Duke CAtCH supports two scholars per year, chosen from department research-focused, early-career faculty members (medical instructors or assistant professors) or Pediatrics fellows in their final year of subspecialty training. Candidates will have earned an MD (or equivalent) or joint MD / PhD degrees, completed residency training in Pediatrics, and be no more than four years after attaining board eligibility in their subspecialty. The scholar must not have previously been a PI on an individual NIH K or R grant.
2023 Cohort
![Sarah Heston](/sites/default/files/2023-10/sarah-heston-150x150-circle.jpg)
Sarah Heston, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases)
Mentor: Matthew Kelly
Research Project: the role of the gut microbiome in modifying the risk of mucosal barrier injury-bloodstream infections in children undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT)
![Lauren Covert](/sites/default/files/2023-10/lauren-covert-150x150-circle.jpg)
Lauren Covert, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Rheumatology)
Mentors: George Truskey, Jeffrey Dvergsten, Deborah Muoio
Research Project: Developing in vitro human tissue-derived models of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) in order to discover pathogenic mechanisms, identify new therapeutic targets, and test drug efficacy
Previous Scholars
![Rushina Cholera](/sites/default/files/2022-04/rushina_cholera_1.png)
Rushina Cholera, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health)
Mentors: Ebony Bouware, Janet Prvu Bettger
Research Project: Evaluating cross-sector approaches to address social drivers of health among children in underresourced communities
![Victoria Parente](/sites/default/files/2022-04/victoria_parente_1_0.png)
Victoria Parente, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Hospital Medicine)
Mentor: Kathryn Pollack
Research Project: Racial/ethnic disparities in communication quality between clinicians and a pediatric patient’s family caregivers in the hospital setting