Meet Jefferson’s JEMS: 3 Junior Faculty to Watch-Out-For

The Office of the Provost and the Jefferson Clinical Research Institute recently announced a new funding mechanism that provides protected time for junior faculty as part of Jefferson’s ongoing commitment to support early career researchers as they establish their careers. The Jefferson Emerging Medical Research Support (JEMS) Junior Faculty Award was granted on December 13, 2019. Three faculty were informed that 20% of their effort would be protected for the next two years as they work to develop a successful line of research. Please join us in congratulating Nathan Handley, MD MBA, Paul Chung, MD, and Namrata Grampurohit, PhD OTR/L, on their latest success.

Dr. Handley is an Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology whose work focuses on developing and implementing strategies to improve cancer care delivery. His current project seeks to design a digital health coaching program for patients with prostate cancer with the goal of reducing the opportunity costs associated with seeking cancer care. Dr. Handley attended medical school at the University of Minnesota Medical School, completed his residency at the University of California San Francisco, and also holds an MBA with a major in Healthcare Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Handley will be working closely with researcher Dr. Kristin Rising as he continues to develop his career.

Dr. Chung is an Assistant Professor of Urology. As a physician, surgeon, and scientist, his work involves evaluating the utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for urethal structure disease, including its potential for use in releasing antibiotics for the protention of urologic prothesis. If successful, this diagnostic method will result in a less invasive, more comfortable experience for patients. Dr. Chung attended medical school here at Jefferson and previously completed the Clinical Research Training Program at the NIH and worked at the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Flemming Forsberg will serve as Dr. Chung’s mentor for this work.

Dr. Grampurohit is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy. Although her first appointment as an Assistant Professor was made in 2016, Dr. Grampurohit has nearly 20 years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist. She is working to develop and validate an instrument which evaluates self-care in patients with spinal cord injury. When complete, this tool will serve as an important measure for generating reliable patient-reported data in clinical trials to come. Dr. Grampurohit completed her PhD in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Washington, was selected for the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Academic Leadership Institute in 2019, and currently serves as a research consultant for Bright Cloud International. Dr. MJ Mulcahey is an expert in instrument design and will be serving as mentor.

Congratulations! We look forward to watching these three as their work progresses and transforms. Interested in becoming a JEMS awardee? Look out for funding announcements coming late summer.

For questions, contact: Claire (Margaret) Chenault [email protected].