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!

Bragging RITEs
Congratulations to our Neurology residents on their superb results on the Resident In-service Training Exam (RITE), including a rare, perfect 100^th percentile score achieved by Chief Resident Dr. Hisham Elkhider (PGY-4). His PGY-4 classmate Dr. Sen Sheng secured the 99^th percentile nationally. Third-year resident Dr. Rohan Sharma was also among the nation’s top scorers at the 93^rd percentile among all residents and the 95^th percentile for his year of training. Our second-year residents also performed well, and as a result, the entire program hit the 89^th percentile, reflecting a consistent, 20-point increase since 2018. Bravo to our residents, Residency Program Director Dr. Mitesh Lotia, and all of the faculty members who helped make this possible!  

Better Cancer Detection
The ability to use a routine blood draw to provide the same diagnostic information included in a traditional tissue biopsy has tremendous ramifications. Dr. Donald Johann Jr., Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Internal Medicine, was part of an international team that conducted an independent assessment of five commercially available assays for blood-based tumor DNA sequencing (aka liquid biopsy). The findings were published this week in Nature Biotechnology and provide crucial information and best-practice guidelines for blood-based tumor DNA sequencing – a fast, inexpensive and less-invasive way to diagnose and monitor cancer. The research was led by the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in New South Wales, the FDA National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Arkansas, and the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Super Symposium
Team members from the Movement Disorders Clinic and departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology and Psychiatry did a great job on the 6^th annual UAMS Parkinson’s Symposium presented last Sunday. The event drew 125 attendees from across the United States and Europe this year, providing vital information for patients and families affected by Parkinson’s and continuing education for medical professionals. UAMS organizers and presenters included Course Director Dr. Erika Petersen; Drs. Rohit Dhall, Mitesh Lotia, Tuhin Virmani, Jennifer Gess, Jennifer Kleiner, Chelsea Wakefield and Chrystal Fullen; and Shannon Doerhoff, APN. Faculty organizers expressed special appreciation for Neurosurgery Project Specialist Christian Pedroza Portillo for coordinating the symposium and doing an amazing job converting it to a virtual format.

Teamwork Matters
When pediatric radiologist Dr. Kelli Schmitz sought consultation for a complex situation with an adult patient being cared for in the burn unit at Arkansas Children’s, many Radiology colleagues at ACH and UAMS went above and beyond to help. The team overcame a number of technical issues to ensure the very best imaging and care for the patient. I join with Dr. Schmitz in expressing gratitude to faculty members Drs. Lance Runion, Spencer Lewis, Mary Moore, Erin Priddy, James Meek, Gitanjali Bajaj and Philip Kenney; and to residents Drs. Ryan Wycliffe, Daniel Harper, Jeff Lynch and Razvan Zemianschi.

In the Spotlight
Arkansas Business selected two UAMS team members for its 2021 “40 Under 40” list: the Department of Internal Medicine’s Ayoola Carleton, M.A., who serves as an Associate Director of Research for UAMS Northwest Community Health and Research; and the Department of Anesthesiology’s Dr. Johnathan Goree, Associate Professor and Director of the Chronic Pain Division. The annual feature shines a spotlight on 40 rising young professionals in Arkansas who are making a significant impact on their companies, organizations and communities. They will be profiled in the May 17 edition of Arkansas Business and honored at an event in June. Congratulations!

C-H-A-M-P-S
Pediatrics faculty members Dr. Becky Latch and Dr. Shruti Tewar and second-year resident Dr. Tomi Adegboyega recently spelled their way to victory in the annual AR Kids Read celebrity “Spellebration.” The event is a fundraiser to help the non-profit organization support and foster grade-level reading skills for kids in Arkansas. The Arkansas Children’s-based colleagues, competing as Team Healthcare, out-spelled teams representing other frontline heroes in Arkansas – police officers, firefighters and educators. Way to go!

Working Together
And finally this week, a shout-out to the Department of Internal Medicine’s Dr. Michelle Krause and Dr. Robert Hopkins for their leadership of the community mass-vaccination clinic at Simmons Bank Arena on Saturday, along with faculty preceptor Dr. Lindsey Sward of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and everyone who volunteered. The UAMS team included junior medical students Anna Blach, George Austin Brown, Catey May, Logan Scott-Kirchen, Jordan Steele, Paige Walker, David Williams and Monica Williams. The event was the first of four mass vaccination clinics at the arena planned for this spring. UAMS is coordinating the clinics in partnership with the cities of North Little Rock and Sherwood, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Pulaski County and Simmons Bank Arena. Thank you all for working together for a stronger, safer community.

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!

Trial Results in JAMA
Congratulations to Dr. Erika Petersen, Professor of Neurosurgery, and colleagues on the publication in JAMA Neurology this week of the results from a national clinical trial that she led into a unique treatment for painful diabetic neuropathy. The randomized clinical trial assessed high-frequency (10-kHz) spinal cord stimulation for patients with the painful diabetic foot condition and found significant benefit from the treatment for patients who had inadequate pain relief from other best-available medical treatments. The article is featured on the journal’s home page, and a JL Learning podcast features an interview with Dr. Petersen. Her UAMS co-authors included Chronic Pain Division Director Dr. Johnathan Goree and former faculty members Dr. Christopher Paul and Dr. Heejung Choi.

Pancreatic Insights in JAMA
Dr. Michail Mavros, Assistant Professor of Surgery, is the lead author on an important new paper in JAMA Surgery, “Clinical Trials of Systemic Chemotherapy for Resectable Pancreatic Cancer.” Dr. Mavros worked with surgical and medical oncologists at some of the leading institutions in the United States and Canada to critically evaluate all randomized clinical trials that investigated neoadjuvant (before surgery) and adjuvant (after surgery) chemotherapy treatment of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) that was resectable (able to be removed by surgery). Well done.

Research Alliance Honorees
The Arkansas Research Alliance has named Professor and Internal Medicine Chair Dr. Edward T.H. Yeh an ARA Scholar and Dr. Alan Tackett, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Deputy Director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, as an ARA Fellow. The ARA Scholars program helps recruit and support world-class researchers to Arkansas universities, and the ARA Fellows program recognizes research leaders currently working at one of the state’s five research campuses. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom. Congratulations to both of these outstanding researchers and leaders.

International Teaching
Dr. Surjith Vattoth, Associate Professor of Radiology in the Division of Neuroradiology, shared his expertise as an invited course faculty member for the multi-module “European Course in Head & Neck Neuroradiology” conducted by the European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR). Dr. Vattoth provided a lecture and workshops on temporal bone imaging last November, and he participated in the international course again last week, delivering a lecture and workshops on the added value of MRI and CT to assess thyroid and parathyroid disease.

National Honors
Congratulations to fourth-year Psychiatry resident Dr. Abigail Richison on two national honors. She has been selected for the highly competitive American Psychiatric Association’s Research Colloquium for Junior Psychiatric Investigators, where she will receive guidance from top researchers and academics and present on a research project, “A survey of providers’ perceptions and comfort with medical cannabis.” Dr. Richison also has been selected for the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry’s REACH (Recognizing and Eliminating Disparities in Addiction through Culturally Informed Healthcare) program through Yale University and SAMHSA. She will attend an intensive training course at Yale and receive up to $104,000 in funding for a fellowship position in addiction psychiatry that she will complete at Vanderbilt University Medical Center following her residency graduation in July.

Mentors Matter
I received the good news in the accolade above from Dr. Richison’s proud mentor, Dr. Jessica Coker, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology. And I was doubly pleased to hear what Dr. Richison later wrote to Psychiatry Chair and Psychiatric Research Institute Director Dr. G. Richard Smith. “Dr. Coker has been an amazing mentor, and I would not have received these awards without her help,” Dr. Richison wrote. “She played a crucial role in my career development, and I am so grateful to be able to call her a mentor.” Dr. Richison also praised Dr. Smith’s leadership, the exceptional attending physicians in PRI, and the support she has received from the Psychiatry Residency Program, which is directed by Dr. Ben Guise.

Scholarly Collaborations
The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s scholarly collaborations among faculty, residents and medical students continue to result in excellent publications. Third-year medical student Merit Turner’s article, “Impact of Oral Steroids on Tonsillectomy Post-Operative Complications and Pain,” was published in Ear, Nose, and Throat. She completed the project with Research Fellow Dr. J. Reed Gardner and Professor Dr. Gresham Richter. Meanwhile, fourth-year resident Dr. Donald Vickers and COM senior Courtney Hunter had their article “Perioperative Indicators of Prognosis in Acute Invasive Fungal Sinusitis” published in Oto-Open. Their project was conducted with Dr. Gardner and Associate Professor Dr. Alissa Kanaan. And second-year resident Dr. Anvesh Kompelli’s article “Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia and Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease: A Case Report” was accepted for publication in Oto-Open. Dr. Kompelli worked on the project with Dr. Gardner and Dr. Kanaan. Congratulations to all.

Global Education
A shout-out to the Department of Radiology, which has been designated as a member and chapter of the non-profit organization Health for the World (H4TW). The organization is devoted to disseminating health education worldwide to help stop preventable medical conditions. Faculty and residents in Radiology will contribute lectures to a virtual library of educational materials that will be available in multiple languages for health care professionals and medical trainees in other countries. The chapter will also collaborate with other clinical departments on educational projects highlighting the diverse expertise at UAMS. Read more about the new H4TW chapter here.  

Above & Beyond
Finally this week, very special thanks to the third- and fourth-year medical students who volunteered for a recent student-led workshop to help M1 and M2 students learn how to do physical exams. The pandemic has prevented first- and second-year students from having many of the opportunities for in-person, hands-on learning that our students ordinarily have prior to starting their third-year clinical rotations.

The Internal Medicine Interest Group, led by Muhammad Abu-Rmaileh, (President), Zain Alfanek (Vice President) and Lillie Pitts (Secretary), reached out to M4s and M3s to help with the workshop, which was held in the Simulation Center and followed COVID safety guidelines. More than 20 juniors and seniors taught physical exam skills to 75 M1s and M2s, and the group hopes to provide another workshop soon.  

“I was honored that so many M3 and M4 students took time from their busy schedules to help out,” said Muhammad. “Some of the M3s had their NBME finals coming up and still wanted to help. We also could not have done this without Sherry Johnson and the team in the SIM Center.”

Volunteers included Justin Klucher, Skye Heckman, Gideon Singleton, Courtney Hunter, Aaron Henry, Allyson Walker, Garrett Bethel, Neil Simmons, Nicole Thomas, Cody Thompson, Jackson Weaver, Anna Blackshare, Gray Orman, Braxton Anderson, Brandon Leding, Morgan Howells, Sydney Roper and Ryan Coleman.

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!

Leadership Fellow
Congratulations to Dr. Jessica Snowden, Associate Professor and Director of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics, on being accepted for the 2021-2022 class of Fellows in the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program at Drexel University. Dr. Snowden was selected for the prestigious yearlong program from a highly competitive field of nominees from institutions across the country. Of course, we’ve seen Dr. Snowden’s exceptional leadership first hand at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s, and she has gained national acclaim for her co-leadership, with Dr. Jeannette Lee, of the UAMS-based Data Coordinating and Operations Center for the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network.

Executive Council
Jonathan Laryea, M.D., Professor of Surgery andChief of the Division of Colorectal Surgery, will lend his expertise to the Executive Council of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. The ASCRS Nominating Committee selected Dr. Laryea from more than 3,000 active society members to serve a three-year term as a member-at-large. He has served the society in multiple committee roles throughout his career. Dr. Laryea is an expert in the minimally invasive treatment of colorectal cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. He sees patients in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, where he serves as Medical Director of the Cancer Service Line.

National Recognition
Congratulations to Dr. Aravindhan Veerapandiyan, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Neurology, on receiving the 2021 A.B. Baker Teacher Recognition Award from the American Academy of Neurology. The award recognizes Dr. Veerapandiyan’s contributions and dedication to neurology education throughout his career, including his work with UAMS Child Neurology and Pediatrics residents.

Scholarship Committee
Dr. Carla Brown, Assistant Professor in the Division of Neonatology, has been selected by the American Academy of Pediatrics to serve on the Section on Early Career Physicians Subcommittee on Hardship Scholarships. The scholarships help allay financial difficulties for residents and fellowship trainees, and committee members are responsible for scoring applications and selecting award recipients. Kudos to Dr. Brown for her national service.

Headed for the NIH
Congratulations to second-year medical student Mason Belue, who has been selected for the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP). Mason, who plans a career as a physician-scientist, will spend a year at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition to conducting research with NIH mentors, MRSP scholars attend lectures, seminars, clinical teaching rounds and other courses, and present their research to the NIH community and at professional conferences. With an undergraduate degree in biomedical engineering, Mason’s research interests include medical devices, translational research, health disparities and social determinants of health. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Trusted Care
A patient recently said in a survey comment that they wouldn’t entrust their ENT care to anyone other than the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Dr. David Walker. “Dr. Walker has been phenomenal in every aspect,” the patient wrote. “I won’t go anywhere else anymore for my ENT work, even if it is a three-hour drive. Thanks UAMS for the exceptional care and understanding each and every time I come.” Bravo Dr. Walker!

Above & Beyond out for review
Many of you know now-retired Dr. Jan Shorey, former UAMS Associate Provost for Faculty and College of Medicine Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, as a champion of professionalism, kindness and patient-centered care. So it speaks volumes that Dr. Shorey wrote to UAMS leaders to praise more than a dozen UAMS team members for their superb care during the recent surgery and hospital stay of a loved one. Dr. Shorey expressed gratitude for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery’s Dr. David Bumpass and Dana Lawrence, APRN, for their competency, kindness and more. Many others they encountered during the multi-day stay also received kudos. We’re proud and honored to have all of these outstanding team members at UAMS!   

Celebrating Creativity
And finally this week, congratulations to the recipients of the first annual Drs. Paulette and Jay Mehta Awards in Creative Writing – and special thanks to the Mehtas for their generosity and understanding of the value of creative endeavors. The inaugural winners are the UAMS Student Success Center’s Timothy Muren (first place); the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute’s Susan Van Dusen (second place); and Dermatology Chair Dr. Sara Shalin (third place). They will be honored in a livestreamed ceremony at 2:30 p.m. this Thursday. Click here to read more about the awards and get the Zoom link. 

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!

A+ for Anesthesiology
Congratulations to our Anesthesiology residents on their outstanding in-training examination results this year. The Clinical Anesthesia 2 (CA2) class as a whole performed better than 90% of their CA2 peers around the country. Four residents achieved a perfect scaled score: CA3 resident Dr. Andrew Wright and CA2 residents Dr. Ashley Bartels, Dr. Nikhil Kamath and Dr. Jessica Yeh. Also scoring above the 90^th percentile were CA2 resident Dr. Jonathan Aronson, CA1 residents Dr. Bardia Azar and Dr. Prannal Bansal, and first-year resident Dr. Scott Smith. Well done!

Pathology Presenters
College of Medicine faculty did a great job as invited faculty for the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) annual meeting last week. Dermatology Chair Dr. Sara Shalin presented on “nodules and neutrophils” during a dermatopathology slide session. Pathology Chair Dr. Jennifer Laudadio and Assistant Professor Dr. Ericka Olgaard were faculty for a short course, “Minding your Ps and Qs: Process and Quality Improvement for Anatomic Pathology Services.” Also during the meeting, third-year Pathology resident Dr. Amrit Singh presented “Therapeutic monoclonal antibody (t-mAb) effect on the interpretation of serum protein electrophoresis and immunofixation in patients with plasma cell myeloma” – earning him a nomination for the Stowell-Orbison Award for residents and fellows. Congratulations to Dr. Singh and his faculty mentors, Associate Professor Dr. Daisy Alapat and Assistant Professor Dr. Hoda Hagrass.

Representing Radiology
The Department of Radiology is well represented at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s virtual annual meeting this week. Assistant Professor Dr. Mudassar Kamran is presenting on CT perfusion in acute stroke. Residents Dr. George Vilanilam and Dr. Iqbal Haq are presenting a poster, “Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization for the Management of Chronic Subdural Hematoma. They are mentored by Dr. Kamran along with Associate Professor Dr. Adewumi Amole and Dr. Martin Radvany, Professor and Chief of Interventional Neuroradiology, who has a number of speaking and moderating roles at the meeting.

In the Spotlight
Congratulations to Dr. Akilah Jefferson, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Immunology, on being named a 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health by the National Minority Quality Forum. The list honors young leaders who have led the charge to improve patient outcomes and build sustainable, healthy communities. In addition to her excellent clinical work, Dr. Jefferson conducts research in the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) focused on asthma, health disparities, health policy and ethics. Read more about Dr. Jefferson in this ACRI Weekly Research Update.

Lifestyle Medicine
A shout-out to Dr. Gina Drobena and Dr. Kathryn Neill on their new grant from the Ardmore Institute of Health to create interprofessional learning opportunities at UAMS focused on lifestyle medicine. Dr. Drobena, Associate Professor of Pathology and Course Director for the Culinary Medicine elective, and Dr. Neill, Associate Provost for Academics and Director of Interprofessional Administrative and Curricular Affairs, were awarded $75,000 to develop content grounded in the key concepts of lifestyle medicine such as healthful eating, physical activity, stress management, social connection and avoidance of substance misuse. Learning activities will be available to students in all 72 UAMS degree programs and to faculty through continuing education. 

Top Reviewer
The American College of Physicians recently commended Dr. William Golden, Professor of Internal Medicine and Public Health and Medical Director for Arkansas Medicaid and the Arkansas Office of Health Information Technology, for his exceptional efforts as a reviewer for the Annals of Internal Medicine. Dr. Golden received the journal’s top grade for his contributions and role in improving the quality of published articles in 2020.

Diabetes Symposium
Kudos to Dr. Joseph Henske, Associate Professor and Director of the Diabetes Program in the Division of Endocrinology, and colleagues for their excellent work on the 26^th annual UAMS Diabetes Update Symposium. Along with Dr. Henske, UAMS speakers for the March 12 conference included Endocrinology fellows Dr. Aashka Shah and Dr. Arwa Albashaireh, who spoke on type 1 and type 2 diabetes, respectively; Associate Professor of Pathology Dr. Gina Drobena, who presented on culinary medicine and also served on the planning committee; Dr. Nafisa Dajani, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who spoke on pregnancy and diabetes; UAMS Northwest’s Dr. Emily English, who discussed food resources; and the College of Health Professions’ Amber Teigen, M.M.Sc., PA-C, who spoke on stress and mindfulness. Dr. Joseph Thompson, President and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, presented a talk on diabetes and COVID-19. State and national experts shared information on numerous other topics.

Jeopardy!
Internal Medicine residents Drs. Prachi Saluja, Marina Joseph, Thomas Augustine and Barrett Burger made an impressive showing in the “Jeopardy” competition at the recent Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) Southern Meeting. The team made it to the final round with their knowledge of clinical topics in internal medicine. I join with team “Coach” Dr. Steven McKee, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, in saying, “Way to Go!”

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!

Step 1 Gains
New data from the USMLE shows our students continuing to make steady improvement on the Step 1 national benchmark exam. In both average mean score and first-time pass rate, our students are closing the gap in reaching the national mean, even though Arkansas students, on average, enter medical school with MCAT scores well below the national mean. This is a strong testament to the excellence and dedication of our faculty and student support systems, as well as a reflection of the curriculum changes and active-learning approaches we began implementing in 2013. Special thanks to all of you who are involved in M1 and M2 education. And bravo to our students for their outstanding work!

Family Medicine Honor
Congratulations to Dr. Shashank Kraleti, Associate Professor and Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program, who has been selected to receive a Program Director Recognition Award from the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors. The award recognizes the unique roles, responsibilities and challenges of family medicine program directors, scholarly activity, peer and professional development, service to family medicine organizations and advocacy. Dr. Kraleti received one of only four bronze medals awarded for 2021.

Published in Pediatrics
Congratulations to Dr. Parthak Prodhan, Professor of Pediatric Critical Care and Pediatric Cardiology, and colleagues, on their new paper published in Pediatrics. Dr. Prodhan is the senior author, and the College of Public Health’s Dr. Clare Brown is first author, on “Severe Acute Neurologic Involvement in Children with Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome.” Coauthors on the study, the largest systematic assessment of acute neurologic manifestations among children with hemolytic-uremic syndrome to date, are the Division of Pediatric Cardiology’s Dr. Xiomara Garcia and Dr. Rupal Bhakta and fourth-year Medicine-Pediatrics resident Dr. Emily Sanders. The UAMS Translational Research Institute provided biostatistical support for the study.

Excellence in Ethics
This year’s recipients of the Chris Hackler Award for Excellence in Medical Ethics exemplify the spirit of the annual award from the University Hospital Ethics Committee – dedication to patients. Social worker Leigh Ann Wilson, LCSW, and Collin V. Montgomery, APRN, of the Adult Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Program are both devoted to providing compassionate care for patients with sickle cell disease. Also honored was former Surgery resident Dr. Nicholas Tingquist, who is currently completing a cardiothoracic fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Read about the honorees in this UAMS news story. Congratulations to all three on this well-deserved honor!

In the Spotlight
Dr. Samantha Kendrick, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a researcher in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, is featured in the latest issue of Pulse, the magazine of the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF). Dr. Kendrick, who received a Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant from the LRF in 2013, discusses in a Q&A article how she became involved in lymphoma research and how the understanding of molecular targets has changed the landscape of therapies for lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Atrial Fibrillation Insights
Dr. Dinesh Voruganti, a first-year Cardiovascular Diseases fellow, is the lead author on a paper published in the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology. “Gender differences, outcomes and trends among nonagenarian with atrial fibrillation: insight from National Inpatient Sample database,” reported a number of findings among hospitalized patients over the age of 90 with atrial fibrillation. Dr. Voruganti’s UAMS coauthors included the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine’s Dr. J.L. Mehta (senior author), Dr. Subodh Devabhaktuni and Dr. Hakan Paydak. Well done.

Journal Recognition
Dr. Arabinda Choudhary, Professor and Chair of Radiology, received a Certificate of Appreciation for Excellence from the Society for Pediatric Radiology for his service as a reviewer for Pediatric Radiology in 2020. Dr. Choudhary, who is internationally recognized in his subspecialty of pediatric neuroimaging, was honored for the quantity and quality of his reviews and for lending his expertise to help ensure the continued high quality of the journal.

AI Win for IDHI
A team from the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation is one of 13 North American university teams named as finalists in the 2021 OpenCV AI Competition, the world’s largest spatial AI (artificial intelligence) competition. The IDHI team, self-dubbed the “Little Rock-ies,” pitched an idea to use AI cameras to perform airway risk assessments on patients. Their win garnered the team 10 OAK-D cameras, which can be used to detect and identify real-world objects. Congratulations – and good luck on the next phase – to the team: IDHI Director Dr. Joseph Sanford, Associate Director Dr. Kevin Sexton, Adria Abella Villafranca, Michael Cruz, Catherine Shoults, Pablo Trevino and Dr. Lori Wong.

Razorbacks Partnership
A shout-out to Orthopaedic Surgery Chair Dr. Lowry Barnes, Orthopaedic Northwest Arkansas Chief Dr. Wes Cox and colleagues for their hard work on the successful initiative to partner with Razorback Athletics to provide comprehensive care for University of Arkansas, Fayetteville student athletes. Under the four-year medical services agreement, UAMS will provide advanced care from sports medicine-trained primary care physicians and orthopaedic surgeons for more than 465 athletes in all 19 Razorback sport programs. UAMS is also partnering with Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas (MANA) on the initiative. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Kudos for Service
Dr. Mary Burgess, Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has served in many roles at UAMS, including as Infectious Diseases (ID) Fellowship Program Director and Transplant ID Director. As a College of Medicine representative and Secretary of the UAMS Academic Senate, Dr. Burgess has worked with the Faculty Retention Committee and UAMS leadership to compile and share important data on faculty retention. She and her ID colleagues have been integral in the care of COVID-19 patients, with Dr. Burgess developing the guidelines for Remdesivir treatment as well as infection control policies relating to immunocompromised patients in Hematology and Multiple Myeloma Services. I join with Dr. Burgess’ colleagues in wishing this outstanding team player all the best as she moves on to a new chapter of her career in private practice in Conway.

Public Health Honor
We were so pleased to hear that senior MD/MPH student Moriah Hollaway has been selected to receive the prestigious Excellence in Public Health Award from the U.S. Public Health Service. Nominated jointly by the College of Public Health and the College of Medicine, Moriah has been a champion for public health training for medical students and physicians. Her capstone research project for her Master of Public Health focuses on the physical and economic aspects of delayed or cancelled elective procedures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moriah plans to pursue a career in general surgery, and to apply her population science training in her medical practice. Congratulations, Moriah!

Dean’s Honor Awards
Help us honor exemplary colleagues! Nominations for the College of Medicine’s signature annual awards for faculty and staff are due March 26. Chairs may nominate candidates for all awards. Faculty members may nominate for all faculty and staff awards except Master Teacher. GBA department leaders may nominate candidates for Staff Excellence Awards. Visit the COM Awards Page for more information about these honors and the nomination process. Information about Dean’s Honor Day will be announced soon!

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.