The 2026 Department of Medicine Trainee Outstanding Research Awards
The 2026 recipients of the Department of Medicine Trainee Outstanding Research Awards have been named. These awards recognize a significant research contribution toward advancing biological research or the field of medicine during residency and fellowship training, respectively.
Thank you to the nominators and congratulations to the recipients!
Resident Research Award
Ahmed El Shaer, MBBS
Chief Resident, UW Internal Medicine Residency
His mentor and nominator, Farhan Raza, MD, associate professor, Cardiovascular, writes: “Ahmed combines outstanding scholarly productivity with rare leadership and innovation for a resident. His research contributions have been transformative—from advancing high-impact cardiopulmonary investigation to creating a nationally recognized mentored peer-review program—and exemplify the very best of physician-scientist training.”
Fellow Research Award - MD
Heather Machkovech, MD, PhD
Infectious Disease Fellow & PSTP Trainee
Her mentor and nominator, Thomas Friedrich, PhD, professor, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, UW Veterinary Medicine, writes: “Heather led a first-author perspective in The Lancet Infectious Diseases that established a new framework for defining and classifying persistent SARS-CoV-2 infection…articulating the hypothesis that viral reservoirs in immunocompromised hosts may drive emergence of new lineages. This paper has become a widely referenced framework in the field.”
Fellow Research Award - PhD
Noah Carrillo, PhD
Research Associate - Cryns Lab (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism)
His mentor and nominator, Vincent Cryns, MD, professor, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, writes: “Noah’s work has defined a completely new paradigm for phosphoinositide signaling, revealing an unexpected nuclear pathway that regulates p53, NRF2, and cell fate. His discoveries uncover numerous new therapeutic targets for cancer and other diseases. Without a doubt, he is one of the top few trainees I have worked within nearly 30 years.”
Graduate Student Research Award
Mariah Calubag, BS
Research Associate - Lamming Lab (Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism)
Her mentor and nominator, Dudley Lamming, PhD, associate professor, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, writes: “Mariah’s work has substantially advanced our understanding of how dietary branched-chain amino acids regulate aging and metabolic health. Through multiple first-author studies, she has demonstrated exceptional scientific independence, rigor, and perseverance, positioning her as an emerging leader in aging research.”
UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) medical student Greta Olson (not pictured) also received an award.
Her DOM research mentors and nominators, Nathan Sandbo, MD, professor, and Angie Oler, researcher II, both Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, write: "Greta contributed greatly to the troubleshooting and final development of utilizing precision-cut lung slices from human donor lungs as a critical ex vivo model system…This model system is now a vital research method for our laboratory to investigate pulmonary fibrosis and has led to receipt of multiple grants…The impact of her work will continue for many years to come.”