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!
NBME Appointment
Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Slotcavage, Assistant Professor of Surgery, on being selected to serve a four-year term on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). As a member-at-large, she will provide strategic guidance and advice on major policy recommendations for the organization, which develops state-recognized national examinations used in medical education, licensure and certification. Dr. Slotcavage has been recognized for her previous contributions to NBME efforts to improve the surgery subject examination.
Expert Panel
College of Medicine faculty members will lend their expertise as panelists for a virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 for residents of Little Rock today. The panelists include Arkansas Department of Health Medical Director Dr. Jennifer Dillaha; Dr. William “Sam” Greenfield, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. Akilah Jefferson, Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology; and Dr. Keyur Vyas, Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Little Rock residents can learn more and submit questions here. The Town Hall is from 12:30-1:30 PM and can be viewed on the city’s YouTube channel, Facebook page; and on LRTV Channel 11.
GME Excellence
Kudos to Dr. Molly Gathright, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, and the GME team for their hard work and commitment to excellence, which has resulted in another successful continued accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Like individual residency and fellowship programs, sponsoring institutions such as the College of Medicine receive an annual notice of accreditation and can receive citations for any issues that must be addressed. Once again, we received continued accreditation with no citations or areas for improvement. Great job, GME team!
Top of their Game
Congratulations to Drs. Ashley Antipolo, Joseph Sanford and Kevin Sexton, who recently passed their board certification exams for Clinical Informatics. All three play an integral role in the Clinical Informatics Fellowship Training Program, housed in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Their success confirms what we already know – that the COM’s clinical informaticists are at the top of their game and ready to lead us into the future of medicine and informatics. Their subspecialty credentialing also raises the profile of the new fellowship program, which began in July and is directed by Dr. Feliciano “Pele” Yu, Jr. The three join Dr. Yu and Drs. James Magee, Kandi Stallings-Archer and Donnal Walter as the board-certified Clinical Informatics subspecialists at UAMS.
Got it Covered
Dr. Intawat Nookaew, Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, and colleagues made the cover of not just one, but two scientific journals recently. The cover art for the latest issue of Nucleic Acids Research draws from the article “Decoding the epitranscriptional landscape from native RNA sequences.” The cover art for the December issue of Chemical Research in Toxicology is based on the article “Detection and Discrimination of DNA Adducts Differing in Size, Regiochemistry, and Functional Group by Nanopore Sequencing.”
Evaluating IPE
Dr. Amy Seay, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Dr. Wendy Ward, UAMS Associate Provost for Faculty and Director of Interprofessional Faculty Development, collaborated with other psychologists at academic medical centers across the country to evaluate the use of interprofessional education (IPE) in psychology training programs. Their manuscript, “Interprofessional Education in Psychology Doctoral Programs, Internships and Postdoctoral Training: A Survey of Training Directors,” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. Congratulations to Dr. Seay and Dr. Ward on this outstanding and important work.
Student Published
Third-year medical student Hanna Kulbeth was the lead author on a manuscript accepted for publication by Neurotoxicology and Teratology. “Automated Quantification of Opioid Withdrawal in Neonatal Rat Pups Using Ethovision® XT Software” describes the validation of a new application of the Noldus Ethovision® XT video tracking software to quantify opioid withdrawal in a rat model of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome that is faster, less labor-intensive and more objective than previous methods. Co-authors include Saki Fukuda, a master’s student in the Graduate School, and senior author Dr. Lisa Brents, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Hannah conducted the work while she was a 2019 summer intern supported by the NIDA-funded T32 program at UAMS.
Off and Running
A shout-out to the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery for the excellent and exciting work being done in sports medicine. The orthopaedic and sports medicine team in Northwest Arkansas, headed by Dr. Wesley Cox, is partnering with the American Track League on a four-meet series being broadcast on ESPN/ESPN2. The series features some of the top men’s and women’s track and field athletes in the world and will continue on Sundays through February 14. Read more here, and check out this ad that captures some of the energy and excitement of UAMS’ program. Meanwhile, the sports medicine team based at Arkansas Children’s, headed by Dr. Brant Sachleben, is doing innovative work with high school athletics in Little Rock schools, earning a nice mention in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this past Sunday.
Elite Reviewer
Dr. R. Dale Blasier, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program, has been designated as an Elite Reviewer for the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is one of the leading scientific publications in the field of orthopaedic surgery. Fewer than 3% of the journal’s approximately 1,200 reviewers have achieved elite status for their contributions. Congratulations, Dr. Blasier.
Neurology Standouts
Dr. Ricardo Lopez Castellanos, a third-year resident, recently told me about two individuals who are making a difference for patients and trainees in Neurology. “I look forward to being as passionate and devoted to clinical education as Dr. Erika Santos Horta,” Dr. Lopez said. “She always finds time to teach and discuss new topics and make sure you have a good understanding of the clinical scenario.” He also noted fourth-year resident Dr. Panna Bhattacharyya, who received the UAMS Comprehensive Stroke Center’s 2020 Time is Brain Award for achieving the fastest “door-to-needle” time, administering the clot-busting drug tPA to a stroke patient in 26 minutes – action that resulted in a full recovery.
National Appointments
Department of Pediatrics faculty colleagues continue to provide outstanding leadership at the national level. Recent appointments include Dr. Kimo Stine, a Professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, to the Hemophilia Alliance Board of Directors; and Dr. Abdallah Dalabih, an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, to the Board of Directors of the Society for Pediatric Sedation. Thanks to Dr. Stine and Dr. Dalabih for their service nationally and here in Arkansas.
Teaching Excellence
And finally this week, congratulations to the recent recipients of our Teaching Excellence Award. Seventy-five faculty members and residents in central Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas received the honor this winter, entitling them to wear a special Teaching Excellence lapel pin. All of these honorees have been recognized by our students and/or residents as exemplary teachers who make a difference in medical education and training at UAMS. Well done!