Three junior faculty in the College of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, have received their first major grants from the National Institutes of Health. Together, the awards total more than $6.6 million and support research on bone aging, blood cancer, and osteoarthritis.

“These awards line up with what we’re working toward: more outside funding for our faculty, more opportunities for our students and trainees, and more basic and translational research that leads to better treatments for bone and cartilage diseases,” said Teresita Bellido, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology. “Congratulations to all three. They’ve worked hard and stuck with it, and we can’t wait to see what comes next.”

Targeting Autophagy to Strengthen Aging Bones

Melda Onal, Ph.D., Associate Professor, received a $2,439,235 grant from the National Institute on Aging to study autophagy, the recycling process inside cells
that bone-forming cells need to survive and function. Autophagy is thought to be inadequate in both aging and osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a genetic disorder known as “brittle bone disease.”

Dr. Onal’s lab will use a genetic approach called CRISPR activation to boost autophagy and test whether doing so increases bone formation, bone mass, and strength. The project aims to establish proof of principle for stimulating autophagy as a new way to build bone and reduce fracture risk in older adults and people with OI.

Her collaborators and co-investigators include Roy Morello, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology; Maria Schuller Almeida, Ph.D., Professor, Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation and Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism; and Intawat Nookaew, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics.

Does Bad Cholesterol Fuel Multiple Myeloma?

Ryan Allen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, received a $2,119,890 grant from the National Cancer Institute to study whether low-density lipoprotein (LDL), often called “bad cholesterol,” affects multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that forms in the bone marrow. Many myeloma patients initially respond to therapies but eventually relapse into a refractory disease state.

Dr. Allen’s team will test whether myeloma cells draw on LDL to grow and whether LDL-carried small RNAs help the cancer suppress the immune system. Their goal is to determine whether drugs that target cholesterol or an immune-cell switch called TLR8 could help patients stay in remission longer.

His co-investigators and collaborators include Jesus Delgado-Calle, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology; Fenghuang “Frank” Zhan, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Internal Medicine and Director of UAMS Myeloma Center Basic Research; Martin Cannon, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology; Cody Ashby, Ph.D, Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Informatics; and Carolina Schinke, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology.

Examining Blood Vessels in Osteoarthritis

Sanja Novak, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, received a $2,058,011 grant from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to investigate how damage to the tiny blood vessels in the knee contributes to osteoarthritis (OA), a painful joint disease marked by the breakdown of cartilage.

Dr. Novak’s team will study whether unstable, leaky blood vessels help trigger and speed up OA after joint injury, and whether stabilizing those vessels can prevent or slow the disease. The findings could point to new therapies for a leading cause of pain and reduced mobility.

Her collaborators and co-investigators include Ryan Porter, Ph.D. (Co-Investigator), Associate Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation; Melda Onal, Ph.D. (Co-Investigator), Associate Professor, Department of Physiology and Cell Biology; Kimberly Stephens, Ph.D. (OSC), Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience; and Ruud Dings, Ph.D. (OSC), Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology.

“Our department works hard to help faculty land outside funding,” said Bellido. “It starts with recruiting faculty whose work fits what UAMS already does well. Then we give each new faculty member a mentoring committee built around what they need, and we encourage them to collaborate within and beyond the department. We also have great partners in the Cancer Institute, the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence, and the Translational Research Institute.”

For Christoph Mora, the email announcing his NIH fellowship arrived in the middle of a workday, so the celebration had to wait. “I couldn’t pop a bottle of champagne right then, but I did after work,” he said.

The fellowship was a long time coming. Mora first submitted the application in 2024, but his NIH study section was repeatedly postponed and then canceled. He resubmitted it in 2025, learned in February that he had earned a good impact score, and finally received notice of the award in July 2026.

“It was a test of endurance for sure,” he said. “A lot of the research we do requires persistence in the face of setbacks. You just have to keep pushing.”

The Science Behind the Fellowship

The work was worth the wait. Hypertension affects nearly 30% of adults worldwide and almost half of U.S. adults. It has no outward symptoms, so cardiac damage can accumulate silently for years or even decades.

Mora’s research looks at the earliest stages of that process rather than the end stage. His first aim examines how T cells accumulate in the hypertensive heart and affect heart muscle cells. His second explores macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition, a newly described process that may drive harmful scarring in the heart.

What has surprised him most is how deeply immune dysfunction is tied to chronic disease.

“The extent to how many chronic diseases today are caused or accelerated by dysfunctional immune cells cannot be overstated,” he said.

He was just as impressed by the tools used in Dr. Mu’s lab, from the microsurgeries used to model high blood pressure to flow cytometry.

Flow cytometry, which he had never been introduced to before, can identify many cells and cell subtypes in a single sample.

“It’s one of the best ways to study different populations of cells, and the specificity you can get is stunning. It’s incredible how efficient and powerful some of these technologies can be.”

Those techniques are part of a research program that has been building for years. Dr. Mu’s NIH-funded work began with a $1.89 million grant in 2019 to explore the link between immune cells and high blood pressure. Since then, his lab has made substantial discoveries that show abnormal immune responses contribute to high blood pressure and associated organ damage. These discoveries have paved the way for the next phase of the lab’s research, which received an additional $3.7 million from the NIH in 2024.

Mora’s award continues a strong record of F31 success in Dr. Mu’s lab, following Katie Deck’s award in 2024. That success reflects the laboratory and department’s commitment to graduate training, individualized mentorship, and preparing trainees to compete for national research funding.

Chasing the Missing Pieces

Mora’s path to scientific research started early. He grew up in Austin, Texas, the middle child of six. His father, an engineer, and his mother, an accountant, both prioritized education and pushed their children to excel.

“It wasn’t without challenges, but I do think I had an affinity for STEM subjects,” he said.

He credits his father for his early grounding in mathematics. “It’s nice when you get a math problem to click.”

A high school biology course sealed his interest in the sciences.

“That class leaned heavily into biochemistry, and that solidified that I would go into some sort of natural science field,” he said. “A lot of it was logical, and that appealed to me”

While in college at Ave Maria University in Florida, Mora had the opportunity to do two research internships, including one at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

“I did seriously consider agricultural science, but, ultimately, I loved putting together the missing pieces inside our own biology.”

Finding a Home at UAMS

After graduating from Ave Maria with a degree in biochemistry, Mora chose UAMS for graduate school.

“What stuck out the most about UAMS was the amount of NIH funding and the number of labs doing different types of research, especially for the size of the school,” he said.

Mora’s wife, Laura, a Little Rock native, was also accepted into the program. The graduate school’s competitive stipend helped simplify the decision.

Mora rotated through four UAMS labs and liked them all, which made the choice difficult. At the start of graduate school, he got some good advice: the lab you join should be in a research field that interests you, have funding for a graduate student, and be an environment where you’re comfortable.

Dr. Mu’s lab fit all three. “I was definitely interested in cardiovascular disease, the lab techniques, and the questions his lab was trying to answer,” he said. “The pharmacology department as a whole was also so warm and welcoming.”

Mora also points to Dr. Mu’s supportive mentorship style and to senior grad students and researchers who were glad to answer his questions.

The lab’s unofficial mantra is “there are no stupid questions.”

“Dr. Mu encourages you to be curious,” Mora said. “He pushes you to look at things from many different angles.”

Mora’s research focuses on the heart, but he draws on what lab colleagues are learning about the kidney, and on articles and new techniques from the wider field that might apply to his research.

What’s Next

Mora is writing his dissertation, a document that will likely range from 100 to 250 pages. After he finishes and successfully defends it, he plans to pursue a postdoctoral position to gain independence and start designing his own research projects.

“I definitely want to stay in academia,” he said. “I’d like to do a postdoc to gain a little more independence and begin to design my own research projects. I’d also like a taste of administrative work to see if I might want to be a PI.”

His interests lean translational. “I do love basic research, but I’m drawn more to the translational and clinical side of things, learning what’s happening inside the human body in a chronic disease condition.”

Stroke Pathways to Advance Rural Knowledge (SPARK) | $5,438,244

PI: Jonathan Goree, M.D., Professor, Department of Anesthesiology

SPARK will connect communities, EMS, emergency departments, primary care, and stroke specialists in 24 rural Delta communities in its first year. The program will use education, virtual neurology decision support, survivor navigation, workflow tools, and performance tracking.

Arkansas Pregnancy Care Connect | $2,986,934

PI: Nirvana Manning, M.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Mobile teams will serve 24 high-need counties, backed by a statewide, 24/7 nurse-led pregnancy and postpartum advice line. The line will provide triage, education, referrals, and escalation support. Counties served: Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Clark, Columbia, Fulton, Hempstead, Howard, Independence, Izard, Lafayette, Little River, Marion, Miller, Nevada, Newton, Ouachita, Pike, Polk, Searcy, Sevier, Sharp, Stone, and Union.

Specialty Telehealth Access for Rural Communities in Arkansas (STAR) | $1,228,624

PI: Susan Emmett, M.D., Professor, Department of Otolaryngology

STAR will create a telehealth hearing-care network offering screening, specialist triage, diagnosis, and treatment through community sites and rural clinics. Counties served: Arkansas, Clark, Clay, Cross, Fulton, Greene, Hot Spring, Lawrence, Monroe, Montgomery, Mississippi, Phillips, Poinsett, Polk, Randolph, Sevier, and Sharp.

Mobile Faith Rural Health Outreach Program | $1,100,000

PI: Pearl McElfish, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Department of Internal Medicine; Director, UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation

Mobile Faith will bring preventive screenings, health education, referral coordination, and chronic disease support to rural residents statewide. The program relies on trusted faith-based partnerships and community health workers.

Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowship | $536,294

PI: Shashank Kraleti, M.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

The Transforming Obstetrical Care in Rural Arkansas Project will establish a fellowship in Jonesboro, based at St. Bernards Medical Center, to train two family physicians each year in comprehensive maternity care. Fellows will learn to care for patients during pregnancy, childbirth, and after delivery, and are expected to start in July 2027. Counties served: Clay, Craighead, Cross, Greene, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, and Woodruff.

Bridges to Care: Arkansas Rural Behavioral Health Workforce Collaborative | $1,230,685

PI: Isis Martel, M.S., Instructor, Research and Evaluation Division, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

Bridges to Care will give frontline providers in rural communities free, practical, evidence-based behavioral health training and ongoing support. Because rural areas often lack specialists, behavioral health care frequently falls to family doctors, nurses, school counselors, peer recovery specialists, court teams, and faith leaders. Offered statewide in person, live online, and on demand, the training will focus on youth substance use, trauma, mental illness, and team-based care.

The Arkansas Rural Health Transformation Program is funded by the State of Arkansas through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Learn more at Arkansas Rural Health Transformation Program | AR RHT

Susan D. Emmett, M.D., MPH, Professor of Otolaryngology and Epidemiology and the Thomas McGill Chair in Otolaryngology, secured a historic K24 mentoring award from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) to train the next generation of hearing health researchers.

This landmark achievement represents the first mid-career mentoring award ever received by a UAMS faculty member.  Dr. Emmett is one of only two otologists nationally to hold a K24, a highly competitive award reserved for well-funded clinician-scientists with a deep commitment to mentoring. This five-year, $1,036,837 award will support hearing health scientific workforce development– and it’s desperately needed. Hearing loss affects an estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide, with 80% living in rural and underserved communities where access to care is severely limited. Tackling a challenge of this magnitude requires a research workforce fluent across epidemiology, trial design, technology innovation, community engagement, implementation science, and policy.

Dr. Emmett has mentored 34 individuals over the past decade, ranging from undergraduates to postbaccalaureates, medical students, residents, clinical fellows, pre- and postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty. Her trainees hail from UAMS and universities across the U.S. and Canada.  This award will support ongoing mentorship of 4-6 mentees annually, providing valuable training opportunities using the plethora of existing datasets from NIH- and Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)-funded projects led by Dr. Emmett and the team at the Center for Hearing Health Access.

“Mentoring is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.  It is truly an honor to support the growth of so many talented individuals as they gain essential skills that will expand access to care for future generations of patients,”  Dr. Emmett remarked.

Dr. Emmett is the founding director of the UAMS Center for Hearing Health Access, the first research center of its kind dedicated to expanding access to hearing care and is recognized as the 12^th highest NIH-funded otolaryngology investigator in the country according to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. She brings a rare dual perspective to her research: she is a practicing surgeon and public health-trained expert who studies the full continuum from novel screening technology to large-scale randomized trials, expanding access to specialty care. She works closely with a dynamic team, including Samantha Robler, Ph.D., AuD, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Center, who are all deeply committed to transforming access to hearing care for rural Arkansas and beyond.

For patients on a ventilator, the breathing tube that keeps them alive can also put them at risk. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is one of the most common infections patients pick up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and Clay Jackson-Litteken, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is working to better understand and prevent it.

With a new five-year $2.2 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, he’s studying Acinetobacter baumannii, a pathogen associated with roughly 30% of VAP cases. It is also one of the hardest to treat, with the highest rate of drug resistance of any Gram-negative bacterium.

When VAP is caused by drug-resistant bacteria like A. baumannii, the death rate can reach 30 to 50%. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have both identified A. baumannii as a major public health concern.

Why the Tube Matters

Intubation irritates the windpipe and coats the breathing tube with proteins that bacteria can cling to, letting them form a slimy film called a biofilm. The tube also keeps the airway from clearing itself, so mucus pools and shelters bacteria from both the immune system and antibiotics.

A Better Way to Study It

Dr. Jackson-Litteken says the lab models that scientists have relied on for decades don’t look much like a real ventilated patient. His project will:

• Use breathing tubes recovered from patients to build the first lab model that realistically mimics how bacteria stick to and grow on them.
• Use a new mouse model, which he adapted for this bacterium, to identify how it causes pneumonia.
• Combine the two approaches to test tube treatments designed to prevent infection.

Because these tools reflect the general conditions of a ventilated airway, they could also be used to study other bacteria that cause VAP.

“I hope to characterize the regulatory pathways that enable bacteria to adapt to the endotracheal tube microenvironment and promote infection,” he says.

Laura James, M.D., Director of the Translational Research Institute and Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research, and Shannon Dare, M.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, are helping him obtain clinical samples so his models reflect what happens in real patients.

“Studies like this will help ICUs better manage patients on ventilators and prevent respiratory infections,” he said.

Dr. Jackson-Litteken earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology at UAMS under the mentorship of Jon Blevins, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the department, followed by postdoctoral research at Washington University in St. Louis.

A Q & A with Shengyu Mu, M.D., Ph.D., newly named Chair of the UAMS College of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Alan Tackett, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Executive Associate Dean for Basic Science Research.

Roots of a Career in Hypertension Research

AT: I’d love to know about your background. Where are you from, where did you grow up, and how did you get into science and land in Little Rock, Arkansas?

SM: I was born in Tianjin, China, a major port city near Beijing. I was interested in science from a young age. At first, I wanted to be an astronaut, and later a physicist like Albert Einstein. But when I became more aware that my parents had hypertension, that’s what turned me toward medicine.

I went to medical school and trained in a hospital, where I realized that while doctors knew how to treat hypertension by controlling blood pressure, they didn’t really understand what was causing it. So, after medical school, I went to the University of Tokyo, one of the largest universities in Asia, to keep learning about hypertension. There, I discovered that hypertension is actually rooted in the kidney. I joined the Department of Nephrology and Endocrinology at the University of Tokyo, earned my Ph.D., and stayed on for a postdoctoral year.

After that, I moved from Tokyo to the United States — partly a family decision. She did not speak Japanese, while I could speak English, so it made more sense for me to move to the United States. It turned out to be an important next step in both my personal life and scientific career.

AT: You’ve clearly pursued excellent training over your career, and you’re now nationally recognized in your field. Tell me more about your research program.

Discovering Salt Memory

SM: The research program begins with a simple question: What causes hypertension? I still teach this in medical school every year, and I tell students, honestly, that we don’t fully know. Hypertension has been recognized as a medical condition for a hundred years. We have long known that blood vessel constriction raises pressure, but over the past 40 years, the focus has shifted more toward the kidney, which retains extra salt and water and raises blood volume. Understanding that mechanism is central to understanding the root causes of hypertension.

About 10 years ago, my lab started looking at immune cells — specifically T cells — which was somewhat new territory for us. We found that T cells can stimulate kidney cells, triggering them to reabsorb more salt and water and expand blood volume, which causes hypertension. The most exciting discovery to come out of that work is something we call “salt memory.” T cells that migrate into the kidney stimulate kidney cells to retain more salt and water. Even after blood pressure is controlled and that retention subsides, the T cells “remember” the original stimulus. So, when the stimulus returns, they immediately drive the kidney to retain salt and water again.

I was trained in cardiovascular physiology and nephrology, so when we started this work, I knew very little about T cells. I’m grateful to the collaborators I found after joining UAMS, particularly Dr. Lin-Xi Li, an immunologist in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, who taught me not only the experimental side but how immunologists think about problems. We also began collaborating with Dr. Lu Huang in the same department, who helped us understand how shifts in immune-cell metabolism can transform T cells into tissue-resident memory cells that trigger and sustain salt memory.

That’s why hypertensive patients can have their blood pressure controlled, but their hypertension isn’t cured — it keeps coming back. That’s what we’re targeting now. More recently, we’ve expanded into metabolic syndrome, particularly Type 2 Diabetes. It’s a clinically important direction: about half of American adults have hypertension, but among people with Type 2 Diabetes, that number is closer to 90 percent. We believe metabolic shifts in the body may be converting immune cells that are supposed to protect us into cells that damage the kidney and raise blood pressure.

AT: That’s fascinating — the crosstalk between kidney physiology and the immune system, and how it connects to diabetes, which is such an important problem both nationally and here in Arkansas. Given that a lot of your work is rooted in mechanistic understanding, what do you see for the future of this field?

SM: Hypertension research and treatment is moving away from simply controlling blood pressure toward targeting underlying mechanisms. And it’s not just one mechanism — it’s multiple systems working together: the vasculature, the kidney, and likely the immune system as well. I believe future treatment will involve combining therapies that target multiple organs and pathways at once. That combination approach is what could ultimately provide a real cure for hypertension.

Training the Next Generation of Scientists

AT: You’ve built a terrific, highly translational research program. One thing you also do well is train graduate students. What’s the recipe for that success?

SM: I’ve been fortunate to work with talented, hardworking, and highly motivated students. They’re the reason for whatever success we’ve had. My job is to recognize their potential and create an environment where they can develop. I don’t think there’s a single recipe, but I try to train my students in the way I was trained: as colleagues, not just as people learning from me. We figure things out together. That’s exactly how my mentor treated me.

I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all strategy, because every student is different. I get to know them and tailor my approach to each person.

AT: When you work with faculty colleagues, how do you translate some of that approach to how they train their own students?

SM: I’ll answer that from my new perspective as department chair. Before I met with any of the faculty, I met individually with all of the students to hear what they wanted, what they were thinking, and how they felt about the department. I encourage faculty to talk and communicate with their students rather than simply directing them, and to discuss difficult mentoring situations openly. I meet with faculty, especially junior faculty, every two weeks, and I always ask about their students and their progress. I share my approach, not because it’s the only right one, but so faculty can consider it and decide what works for them. It’s a two-way conversation; I learn a lot from our faculty as well.

Stepping Into the Chair Role

AT: You were recently named Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Your predecessor, Nancy Rusch, Ph.D., was quite the leader and trailblazer. Tell me about her impact on the department and on you personally.

SM: We’d probably need two hours to do that justice, but I’ll mention a few things I’ll always remember. Nancy led this department for 20 years, and her impact shows in our research funding, publications, faculty success, and the strength of our graduate program. She built a department with strong, multidisciplinary programs. We cover cardiovascular and renal pharmacology, neuroscience, cancer biology, toxicology, and drug abuse studies. I’ve often wondered how she understood all of those areas well enough to give every faculty member good guidance. She set high expectations, but she also understood that a chair’s most important role is to create opportunities for faculty and trainees to succeed.

Her impact on me personally was significant. I joined UAMS in 2013 as a research-track junior faculty member, and it took me a few years to adjust to the differences in life and academic environment. In 2017, Nancy offered me the opportunity to become a tenure-track assistant professor, which is where I really established my independent research program. She saw potential in me and was willing to invest in it. Without that opportunity, I wouldn’t be the department chair today. After I agreed to take on this role, she also taught me a great deal about what it means to be a chair — that you must support each individual faculty member while always keeping the long-term interests of the whole department in mind. She told me that balance is the hardest part.

A Five-Year Vision for the Department

AT: The department, college, and campus are certainly better for Nancy having been here. What’s your vision for the department five years from now?

SM: It might be a little ambitious, but I want to build a department that’s nationally recognized for excellent science, outstanding training, and a genuinely collaborative culture. Since we’re already multidisciplinary, I believe collaboration is where we can grow the most.

The first priority over the next five years is investing in people, just as Nancy invested in me. I want to hire excellent junior faculty, not simply to replace retiring faculty, but to build stronger collaborations and help define the department’s future.

The second priority is establishing interdisciplinary research programs. I plan to start with a cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolism research program — an area where my own lab is at the center — and use it to connect researchers across cardiovascular science, kidney research, metabolism, immunology, neuroscience, and even aging and clinical research. I’d like to build several programs like this over the next five years.

The third priority is education and training. Our department already has a strong training record. We have multiple students with NIH and other national fellowships, and I want to keep building on that.

Life Outside the Lab

AT: Your department is always one I look to as a model for collaborative, multidisciplinary research. You do an exceptional job training students, including through NIH-funded training programs embedded in the department.

Last question: you’re a busy guy — new chair role, a big research program — what do you do for fun?

SM: I have a long list! I spend time with my wife and daughter. I enjoy fishing and playing chess — chess especially since fishing in Arkansas in July or August is basically torture, so I need some indoor options. On good-weather days, I enjoy woodworking and building projects. I also ride bicycles, play table tennis, and some basketball.

AT: Thank you for your time today. The College of Medicine is here to support you as you lead your department forward

SM: Thank you so much, Alan.

If you trained in the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, you know how much a single mentor, a well-timed piece of advice, or a little financial breathing room can shape a career. A group of UAMS College of Medicine alumni has created a new way to pay it forward.

UAMS has launched the Pediatrics Scholarship Initiative, a first-of-its-kind scholarship for the College of Medicine designed specifically to support students at a pivotal moment: the transition from medical school into pediatric residency.

The scholarship was the vision of four pediatricians who know firsthand what that transition looks like — Bill Steinbach, M.D., Chair of the UAMS Department of Pediatrics, and UAMS Emeritus Professors Michele Moss, M.D., Rhonda Dick, M.D. ’81, and Richard Jacobs, M.D. ’77. Their goal was simple but ambitious: build a scholarship that the Department of Pediatrics and pediatricians across Arkansas would be proud to stand behind, creating a shared investment in the physicians who will care for the state’s children for decades to come.

How It Works

• The PEDS Scholarship initiative is designed to initially provide a $5,000 award to a qualified fourth-year UAMS medical student interested in pursuing pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty.
• As the fund grows with the help of philanthropic support, the scholarship amount will substantially increase.
• The recipient may receive an additional $5,000 award or more depending on available funds after matching with and entering the UAMS Pediatrics Residency Program at Arkansas Children’s.
• The number and amount of awards will depend on available funding and may grow as the fund expands.

The scholarship also extends beyond financial assistance. Each year, the recipient will be introduced to successful pediatricians, helping the student build a network of mentorship, encouragement, and professional support. These relationships can guide students as they enter residency, develop their careers and become leaders in pediatric medicine.

Why It Matters

Medical education keeps getting more expensive, and that cost can steer talented students away from pediatrics. This scholarship is designed to ease the financial burden so more graduates choose to become the pediatricians Arkansas needs, and choose to stay and lead here.

How Alumni Can Help

Supporters can contribute in the way that fits them best:

• Principal gifts grow the endowed fund, creating a permanent, self-sustaining source of scholarship support through annual investment earnings.
• Spendable gifts go directly to scholarship funding now, helping a student today.
• Many donors choose to combine both — supporting a current student while building a lasting legacy for the classes that follow.

Make a gift: bit.ly/pedsscholarship

Questions? Contact Erica Dunn, Senior Executive Director of Development at
(501) 889-8843 or email EMWillardDunn@uams.edu.

When Ron Robertson, M.D., stepped into the role of Dean of the UAMS College of Medicine on May 1, he wore the “interim” label for a while before it came off. Now, a little more than 100 days into the permanent role, he says the shift has changed more than just his title.

“It’s always easier to work in a role when you know it’s yours and you can make it your own,” Robertson said. He believes the certainty has rippled through his team, too. With the interim title gone, colleagues know he’s in it for the long haul, freeing them to lay out real plans.

That confidence has been tested by a learning curve Robertson didn’t fully anticipate. After seven years as Chair of the Department of Surgery, he had that role “pretty much figured out,” he said. The Dean’s office is entirely different — “like being chair of multiple departments at once,” he said, with a faster pace and problems that rarely have a solution involving just one person or group.

What has struck him most, though, is the people.

“We have exceptional people who are very committed to our mission,” Robertson said.

It’s a mission Robertson approaches the way he has every operating room for decades: as a team sport. His trauma career was built on assembling and leading teams that function under pressure, and he sees the Dean’s role as the ultimate test of that approach — one that spans education, research, and clinical care all at once.

“Being the Dean may be the ultimate expression of teamwork,” he said. “Building, and then watching, that team thrive is what I love most about the job.”

Looking ahead, Robertson lays out a vision for strengthening the College of Medicine across all three pillars of its mission. In clinical care, that means leveraging the hospital system to widen access and improve the health of Arkansans. In education, it means building a curriculum that keeps the college competitive for top talent long into the future. In research, it means growing the portfolio across both basic science and clinical programs.

“We have huge opportunities in all three aspects of our mission and the right leadership team starting at the top,” Robertson said.

Ask him for a single defining moment in his first 100 days and Robertson points to a string of them — graduation, welcoming new students and residents, working alongside fellow deans and the leadership team. Each one, he says, sharpens his sense of what’s at stake: training excellent physicians, delivering exceptional care, and pursuing research that helps patients.

“The people of Arkansas are counting on me, and they’re counting on us to accomplish our goals.”

Through it all, Robertson hasn’t stepped out of the operating room.

“At the core of my being, I’m a surgeon, and I don’t want to lose that,” he said. Staying in clinical practice keeps him grounded in what faculty actually face day to day — insight he considers essential to leading real change.

“I love taking care of patients. I can’t imagine that not being a part of my life.”

On the morning of Aug. 3, 172 first-year medical students filed into the UAMS library carrying a mix of nerves and excitement.

They came from rural Arkansas towns and cities across the country, straight from college and others after careers in education, engineering, and other fields. All have spent years working toward the moment.

Together, they make up the UAMS College of Medicine Class of 2030 — the 148th class to begin medical school at UAMS.

Becky Latch, M.D., Associate Dean for Student Affairs, said she was struck by the energy and range of experiences represented in the class.

“They came ready to get started,” Latch said. “There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm from the very beginning. I was impressed by the different experiences and perspectives they bring with them.”

Of 3,337 applicants, the Class of 2030 includes 143 Arkansas residents. Nearly one-third come from rural areas, and nearly 80% come from medically underserved areas. They enter medical school with an average GPA of 3.86 and an average MCAT score of 510.

Beyond the numbers is a class shaped by a remarkable range of experiences. Before medical school, students turned wrenches as mechanics and automotive engineers, built virtual worlds as Roblox game developers, sold real estate, drove for Uber, taught dance, and worked as EMTs, medical scribes, and nurse’s aides.

They volunteered in homeless shelters, hospice centers, wound care clinics, and food pantries; worked with the Salvation Army, Girl Scouts, and animal rescues; and participated in medical mission trips.

Many members of the class are also accomplished athletes, bringing years of competition, coaching, and teamwork with them to medical school. They have captained an NCAA golf team, played women’s rugby, competed in soccer, swimming and diving, taught PGA golf, coached Little League softball and volleyball, and umpired baseball.

Different Paths, Same Room

For Chancellor’s Scholar Lance Wilson, starting medical school was also a homecoming. He was just a year old when his father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The family relocated from Chicago to Little Rock so his father could receive specialized care at the UAMS Myeloma Center.

For the next six years, UAMS became a familiar part of his childhood as his father underwent treatment.

After returning to UAMS as a medical student and receiving his white coat, he reflected on what the moment meant.

“My father’s physicians and their teams provided the precious extra years I had with him, and I owe my memories of my dad to the intentional, patient- and family-centered care they delivered,” he wrote in a social media post. “Fifteen years later, I have now been given the opportunity to give back to the same institution that gave so much to my family through the symbol of this white coat.”

For Sara Fritz, a 33-year-old former high school chemistry teacher, the road to medical school took 10 years.

Fritz earned a bachelor’s degree in movement science and a master’s degree in education before teaching science in Chicago Public Schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. She loved working with students but eventually found herself drawn back to science and medicine.

“I came back to how much I love science, the body, and its ability to heal itself,” she said. “I want to use science and my teaching background to explain health issues to patients and help them understand how their bodies work.”

For fellow Chancellor’s Scholar Kate Stidman, the journey began in Flippin, Arkansas, a medically underserved community of about 1,280.

“I started thinking about being a doctor at a very young age,” Stidman said. “I remember in seventh grade I told my English teacher that I wanted to be an OB/GYN.”

Stidman will be the first physician in her family, although her mother is an advanced practice registered nurse. She is considering primary care or internal medicine.

Her first day at UAMS was the realization of a longtime goal.

“It was truly a day where I realized so many of my dreams had come to fruition,” she said.

The Journey Begins

During Welcome Week, UAMS leaders reminded students that reaching medical school was both an accomplishment and the beginning of a demanding new chapter.

“In four years, you’ll be a doctor,” said UAMS Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, M.D. “Expectations are different when you have an M.D. after your name. People will expect more of you. And because you represent UAMS, you must hold yourself to high standards.”

Ron Robertson, M.D., Dean of the UAMS College of Medicine and Executive Vice Chancellor, spoke to the weight and reward of the path ahead.

“As physicians, we have both the extraordinary privilege and the great responsibility of caring for patients and their families,” he said. “Healthcare has changed a lot over the years, but it’s still the best profession there is. The rewards are profound.”

Latch offered students another piece of advice: Give themselves permission not to know everything yet.

“Stay curious and keep a growth mindset,” she said. “If you can’t do something, remember that you can’t do it yet. You may struggle to learn some things, but you will get there.”

It’s advice informed by her own first days at UAMS.

“I remember being nervous and wondering if I was really ready for medical school,” Latch said.

At the time, medical school culture often made students reluctant to admit when they were struggling or unsure of themselves. That has changed for the better.

“Now we acknowledge that many students have those feelings,” she said. “Helping them recognize and address those feelings of imposter syndrome allows them to get down to learning what they need to learn.”

That support will be important as the Class of 2030 prepares for a profession that continues to evolve. Latch said she is particularly encouraged by the number of students coming from rural communities and hopes medical education remains accessible to students from a wide range of backgrounds.

“Arkansas is a rural state, and training doctors from rural areas means they understand where their patients are coming from,” she said. “That’s something we want to continue.”

Welcome Week culminated Aug. 7 with the White Coat Ceremony, when students recited a professional oath marking their public entry into medicine.

For Robin Eluvathingal, one of three M.D./Ph.D. students in the class, the ceremony marked the first step on an eight-year path that will combine patient care with scientific research. Eluvathingal, Brahmi Prayaga, and Sadie Farmer are the first students in the new NIH-funded Medical Scientist Training Program at UAMS.

“I know it’s just the beginning,” Eluvathingal said. “But it’s the first time this whole thing has felt real instead of just a plan.”

Five days after arriving at UAMS as newly minted medical students, the Class of 2030 left Welcome Week wearing white coats.

They join a tradition that began in 1880, when the first UAMS medical school class had just 22 students. Nearly a century and a half later, that journey has officially begun for the UAMS Class of 2030. Good luck!

(back, l to r) Class of 2026 UAMS medical school graduates (back, l to r) Lindsey Herberger, John Odom, ENT Department Chair Gresham Richter, M.D., Michael Hahn, Alexa Pearce, Roger Roe; (front, l to r) Ravi Sun, Peyton Pinkus, and Anna Benafield celebrate during commencement ceremonies after matching into highly competitive ENT residency programs.

Eight students in the UAMS College of Medicine’s most recent graduating class matched into the field of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, an extraordinary accomplishment in one of medicine’s most competitive specialties.

The specialty offered only 370 residency positions nationwide for more than 550 applicants in 2026. The national match rate in the specialty fell to 67% during one of the toughest cycles on record. UAMS students matched at 100%.

The eight students represent nearly 4% of the UAMS College of Medicine graduating class — almost double the percentage typically seen at many top-tier medical schools nationwide.

UAMS faculty credit the success to years of intentional collaboration between the UAMS College of Medicine and the UAMS Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery to create a structured support system that sets students up for success. This includes early exposure to the specialty through meaningful research, mentorship, and extensive clinical exposure at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s, and the Central Arkansas Veteran’s Healthcare System.

“We are incredibly proud of these students and the work they put in to reach this milestone,” said Gresham Richter, M.D., Chair of the UAMS Department of Otolaryngology. “Matching eight students in a year this competitive speaks not only to their talent but also to the strength of the training environment and collaborative culture we’ve created at UAMS.”