ORBIT Lab: Overcoming Real-World Barriers In Type 2 Diabetes
Interested in joining our group or collaborating? Email MaryEllen.Vajravelu AT pitt DOT edu
PI: Mary Ellen Vajravelu, MD MSHP
Current lab members:
Jubel Puthusseril, DO
Pediatric endocrinology fellow. Dr. Puthusseril is a second-year pediatric endocrinology fellow at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She graduated from the University of South Florida with Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences and received her DO degree from West Virgina School of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed her pediatrics residency at Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron, OH. Passionate about exploring how novel pharmacologic treatments, such as GLP-1, can be optimized for pediatric populations and how to better support patients in starting and managing the use of new treatments, she is working with Dr. Vajravelu on several related projects during her pediatric endocrinology fellowship.
Rutha Chivate, BS
Medical student. Rutha is a 4th year medical student at the University of Pittsburgh. She is originally from Cranbury, NJ, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Medicine and minors in Neuroscience and Chemistry in 2022. Outside of school, Rutha loves running and spending time outdoors, crafts like knitting and crocheting, reading mystery books, and exploring Pittsburgh with friends. For her 2023 summer research project with the ORBIT Lab, she investigated primary care pediatrician perspectives about use of weight loss pharmacotherapy in adolescents with obesity (now published in Pediatric Obesity). She is currently completing her longitudinal research experience with the ORBIT Lab, investigating the role of neighborhood-level social determinants of health in clinical outcomes for youth with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Sarah Apte, BA
Medical student. Sarah is a 3rd year medical student at Northeast Ohio Medical University. She is participating in several projects with the ORBIT Lab, including investigating the role of adverse childhood experiences in relation to diabetes risk, as well as evaluating perceptions of weight-loss medications by adolescents and young adults. For her ACES study, Sarah worked closely with her fellow NEOMED student Harvey Tucker to complete data analysis.
Afsana Dhali
Undergraduate student. Afsana is an Honors Pre-Med student at the University of Pittsburgh who is majoring in Biology and Economics. She has a research interest in the relationship between historical famine exposure and metabolic health. As a member of the ORBIT Lab, she will contribute to ongoing projects related to nutrition and metabolic health.
Former lab members:
Vaishnavi Peyyety, BS
Current medical student at Temple University. Vaishnavi was a member of ORBIT during her undergraduate years at Washington and Jefferson College, where she was also a Temple Medical Scholar. She worked with Dr. Vajravelu on several projects, including preparation of text messages for the BEAM Trial, a qualitative study investigating perspectives on use of CGM among youth with T2D, the association between social determinants of health and prediabetes risk in youth, and qualitative study evaluating perspectives of adolescents on the use of weight-loss medications. In her free time, Vaishnavi enjoys singing and listening to music, assistant teaching organic chemistry, planning cultural events, and trying new foods. She aspires to work in Pediatrics in the future.
Margaret Jankowski, BA
Current medical student at the University of Pennsylvania. Margaret was a member of ORBIT for a year between undergraduate and medical school. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2024 with a major in Health & Societies with a concentration in Public Health, as well as a minor in Chemistry. She previously served as a research assistant at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia while completing her undergraduate degree. She joined the ORBIT Lab in June 2024 and supports several ongoing projects.
Rawan Elrajabi, MD
Current pediatric resident. Dr. Elrajabi completed her pediatric endocrinology fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, during which time she was a member of the ORBIT Lab. Upon completion of fellowship, she began her U.S. pediatrics residency at the University of Toledo. For her clinical research project with the ORBIT Lab, she completed a retrospective cohort study to describe the clinical characteristics of youth with variants of uncertain significance in monogenic obesity-associated genes and helped design a qualitative project to examine decision-making in the setting of anti-obesity medication by youth.
Ryan Ross
Undergraduate Research Assistant. Ryan is an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. He assisted Dr. Elrajabi in a project characterizing youth with variants of uncertain significance in monogenic obesity-associated genes. He presented this work at the Pediatric Endocrine Society annual conference in 2024.
BRIANNA HEWITT, MPH
Clinical Research Coordinator. Brianna attended Slippery Rock University, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and a Master of Public Health. In her free time, Brianna enjoys cooking, traveling, attending Pitt football games, and spending time with friends and family. Brianna served as the primary study coordinator for the BEAM trial and the CGM for T2D Risk Study from 2021-2024.
Caleb Harrison, BS
Current medical student. Caleb graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and minors in Chemistry and Exercise Science in 2022. Caleb is now attending University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (class of 2028). He was an active contributor to the ORBIT Lab during his time as a research assistant from 2023-2024, supporting data analysis and manuscript preparation.
Adriana Rodriguez Gonzalez, MD
Pediatric endocrinologist and Assistant Professor at University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Rodriguez Gonzalez was a member of the ORBIT Lab during her pediatric endocrinology fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, from which she graduated in 2024. She was awarded an Endocrine Fellows Foundation grant to support her work related to use of CGM for Type 2 Diabetes risk evaluation in youth. She enjoys quality time with friends, dancing, learning new cooking recipes and during the winter season continuing to improve her snowboarding skills. In the future she would like to continue working with her Latin population and bridging the gap between health inequities that the minority population have in the medical field.