Dr. Andrea Gillis is a health outcome disparities and translational science researcher working in the field of epigenetics, specifically examining differences in gene expression in neuroendocrine tumors by race. She has been awarded an NIH grant for Early Surgeon Scientists (ESSP) in order to pursue this work. She says her desire is to improve the outcomes of all patients including those from minority and underserved backgrounds.

Current projects include:

• "Analyzing Social Determinants of Health in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Patients Through a Mixed-Methods Approach"
• "Assessing Implementation/Perception of an EMR-Based Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) Alert System to Improve Patient Quality of Life (QoL) and Reduce Disparities (Interviews)"
• "Assessing Patient-Reported Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT)"
• "Caregiver QOL for Patients with Graves Disease"
• "From Pipeline to Practice: Evaluating the impact of the Surgical Research Pipeline Project on URM High School and Undergraduate Students"
• "Healthcare Disparities in Pancreatic Cancer Patients (NCDB and SEERs)"
• "Impact of Prior Drug Use on Solid Cancer Outcomes"
• "Implementing an EMR-Based Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) Alert System to Improve Patient Quality of Life (QoL) and Reduce Disparities"
• "Improving Patient Understanding of Thyroid Pathology Reports"
• Influence of Race on Time to Surgery and Survival in Thyroid Cancer"
• "Mixed Methods Analysis of Social Determinants of Health for Patients with Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors"
• "Molecular Testing for Precise Diagnosis of Thyroid Cancers"
• "Social Determinants of Health as Predictors of Cancer Patient Outcomes in the state of Alabama (ASCR)"
• "Variations in Gene Expression and Methylation in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Across Ethnic Groups"
• "Intra-Operative Visualization of Nerves in Head and Neck Surgery"

Dr. Lily Gutnik joined the UAB Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery in November 2021 as an assistant professor. She also supports the General Surgery Residency Program as assistant program director for global surgery. Additionally, Dr. Gutnik serves the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB as an associate scientist in the Cancer Control and Population Science Program.

Current projects include:

• "Breast Cancer Survivors as Enablers of Change: A Pilot Feasibility Study of an Education and Stigma Reduction Intervention"
• "Optimizing the Use of Ketamine to Reduce Chronic Postsurgical Pain"

Dr. Renata Jaskula-Sztul investigates the tumor suppressor role of the Notch pathway in vitro and in vivo in medullary thyroid cancer. Most recently, she has changed the scientific direction to utilize novel nanomedicine techniques in order to develop targeted cancer therapies. In collaboration with bioengineers, she has developed nanoparticles (nano polymers and unimolecular micelles) conjugated with anticancer drugs specifically targeting neuroendocrine tumor cells and tissues. It is hoped that the multi-functional nanoparticle therapeutics which she is innovating will provide safe, effective treatments that can either augment or supplant surgical operations in the treatment of neuroendocrine cancer.

Current projects include:

• "A Novel Theranostic Approach for Targeting TSHR in Thyroid Cancer"
• "Correlation of SSTR2 and uPAR expression with theranostic outcomes for patients with NETs"
• "Targeted neuroendocrine cancer therapy using Verrucarin A"

Dr. Rachael Lancaster is an associate professor of surgery within the Division of Breast and Endocrine Surgery and works at the UAB Multidisciplinary Breast Clinic. There, she partners with medical oncologists and radiation oncologists to devise and tailor individual treatment plans for patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Her research interests include patient education and its impact on decision making, DCIS, breast cancer prevention, and breast cancer treatment outcomes.

Current projects include:

• "Evaluation of Method of Initial Detection of Breast Cancer Patients Age 40-50"
• "Understanding Health Literacy Among Breast Cancer Patients"

Dr. Brenessa Lindeman has distinguished herself as a surgical educator.At UAB, she is the Associate Designated Institutional Official for the Clinical Learning Environment and says her desire is to improve the education and experiences of medical students and residents at UAB and across the United States. Building on her expertise, she conducts research into the development of competency in surgical trainees, learning environment, physician wellness and burnout, learner mistreatment, and resident supervision and autonomy. 

Current research includes: 

• "Baseline Assessment of Surgical Residents’ Perceptions of Clinical Performance Feedback"
• "Challenges Faced by Surgical Trainees with Small Hands: A Mixed Methods Needs Assessment"
• "Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) in Endocrine Surgery: Ensuring Trainees are Prepared for Unsupervised Practice"
• "Entrustable Professional Activities Consortium"
• "Entrustable Professional Activities to Define Gaps in General Surgery Training"
• "Implementation of Entrustable Professional Activities in General Surgery Training: Identifying Challenges and Opportunities"
• "Measuring Operative Self-Efficacy in Surgical Trainees"
• "Narrative Surgery Curriculum"
• "Natural Language Processing For Detection of Adrenal Incidentalomas"
• "Parathyroid allotransplantation in medically refractory hypoparathyroidism"
• "Patient Satisfaction for Inpatient and Outpatient Minimally Invasive Adrenalectomy"
• "Understanding Referral Patterns for Primary Hyperparathyroidism"

Dr. Catherine Parker is a fellowship trained breast surgical oncologist with primary research interests in prevention and risk assessment of breast cancer, as well as breast cancer tumor biology and impact on treatment outcomes. She is an associate scientist with the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB and the Minority Health and Research Center.

Current projects include:

• "Qualitative Patient Experiences in the Department of Surgery"
• "The Trends of Screening Mammograms in Pregnant Patients: A Decade of Retrospective Analysis at UAB"