THE GOODWIN LAB - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Team Lead Clinical Research Coordinator
Alexia Bwensa is the Team Lead Clinical Research Coordinator (Tier 2) for the Duke Neurosurgery Research Team, also known as Neurosurgery Clinical Research Program (NCRP). She has worked as a coordinator within the department of Neurosurgery since 2016, primarily leading spine trials both industry sponsored and Investigator initiated. She has also coordinated vascular trials, and assisted in coordinating functional neurosurgery trials within the department.
Annee earned her bachelor's degree in Human Biology from UC San Diego in 2017, double minoring in Psychology and Theatre & Dance and graduating magna cum laude in association with the Sigma Chapter of California's Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society. To further explore her interests in neurodegenerative diseases, Annee then received a Master's in Biology from UC San Diego, concentrating on Neuropathology and Scientific Communication, in 2018. Since 2014, her prior research experience includes working with various preclinical models of peripheral neuropathy (with Dr. Nigel Calcutt and Dr. Christina Sigurdson of UC San Diego's Department of Pathology), equine and murine models of neuroaxonal dystrophy (with Dr. Carrie Finno of UC Davis's School of Veterinary Medicine), and intracranial preclinical models of recurrent glioblastoma at Duke University Medical Center. Using her experience with preclinical models, Annee aims to expand and diversify Dr. Goodwin's translational research portfolio in animal models of spinal metastases as his lab research analyst and lab liaison for current and future collaborations. Annee's primary responsibilities include designing, supervising, and executing basic science experiments, facilitating student projects, and aiding the development of manuscripts and grants.
Antoinette Charles is a second-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine. She earned a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience with a minor in chemistry at Georgia State University. After graduating, she worked as a clinical research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health. Currently, Antoinette is interested in pursuing a surgical specialty and hopes to use any gained expertise to advocate for patients' rights and mitigate social injustices in medicine. Her research interests involve health equity and improving quality of life outcomes in patients with spine tumors.
In her spare time, Antoinette enjoys brunching, traveling, and co-hosting Let's Talk Reform. This podcast elevates the discussion around social and mental health needs in the school-to-prison pipeline and the United States criminal justice system.
Vikram Mehta is a fourth-year resident in the department of neurosurgery. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, master's of public health degree from the University of Southern California, and medical degree from Case Western Reserve University. He will be doing an enfolded spine fellowship in his PGY-7 year. His operative interests include spine surgery such as spinal oncology, minimally invasive surgery, and spinal deformity surgery. His research interests involve improving the safety of spine surgery through preoperative optimization and novel surgical techniques as well as identifying outcomes associated with spinal procedures.
In his spare time, he enjoys following all aspects of basketball, traveling, and trying new foods and restaurants.
Awards
Feagin leadership fellowship
CNS Resident fellowship
Obtained access to the National Institute of Health Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) database
Obtained access to the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database
Obtained access to the NIH National Cancer Database (NCDB)
AO Spine/Depuy Resident Grant
Medtronic Spine leaders travel stipend
Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Cadaveric Course Grant
North Carolina Spine Society Residency Research Grant ($5000.00)
NIH National Cancer Database Access granted
Duke High-Value Care Quality Improvement Competition
Research Travel Scholarship, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine ($300.00)
Neurological Institute Research Scholarship, Cleveland Clinic ($750.00)
Medical Student Research Scholarship, Hospital for Special Surgery ($2400.00)
Crile Surgical Research Scholarship, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine ($2500.00)
Undergraduate Research Grant, University of California, Irvine ($500.00)
Best Poster Award, UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Research Day
Undergraduate Research Grant, University of California, Irvine ($500.00)
Job Titles:
- Physician Assistant Specialist
Brice Painter is a Physician Assistant Specialist. Brice graduated with BS from Georgia Tech. She graduated with honors from Duke University School Of Medicine in 2017. Having more than 3 years of diverse experiences, especially in PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT, Brice Painter affiliates with many hospitals including Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, cooperates with many other doctors and specialists in medical group Private Diagnostic Clinic Pllc. Brice specializes in spinal-based pathologies including tumors, trauma, deformity, and degenerative disease.
Job Titles:
- Director for Spinal Oncology
C. Rory Goodwin is the Director for Spinal Oncology, Surgical Director for the Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis and an Assistant Professor at the Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Goodwin attended the University of Florida where he majored in Neurobiological Sciences and Business Administration with minors in Chemistry and Economics. He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine while also leading, founding, and participating in programs focused on future and current underrepresented minority students including serving as National President for the Student National Medical Association
He completed his Neurosurgery residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and has received research awards from the UNCF-Merck Science Initiative and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the NIH. Over the course of his training, he served as a Medical Officer for the Food and Drug Administration, Division of Orthopedic Devices, graduated from the Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program at Harvard Medical School and also completed an in-folded Complex Spine Fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Goodwin has a research interest in translational biomarkers and clinical outcomes for patients diagnosed with spinal tumors, and genomic and proteomic predictors in brain and spinal oncology.
Catherine obtained her Veterinary Medicine degree from Lyon French National Veterinary School (1984-88). After realizing her interest was in medical research, Catherine joined the Paris Pasteur Institute to study Acute Promyelocytic leukemia for a PhD (1990-1995). Catherine then studied hematopoietic stem biology and MLL-rearranged leukemias in a biotech company in California (Systemix, 1995-2000).
Catherine was recruited by INSERM (French NIH equivalent) in 2000 to continue her work on MLL-leukemias at St-Louis Hospital in Paris. Catherine came to Duke in 2007 to study CALM-AF10 leukemia with Dan Wechsler. Catherine joined Rory Goodwin's team in 2018 to pursue research on the biology of spinal metastasis.
Christine is a current second year medical student. As a chemistry major in undergraduate, she focused her research efforts on organic synthesis and was awarded the John L. Zabriskie Jr. Research Fellowship along with numerous achievement awards. In medical school, she was interested in conducting clinical research in the field of neurosurgery especially concerning patient outcomes and joined the Goodwin Lab. Her main projects involve looking into the clinical outcomes after radiation therapy and clarifying the role of spinal alignment parameters in patients with spine metastasis. She was recently awarded the NREF Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship.
Job Titles:
- Lab Manager, Research Technician, and Clinical Research Assistant
César Baëta has worked as lab manager, research technician, and clinical research assistant for the Goodwin Lab since 2017. Though he grew up abroad, César earned his bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2012. Before matriculating to the North Carolina State University to pursue a Master of Physiology degree in 2015, he worked as a contracted Systems Analyst and Logistics Specialist for Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions.
Edwin is a third-year medical student at Campbell University with an interest in spinal deformity and spinal oncology. He experienced drastic life turnaround influenced and motivated by the work of neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. As a first year he studied adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and the impact on school-based screening. His interests outside of medicine include business and entrepreneurship. Currently, he runs a digital marketing agency and is pursuing a master's in healthcare administration at University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Awards
ASCO Medical Student Rotation for Underrepresented Populations Recipient
AACOM Gold and Silver Volunteer Award
Athletic Scholarship 2009-2010
Dean's List 2014, 2015
Elizabeth Howell has worked as a research student with the Goodwin lab since 2017. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Elizabeth earned her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Duke in 2014. She then worked full-time for two years in the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center before matriculating to the Duke University School of Medicine. She completed her third year research project within the Goodwin lab, culminating in a thesis entitled "Impact of Early Palliative Care for Patients with Brain and Spine Metastases." Elizabeth's areas of both clinical and research interest are patient-reported outcomes and metrics, Palliative Care utilization, and the care of patients with brain and spine metastases.
Eric W. Sankey, MD is a senior neurosurgery resident at Duke University Medical Center. He received his BS with highest honors in Biochemistry from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his MD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His operative interests include spinal oncology and complex spinal deformity. His basic science research interests include utilizing immunotherapy for the treatment of CNS malignancies. His clinical research interests focus on outcomes related to the treatment of intracranial and spine oncology, degenerative spine disease and spinal deformity. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife (Melissa), daughter (Savannah), and dog (Chloe).
Job Titles:
- Medical Student Research Aware, Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Jacob is a second-year medical student at Duke School of Medicine. His research interests relate to CNS tumors and lie at the intersection of therapy and palliative care. Jacob is particularly excited about applying new technologies from the lab setting to enhance patient outcomes in the field of neurosurgery. Currently, he is analyzing predictive factors that govern outcomes in patients with metastatic spine and metastatic brain cancer.
Jacob graduated from Williams College in 2018 where he studied psychology and neuroscience. While at Williams, he completed a neuroscience thesis investigating a novel brain region believed to regulate satiety and shared his passion for cooking with his peers by creating a cooking club. Upon graduating, Jacob was the recipient of a Fulbright Predoctoral Research Grant to Spain to conduct neuroscience research at the Cajal Institute in Madrid. He then spent a year outside academia working in biotechnology, at Kallyope, probing cell populations in the gut-brain axis that modulate physiology.
Dr. Kelly Ryan Murphy is a fifth-year neurosurgery resident at Duke University. Although a native of Arizona, she completed her higher education and clinical training at Duke University. As an undergraduate, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience while participating extensively in research and service work focused on Alzheimer's disease. In 2017, she matriculated at the Duke University School of Medicine and completed clinical research on neuromodulation under the direction of neurosurgeon Dr. Nandan Lad. She subsequently matched at Duke for residency training in neurosurgery. She has become particularly involved in education and leadership activities as a founding member of the Resident Education Council and as two-term representative in the Patient Safety & Quality Council. In her final year of training, she intends to complete an enfolded spine fellowship. Under the mentorship of neurosurgeon Dr. Rory Goodwin, her recent research seeks to optimize the perioperative course for metastasis patients and to better understand the clinical impact of steroids in spine patients. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys hiking, indoor cycling, visiting National Parks, and spending time with friends and family.
Luis Ramirez, originally from Caracas, Venezuela moved to Miami, FL in 2005. From there, he went on to earn his Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering and eventually moved on to earn his Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Biostatistics in Florida International University. After finishing his Master's, he moved to La Crosse, WI to work for Gundersen Health System where he worked with the Psychology, Surgery, and Pediatric Oncology departments.
After suffering through three Midwestern winters and a polar vortex, he moved to Durham in February of 2019, where his work with Dr. Goodwin, and the Duke Cancer Institute in general, started. Since then, he's been able to help with a variety of studies relating to the brain and spine metastasis area ranging from medical student projects to national database studies.
Mareshah Sowah is a graduate student at Duke University School of Medicine, and is set to graduate with her Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences in May 2020. She attended Cornell University for her undergraduate education, where she completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Society in May 2018.
Mareshah plans to apply to medical school this upcoming cycle for Fall 2021 matriculation. She is currently involved in research surrounding palliative care utilization for cancer patients with brain and spine metastasis.
Mareshah's main area of interest is in neurosurgery, which she hopes to pursue clinically in her future endeavors.
Mattie Stevenson is a critically acclaimed author and public speaker who focuses on organizational development and one-on-one consulting. The "CAPACITY STRATEGIST" as she is better known has taken the world by storm, with her message of hope.
Mattie graduated from Elizabeth City State University (2009) with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Banking and Finance. She earned a MBA from Liberty University (2012) with a focus in Human Resources.
Her continued commitment to the community can be exemplified by her founding the non-profit organization "KV Bridge Inc.". K V Bridge Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit that focuses on enhancing and enriching the lives of women and teens by helping them sharpen their skills and
Meghan's research interests focus on various aspects of the treatment of metastatic disease to the spine. From a basic science perspective, Meghan is interested in understanding the underlying mechanisms of metastatic spread to the spine with a focus on molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways involved in metastases of hormonally responsive cancers including breast and prostate. Specifically, Meghan is interested in the interaction of the extracellular matrix and tumor microenvironment with hormonal processing within these cells. Clinically, her research focuses on the experiences of patients with metastatic disease to the spine. Meghan is currently interested in evaluating the use of palliative care in this patient population and studying the sociodemographic disparities in health related quality of life outcomes for these patients.
Job Titles:
- Undergraduate Research Award, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA
Tara is a second-year medical student who has been with Dr. Goodwin's research team since her first year at the Duke School of Medicine. Tara is passionate about the care of oncology patients from a surgical perspective, and has been working on protocols involving the use of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with metastatic spine cancer. As a third-year medical student, Tara will be working full time in Dr. Goodwin's lab, with a plan to focus on quality of life outcomes in the spine tumor population as well as predictive factors of frailty and resilience in the spine surgery population.
Prior to attending Duke Med, Tara graduated from Duke University in 2015. During her time as an undergraduate, Tara studied neuroscience and competed in Division I rowing, leading Duke's team as a senior captain. Following graduation, she did research in neuro-oncology and bone marrow transplant, in addition to receiving a Master's degree from Duke's Master of Biomedical Sciences program.
Theresa Williamson is a chief neurosurgery resident at Duke University Medical Center. She received her BS in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology from Yale College and her MD from Yale University School of Medicine. Her operative interests include neurotrauma and complex spine. Her research interests include decision-making in neurosurgical disease. She is a recent recipient of the National Neurotrauma Spinal Presentation Award and a contributing writer for O magazine. She is a 2020 recipient of the Duke REACH Equity Center Research, Education, Training (RET) Subcore Research Scholar award.