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MCCTR External Advisory Committee Annual Retreat celebrates Investigator Accomplishments, Awards

In October 2024, the MCCTR held its annual External Advisory Committee Annual Retreat for EAC members, faculty and investigators. The two-day event in Jackson featured an inaugural awards banquet to celebrate the accomplishments of Pilot Projects Program and Clinical and Translation Research Scholars investigators as well as a gathering at UMMC to highlight research updates, new discoveries and meetings to discuss further points of study.

The MCCTR debuted four new awards given to current and past PPP and and CTRS investigators who have excelled at projects both during and after their time as MCCTR awardees.

The Pilot Project Investigator Recognition Award was given to Dr. Ana Palei of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. An Associate Professor with tenure in the Department of Surgery at UMMC, Dr. Palei has authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles on cardiovascular research. Her current research is focused on in vitro, animal, and clinical studies investigating mechanisms of and potential therapies for Preeclampsia-induced hypercoagulability and heart dysfunction during gestation and postpartum. She currently serves as Secretary of the UMMC Groups on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS), as Councilor-at-Large for Translational Research of the APS Water and Electrolytes Section, and as General Secretary of the Inter-American Society of Hypertension (IASH). In addition, she serves as an ad-hoc member on grant review panels for the NIH as well as peer-reviewer and guest editor for many international scientific journals.

Dr. Reuben Burch of Mississippi State University received the 2024 Pilot Project Investigator Alumnus Award. Dr. Burch currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development at MSU. He is also the Executive Director and founder of both the Athlete Engineering Institute and the statewide workforce training program AiM UP: Advancements in Manufacturing Upskilling Program. Burch continues to serve as a professor in the Industrial & Systems Engineering department, holds the Jack Hatcher Endowed Chair for Engineering Entrepreneurship, and is a fellow of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force. Before returning to academia in the fall of 2016, Dr. Burch spent 14 years working with global Fortune 500 companies in research and development areas such as virtual reality design, weapons systems and training, satellite systems and geospatial data, high-value financial software systems, logistics technology and management, autonomous vehicle design, wearables, and human performance. Since becoming a professor eight years ago and now as an administrator for MSU, Burch has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, received nearly 50 patent awards, and secured over $30M in funding for MSU and the state of Mississippi.

Burch received an MCCTR Pilot Projects Program funding in 2022 for the research titled: Incorporation of a Smart Sock with the Virtual Immersive Test (VIST) for Kinematic and Kinetic Measures of Postural Stability. This research, co-led by Dr. Harish Chander and researchers from UMMC, tested two human performance product inventions from each institution, discovering the impact of long COVID on postural sway. The ultimate goal of his research program is to apply his human performance expertise and technology to study and assess human diseases.

The Research Scholar Recognition Award was given to Dr. Kelsey Bonfils of the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Bonfils is the Nina Bell Suggs Endowed Professor and licensed psychologist in the Clinical Psychology PhD Program at USM. She is also the Director of the Social Cognition & Recovery in Schizophrenia (SCORS) Lab at USM and has expertise in the research and treatment of people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and other psychopathology. As an MCCTR Research Scholar, she has published 15 peer-reviewed articles and received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Psychological Foundation, and the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation. Most recently, she was awarded a 4-year grant totaling 2.3M from the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, to open a clinic at USM. The clinic will use telehealth technology to identify and treat Mississippians across the state who are at clinical high risk for developing psychosis. This clinic will be the first of its kind in the state and will serve an important role in the prevention of psychosis in Mississippi, while also paving the way for Dr. Bonfils’ next steps in her program of research.

Dr. Matthew Kutcher of the University of Mississippi Medical Center received the Research Scholar Alumnus Recognition Award. Dr. Kutcher is an Associate Professor of Surgery and Emergency Medicine and the Vice Chair of Research for the Department of Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Since joining UMMC in 2016, his clinical practice has included the medical and surgical management of patients with traumatic injuries, general surgical emergencies,and surgical critical illness. Dr. Kutcher completed his Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and his General Surgery Residency at the University of California, San Francisco. He received his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Harvard College, and his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. Dr. Kutcher is a graduate of MCCTR’s CTRS Program, which funded his translational research and provided critical mentorship and support from 2016 until he was awarded an NIGMS K08 grant in 2020. His laboratory investigates mechanisms underlying coagulation abnormalities after traumatic injury, identifying and testing novel strategies to manage both coagulopathic bleeding as well as post-injury hypercoagulability. With MCCTR’s support, Dr. Kutcher is also the UMMC site investigator for five clinical trials of transfusion strategies for injured patients with hemorrhagic shock funded by industry, the Department of Defense, and BARDA. He has also served as the primary mentor for five surgical residents during their postdoctoral research fellowships, eight medical students through UMMC’s Medical Student Research Program, and eight engineering undergraduates through UMMC and Mississippi State University’s Engineering Excellence in Device Development program.

Congratulations to all award winners, and thank you to all the EAC members, researchers, faculty and staff who attended and support the MCCTR in its goal of advancing clinical-translational research in Mississippi!