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Congratulations to Dr. Ventetuolo

dr-ventetuoloWe are delighted to share the exciting news that Corey E. Ventetuolo, MD, MS, ATSF, FAHA has been appointed Director of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Brown University Health and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

This appointment is especially meaningful for our community, as Dr. Ventetuolo was one of our Research Project Leaders in Phase I of the CPVB COBRE. It is inspiring to see one of our own reach such an impactful leadership role, and her success retlects the strength and aspirations of the research environment we continue to build together.

Dr. Ventetuolo assumes this position following a national search and brings an exceptional record of clinical leadership, scientific innovation, and dedication to education. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Ventetuolo on this remarkable achievement and in celebrating this milestone!

Sean Monaghan, MD

2025 Bruce Selya Awardee Sean Monaghan, MD

Sean Monaghan, MDSean Monaghan, MD, is a board-certified surgeon affiliated with Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital, an assistant professor of surgery at Brown University and a member of the division of trauma and surgical critical care and the division of surgical research.

Dr. Monaghan’s research focuses on improving the care of sepsis patients with RNA sequencing data. It attempts to understand the biology of RNA splicing in critically ill trauma and surgical patients using acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as a model disease.

As part of Brown University Health’s 32nd Annual Research Day on November 7, 2025, Dr. Monaghan will deliver a presentation titled, “Sepsis and Innovation.”

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Dr. Margaret Bublitz – 2024-2025 Fulbright Scholar Award

Margaret Bublitz (Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Medicine) has been selected by The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.

bublitz-margaret-phdBublitz, a faculty member at Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, is a clinical psychologist in perinatal mental health. She has established and directed integrated behavioral health services in women’s primary care and obstetrics and gynecology at the Miriam Hospital in Rhode Island. A clinician scientist, Bublitz studies the pathways linking psychological stress before and during pregnancy to adverse perinatal health, as well as novel psychological approaches to prevent and treat obstetric complications.

Backed by a Fulbright Global Scholar Award, Bublitz will research maternal mental health in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Spending two months in each country, she will interview health care providers, policymakers and community members about best practices in maternal mental health, while also exchanging knowledge about mental health services at primary care at OB/GYN offices.

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Dr. Corey Ventetuolo – 2024 Research Achievement Award Winner

Corey E. Ventetuolo, M.D., M.S. (Medicine, Health Services, Policy and Practice)

Mid-Career Research Achievement Award, Hospital-Based Research Faculty

corey-ventetuoloCorey Ventetuolo is a practicing pulmonary/critical care physician at Rhode Island Hospital and has dedicated her career to improving care for patients suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), right heart failure, and requiring extracorporeal life support. She has investigated the longstanding observation that PAH is a fatal disease of predominantly women. Her groundbreaking work has led to hormonal modulation as a treatment strategy in PAH, and she has led two NHLBI-funded clinical trials in this area. She is a nationally recognized leader in the field who has addressed barriers to translational research and advanced precision medicine approaches. She has also received numerous teaching awards recognizing her dedication to education and inclusive mentoring of emerging investigators.

Morrison Channel 10

Research could unlock better ways to treat diabetes-related condition

Morrison Channel 10

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Research led by Alan Morrison at the Providence VA could unlock better ways to treat a serious diabetes-related condition that disproportionately affects veterans.

Four New Pilot Projects Awarded

The CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (CPVB COBRE) at the Ocean State Research Institute is pleased to announce the newest 4 Pilot Projects awarded.

  • Alexander Brodsky, PhD and James Klinger, MD were awarded $75,000 for their project ‘Spatial Profiling for Cell Specific Gene Expression in Pulmonary Hypertension’.
  • Kareen Coulombe, PhD and Frank Sellke, MD were awarded $75,000 for their project ‘Heart Regeneration in a Porcine Model of Chronic Myocardial Ischemia’.
  • Jun Feng, MD was awarded $37,500 for his project ‘SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein in Pulmonary Endothelial Function’.
  • Samantha Meenach, PhD (URI) and Yang Zhou, PhD were awarded $12,500 for their project ‘Cell Membrane-coated Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis’.

Congratulations to our newest investigators!

Sean F. Monaghan, MD, FACS

Sean F. Monaghan, M.D. awarded NIH R35 funding for “Improving Sepsis Care with Deep RNA Sequencing Data”

Sean F. Monaghan, M.D. was awarded NIH R35 funding for “Improving Sepsis Care with Deep RNA Sequencing Data” from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Dr. Monaghan is currently an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School and a member of the Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care and the Division of Surgical Research within the Department of Surgery. His research focuses on using RNA sequencing data and computational biology to understand RNA splicing in critically ill trauma and surgical patients. Dr. Monaghan has previously used acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) as a model disease but now focuses on obtaining samples from patients with sepsis. It is hoped that this funding will promote past work (and related patents) and transition the findings to clinical relevant diagnostic tests and novel therapies for sepsis.

Learn more.

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NIHES Awards R01 Funding to Jessica Plavicki, Ph.D for Toxicant Induced Dysregulation of Parvalbumin Interneuron Development and Function

Jessica Plavicki, Ph.D was awarded R01 funding for Toxicant Induced Dysregulation of Parvalbumin Interneuron Development and Function from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science.   This R01 is an “Outstanding Environmental Scientist Award” which provides an additional $250k in career development support.  Plavicki is currently an Assistant Professor for the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School. Her research focuses on understanding how genetic mutations and exposure to environmental health contaminants impact brain and heart health.  Dr. Plavicki is an expert in using the zebrafish model to study the genetics of brain and cardiovascular development.

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Yang Zhou, Ph.D Awarded Funding for Research on Lung Injury and Repair

Yang Zhou, Ph.D was awarded $2,043,028 in R01 funding for Targeting Chi3l1 And Its Receptors In Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome-Associated Lung Disease from the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute. Dr. Zhou is currently an Assistant Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology (Research) at Brown University. His research interests are directed towards understanding the immunopathogenesis of lung injury and repair. His recent research plans are aimed at dissecting the mechanisms that underlie the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, and Type 2 immunity, specifically the roles of a Chitinase-like protein and its receptors, intracellular receptor trafficking pathways, and innate immunity in disease progress. His long-range research goals are to identify the immune and cellular responses that mediate lung injury and repair responses and to identify specific molecular targets that can be targeted in the treatment of related disorders.