Student Research and Accomplishments (2024)

Explore research and accomplishments from ultrasound students and alumni.

College of Nursing
Programs
Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Ultrasound
Student Research and Accomplishments

Student Research and Accomplishments (1)

ALUMNI ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Recent Diagnostic Ultrasound Graduate Published in the Journal for Vascular Ultrasound

Kacey Jaenicke is a recent graduate from the post-baccalaureate Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Ultrasound program at Seattle University. She and her classmate Riley Davis, ’23, had their senior capstone papers published in the September issue of theJournal for Vascular Ultrasound. In her capstone paper, "Deep Venous Thrombosis in the Setting of Fever," Jaenicke discusses the correlation between the incidence of fever and diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). While working on her manuscript, Jaenicke conducted her clinical rotation at Harborview Medical Center.

"I am immensely proud of Kacey and Riley’s publications to theJournal of Vascular Ultrasound," said Mirette Aziz, Director, Diagnostic Ultrasound program. "The many hours spent in preparation, research, writing, revision, submitting the manuscript and navigating the peer review process, reflects their rigor and dedication to contributing to the literature of Ultrasound."

Tell us a little about yourself, your passions, experience, or other things you’d like to share.

"I was born and raised in Federal Way, WA. Prior to attending SU, I graduated from Washington State University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology (Go Cougs!). After graduation, I worked as a certified nursing assistant at Seattle Children's Hospital for six years, where I got the opportunity to do some on-the-job shadowing in their ultrasound department. I became absolutely fascinated by ultrasound and knew that I wanted to pursue a career as a sonographer. I got accepted into the Diagnostic Ultrasound program at Seattle University and graduated this past August."

What drew you to pursue your degree at Seattle U?

"Seattle University had everything I was looking for in a post-baccalaureate program. I strongly resonate with their mission of educating the whole person. Each professor I had was dedicated to my learning and invested in my development from student to sonographer. An extra bonus was the location—attending school right in the heart of Seattle was a perfect fit for me."

What are your plans as a new graduate of the program?

"After an amazing yearlong internship at Harborview Medical Center and passing my certification exam, I am officially a Registered Vascular Technologist! I am currently working at Lake Washington Vascular in Bellevue and am learning so much. I feel incredibly lucky to be doing what I know I was meant to do and am excited to see where my journey leads!"

Seattle University’s Bachelor of Science in Diagnostic Ultrasound Program was founded in 1978 and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS). The program has since evolved to offer post-baccalaureate degree and post-baccalaureate certificate pathways to students who already hold an undergraduate degree. The program offers 3 distinctive specialty ultrasound tracks: cardiac, general, and vascular.

Past Student Accomplishments

SU Ultrasound Student Presented at Pacific NW Vascular Conference

Daniela Curto, '17, gave a case presentation at the Pacific Northwest Endovascular Conference (PNEC) on May 25, 2017. Her presentation was entitled, DVT vs. Rouleaux Flow. Her clinical instructor, Sara Skjonsberg BS, RVT, RPhS from University of Washington Medical Center, was a co-presenter. She was a student intern at the University of Washington Medical Center Vascular Lab as part of her course of study.

Seattle University Students Win First and Second place 2016 W. Fred Sample Awards

SU students won both first and second place in the 2016 W. Fred Sample paper sponsored by the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographer.

Seattle U students placed first and second in the 2016 competition

First place went to Karl Fincken who submitted a Literature Review entitled, “Hemodialysis- Improving Arteriovenous Fistula Access through Drug-Eluting Devices and Role of Vascular Ultrasound Imaging”
Second place went to Abigail Cone who submitted a Literature Review entitled, "The Role of Echocardiography in Determining Radiofrequency Ablation versus Cryoablation for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation”

The Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) is a professional membership organization founded in 1970 to promote, advance, and educate its members and the medical community in the science of diagnostic medical sonography. The SDMS, with over 2 8,000 members, is the largest association of sonographers and sonography students in the world.

The SDMS Annual Conference is designed for sonographers, students, and other health care providers who use sonography. The educational program provides knowledge and skills in new sonographic techniques, diagnostic accuracy, enhancements of sonographic instrumentation, and practice management strategies.

Once a year at the annual SDMS conference students have the opportunity to participate in the W. Fred Sample Competition. Each student who chooses to participate submits an article focused on either original research or a literature review.

W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award acknowledges outstanding achievement in writing in the field of diagnostic medical sonography. The award is named in memory of W. Frederick Sample, MD, whose tremendous contributions to the growth and development of the field of sonography have influenced sonographers and physicians. Because of Dr. Sample's dedication to teaching and research, this award is given to outstanding students in diagnostic medical sonography.

W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award-Literature Review

View full list of award winners.

Year	Place	Name	Poster Title
1995	1st	Lea M. Guerra	Postoperative Hepatic Transplants: A Review of Ultrasound Applications in Detecting Hepatic Artery Thrombosis
1999	2nd	Kelly Phipps Grove	The Use of Three-Dimensional Ultrasound in Gynecological Examinations
2001	2nd	Megan Emily Lim	The Role of Echocardiography in the Evaluation of Patients With Left Ventricular Assist Devices: A Literature Review
2002	1st	Amelia Madsen	Sonographic Methods of Evaluating Cervical Length: A Literature Review
2004	1st	Amber Reas	The Role of Ultrasound in Selective Laser Photocoagulation Therapy for the Treatment of Severe Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome
2006	1st	Britta Fehst	Sonography for Visualization of the Appendix, Normal or With Acute Appendicitis: A Literature Review
2006	Tied	Nicole Tuning	Does Spatiotemporal Image Correlation Enhance the Diagnostic Usefulness of 3D Fetal Cardiac Imaging? A Literature Review
2007	1st	Abby Rubin	Real-Time Three-Dimensional Echocardiography: Its Role in the Measurement of Mitral Valve Area in Mitral Stenosis - A Literature Review
2008	1st	Joannalyn Sangco	Sonographic Characteristics of Recanalization of the Greater Saphenous Vein Post-Endovenous Ablation for the Treatment of Superficial Venous Insufficiency
2009	1st	Bailey Nelson	Fetal Intra-abdominal Umbilical Vein Varix: A Review of the Literature
2010	1st	Tara Zwink	Takosubo Cardiomypathy, Clinical Characteristics, Echocardiographic Findings, and a Comparison to Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Review of Literature
2010	2nd	Mirette Aziz	Type A Aortic Dissection in Marfan Syndrome and the Role of Echocardiography in Determinging the Need for Surgical Intervention
2011	2nd	Michelle LeVeque	A Comparative Analysis of Ultrasound Guided Hyperthermic Ablative Technologies for Malignant Lesions of the Liver
2012	2nd	Michael Naiman	Post Orthotopic Liver Transplant Evaluation by Duplex Ultrasound: A Review of the Literature
2014	2nd	Lisa Cordell	Comparison of Current Echocardipgraphic Modalities Used to Assess Left Ventricle Diastolic Function in Pediatric Patients
2016	1st	Karl Fincken	Hemodialysis - Improving Arteriovenous Fistula Access through Drug-Eluting Devices and the Role of Vascular Ultrasound Imaging: A Literature Review
2016	2nd	Abigail Cone	The Role of Echocardiography in Determining Radiofrequency Ablation versus Cryoablation for the Treatment of Arterial Fibrillation: A Literature Review

W. Frederick Sample Student Excellence Award-Original Research