Here are this week’s Accolades, a roundup of some of the honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine and UAMS faculty, staff, residents, fellows and students I’ve heard about recently.
National Executive Leadership Fellowship
Congratulations to Dr. Shelley Crary, Professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, on being accepted for the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program at Drexel University. The year-long fellowship program is designed to help women faculty develop additional skills for senior leadership in today’s complex health care environment. Dr. Crary was selected from a highly competitive field of nominees from schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy across the country.
I was delighted to nominate Dr. Crary on behalf of our college, with enthusiastic support from Dr. Bill Steinbach, Professor and Chair of Pediatrics, and other colleagues. Dr. Crary currently serves as Medical Director of the Arkansas Center for Bleeding Disorders and Associate Director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute’s Clinical and Translational Science Pilot Program. She serves in numerous other leadership roles at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s and has demonstrated a deep commitment to education and mentorship. Dr. Crary will be a strong addition to the ELAM program.
Agitation in Dementia Treatment Study in Nature Medicine
Dr. Prasad Padala, Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatrics and Program Director of the Baptist Health-UAMS Psychiatry Residency, is a co-author on a paper on management of agitation in dementia patients published in the journal Nature Medicine. The article reports the results of a randomized, controlled phase-3 clinical trial addressing the efficacy and safety of using the antidepressant escitalopram to treat agitation in Alzheimer’s patients. Treatment of agitation in dementia is complex and requires an interdisciplinary approach. Other VA/UAMS researchers who collaborated in the study included Drs. Kalpana Padala, Jeanne Wei and Gohar Azhar from the Department of Geriatrics and Dr. Lou Ann Eads from the Department of Psychiatry.
Top Honors at Biodesign Competition – Again!
We were thrilled to hear that a UAMS student team has won the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Biodesign competition for a second year in a row. Congratulations to team leader Josue Calderon (M2) and team members Mohib Hafeez (M3), Harrison Williams (M2), Nathania Nischal (M1) and Rodrigo Meade (M1). The team won both the People’s Choice Award and First Place for their design of the “FrostShield Duo,” an AI-enhanced thermal protection device for use in cryoablation procedures. The competition was held at the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting in Nashville, the largest professional gathering of interventional radiologists in North America. The team’s mentors included Interventional Radiology Residents Dr. Jeffrey Lynch and Dr. Alex Koichi, and Associate Professor Dr. James Meek. Click here for a team photo and more information about their project. (And here’s info about last year’s winning team.)
National Otolaryngology Honor
Dr. Deepa Shivnani, a Pediatric Fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, has been selected to receive the Maureen Hannley Award for Alternative Science from the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society (the Triological Society). The award is for excellence on her candidate thesis for election to active fellowship in the society, titled “Role of Pediatric Otolaryngologist in Pediatric Tracheostomy Code Blue Cases – a New Safety Initiative.” She will present her thesis at the Triological Society Annual Meeting in New Orleans on May 15 and will be formally elected the following day. The honor is bestowed annually to acknowledge the importance of scholastic contributions that fall outside of traditional basic and clinical research paradigms.
Award-Winning Pathology Resident Research
PGY3 Pathology resident Dr. Evgeniya Pasternak received the Pathologist-in-Training Best Abstract Award from the Renal Pathology Society at the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) Annual Meeting in Boston for “Increased Prevalence of IgA Nephropathy in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis.” Three additional residents, all PGY2s, also presented their work at USCAP: Drs. Carli Cox, Katie Hart and Kate Janda. USCAP is the top academic pathology meeting each year.
Medical Student Honored for Pathology Activities
Graduating senior Jake Price has been selected to receive the Distinguished Medical Student Award from the College of American Pathologists (CAP). Jake, who was nominated by Assistant Professor Dr. Hoda Hagrass, has been involved in pathology-focused scholarly work, clinical preceptorships and other activities throughout medical school. His research focusing on clinical chemistry resulted in the publication of two papers, one of which he presented at the Society of Toxicology annual meeting. Jake served as Vice President of the Student Club on Pathology Education (SCOPE) in his third year and as President this academic year. He will head for Baylor College of Medicine in Houston for his Pathology residency after graduation.