Lab Members
Our interdisciplinary team includes clinical and research fellows and students with interest in injury prevention, pediatric surgery, and pediatric trauma.
Stephanie Chao
Principal Investigator
Dr. Stephanie Chao did her residency and fellowship at Stanford University in general surgery and pediatric surgery. She is a pediatric surgeon. Dr. Chao also serves as the Trauma Medical Director for Stanford Children's Health. Dr. Chao is also the Director of the Stanford Chest Wall Program. She is also the Associate Chair of Professional Development for Stanford University’s Department of Surgery.
Staff
Elena Harnish
Clinical Research Manager
Elena obtained her master’s in clinical psychology from Towson University in 2023. She is interested in psychological impacts and adaptation to illness among pediatric populations, and health literacy in underserved populations. In her free time, Elena enjoys visiting hole-in-the-wall bookstores, reading and cooking!
Jordan Moseley
PLEDGE Program Manager
She holds an MPH in Maternal and Child Health and is passionate about combining medical and social sciences to reimagine health care systems. Her work focuses on community-based research and prevention to improve health outcomes in disenfranchised communities. She believes, “there is nothing a good song can’t cure.”
Research Associates
Katherine Alvarez
Katherine is a physician assistant for the Pediatric General Surgery and Pediatric Trauma service at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Clinical Health Services and Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Washington. Katherine lived and trained in Alaska before moving to California.
Carly Celebrezze
Carly is a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford. She obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon, master’s degree in global health at University College London, a medical degree at Washington State University. She is an aspiring pediatric surgeon. Carly loves to travel, having visited 44 countries thus far!
Madeline Adams
Madeline is a general surgery resident and postdoctoral scholar in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Stanford University, mentored by Stephanie Chao. Her research focuses on pediatric surgery, trauma, health policy, and epidemiology through three primary approaches: population-level database analysis, qualitative research, and quality improvement.
Using U.S. and international health insurance datasets, Dr. Adams studies congenital anomalies, congenital lung malformations, and the long-term health impacts of childhood CT scan exposure. She also conducts qualitative research on injury prevention, including firearm safety education through the PLEDGE program and prevention strategies for pediatric e-bike injuries.
Her quality improvement work centers on pediatric trauma care, including multi-institutional efforts to improve trauma resuscitation and the development of clinical pathways for complex neonatal and congenital conditions. Her professional development is supported by Stanford’s Maternal and Child Health Institute through the Paul and Yuanbi Ramsay Endowed Fellowship.
Dupe Diyaolu
Resident
Dupe is a General Surgery resident, PGY 4. She obtained her medical degree from University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and her undergraduate degree from Tufts University. Dupe is a budding pediatric surgeon. In her free time, she likes to bake, play piano, and read. She also loves musicals and theatre.
Pamela Emengo
Pamela is a postdoctoral research fellow and an aspiring pediatric surgeon. She previously obtained her medical degree from the Jacobs School of Medicine in New York. She is currently obtaining her MPH at UC Berkeley and will finish general surgery residency at Mount Sinai after her research fellowship. In her free time, Pamela enjoys sports, DIY, and culinary adventures.
Ryan W. Han
Student
Ryan is pursuing his undergraduate degree in Computer Science and Master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics at Stanford University. Ryan will start a dual MD-PhD program at UCLA and Caltech this summer. In his free time, Ryan sang a cappella throughout college.
Ethan Lew
Ethan is a physician assistant in the Pediatric General Surgery department at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. He obtained his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Los Angeles and his Master of Health Sciences degree at the physician assistant program at Duke University. In his free time, Ethan enjoys painting watercolors, trying new recipes, and editing vacation videos.
Nolan R. Martin
Resident
Nolan is an internal medicine resident at UC San Diego. He obtained his medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School and his undergraduate degree from Tufts University. In his free time, Nolan is an avid pilot and home cook.
Helene Nepomuceno
Helene is currently an Innovations in Pediatric Surgery Research Fellow, pursuing her interests in academic surgery and advocacy through injury prevention research with the Chao lab. She is a Bay Area local (go Warriors!) and received her MD at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. She completed her general surgery residency at the Sunrise Consortium in Las Vegas, Nevada and is an aspiring pediatric surgeon. Helene is mom to an adorable dog and human!
Meagan E. Peterson
Megan obtained her MD from Stanford University, MPH from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently in residency in Edinburgh, Scotland. She aims to combine her interests in public health, surgery, and health equity as an aspiring pediatric surgeon. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and dog, reading, and learning to play the piano.
Akanksha Sabapaty
Fellow
Akanksha is a research fellow. She obtained her MBBS from Kasturba Medical College in Manipal. A fun fact about Akanksha is that she grew up in Russia, Nigeria, and India before moving to the US!
Vivien Sun
Dr. Vivien Sun is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatric and a pediatric hospitalist at Stanford. She is currently completing the Academic Pediatric Association’s Health Policy Scholars Program, partnering with the Chao Lab to address pediatric firearm violence prevention. She serves as the Director of Stanford Pediatric Residency’s Advocacy Rotation, is a fellow in the Office of Child Health Equity, and serves as the Professional Development Co-Director for the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine. She is passionate about firearm violence, advocacy, and medical education. Dr. Sun completed her pediatrics training at UCSF and served as a Chief Resident prior to joining the faculty at Stanford. She also holds an MPhil in Public Health from Cambridge University. In her free time, she loves reading fiction and transporting her two kids around on an electric bicycle.
Alumni
John Austin
Resident
John is a General Surgery Resident, PGY 1 at UC San Diego Department of Surgery. He obtained his medical degree from Stanford University. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard University. He is looking at future careers in trauma surgery, surgical critical care, or pediatric surgery. In college, John was the general manager and cellist of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra and went on concert tours to the Philippines, South Korea, and Argentina.
Katy Chan
Resident
Katy is a General Surgery Resident, PGY1 at University of Washington Department of Surgery. She obtained her medical degree from Stanford University. She pursued her undergraduate degree at Yale University. She visited 14 of the National Parks, and she’s on a mission to visit them all!
Julia Chandler
Resident
Julia is a General Surgery Resident, PGY 5. She obtained her Master’s degree in Health Policy and medical degree from Stanford University. She also pursued a Master’s degree in Education from Pace University. She obtained an AB in Economics from Harvard College. She is a future breast surgical oncologist. Julia is also the proud mom to two darling girls.
Talha Rafeeqi
Resident
Talha is a General Surgery Resident, PGY4 at Valley Health System in Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended Dow University of Health Sciences in Karachi, Pakistan. Talha spent time exploring all of his interests including pediatric surgery in Dr. Chao’s lab, and he is currently interviewing for hepatopancreatobiliary fellowships. In his free time, he spends time with family and looks forward to getting back into his hobby of working on cars and tuning them up for the track.
Jordan Taylor
Clinical Instructor
Jordan is a clinical instructor at Stanford Hospital and Clinics. He completed his residency in General Surgery at Stanford Hospital and Clinics.
