Brian Robert Smith
MD Student with Scholarly Concentration in Biomedical Ethics & Medical Humanities, expected graduation Spring 2026
Honors & Awards
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Klingenstein Fellow, Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation (KTGF) Medical Student Fellowship (2024)
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Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, Stanford School of Medicine (2023)
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William Carlos Williams Poetry Competition Honorable Mention, Northeast Ohio Medical University (2022)
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Paul Kalanithi Writing Award Honorable Mention, Stanford Medicine and the Muse (2021)
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Paul Kalanithi Writing Award Honorable Mention, Stanford Medicine and the Muse (2020)
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Irvin D. Yalom Literary Award Finalist, Pegasus Physician Writers (2020)
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Excellence in Teaching Award, Stanford Biology (2020)
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Award of Excellence, Stanford Alumni Association (2020)
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Community Impact Award, Stanford Alumni Association (2020)
Research Projects
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Long-term outcomes of ureteroceles in children
Clinical research project investigating the long-term outcomes of pediatric urology patients in the past decade at Stanford, in particular focusing on whether the ureteroceles were punctured and if the subsequent outcomes (complication, need for additional surgeries, infections) is better.
Location
Stanford, CA
Organization
Stanford University
All Publications
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Golden.
Academic psychiatry : the journal of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the Association for Academic Psychiatry
2023
View details for DOI 10.1007/s40596-023-01915-1
View details for PubMedID 38017335
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Real Magic.
Anesthesia and analgesia
2023; 137 (5): 1110-1111
View details for DOI 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006264
View details for PubMedID 37862401
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Lighthouse.
Anesthesia and analgesia
2023; 137 (5): 1112-1113
View details for DOI 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006311
View details for PubMedID 37862402
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Treading Through Twilight.
Anesthesiology
2023
View details for DOI 10.1097/ALN.0000000000004661
View details for PubMedID 37610370
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Annals Graphic Medicine - Preparing for a Genomic Future.
Annals of internal medicine
2023
View details for DOI 10.7326/G22-0055
View details for PubMedID 37549392
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"That Was Terrible": Public Humiliation in Preclinical Education.
Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
2023
View details for DOI 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005429
View details for PubMedID 37556807
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Sunsets.
JAMA oncology
2023
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.2179
View details for PubMedID 37498622
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Annals Graphic Medicine - Dependence.
Annals of internal medicine
2023: eG220051
View details for DOI 10.7326/G22-0051
View details for PubMedID 37364266
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Matter.
Palliative & supportive care
2023: 1-2
View details for DOI 10.1017/S1478951523000792
View details for PubMedID 37357956
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Lost and Found in the ER.
Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
2023
View details for DOI 10.1111/acem.14759
View details for PubMedID 37285060
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Five visits with Diane.
Families, systems & health : the journal of collaborative family healthcare
2023; 41 (2): 284-285
Abstract
This brief article is based on a patient's experience the author witnessed as a medical oncology scribe. The article describes five visits with a cancer patient named Diane as she started chemotherapy. Mere months since Diane's first visit, she died. The doctor read a slip of paper on her desk and told the author with tears in her eyes. The author turned over the visits she had with Diane, trying to find solace in the comfort she had in the end. It had all gone so fast, though. Four visits and she was gone. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
View details for DOI 10.1037/fsh0000775
View details for PubMedID 37338454
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Celebrating synergy.
Canadian medical education journal
2023; 14 (3): 361
View details for DOI 10.36834/cmej.77279
View details for PubMedID 37465743
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10351624
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My first day in the ER: Should I be worried about.
Families, systems & health : the journal of collaborative family healthcare
2023; 41 (2): 282
Abstract
In this poem, a medical resident describes his first day in the emergency room. He describes the patient bleeding and his plummeting pulse. The resident wonders if he worries too much or whether, when it truly matters, he will be enough. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
View details for DOI 10.1037/fsh0000746
View details for PubMedID 37338452
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Bearer of bad news.
Canadian medical education journal
2023; 14 (3): 360
View details for DOI 10.36834/cmej.76145
View details for PubMedID 37465734
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Bonfire Abecedarian.
The Journal of medical humanities
2023
View details for DOI 10.1007/s10912-023-09802-4
View details for PubMedID 37127836
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Bedbound.
Palliative & supportive care
2023; 21 (2): 370
View details for DOI 10.1017/S1478951522001213
View details for PubMedID 39625273
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Falling apart.
Canadian medical education journal
2023; 14 (2): 181
View details for DOI 10.36834/cmej.76083
View details for PubMedID 37304631
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Growth mindset.
AEM education and training
2023; 7 (2): e10847
View details for DOI 10.1002/aet2.10847
View details for PubMedID 36936086
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Keeping UpToDate.
AEM education and training
2023; 7 (2): e10826
View details for DOI 10.1002/aet2.10826
View details for PubMedID 37008651
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Greener Health Care Is a Necessity.
AMA journal of ethics
2023; 25 (4): E294-298
Abstract
This series of 4 images visually considers ethical questions about the US health sector's emissions.
View details for DOI 10.1001/amajethics.2023.294
View details for PubMedID 37014725
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Indelible.
AEM education and training
2023; 7 (2): e10866
View details for DOI 10.1002/aet2.10866
View details for PubMedID 37064490
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10090485
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Rheumatology's Animal Kingdom: A Digital Art Series.
The Journal of rheumatology
2023
Abstract
During my first 2 years of medical school, I noticed how many syndromes and symptoms are named after animals. These visual metaphors are especially memorable because they evoke clear and vivid images and shapes.
View details for DOI 10.3899/jrheum.230036
View details for PubMedID 36858433
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Factors of transurethral incision effectiveness for ureteroceles in pediatric patients: A 28-year, single-institution retrospective review.
Journal of pediatric urology
2023
Abstract
As a congenital anomaly, ureteroceles occur in 1 in 4000 children, and are usually diagnosed prenatally. However, there remains a lack of definite consensus on the optimal management of congenital ureteroceles.We evaluated factors associated with success of primary transurethral incision (TUI) in ureterocele pediatric patients.Demographic and clinical information for 120 pediatric patients who were diagnosed with congenital ureterocele between 1993 and 2021 at our institution were obtained through retrospective chart review. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact tests, t-tests, and logistic regression with a significance threshold of p < 0.05. The primary outcome of ureterocele management was TUI effectiveness, defined by no need for further surgical intervention.Of the 120 patients (39 boys, 81 girls) with ureteroceles, 75 patients (22 boys, 53 girls) met our inclusion criteria of undergoing initial TUI ureterocele. Initial TUI was effective in 51/75 patients (68.0%). We analyzed possible correlative factors for TUI efficacy. Simplex system was a significant predictor of primary TUI efficacy (85% effective in simplex systems, 62% in duplex systems). Prior urinary tract infection, prenatal diagnosis, and electrocautery technique were all associated with an increased risk of needing additional surgeries after primary TUI.The most significant predictors of effective primary TUI were simplex system and the absence of preoperative vesicoureteral reflux. Prenatal diagnosis, preoperative febrile urinary tract infection, higher preoperative hydronephrosis grade, and the use of electrocautery were all associated with decreased primary TUI efficacy. Study limitations include that it was a retrospective chart review, and cohort size was limited by incomplete urology follow-up and operative records.Initial TUI was an effective procedure for the majority of our pediatric ureterocele patients, a higher success rate compared to other cohorts. Patients with a simplex system were more likely to have an effective first TUI than patients with duplex systems, as were patients without preoperative reflux. Although not statistically significant, our data suggest prior UTI, prenatal diagnosis, higher preoperative hydronephrosis grade, and the use of electrocautery may be associated with having additional surgeries.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jpurol.2023.02.020
View details for PubMedID 37002026
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Limbo.
American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation
2023
View details for DOI 10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.09.009
View details for PubMedID 36697357
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Side effects acrostic.
Palliative & supportive care
2023: 1
View details for DOI 10.1017/S1478951522001870
View details for PubMedID 36635074
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Moments That Matter.
Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
2023
View details for DOI 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005118
View details for PubMedID 36608353
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Sunrise, Sunset
FAMILY MEDICINE
2023; 55 (1): 59-60
View details for DOI 10.22454/FamMed.55.202982
View details for Web of Science ID 001023245500012
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In Line.
American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation
2022
View details for DOI 10.1053/j.ajkd.2022.10.005
View details for PubMedID 36577603
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Rusty and Wooden.
The Journal of rheumatology
2022; 49 (12): 1398-1399
View details for DOI 10.3899/jrheum.220971
View details for PubMedID 36455933
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Pulchritudo ex machina: Beauty from the machine.
Palliative & supportive care
2022: 1-2
View details for DOI 10.1017/S1478951522001572
View details for PubMedID 36367107
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Captive.
Tuberculosis and respiratory diseases
2022
View details for DOI 10.4046/trd.2022.0130
View details for PubMedID 36281545
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Worth Bearing in Mind.
Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
2022
View details for DOI 10.1097/ACM.0000000000005056
View details for PubMedID 36538682
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Heavy hangs the coat.
AEM education and training
2022; 6 (5): e10807
View details for DOI 10.1002/aet2.10807
View details for PubMedID 36258906
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From books to bedsides
AEM EDUCATION AND TRAINING
2022; 6 (5): e10811
View details for DOI 10.1002/aet2.10811
View details for Web of Science ID 000859688700001
View details for PubMedID 36189453
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9513529
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Deluge.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
2022
View details for DOI 10.1111/jgs.18073
View details for PubMedID 36178965
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Bedbound
PALLIATIVE & SUPPORTIVE CARE
2022
View details for DOI 10.1017/S1478951522001213
View details for Web of Science ID 000853244400001
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Safety Net.
Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
2022
View details for DOI 10.1111/acem.14593
View details for PubMedID 36073240
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Code.
Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
2022
View details for DOI 10.1111/acem.14578
View details for PubMedID 35989558
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On a scale from one to ten.
Palliative & supportive care
2022: 1
View details for DOI 10.1017/S1478951522000803
View details for PubMedID 35735029
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Induction.
Anesthesiology
2022
View details for DOI 10.1097/ALN.0000000000004286
View details for PubMedID 35727085
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Letter from a medical oncology scribe
Palliative & Supportive Care
2022
View details for DOI 10.1017/S1478951522000281
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On Diction.
JAMA oncology
2021
View details for DOI 10.1001/jamaoncol.2021.2730
View details for PubMedID 34382997
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High-Parametric Evaluation of Human Invariant Natural Killer T Cells to Delineate Heterogeneity in Allo- and Autoimmunity.
Blood
2020
Abstract
Human invariant natural killer T cells (iNKTs) are a rare innate-like lymphocyte population that recognize glycolipids presented on CD1d. Studies in mice have shown that these cells are heterogenous and capable of enacting diverse functions, and the composition of iNKT subsets can alter disease outcomes. In contrast, far less is known about how heterogeneity in human iNKTs relates to disease. To address this, we use a high-dimensional, data-driven approach to devise a framework to parse human iNKT heterogeneity. Our data revealed novel and previously described iNKT phenotypes with distinct functions. In particular, we found two phenotypes of interest: 1) a population with Th1 function that was increased with iNKT activation characterized by HLA-II+CD161- expression, and 2) a population with enhanced cytotoxic function characterized by CD4-CD94+ expression. These populations, respectively, correlate with acute graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and with new onset type 1 diabetes. Our study identifies human iNKT phenotypes associated with human disease that could aid in the development of biomarkers or therapeutics targeting iNKTs.
View details for DOI 10.1182/blood.2019001903
View details for PubMedID 31935280