Research

PGY-2 Residents are expected to participate in Quality Assurance in either individual or group projects which gets presented to the residency during normal didactic times in the Spring. Each June, we conduct a Resident Research Day program where PGY-3 residents present clinical research using available clinical data under sponsorship of clinical faculty/staff. PGY-4 residents facilitate presentation and discussion. Our program financially supports research initiatives and there is a full-time statistician, Todd Foster, PhD, who is solely dedicated to serving our Ascension St. Vincent Residency Programs.

Todd Foster, PhD
Clinical Research Scientist

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana
Undergraduate: Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis
Graduate School: Indiana University-Bloomington

About: Todd Foster is trained in Biological Anthropology and Medical Science from Indiana University-Bloomington under the direction of Dr. Paul Jamison. His fields of expertise include Human Biological Growth & Development, Human Adaptation, and Human Variation. His dissertation, “A Nutritional and Anthropometric Assessment of Marshallese School Children,” explored the differences found in growth outcomes and dietary habits among private and public school children in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. This work also surveyed children on the capital atoll, Majuro, to allow for the expansion of a population-specific growth chart from ages 5 to 14.

In January 2011, Todd took a position of Clinical Research Scientist at St. Vincent Women’s Hospital working with the Center for Prenatal Diagnosis and the Ob/Gyn residency program. During this time, Todd worked on research studies exploring pre-term birth, cerclage, sex education, and cognitive development within higher order multiples. In 2014, Todd moved to the Office of Research & Regulatory Affairs within St. Vincent Health where he would begin assisting all St. Vincent associates including staff and resident physicians, nurses, genetic counselors, etc. Assistance runs the gamut from literature reviews and protocol development to data acquisition and storage to statistical analysis and poster/manuscript formation.

Todd’s current research interests include pediatric growth and obesity, race in medicine, the use of anthropometrics in medicine, and medical anthropology. In addition to working at St. Vincent Hospital-Indianapolis, Todd is an adjunct professor in the department of Anthropology at Indiana University-Purdue University of Indianapolis. When Todd is not assisting others’ or conducting his own research, he is trail running through the forest, gardening, and/or listening to heavy metal.

The following Research Projects have been presented the last year:

2023
Rana Alcheikh, MD - Effect of Quadratus Lumborum (QL) blocks on Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) opioid usage in women undergoing Robotic- Assisted (RA) Hysterectomy

Anthony Capria, MD - Modifiable Risk Factors in Gynecologic Oncology (MRFGO) Study to Examine Patient Awareness and Knowledge of Modifiable Risk Factors for Developing GYN Malignancies.

Emily Hadley, MD - Rates of mood assessment at appointments for miscarriage
 
Abby Rewoldt, MD - Retrospective Validation and Comparison of the International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) ADNEX Model, Simple Rules and the Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System (O-RADS) for the Ultrasound Discrimination between Benign and Malignant Adnexal Masses