Third-year general surgery resident Raoud Marayati, M.D., was recently named the 2018-2019 Society of University Surgeons Resident Research Scholar, making her the first resident in the UAB Department of Surgery’s recent history to receive a grant while in residency. Marayati received the $30,000 Resident Research Scholar Award after presenting her project, “PIM3 Kinase Promotes Tumor Metastasis in Hepatoblastoma,” to the SUS Scholarship Committee last week.

Dr. Raoud Marayati

"This award is a huge step forward in my journey as a surgeon-scientist," Marayati said. "I'm grateful for my mentors who made this possible and for our department's commitment to training academic surgeons."

Marayati’s project was one of roughly 70 applications for this specific grant mechanism.

“This is an incredibly well-done proposal and is well deserved,” said Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Director and SUS President-Elect Gregory Kennedy, M.D., Ph.D.

Marayati will present a final report on her research to the SUS Scholarship Committee and Executive Committee at the SUS Grant Presentation Session at the 2020 Academic Surgical Congress in Orlando, Florida, and will also be recognized at the Association for Academic Surgery and SUS Awards Ceremony.

Marayati’s funding will begin with the commencement of her project in July.