Omar A
- Research Program Mentor

Doctorate of Medicine at University of Connecticut

Expertise

Medicine, Surgery and Chemistry

Bio

Hi! I am currently a plastic and reconstructive surgery resident at Yale. Having watched my father work on designing airplane engines, I developed a strong admiration for design and function. I came to appreciate how every shape, alignment, and detail served a specific role. Through coursework and clinical experience, I came to further appreciate the link between the design and functionality of the human body - my impetus for pursuing plastic and reconstructive surgery. At Yale we have made discoveries in a rare disease called craniosynostosis which impacts the development of skulls and brains of young children. My previous experiences include a fellowship at the National Institute of Health focused on enhancing in vitro tissue culturing, an attempt to grow ears outside the body. I also have been teaching medicine for the past several years and I love mentoring students. My focus is predominantly human biology and pathophysiology; I also have a strong background in Chemistry and was recognized as the top graduating chemist in the statewide region by the American Chemical Society. I look forward to meeting you.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Developing theoretical pathophysiological models

Many clinical case review studies find significant correlations between risk factors and surgical outcomes (i.e prolonged corticosteroid administration and increased postoperative infections). However, some studies do not have any explanations for these observed clinical patterns. In this project, we will find a case study that finds a significant clinical correlation. We will then conduct a thorough literature search, as well as a deep dive into human biology to come up with a theoretical pathophysiological model to explain these findings. In addition, we may design and outline a prospective basic or clinical study that can assess our model.

Health Related Data Analysis

Many reputable sites such as HealthData.gov publish public data that can be mined for significant clinical associations. For example, are you interested in microbiology? We can analyze West Nile Virus ( a rare infectious pathogen) cases in California. We can look at the time of year these cases were discovered as well as the county they were diagnosed. We can then describe any significant findings we find, and build a model that can explain these findings.

Languages I know

Arabic and limited proficiency in mandarin

Teaching experience

Tutored medicine to foreign doctors and medical students in preparation for the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). I also have mentored over twenty undergraduate and highschool students in pursuing medicine/graduate school, and have assisted my students in getting into amazing programs (Harvard, etc).