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 Pathology Leadership
Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Laudadio, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology, on her election to the Board of Trustees of the American Board of Pathology (ABPath). Dr. Laudadio will lend her expertise in molecular/genetic and clinical pathology to the panel of highly esteemed pathologists, which sets board certification and continuing certification standards for specialists in the field. Dr. Laudadio’s other national roles include molecular pathology section editor for the Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and extensive current and past service on committees for ABPath, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the Association for Molecular Pathology. She is a former president of the CAP Foundation and served ex-officio on the CAP Board of Governors.
Resuscitation Guidelines
Dr. Steve Schexnayder, Professor and Chief of the Critical Care Medicine Section in the Department of Pediatrics, is a coauthor on new guidelines, published in Pediatrics, for cardiopulmonary resuscitation of children with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The guidelines are the result of a collaboration of the American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Committee and Get with the Guidelines-Resuscitation Pediatric Task Force, in Collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Respiratory Care and American Society of Anesthesiologists.
National Podcast Guest
Dr. Susan Emmett, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Director of the UAMS Center for Hearing Health Equity, was a guest this week on a Physicians Weekly podcast focusing on recent news in hearing loss and treatment. Dr. Emmett shared insights from the recent landmark study that she and Dr. Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Associate Director of the center, led into harnessing the power of telemedicine to provide quicker access to specialized hearing care for rural children following school-based screening. Their randomized controlled trial, which was conducted in 15 communities in rural Alaska, was published in The Lancet Global Health in June.
Vascular Leadership Development
A shout-out to Dr. Kyla Shelton, Assistant Professor in the Division of Vascular Surgery, on being selected for the prestigious Society for Vascular Surgery Leadership Development Program. Dr. Shelton also serves as Medical Advisor for the Vascular Sonography Concentration in the College of Health Professions Division of Diagnostic Medical Sonography. During the year-long national leadership program, Dr. Shelton will participate in numerous mentoring activities, a leadership webinar series and an in-person workshop. The program will culminate with recognition at the Vascular Annual Meeting next June.
Tackling Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is one of many important issues being addressed by the outstanding team in the Office of Community Health and Research at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. Numerous recent news reports have highlighted the team’s work in this area. One recent study, led by Dr. Chris Long and colleagues, discusses how Arkansans were more likely to rely on food pantry services after a job loss or sustaining a serious illness.
Kudos also for the team’s work in securing $350,000 in recent grants from the Walmart Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation to support an initiative that provides Northwest Arkansas residents access to affordable, healthy foods at local farmers markets, nutrition education, and more. Vice Chancellor Amy Wenger, MHSA, and Dr. Pearl McElfish, Director of the Office of Community Health and Research, discuss the importance of the program in this UAMS news article. The office also recently received $255,000 in American Rescue Plan grant funding for a food insecurity initiative in Arkansas under the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Great job!
Surgery Colleagues to be Invested in Endowed Chairs Today
And finally this week, very special congratulations to the Department of Surgery’s Dr. Jonathan Laryea and Dr. Matthew Steliga, who will be invested in endowed chairs this afternoon.
Dr. Laryea, Professor and Chief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery, will be invested in the Nolie and Norma Mumey Endowed Chair in Surgery. Dr. Laryea has led the development of the division since his recruitment to UAMS as our only colorectal surgeon in 2008. He also provides excellent leadership as Medical Director of Cancer Services in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Among many national and international roles, he currently chairs the Surgical Section of the National Medical Association.
Dr. Steliga, Professor and Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, will hold the Kent C. Westbrook, M.D., Distinguished Chair in Surgical Oncology. Dr. Steliga is a widely recognized expert in lung cancer, cancer screening, smoking cessation and surgical education. He has lent his expertise nationally and internationally through lectures, workshop leadership, service as a board examiner for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, advisory roles for the American Cancer Society and the Arkansas Department of Health, and more.
These are well-deserved honors for these colleagues, and I hope you can join us for the celebration. The dual ceremony starts at 4:00 in the Fred Smith Conference Center on the 12th floor of the Jackson T. Stephens Spine Institute. If you plan to attend in person, please RSVP to rsvp@uams.edu. The ceremony also will be livestreamed at go.uams.edu/live.