Dema does project management and coding/data analysis for the Common Longitudinal ICU data Format (CLIF) Consortium.

Kaveri is working on the lab’s R01 grant to develop a life support allocation algorithm that accurately and equitably allocates scarce ICU treatments in a crisis. As part of a network of collaborators at different institutions, she is also designing and developing a common relational database format for research on hospitalized patients.

Molly previously worked as a research assistant at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, focusing on health services research including our paper Trends in Medicare Part B Spending on Discarded Drugs, 2017-2020. 

Currently, she is concentrating on organ allocation research at the lab, working to optimize organization under the upcoming continuous distribution method.

Whiskey joined the lab a data science intern in 2024. He currently does coding and data analysis for CLIF consortium projects. 

Dr. Narang was formerly a physician at Advocate Health Care specializing in Cardiology, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, and Internal Medicine. He earned his MD at University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and completed his residency at University of Chicago Medical Center (UCM). Later, he completed fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease and Advanced Heart Failure & Transplantation at UCM.

Dr. Peek specializes in general internal medicine and preventive health for adults. She has a particular interest in reducing health care disparities and concentrates these efforts on diabetes care and breast cancer-screening education for African American patients.

As principal investigator on two multi-year clinical studies, Dr. Peek aims to improve diabetes care and medical outcomes for patients on the South Side of Chicago. Also, in her role as one of two inaugural Faculty Fellows in the Bucksbaum–Siegler Institute for Clinical Excellence at the University of Chicago Medicine, she explores how racial and cultural barriers impact physician-patient relations and shared decision-making.

Hanna grew up in Ames, Iowa – about 5 hours west of Chicago. She attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis for undergrad before attending medical school here at the Pritzker School of Medicine. She loved her four years at U of C and fell in love with the tight knit nature of the community and the patient population we serve. Hanna took a brief hiatus away for internal medicine residency in Boston at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. It was there that she decided to pursue pulmonary/critical care. Hanna found the complexity of medicine in the ICU fascinating, and was equally struck by the challenges and rewards of guiding patients & families through critical illness and complex goals of care discussions. When considering programs, she was drawn to the University of Chicago for many reasons —  the strong clinical training, emphasis on teaching, level of fellow autonomy, research excellence, and the patient population, among others. Hanna is so excited to be back here for her fellowship training! She is still figuring out where exactly her career in PMCC will land her. Right now, Hanna has strong interests in critical care and palliative care communication research in the ICU. Outside of the hospital, she loves trying new restaurants and bars with her fiancé (the Chicago restaurant scene is hard to beat), hiking/spending time outdoors, and swimming in Lake Michigan in the summer.

Olivia completed the Summer Research Project (SRP) program in the HCA Lab. She is studying the association of social vulnerability metric (SVM) with kidney transplantation access and outcomes.

Caleb is completing the Summer Research Project (SRP) program in the HCA Lab.

Sukanya was a high school student in the Student Inquiry and Research Program Intern when she joined the HCA Lab. She is now working on a project examining organ accept/reject practices at transplant centers.

Dr. Tolmie is currently an Internal Medicine resident at Columbia University.

Dr. Asfour is currently a General Surgery resident at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Lu is currently a Surgery resident at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Kevin Z. joined the team in 2022 from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he worked as a biostatistician in collaboration with the Department of Surgery. Kevin brings his statistical knowledge to his work on improving the current heart and kidney transplant allocation systems. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University and a master’s degree in biostatistics from the University of Michigan. Kevin also completed a post-baccalaureate pre-medical fellowship at New York University.

Dr. Hermsen is currently an Internal Medicine Resident at Wisconsin University.

Dr. Buell is a Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Lazenby is currently a General Surgery resident at Washington University.

Dr. Ran is currently an Anesthesiology resident at Stanford University.

Dr. Zeng is currently an Anesthesiology resident at Columbia University.

Edgar joined the lab in the Summer of 2024 through the Pritzker School of Medicine Experience in Research program. He has experience in organic polymer synthesis and intracellular delivery from his home lab. Edgar is a recent graduate of Florida International University. He is eager apply his experience at the HCA Lab to his career as a future physician. During his free, time Edgar likes to go camping, hang out with his friends at the beach, and play soccer.

Dr. Chung grew up in Chicago, Illinois and obtained his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He then earned his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and his MD at Pritzker School of Medicine, also at U of C.

Dr. Chung is currently an Internal Medicine Resident at Mayo Clinic Arizona. His professional interests are in hematology/oncology, healthcare quality improvement, health new venture development. Dr. Chung’s hobbies include golf, chess, video games, eating at restaurants, and HIIT/cycling.

Dr. Dussault grew up in Randolph, NJ. She obtained her undergraduate degree at Columbia University and her MD from University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Additionally, she earned her MS in Bioinformatics from the University of Chicago. She is currently an Internal Medicine Resident at Duke University. Dr. Dussault plans to practice primary care and work on developing systems to increase access to health care and improve the doctor-patient relationship.

Dr. Espinosa obtained her MD at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. She is currently a dermatology resident at Henry Ford Health. 

Dr. Bhavani earned his MD from University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He is now Assistant Professor of Medicine at Emory University.

Dr. Han is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division if Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Tufts University.

Dr. Miller is Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical CAre at University of South Florida.

Gina Piscitello, MD, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics at the University of Pittsburgh. Her clinical responsibilities include inpatient palliative consultation and outpatient palliative clinic at UPMC.

She completed her undergraduate studies at Northwestern University, medical school at the University of Minnesota, and internal medicine residency and hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at the University of Chicago. She also completed a Master of Clinical Research at Rush University and a fellowship in clinical medical ethics at the MacLean Center at the University of Chicago.

She is interested in research at the intersection of clinical medical ethics and palliative medicine, including clinician-patient communication, code status, moral distress, ECMO, and scarce resource allocation.