2026 Research Showcase

The University of Washington Department of Emergency Medicine hosted its 2026 Research Showcase, bringing together faculty, residents, staff and students to highlight groundbreaking scholarly work and foster collaboration across the department. The annual event provides presenters with an opportunity to receive valuable feedback from colleagues while attendees learn more about the diverse research interests and scholarly activities shaping the future of emergency medicine.

This year’s showcase featured keynote speaker Wesley H. Self, MD, MPH, senior vice president for clinical research and director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His presentation, “Driving Science within a Learning Healthcare System,” explored the importance of integrating research into everyday clinical care to improve patient outcomes and accelerate innovation.

A nationally recognized leader in emergency care research, Dr. Self has authored more than 340 peer-reviewed publications and secured more than $400 million in research funding.

His work focuses on improving care for patients with sepsis, respiratory infections, ARDS and critical illness through large pragmatic clinical trials and national research networks. He also continues to mentor investigators and advance collaborative approaches to high-impact team science.

The showcase featured oral presentations and poster sessions spanning global health, substance use disorders, critical care, emergency department operations, cardiac arrest, climate and mental health, and medical education.

Research Showcase Award Winners

Awards were presented in three categories recognizing outstanding scholarly contributions:

• Faculty Award: Christopher Woodard for “Association Between Physician-Performed Point-of-Care Ultrasound and Patient Experience Metrics in the Emergency Department: A Multi-Site Analysis Using Press Ganey ED CAHPS Data”
• Residents Award: Zackary Salem-Bango for “Prevalence of fungal infections in a patient cohort in The Gambia: Identification and characterization of three priority fungal species in patients with symptoms suggestive of TB”
• Staff & Students Award: Caitlin Cunningham for “Virtual Primary Care’s Uneven Relief of Emergency Departments”

Poster Sessions

The poster session highlighted the depth and diversity of research underway across the department and its collaborators. Topics ranged from emergency department-based addiction treatment and cardiac arrest outcomes to refugee health, emergency care communication, climate-related mental health impacts and physician wellness.

Featured projects explored:

• Telemedicine hotlines for buprenorphine prescribing
• Self-reported concerns among emergency department patients with opioid use disorder
• PTSD symptoms among mechanically ventilated emergency department survivors
• Data-driven ECG feature extraction for rearrest prediction
• Climate change, urban environments and emergency department mental health utilization
• Safe emergency department discharges for patients with limited English proficiency
• Professional satisfaction in emergency medicine residency training
• Community ART delivery in refugee settlements in Uganda
• Emergency department protocols for alcohol use disorder treatment
• Defining cardiac standstill and organized cardiac motion during cardiac arrest

The annual Research Showcase reflects the department’s continued commitment to advancing discovery, improving patient care and supporting interdisciplinary collaboration across emergency medicine research.