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.
Public Service Woman of the Year
Congratulations to Dr. Nirvana Manning, Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, on being selected as the Woman of the Year in Public Service by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas. Dr. Manning will be honored at the organization’s “Power of the Purse” luncheon in October. In an announcement this week, the organization lauded Dr. Manning for her leadership on projects to improve health for women and girls across the state. This work includes implementing grants focused on postpartum maternal outcomes in populations that experience health disparities and expanding access to prenatal care in rural areas. The announcement also noted Dr. Manning’s vital work to raise awareness about Arkansas’ maternal mortality rate, which is the highest in the country.
Expertise Shared at Capitol Hill Briefing
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) invited Dr. Susan Emmett and Dr. Samantha Robler, Director and Associate Director of the Center for Hearing Health Equity and faculty members in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, to Capitol Hill to speak at the PCORI Telehealth Briefing on April 18. They were one of three study teams selected nationally for this honor and the only team given the opportunity to also invite patient partners. As a result, a mother-daughter patient team traveled over 40 hours from their home community in rural Alaska to speak on the panel and meet lawmakers alongside Drs. Emmett and Robler.
Surgery Leadership for Arkansas
Dr. Deidre Wyrick, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Trauma Medical Director at Arkansas Children’s, has been named President-Elect of the Arkansas Chapter of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). She will be the first female surgeon to hold the post of President when her two-year term in that role starts in 2025. Dr. Wyrick continues to gain local, state and national recognition for her surgical expertise and commitment to outstanding surgical education. She will provide strong leadership for Arkansas surgeons as President-Elect and then President.
Faculty Present at Pathology Conference
UAMS and the Department of Pathology were well represented at the annual meeting of the U.S. and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) in Baltimore. Dr. Camila Simoes delivered an invited presentation, “And This is What Makes Liver Pathology Fun,” at an evening specialty conference. Dr. Felicia Allard was the invited moderator for a platform presentation session on the pancreas, gallbladder, ampulla and extrahepatic biliary tree. Dr. Susanne Jeffus contributed to a multi-institutional reproducibility and validation study to assess the role of tumor budding in predicting prognosis of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma, which was selected for a platform presentation. Dr. Matt Quick moderated a gynecologic pathology evening specialty conference, taught on the pearls and pitfalls in staging uterine cancer in an interactive microscopy session, and contributed to two multi-institutional projects presented as abstracts.
Geriatric Teaching Earns National Spotlight
Dr. Priya Mendiratta, Professor and Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Geriatrics and Program Director for the Geriatrics Fellowship, was featured by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) in its “Educator Spotlight” on the AGS membership website this month. The Q&A profile includes her insights on teaching – and on learning from students, residents and fellows as well as from her patients. “My learners constantly remind me of the power of curiosity and the value of lifelong learning,” she said in the Q&A. “Their enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and their willingness to challenge assumptions invigorate my teaching approach and deepen my understanding of geriatric care.” The AGS recognition is a testament to Dr. Mendiratta’s excellence in geriatrics education, which also earned her the COM GME Educator Award for Program Directors this spring.
Resident Earns National Hematology Award
A shout-out to Dr. Kingsley Nnawuba, a second-year Internal Medicine resident at the Northwest Regional Campus, on being selected by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for the 2024 Hematology Opportunities for the Next Generation of Research Scientists (HONORS) Award. The award provides $5,000 in support for a research project, ASH mentorship and a $1,000 travel stipend to attend the ASH annual meeting, where recipients will be recognized at a Career Developments Awards reception.
Student Presents at Psychiatric Conference
Third-year medical student Dana Abulez did a great job presenting her research at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting in New York City last week. Her poster presentation highlighted a cross-sectional study on the association between patient-level factors and positive treatment response in individuals with psychostimulant use disorder. Co-authors included Dr. Clare Brown from the College of Public Health and Dr. Michael Cucciare and Dr. Corey Hayes from the Department of Psychiatry. Dana was a summer intern in the UAMS Addiction Research Training Program as a first-year student.
Alpha Omega Alpha Honorees
Finally this week, I want to take a moment to congratulate the students, residents, fellows, faculty and alumni who were recognized at the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) New Member Induction Ceremony and Reception last week. Election to the national medical honor society signifies a lasting commitment to professionalism, leadership, scholarship, research and community service.
The ceremony was led by Dr. Molly Gathright, Executive Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, who serves as AOA Faculty Councilor for the Arkansas Chapter. Prior to 2020, new members were recognized at a yearly induction banquet. While the pandemic put the annual event on hold, new members have been elected each year. The May 7 gathering honored all who were elected in 2020-2024. Inductees are listed by year and category in this PPT from the ceremony.
I join with Dr. Gathright in congratulating these AOA members and thanking them for their exceptional dedication to the profession and art of healing.