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!

World-Class Scholar and Mentor
I want to take a moment to again congratulate Dr. Stacie M. Jones, Professor in the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, on her well-earned honor as this year’s Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Scholar. In her lecture last Thursday, Dr. Jones presented an excellent overview of new and emerging immunotherapies for food allergy, including her groundbreaking work with colleagues that led to FDA approval of the first ever oral immunotherapy for life-threatening peanut allergy in children. Dr. Jones is truly a world-class scholar, but she is just as deserving of recognition for her inspirational mentoring of students, residents, fellows and faculty. Dr. Jones emphasized the power of mentoring as part of the process of scientific discovery and noted the impact of her own mentors through the years. Watch the lecture here; and look for a story in the December COMmunication and on the UAMS website soon.

Bringing Cutting Edge Clinical Trials to Underserved Children
The NIH-funded Data Coordinating and Operations Center (DCOC) at UAMS has published the first results of a study into the best methods for recruiting rural children into clinical studies – a goal that is central to the DCOC’s mission – in JAMA Network Open. The DCOC implements large pediatric clinical trials across 18 states as part of the NIH Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Institutional Development Award (IDeA) States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN).

Dr. Paul Darden, Professor of Pediatrics, was one of two protocol chairs and lead authors on “Active vs. Traditional Methods of Recruiting Children for a Clinical Trial in Rural Primary Care Clinics: A Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial.” Four states partnered with UAMS to test recruitment methods for rural research participants in a childhood obesity study called “iAmHealthy.” The DCOC’s UAMS statisticians, clinical site operations teams, trainers, central IRB team, communication and finance teams were all critical to the study. Dr. Jeannette Lee, Professor of Biostatistics, was the lead biostatistician on the study. The DCOC is currently co-directed by Dr. Jessica Snowden, Professor and Chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease and Vice Dean for Research in the College of Medicine, and Dr. Song Ounpraseuth, a Professor of Biostatistics.

The success of the study into recruitment methods was particularly remarkable given the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been highlighted in a second recent publication, “Conducting a pediatric randomized clinical trial during a pandemic: A shift to virtual procedures,” published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. Kudos to all for this important work.

UAMS Center in National Spotlight
The groundbreaking work of the UAMS Center for Hearing Health Equity is specifically highlighted in the newly released strategic plan of the NIH National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Dr. Susan Emmett directs the center, and Dr. Samantha Kleindienst Robler is Associate Director. The 2023-2027 NIDCD Strategic Plan features their work with schoolchildren in remote Alaska as part of the Hearing Norton Sound trial, which you may recall was published last summer in The Lancet Global Health. The NIDCD included a full-page photo of a school-based screening to illustrate a key goal of the institute to identify and develop interventions targeted to specific subpopulations. Dr. Emmett and Dr. Robler’s work demonstrates the power of mobile health screening and telemedicine referral to improve access to specialty care in rural locations – like Arkansas.

Promising New Bladder Cancer Treatment
A shout-out to Dr. A. Murat Aydin, Assistant Professor of Urology, for his efforts to implement a promising therapy in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute for patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Up to 30-50% of these cancers eventually progress to muscle invasive and metastatic stage after initial standard treatment, intravesical BCG immunotherapy. Treatment options after BCG failure are extremely limited, and patients must decide between radical cystectomy with urinary diversion and the few available salvage treatment options to spare their bladders. In late October, Dr. Aydin used the first “sequential intravesical Gemcitabine and Docetaxel” as a salvage treatment at UAMS for a patient who failed BCG therapy, in collaboration with the Cancer Center Infusion Center. The patient’s bladder tumor responded well, and more than six weeks later, the patient is doing great. The ability to utilize the new salvage therapy is a boon for Urologic Oncology services at UAMS – and fantastic news for Arkansas patients with this challenging medical condition.

Advanced Liver Transplant Technology
A Cabot man was the first in Arkansas to benefit from a groundbreaking technology used in a liver transplant performed at UAMS. The new technology, an OrganOx metra device, allowed the patient to obtain a liver from a donor in Oklahoma only a week after being placed on the transplant waiting list. After the surgery, he was able to return home in just a week, avoiding a rougher recovery. Kudos to transplant surgeon Dr. Raj Patel, Assistant Professor of Surgery, and the entire Liver Transplant Team. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Sharing Spina Bifida Expertise
A shout-out to the Pediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) faculty and residents whose excellent work with spina bifida patients at Arkansas Children’s will be featured in oral presentations accepted for the 2023 World Congress on Spina Bifida Research and Care in Tucson, Arizona, next March. Dr. Rachel Millner, an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Nephrology, will present “Prevalence of elevated blood pressure in a pediatric spinal cord disorders clinic,” which was a collaboration with third-year PM&R resident Dr. Neha Anand. Dr. Laura Hobart-Porter, Associate Professor of Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, will present “Strategies to improve polysomnography access for children and adolescents with spina bifida, an implementation science approach,” which was a collaboration with Dr. Supriya Jambhekar, Professor in Pediatric Pulmonology, and “Rates of autism in children with spina bifida higher than general population.”

State Leadership in Emergency Medicine
Congratulations to the Emergency Medicine residents and faculty and College of Medicine student who received honors or stepped into leadership roles during the recent annual meeting and dinner of the Arkansas Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Dr. Heidi Meredith received the Arkansas ACEP Resident Physician of the Year award, and Teresa Fletchinger was honored as Medical Student of the Year. Dr. Lauren Evans is the new chapter President, succeeding Dr. Brian Hohertz, who did a great job during his two-year term. Dr. Christopher Fowler became Secretary/Treasurer. Drs. Sarah Greenberger, Rachael Freeze-Ramsey and Randy Maddox were elected to the Board of Directors, and Dr. Ariel Noble was named Resident Representative.

International ENT Teaching
Dr. John Dornhoffer, Professor and Chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, shared his expertise in cochlear implantation at multiple panel, roundtable and other learning sessions at the Munich Hearing Implant Symposium in Germany this week. The symposium was titled “Facing 24 Years of Bilateral Cochlear Implantation: Binaural Hearing with Hearing Implants.” In addition to presenting at conference events conducted in English, he served as an instructor for a dissection lab with training presented in German.

Clinical Chemistry Regional Leadership
Dr. Hoda Hagrass, Assistant Professor of Pathology, has been elected to serve a two-year term as a member-at-large on the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Texas Section. The section comprises AACC members in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. In Arkansas, Dr. Hagrass is Medical Director of the UAMS Clinical Chemistry and Immunology Laboratories and the Arkansas Children’s Clinical Chemistry and Metabolic Disease Laboratories.

Trauma Leadership Program
Dr. Ben Davis, Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Trauma, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery, has been selected for the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Future Trauma Leaders program. The highly competitive, two-year executive leadership program is designed for surgeons with great potential to become leaders on the ACS Committee on Trauma and in the field. “Ben has done an outstanding job here, and this will only enhance his ability to lead our acute care surgeons,” said Surgery Chair Dr. Ron Robertson. I join with Dr. Robertson in congratulating Dr. Davis and thanking him for his exemplary leadership at UAMS.

Blood-Based Screening for Early Cancer Detection
A prevailing cancer public health problem today is under-diagnosis. Simply put, too many people die because their cancer is diagnosed too late to take advantage of potentially life-saving therapies. Developing more effective screening approaches for early cancer detection has been a longstanding goal of the oncology community. Dr. Donald Johann Jr., Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Internal Medicine, is an author on a new publication with experts across the country regarding advanced liquid biopsies for cancer screening. The article, “BLOODPAC: Collaborating to chart a path towards blood-based screening for early cancer detection,” was published in Clinical and Translational Science.

Internal Medicine Residents Shine at Conference
Internal Medicine residents in Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas shined in the Oral Clinical Vignette competition at the recent Resident & Medical Student Conference sponsored by the Arkansas Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP). Dr. Vidhu Vadini, a third-year resident in in the Little Rock Internal Medicine Residency Program, took first place. Dr. Daniel Conde, a second-year resident in the UAMS/Mercy Internal Medicine Residency Program, took second place. Congratulations to both of these outstanding residents!

Season’s Greetings, with Gratitude
And finally this week, I want to wish all of you and your loved ones very happy holidays. If you are traveling, or just spending time with family at home, please be safe.

Kudos to our many team members who have placed the focus not on themselves, but on those who are less fortunate, this season. Many student groups, departments and divisions, lab teams and others have organized toy drives, collected necessities for patients, veterans, homeless individuals and others in need – and so much more.

Despite the pandemic and other challenges, you have helped to make 2022 a great year for the College of Medicine. We have made strides in our mission to train the next generation of skilled and compassionate physicians, scientists and health care leaders for Arkansas and the nation. Because of you, UAMS is ensuring the very best health for all Arkansans. Thank you.

Accolades will return January 4.

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!

Women’s Voices Summit
Dr. Nirvana Manning, Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Dr. Jessica Coker, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, joined with national and global leaders as speakers at the Women’s Voices Summit convened by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton last Friday. The international summit featured impactful discussions on a wide array of issues affecting women.

Dr. Manning, who also directs the Women and Infants Service Line at UAMS, shared insights on the maternal health crisis in Arkansas and the United States, which has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-resource countries. Dr. Coker, who serves as Medical Director of the Psychiatric Research Institute Women’s Inpatient Unit, participated in a session on “Women’s Voices on Health,” which focused on how women are leading efforts to address pressing health issues and create change for future generations. Summit participants from around the world benefited from Dr. Manning and Dr. Coker’s expertise. Thanks to both of these outstanding colleagues for representing UAMS so well.

Cancer Institute Auxiliary 2022 Honoree
Congratulations to Dr. Gwendolyn Bryant-Smith, Associate Professor and Chief of Breast Imaging in the Department of Radiology, who was recently honored as the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Auxiliary’s 2022 Distinguished Honoree. Dr. Bryant-Smith provides outstanding leadership and inspired care for women from across Arkansas in numerous roles. In addition to leading the Division of Breast Imaging, these include Director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Breast Center and Mobile Mammography Program, Breast Imaging Fellowship Director in the Department of Radiology, and Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Cancer Institute. As UAMS Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson said at the reception in her honor, Dr. Bryant-Smith is a “visionary who pours her talent, heart and mind into everything she does.” Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Pathology Editorial Leadership
Dr. Sara Shalin, Professor of Pathology and Dermatology and Chair of the Department of Dermatology, has been named to the Editorial Board of Modern Pathology, one of the leading journals in the specialty. Dr. Shalin will lend her broad, nationally recognized expertise in pathology, including the pathology of inflammatory diseases of the skin and other cutaneous malignancies, melanoma pathogenesis and biology, and other areas of dermatopathology, to the journal during her three-year term. At UAMS, Dr. Shalin directs the Dermatopathology Fellowship Program and the M.D./Ph.D. dual-degree program.

Statistics Expertise for Editorial Board
Dr. Ruofei Du, Assistant Professor in the Department of Biostatistics, has been appointed as an Academic Editor on the Editorial Board of the journal PLOS One. Dr. Du’s research interests include methods for clustered data analysis, analysis of environmental mixture data, and statistical resampling methodology. He contributes to numerous research collaborations across UAMS colleges and beyond. Dr. Du is also the immediate Past President of the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and currently serves as a representative for the chapter to the ASA.

Reducing the Treatment Burden for CF Patients
Dr. Ariel Berlinski, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Care Center at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, is a coauthor on a new paper in Lancet Respiratory Medicine. The article presents results of the SIMPLIFY study, which included two parallel trials conducted at 80 research centers across the country and aimed to reduce the treatment burden for people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Dr. Berlinski, who serves as Director of the Pediatric Aerosol Research Laboratory in the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) also was first author on a paper in Pharmaceuticals with coauthor Joshua Spiva, a senior at Ouachita Baptist University who participated in the ACRI Summer Science Program last summer. They presented the results of an in vitro study describing the characteristics of albuterol aerosols generated by a jet nebulizer and delivered through a heated flow nasal cannula system.

Nation’s First Adult Neurofibromatosis Clinic
UAMS and the Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) recently announced the opening of the nation’s first CTF-sponsored, fully multidisciplinary clinic dedicated to the care of adults with neurofibromatosis (NF). The clinic is in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. NF is a group of rare genetic disorders that cause tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. While there is no cure, treatments can help manage the disease. The UAMS clinic is led by Dr. Erika Santos Horta, a neuro-oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology. The clinic was piloted in the fall of 2021 and is now fully operational, providing crucial continuity of care for patients with NF as they navigate adulthood. Kudos to Dr. Santos Horta and her team. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

International Teaching
Dr. Gregory Albert, Professor of Neurosurgery and Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Arkansas Children’s, and PGY-5 Neurosurgery resident Dr. Natalie Guley shared their expertise as lecturers for an international online neurosurgery course hosted by Izmir Katip Celebi University in Izmir, Turkey. Dr. Albert presented on stereoelectroencephalography related technologies in epilepsy surgery. Dr. Guley provided excellent perspective on Neurosurgery residency in the United States.

Arkansas INBRE in the Spotlight
The excellent work and ongoing success of the Arkansas INBRE program, led for over 20 years by the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology’s Dr. Lawrence Cornett, continues to draw well-earned national notice. Arkansas INBRE (IDeA Network for Biomedical Research Excellence) has built an extensive ecosystem for promoting biomedical research in Arkansas, particularly among undergraduate college students and faculty across the state, with the support of nearly $80 million in cumulative funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Most recently, the program received $614,117 in supplemental awards to its most recent $18.4 million grant renewal. That news reached and was circulated among the leadership of the Group on Research Advancement and Development (GRAND) at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Dr. Cornett served on the GRAND steering committee in 2011-2018, including a one-year term as Chair.

The three new grants and other active INBRE supplements support projects at UAMS, the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and the University of Central Arkansas. UAMS recipients include Dr. Donald Johann Jr. (Biomedical Informatics), Dr. Tiffany Weinkopff (Microbiology/Immunology), and Dr. Pearl McElfish (Community Health & Research, Northwest Campus). Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Inspired Giving
Generous donors are an important reason we are able to achieve our mission to train the next generation of physicians for Arkansas – and it is often the outstanding clinical care, teaching and service of our faculty that inspires philanthropists to contribute to our college. A donor who wished to remain anonymous recently gave $100,000 in honor of Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr., Professor and Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Hopkins has been a clinical and educational leader at UAMS for many years. Throughout the pandemic, he has provided crucial guidance for UAMS, our state and the entire country as Chair of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The gift will be used for the benefit of medical students and residents in the Department of Internal Medicine. Thank you, Dr. Hopkins, for your exceptional and inspiring service.   

Doctors Dilemma Champs
And finally this week, bravo to Northwest Arkansas Internal Medicine residents Dr. Vivek Malhotra, Dr. Punith Thogaripally and Dr. Wade Arthur, on winning the “Doctors Dilemma” competition sponsored by the Arkansas Chapter of the American College of Physicians (ACP). The team beat out some stiff competition in the test of medical knowledge, earning $1,000 each to travel to the ACP National Meeting in San Diego next April, where they will compete against teams from around the country and world. We’ll be rooting for them!  

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!

Championing Colorectal Cancer Screening
The PiCS AR (Partnerships in Colorectal Cancer Screening – Arkansas) team is doing excellent work to improve colorectal cancer screening in Arkansas – and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) has taken notice. The Arkansas program is funded by a five-year grant from CRCCP awarded to the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Division of Community Health and Education, in 2020. This fall, the team created a poster presentation about their activities and progress in Northeast Arkansas and shared it at various training venues and conferences. Now, the national program has shared the poster with all 35 CRCCP-funded programs. Kudos to the PiCS AR team, which is led by Community Health and Education Director Alysia Dubriske, M.Ed., with special thanks to Marybeth Curtis, RN, BSN, PiCS AR Program Manager, who coauthored the poster with Stacey George, MSN, APRN, of the AFMC organization.

National Certifications for Total Hip and Total Knee
Congratulations to the Orthopaedic Surgery team on obtaining core certification for both total hip replacement and total knee replacement from the Joint Commission. The interprofessional team, led by Assistant Professor Dr. Jeffrey Stambough, underwent the rigorous appraisal process earlier this year. The review highlighted the program’s thorough preoperative education and online resources, collaboration with Anesthesia services for perioperative blocks to reduce pain, postoperative physical therapy within four hours of surgery, and the excellent rate of discharge to home for reconstruction patients. The certifications reflect the highest level of quality and safety in total hip and total knee replacement and are for a two-year period. Well done!

Inspiring Future Doctors and Health Professionals
A shout-out to Evan Hicks and Quincy Gragg and fellow students in the Edith Irby Jones Chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and from across campus who made a recent outreach event with high school students in Helena-West Helena a great success. About 100 juniors and seniors from Barton High School attended the Raising Exposure and Awareness of Careers in Health (REACH) event, which was sponsored by SNMA with support from the UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Evan, who chaired the event, and Quincy, who is President of the UAMS SNMA Chapter, organized the event in collaboration with additional members of the SNMA, the Student National Pharmacy Association and the Nurse Anesthesia program. The Helena-West Helena students learned about the personal journeys of some of our current medical students, took part in simulated medical procedures, and learned about health careers and pipeline programs from recruiting specialists from UAMS Regional Campuses. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

American Pediatric Society Members
Congratulations to Department of Pediatrics Professors Dr. Pete Mourani and Dr. Jessica Snowden on being named to the prestigious American Pediatric Society (APS). New APS members are nominated by current members through a process that recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves as child health leaders, teachers, scholars, policy makers and/or clinicians. Dr. Mourani, a Pediatric Pulmonary and Critical Care physician, serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Research Officer for Arkansas Children’s and President of the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. Dr. Snowden is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease, Vice Dean for Research in the College of Medicine, and Principal Investigator for the IDeA States Pediatric Network Data Coordinating and Operations Center.

Required EM Reading
An article co-authored by Dr. Michael Wilson, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, will be required reading for emergency physicians nationwide who want to maintain their board certification. Dr. Wilson’s article, “Consensus Recommendations on the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in the Emergency Department,” was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine in 2021. The article has been selected by the American Board of Emergency Medicine for inclusion in the 2024 EM Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment (LLSA) Reading List. LLSA articles are highly relevant to the specialty and represent the most important information emergency physicians need to keep up with advances in medicine.

Putting Patients First
Anesthesiology resident Dr. Usman “Uzi” Hyder was on the Labor and Delivery floor to place an epidural recently – and ended up delivering the baby himself! It happened as a patient was getting into position for her epidural, and labor progressed much more precipitously than was expected. The baby arrived before obstetricians and pediatricians could get there, so Dr. Hyder stepped in, completed the delivery and kept mom and baby safe. Thank you, Dr. Hyder, for going above and beyond the role of an anesthesiologist and taking great care of a patient in an urgent situation.  

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 Suicide Prevention Award
Drs. Michael Wilson, Ronald Thompson Jr. and Angie Waliski are the recipients of the 2022 Innovation in Acute Care Suicide Prevention Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (ACEP/AFSP). Last month, I noted that the team was featured in the American Psychiatric Association’s Psychiatric News for their pilot trial showing how effective peer support specialists can be in helping to prevent suicide in at-risk patients. Now, the ACEP/AFSP has lauded their work as a promising and innovative advance in suicide prevention. Peer support specialists are individuals who have previously experienced mental illness and are specially trained to help patients in the Emergency Department and other clinical settings.

Dr. Wilson is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry at UAMS. Dr. Waliski serves in the Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research in the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and the Center for Health Services Research in the Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Thompson is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Center for Health Services Research and the Center for Addiction Research. The team will be recognized at the ACEP Leadership and Advocacy Conference in Washington, D.C., next spring. Kudos to these outstanding collaborators for their impactful work.

Ensuring Successful Residency Interviews
With the help of nearly 50 faculty physicians from across many specialties, members of this year’s senior class are better prepared for their residency application interviews. Mock residency interviews are an important component of the innovative residency prep course led by Dr. Karina Clemmons, Associate Professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, and Dr. Nicholas Gowen, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine. Thanks to this year’s volunteers, the team was able to offer every senior medical student an opportunity to complete a virtual practice interview session and receive valuable feedback. Students raved about the experience, with many saying the faculty volunteers helped put them at ease for the understandably tense interview process ahead of them. Click here for a list of the faculty volunteers. Kudos to all of them, along with Dr. Clemmons, Dr. Gowen and M4 Education Coordinator Jessica Cannon.

Remembrance & Gratitude
While many of us have Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays on our mind, our first-year medical students paused this week to express gratitude for the individuals who contributed their bodies to UAMS and the Human Structure course that marks the start of their medical education. The annual Anatomical Donation Ceremony of Remembrance, held in Fred Smith Auditorium on Monday, was a moving tribute to 37 donors with music, poetry and more. (Watch for a UAMS web story soon.) To commemorate each donor, a student representative placed a white carnation in a vase on stage. As class member Bryan Strong explained, each of the donors taught the students about the fragility, beauty and complexity of the human body. And as Module Director Dr. David Davies, Professor of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, said, each donor bestowed a “burden” on students to become an excellent and compassionate physician. Like our students, I know we are all grateful for the gift and legacy of each of these donors.

Assessing Cancer Staging Guidelines
Congratulations to Hematology/Oncology fellow Dr. Alan Baltz, who was first-author on an article published this week in the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s JCO Oncology Practice. The study, “Clinical Impact of ASCO Choosing Wisely Guidelines on Staging Imaging for Early-Stage Breast Cancers: A Time Series Analysis Using SEER-Medicare Data,” was done on behalf of the ASCO Quality Publications Task Force. The analysis demonstrated a substantial decrease in imaging overuse in early-stage breast cancers correlating with the 2013 reinforcement of the ASCO’s 2012 Choosing Wisely guidelines. Additional UAMS collaborators on the publication included Eric Siegel, M.S., in the Department of Biostatistics and Dr. Issam Makhoul, Adjunct Clinical Professor in Internal Medicine.

World-Class Spine Surgery Expertise
The world-class surgical care and expertise available at UAMS was in the spotlight recently as UAMS hosted an Australian surgeon for a demonstration of an innovative, minimally invasive spine surgery technique performed by the Department of Neurosurgery’s Dr. Noojan Kazemi. As a teaching and observation site for robotic spine surgery and a technique called prone lateral lumbar fusion, UAMS has hosted surgeons from across the United States. The recent visit from the observing Australian neurosurgeon, Professor Greg Malham from the University of Melbourne, was the first international demonstration of this major advancement in minimally invasive spine surgery. Congratulations to Dr. Kazemi and his team. 

Cleft Conference Contributions
Dr. Larry Hartzell, Associate Professor in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and Dr. John Jones, Associate Professor in Pediatric and Special Needs Dentistry, are serving as faculty for the Cleft and Velopharyngeal Dysfunction Interactive Conference at Vanderbilt University in Nashville this week. Dr. Hartzell will present on pre-surgical orthodontics prior to cleft lip repair. Dr. Jones will be on a panel discussing case scenarios with challenging malocclusion and orthognathic indications. Dr. Jones and Dr. Hartzell will both serve on a panel focusing on teenage cleft patients. But those aren’t the only UAMS connections at the conference. Co-Course Director Dr. Ryan Belcher, now at Vanderbilt, received his medical degree at UAMS in 2013. Co-Course Director Dr. James Phillips completed his fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at UAMS before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 2016.

Putting Patients First
It is always such a pleasure to hear about the wonderful care our faculty physicians and other clinical team members provide. Several patient survey comments that were shared with me recently serve as reminders that this excellence occurs every day at UAMS locations across the state. Here are just a few examples.

At the UAMS West Family Medical Center in Fort Smith, an appreciative parent wrote to commend the care their children have received through the years and to specifically praise the “exceptional care” provided by Assistant Professor Dr. Kaethe Goodwin Chigumira. “She is personable, friendly and caring, and has a great bedside manner,” the commenter wrote.

Meanwhile, a patient at the UAMS East Family Medical Center in Helena was “ECSTATIC” to have found Assistant Professor Dr. Amber Norris. “She is everything I want and need from a physician,” the patient wrote. “So very happy with my visit, it almost brought me to tears to have someone listen to me.”

And at the UAMS Northwest Family Medical Center in Fayetteville, a senior Arkansan noted having a dozen current physicians and hundreds over the course of a lifetime – but no one more knowledgeable or compassionate than Professor and clinical geneticist Dr. Brad Schaefer. “Dr. Schaefer and his staff are the most caring and thorough people I have ever encountered in the medical field,” the patient said.

My thanks to these colleagues and all who are putting patients first!

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!

Honoring our Veterans
As we observe Veterans Day this Friday, I hope College of Medicine team members will pause to reflect on the profound contributions and sacrifices of our veterans and active duty, Guard and Reserve members of the Armed Forces. For those of you who are service members and veterans, thank you.

Kudos to all who are planning to spend time this week in service to veterans. For example, the Department of Pediatric and Special Needs Dentistry’s Drs. John Jones, Hank Marcantoni, Courtney Donner and Laurence Howe will be participating in the first Arkansas Operation Stand Down on Thursday. They will join with dentists across the state for the multi-site event, hosted by the International College of Dentists, to provide free dental care for veterans in need. Dr. Marcantoni served as a Colonel in the Army, and Dr. Jones served in the Air Force and Navy.

Many of our team members will find time for quiet reflection about the service and sacrifices of veterans – and some make it a point to do so every day. Dr. Gloria Richard-Davis, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Executive Director of the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, does pushups each morning as a memoriam to the veterans who are lost to suicide. An Army veteran herself, Dr. Richard-Davis is mindful of the obstacles so many U.S. veterans face, including some 37,000 who are homeless. Another staggering issue, she notes, is the growing overrepresentation of minorities among the veteran population, projected to climb to 35.7% by 2040.

On Veterans Day – and year-round – we are grateful for our veterans and service members.

New Internal Medicine Residency
Kudos to the many Graduate Medical Education team members who made the new UAMS-Washington Regional Internal Medicine Residency Program in Northwest Arkansas a reality. The new residency is led by Program Director Dr. Sheena CarlLee, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine. The program received initial accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in September and is now recruiting for its first class of eight residents, who will start next July. The new residency will have a crucial role in our ability to train much-needed primary care physicians for the region and Arkansas as a whole. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Best Time to Take Blood Pressure Meds?
Dr. Jawahar (Jay) Mehta, Distinguished Professor in the departments of Internal Medicine, Physiology and Cell Biology and Pharmacology and Toxicology, and Dr. Husam Salah, Chief Resident in Internal Medicine, wrote a commentary in the highly acclaimed journal The Lancet. The commentary, “Best time for administration of antihypertensive medications: morning or evening?” addresses an important issue in the management of patients with hypertension. Dr. Mehta and Dr. Salah discuss the results of the TIME (Treatment In Morning versus Evening) study, also published in The Lancet last month, which suggested that the timing of taking blood pressure medications should be a shared decision-making process between patients and clinicians based on lifestyle factors, to maximize adherence.

Best Paper of the Year
Dr. Adam Johnson, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head/Neck Surgery, is a coauthor on the article recently selected as Best Paper of the Year for 2021 by the editorial board of the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. Dr. Johnson, who serves as Associate Director of Research for the Global Smile Foundation, collaborated with researchers with the foundation and several leading institutions on the article, “A Guide to Developing Safety Protocols for International Craniofacial Outreach Programs during the COVID-19 Era.” The manuscript was among more than 3,300 submissions and 700 articles published by the journal in 2021. In addition to providing outstanding pediatric otolaryngology care for patients in Arkansas, Dr. Johnson has dedicated his time to providing cleft lip and palate care for underserved populations around the world.

Radio Interview Spotlights New Grant
Dr. Dan Voth, Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Immunology, did a great job discussing the new $7.9 million NIH grant UAMS has received to expand infectious disease research capacity during an interview last week with KUAF, the public radio station and NPR affiliate in Northwest Arkansas. The funding will establish a Pandemic Response and Public Health laboratory and expand research space in the Biomedical Research Building One. As Dr. Voth noted in the interview, having additional and more efficient research facilities will prime UAMS for future collaborative research to combat both the “everyday” infectious agents that impact lives and those that could lead to future pandemics. You can also read more about the new grant in the UAMS Newsroom.

Integrating Addiction Medicine into Medical Education
The Coalition on Physician Education in Substance Use Disorders (COPE) is a voluntary organization devoted to improving patient care and the public health by assuring that all physicians are trained to prevent, identify and provide specialty-appropriate interventions for patients with substance use problems. A team from UAMS was recently elected to work alongside COPE’s leadership to integrate addiction medicine content into core clerkship rotations and other clinical experiences. Dr. Shona Ray Griffith, Dr. Abigail Richison and Dr. Margaret Ege-Woolley of the Department of Psychiatry and fourth-year medical student Logan Clay are joining teams at three other institutes around the nation to integrate addiction medicine curricula at their respective schools. Through a series of virtual conferences, the teams will be guided in developing components of an addiction medicine curriculum and planning the subsequent implementation based on the needs of each school.  

International Cleft Care Teaching
The Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery’s Dr. Larry Hartzell and Dr. Adam Johnson contributed extensively to the recent International Comprehensive Cleft Care Workshop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dr. Hartzell, Associate Professor and Director of the Arkansas Cleft Lip/Palate Team, lectured on airway and middle ear factors in cleft palate repair and on the otologic impacts of velopharyngeal insufficiency speech therapy. Dr. Johnson, Associate Professor and Director of Velopharyngeal Insufficiency, directed a Facial Nerve Block workshop and lectured on the impact of cleft anatomy and surgical interventions on obstructive sleep apnea, and on race and gender disparities in global cleft care. Both UAMS colleagues participated in simulation labs in cleft lip surgery and cleft palate surgery. Seventy-one countries were represented at the conference.

National Psychiatry Honors
Congratulations to Dr. Molly Gathright, Professor of Psychiatry and Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education, and Dr. Chris Cargile, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Behavioral Health Service Line, on being named Fellows of the American College of Psychiatrists (ACP). They are among just seven ACP members across the United States and Canada approved for elevation to Fellows this year. Dr. Lewis Krain, Assistant Professor and Associate Director of the Psychiatry Residency Program, and Dr. Jessica Coker, Associate Professor and Medical Director of the Psychiatric Research Institute’s Women’s Inpatient Unit, were approved for ACP membership. All four will be recognized at the ACP’s Annual Meeting next February.

Excellence in Faculty Advising
And finally this week, a shout-out to the eight faculty members who were recently honored by the COM Office of Academic Affairs for their excellence in advising medical students. These Academic House advisers received the highest evaluations and feedback from students for demonstrating concern for their personal wellbeing and academic and professional career success, for encouraging open communication, and for being available for advising appointments or questions. The honorees are:

Dr. Carla Brown (Pediatrics) – Bruce House
Dr. Sheena CarlLee (Internal Medicine) – Compton House
Dr. David Davies (Neurobiology/Developmental Sciences) – Compton House
Dr. Neil Masangkay (Neurology) – Beall House
Dr. Brita Rook (Ophthalmology) – Tank House
Dr. Matt Spond (Anesthesiology) – Lowe House
Dr. Lindsey Sward (OB/GYN) – Tank House
Dr. Bill Ventres (Family/Preventive Medicine) – Lowe House

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!

Rx for a Fulfilling Career in Medicine
Dr. Bill Ventres, Associate Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and the Ben Saltzman, M.D., Distinguished Chair in Rural Family Medicine, was the guest for an episode of the “Rx for Success” podcast from MD Coaches. The podcast spotlights physician leaders and their journey to a successful and fulfilling career. Dr. Ventres has worked for over 30 years as a family physician, leader and educator in diverse settings around the world, including many underserved communities. In an engaging interview, he discusses how he came to understand the importance of the non-biomedical aspects of providing patients and families the very best care. The podcast’s format ends with a guest physician sharing his or her personal prescription for success. Dr. Ventres’ “Rx” is insightful and humbling.

International Presenters
Dr. Shengyu Mu, Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, shared his expertise on immune mechanisms in the pathogenesis of salt-sensitive hypertension as an invited speaker at the International Society of Hypertension (ISH2022) conference in Kyoto, Japan. Senior graduate student Lance Benson from Dr. Mu’s lab also presented and was the recipient of the Young Investigator Award and a travel award for the conference. Congratulations to both!

Pediatric Research Honorees
Congratulations to the Department of Pediatrics faculty members who were inducted into the Society for Pediatric Research, the top pediatrics-specific research honor society, this year. They include Dr. Ron Sanders in the Critical Care Medicine Section; Dr. Elisabet Børsheim, Dr. Mario Ferruzzi and Dr. Craig Porter in Developmental Nutrition; Dr. Joana Mack in Hematology, and Dr. R. Whit Hall and Dr. David Matlock in Neonatology. 

Forensic Dentistry Expertise
Dr. Kirt Simmons, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatric and Special Needs Dentistry, has been appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to serve on the Forensic Dentistry Subcommittee of the national Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC). OSAC promotes and facilitates development of high-quality, technically sound standards in numerous areas of forensic science, including dentistry. In addition to being a nationally recognized leader in orthodontic care for patients with cleft and craniofacial anomalies, Dr. Simmons is a leading expert in facial growth, development and identification, and orthodontic and dental digital standards.

ENT in the Spotlight at Conferences
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery faculty are continuing to share their expertise around the state, nation and world. Professor Dr. Emre Vural has been at the Congress of European OtoRhinoLaryngology Head and Neck Surgery annual meeting in Milan, Italy, this week for two presentations on “Finesse in nasal reconstruction” and “Midfacial reconstruction.” Professor Dr. Gresham Richter recently presented a Grand Rounds on “Vascular Anomalies: Present Understanding and Future Directions” at Children’s Hospital Colorado. And Associate Professors Dr. Patrick Fraley, Dr. Alissa Kanaan and Dr. Jeffrey Kirsch will be participating as speakers and/or panelists at the Arkansas Society of Head and Neck Surgery annual conference in Hot Springs this weekend. Dr. Fraley is serving as President of the society this year. Kudos to all.

Standout Student Presentation
Congratulations to third-year medical student Connor Shewmake on taking second place for her oral presentation at the Southern Medical Association’s Annual Scientific Assembly last weekend. Connor and COM graduates Dr. Olivia Speed (now a UAMS ENT resident) and Dr. Sarah Gammill (now a Surgery resident at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans) collaborated with faculty mentors on “Improved confidence and clinical application: The effects of a longitudinal suture curriculum for medical students.” Their abstract was selected as a top-five finalist from among more than 100 submissions. UAMS faculty collaborators included Dr. Larry Hartzell (Otolaryngology-Head/Neck Surgery), Dr. Carol Thrush (Surgery), Dr. Kevin Phelan (Neurobiology/Developmental Sciences) and Dr. Avi Bhavaraju (Surgery).

Family Doc Focus
Dr. Shashank Kraleti, Associate Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and Program Director for the UAMS Little Rock Family Medicine Residency, was featured online in the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) “Family Doc Focus” last week. This latest national recognition focuses on Dr. Kraleti’s transformative work to expand the learning opportunities of family medicine residents and touches on his path to practicing and teaching in family medicine. The article also notes his recent selection by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for the 2023 Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award, which will be presented next February. With numerous leadership roles, Dr. Kraleti’s impact at UAMS is extensive. Kudos for your outstanding work, Dr. Kraleti.

Pediatric Hospital Medicine Papers
A shout-out to Dr. Rebecca Cantu, Associate Professor and Section Chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, first author Dr. Sara Sanders, an Assistant Professor in the section, and colleagues on two recent publications. Numerous faculty contributed to a report, published in the journal Medicine, on “Demographic and clinical characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 in Arkansas: March–December 2020.” The Pediatric Hospital Medicine team also authored a case report, “Fournier’s Gangrene: A Rare Infectious Entity in an Adolescent with Type II Diabetes,” published in Global Pediatric Health. Additional UAMS authors on one or both articles included Drs. Taylor Maxwell, Jacob Filipek, Dustin Williford, Cindy Nguyen, Charalene Fisher, Emily Barnes, Rebecca Latch, Jessica Snowden and Archana Balamohan.

Family Medicine Update 2022
Kudos to the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Community Health and Education Division, and team members from across our college and UAMS who made the 26th Annual Family Medicine Update a great success. A special thank you to Andrea Hooten, Marybeth Curtis, Colleen Lassiter, and Alysia Dubriske for their hard work and leadership on the conference. The annual Update with Free Tobacco and Disease Symposium was held virtually Oct. 25-28 with national experts and numerous UAMS clinicians and faculty presenters. The broad array of topics included obesity, the monkeypox virus, pulmonary hypertension, opioids, cardiology care, tobacco and much more.