Associate Junior Faculty Scholars

Dr. Pinto is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Comprehensive Solid Tumor Clinic at the University of Chicago and a member of the Committee on Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacogenomics. Dr. Pinto’s research focuses on the role of genetic variation in ethnic disparities and responsiveness to chemotherapy. Dr. Pinto directs the GREAT KIDS research program, an effort to comprehensively sequence the genomes of patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed pediatric cancer in order to gain a broader understanding of gene-environment interactions as well as actionable genetic alterations. Future research goals include improving communication of complex genetic traits and inheritance to patients and families affected by cancer.

Dr. Pinto is a physician at the Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, WA.

Tamar Polonsky, MD, MSCI, an Associate Professor and is a general cardiologist. She treats a wide range of cardiac conditions, including coronary artery disease, hypertension, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), and valve disease.

Dr. Polonsky also specializes in the management of heart disease in cancer patients. She works closely with oncologists and surgeons to take care of patients with preexisting heart disease and to help monitor for potential cardiac complications from chemotherapy and radiation. Dr. Polonsky has research expertise in cardiovascular epidemiology and prevention. She has experience analyzing data from large cohort studies, with the aim of finding novel ways to predict a person’s risk of developing heart disease.

Dr. Poston is a critical care physician, pulmonologist, and medical educator. His clinical scholarship focuses on interdisciplinary care and communication to promote optimal outcomes from critical illness. Dr. Poston also dedicates himself to the education of medical students, and directs several innovative courses that teach the clinical skills of doctor-patient communication, physical examination, professional development, and critical medical thinking.

Priya Prakash MD, FACS, is a trauma and acute care surgeon at the University of Chicago’s Level 1 Trauma Center. She specializes in the care of complex multisystem injuries in an underserved patient population, specifically affected by the gun violence epidemic. Her primary interests are in delivery of compassionate and equitable care to the South Side community, trauma systems development, and institution of best practices in clinical care. She has been actively involved in research to better understand the impact of UChicago’s Trauma Center on access to care for violently injured patients in our catchment area as well as collaborated with the Booth School of Business to understand operating room efficiency at the medical center. She is also dedicated to teaching and serves as the faculty advisor for the Pritzker medical students during their clerkship rotation. In addition, she is the vice-chair of the Process Improvement and Patient Safety Committee and is dedicated to advancing the care of critically injured patients on the local, national, and global level.

Dr. Abdullah Hasan Pratt, is an Assistant Professor and Emergency Medicine Physician at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Known as “Dee”; Dr. Pratt’s goal has always been to have a career advocating for underserved communities and addressing systemic healthcare disparities. Though 2021 will mark his 11th year on the campus of The University of Chicago, it has been the 31 years of experiences over his lifetime as a resident of Chicago’s Southside that have shaped and guided his career to this point. He attributes this commitment to his childhood experiences witnessing the poor health conditions, premature deaths, and day to day struggles from a lack of access to proper healthcare by the people he cared about. This was most evident in the wake of his older brother’s murder secondary to gun violence, where in coping with the loss, he dedicated his efforts towards mentoring at risk youth, coaching youth football, and community organizing around violence prevention. As an Emergency Medicine physician, he continues to vigorously work to improve health literacy and emergency preparedness through teaching South-Side residents how to properly respond to cardiac arrests, penetrating traumas (gunshot victims), and strokes prior to the arrival of medical assistance.

A pivotal point in Dr. Pratt’s career came in the year between his third and fourth years of medical school, where he directed his actions toward advocating for a new Level One Trauma Center for Chicago’s Southside. It would be the experiences he gained during this work with both the protesting community organizations as well University of Chicago administration, that would fuel Dr. Pratt’s desire to have a career within Emergency Medicine. In this capacity, his daily exposure to gun violence, drug abuse, and emergencies related to chronic diseases could direct his community outreach efforts to prevent these Emergencies from taking place. As an Emergency Medicine Physician, he has vigorously worked to improve health literacy and emergency preparedness through teaching Southside residents how to properly respond to cardiac arrests, penetrating traumas (gunshot victims), and strokes prior to the arrival of medical assistance.

From serving as a ringside/sideline team physician, to cultivating the next generation of healthcare professionals, to simply fighting to preserve lives both in and out of a level one trauma center; it isn’t important to Dr. Pratt what activities he engages in, but rather where and to whom he dedicates his time. He is truly a believer that it is for those suffering most from the ills of healthcare disparities, where the most of his pursuits should exist. By initiating events first within the underserved communities closest to his home and hospital where he works, he hopes to help bring change by playing a small roll with others, with hopes of making an impact for all.

Mary Qiu, MD, is an ophthalmologist who specializes in glaucoma and cataract surgery. She completed her ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins and her glaucoma fellowship at the Cole Eye Institute at Cleveland Clinic. Her clinical practice focuses on the surgical and medical management of complex glaucoma patients, and she has brought new minimally invasive glaucoma surgical techniques to the University of Chicago. In addition to her clinical roles, Dr Qiu is initiating a clinical trial and editing a textbook about neovascular glaucoma. Her other academic work is related to glaucoma residency education, outcomes after both minimally invasive as well as traditional glaucoma surgical techniques, and interdisciplinary collaborations with pharmacy and bariatric surgery. Dr. Qiu has authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and presented her work nationally and internationally. Dr Qiu is also dedicated to resident and medical student education; she directs the resident glaucoma rotation, volunteers as a longitudinal preceptor for the first-year medical students, and teaches medical students on the ophthalmology clerkship.

Dr. Patrick Reavey is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He graduated from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his general surgery residency at Columbia University Medical Center. During general surgery residency he also completed a two-year Outcomes Research Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and obtained a Masters in Biostatistics. He subsequently went on to complete a residency in plastic surgery at New York University and an orthopedic hand fellowship at the University of California-Irvine. Dr. Reavey joined the University of Chicago after completing his training. His clinical focus is on hand surgery and lower extremity reconstruction, including diabetic limb salvage. He is committed to providing patient-centered care and involving patients in shared-medical decision-making to tailor the best treatment plan for each patient. His research interests include the development and utilization of patient-reported outcome measures to evaluate and guide patient care. Dr. Reavey is respected clinical educator, and is actively involved in both resident and medical student training. He is the director of the plastic surgery medical student student clinical clerkship and the Associate Residency Program Director for Plastic Surgery.

In 2012, Dr. Reavey joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in New York.

Dr. Charles Rhee is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Biology from Stanford University and his M.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago followed by a fellowship in Hospice & Palliative Medicine at Northwestern University. He returned to join the faculty at the University of Chicago in 2014 and currently serves as the Director of the Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship program as well as the director of the cardiac palliative care program, which he started. His work has focused on integration of palliative care with cardiology, with an emphasis on advanced heart failure patients. He is currently working on development of a primary palliative care curriculum which includes basics of symptom management and communication skills for cardiology providers. He also lectures frequently on the principles of palliative care to learners of all levels, from medical students to attendings.

Dr. Sandra Rose is an Assistant Professor of Neurology at the University of Chicago. After completing her undergraduate degree in psychology at Michigan State University, Dr. Rose attended medical school at Wayne State University and completed her medical intern year at Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit. She then moved to the University of Chicago, where she completed her neurology residency, clinical neurophysiology fellowship and epilepsy fellowship before joining the faculty.

Dr. Rose’s clinical interests lie in the care of adult patients with epilepsy, with a special interest in patients transitioning for pediatric to adult care. She is also the medical director of the neurophysiologic monitoring service. She is also very interested in education, and acts as the director of the adult and pediatric tracks of the epilepsy fellowship.

Dr. Rosenberg is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago and his fellowship training in medical oncology and hematology at Northwestern University. He is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator focusing on head and neck cancer. Dr. Rosenberg develops and conducts clinical trials that incorporate novel tissue and blood-based biomarkers, and he has a particular focus on novel therapies and immunotherapeutic strategies, as well as developing multimodality treatment paradigms to reduce treatment-related toxicity.