UAB Department of General Surgery Residents Jeremie Lever, M.D., Ph.D., and Angela Sickels, M.D., were recognized at this year’s Alabama-Mississippi American College of Surgeons (ACS) Annual Meeting in Gulf Shores, Alabama, for exceptional research presentations.

At the annual meeting, Lever received first prize for best presentation for his work entitled, “Rectal cancer produces exosomes carrying ST6GAL1 which increase treatment resistance.” His research mentor for the project was UAB Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery Associate Professor Karin Hardiman, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Lever expressed gratitude to the Department of Surgery and his mentor. “I want to communicate my sincere thanks to the Department for supporting me in developing my academic career and in my mission to help patients through translational science. This work would not be possible without generous mentorship from Dr. Hardiman.”

Sickels was awarded honorable mention for her research presentation on “The textbook outcome for surpainguinal anatomic bypass – a useful quality metric for care optimization,” for which her mentor was Director of UAB Division of Vascular Surgery & Endovascular Therapy Adam Beck, M.D.

Their presentations were selected from over 20 individual contributors in the conference’s General Surgery Resident Paper Competition.

“We are exceptionally proud of Drs. Lever and Sickels for their continued advancements in research,” says UAB General Surgery Residency Program Director Britney Corey, M.D., MACM. “This incredible work is also made possible by the time and dedication of their mentors, who are invested in assisting our residents to excel in their current research projects and future endeavors as surgeons and scientists.”