Greater Chicago Area
I am passionate about and fascinated by healthcare; it’s role in the future of science and medicine. My experiences have given me an understanding of integrating emerging technologies, data systems & meaningful patient care to improve our health and wellbeing.
Healthcare & Life Sciences Consulting
Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing (ISGMH) Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University all2GETHER is a relationship education and HIV prevention program that works with same-sex male couples to improve relationship functioning and decrease sexual risk behaviours, with an overarching goal of reducing HIV diagnoses. The behavioural health program 2GETHER was added to a compendium of best evidence-based HIV prevention interventions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2024.
Department of Data Analytics and Reporting (Lurie) and Medical Social Sciences dept. (Northwestern, FSM): Promoting Healthy Brains Project: is a research initiative that aims to understand the impact of prenatal stress reduction on maternal well-being and early life neurodevelopment, focusing on how early experiences influence brain development. Project areas: Stress Model Validation & Health Sensing Technology Integration (using wireless wearable health sensors), customised Prenatal Stress Reduction Interventions and Examining Neurodevelopmental Trajectories.
Collaborated with a Neurologist at UChicago Medicine to obtain and analyze patient EHR data. After de-identifying the patient data, I used statistical software (R Studio and STATA) to understand Cefepime severity of morbidity and hospital length of stay associated with the dosage. From data aggregated, I created graphical representations to show relationships between variables associated with Cefepime. Findings were written in a paper and presented to affiliated healthcare professionals. ABSTRACT Introduction: Cefepime is used as a first-line antipseudomonal antibiotic for treating various infections in hospitalized patients. It is not known how cefepime dose adjustments based on renal function affect patient outcomes. This paper assesses how mortality and length-of-stay vary with average daily dose at different levels of renal function. Methods: Patient data were collected from the Clinical Research Data Warehouse at the University of Chicago Medicine. Data from 1006 patients were analyzed, in which mortality rates and hospital length of stay (LOS) were assessed as a function of renal function and cefepime dose (high vs. low). Results: Patients receiving a low dose of cefepime had higher mortality rates (by 8.4%) and longer LOS (average of 1 day longer) than those receiving a high dose. The findings held regardless of renal function. Conclusion: Results from this analysis suggest that renally based dose adjustments for cefepime might be associated with worse outcomes.
Cefepime is an antibiotic for coverage for high-risk patients when infection is suspected. It can cause neurotoxicity with altered mental status, seizures and possibly increased mortality. This is a particular issue where a lot of patients a year receive cefepime, but neither the incidence of cefepime neurotoxicity nor the effect on outcomes is known. The goals of the research are to determine the incidence of cefepime neurotoxicity in comparison to the effects of Piperacillin-Tazobactam dosing, define the risk factors that predispose to these antibiotic neurotoxicities and determine their effects on patient outcomes.
- Data entry for administrative support functions. - Perform tasks for special projects deemed reasonable and necessary by the pediatrics department (eg. website construction and on boarding processes) - Operate standard office equipment and relay office information.
At the Center for Integrative Brain Research & center for clinical and translational research, Dr. Kalume's Lab is focused on understanding the pathophysiological basis of genetic epilepsies and their comorbid conditions- particularly Dravet Syndrome. My role in the lab was to help better understand and look at the role of system mechanisms that underlie the relationship between temperature changes; sleep and Epilepsy leading to SUDEP (Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy). I created a Pilot study in which I collaborated with the Allen Institute to collect preliminary data for interneuron excitability and neural pathways with an SCN1A mutation and by using gene therapy. In addition to this, I was able to learn and perform EEG implantation in mice brains (to analyse seizure activity)