Grace Niziolek, MD, an assistant professor of surgery in the Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery and Ruth Tevlin, MD, an assistant professor of surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery were inducted into the Dean’s Scholars program to encourage their research pursuits.
The program will facilitate Niziolek’s project, “Investigating the role of proton-sensing G-protein coupled receptors in trauma and hemorrhagic shock.” Niziolek previously conducted research regarding traumatic brain injury (TBI), which investigated how endothelial injury contributes to brain swelling, inflammation, and outcomes following traumatic brain injury complicated by hemorrhagic shock. Using a novel preclinical model, the study evaluates tranexamic acid’s potential to protect blood vessels and reduce secondary brain injury.
Tevlin’s project, “Cellular and Mechanical Mechanisms Regulating Cranial Vault Distraction Osteogenesis,” builds on her extensive background in skeletal stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Her prior work has helped define injury-induced skeletal progenitors, niche dysregulation in impaired bone healing, and the role of mechanotransduction in tissue regeneration, with publications in leading journals including Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications, and Nature Biomedical Engineering. As a Dean’s Scholar, she will investigate how mechanical forces regulate bone regeneration during cranial vault distraction, with the goal of developing biology-driven strategies to improve craniofacial bone regeneration in children with craniosynostosis.
The Dean’s Scholars program supports outstanding MD-only individuals committed to a career as a physician-scientist. This program alleviates the scholar’s financial stress and provides them with mentorship, institutional support, and the protected time necessary to generate data and publications. Applicants to this program must submit research proposals to be supported for up to two years.
The program provides funding of $50,000 per year and travel expenses. At the end of the support period, scholars will be competitive for NIH K08 and related awards, to be on the path to a successful career. Each department provides a minimum of $50,000 annually in matching support for a Dean’s Scholar salary, or alternatively, toward the scholar’s research. For surgeons, the program provides research time that aligns with the NIH K08 guidelines, which typically requires that no less than half of their time is dedicated to their research.