Associate Junior Faculty Scholars

Ram Krishnamoorthi, MD, MPH, is an Internal Medicine physician in the Comprehensive Care Program at the University of Chicago. His clinical work focuses on care for people with complex medical and social problems and behavioral health in primary care. His academic interests include medical education, health services research, and health policy. As Illinois state director for Doctors for America, a non-profit organization of physicians who advocate for improved access to quality health care for all Americans, he has given talks and written on the topic of health care reform. At the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, he co-directs a course for medical students on the American health care system.

Yousuf Kyeso is a clinical transplant nephrologist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. He earned his medical degree from the University of Jordan in 2011 then completed his internal medicine residency at Rochester Regional Health/University of Rochester in 2017. Soon after, he joined the Johns Hopkins Hospital where he finished his fellowship training in nephrology and kidney transplantation. His academic work has been focused on studying noninvasive methods of detecting kidney transplant rejection and predicting long-term survival. His clinical interests include evaluation of multi organ transplant recipients and management of incompatible kidney transplant recipients. 

He has presented his research at several national meetings including the American Society of Nephrology, the National Kidney Foundation, and the American Transplant Congress. He has published several peer reviewed papers . Dr. Kyeso is heavily involved in the teaching program of his fellows at the University of Chicago and he was awarded by his department for his excellence in education.

Dr. James LaBelle is an Associate Professor Pediatrics in the Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplantation. Dr. LaBelle received his undergraduate degree from Lawrence University and completed a combined MD/PhD program at the Medical College of Wisconsin where his graduate work centered on anti-tumor immunology and stem cell transplantation. He completed his internship and residency in pediatrics at the Boston Children’s Hospital/Boston Medical Center combined residency program followed by pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship and post-doctoral training in cancer chemical biology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Dr. LaBelle’s research focuses on manipulating the immune system using peptide-based therapeutics against T cell-intrinsic proteins and small molecules targeting the BCL-2 family of apoptotic proteins with a particular focus on reactivating anti-tumor immune responses. He also works closely with nanotechnologists and chemical engineers at the Institute of Molecular Engineering to overcome physiological barriers to efficient and clinically effective intracellular delivery of peptide therapeutics. In addition to his efforts in the laboratory, Dr. LaBelle is the Director of the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Program at Comer Children’s Hospital where he focuses on the treatment of graft-versus-host disease and works collaboratively with scientists, clinicians, and patients to make inroads in treating children suffering from refractory malignancies.

Dr. Landon Mawdsley’s research is focused on improving care, specifically reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infection and optimizing antimicrobial utilization. She seeks to study interventions to reduce risk for HAI including use of the novel electronic hand hygiene monitoring system to evaluate the impact of direct, individual-level feedback on hand hygiene behavior compared with currently employed aggregate feedback based on limited human observations as a strategy to improve compliance with hand hygiene policies and prevent HAI. Additional opportunities exist in contributing to the rational and appropriate prescription of antimicrobials.

2013 Pilot Grant Project: Quality Improvement vs. Research: Controversies and Confusion

Dr. Ricardo Lastra is an Assistant Professor of Pathology. He completed with medical training at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, and subsequently completed his residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at Pennsylvania Hospital. This was followed by Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology Fellowships, both at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Advanced Specialty Training Program in Gynecologic Pathology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Lastra joined the University of Chicago in 2015, and participates in the gynecologic pathology and cytopathology services in the Department of Pathology. He is actively involved in medical student, resident, and fellow education, and is currently section co-coordinator for the Obstetrics and Gynecology Section of the Clinical Pathophysiology and Therapeutics Course at the Pritzker School of Medicine of the University of Chicago. Additionally, he is the program director for the recently approved Gynecologic and Breast Pathology Fellowship at the University of Chicago.

His primary research interest is in the fields of gynecologic pathology and cytopathology, and he has focused on evaluating the use of distinctive morphologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features in the characterization of gynecologic tract lesions.

Dr. Michelle Lemelman is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and a renowned expert in pediatric endocrinology. She serves as the Medical Director of the TransCARE (Clinic for Affirmation and Reproductive Equity) program at the University of Chicago. Dr. Lemelman played a pivotal role in the development of TransCARE at its inception in 2021 and continues to lead the program with a focus on pediatric and adolescent transgender endocrinology.

TransCARE’s mission is to provide inclusive, high-quality, affirmative hormonal and reproductive healthcare for transgender and gender non-conforming patients. In her role, Dr. Lemelman offers gender-affirming hormone treatments to pediatric and adolescent patients, continually working to expand the clinic and establish partnerships within the University of Chicago and the greater Chicagoland area. Her goal is to bring comprehensive and state-of-the-art transgender care to the South Side of Chicago.

As an outstanding pediatric endocrinologist, Dr. Lemelman emphasizes the importance of the doctor-patient relationship in providing optimal care for transgender patients. Her nomination as a Bucksbaum Institute Junior Faculty Scholar reflects her dedication to advancing the TransCARE program and studying the impact of effective physician-patient communication on transgender care. Dr. Lemelman’s leadership and expertise make her a deserving candidate for this prestigious recognition.

Ali Mansour, MD, is a highly skilled neurologist specializing in neurocritical care, excelling at quickly diagnosing and treating life-threatening brain conditions. Dr. Mansour delivers comprehensive care to patients with traumatic brain injury (blunt and penetrating), ischemic (low blood flow) and hemorrhagic (blood vessel rupture) stroke, brain aneurysms and vascular malformations, cerebral edema, status epilepticus and neuroprognostication following cardiac arrest.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Mansour uses research to improve care for patients with neurological disorders. His work has been published in several widely respected, peer-reviewed journals, including Neurocritical Care, Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Nature Scientific Reports, PLoS One and Brain.

Currently, Dr. Mansour’s research emphasizes the management and prognosis following penetrating brain injury (gunshot wounds to the head). He is also evaluating the role of neuroimaging in prognosis following neurocritical illness and cardiac arrest. Dr. Mansour is also interested in neuroinformatics; he and a multidisciplinary team of experts aim to optimize data capture and analysis in neurological and neurocritical illness to improve patient outcomes.

Edwin K. McDonald IV, MD, is dedicated to improving the health of individuals and communities through nutrition education. He works with patients with small bowel diseases, obesity and other conditions affecting the digestive system.

Dr. McDonald’s interest in the effects of nutrition on health and disease stem from his experience with Project Brotherhood — an innovative clinic dedicated to providing accessible, affordable care for black men on Chicago’s South Side. While training barbers to serve as health educators, he became keenly aware of the impact of social determinants of health, including the role of nutrition. In 2012, Dr. McDonald received a certificate in professional cookery from Kendall College School of Culinary Arts.

Dr. McDonald also is an active researcher. He recently investigated the effects of vitamin deficiency in patients requiring parenteral nutrition (intravenous feeding) and studied the usefulness of fecal calprotectin in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. He also created a web-based mobile program to assess the utility of applications in managing inpatient hepatology patients. Dr. McDonald’s work has been funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Dr. McNeer is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant. She attended medical school at New York University School of Medicine, and completed her residency and fellowship training at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. She joined the faculty of the University of Chicago in 2009.

Her clinical and research interests are in the treatment of children, adolescents and young adults with hematologic malignancies, especially those with high-risk or relapsed disease. She is an active member of the Children’s Oncology Group, and co-directs the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Clinic at the University of Chicago.

Dr. McNeer has been involved in the leadership of the Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago since 2011, and assumed the role of Fellowship Director in 2013. She is dedicated to the education of future hematologists/oncologists, not only in terms of medical knowledge and procedural skills, but also as it relates to excellent communication between providers, patients, and families.

Pamela McShane, MD, is a skilled lung specialist with particular expertise in the treatment and study of bronchiectasis.Dr. McShane’s research interests include the origin, microbiology, and treatment of bronchiectasis. She developed a large registry of patients who have bronchiectasis in order to learn more about the natural history of this disease, and to provide opportunities for patients to participate in research trials. Dr. McShane is also investigating the roles of individual factors — such as immune deficiency, autoimmunity, and ethnicity — in the cause and natural history of bronchiectasis.

In 2019, Dr. McShane joined the faculty at the University of Texas Health East Texas in Tyler, TX.