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 Research Award
Congratulations to Dr. Spyridoula Maraka, Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, on receiving the Women Advancing Thyroid Research Award from the American Thyroid Association. Dr. Maraka was recognized for her expertise in hypothyroidism in pregnancy and subclinical hypothyroidism in older adults, and specifically for her article, “Clinical Outcomes after Discontinuation of Thyroid Hormone Replacement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” published in Thyroid.
Scholarly Teamwork
Excellent teamwork among College of Medicine faculty, fellows, residents and senior medical students in Dr. Hakan Paydak’s ECG Reading and Arrhythmias Course has resulted in a new publication in the Journal of Electrocardiology. Dr. Michael Cross, a Chief Resident in Internal Medicine, was the first author and Dr. Paydak, Professor and Director of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship, served as senior author on “The sensitivity of graphic trends in differentiating sinus and supraventricular tachycardia.” Collaborators included Dr. Sarah Floyd of the Division of Hospital Medicine; Division of Cardiology faculty members Dr. Subodh Devabhaktuni and Dr. Srikanth Vallurupalli; Chief Cardiovascular Diseases Fellow Dr. Fuad Habash; and former fellows Dr. Kanishk Agnihotri and Dr. Abhishek Deshmukh.
Pathology Publications
Congratulations to Dr. Neriman Gokden, Professor of Pathology, on the publication of two new original articles. She is a co-author with colleagues around the country on a paper, “Distal tubular hyperplasia: a proposal for a unique form of renal tubular proliferation distinct from papillary adenoma,” which was published in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology. Dr. Gokden collaborated with a team at Arkana Laboratories in Little Rock on an article, “Appearances can be deceiving: Viral-like inclusions in COVID-19 negative renal biopsies by electron microscopy,” which was published in Kidney360.
Book Chapter
A shout-out to Assistant Professor Dr. Neeraj Kumar, Associate Professor Dr. Priya Gupta and Professor Dr. Indranil Chakraborty on the publication of their book chapter. The Department of Anesthesiology colleagues collaborated on “Airway Devices for Thoracic Anesthesia and Ventilatory Techniques,” which is featured in the book “Thoracic Anesthesia Procedures,” edited by Drs. Alan D. Kaye and Richard D. Urman and published by Oxford University Press.
Dermatology Presenters
UAMS was well represented at the annual meetings of the International Society for Cutaneous Lymphomas (ISCL) and the Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID). Dr. Katelynn Campbell, a dermatopathologist and Assistant Professor of Pathology, Dr. Henry Wong, Professor of Dermatology, and second-year medical students Sophia Ly and Delice Kayishunge had a case presentation, “Heterogenous Clinical Phenotype of Primary cutaneous gamma/delta T-cell lymphoma after treatment,” highlighted at the ISCL meeting. At the subsequent SID meeting, second-year Dermatology resident Dr. Jonathan Rick presented “Delays to Diagnosis: A Survey of Hidradenitis Patients; Dr. Wong, Ms. Ly and Ms. Kayishunge presented “Epidemiologic trends of mycosis fungoides and sezary syndrome in Arkansas reveals increasing incidence and disparities;” and Ms. Ly received a SID Registration Grant for her submission.
Preparing Interns
Rising Intern Preparation Week is traditionally held with in-person expert panels, advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) training and simulation education to help prepare College of Medicine seniors for life as interns. After the pandemic halted the event last year, a dedicated team of faculty and staff worked very hard to plan and conduct this important program virtually for the Class of 2021. Special thanks to Dr. Matthew Spond, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology; Dr. Karen Dickinson, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Director of Interprofessional Simulation and Clinical Skills Education; Veronica Ussery, Education Director for the Anesthesia Tech Pipeline and GME Program Coordinator for Anesthesiology; and Sherry Johnson of the Simulation Center. Many others from Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Cardiology, Neurology, Orthopaedic Surgery, the Centers for Simulation Education, COM Housestaff Office and other UAMS areas contributed to this effort. Hats off to you all!
ER Excellence
When two Little Rock police officers were injured in a major vehicle collision recently – one of them seriously – they received outstanding care in the UAMS Emergency Department. As it happens, a parent of the officer who was most seriously injured is a College of Medicine faculty member. “We greatly appreciate all the care both officers received in the UAMS ER that night,” the colleague said in a thank you note. “Several officers who were at the ER to check on those injured and offer support expressed to me their appreciation and trust in the UAMS ER and indicated that is where they would wish to be taken if anything were to happen to them.” I would like to echo this gratitude for the always-exceptional care provided by the Emergency Medicine team.
Above & Beyond
Imagine being new parents and having a serendipitous move to Arkansas – along with the remarkable efforts of a UAMS physician – save your baby’s life. Dr. Kapil Arya, an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics Division of Neurology, used the training he received as a UAMS Translational Research Institute/UAMS Center for Implementation Research Implementation Science Scholar to rapidly establish statewide newborn screenings for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare, disabling and fatal disease, following the enactment of an Arkansas law calling for the screenings. Read about this incredible effort in the UAMS Newsroom.