Celebrate Research! Charlotte 2026 showcased the impactful work and innovation taking place across our research community through the poster session held during Beyond Boundaries: Advancing Cardiovascular Health Through Innovation and Collaboration. Faculty, trainees, learners, and teammates from across the Charlotte market shared research spanning patient-centered care, community health, quality improvement, clinical trials, translational science, and more. 

We are pleased to recognize this year’s poster award recipients for their outstanding contributions and dedication to advancing discovery and improving health outcomes. Their work reflects the spirit of collaboration and innovation that drives our mission and highlights the exceptional research talent across our community. Congratulations to all of our award winners and thank you to everyone who participated, submitted abstracts, reviewed submissions, and served as judges to make the Charlotte poster session a success.

2026 Charlotte Poster Session Winners

Participant Name Poster Group Poster Title
Thomas Ludden Quality improvement Comparison of patient demographics of eligible emergency department encounters and patients receiving an HIV screening test
Namratha Mylarapu Quality improvement A Model for Surgical Prehabilitation in Liver Transplant Oncology Program: A Collaborative and Multidisciplinary Approach
Sarah Romereim Quality improvement Immune Cell Response to Orthopaedic Implants is Affected by Both Local Fracture Conditions and Circulating Cytokines
Sarah Romereim Quality improvement Is Microfragmented Adipose Tissue Biologically Different from Unprocessed Lipoaspirate?
Paul Smith Quality improvement DetectedED: Using a Dedicated Subcommittee to Continue Improvement of HIV Screening Rates
Marcela Cataldi Preclinical science Single AAV vector base editing improves dystrophic phenotype in L276I FKRP-mutant mouse models of dystroglycanopathy
Marco Garcia Patient-centered research Transient Changes of the Aorta in Pregnant Women with Congenital Aortic Valve Disease
Neha Deshpande Patient-centered research Pharmacogenetic (PGx) markers of cardiovascular side effects (CVSEs) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) patients receiving post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy)
Tara Eaton Patient-centered research Pre-Trial Qualitative Evaluation of a Remote Hypertension Tracking Help and Management (RHYTHM) Program Implementation Using CFIR 2.0 & RE-AIM
Zahra Bahrani-Mostafavi Patient-centered research Optimizing New Urogynecology Consultations: Advanced Practice Providers as Key
Conall Monahan Patient-centered research Eliminating Sex Disparities in CLTI: The Role of Standardized Cardiac Evaluation for Asymptomatic Coronary Artery Disease
Lilly Jones Patient-centered research Robotic Cholecystectomy on the Rise: an EAST Multi-Center Trial of Robotic vs. Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy in Acute Care Surgery
Michael Ding Patient-centered research When the Treatment Becomes the Trigger: A Diagnostic Challenge in a Young Patient With Crohn's Disease and Vasculitis
Sequoia Finney Patient-centered research Prediction of Severe Preeclampsia Using sFlt-1:PlGF Outside of a Rigid Research Protocol
Sebastian Scrivner Learners Mechanisms of Skeletal Muscle Contraction in Physical Exercise to Drive Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Release in People with Parkinson's Disease
Emmanuella Mensah Learners Breaking Out of Traditional Learning: A Spaced‑Repetition Escape‑Room Journal Club to Enhance Application of Heart Failure Guidelines in a Family Medicine Residency
Sequoia Finney Learners Implementing a Mediterranean-Style Diet for Overweight or Obese Pregnant Patients in a U.S. Academic Setting
Sequoia Finney Learners Transcervical Fibroid Ablation vs. Uterine Artery Embolization: A Comparison of Baseline Characteristics and 6-Month Outcomes
Sequoia Finney Learners BMI and Ovarian Response in IVF: Insights into a Subset of Underweight Women with Poorer Outcomes
Sequoia Finney Early career Clinical Stakeholder Engagement in the Hypertension Pathway for Prenatal Prevention and Screening (HyPPPS)
Shangcheng Wang Early career Medial Advancement of Infraspinatus Insertion via Remplissage Improves Shoulder Anterior Stability but Reduces Moment Arm in the Abduction and External Rotation Position: A Computational Study
Lauren Harmon Early career Cardiac MRI as a safer, non-invasive alternative to endomyocardial biopsy in cardiac transplant rejection patients with high bleeding risk
Micaela Beckman Early career The Role of the Oral Microbiome in OSCC Xerostomia Patients
Rebecca Hayes Community health Beyond Buses: When the System Said "No," Advocacy, PDSA, and Community Partnership Rebuilt Mammography Access for All
Rohan Mahabaleshwarkar Community health Examining the Validity and Fairness of a Pharmacy Risk Score in Patients with Diabetes and/or Hypertension
Henry Thompson Community health Improving Health Education Among Children in Urban and Suburban Schools in Santa Marta, Colombia
Erin Franks Clinical research and trials Relaxing Environment Lowers Anxiety during Chemodenervation, a Randomized Trial
Kelsey Flores Clinical research and trials Lessons Learned from Implementing a Virtual Care Management Platform for the Remote Hypertension Tracking, Help and Management to Improve Blood Pressure (RHYTHM-BP) Study
Anthony Blaeser Clinical research and trials Improvements in dystrophic pathology of P448L-FKRP mutant mouse model following overexpression of FGGY and AKR1B1
Sequoia Finney Clinical research and trials Effects of Healthy Dietary Interventions on Maternal Biomarkers: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial
Ryan Serbin Clinical research and trials Does MCL Repair with Bracing Restore Native Joint Stability, Strength?