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.  

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!

Weathering the Storm
On Monday, I expressed gratitude for all who braved the winter storms last week to be here for our patients. As I said in an email to the COM Team, these selfless individuals represent multiple professions here at UAMS. I extended a special thanks to our hardworking residents. We reached out to our departments for names of those who stayed at the hospital or helped in other ways, and I shared some of those on Monday. Happily, our list has grown, and you can read the updated list here.

We received some amazing stories as well as names. For instance, Dr. John Pagteilan, Chief Resident in General Surgery, shared several examples of remarkable actions by fellow residents. He added, “Through it all, I witnessed the incredible sense of family within our program and unrelenting sense of duty to the care of our patients from all of our residents in this largely unprecedented time.”

As a reminder, this Friday is Thank a Resident Day. Be sure to let a resident know how much we appreciate them!

Teamwork Champion
A round of applause for Dr. Bobby Boyanton, Professor of Pathology and Pathology Service Chief for Arkansas Children’s, this year’s winner of the Drs. Joanna J. & Robert W. Seibert Award for outstanding teamwork. “During one of our most challenging years, Dr. Boyanton stood out as a shining example of why we give this award,” Arkansas Children’s President and CEO Marcy Doderer said in a video tribute. “He collaborated across our entire health system to ensure our COVID-19 testing process was optimized for success.” Watch the video to learn more about Dr. Boyanton and his team’s exceptional work.

Rising Star
Congratulations to Shannon Giger, Service Line and Department Administrator for Emergency Medicine, on being selected to receive the Rising Star Award from the Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine (AAAEM). Shannon will be honored at a virtual awards luncheon in March. She is being recognized for a number of activities within the national organization, including her service as Chair of the AAAEM Communications Committee.

Distinguished Service
Ashley Sanders, Manager of Operations and Fellowship Program Coordinator for the Department of Pathology, has been selected to receive the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Administrator Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Pathology Chairs (APC). Ashley will be recognized at the APC annual meeting in July for exemplary work in medical education, her advocacy for GME at the institutional and national level, and her service in the organization’s GME Administrators Section. Congratulations!

Center of Excellence
UAMS has been designated as a Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) Center of Excellence. Congratulations to Dr. Tuhin Virmani, Associate Professor of Neurology and Director of the Movement Disorders Program, and Dr. Rohit Dhall, Associate professor and Director of Neurodegenerative Disorders, who will co-direct the clinic. The designation recognizes the exceptional care Dr. Virmani, Dr. Dhall and their team provide for Arkansans with the inherited, progressively disabling disorder. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Podcast Guest
Dr. Gloria Richard-Davis, Executive Director of the UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Professor and Director of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, did a superb job as the featured guest of a recent podcast from the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Dr. Richard-Davis discussed her own journey and career as well as the future of diversity, equity and inclusion in reproductive medicine. Click here to listen.

In the Spotlight
Dr. Erick Messias and Dr. Paulette Mehta were coauthors of “Successful Aging,” a publication spotlighted in Springer Nature 2020 Highlights, a selection of the most popular and impactful articles and book chapters published last year. Dr. Messias, Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, and Dr. Mehta, Professor of Internal Medicine/Hematology-Oncology, were joined on the project by former UAMS psychiatry resident Dr. Romika Dhar, who is now at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. “Successful Aging” was published in early 2020 as a chapter in Positive Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychology, for which Dr. Messias also served as a co-editor.

Consortium Members
Dr. Linda Larson-Prior (Psychiatry), Dr. Hari Eswaran (Obstetrics/Gynecology/Institute for Digital Health & Innovation) and Dr. Diana Escalona-Vargas (Pediatric Neurology) have been invited to serve on a working group within the University of Southern California’s ENIGMA Consortium. The consortium brings together researchers in imaging genomics, neurology and psychiatry, to understand brain structure and function based on MRI, DTI, fMRI, genetic data and many patient populations. The UAMS colleagues will lend their expertise to the ENIGMA-MEG group, which is performing a meta-analysis of functional brain activity as measured by magnetoencephalography, or MEG.

National Service
Dr. Stanley Ellis, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of Education for the Institute for Digital Health and Innovation, has been reappointed as a Peer Corps member in the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The HLC, formerly the North Central Association, accredits degree-granting post-secondary educational institutions in Arkansas and 18 other states. At the conclusion of his reappointment, Dr. Ellis will have served as Peer Corps member for the past 10 years and in this capacity plays an essential role as a peer reviewer in all stages of the accreditation process. Well done.

ASA Fellow
Congratulations to Dr. Indranil (Neil) Chakraborty, Professor of Anesthesiology and Chief of Neuroanesthesia, on being selected as a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (FASA). The designation recognizes ASA members exhibiting the highest standards in professionalism, leadership, advocacy for the profession and patient safety, and education.

Nurses Rock
Amid the snowstorm last week, The Division of Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine team’s Jay White, DNP, APRN, sent me a heartwarming message about the team’s specialty nurses. Like many other areas, the team was juggling working remotely, managing greater numbers of telemedicine visits and much more. Ms. White said kudos were particularly in order for Carla Harris, RN, who has selflessly shouldered extra responsibilities in the past and had a particularly heavy load filling in for a colleague who had to be away last week. I want to emphasize how very much we appreciate our outstanding nursing colleagues every day – and especially in challenging times.

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!

Top 25 Leader
Marcy Doderer, President and CEO of Arkansas Children’s, has been named one of Modern Healthcare’s “Top 25 Women Leaders.” She joins an elite group of health care executives who were honored by the industry’s leading source of health care business and policy news, research and information. Ms. Doderer was recognized for her leadership in strategic planning aimed at dramatically improving the health and health care of Arkansas’ children, her work to expand community clinics and access to primary care, her leadership in improving hospital metrics, and more. Congratulations to Ms. Doderer on this very well-earned honor.

International Committee
A shout-out to Dr. Martin Radvany, Professor of Radiology and Neurosurgery and Chief of the Division of Interventional Neuroradiology, who has been appointed to the Interventional Neuroradiology Council of the International Pediatric Stroke Organization (IPSO). IPSO brings together leading investigators and multidisciplinary health professionals from around the world who have a common interest in childhood cerebrovascular disease.

National Service
Congratulations to Dr. Meredith Von Dohlen, Instructor and Medical Education Fellow in the Department of Emergency Medicine, on her appointment to the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Research Committee for 2021-2022. Kudos to Dr. Von Dohlen for her national service to her field as well as her excellent work at UAMS.

ED Consultant of the Month
Emergency Medicine residents selected third-year General Surgery resident Dr. Whitney Taylor as the newest Emergency Department Consultant of the Month. Emergency Medicine residents applauded Dr. Taylor for always being a team player and going out of her way to teach “clinical pearls” at every opportunity. As one resident commented, “There is no resident more committed to doing what is best for the patient than Whitney.” Congratulations Dr. Taylor!

Feeling Heard
As hard as we try, occasionally a patient doesn’t have the experience at UAMS that we hope for. When a patient commented in a social media group about a past negative experience, Dr. Luann Racher, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, reached out on behalf of the UAMS Health Women’s Center, where she serves as Medical Director. The patient returned to UAMS and received what she described as “phenomenal” care from Dr. Racher and her team. In a glowing follow-up post, the patient explained that she “felt heard, cared for and believed.” Great job!

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!

Gold Medalist
Dr. Joanna Seibert, Professor Emeritus and former Chief of Pediatric Radiology at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, has been selected to receive the 2021 Society of Pediatric Radiology (SPR) Gold Medal. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the SPR. Dr. Seibert is being recognized for her decades of service and visionary leadership in the SPR and for her innovations in pediatric sonography, including important contributions to the development of the clinical application of pediatric Doppler sonography. As the first trained pediatric radiologist in Arkansas, Dr. Seibert provided leadership in the specialty for almost 40 years. The SPR award is just the latest of many honors for Dr. Seibert, who was named to the Arkansas Women’s Hall of Fame in 2017.

Featured Article
An article by four Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences colleagues was the featured article at the top of the home page of Endocrinology, the journal of the Endocrine Society, last week. Professor and Department Chair Dr. Gwen Childs and Assistant Professor Dr. Angela Odle were co-first authors of the invited mini-review article, “The Importance of Leptin to Reproduction.” Dr. Angus MacNicol, Professor, and Dr. Melanie MacNicol, Associate Professor, served as co-senior authors on the paper, which the journal also promoted on social media. The publication was one result of a very productive year for the entire department. Well done.

Digital Health Takes Off
The rapid acceleration of digital health endeavors at UAMS, as well as the breadth of clinical, research and educational activities in digital health, is remarkable. A recent “Showcase of Medical Discoveries” highlighted more than a dozen digital health projects at UAMS. Meanwhile, the outstanding team in the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation (IDHI), directed by Dr. Joseph Sanford, continues to find novel ways to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of Arkansans. For example, a new $749,968 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to the IDHI and Principal Investigator Dr. Stanley Ellis will support a pilot program to help prevent violent crime in Arkansas schools through telemedicine-based training for school personnel and students.

In the Spotlight
Dr. Laura James and Dr. Ryan Dare did a great job in a KTHV news segment this week that highlighted clinical research underway at UAMS to find better treatments for COVID-19. Dr. Dare, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases who is leading UAMS efforts on a promising clinical trial, noted how previous scientific advances have dramatically improved mortality rates for COVID-19 patients. Dr. James, Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Research, and Director of the UAMS Translational Research Institute, eloquently put current research efforts into context. “If you look back at history, this is how science works,” Dr. James said. “When there is a challenge, the great minds and the scientists and the community get together and come up with the best treatment approaches possible; and then those things have to be tested rigorously.” 

Also doing a super job on TV this week: Dr. Robert Hopkins, Professor and Director of General Internal Medicine, explained on KTHV why it’s so important not to let your guard down even after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. And Dr. Johnathan Goree, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of the Chronic Pain Division, shared a personal encounter with implicit bias in health care, a problem faced by many underrepresented minority patients and families, in a KATV news report.

National Lectures
Dr. William Golden, Professor of Internal Medicine and Public Health and Medical Director for Arkansas Medicaid and the Arkansas Office of Health Information Technology, delivered three national webinar lectures this winter. Dr. Golden participated in the CMS Quality Conference, the annual Medicaid Innovation Conference, and the Strategic Health Information Exchange Collaborative, sharing his expertise on new methods of using health information exchanges for Medicaid clinical performance measurement and improvement.

Pandemic’s Impact
Dr. Tina Ipe, Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of the UAMS Blood Bank and Transfusion Division, is a co-first author of an insightful article on some of the professional impacts of the pandemic on women faculty. “The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Productivity by Female Physicians and Researchers in Transfusion Medicine,” was published in Transfusion. Dr. Ipe collaborated on the article with faculty from Southern Illinois University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of California San Francisco.

Prolific Fellows
Dr. Priyenka Thapa, a second-year Infectious Diseases fellow who excels clinically and academically, published two manuscripts this month. She was the first author of a unique case report describing Mycobacterium abscessus-induced Sweet Syndrome, as well as coauthor of an article highlighting clinical outcomes found in a multi-site study of admitted patients with COVID-19. As our Infectious Diseases faculty noted, UAMS is fortunate to have dedicated, hard-working trainees like Dr. Thapa.

I was also pleased to hear about the excellent scholarly work being done by our Pulmonary and Critical Care fellows, including Dr. Siddharthan Vaithilingam, who was the first author on a detailed case report about e-cigarettes or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) published in the journal CHEST this month. His mentors and coauthors were Dr. Anand Venkata and Dr. Nikhil Meena, and the work inspired Dr. Vaithilingam to continue his research into the vaping epidemic. As result, a review article on vaping by teenagers is being published in the renowned journal Current Opinion in Pulmonary Medicine. Dr. Vaithilingam’s co-authors were Dr. Venkata and second-year fellow Dr. Raga Deepak Reddy Palagiri.

Award-Winning Poster
M3 medical student Hayden Scott did a superb job at Weill Cornell Medicine’s first international Medical Student Neurological Surgery Research Symposium, winning third place in the poster competition. Hayden collaborated on his poster, “Influence of Stereotactic Imaging Techniques on Operative Time in Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery,” with Dr. Erika Petersen, Professor and Neurosurgery Residency Program Director, and 2020 UAMS Neurosurgery Residency graduate Dr. Heather Pinckard-Dover. The poster bested 35 other contenders in the virtual competition.

Well-Earned Commendation
And finally this week, you may recall that Dr. Omar Atiq, Professor of Internal Medicine and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, made national and international news last month (such as this) for erasing the outstanding debts of nearly 200 former patients of the cancer treatment center he founded in Pine Bluff. Last week, the Arkansas State Medical Board voted unanimously to issue a formal commendation to Dr. Atiq for his “humbling and compassionate gesture.” The board went on to write, “In all your years of exceptional service you have epitomized the kind of warm, sympathetic care that any physician would hope to emulate.” We could not be more proud of you, Dr. Atiq!

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!

NBME Appointment
Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Slotcavage, Assistant Professor of Surgery, on being selected to serve a four-year term on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). As a member-at-large, she will provide strategic guidance and advice on major policy recommendations for the organization, which develops state-recognized national examinations used in medical education, licensure and certification. Dr. Slotcavage has been recognized for her previous contributions to NBME efforts to improve the surgery subject examination.

Expert Panel
College of Medicine faculty members will lend their expertise as panelists for a virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 for residents of Little Rock today. The panelists include Arkansas Department of Health Medical Director Dr. Jennifer Dillaha; Dr. William “Sam” Greenfield, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. Akilah Jefferson, Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology; and Dr. Keyur Vyas, Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Little Rock residents can learn more and submit questions here. The Town Hall is from 12:30-1:30 PM and can be viewed on the city’s YouTube channel, Facebook page; and on LRTV Channel 11.

GME Excellence
Kudos to Dr. Molly Gathright, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, and the GME team for their hard work and commitment to excellence, which has resulted in another successful continued accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Like individual residency and fellowship programs, sponsoring institutions such as the College of Medicine receive an annual notice of accreditation and can receive citations for any issues that must be addressed. Once again, we received continued accreditation with no citations or areas for improvement. Great job, GME team!

Top of their Game
Congratulations to Drs. Ashley Antipolo, Joseph Sanford and Kevin Sexton, who recently passed their board certification exams for Clinical Informatics. All three play an integral role in the Clinical Informatics Fellowship Training Program, housed in the Department of Biomedical Informatics. Their success confirms what we already know – that the COM’s clinical informaticists are at the top of their game and ready to lead us into the future of medicine and informatics. Their subspecialty credentialing also raises the profile of the new fellowship program, which began in July and is directed by Dr. Feliciano “Pele” Yu, Jr. The three join Dr. Yu and Drs. James Magee, Kandi Stallings-Archer and Donnal Walter as the board-certified Clinical Informatics subspecialists at UAMS.

Got it Covered
Dr. Intawat Nookaew, Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics, and colleagues made the cover of not just one, but two scientific journals recently. The cover art for the latest issue of Nucleic Acids Research draws from the article “Decoding the epitranscriptional landscape from native RNA sequences.” The cover art for the December issue of Chemical Research in Toxicology is based on the article “Detection and Discrimination of DNA Adducts Differing in Size, Regiochemistry, and Functional Group by Nanopore Sequencing.”

Evaluating IPE
Dr. Amy Seay, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Dr. Wendy Ward, UAMS Associate Provost for Faculty and Director of Interprofessional Faculty Development, collaborated with other psychologists at academic medical centers across the country to evaluate the use of interprofessional education (IPE) in psychology training programs. Their manuscript, “Interprofessional Education in Psychology Doctoral Programs, Internships and Postdoctoral Training: A Survey of Training Directors,” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings. Congratulations to Dr. Seay and Dr. Ward on this outstanding and important work.

Student Published
Third-year medical student Hanna Kulbeth was the lead author on a manuscript accepted for publication by Neurotoxicology and Teratology. “Automated Quantification of Opioid Withdrawal in Neonatal Rat Pups Using Ethovision® XT Software” describes the validation of a new application of the Noldus Ethovision® XT video tracking software to quantify opioid withdrawal in a rat model of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome that is faster, less labor-intensive and more objective than previous methods. Co-authors include Saki Fukuda, a master’s student in the Graduate School, and senior author Dr. Lisa Brents, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology. Hannah conducted the work while she was a 2019 summer intern supported by the NIDA-funded T32 program at UAMS.

Off and Running
A shout-out to the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery for the excellent and exciting work being done in sports medicine. The orthopaedic and sports medicine team in Northwest Arkansas, headed by Dr. Wesley Cox, is partnering with the American Track League on a four-meet series being broadcast on ESPN/ESPN2. The series features some of the top men’s and women’s track and field athletes in the world and will continue on Sundays through February 14. Read more here, and check out this ad that captures some of the energy and excitement of UAMS’ program. Meanwhile, the sports medicine team based at Arkansas Children’s, headed by Dr. Brant Sachleben, is doing innovative work with high school athletics in Little Rock schools, earning a nice mention in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette this past Sunday.

Elite Reviewer
Dr. R. Dale Blasier, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of the Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program, has been designated as an Elite Reviewer for the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is one of the leading scientific publications in the field of orthopaedic surgery. Fewer than 3% of the journal’s approximately 1,200 reviewers have achieved elite status for their contributions. Congratulations, Dr. Blasier.

Neurology Standouts
Dr. Ricardo Lopez Castellanos, a third-year resident, recently told me about two individuals who are making a difference for patients and trainees in Neurology. “I look forward to being as passionate and devoted to clinical education as Dr. Erika Santos Horta,” Dr. Lopez said. “She always finds time to teach and discuss new topics and make sure you have a good understanding of the clinical scenario.” He also noted fourth-year resident Dr. Panna Bhattacharyya, who received the UAMS Comprehensive Stroke Center’s 2020 Time is Brain Award for achieving the fastest “door-to-needle” time, administering the clot-busting drug tPA to a stroke patient in 26 minutes – action that resulted in a full recovery.

National Appointments
Department of Pediatrics faculty colleagues continue to provide outstanding leadership at the national level. Recent appointments include Dr. Kimo Stine, a Professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, to the Hemophilia Alliance Board of Directors; and Dr. Abdallah Dalabih, an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, to the Board of Directors of the Society for Pediatric Sedation. Thanks to Dr. Stine and Dr. Dalabih for their service nationally and here in Arkansas.

Teaching Excellence
And finally this week, congratulations to the recent recipients of our Teaching Excellence Award. Seventy-five faculty members and residents in central Arkansas and Northwest Arkansas received the honor this winter, entitling them to wear a special Teaching Excellence lapel pin. All of these honorees have been recognized by our students and/or residents as exemplary teachers who make a difference in medical education and training at UAMS. Well done!