The Cary Council, a group of emerging young leaders who support the missions of Southwestern Medical Foundation and UT Southwestern Medical Center, announced grant recipients of funds raised to support early stage research from their 2021 “An Evening with DocStars at Home” event, which was held Saturday, May 1. Thanks to sponsors and attendees of this special drive-through celebration, The Cary Council was able to provide significant grants to three early-career researchers at UT Southwestern.
This year’s finalists, Emily H. Adhikari, M.D., Owoicho Adogwa, M.D., M.P.H., and Samuel John, M.D., were selected by The Cary Council’s Steering Committee from a group of researchers nominated by David Russell, Ph.D., Vice Provost and Dean of Basic Research, and UT Southwestern leadership.
Meet the 2021 DocStars
Dr. Emily H. Adhikari is Assistant Professor, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UTSW, and Medical Director of Perinatal Infectious Diseases in the Parkland Health and Hospital System. In addition to caring for pregnant women at Parkland Hospital and teaching physicians in training, she conducts research aimed at fighting infectious diseases in pregnancy, reducing the primary cesarean delivery rate, and understanding opioid-use disorder among pregnant women. She completed a fellowship in clinical research design and then earned her medical degree at UTSW. She then completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Parkland Memorial Hospital where she was chief resident in her final year, followed by a fellowship in Maternal–Fetal Medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UTSW.
Dr. Owoicho Adogwa is Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at UTSW. He is one of only a few surgeons in the world who is cross trained in both orthopedic spine surgery and neurosurgery, giving him unique qualifications to treat patients with complex spinal conditions at UTSW’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute Spine Center. After earning a graduate degree in public health at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health, Dr. Adogwa earned his medical degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed residencies in neurological surgery at Duke University Medical Center and Rush University Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in orthopedic surgery at Washington University in St. Louis.
Dr. Samuel John is Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UTSW and Attending Physician in Pediatrics/Hematology-Oncology at Children’s Health Dallas and Parkland Memorial Hospital. He serves as the program leader for CAR-T cell therapy at UT Southwestern/Children’s Medical Center. His research interests include immunotherapy, cell therapy, and acute myeloid leukemia, and he is serving or has served as principal investigator in various grant-supported research projects and clinical trial activities. After earning his medical degree at Albany Medical College, Dr. John completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology, both at UT Southwestern/Children’s Medical Center.
