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!
Matched!
I was delighted to hear that our fellowship programs had great success in the NRMP Medical Specialties Match last week, with nearly every position being filled. A round of applause is in order for the dedicated faculty and staff of the programs in Allergy/Immunology (1/1 filled); Cardiology (4/4); Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology (1/1); Endocrinology (2/2); Gastroenterology (3/3); Hematology/Oncology (4/4); Hospice and Palliative Medicine (3/3); Infectious Disease (2/2); Interventional Pulmonology (1/1); Pulmonary Critical Care (3/3); Rheumatology (2/2); and Nephrology (3/4).
Immune Response Discovery
Congratulations to Dr. Edward T.H. Yeh and Dr. Hui-Ming Chang on the publication of their latest article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The article discusses their seminal discovery of how a key switch in the body’s immune response is turned off, complementing their earlier work on how the response is turned on and opening the door to new treatments for patients with dangerous, uncontrolled immune responses. Dr. Yeh is Professor and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and the Nolan Family Distinguished Chair. Dr. Chang is a Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology and Internal Medicine. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.
National Teaching Recognition
Congratulations to Dr. Kapil Arya, Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics Division of Neurology, on being selected to receive the 2022 A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award from the American Academy of Neurology. At UAMS and Arkansas Children’s, Dr. Arya serves as Associate Program Director for the Child Neurology Residency Program and is active in teaching adult neurology residents, medical students and pediatric residents. He directs the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and spasticity programs at Arkansas Children’s and serves as a consultant to the Arkansas Department of Health and on the ADH Newborn Screening Committee. As an inaugural Translational Research Institute Implementation Science Scholar, he was integral in implementing lifesaving statewide newborn screenings for SMA.
COVID Hospitalization Disparities
Dr. Lowry Barnes, Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, is a co-author of a paper to be published this month in JAMA Health Forum exploring the racial and ethnic disparities in hospitalization outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lead author Dr. Zirui Song, additional contributors at Harvard Medical School and Avant-garde Health in Boston, and Dr. Barnes found that racial and ethnic disparities were evident among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and that these disparities widened among non-COVID hospitalizations during the pandemic. The study showed the need for greater efforts to understand the sources of the disparities and improve health equity.
FASA Fellow
Congratulations to Dr. Victor Mandoff, Professor of Anesthesiology, on becoming a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (FASA). The designation is awarded to ASA members who represent the highest standards of professionalism, leadership, advocacy for the profession and patient safety, and education.
Asian Americans & the Pandemic
Dr. Sara Tariq, Professor of Internal Medicine and Associate Dean for Student Affairs, did a great job in her recent talk at UAMS about some of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Asian Americans. Dr. Tariq discussed the harm caused by the rise of anti-Asian sentiment and offered ideas for how bystanders can intervene when witnessing racist comments or jokes. She also cautioned about a tendency to lump all Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders together as a single group, when in reality there are a multitude of populations, cultures and communities. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.
Ophthalmology at AAO
A shout-out to the Department of Ophthalmology for its scholarly work during the past year, including a strong showing of faculty, residents and students at the recent American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting. Recognitions included the award for Best Resident Video to PGY-1 resident Dr. Philip Dockery and a Best Paper award to 2021 UAMS graduate Dr. Victoria Ly for her work with Dr. Thomas Cannon. PGY-4 resident Dr. Heather Broyles was selected to participate in a novel surgical skills workshop, and PGY-1 resident Dr. Abdel Elhusseiny had two posters accepted for presentation. Faculty members also were substantial contributors at AAO 2021, with Dr. Ahmed Sallam and Ophthalmology Chair Dr. Paul Phillips serving as invited instructors and presenters for a number of courses.
ENT Conference
The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Dr. Gresham Richter completed his term as President of the Society for Ear Nose and Throat Advancement in Children after hosting SENTAC’s annual meeting in Phoenix earlier this month. The department was well represented at the meeting. Research fellow Dr. Kyle Davis and pediatric fellow Dr. Mary Timbang gave oral presentations. Dr. Timbang and Dr. Andre Wineland along with residents Drs. Mary Brown, James Reed Gardner, Celeste Gibson, Aryan Shay and Chrystal Lau co-authored a poster presentation. Medical students Olivia Speed and Thomas Heye presented posters. With the help of nurse practitioner Kayla Nevala and audiologist Madison Howe, Arkansas Children’s placed second in the annual academic bowl at the conference. Great job!