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!
AAMC Chief Medical Officers Leadership
Dr. Ahmed Abuabdou, Chief Clinical Officer for UAMS Medical Center, has been elected to the Steering Committee of the Chief Medical Officers’ Group (CMOG) at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Dr. Abuabdou has served on our faculty in the Division of Hospital Medicine, where he is an Associate Professor, since 2012 in addition to holding a number of clinical leadership positions. He has served as Chief Clinical Officer since 2022. Kudos to Dr. Abuabdou for his national service in academic medicine as well as his outstanding work at UAMS.
NIMH Mental Health and Aging Scholar
Dr. Tatiana Wolfe, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and medical physicist in the Psychiatric Research Institute’s Brain Imaging Research Center, has been awarded a two-year Scholar position in the 2024 cohort of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Advanced Research Institute (ARI) on Mental Health and Aging. As part of the application process, Dr. Wolfe submitted an R01 prospectus to study myelin mechanisms of geriatric risk for neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological conditions. She will present the study to the ARI during the program’s spring retreat next April. Psychiatry Chair and PRI Director Dr. Laura Dunn is a former participant in the ARI scholarship program.
Champion for Breastfeeding Moms and Babies
A shout-out to Dr. Sarah Sobik, Assistant Professor in the Community Pediatrics Section of the Department of Pediatrics, for her work to ensure excellent lactation support for mothers and babies. Dr. Sobik has expanded the Breastfeeding and Lactation Clinic at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, enhanced breastfeeding education for pediatric residents, and conducted pioneering research related to human breast milk at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center and the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. Most recently, Dr. Sobik was in the first cohort of physicians to take the certification exam newly offered by the North American Board of Breastfeeding and Lactation Medicine. She is now the first in Arkansas to be double board-certified in pediatrics and breastfeeding/lactation medicine.
Robotic Shunt Surgery Advance
Dr. Viktoras Palys, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery resident Dr. Brooke Elberson, Dr. Benjamin Davis, Associate Professor of Surgery, and General Surgery resident Dr. Ali Wenholz recently performed the first robotic ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery in Arkansas. The procedure is used to treat hydrocephalus, excess cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. The UAMS patient had sustained a brain trauma. Performing the procedure robotically is minimally invasive and provides the highest level of navigational accuracy for brain surgeries.
Ally of the Year
The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Courtney Hampton recently was named Ally of the Year by the non-profit Strilite Foundation for her long commitment to addressing the continuum of care for patients with HIV and for her work during the pandemic to help ensure that available health resources were directed to highly impacted communities. As Research Program Manager for the Research and Evaluation Division’s HIV Education and Prevention Team, Courtney is instrumental in a variety of projects to educate and reduce the stigma related to HIV. She also worked with colleagues to develop UAMS Gap Services offices in two rural communities, Prescott and McGehee.
Students Host SNMA Conference
Hats off to the Edith Irby Jones Chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) for doing a great job hosting the recent SNMA Region III Medical Education Conference, a first since before the pandemic for the UAMS chapter. About 150 medical students and Minority Association of Pre-med Students (MAPS) members from seven states attended the three-day conference. The event featured informational presentations, inspirational speakers, networking opportunities, 30 vendors from residency programs from across the region, and more. Special thanks to UAMS medical students and chapter Co-Presidents Kayla Jimmerson and Evan Hicks, Regional SNMA Delegate Carlon Gragg and Regional Treasurer Brianna Long, and the faculty advisors to the Edith Irby Jones Chapter, Dr. Billy Thomas (Pediatrics) and Dr. William Greenfield (OB/GYN). Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.