Current Fellows
Ryan Jacobs
MD
Research Fellow
2024-2026
Interests: Thoracic oncology outcomes and quality improvement
Mentor: David Odell
Dr. Jacobs' research focuses on assessment of outcomes and variation of quality standards in thoracic surgery. He completed his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He is taking dedicated time away from his general surgery residency at Northwestern University as an R38 postdoctoral fellow at the Northwestern Quality Improvement, Research, and Education in Surgery (NQUIRES) program. He is pursuing a Master of Science in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine's Institute for Public Health and Medicine.
Alison Lehane
MD
Research Fellow
2024-2026
Mentors: Dr. Mehul Raval, Dr. Jennifer Dunn
Interests: Pediatric surgical outcomes and quality improvement, OR sustainability
Dr. Lehane's research interests include surgical quality improvement with an emphasis on looking at trends and outcomes in OR sustainability and pediatric surgery. She was born and raised in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., before making her way down south to Clemson University for undergraduate studies in Bioengineering. After completely her time at Clemson, she went on to the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville for medical school. She then completed my first 3 years of surgery residency at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina prior to starting the research fellowship here in Chicago. During her fellowship, Dr. Lehane is obtaining a master’s degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern University's Institute for Public Health and Medicine.
Joy Obayemi
MD
Research Fellow
2024-2026
Mentors: Dr. Daniela Ladner, Dr. Dinee Simpson
Interests: Equity in transplant surgery access and outcomes, global surgery
Dr. Obayemi is a general surgery resident at the University of Michigan and is a T32 fellow in the Transplant Surgery Scientist Training Program (TSSTP) at Northwestern University, focusing on outcomes and equity research. Prior to arriving at Northwestern, she obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Stanford University, was a US Fulbright scholar in France studying social sciences, and earned a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She developed an interest in abdominal transplant surgery over the course of her training. Her TSSTP research is focused on transplant equity and disparities in transplant outcomes for both kidney and liver transplant recipients. She will be working closely with the African American Transplant Access Program to study the impact that it has on patients, the community, the transplant listing process, and the transplant experience overall. She will be building on her foundations in qualitative sociology research by earning a Master's degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research and diversifying her skillset through collaborations in the NUTORC network.
Ray Ramirez, Jr
MD, MS
Research Fellow
2024-2026
Interests: Colorectal surgery, surgical education, healthcare disparities and inequities
Mentors: Dr. Yue-Yung Hu, Dr. Amy Halverson
Dr. Ramirez’s research focuses on surgical outcomes and quality improvement with interests in colorectal surgery, health disparities and surgical education. Dr. Ramirez holds his bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Virginia and his medical degree and master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Eastern Virginia Medical School. He is currently taking dedicated time from his general surgery residency program at Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson to focus on his research interests as a NQUIRES fellow while obtaining another master’s degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research at the Northwestern University.
Maggie Reilly
MD
Research Fellow
2024-2026
Interests: Vascular Surgery, specifically peripheral artery disease
Mentors: Karen Ho, MD, Julie Johnson, MSPH, PhD, Mark Eskandari, MD
Dr. Reilly's research is focused on evaluation of patient knowledge and education about peripheral artery disease. Specifically, she is working with Dr. Karen Ho in the STEPUP trial, investigating the use of novel patient education techniques to improve patient knowledge, activation, and outcomes. She is also working on the Vascular Surgery arm of the SECOND Trial, evaluating resident well-being and burnout. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio and obtained her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University prior to attending medical school at the University of Toledo. She is obtaining a Master's degree in Health Services and Outcomes Research from Northwestern University's Graduate School and is a T32 postdoctoral fellow in the Vascular Surgery Scientist Training Program.
Dominic Vitello
MD
Research Fellow
2024-2026
Interests: Surgical oncology, hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, surgical outcomes, quality improvement
Mentors: Dr. David Bentrem, and Dr. Daniela Ladner
Dr. Vitello is a research fellow funded through the NIH SMART R38. His research focuses in multiple areas of health services and outcomes, particularly as they pertain to surgical oncology. He has additional interests in care disparities and medical education. Dr. Vitello was raised in Naperville, Illinois and obtained a bachelor's degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University. He subsequently earned a medical degree at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He has completed 3 years of clinical general surgery training at Northwestern. During his research time, he will also obtain a masters in health services and outcomes research.