Burn and Surgical Research at MedStar Washington Hospital Center

Jeffrey W. Shupp MD is the Research Director for the Burn Research Center at MedStar Health Research Institute. He is also the Director of the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.  He is the founding investigator at the Firefighters' Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory. Dr. Shupp is an Associate Professor of Surgery, Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology at Georgetown University School of Medicine with similar appointments in Biomedical Engineering at The Catholic University of America and the Department of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Dr. Shupp specializes in treating burn patients, trauma to the skin, including electrical and chemical injuries, complex wounds, and other skin disorders that result in skin loss, such as toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia.

Some of his research interests include: surgical infections, coagulopathies after injury, inhalation injury, wound healing, biophotonics, burn pathophysiology, host response to traumatic injury, and abnormal wound healing such as hypertrophic scar. Dr. Shupp’s research program encompasses all aspects of burn research (multi-center clinical trials, pre-clinical, translational, and basic science research). His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), and many corporate and foundation sponsors. Additionally, his laboratory receives generous philanthropic support from local foundations.

Click on the link below to view a comprehensive list of Dr. Shupp's research papers available through the PubMed database.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Shupp+J

Dr. Lauren Moffatt serves as Director of the Firefighters' Burn and Surgical Research Lab. Her core responsibilities include overseeing and implementing scientific research within the lab. She also works as a liaison with numerous public & private sector groups to explore and conduct collaborative research opportunities and garner funding for the program. Dr. Moffatt received her Ph.D in Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences specializing in Environmental Toxicology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 2008 and attended University of Maryland, College Park as an undergraduate. She is active in various professional societies include the Wound Healing Society, Surgical Infection Society, and the American Burn Association (ABA).  She serves as the Chair of the ABA’s Research Committee and is the first non-physician to be in this role. Currently, Dr. Moffatt is also chair and scientific member of Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) for Medstar Health Research Institute.

Melissa is the clinical research program manager for the Firefighters’ Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory.  She began overseeing social science research projects while earning dual bachelor degrees in Psychology and Political Science at UNC-Chapel Hill.  She then went on to graduate from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.  Her nursing professional development has focused on managing the care of complex surgical, burn, and trauma patients in ICU and emergency room settings across the country.  While working as an RN in the Medical Shock, Trauma, and Acute Resuscitation unit at Medstar Washington Hospital Center she started part-time with the FBSRL before coming on to manage and grow the clinical research program.  Melissa also enjoys experiencing new cultures and foods while traveling and spending time with her two boisterous nephews.

Dr. Alkhalil joined the Burn Research Team in June 2014 as a Senior Research Scientist. After receiving his Ph.D degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2001 from Georgetown University in Washington DC, he worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. In 2007 he joined the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) to pursue his research on infectious diseases and worked on several viral select agents. In 2011 he moved to the biotechnology sector as a senior scientist at Emergent BioSolutions® and worked on assay and vaccine development. Throughout his career he studied several pathogens, including Biothreat agents, to understand host-pathogen interactions and to identify new infection countermeasures, vaccines, and small molecule therapeutics for deadly parasites, bacteria, and viruses. His work spans a wide array of scientific and administrative functions with specific emphasis on ensuring proper planning, execution, analysis and results reporting for many projects. Dr. Alkhalil brings with him 13 years experience of basic research in industry and academia.

Dr. Taryn Travis is an attending surgeon with the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center where she recently completed her general surgery residency.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2005, and her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in 2010 before coming to Washington, DC. Dr. Travis completed two years as the Burn Surgery Research Fellow in our lab from 2012-2014 before returning to her clinical surgery training. She remains involved in research projects concerning wound healing, scar formation, dyspigmentation, and laser scar revision.

Click on the link below to view a comprehensive list of Dr. Travis' research papers available through the PubMed database.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?sort=pubdate&term=Travis+TE&cauthor_id=31908211

Dr. Shawn Tejiram is an attending surgeon at the Burn Center at MedStar Washington Hospital Center where he completed his general surgery residency in 2018. Dr. Tejiram returns to DC after a 2-year fellowship in Burns, Trauma, and Critical Care at UC Davis Medical Center. He hails from Tampa Florida where, during his undergraduate studies, he triple majored in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Biomedical Sciences at the University of South Florida in 2008. Dr. Tejiram then received his Doctor of Medicine from the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida in 2012. During his academic career, Dr. Tejiram has been involved in a variety of research pursuits in many clinical fields, including internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, and surgical oncology. He was the Burn Research Fellow in the 2014-2015 academic year. He has also received several honors, including most recently the Excellence in Surgical Critical Patient Care Aware by the Washington Hospital Center Surgery Department. He continues to be involved in research involved in coagulopathy, resuscitation, and burn critical care.

Dr. Carney is a Research Scientist in the Firefighters’ Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park in May 2014. She obtained her graduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Georgetown University in 2020. Her main focus in the lab is studying dyspigmentation in burn hypertrophic scar.

Ted is currently serving as the Burn Research Fellow in the Firefighter’s Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory at Medstar Washington Hospital Center for the 2021-2023 academic years. Dr. Kelly completed 2 years of general surgery residency training before coming to Medstar last year. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Queensland/Ochsner Clinical School in 2018 and his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 2011. His focus in the lab has been on inhalation injury, endotheliopathy and burn resuscitation.

Cameron is a Research Assistant in the Firefighter’s Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Prior to coming to the FBSRL, Cameron worked in COVID-19 testing services and caregiving. He is currently pursuing matriculation into medical school.

Brooke is a laboratory associate with the Firefighters’ Burn and Surgical Research Lab (FBSRL). She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Upon graduation, she went on to train with the US Rowing Women’s National Team. Afterward, Brooke pursued her master’s degree in Biochemistry at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. There, she studied Myosin Mutations in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Prior to working at the FBSRL, Brooke worked as a medical scribe with UC Health of Northern Colorado. She is very interested in continuing her focus in pre-clinical and clinical research while pursuing her future in medicine.

Kristen is a Research Assistant in the Firefighter’s Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory. She obtained her degree in Health Sciences from the University of New Hampshire in 2022. Prior to joining the FBSRL, she conducted research at the University of California Davis focused on the use of headgear in women’s lacrosse. She has also worked in the Brain Research and Assessment Initiative of New Hampshire Laboratory.

Eriks is a research associate at FBSRL. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Vermont. During his time in undergrad, he worked as an EMT-A on UVM Rescue, a fully student run ambulance service that provided advanced medical support to the UVM campus and surrounding cities. He also worked in a coagulation lab on campus studying the dysregulation of fibrinolysis to better understand coagulopathy. In FBSRL Eriks is excited to learn more about coagulopathy related to burn injury and wound healing.

Mason is a Clinical Research Coordinator at FBSRL and joined the team in April of 2022. He graduated from the University of Oregon receiving a Bachelor of Science in Human Physiology with a minor in Chemistry. He currently hopes to further his learning in the field of clinical research and expand his work with the team at the FBSRL. In his free time, you can find him rock climbing, playing soccer, or exploring DC trying to find a great new meal.

Cara is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the FBSRL and has been with the team since 2021. Prior to this position, she obtained her Bachelor's of Science in Public Health with a concentration in Clinical Research from the Kent State University College of Public Health. The areas of burn research which especially interest her includes obtaining clinical data related to burn resuscitation, surgical intervention, and burn wound care.  Additionally, a passion of hers is to learn about different health disparities and marginalized communities. She also finds that the combination of clinical experience with a public health perspective is both rewarding and insightful. In her free time, she enjoys caring for her plants, along with exploring local brunches and markets.

Angela is a clinical research coordinator for the Firefighter’s Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine at Castleton University in 2019 followed by her Master of Public Health Degree in Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Medicine in 2022. Prior to starting at the FBSRL, Angela worked at the Department of Public Health for the State of Colorado where she investigated regional enteric disease outbreaks. She also worked across molecular biology and microbiology laboratories examining the effects of gut microbiota on secondary metabolite tolerance and seeking novel antibiotics.

Alison is a Clinical Research Assistant at FBSRL and has been with the team since 2021. Prior to this she worked in data management at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health as part of the COVID-19 response. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in the History of Science, Medicine and Public Health with a concentration in Medicine and Public Health from Yale University. She is interested in the evolution of surgery and the intersection of policy, public health and medicine.