Shadassa Ourshalimian received his bachelor’s degree in biology at the Southern University of Oregon and completed a master’s of public health in environmental epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. As a health services researcher, he has focused his career on understanding addiction and ways to implement harm reduction from a medical and policy perspective. Shadassa is committed to finding innovative ways to help mitigate public health problems through objective research and data analysis.

Dr. Ruby Barq is a general surgery resident at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. She completed a bachelor's degree in biomedical sciences at the University of Central Florida before attending George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences for medical school. She has professional interests in global health, advocacy to minimize healthcare disparities, and pursuing a career in pediatric surgery.

Dr. Jenna Lee is a current general surgery resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. She completed her undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Colgate University and her medical degree at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is dedicated to advocacy and improvement in the quality of care for vulnerable pediatric populations.

Nikhita Datar is the senior clinical research coordinator (CRC) in the Division of Pediatric Surgery. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology and Drug Development from the University of Southern California and completed her Master of Science in Management of Drug Development from the USC School of Pharmacy, Department of Regulatory and Quality Science. Prior to joining the HOPE Lab, Niki worked as a project assistant at the USC Institute for Addiction Science, where she developed a passion for substance-use and adolescent opioid prescribing research. Alongside her work in the HOPE Lab and with Dr. Kelley-Quon, Niki provides clinical research support to various lab groups and research projects across the division, including the trauma research group.

Jennifer English is a clinical research coordinator (CRC) for the HOPE Lab and Department of Pediatric Surgical Research. Jennifer graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Acting. After moving to California, she earned a Pre-Medical Certificate at UCLA and continued to further her education by earning a Master of Science in the Integrative Anatomical Sciences from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. In the future, she hopes to attend medical school to pursue her passion promoting health equity with a focus on street medicine and providing care to individuals experiencing homelessness.

Adaeze Obinelo completed her bachelor’s degree at Manhattan College in New York. She is currently a third-year medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She is drawn to caring for vulnerable populations and wants to focus her practice on pediatric health.

Donia Hijaz graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is an experienced clinical research coordinator with a demonstrated history of working in hospital and academic settings. Donia is currently a graduate student at the University of New Mexico pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology with a focus on addiction science.

Dr. Stephanie Chen obtained her bachelor’s degree with honors from Brown University in Rhode Island in 2011 and graduated from the Keck School of Medicine of USC in 2017. She completed a two-year research fellowship at CHLA. Dr. Chen is currently a general surgery resident at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and is following her passion for pediatric surgery.

Dr. Danny Lascano earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania in 2009 with a minor in Spanish and later obtained his MD from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is a resident in general surgery at Westchester Medical Center at New York Medical College after completing a two-year pediatric surgery research fellowship at CHLA. Dr. Lascano focuses on pediatric surgical outcomes and improving the delivery of care to underserved communities.

Dr. Elaa Mahdi obtained her bachelor’s degree in medical technology, a master’s in public health in healthcare organization and policy, and an MD from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a two-year pediatric surgery research fellowship at CHLA and is currently a resident in anesthesia at the University of Washington.

Dr. Anthony Squillaro obtained his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross, a master’s of public health from Columbia University, followed by an MD from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. He completed a two-year pediatric surgery research fellowship at CHLA and trained in general surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Squillaro is currently pursuing a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at the University of Minnesota.

Sara Ali obtained her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2018. She was the very first clinical research coordinator for the HOPE Laboratory and enjoyed her role thoroughly. Sara is now in her last year of medical school at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Pennsylvania and is interested in pursuing OB/GYN. She is passionate about delivering equitable healthcare to vulnerable populations, including women and children with opioid-use disorder.

Paige Kingston obtained her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2017 and is a current medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. Paige’s passion for research and evidence-based medicine led her to pursue a dedicated research year while in medical school, during which she worked as a clinical research coordinator at USC. Her areas of interest include clinical outcomes research and comparative effectiveness research.

Laura Houshmand graduated from the University of California, Davis with a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. She went on to complete her master’s degree in Integrative Anatomical Sciences at the University of Southern California. After working as a clinical research coordinator in the HOPE Lab for 2 years (2022-2024), Laura is now pursuing her MD degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago. She plans to continue doing evidence-based research on improving patient outcomes and has a special interest in pursuing plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Marjorie Odegard is a general surgery resident at Hennepin Healthcare-Minneapolis in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She completed her bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology at Harvard University before attending the University of Minnesota Medical School, where she received her Doctor of Medicine. She has a strong interest in health services research, clinical epidemiology, and analytics as a driver for improved patient care.

Dr. Olivia Keane is a current general surgery resident at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She completed her bachelor’s degree with honors in microbiology with a biomedicine concentration at Clemson University in South Carolina before attending the Medical University of South Carolina, where she received her MD degree. As a post-doctoral pediatric surgery fellow Dr. Keane also obtained a master’s degree in clinical, biomedical, and translational investigations at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. She is passionate about taking care of patients and improving pediatric surgical outcomes.

Madeleine Ing is a medical student at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, concurrently pursuing a Master of Public Health at the same institution. She completed her bachelor’s degree in linguistics and molecular cell biology with a minor in French at the University of California, Berkeley. Madeline has a strong interest in improving health equity through health services and clinical outcomes research. Outside of the hospital, she enjoys camping and knitting.

Garrett Wagner is a Navy veteran and undergraduate research assistant currently in his senior year at the University of Southern California. He is majoring in the biological sciences as well as pursuing a Master of Public Health through USC's progressive degree program. He plans to continue his education as a physician's assistant. Garrett is passionate about preventative and emergency medicine and ultimately wishes to serve the military/veteran community as well as rural communities with limited access to quality healthcare.