The SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award recognizes outstanding early-career researchers who are making meaningful contributions to the field of healthcare simulation.
Each year, we honor these talented individuals for their dedication, innovation, and commitment to advancing research. Below, you’ll find a list of past and present award recipients—leaders and rising stars whose work is shaping the future of simulation in healthcare. Congratulations to all of our winners!
2025 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Optimizing Clinical Competency and Cognitive Load in Computer-based Simulation Using the Self-efficacy Prebriefing Model
Principle Investigator: Brittany Brennan
South Dakota State University
Watertown, South Dakota, USA
Development and Evaluation of a Multimodal Simulation-based Emergency Medicine Boot Camp for Undergraduate Veterinary Students: A Mixed-methods Approach
Principle Investigator: Jo-Annie Letendre
Université de Montréal
St-Damase, Québec, CA
2024 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Use of a Focused Hybrid Curriculum and Task Trainer to Train and Maintain Surgical Airway Skills among Anesthesia Providers
Principle Investigator: Charles Lin, MD, MS
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
The Application of Virtual Simulation in Promoting Empathy
Principle Investigator: Samantha Juan, EdD, RN, MSN, CCRN-A, CHSE, CNE
California State University Eastbay, Hayward, California, USA
Using Virtual Reality in Training Behavior Technicians Who Work with Children with Autism
Principle Investigator: Adam Scott Hockman, MA
ABA Technologies & MGH Institute of Health Professions
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2023 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
The Novel Use of Technology to Support Sustainability of an Obstetric Emergency Simulation Program in a Middle-Income Country
Principle Investigator: Sasha Hernandez, MD
New York University, New York, USA
Differences in Student Experiences of Virtual Simulation Co-creation: Shifting Healthcare Education Towards Equity-centered Authentic Assessment: A Phenomenographic Study
Principle Investigator: Laura Killam, PhD(c), RN
Queen’s University
Kingston, Ontario, CANADA
2022 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Does Simulation Improve Medical Decision-Making in EMS?
Principle Investigator: Daniel Johnson, MD
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA
Implementation of a Novel VR Crisis Scenario Simulation for Anesthesia Trainees
Principle Investigator: Lenard William Babus, MD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
2021 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Creation of a Novel Distance-based Learning Curriculum Comparing Immersive Virtual Reality Curriculum to Standardized Simulation for Residents Across Multiple Disciplines
Principle Investigator: Erin Hulfish, MD
Stony Brook Children’s Hospital
Stony Brook, New York, USA
Caregiver Experience with High-fidelity Tracheostomy Simulation: A Qualitative Study
Principle Investigator: Darlene Acorda, MSN, APRN, CPNP-PC, CHSE
Texas Children’s Hospital
Houston, Texas, USA
2020 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Simulation Training and Assessment in Interventional Cardiology
Principle Investigator: Yao Xiao
Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University
Guangzhou, China
Increasing Pediatrid Readiness in Critical Access Hospitals: An In-Situ Simulation-based Improvement Program
Principle Investigator: Emily Mathias
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Validation of Using Video-based Simulation to Assess Task Mental Representations
Principle Investigator: Vicky JH Yeh
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota, USA
2019 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Pediatric Sepsis Readiness in Latvian Emergency Departments: A Simulation-based Trial
Principal Investigator: Reinis Balmaks, MD
Riga Stradins University
Riga, Latvia
Examining Relationships of the Simulation Faculty Workload Model
Principal Investigator: Nikki Blodgett, PhD, RN
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
ESimulation-based Mastery Learning for the Neonatal Nurse Practitioner
Principal Investigator: Brittany Dahlen, BAN, RN, CCRN-K, CPHON, CPN
Children's Minnesota
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
2018 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Determining the interval of training required for competence and creating a Musculoskeletal Workshop with Simulators for Primary Care Physicians in Training
Principal Investigator: Mary Lan, MD
Trippler Army Medical
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Does Simulation-based Teaching Reduce CT Scans in Children with Very Low-risk Head Trauma
Principal Investigator: Ilana Harwayne-Gidansky, MD, MA
Stony Brook Children’s Hospital
Stony Brook, New York, USA
Use of Asynchronous Learning & Online Mentoring as a Low-cost Solution to Develop Simulation Educators in Indian Subcontinent
Principal Investigator: Asit Misra, MD, MEM
OhioHealth Learning
Columbus, Ohio, USA
2017 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Entrustable Professional Activities: Can Simulation be Used to Assess Competency?
Principal Investigator: Tiffany Moadel, Leigh Evans
Yale School of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
How Does Variation of Moulage Authenticity Impact Engagement of Participants in a Simulation?
Principal Investigator: Jessica Stokes-Parrish
University of Newcastle School of Medicine
Hunter Region, Australia
Socioeconomic Bias: Impact on Physician Decision-making and Patient Safety
Principal Investigator: Heather Fasano
Carolinas Healthcare System
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Implementation of Mental Skills to Enhance Medical Students' Performance
Principal Investigator: Nicholas Anton, MS
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
2016 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
De-escalating Angry Caregivers: RCT for Pediatric Trainees Using an SP Curriculum
Principal Investigator: Sarah Hillgenberg, MD
Stanford University School of Medicine
Palo Alto, California, USA
Performance of an ED In-Situ Simulation Program Designed to Improve Sepsis Care
Principal Investigator: Lillian Wong, MD
Institute for Advanced Simulation and Learning (IMSAL)
Bronx, New York, USA
2015 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Defining the Learning Curve for the Digital Labor Cervical Exam
Principal Investigator: Joshua F. Nitsche, MD, PhD
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
2014 SSH Early Career Mentored Research Award Winners
Interprofessional Education in Pharmacology using High-fidelity Simulation
Principal Investigator: Brittney Meyer, PharmD
South Dakota State University
Brookings, South Dakota, USA