Kellie is a physician scientist, who completed an anesthesiology residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (2017-2020) following an internal medicine internship at Thomas Jefferson University. She is currently a regional anesthesia and acute pain management fellow at Johns Hopkins University. Her research experience and interests include the neuroscience of addiction, pain medicine, and clinical applications of these psychological and pharmacological treatments on acute and chronic pain. Beyond research Kellie is passionate about science/research advocacy and outreach, in addition to improving pain medicine education.

Kellie completed her undergraduate training at Ohio Wesleyan University, majoring in biochemistry and neuroscience. As part of her preparation for medical school applications, she started research early in her studies and became enthralled with the role of research to push the field of medicine forward. This new passion resulted in application and acceptance into Thomas Jefferson University’s M.D./Ph.D program.

Kellie received her PhD in Neuroscience  in Dr. Elisabeth Van Bockstaele’s laboratory and the department of Psychiatry’s Narcotics Addiction Rehabilitation Program under Dr. Robert Sterling at Thomas Jefferson University. There she studied the reciprocal interaction between stress and opioid addiction in clinical patients and a parallel rat model.

Following a successful thesis defense in December 2013, Kellie was offered a visiting researcher fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute‘s Center for Pain (now: Center for Neurological Restoration) for six months prior to reentering medical school. Her work under Dr. Judith Scheman and Dr. Ed Covington focused on 1) Observational retrospective study of the outcomes and success of long-term (>1 year) chronic opioid therapy for pain; 2) Prospective analysis of PTSD symptoms, stress, and coping styles at baseline and throughout Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program compared with outcomes. Off-site continuation of these projects extended throughout the entirety of her medical school training.

Kellie graduated from the Sidney Kimmel Medical School of Thomas Jefferson University, in June 2016, as an AOA member and recipient of the Hyman Menduke Research Award for an MD/PhD graduate that displayed excellence in research throughout their time in medical training.

In addition to the chronic pain work with the Cleveland Clinic, Kellie has ongoing acute pain research with Dr. Eugene Viscusi, ranging from ketamine implications in amputation to screening for addiction characteristics in patient pre-operatively.

Kellie will complete her internship year in internal medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in June 2017. During this formative year, her involvement in the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine society increased as she was elected to the Resident Section Committee, continued on the social media team, and became chair of a Special Interest Group that she founded on early and accessible pain education. Additionally the social media involvement in this society led to a publication and ongoing research study on twitter engagement and impact on anesthesiology conferences.

Publications:

 

Research Projects: Past and Ongoing