Nitish Sood

Research

“Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.”
~ José Ortega y Gasset

Publications (2)

V. Reddy, N. Sood, J. Hua, C. Ibikunle. “A Retrospective Analysis of Weight Loss Associated with the ORBERA Intragastric Balloon at a Single Bariatric Center”. Global Surgery. March 2020. Available here: DOI: 10.15761/GOS.1000217
V. Reddy, N. Sood, J. Hua, J. Kaplan, A. Postoev, C. Ibikunle. "Impact of Price Transparency on Patient Relationships in an Outpatient Surgical Center". Journal on Surgery. March 2020. Available here:

Published Abstracts (6)

N. Sood, R. Crepeau, & M. Ford. Role of CD28 Signaling on T cell Phenotype following Lymphodepletion and Homeostatic Reconstitution (April 2020). Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.09243
M. Mehra, N. Sood, A. Mittal, C. Bates. Using Alu Elements to Identify Orthologous Chromosomes Across Primates (April 2020). Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.09934
N. Sood, M. Mehra, A. Mittal, C. Bates. Sequence Analysis of Homologous Alu Elements: A Novel Methodology for Primate Phylogenetic Tree Construction (April 2020). Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. doi.org/10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.09578
G. Tellis, A. Sood, N. Sood. Price of Delay in COVID-19 Lockdowns: Delays Spike Total Cases, Natural Experiments Reveal (June 2020). M. Science. Abstract available here.
A. Sood, N. Sood, G. Tellis. Why Did US Governors Delay Lockdowns Against COVID-19? Disease Penetration vs Learning, Cascades, and Political Polarization (June 2020). M. Science. Abstract available here.
N. Sood, G. Tellis, A. Sood. How Long Should Social Distancing Last? Predicting Time to Moderation, Control, and Containment of COVID-19 (June 2020). M. Science. Abstract available here.

Working Papers (3)

G. Tellis, A. Sood, N. Sood. Price of Delay in COVID-19 Lockdowns: Delays Spike Total Cases, Natural Experiments Reveal (May 4, 2020). Available at SSRN: dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3592912
G. Tellis, N. Sood, A. Sood. Why Did US Governors Delay Lockdowns Against COVID-19? Disease Penetration vs Learning, Cascades, and Political Polarization (April 13, 2020). Available at SSRN: doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3575004
G. Tellis, A. Sood, N. Sood. How Long Should Social Distancing Last? Predicting Time to Moderation, Control, and Containment of COVID-19 (March 28, 2020). Available at SSRN: dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3562996

Media Coverage

Multiple national news outlets have covered my research. Bloomberg covered my research on the decision making processed used by Governors when they locked down the states. Yahoo Finance has covered multiple of my articles, linked here, here, and here. In addition, my research has been covered by Phys.org, Medical Xpress, Neuroscience News, COVID19Data.com, MSN, and others.

In addition, as of April 20th 2020, I had papers in SSRN's Top 10 Download List in the following categories: (1) the Medical Research Network, Medical Specialities eJournal, Human Health & Disease eJournal, Health Economics eJournal, Interdisciplinary Coronavirus & Infectious Disease Related Research, Political Economy: National, State, & Local Governnment; Intergovernmental Relations eJournal, Government Expenditures & Health, and National State & Local Government: Health Education & Welfare.

As of April 20th 2020, my paper is the most downloaded paper of all time on SSRN in Government Expenditures & Health.

Presentations (15)

Emergency Medicine/Biomedical Device Construction, Independent Research

Title: “Enhancing CPR Training: Development and Analysis of an Affordable Real-Time Feedback Manikin”
Oral Presentations (3): Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (Nov 2019); Augusta University Center of Undergraduate Research (Nov 2019); Phi Kappa Phi Student Research Conference (Mar 2019)
Poster Presentations (2): Posters at the State Capitol (Mar 2019), Medical College of Georgia’s Ignite the Dream (Feb 2019)

Immunology, Emory School of Medicine

Title: “Impact of Selective CD28 Blockade on T Cell Phenotypes of Lymphopenic Mice”
Poster Presentations (2): Experimental Biology (Mar 2020); Division of KUH Diseases Summer Research Meeting (Aug 2019)
Oral Presentations (1): Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (Nov 2019)

Computational Genomics, Independent Research

Title: “Sequence Analysis of Alu Repeated Elements for Primate Phylogenetic Tree Construction”
Title: “Alu-based Orthologous Chromosome Classification of the Order Primates”
Poster Presentations (3): Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (Nov 2019); Georgia Undergraduate Research Conference (Nov 2019); Phi Kappa Phi Student Research Conference (Mar 2019)

Cardiovascular Research, Morehouse School of Medicine

Title: “Identification of IRX3 associated Transcription Factors ADORA2A, CYR61, DKK1, and EP300 during VEGF-Induced Endothelial Cell Angiogenesis”
Poster Presentations (2): Morehouse School of Medicine (Jul 2015) & Fulton County Science Fair (Jan 2017)

Bioinformatics, Emory School of Medicine

Title: “A Single Cell Approach to Flow Cytometry Data Analysis”
Poster Presentations (1): Emory University Summer Undergraduate Program in Renal Research Conference (Aug 2019)

General Surgery, Georgia Surgicare, Ideal Body Institute

Title: “The Utility of “BuildMyBod” Price Transparency Tool in Surgical Practice”
Oral Presentations (1): RealSelf University Podcast (Oct 2019)

Research Experience

Emory Internship

May 2019 - August 2019

Summer Research Fellow in Immunology I worked in the Ford Lab at Emory University to determine the efficacy of Lulizumab, an anti-CD28 domain antibody, at reducing graft rejection rates compared to the current standard of care: calcineurin inhibitors. I analyzed flow cytometry data to determine the likely mechanism of action of anti-CD28 domain antibodies using expression of cellular markers and developed a pipeline for flow cytometry analysis using unsupervised machine-learing algorithms in conjuction with traditional manual gating methods. I was sponsored to present my research at Experimental Biology 2020. Emory University | Open Access Abstract

Independent Research

2018 - Present

Computational Genomics I developed a novel, inexpensive, and time-efficient tool for identification of chromosomal-level mutations between two primate organisms. In addition to potential applications in genetic screenings and specific cancer mutation identifications, this work has additional applications in Non-Human Primate Genetic studies, & Phylogenetics. Augusta University | Open Access Abstract 1 | Open Access Abstract 2

Biomedical Engineering/ Emergency Medicine

2018 - Present

Research Fellow I designed and manufactured a CPR manikin that provides real-time feedback on critical metrics including force, rate, & interruptions in chest compressions, degree of chest recoil, ventilation volume & rate, and airway tilt angle. I won competitive grants from Chemistry/Physics Department and Center of UG Research and Scholarship and am currently running IRB-approved study designed to compare efficacy of training on different real-time feedback manikins. Augusta University | Open Access Abstract

Department of Neurology, MCG

Oct 2018 - May 2019

Research Fellow I worked under Dr. Hess, Dean of MCG, and Dr. Khan, Research-scientist in Department of Neurology, on first-aid treatments for stroke victims. I helped implement a project testing whether Remote Ischemic Conditioning is an effective treatment for Vascular Cognitive Impairment Disorder using a murine model. Augusta University

Morehouse School of Medicine

May 2014 - August 2014

Research Assistant I helped the Anderson Lab conduct a Chromatin Immunoprecipitation with a DNA Microarray to determine genomic regulation of blood vessel creation (angiogenesis). I utilized bioinformatics programs to analyze the results and determined four new genes as potential genetic treatments for over 40 diseases including strokes, heart attacks, cancer, and even arthritis. Using this information, we identified novel functions for 4 genes. Atlanta | Poster

Experiences

“Tell me what you pay attention to and I will tell you who you are.”
~ José Ortega y Gasset

Education

Medical College of Georgia

Aug 2020 - May 2024

Medical Student

Augusta

Augusta University

Aug 2017 - May 2020

Bachelor of Science in Cellular & Molecular Biology

4.0 GPA

Scholarships: Presidential Scholar (Full Scholarship); Coca-Cola Scholar ($20,000); National Merit Scholar; Carson Scholar

Augusta

Alpharetta High School

Aug 2013 - May 2017

High School Diploma 4.0 GPA Alpharetta

Social Activism

Feed the Frontlines GA

2013 - Present

Director of Finance Feed the Frontlines GA aims to provide fresh and healthy food to healthcare professionals in hospitals hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. To support local businessnes, all of our meals come from local restaurants. We have delivered/scheduled ~2,000 meals to hospitals in Atlanta, Athens, Augusta, Macon, Savannah, and Albany. As the Director of Finance, I led all fundraising initiatives, oversaw all accounting & economic aspects, and managed a team of 5 people. We raised $78,000. GA | FeedtheFrontlinesGA.org

Working Together for Change

2013 - Present

Executive Director I co-founded and manage Working Together for Change, a national 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness. I manage the operations of chapters across the country, while also running the local activities of the Atlanta chapter. WTFC has now mobilized 600+ volunteers for 3,000+ homeless over 17,000 service hours! Atlanta | WorkingTogetherForChange.com/

HackStart

Jul 2015 - Jul 2017

Co-Founder I co-founded HackStart in order to promote digital literacy among teenagers in Atlanta. We have fundraised $5,000+, helping 300+ students learn programming from experienced mentors and professionals Atlanta | HackStart.me/

Awards

“Life without knowledge is death in disguise.”
~ Talib Kweli

Academic

523 MCAT (98% percentile) - taken as a freshman in college
Presidential Scholar, Augusta University's most prestigious scholarship
Coca-Cola Scholar - $20,000 scholarship awarded for exemplary leadership & social activism
National Merit Scholar (1 of 2,500 of 1.6 million students)
Carson Scholar
Governor's Honors Program (Science major, 0.01% of all Georgia high school students)
Earned 'Best Poster Presentation' in the Viven Thomas Summer Research Program at the Morehouse School of Medicine

Volunteering

Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award from 2015 - 2020
First Honorees of the "Two Brothers Who Dared to Dream" Award by the AD King Foundation
Teen Volunteer of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals
Featured in "The Spark", a book showcasing teenagers with high social impacts
Prudential Spirit of Community Award
Exceptional Service Leader Award by GivingPoint Institute
First Place in State-wide competition for a Community Service Project