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!
Ruth Olive Beall Award
Congratulations to Dr. Karen Farst, this year’s recipient of the Ruth Olive Beall Award from Arkansas Children’s. Dr. Farst serves as Associate Professor and Director of the Children at Risk Section in the Department of Pediatrics. “Dr. Farst has a very calm and measured approach to every situation she encounters,” Arkansas Children’s President and CEO Marcy Doderer said in a video tribute. “She shows compassion for our patients and families as well as Arkansas Children’s team members who are pulled into these difficult situations.” Dr. Becky Latch, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, also lauded Dr. Farst: “She really puts her heart into taking care of kids who are in at-risk situations, and that is something that we really need in society today.”
Fiser Research Award
This year’s Dr. Robert H. Fiser Jr. Research Achievement Award from Arkansas Children’s was presented to Dr. Tamara Perry, Professor and Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. Arkansas Children’s President and CEO Marcy Doderer and other colleagues praised Dr. Perry for her exceptional contributions to research and improving children’s health in a video tribute. “Her asthma research demonstrates the potential for telehealth and mobile interventions to bridge the access gap many rural and underserved children experience,” said Ms. Doderer. “In addition to her expertise and her individual research, she has been a fierce advocate for building research within the Department of Pediatrics and is a devoted mentor.”
(In case you missed it, we gave a shout-out to Dr. Bobby Boyanton, recipient of the Drs. Joanna J. & Robert W. Seibert Award for team work at Arkansas Children’s, in last week’s Accolades. Here is the video tribute to Dr. Boyanton.)
Breast Milk Champions
Kudos to the Division of Neonatology’s Dr. Misty Virmani and Dr. Elizabeth Kim for successfully championing the establishment of an Arkansas Breast Milk Bank. The measure was approved unanimously by the Arkansas House and Senate after testimony last week from Dr Virmani, Assistant Professor and Director of UAMS Breastfeeding Medicine, and Dr. Kim, Associate Professor and Assistant Director of Breastfeeding Medicine. Special thanks also to Tonya Johnson, Executive Director of Nutrition and Hospitality Services, and Maurice Rigsby and Michael Keck with UAMS Institutional Relations, for their excellent work on this initiative. We anticipate the UAMS-based breast milk bank will become a reality in the next fiscal year, providing a much-needed resource for newborns and moms in Arkansas. Great job everyone!
COVID & Children
Dr. Katherine Irby, Assistant Professor in the Critical Care Medicine Section of the Department of Pediatrics, is a co-author on an important publication describing the manifestation of COVID-19 in children. The article, “Characteristics and Outcomes of US Children and Adolescents with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Compared with Severe Acute COVID-19” was published in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association. Congratulations Dr. Irby!
Otolaryngology Scholars
Dr. Quinn Dunlap, Head and Neck Fellow in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, had an article, “Predictors for Postoperative Chyle Leak Following Neck Dissection, a Technique-Based Comparison,” accepted for publication in the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery following a presentation at the 2020 Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting. Dr. Dunlap completed the project with Otolaryngology faculty members Dr. Emre Vural and Dr. Mauricio Moreno.
Dr. Tyler Merrill, a third-year resident, also received good news – the acceptance of his paper, “Clinical Significance of Screening Electrocardiograms for the Administration of Propranolol for Problematic Infantile Hemangiomas,” in the International Journal of Pediatrics. He co-authored the article with Otolaryngology Research Fellow Dr. J. Reed Gardner; Otolaryngology faculty members Dr. Gresham Richter, Dr. Larry Hartzell and Dr. Adam Johnson; Dr. Brian Eble from the Department of Pediatrics Division of Cardiology; and Dr. Jay Kincannon of the Department of Dermatology.
NBME Service
The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) program depend on the expertise, collaboration and service of exceptional medical school faculty members from around the country. I join with the NBME in thanking our colleagues who served on a NBME or USMLE committee in 2020: Dr. James Graham, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Dr. Michelle Krause, Professor, Internal Medicine; Dr. Stacy Rudnicki, Adjunct Faculty, Neurology; Dr. Toby Vancil, Associate Professor, Internal Medicine; and Dr. Richard Wheeler, Professor Emeritus and former Executive Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Their activities are noted in this letter from the NBME.
What Residents Bring to UAMS
I would like to end this week’s Accolades with one more note of appreciation for our residents. Last Friday was “Thank a Resident Day,” and in the wake of the recent snow storms that posed so many challenges for Team UAMS, our residents truly earned the gratitude that we expressed throughout the week. Dr. Paul Phillips, Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology, sent a thank you message to Ophthalmology residents that I believe speaks to all of our residents – and those of us who are privileged to be a part of their training. Read Dr. Phillips’ insights here.