Brooklyn, NY, May 23, 2025 – Maimonides Health and the Maimonides Research and Development Foundation held the 9^th Annual Evening of Research on May 15 at the Dyker Heights Golf Course. First held in 2014, this event celebrates innovative research and achievements within the healthcare community, showcases innovative academic work from Maimonides staff, and reinforces the hospital’s commitment to addressing healthcare disparities and advancing medical knowledge.

This year, Maimonides staff members submitted 93 original abstracts, from which six winners were selected.

The winners were:

• Kelly Lamiman, MD (Category: Fellow): “Impact of Robotic Assistance on Minimally Invasive Surgery for Type II Endometrial Cancer: A National Cancer Database Analysis”
  • Compared the overall survival and surgical outcomes between conventional laparoscopy and robot-assisted laparoscopy in women with type II endometrial cancer.
• Gene Sobol, MPH (Category: Performance Improvement): “Procedural Safety Process Project – Improving compliance with the Time out and Sign Out (debrief) Elements of the 3-part Procedural Safety Process.”
  • Increased the percentage of time outs and sign outs that were compliant with standard policy from 50% and 8% to 85% and 40%, improving safety and outcomes.
• Alexandra Shumyatsky, PharmD, CPHQ (Category: Performance Improvement): “Dashing to Zero Harm: Can a Simple Dashboard Minimize Hospital Acquired Safety Events?”
  • Documented an overall 74% reduction of patient safety indicator events at Maimonides from 2019 to 2023, bringing the hospital on par with national standards.
• Pramod Nepal, MBBS, PhD (Category: Resident): “Patients with Early-Onset Locally advanced Rectal Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Therapy: Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Treatment and Outcomes.”
  • Identified impacts of population inequities to address the disparity in treatment outcomes, finding that patients from communities with lower median income and level of education, enrolled in Medicaid managed care, and Black patients had longer wait to treatment, which was associated with poorer overall survival.
• Bhavya Sheth, MD (Category: Resident): “Impact of Lateral Extra-Articular Tenodesis on Return to Sports Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.”
  • Examined whether lateral extra-articular tenodesis augmentation improves return-to-sports outcomes for high-risk athletes, considering the high failure rate of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction alone.
• Shadman Khandaker, BA (Category: Staff): “A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial of Bright Light Therapy on All-Cause Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in Prader-Willi Syndrome.”
  • Preliminary results suggested light therapy effectively reduces excessive daytime sleepiness and positively impacts hyperphagia in Prader-Willi Syndrome patients, and could be an effective nonpharmacological means to address the condition.

The Austin A. Schlecker Academic Achievement Award, presented annually at the Evening of Research, honors individuals who exemplify the highest standards of research. This year, it was awarded to Theresa Jacob, PhD, MPH, for her outstanding contributions to Maimonides’ academic initiatives and the broader scientific community. Dr. Jacob is a distinguished scientist and biomedical researcher, currently serving as the Director of Research for the Department of Psychiatry and the Division of Vascular Surgery and as the Director of the Clinical & Translational Research Labs at Maimonides Medical Center.

Deepan Singh, MD, Vice Chair of Ambulatory Services and Chief of Research and Grants, Department of Psychiatry, Maimonides Medical Center, presented the keynote address.

“Evening of Research is very special to our team. It is a celebration of our culture of innovation and academic excellence, as well as one of the ways we bring to life some of our core values of prioritizing patient-centered care tailored to our communities,” said Ken Gibbs, President and CEO of Maimonides Health. “Research, education, and doing our part to advance the medical field are part of our history here at Maimonides, and I congratulate this year’s cohort for continuing this tradition and setting themselves apart in terms of excellence.”

The Evening of Research is co-sponsored by Maimonides Health and the Maimonides Research and Development Foundation in support of the organization’s commitment to research and academic pursuits. The event was first held in 2014 and continues to be a cornerstone of the hospital’s academic culture.

View more information on the event, submissions, and featured winners here.

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