Meet the KL2 Clinical Scholars
Bethany Roehm, M.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology at UT Southwestern. She earned her medical degree at Texas A&M University. She completed a residency in internal medicine and fellowship training in nephrology at Tufts Medical Center. As a T32 fellow, she also earned a master’s degree in Clinical and Translational Research at Tufts University.
Dr. Roehm’s research is focused on the intersection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and heart failure. She aims to identify blood and imaging biomarkers in heart failure patients who are at risk for progressive kidney disease in hopes of eventually improving kidney outcomes in these patients. Her KL2 research mentor is Justin Grodin, M.D. an advanced heart failure specialist in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology.
Erica Jones, M.D. MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She earned both her medical degree and master’s of public health in epidemiology at Tulane University. She completed a residency in neurology at Emory University and received advanced training in vascular neurology through a fellowship at the UT Health Science Center at Houston.
Dr. Jones’ research is focused on determining racial/ethnic differences in stroke risk and outcomes and focusing on developing interventions to improve patient outcomes. Atrial fibrillation is a known risk factor for poor outcome after stroke and anticoagulation therapy is the primary treatment. Her work will examine the racial/ethnic differences in anticoagulation for patients presenting with ischemic stoke admissions with atrial fibrillation. She is also researching improving cognitive outcomes in post-stroke care and improving health equity in acute stroke access to the novel thrombolytic agent, Tenecteplase. Her KL2 research mentor is Ying Xian, M.D., Ph.D.
Matthew Campbell, M.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology and Oncology at UT Southwestern. He earned his medical degree from UT Southwestern Medical School. He completed his Pediatric residency training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he spent an additional year serving as chief resident. He then completed a Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital, where he also served as chief fellow in his final year.
Dr. Campbell’s research is focused on novel therapeutic approaches to increase efficacy of immune checkpoint therapy in children with cancer. Children with relapsed or refractory solid tumors have poor outcomes and limited treatment options. His studies will combine immune checkpoint therapy (nati-PDL-1, atezolizumab) with cytotoxic chemotherapy (vincristine, irinotecan and temozolomide) in these patients to determine tolerability and efficacy of this treatment regime. His KL2 research mentor is Andrew Koh, M.D.
Sanjay Chandrasekaran, M.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology at UT Southwestern. Dr. Chandrasekaran earned his medical degree at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He completed joint residency and advanced fellowship training in internal medicine, hematology, and medical oncology through the physician-scientist pathway at Emory University and the Winship Cancer Institute.
Dr. Chandrasekaran’s research is focused on malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors which has a high recurrence rate, high mortality, and no effective therapies. Using both patient derived xenografts and human clinical studies, Dr. Chandrasekaran working to identify novel therapies for treating MPNST, including combination therapy of MEK inhibitor, T cell checkpoint inhibitors of PD-1, and STING agonists to activate T cells, alter tumor inflammation, and generate anti-tumor responses. His UTSW KL2 research mentor is Hans Hammers M.D., Ph.D., and he is further supported by Lu Le M.D., Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.
Amanda Dann, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Dann earned her medical degree from Emory University. She completed a General Surgery Residency at the University of California, Los Angeles where she was the recipient of a T32-funded research fellowship in translational tumor biology research. She then completed a clinical fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She has particular expertise in soft tissue sarcoma and cutaneous malignancies.
Dr. Dann’s research is focused on applying novel modalities to study the metabolism of soft tissue sarcomas in human tumors. She hopes her research will increase our understanding of sarcoma tumor biology and elucidate new therapeutic targets to improve available treatments for these diseases. Her KL2 research mentor is Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis MD, PhD.
Kabir Olaniran, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Nephrology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Olaniran is a general nephrologist and clinical researcher with a focus on kidney-related outcomes in people with sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait. He earned his medical degree at the University of Lagos in Nigeria and completed a residency in internal medicine at Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, where he also served as chief medical resident. He received further training in nephrology through the Harvard Medical School fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and holds a master's degree in public health with a focus on clinical effectiveness from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and was the recipient of the prestigious American Society of Nephrology Ben J. Lipps Fellowship grant which funded his early research on kidney function decline and acute kidney injury in sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait. Board certified in internal medicine and nephrology, and joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2019.
Dr. Olaniran currently runs an early intervention kidney disease clinic for people with sickle cell disease at Parkland and UT Southwestern. His research focuses on the identification of novel biomarkers for the early detection of kidney disease in sickle cell disease. His KL2 research mentors are Dr. Orson Moe & Dr. Robert Toto.