.

The Maxwell Finland Research Award is given annually to one fellow from each of the Massachusetts training programs in infectious diseases. The fellows are selected by their sponsoring institutions for recognition for research of exemplary quality during their training.

“I am incredibly honored for my research to be recognized with this award, particularly during a time when global health research has faced unprecedented challenges. I consider this award to equally recognize the outstanding team I work with, who have faced immense hurdles to make ongoing research possible on site in South Africa.

Recognition of work in the field of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV prevention is an important step towards increasing awareness of the disparities that exist in access to STI management worldwide.”

– Jana Jarolimova, MD, MPH

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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