William H. Pearce, MD Research Symposium
The annual research symposium, which takes place on Edelstone-Bendix Day, is a department-wide event to share and promote the research accomplishments of our trainees
The William H. Pearce, MD Research Symposium, which was started in 2019, is named in honor of a beloved vascular surgeon, scientist, and educator at Feinberg School of Medicine. In addition to serving as Program Director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship and Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery, Dr. Pearce was President of the American Association for Vascular Surgery and Chairman of the American Vascular Association. He had wide-ranging research interests and established the Vascular Surgery Scientist T32 Training Program in 2009. His many honors include induction into the Teaching Hall of Fame at Feinberg School of Medicine and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for Vascular Surgery. Many of his former mentees have reached positions of eminence as clinicians, researchers, division chiefs, and department chairs.
The annual research symposium, which takes place on Edelstone-Bendix Day, is a department-wide event to promote trainee development through the sharing and promotion of research accomplishments.

Past Awards Winners
2024 Award Winners
Kanavel Surgical Scholarship Award
- Jessie Ho, MD, MSCI
William H. Pearce, MD Research Awards - Fellow Competition
- First Place: Sarbjeet Niraula, PhD - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction: Taylor G. Hallman, BS
- Research with Distinction: Veronica Villanueva, PhD - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction: Li Yin, MD
William H. Pearce, MD Research Awards - Resident Competition
- First Place, Basic Science: Calvin Chao, MD - Video of Research Presentation
- First Place, Clinical Research: Eric Pillado, MD MBA MS - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction, Senior Resident: Raheem Bell, MD - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction, Senior Resident: Joseph Sanchez, MD - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction, Senior Resident: Charesa Jeana Smith MD MS - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction, Junior Resident: Joanna Buchheit, MD MS - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction, Junior Resident: Kelley Chan, MD - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction, Junior Resident: Meredith Taylor, MD - Video of Research Presentation
William H. Pearce, MD Research Awards - Student Competition
- First Place: Zaiba Shafik Dawood, MBBS - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction: Megan Alagna, BS - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction: Hyebin Han, MS - Video of Research Presentation
- Research with Distinction: Bilal Abdullah Naved, BS - Video of Research Presentation