Dr. Michael J. Patton
PhD, MSTP Candidate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

My goal as a future physician-scientist is to perform bench-to-bedside translational science by extracting clinically actionable information from multi-omic experimental data and electronic medical records. As an undergraduate researcher studying organic synthesis (2009-2013), I never produced enough data to warrant a deep dive into rigorous computational analysis; however, as a post-baccalaureate researcher at the NIH (2014-2017), I found that the application of high-throughput proteomic analysis to a bacterial disease models could produce a significant amount of complex data. Under Dr. Harlan Caldwell’s guidance, I established foundational knowledge of human-microbial interactions through the study Chlamydia trachomatis pathogenesis while gaining deep understanding of how to perform wet lab omic analyses using mass spectrometry. During my three years at the NIH, I discovered a novel C. trachomatis immune avoidance mechanism and performed experiments resulting in the highest proteomic coverage of the organism to date.

After departing the NIH, I began my first year as a MD/PhD student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2017-Present) with a desire to learn the informatic expertise required to analyze more complex omic datasets in human disease studies. By the end of my first year of medical school, I realized that my previous experience with high-throughput proteomics at the NIH was pulling me closer to a pursuit of computational methods and translational medical research. As a current graduate student, I committed myself to the pursuit of a PhD in biomedical informatics. With the mentorship of Dr. Matthew Might, I am currently developing a diverse skill-set in electronic medical record analysis, machine learning, outcome modeling, and clinical decision support software development at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Precision Medicine Institute (UAB-PMI).

Publications

MD/PhD Research (2017-Present)

Dissertation

Published Manuscripts

Published Abstracts

NIH Post-Baccalaureate Research (2014-2017)

Published Manuscripts

Presentations

Oral Presentations

Poster Presentations

Conferences Attended

Press & News Releases

Employment, Education, & Awards

MD/PhD Candidate in the University of Alabama Medical Scientist Training Program (2017-Present)

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)

NIH Intramural Research Training Award Research (IRTA) Scholar (2014-2017)

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Fulbright Scholar (2013-2014)

United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), Chennai India

Occidental College (2009-2013)

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Chemistry

Contact Me

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