Research Committee
Committee Co-Chair
Committee Co-Chair
Juli Buchwald
Alice Zhou
Juli received her B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 2017. While at Pitt, she conducted research in the Thoracic Aortic Disease Research Lab studying congenital bicuspid aortic valve pathogenesis. Before joining the MD/PhD MSTP program at UMass Chan Medical School in 2018, she received a Post-Baccalaureate Intramural Training Award to study HIV immunology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Juli has completed her first 2.5 years of medical school and is currently a fourth-year graduate student. Her research interest focuses on transplant medicine and therapeutics for organ preservation. Her desire to bridge patient care with translational organ transplant research led her to join the lab of Dr. Anastasia Khvorova of the RNA Therapeutics Institute at UMass Chan Medical School. Juli’s thesis aims to develop novel RNAi therapeutics in the form of siRNA-based therapies for the treatment of heart, lung, and liver ischemia-reperfusion injury for use in the organ preservation and transplantation process. She is an aspiring cardiothoracic transplant surgeon-scientist who is passionate about investigating strategies to improve the quality of suboptimal donor organs for transplantation, inspired by her time at the University of Pittsburgh, currently at UMass Chan, and now in collaboration with leading experts at MGH in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Division. Outside of school, she can be found kayaking, hiking, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. She is excited to return to the TSMA Research Committee as a Co-Chair and looks forward to providing research opportunities to enhance the medical student’s experience of the field of cardiothoracic surgery.
Alice Zhou is a fourth-year medical student at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania, where she was in the Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences and received a simultaneous bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and master’s degree in chemistry. Since coming to Johns Hopkins, Alice has been interested in pursuing surgery. Alice has worked on numerous research projects with the Divisions of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Transplant Surgery. During medical school, she took a dedicated year of research as a recipient of the Pozefsky Scholar Research Program and the Johns Hopkins Dean’s Year of Research. Her research was focused on porcine kidney xenotransplantation and transplant clinical outcomes research. In her free time, Alice enjoys baking, hiking, and traveling. As an aspiring cardiac surgeon, she is very excited to work with TSMA and support efforts to provide resources and opportunities to medical students interested in cardiothoracic surgery nationally.
Committee Members
Jack F. Donaghue
Busra Cangut
Isaac Faith
I grew up in central Pennsylvania and spent most of my life in Hershey aka “The Sweetest Place on Earth'' with the smell of Hershey Chocolate in the air on summer days. My main interests were sports and science so I spent my childhood playing every sport I could until I landed on lacrosse as the clear winner. Lacrosse took me to Colgate University where I played Varsity lacrosse and majored in Neuroscience with the idea of going to medical school after graduation. After graduation I worked for two years in a lung cancer research lab at NYU where I worked closely with thoracic surgeons and developed an interest in CT surgery. After my first year at Geisel I went back to NYU and spent the summer in the Cardiac OR which cemented my desire to pursue CT surgery. Outside of the hospital I spend my time teaching ski lessons at the Dartmouth Skiway, going for runs on the rail trail, and getting out to golf whenever I can. I’m also an MD-MBA student at Dartmouth and will be starting my Tuck year this August where I will be studying the economics of healthcare and how physicians can regain control over medical decision making in the United States
Busra was born and raised in Turkey. She has an extensive research background in various aspects of cardiothoracic surgery. She began her research career at the Mayo Clinic in the cardiovascular surgery basic science lab, where she focused on specific antioxidant therapy as a potential therapeutic target for combating the progression of atherosclerosis. In the clinical perspective, she worked on aortic valve pathologies while completing her master’s program and publishing her thesis project. Currently, Busra is applying her imaging knowledge to research at Mount Sinai Hospital, focusing on novel cardiac imaging technologies for specific valve pathologies as well as clinical outcome research. Her multifaceted approach to cardiothoracic surgery, encompassing basic science, clinical, and imaging aspects, reflects her unique and holistic understanding of the field. She received the 2023 STSA Carpenter Scholarship and is the 2024 recipient of the Richard Engelman Cardiac Enhanced Recovery Fellowship Award. Busra is also active in several societies, including the North American Society for Cardiovascular Imaging, Women in Thoracic Surgery, ERAS Cardiac Society, and Heart Valve Society. She aspires to be a cardiothoracic surgeon-scientist. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, running, and discovering new spots in NYC. Busra is enthusiastic about serving on the TSMA Research Committee to contribute to the advancement of cardiothoracic surgery.
Isaac Faith, a third-year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, is from London, England. His journey through academia began at the University of South Florida and continued into a strategic role in business development at Tesla. Isaac furthered his education with a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine, which stoked his interest in biotechnology. Outside of his professional life, Isaac has a passion for the arts, enjoys traveling globally, exploring art galleries, and cooking—believing that his culinary skills merit a Michelin star. Notably, Isaac is a recipient of the AMSNY Diversity in Medicine Scholarship and a 2024 MGH Thoracic Surgery Scholar, roles that have provided him with substantial exposure to thoracic surgery and underscore his dedication to advancing medical practices through innovation.