1. Dillon AB, Myung JS, Tran KM, Tseng J, Wald KJ. A Modified Iris Suture Technique for In-the-bag Intraocular Lens Dislocation. Submitted for publication.
2. Tran KM. By any other name: eponyms in the modern medical language. Clinical Correlations. 2016 May 4.
3. Kazmi SM, Pemmaraju N, Patel KP, Cohen PR, Daver N, Tran KM, Ravandi F, Duvic M, Garcia-Manero G, Pierce S, Nazha A, Borthakur G, Kantarjian H, Cortes J. Characteristics of Sweet Syndrome in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia. 2015 Jun; 15(6): 358-63. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 25630528.
4. Smith KM, Maragnoli ME, Phull PM, Tran KM, Choubey L, Vaccarino FM. Fgfr1 inactivation in the mouse telencephalon results in impaired maturation of interneurons expressing parvalbumin. PLOS ONE. 2014 Aug; 9(8): e103696. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 25116473.
5. Komitova M, Dionysios X, Salmaso N, Tran KM, Brand T, Schwartz ML, Ment L, Vaccarino FM. Hypoxia-Induced Developmental Delays of Inhibitory Interneurons are Reversed by Environmental Enrichment in the Postnatal Mouse Forebrain. Journal of Neuroscience. 2013 Aug; 33 (33): 13375-87. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 23946395.
6. Smith KM, Maragnoli ME, Phull PM, Tran KM, Vaccarino FM. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (Fgfr1) participates in postnatal interneuron development. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience. 2010 Nov; 28(8): 698.
7. Tran KM, Broder M, Luft S, Schwartz ML, Smith KM, Vaccarino FM. Environmental Enrichment Contributes to Neurodevelopmental Recovery After Hypoxia. Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology. 2010 Mar; 1(1): 102-115
8. Smith KM, Maragnoli ME, Fagel DM, Phull PM, Tran KM, Vaccarino FM. Postnatal maturation of cortical parvalbumin inhibitory neurons is impaired in FGF receptor mutant mice. International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience. 2008 Dec; 26(8): 870.

Academic Abstracts & Posters

1. Tran KM, Winer A, Liu J, Taff J. Tuberculosis in single lymph node presenting as flank pain. Poster session presented at: Society of General Internal Medicine 38th Annual Meeting; 2015 Apr 22-25. Toronto, ON, CAN.
2. Tran KM, Winer A, Liu J, Taff J. Tuberculosis in single lymph node presenting as flank pain. Poster session presented at: New York University School of Medicine Department of Medicine 14th Annual Research Day; 2015 Jun 11. New York, NY.
3. Tran KM, Wang SL, Kontari I, Asimellis G, Kannellopoulos AJ. Evaluation of femtosecond laser-assisted combined Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) and astigmatic keratotomy (AK) surgery. Poster session presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting; 2013 May 5-9. Seattle, WA.
   • Tran KM, Wang SL, Kontari I, Asimellis G, Kanellopoulos AJ. Evaluation of femtosecond laser-assisted combined Descemet’s stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) and astigmatic keratotomy (AK) surgery. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2013 Jun; 54(15): 3122.
4. Kazmi SM, Kantarjian H, Tran KM, Cortes J, Ravandi F, Borthakur G, Jabbour E, Faderl S, Garcia-Manero G, Kadia T, Daver N, Pierce S, Nazha A, Cardama AQ, Pemmaraju N. Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of Sweet’s syndrome in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Poster session presented at: 54th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition; 2012 Dec 8-11. Atlanta, GA.
   • Kazmi SM, Kantarjian H, Tran KM, et al. Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of Sweet’s syndrome in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2012 Nov; 120(21): 2587.
5. Pemmaraju N, Kantarjian H, Tran KM, Kazmi SM, Kadia T, Borthakur G, Verstovsek S, O’Brien S, Garcia-Manero G, Estrov Z, Faderl S, Ravandi F, Pierce S, Cortes J, Quintas-Cardama A. Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of extramedullary disease in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Poster session presented at: 54th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition; 2012 Dec 8-11. Atlanta, GA.
   • Pemmaraju N, Kantarjian H, Tran KM, et al. Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of extramedullary disease in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2012 Nov; 120(21): 2592.
6. Tran KM, Kantarjian H, Cortes J, Kazmi SM, Quintas-Cardama A, Estrov Z, Ohanian M, Kadia T, Borthakur G, Ravandi F, Faderl S, Pierce S, Pemmaraju N. Cytogenetic and molecular characterization of genitourinary extramedullary disease in acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2012 Nov; 120(21): 4326.
7. Tran KM, Wang SL, Kannellopoulos AJ. Contralateral eye long-term follow-up of prophylactic high-fluence collagen cross-linking combined with Lasik for high myopia. Poster session presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting; 2012 May 6-9. Fort Lauderdale, FL. [View poster]
   • Tran KM, Wang SL, Kanellopoulos AJ. Contralateral eye long-term follow-up of prophylactic high-fluence collagen cross-linking combined with Lasik for high myopia. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. 2012 Mar; 53(14): 6817.
8. Smith KM, Maragnoli ME, Phull PM, Tran KM, Fagel DM, Vaccarino FM. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (Fgfr1) in postnatal interneuron development. Poster presented at: Society for Neuroscience 38th Annual Meeting. 2008 Nov 15-19. Washington, D.C.

Non-scientific Writing Publications

1. Tran KM. “Happy Mother’s Day… for daughters and sons who have lost their moms.” MOGUL (onMogul.com). 2016, May 5.
2. Tran KM. “After Match Day: a bittersweet reflection.” KevinMD. (KevinMD.com). 2016, Mar 19.
3. Tran KM. “The Bittersweetness of Medical School Match Day.” MOGUL. (onMogul.com). 2016, Mar 19.
4. Tran KM. “Tâm sự Tết xa quê của người con nơi đất Mỹ.” Báo Mới Newspaper. 2014, Feb 3. [Written in Vietnamese]
5. Tran KM. “Tâm sự Tết xa quê của người con nơi đất Mỹ.” Tiên Phong Magazine. 2014, Feb 3. [Written in Vietnamese]
6. Tran KM. “Habitat Means Hope to My Family.”  His Voice. 2006.
7. Tran KM. “A New Home Brings a New Future.” Houston County Habitat for Humanity Headlines. 2005.

Art & Photographic Publications

1. Tran KM. “Bridges.” Photograph. Agora Magazine. 2013: 6.
2. Tran KM. “Mom.” Graphite. Agora Magazine. 2013: 17.
3. Tran KM. “Celebration of Summer.” Photograph. Agora Magazine. 2013: 34.
4. Tran KM. “To the Market at Dawn, Nam Dinh, Viet Nam.” Photograph. Agora Magazine. 2012: Cover.
5. Tran KM. “Finding New Life in a Forgotten Place.” Photograph. Agora Magazine. 2012: 13.
6. Tran KM. “Cutaway View of Globe.” Graphite. Agora Magazine. 2012: 15.

Art & Photographic Exhibition & Honors

1. Tran KM. “Vertebra.” 2012. Graphite. Art & Anatomy: Drawings. MSB Gallery, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY.
2. Tran KM. “Study in Texture and Color, No. 4.” Third Prize, 11th Biannual NYU School of Medicine Photography Competition.
3. Tran KM. “Finding New Life in a Forgotten Place.” Grand Prize. 10th Annual Biannual NYU School of Medicine Photography Competition.

My mom, brother, and I have had very happy lives but we have endured many hardships. We believe these adversities were blessings. Because of how far we have come, we are stronger and our lives are a testament to the mercy and love of God. The intervention of Habitat for Humanity was a clear turning point in our lives that set us on the Lord’s path for us. We went from a life of poverty and fear to a life of security and thankfulness.

My parents divorced when I was very young. At the time, my mom barely spoke English, had no income, and lived far away from her extended family. Nonetheless, she bravely set out to raise Tom and me single-handedly. Even though she found full-time work as a waitress, we had very little. We wore secondhand clothes, never ate out, never had toys for Christmas. We depended on food stamps and Medicaid. Despite all this, I genuinely never felt poor because we led decent lives and we were happy – we had each other.

We could only afford to live in a small, dingy, one-bedroom apartment in the dangerous area of town. Gunshots were a frequent occurrences, drug dealing was everywhere, and gangs were normal. We would sometimes hear of murders in our neighborhood. Whenever we were at home we would keep all locks locked, a chair underneath the doorknobs, and a stick of wood to bar the window closed. When we were young we would accompany my mom to work and school, quietly reading at the bar of the restaurant or sitting outside her classroom door. When we were older we would stay home alone and watch her from the window as she walked out to the car to drive to work. We held a phone ready in our hands in case something happened to her and we had to call 911.

Something did happen. One day my mom took us to the bus stop to go to school and returned home. When she came inside, a man was hiding in our closet. He stabbed her stomach and cut her hands. He cut off her clothes and prepared to rape her, but God put words into my mom’s mouth and she calmly spoke and reasoned with her attacker. She talked to him about her children, her dreams, and God’s love for him, no matter what he did. She asked him to spare here and he did. God spared her. Our FOCUS teacher took us home that day. I will never forget the bloody handprints on the walls or my mom lying on the mattress soaked in red with her hands bandaged. I still cry whenever I think about that time of our lives, but my mother recalls it frequently with gratefulness. She was so blessed that day, she says, because the Lord was watching out for her.

Soon my mom learned about Habitat for Humanity, the Christian organization which builds houses for low-income families. Our family prepared the application together. We could not afford the normal envelopes but we found an old brown paper envelope to use instead. It was that ugly color that set our application apart from the pile of crisp white papers. Through the work of the Lord, the person who interviewed my mom was our technology teacher. We were approved. We were saved.

As soon as we could, we began working on the Habitat worksite. At Habitat we learned everything about how to build a house. We learned to hammer, to drill, to install insulation, to paint, and more. We met lifelong friends, mentors, and role models, among them Mr. Fred, Ms. Debbie, Joey, Hyacinth, Devin, BJ, Mr. Paul, Ms. Lisa, Mr. Bob, Mr. Walt, Mr. Tom, Ms. Hope, Mr. Rob, Jon, Mr. Ray H., Mr. Ray S., Mr. Larry, and so many more.

On August 26, 2001, we became Habitat homeowners. It was one of the happiest days of my mom’s life.

Because of Habitat, my mom was able to finish nursing school and shared her love and compassion with countless patients and their families. I cannot begin to express the admiration that I have for my mom and her hard work. Tom was able to go to college and then to pharmacy school, and he continues to serve the community in which we grew up. He continues volunteering with Habitat and other organizations regularly. I also went to school and hopefully I can be as kind and generous as my mom and my brother. All this is possible because of God and because of Habitat for Humanity. How blessed we are!

Click here to go to the Houston County Habitat for Humanity website.

Click here to read our article in His Voice.

Click here to read our article in Habitat Headlines.

Kathy and her brother (known as Tom, Vinh, Tom-Vinh, or Tý) are only 15 months apart in age. They did everything together growing up, including music lessons, rehearsals, performances, volunteering, church, clubs, classes, and more. Truly his mother’s son, Tom-Vinh inherited many of the skills and character traits of Kathy and Tom’s mom: intelligence, creativity, resourcefulness, and generosity. We are proud to have a gentleman like Tom-Vinh in the family.

Tom-Vinh is a jack of all trades and has a number of unique hobbies that he pursues in his free time:

• Tom-Vinh is a skilled builder. He first picked up these skills in his volunteer work at Habitat for Humanity but, since then, he has developed them on his own time. His carpentry includes but is not limited to game tables, dining tables, beds, wooden boxes, frames, etc.
• Tom-Vinh is dedicated to community service. We’ve already mentioned his long-time work with Habitat, and he also enjoys picking up deliveries from the Food Bank Distribution Center for the Warner Robins Food Pantry. He’s been involved in these two organizations for over 15 years.
• Tom-Vinh is a talented musician. Kathy and Tom grew up playing in church orchestras and university ensembles, but Tom’s musical diversity shadows hers! He plays the violin, viola, guitar, ukelele, banjo, and saw. In addition to being musically gifted, he also collects these and other Vietnamese instruments.
• Tom-Vinh is a master chef. He enjoys experimenting with different cooking techniques and styles. Though any human palate would savor his cooking, April and Bucci benefit too. Don’t worry – everything he makes for them is dog-friendly.
• Tom-Vinh is an imaginative artist. Tom creates as he feels inspired. He’s made clay sculptures, wood carvings, crafts, woodwork, drawings, and more. His work will be displayed on our website soon!

Tom-Vinh studied at Mercer University and graduated from Mercer University School of Pharmacy. He currently works as a pharmacist in central Georgia.

Please take a look at the video below in which Habitat for Humanity’s Houston County Chapter interviewed Tom-Vinh about Hue, Kathy, and Tom’s Habitat story. Afterwards, you can click here to read Kathy’s version.

We are Kathy May and Silas, a couple of normal folk temporarily located in Boston. We hand-coded our individual personal websites since our college years, but decided to combine them as www.kathymayandsilas.com in 2008. In 2016, our website underwent a major overhaul to what you see today! In addition to amateur web design, we also share a number of other hobbies and interests, including but not limited to photography, electronics, arts and crafts, exploring, volunteerism, healthcare, and experiencing new things in general! Most of all, we enjoy doing these things together!

Kathy May is currently an internal medicine resident at Massachusetts General Hospital. Silas is a comprehensive ophthalmologist and Instructor at the  Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. They met 12 years ago at Yale and have been sharing adventures together since… with many more to come!

We invite you to explore the links below to learn about aspects of our lives that we value. Afterwards, please browse our blog to see what we are up to! More updates will be posted frequently. Finally, keep in touch with us by commenting on any page. We would love to hear from you!

Thanks for visiting us,
– Kathy May and Silas

Our Loved Ones:

Kathy May’s Mom
Kathy May’s Brother
Silas’ Brother
Bucci
April
Mimi

Our Organizations:

Habitat for Humanity
ALIVE
AAAYA
Boston Makers

Our Hobbies:

Blog
Arts & Crafts
Photography
Japanese Shore Crabs
Lab Mice

Our Professions:

Silas’ Professional Website (Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary)
Silas’ Publications & Abstracts
Kathy’s Publications & Abstracts