Pediatric Surgery Research Fellow Wins Three Awards

Dr. Jordan Taylor, a research fellow in the Division of Pediatric Surgery, has received three awards this past month: one from the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons (PAPS) and two from the International Pediatric Endosurgical Group (IPEG).

At the PAPS 52nd annual meeting in Christchurch, New Zealand Taylor was awarded the Basic Science Prize for his abstract titled “Replicating and Identifying Large Cell Neuroblastoma Using High-Dose Intra-Tumoral Chemotherapy and Automated Digital Analysis."

"We were able to recreate a high-risk category of neuroblastoma using chemotherapy that was loaded onto a silk platform and implanted into mouse tumors," said Taylor. "The chemotherapy causes the neuroblastoma to be altered into this high-risk state. We then used a digital analysis system to identify these cells automatically."

This work was done under the guidance of Dr. Bill Chiu, and the prize comes with $750.

"Jordan is an outstanding research resident!" said Chiu. "Despite being involved in multiple projects, he manages to find time to make sure the required tasks are completed and is able to move from project to project with ease, many times in one single day. "

At IPEG's 28th annual congress Santiago, Chile was bestowed the 2019 IPEG Coolest Trick Award, in recognition of an innovative approach to a clinical problem as well as the 2019 IPEG IRCAD Award, which is given to the best abstract presentation by a resident. Both awards were for the work titled “Small Surgeries, Big Smiles: Reducing Sedation through Virtual Reality,” done under the guidance of Stephanie Chao.

"I was very happy and honored to receive these awards. There were so many excellent presentations at IPEG," said Taylor. "I am also thrilled that people are so interested in the work we’re doing with virtual reality. We’ve already had several groups from across the U.S. and abroad that have shown interest in our applications."

The IRCAD award includes a trip to Strasbourg, France to participate in a course in pediatric minimally invasive surgery (MIS) at the European Institute of Telesurgery.

"I was shocked when I found out that the IRCAD award includes this amazing opportunity to attend a minimally invasive pediatric surgery course in France," said Taylor. "It will be an incredible experience at one of the leading training centers for MIS. Needless to say, I’m very excited!"