Dedman Scholars

2022

Jessica Grubman, M.D.

Jessica Grubman, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Grubman’s academic focus is improving identification, evaluation, and management of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB), one of the most common but understudied gynecologic conditions. She has studied AUB-related emergency department visits nationwide, investigated pre-malignant care and ultrasound findings in premenopausal women with endometrial hyperplasia and cancer, and performed a systematic review of ultrasound predictiveness of endometrial malignancy in premenopausal AUB. A UTSW Dedman Family Scholar in Clinical Care, Dr. Grubman is currently evaluating emergency department presentations for abnormal uterine bleeding at Parkland, analyzing ultrasound endometrial findings in patients with anovulatory AUB (AUB-O), and is working to implement a randomized controlled clinical trial investigating optimal medical management for acute AUB-O. Additionally, she is working to establish a multidisciplinary, disease-focused anovulatory AUB clinic at Parkland to advance patient-centered care and research.

Xiaosong Meng, M.D., Ph.D.

Xiaosong Meng, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Urology

Dr. Meng's clinical interests include prostate cancer and focal therapy for prostate cancer, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, and bladder cancer. The author of numerous scholarly articles and presentations, Dr. Meng’s research focuses on better understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the immune response in order to determine which prostate cancer patients are best managed by focal therapy. He also researches ways to improve diagnosis and treatment of kidney and prostate cancer, the metabolomics of genitourinary malignancies, and focal or partial treatment choices for localized prostate cancer.

2021

Natasha M. Corbitt, M.D., Ph.D.

Natasha M. Corbitt, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery

Dr. Corbitt is studying the pathogenesis of Biliary Atresia (BA) – the leading cause of pediatric liver transplantation – by performing single cell sequencing on extrahepatic bile ducts (EHBD) tissue from children. Success in this project will provide the scientific community with important tools to study BA pathogenesis and test treatment interventions in order to advance the care of children with BA.

Jessica R. Moore, M.D.

Jessica R. Moore, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry

Dr. Moore seeks to expand and implement a comprehensive Transitional Age Youth Clinic at UT Southwestern that includes psychiatric services, well-coordinated care, vocational/educational support, and consultation with other medical specialties.

2020

Kimberly Goodspeed, M.D.

Kimberly Goodspeed, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Pediatrics

Anna Tavakkoli, M.D.

Anna Tavakkoli, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Internal Medicine

Dr. Tavakkoli’s clinical interests include benign and malignant pancreaticobiliary diseases and endoscopic suturing. Her clinical expertise includes endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), transoral outlet reduction (TORe) for weight regain after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, and endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) of early cancers in the esophagus, stomach, and colon.

Dr. Tavakkoli also is active in clinical research with a focus on disparities in gastrointestinal malignancies, quality improvement of ERCP, and outcomes after ESG and TORe.

2019

Nina Sanford, M.D.

Nina Sanford, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Radiation Oncology

Dr. Sanford is involved with several clinical trials that assess the combination of high-dose radiation therapy with immunotherapy. Her research interests also include disparities in access to health care and pan-cancer outcomes research using large databases.

Ksenya Shliakhtsitsava, M.D.

Ksenya Shliakhtsitsava, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Pediatrics

Dr. Shliakhtsitsava’s research interests include cancer survivorship, fertility preservation, leukemia and lymphoma, and reproductive health among cancer survivors.

2018

Maria Florian-Rodriguez, M.D.

Maria Florian-Rodriguez, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Obstetrics & Gynecology

Dr. Florian-Rodriguez’s clinical interests include the surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, mesh complications, and fistulas. Her research interests include studying the relationship between the vaginal extracellular matrix, cellular senescence, and prolapse.

Jacob Hunter, M.D.

Jacob Hunter, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery

Dr. Hunter has investigated, presented, and published research on clinical topics in his specialty, focusing on, among other things, cholesteatoma surgery, cochlear implantation techniques, outcomes and hearing preservation, endoscopic ear surgery, facial nerve disorders, hearing loss, and skull base tumors.

2017

Alexandra Callan, M.D.

Alexandra Callan, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Callan’s clinical and research interests include outcomes in orthopaedic oncology, limb salvage techniques for osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma, metastatic bone disease, and quality of life in musculoskeletal oncology. She also has a special interest in teaching residents and medical students.

Pearlie Chong, M.D.

Pearlie Chong, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Internal Medicine

Dr. Chong’s research interest include clinical research related to infections in solid organ transplant and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Her interests also include study design and data analyses.

2016

Neil Desai, M.D.

Neil Desai, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Radiation Oncology

Dr. Desai is the principal investigator on a trial at UT Southwestern exploring combination of immunotherapy checkpoint blockade with total skin radiation therapy for advanced cutaneous lymphoma. His research also focuses on the care of post-operative patients with recurrent disease, assessing the impact of androgen receptor variants on radiotherapy and hormone therapy for prostate cancer, and sexual function following radiotherapy.

2015

Sarah Oltmann, M.D.

Sarah Oltmann, M.D.
Associate Professor
Surgery

Dr. Oltmann’s clinical research interests include the kinetics of intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring, expansion of surgical indications in thyroiditis, surgical management of hyperthyroidism, improving patient experience after thyroid and parathyroid procedures, and surgeon decision-making regarding surgical approach to adrenal lesions.

2014

Muhammad Beg, M.D.

Muhammad Shaalan Beg, M.D.
Associate Professor
Internal Medicine

Dr. Beg’s clinical and research focus is on early-phase drug development and clinical trials for gastrointestinal cancers. He is an active member of the GI Cancers Disease Oriented Team and believes in true multidisciplinary care of his patients.

David Nelson, M.D.

David Nelson, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Obstetrics and Gynecology

Dr. Nelson’s research focuses on cardiac function in pregnancy and the prevention of preterm birth and postpartum depression. He is the primary investigator on a prospective study of prevention measures for preterm birth and a prospective study of cardiac function in pregnancy using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging modalities throughout gestation and the postpartum period.

Matthew Porembka, M.D.

Matthew Porembka, M.D.
Associate Professor
Surgery

Dr. Porembka centers his research on stomach cancer (also known as gastric cancer) to better characterize tumors and personalize treatment.

2013

Michael Bowen, M.D.

Michael Bowen, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Internal Medicine

Dr. Bowen has a strong interest in primary care and chronic disease management. His research focuses on early diagnosis and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Donald Glass, M.D.

Donald Glass, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Dermatology

Dr. Glass’ main research interest is in understanding how keloids (exuberant scarring of the skin) occur and in finding the genes that predispose people to develop keloids. Keloids occur disproportionately more often in skin of color, and the ability to develop keloids can be inherited within families.

2012

Peter Van Buren, M.D.

Peter Van Buren, M.D.
Associate Professor
Internal Medicine

Dr. Van Buren brings to UT Southwestern a strong clinical background in general nephrology and patient-oriented research. His clinical interests encompass all aspects of the management of patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, and he has a specialized interest in managing hypertension and diabetic nephropathy. He is currently also conducting original clinical research in hypertensive hemodialysis patients through funding from the National Institute of Health.

Olga Gupta, M.D.

Olga Gupta, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Pediatrics

The central goals of Dr. Gupta’s research are to better understand the psychosocial mechanisms leading to poor adherence to diabetes self-management tasks in young individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus, and to develop novel behavioral interventions that are safe and effective for this population.

2011

Tanya Watt, M.D.

Tanya Watt, M.D.
Associate Professor
Pediatrics

Dr. Watt’s primary research interest is in pediatric leukemia.

2010

Raksha Jain, M.D.

Raksha Jain, M.D.
Associate Professor
Internal Medicine

Dr. Jain's research interests include new treatments for cystic fibrosis and gender disparities in airway diseases.

Amit Singal, M.D.

Amit Singal, M.D.
Professor
Internal Medicine

Dr. Singal’s research focuses on diagnosing and treating liver cancer before it becomes incurable.

2009

Drew Bird, M.D.

Drew Bird, M.D.
Associate Professor
Pediatrics

Dr. Bird’s research interests are in understanding and treating life-threatening reactions to foods, and he is currently working with colleagues in several ongoing clinical trials using food proteins for immunotherapy.

Laura Klesse, M.D., Ph.D.

Laura Klesse, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Pediatrics

Dr. Klesse’s main research interest is neurofibromatosis, the most common cancer predisposition syndrome in children, which causes tumors to form on nerve tissue.

Former Scholars

The following faculty members were recipients of the Dedman Scholar award, but have left the institution.

  • 2009 – Jarett Berry, M.D.
  • 2009 – Jade Le, M.D.
  • 2011 – Guarav Arora, M.D.
  • 2015 – Ian Neeland, M.D.
  • 2016 – Aditya Bagrodia, M.D.