Research Week 2021

Research Week presents an opportunity to celebrate and showcase the research and scholarly activities of NGHS investigators.

What can I do during Research Week?

View e-posters, watch videos highlighting work that nurses are leading, listen to physicians speak about the benefits of clinical trial research, and find links to publications from our healthcare researchers. Learn more about how research and scholarly activities build scientific understanding and the quality of healthcare practice.

Learn more about how to start a research study, apply to the IRB, and how to complete required research training by participating in the live events below. Live events will be recorded for viewing later. Many live events provide CE and CME credit!

Introduction to our system-wide research week 2021 by John E. Delzell, Jr., MD, MSPH, FAAFP
Carol Healan Burrell Professor in Medical Education; Vice President for Medical Education,
Office of Medical Education; Designated Institutional Official


Keynote Speakers & Presentations

Public Health Efforts to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke

Webinar
Must log into Mediasite to view.

Keynote Speaker:
Robert K. Merritt, MA, FAHA
Chief, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch;
Supervisory Health Scientist, Division for Heart Disease & Stroke Preventions, Centers for Disease Prevention and Control

CME & CE credits awarded

Cancer Survivorship & Addressing Barriers to Care

Webinar
Must log into Mediasite to view.

Keynote Speakers:
Corinne Leach, PhD, MPH, MS
Senior Principal Scientist in Behavioral Research, American Cancer Society
Angie Caton, MSN, RN OCN, CHPN
NGHS Assistant Nurse Manager, Oncology Services

Ethics in Research: A Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion

Panel Speakers:
Zameer Gill, MD
Internal Medicine, NGHS Hospice & Palliative Care
Sameerah A. Phalo, MHL, CHPC
NGHS Director of Privacy
Angie Caton, MSN, RN, OCN, CHPN
NGHS Assistant Nurse Manager, Oncology Services
Brandon Powers, JM
NGHS Research Regulatory Specialist

Novel Mechanisms & Biomarkers for Risk Stratification in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Webinar
Must log into Mediasite to view.

Keynote Speakers:
Arshed Quyyumi, MD, FACC
Director, Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute
Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA
Patrick H. Lehan Chair in Cardiovascular Research;
Professor & Chairman, Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center

Public Expectations for Clinical Research in the Age of COVID-19

Video Presentation

Keynote Speakers:
Robert E. Powers, M.Div, Ph.D.
Director of Research, College of Health Sciences & Professions, University of North Georgia
Chair, Professional Ethics Committee
Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP)


Special Events

COVID-19 Spotlight & Education Day

Virtual
Dec. 15, 2021 | All Day

Review the many research posters and publications presented here.

Multidisciplinary Poster Session

Poster Session
Dec. 17, 2021 | 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Walters Auditorium

The Northeast Georgia Medical Center & Health System, Inc. is accredited by the Medical Association of Georgia to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Northeast Georgia Medical Center & Health System, Inc. designates this online activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Northeast Georgia Health System is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Alabama State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Research Week 2021

Learn about highlighted research and scholarly activities happening across our organization.

Office of Research

Mission Statement

The Office of Research at Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) is responsible for overseeing the quality, scientific integrity, academic impact, regulatory compliance and financial responsibility of clinical research conducted throughout the health system.

The mission of the Office of Research is to support, oversee, and serve as the organizational home for all clinical research conducted within the NGHS system. Our physicians serve as principal investigators on a number of cutting-edge clinical research studies that have the potential to impact standard of care and to improve the care that patients receive.  Through our high patient enrollments and high-impact study participation, research at NGMC offers patients and nationally recognized physicians the opportunity to improve the health of our community and beyond.

Research Team

  • Holly Jones, PhD, Director of Research
  • Calvin Robinson Jr., Research Finance Analyst
  • Cynthia Jackson, Research Business Operations
  • G. Brandon Powers, JM, Research Regulatory Specialist
  • Jennifer Williams, Research Regulatory Specialist
  • Heidi Ehrenreich, PhD, Multidisciplinary Research Coordinator

Cardiology Research Team

  • Donna Patrick, RN CCRC Research Nurse Manager
  • Terri Tolar, RN, Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Toni Mundy, RN, Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Amanda Dang, RN, Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Sharon Davidson, Research Medical Assistant

Oncology Research Team

  • Trena Davis, RN, CCRC Research Nurse Manager
  • Danielle Newman, Clinical Research Coordinator
  • Charnel Byrnes, PhD, Clinical Research Coordinator
  • Rebecca Smith, RN, Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Orianna Borrelli, Research Data Coordinator
  • Natalie Macy, Research Data Coordinator
Holly Jones, PhD, Director of Research on Research Week 2021

Resources

Educational Resources

Educational Pre-Recorded Videos

Locating Electronic Journals
Step-by-Step Nursing Research Start-Up Guide
General Research Study Start-Up
Finding the Library’s Electronic Resources
IRB Educational Video
Developing a Potential Research Project
GME Research Department
GME Logo

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known”

Carl Sagan

Our Mission

Our mission is to improve the health of our community through an engaged community of physician researchers who actively build evidence for the practices and processes of medicine.

Our Departmental Values

GME Research at Northeast Georgia Medical Center aligns our departmental values to the system Core Values. Building on these institutional values, GME research values guide our responses and processes:

  1. Research Must Matter to Our Community
    We advance our knowledge of patient care through compassionate identification of the most pressing health, social and economic concerns of our constituents. This situates our research goals and evidence of scientific merit.
  2. Perspective Matters
    We strive to understand our research through the lens of all stakeholders through open dialogue, peer review, ethical recruitment of participants and consideration of research impact on our community. This acknowledgement of understanding how we make meaning of knowledge as a social construct enriches our research agenda.
  3. Intentional Focus Matters
    We focus our resources and scholarship intentionally, building expertise in areas which honor our patients, our residents and the community-based focus of our health-system. Together, we will progress toward our community goals.
  4. Ethical Rigor is Critical
    We focus on quality not quantity of scholarship. We pursue rigorous design and implementation as more impactful on our community than number of publications, and more advantageous to our residents as they learn foundational research skills.

E-Posters

  • Brown D, The Impact of Introducing Resident Physicians In The ICU: Perceptions of Safety Culture By Staff Upon Introduction of Residents in a New Teaching Hospital; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Dahlin J, Armstrong K, Jones L; A Rare Case of Psychosis Due to ​ DiGeorge Syndrome and COVID-19​; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation.
  • Baleguli V, Chofor R, Chew C, Al-Rubaye R, Bondugula V; A Possible GBS/TM Overlap Syndrome After a Recent COVID 19 Infection; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Barthelemy B, Bramhall M, Newton M; Cercarial Dermatitis in Hall County: A Case Report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Cho YM, Mahmood R, Herrera M, Adams A, Sadka T, Nass K; Analysis of Health Care Utilization in Emergency dialysis versus scheduled dialysis at Northeast Georgia Health System; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Cho Y, Aggarawal T, Abbasi Z, Tirado E; Erythromelalgia, where is it coming from?; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Cho Y, Mahmood R, Herrera M, Saleem S, Zahra S; Hypoalbuminemia as Warning Sign for Paraneoplastic Nephrotic Syndrome In Squamous Lung Cancer: Case Report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Herrera M, Takla P, Abidoye O, Kim N, Jones L, Kruer J, Nguyen K, Nisbet R, Arfoosh R; Pulmonary Function Natural Recovery Course from SARS-COV-2 Induced ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) as Noted by Pulmonary Function Testing; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation.
  • Iqbal A, Parag S, Ahn J, Chandra S; Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Auto-brewery Syndrome; Case Report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Iqbal A, Field W, Bauer L; Eyes wide shut: Anisocoria as an atypical presentation of Tolosa-Hunt Syndrome (THS) – A case report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Ismail A, Gross P; Acute Arterial Ischemic Stroke Secondary to COVID-19 Infection; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Joseph L, Barthelemy B; An investigation to examine if an automated enhancement in EHR help physician management of clinical depression; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Kim N, Parag S, Al-Rubaye R, Phan N; Emergent Neuro-Intervention for Isolated Abducens Nerve Palsy; Case Report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Mele A, Chew C, Vega R, Al-Rubaye R; Naproxen-Induced Evans Syndrome; case report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Panchbhaya A, Tabb M, Purser A; Sudden Onset Sick Sinus Syndrome with Dysautonomia; Case Report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Parag S, Ogbuagu H, Varghese M; Cryptococcus Neoformans: A case of Cryptococcal Meningoencephalitis in an immunocompetent patient; Research Week; NGHS; December 17. 2021, Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Ross S, Kapoor A, Arfoos R; Ground Glass Changes on Chest Imaging: Not another COVID-19 Case; Case Report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • Sterling C, Chambers J, Lake F; Case of the 11-year Missing IUD: Incidental finding of Migrated Intra-Uterine Device during Elective Robotic-Assist Laparoscopic Hysterectomy; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation.
  • Vega R, Mele A, Chew C, Al-Rubaye R; Acute pericarditis following Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the setting of rhinovirus infection; case report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.
  • MacGregor A, Glass O, Jones L; Medical Management of Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia and Decision-Making Mechanism for Clozapine: Case Report; Research Week; NGHS; December 17, 2021. Poster Presentation. Audio Presentation.

Videos

Dr. Alison Ruch talks about her Research Journey in NGHS and how NGHS GME Research Department helped.
Dr. Jacob Jay talks about his Research Journey in NGHS and how NGHS GME Research Department helped.
Dr. Oliver Glass
Dr. Omari Hodge talks about his Research Journey in NGHS and how NGHS GME Research Department helped.
Dr. Shehzad Muhamed talks about his Research Journey in NGHS and how NGHS GME Research Department helped.

Research Team

Resources

Nursing Excellence

“Evidence-Based Practice and Quality Improvement bring research to the point of care to ensure that we are providing the very best care possible to our patients – and that we are working as efficiently and respectfully as possible with our entire team.”

Melissa Rouse, PhD, APRN, CNS-BC, NEA-BC, CENP, CPHQ
Executive Director Nursing Excellence & Research

Dr. Melissa Rouse introduces Research Week – Nursing

Videos

Dr. Fadel & Angie Caton on the NGHS Initiative – Return to Screening: Breast Clinical Study
Cheryl Bittel, MSN, APRN, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Critical Care, on her study examining the effects of audio-visual feedback devices on cardiac compression
Tiffany Young, BSN, RN, Interim Diabetes Program Manager, on study comparing glucose control and length of stay
Amy Smith, MSN, RN, Bariatric Program Manager, on TAP blocks study
Nicole Jones, MS, RN on study investigating implementation of a sedation rescue order of action algorithm
Bridgette Schulman on the ongoing Clinical Trial with Dr. Francis Nuthalapaty.

Clinical Trials

RUBY: Treating Abnormal Postpartum Uterine Bleeding or Postpartum Hemorrhage with the Jada System – A Post-Market Registry
Principal Investigator: Francis Nuthalapaty, MD
Sub-Investigator & Study Coordinator: Bridgette Schulman, MSNEd, RNC-OB, CEFM, CPPS

E-Posters with Voiceover

NGHS Library Services

“Zora Neale Hurston once said, Research is formalized curiosity; It is poking and prying with a purpose. As librarian, it is my job to support that informational and educational purpose of discovery. The library serves as a purposeful avenue to research and life-long learning.”

Shannon Glover, MLIS, AHIP, Coordinator of Health Sciences Library

“When I used to work with first-year college students, I explained that it’s called REsearch because you need to keep asking, searching, evaluating, and revisiting the matter over and over again. Librarians are primarily involved in the searching phase–connecting researchers to the highest quality evidence available–but we also perform original research, and I look forward to engaging the process more.” 

Tanisha Mills, MLIS, AHIP, Medical Librarian

Videos

Finding the Library’s Electronic Resources
Locating Electronic Journals
Foothills Area Health Education Center (AHEC)

For over 15 years, Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has been a leading location for The Foothills AHEC Pathway to Med School (PTMS) program provides undergraduate pre-med students with early exposure to primary care and community medicine, establishing a network of physicians to support students as advisors and future colleagues, over a month-long timeframe.

The goal of the program is to enhance students’ candidacy for medical school through clinical shadowing, research projects, and instructional sessions. The practice-based research component of the PTMS program is structured to examine health care processes and patient populations in community-based, primary care clinical settings to ultimately improve care and patient outcomes. While research experience is not required of all medical school applicants, it is being considered imperative for students that desire to be competitive applicants.

Under the mentorship of primary care physicians, PTMS students elevate their understanding of the timeline, processes, and elements needed to launch and complete a constructive research study.

E-Poster

Research Team

  • Omari Hodge, MD | Associate Program Director, NGMC Family Medicine, GME
  • Monica Newton, DO | Program Director, NGMC Family Medicine, GME
  • Zahraa Rabeeah, MD | Associate Program Director, Piedmont Athens Regional Internal Medicine
  • Louise Jones, PhD, MEd | NGMC Director of GME Research and Scholarly Activity
  • Lana Brand, MLIS | Foothills AHEC Special Projects Consultant
  • Missy Lochstampfor | Foothills AHEC Special Projects Coordinator

COVID-19 and Infectious Disease

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) provides outstanding care to patients in our community. NGHS actively supports research that provides cutting-edge treatment options as new therapies become available and seeks to answer important questions surrounding COVID-19 and its impact on the physical and psychological health of our patients, staff, and community members. Please see a list below outlining several research studies and clinical trials that address key issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Publications

Critical Care

National Clinical Trials

  • Expanded Access to Convalescent Plasma for the Treatment of Patients with COVID-19
    PI: Multiple
  • NCI COVID-19 in Cancer Patients, NCCAPS Study
    PI: Charles Nash, III, MD
  • North American COVID-19 ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NACMI) Registry
    PI: Nima Ghasemzadeh, MD
  • A Pilot Study Investigating the Detection of Episodes of Severe Patient-Ventilator Asynchrony
    PI: Gagan Kumar, MD
    Lead Respiratory Educator: Stephen Graham, BSRT-RRT

Active Research Studies

  • Does Providing Live Therapeutic Music Decrease Stress for Clinicians Working in COVID-19 Critical Care Units?
    PI: Cheryl Bittel, MSN, RN
  • How COVID-91 Affects the Boston Scientific HeartLogicTM Heart Failure Diagnostic Parameters in Patients with Heart Failure
    PI: Ugochukwu Egolum, MD
  • COVID-19 Perinatal Population Surveillance
    PI: Cynthia Cabrara, MD; Wendy Coto-Puckett, MD; Bridgette Schulman, MSN-Ed, RN
  • National Registry for Surveillance and Epidemiology of Perinatal COVID-19 Infection
    PI: Bridgette Schulman, MSN-Ed, RN
  • Role of Tocilizumab on Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients
    PI: Gagan Kumar, MD
  • Developing a Registry of COVID-19 Patients who are Admitted to Hospitals
    PI: Gagan Kumar, MD
  • Emergency Use of Remdesivir
    PI: Erine Raybon-Rojas, MD: Barry Barns, PharmD
Georgia Heart Institute

For over 15 years, Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) has been a leading location for high-impact clinical trials in cardiology. Having completed over 100 cardiac research Phase II – IV pharmaceutical and Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical trials, our research team of highly qualified registered nurses, professional staff and nationally recognized physicians is focused on patient enrollment and timely start-up of research studies in addition to excellent patient care.

Our board-certified cardiologists, heart surgeons and vascular surgeons at Georgia Heart Institute provide a range of treatments and services with our state-of-the-art technology and research — from diagnostic procedures to life-saving angioplasty to minimally-invasive valve surgery.

Publications

Dr. Egolum

Dr. Ghasemzadah

Dr. Molony

Dr. Samady

Videos

Dr. Samady on Research at the Georgia Heart Institute
Dr. Egolum on Heart Failure
Dr. Kansara on Structural Heart & Cardiology
Dr. Ghasemzadeh on Interventional Cardiology
Dr. Ahn on Electrophysiology
Dr. Molony on the Biomechanics Lab
Dr. Kansara on Structural Heart & Cardiology
Dr. Chandra on Cardiology
Dr. Ramesh on Cardiology

Resources

Research Team

  • Donna Patrick, RN, CCRC
    Research Nurse Manager
  • Terri Tolar, RN
    Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Toni Mundy, RN
    Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Amanda Dang, RN
    Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Sharon Davidson
    Research Medical Assistant
Oncology

The Cancer Center at NGMC has been participating in cancer clinical trials since 1996, and we partner with a variety of nationally recognized research networks across the U.S. Our oncology research program was recognized in 2018 as a Top 5 Accruing Site for numbers of patients enrolled in clinical trials by SWOG (the Southwest Cancer Chemotherapy Study Group).

Our expert physicians specialize in medical, surgical, radiation and gynecologic oncology and offer cutting-edge clinical trial opportunities  to our patients. Our portfolio includes trials for chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery for virtually all tumor sites including breast, lung and prostate cancers, three of the cancer types most often diagnosed. By offering clinical trials to patients, physicians and clinical staff in the Cancer Center are able to provide a variety of treatment options using state-of-the-art technology and resources.

Publications

Videos

Andre M. Kallab, MD, FACP, medical oncologist, on recent publication

Resources

Research Team

  • Trena Davis, RN, CCRC Research Nurse Manager
  • Danielle Newman, Clinical Research Coordinator
  • Charnel Byrnes, PhD, Clinical Research Coordinator
  • Rebecca Smith, RN, CPPS, Research Nurse Coordinator
  • Orianna Borrelli, Research Data Coordinator
  • Natalie Macy, Research Data Coordinator
Charles Nash, M.D., Medical Director of the Cancer Center at NGMC, on patient interest in participating in clinical trials research

Emory Winship Affiliation

Charles Nash, M.D., Medical Director of the Cancer Center at NGMC, discusses affiliation of NGMC with Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute
Pharmacy

“Research in pharmacy practice is important for many reasons!  The research conducted in pharmacy over the years has highlighted novel pharmacotherapeutic ideas, formulary management practices, validation of pharmacy services, and quality/safety improvements, just to name a few.  This information has been presented at the local, state, and national levels in an effort to share work from which others may benefit.  The Department of Pharmacy is delighted to showcase the great work that is done by our team! ” 

Melissa Frank, PharmD
Director of Pharmacy

E-Posters

Research Team

  • Michelle Vu, PharmD
  • Tanya Glosson, PharmD
  • Christine Cook, PharmD
  • Sherri Merritt, PharmD
  • Barry Barns, PharmD
Trauma & Acute Care Surgery

“To our patients, having the opportunity to participate in research gives meaning to their experience. Trauma patients are often times here unexpectedly… so having that opportunity can help them heal.”

Jessica Mantooth, RN

Videos

Trauma Research at NGMC

E-Posters

Research Team

  • Jesse Gibson, MBA, BSN, RN, TCRN
  • Jessica Mantooth, BSN, RN, CEN, TCRN
  • Jacob Jay, MD
  • Nathan Creel, MD

Resources


Office of Research Administration

ResearchOffice@nghs.com
770-219-9010
www.nghs.com/research

GME Research Department

GMEResearch@nghs.com
770-219-8622
www.ngmcgme.org