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!

Zoom with the Dean
While the pandemic is preventing in-person breakfasts with students this year, I am delighted to be able to visit with our M1s and M2s in our new “Zoom with the Dean” sessions. Just as in past years, the students I visited with last week had great things to say about faculty educators. They appreciated Dr. Alan Diekman (Biochemistry/Molecular Biology) for his exceptional organization and course leadership; Dr. Sung Rhee (Pharmacology/Toxicology) for his help preparing them for the Step 1 exam; and Dr. Matt Quick (Pathology) for his passion and inspiration. Three Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences faculty members earned praise: Dr. Mohsin Syed for his encouragement and great teaching; Dr. David Davies for his course leadership and ability to lower stress; and Dr. Edgar Meyer for his ability to make complicated material easier to understand. Kudos to these fine faculty members for their dedication to medical education!

P.S. – Watch for information about a brand new teaching award, and the inaugural recipients, in the COMmunication e-newsletter later this month!

Newly Invested
Congratulations to Dr. Ahmed Sallam, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of the Ophthalmology Residency Program, on his investiture in the John W. Nutt Chair in Ophthalmology. While a formal investiture ceremony has been postponed due to COVID-19, this is a wonderful and well-earned honor for Dr. Sallam, who is a superb eye inflammation and retinal specialist as well as a dedicated educator and excellent researcher. Dr. Sallam has excelled in all of our core mission areas since joining our faculty in 2016. The endowed chair was established with a gift from the late Mr. John Nutt, who was a longtime supporter of the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, and his family and friends. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.   

Championing Diversity
A shout-out to Dr. Gloria Richard-Davis, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility) and Executive Director of the UAMS Division for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, for her service on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). As a Co-Chair of the Task Force, she will join other leaders to present an overview of the group’s charge and ongoing work at the ASRM Congress next week. The Task Force is developing recommendations for addressing health disparities and non-inclusivity in the field of reproductive medicine and within the ASRM. She founded ASRM Health Disparities Special Interest Group in 2014 to focus on inequities in reproductive medical care and reporting.

Transport Titans
Department of Pediatrics faculty and fellows were well represented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Transport Medicine. Dr. Michael Stroud of our Critical Care Medicine Section served as Program Chair for the virtual meeting, finessing many challenges posed by the pandemic. He was also the driving force behind the development of the section’s first ever in-training research grant. Third-year Critical Care Medicine (CCM) fellow Dr. Courtney Cox won over some stiff competition to take home the new grant! Another rising star, second-year CCM fellow Dr. Nathan Epps, gave a virtual poster presentation. Dr. Stroud and Dr. Franscesca Miquel-Verges of the Neonatology Section serve together on the AAP Section on Transport Medicine Executive Committee. Great job everyone!

Top 10%
Congratulations to third-year Anesthesiology residents Dr. Jonathan Aronson, Dr. Bryce Ferry and Dr. Nikhil Kamath on their remarkable, top 10% in the nation performance on the American Board of Anesthesiology BASIC exam. Thanks as well to Dr. Charles Napolitano, Program Director, and all of the faculty members contributing to our residents’ success!

The Doc Talk
Dr. Amir Mian, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Arkansas Children’s have launched a new podcast, “The Doc Talk.” The podcast, which debuted this week, will feature conversations with physicians and medical leaders. Dr. Mian, who serves in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and his guests will discuss innovations, medicine, personal and professional growth and other topics, with a goal of helping colleagues stay connected during this time of social distancing. Way to go!

Stellar Staff
This month I have had the honor of presenting some of our COM staff members with awards for their excellent work and service. You may recall that while we were unable to gather in person for our traditional Dean’s Honor Day ceremony in April due to the escalating pandemic, we announced all of the highly deserving faculty and staff winners on our website and in the April COMmunication. Since then, Dean’s Office and Faculty Affairs representatives have found various ways to present the awards to honorees – and more will be scheduled in the future.

I encourage you to read (or re-read) about the stellar staff and faculty we honored this year. Meanwhile, I want to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to this year’s non-faculty honorees:

Residency Educator – Program Coordinator
Emily Stotts, Pediatrics Residency

Staff Excellence – Administration
Debbie Holliman, Department of Anesthesiology

Staff Excellence – Clinical
JoAnn Conley Cooper, Interventional Pain Clinic

Staff Excellence – Research

Debbie Hodges, Psychiatry

Staff Excellence – Education
Marcie Johnson, COM Curriculum Office

Wingman on the Weekend
And finally this week, congratulations to Neurosurgery resident Dr. Angela Palmer on earning her Federal Aviation Administration Formation Card at Grider Field in Pine Bluff last week. Dr. Palmer, who goes by the apt call sign “Scrubs,” is an experimental aircraft pilot and member of the Bulldog Formation Flight Team. Her wingman check ride on Friday was the final hurdle to earning the FAA Formation Card, which is required for performing flyovers at events in FAA-waivered airspace. Dr. Palmer and the formation flight clinic were featured in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Pine Bluff Commercial.

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!

Virtually Amazing
The students we admit to the College of Medicine are the lifeblood of our education mission in Arkansas – and applicant interviews are crucial to the process of selecting the very best future physicians. Hats off to everyone who made our first-ever virtual medical school applicant interview day a great success last Saturday. Very special thanks to Tom South, Dr. Jeanne McLachlin and Tammy Henson in our Admissions Office, and IT team members James Arledge, Kevin Hollins, Ernie Bailey and Allen Finne.

Special thanks also to the 85 faculty members and 14 senior medical students who interviewed applicants and many other M2, M3 and M4 students who shared their insights about medical school, balancing study and personal life, and much more during three post-interview Q&A Zoom sessions led by Dr. McLachlin. Dr. Bobby McGehee facilitated a virtual orientation session for faculty interviewers, and Dr. James Graham led an orientation for applicants.

I join with Dr. Graham in expressing our gratitude to all who participated on Saturday, and to those who will contribute to the upcoming interview days on October 24, November 14 and January 9. We can still use more faculty interviewers for those sessions. Please sign up here. Your service is greatly appreciated, especially under the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic.

Spine in the Spotlight
A shout-out to the Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery faculty and Neurosurgery residents who recently hosted a very well received Virtual Spine Journal Club session for the Seattle Science Foundation – a well-recognized leading foundation for medical and surgical education. Organized by Dr. Noojan Kazemi, the session on “Patient Selection and Predicting Outcomes in Spine Surgery” was presented internationally to numerous institutions. The event featured article presentations by four residents, Drs. Patrick Paullus, Marcus Stephens, Natalie Guley and Matthew Helton. Dr. Kazemi moderated the discussion with the help of Drs. T. Glenn Pait, Richard McCarthy and David Bumpass. Nationally recognized leaders in spine surgery lauded the quality of article selection and the session overall, and UAMS has been invited to host again in the future.

Transplant Excellence
Congratulations to the kidney and heart transplant teams at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, which has just been designated as a Blue Cross and Blue Shield Blue Distinction Center for solid organ transplant. The designation, which recognizes excellence and expertise in transplant programs, is a first for the kidney transplant team, and the first in several years for the heart transplant program. I join with Drs. Rick Barr, Richard Blaszak and Paul Seib in thanking the many Arkansas Children’s, Pediatrics and Surgery faculty and staff whose hard work and dedication made this possible. Kudos to all.

New Textbook
Fathima Fijula Palot Manzil, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Nuclear Medicine Division of the Department of Radiology, is a co-author on the new edition of “Diagnostic Imaging: Nuclear Medicine,” being published this month by Elsevier. The chapters will also be available in STATdx, a comprehensive diagnostic radiology online support tool by Elsevier. Dr. Manzil is a cover author and wrote or co-wrote multiple chapters, lending her expertise to topics relating to nuclear medicine and PET-CT, including nuclear cardiology. Congratulations!

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!

Outstanding in OB/GYN
Congratulations to Dr. Linda Teal, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, on her nomination and selection by UAMS residents for the National Faculty Award for Excellence in Resident Education from the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG). Dr. Teal also was selected by a national committee of her peers for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) Mentor Award.

Top 20
A shout-out to Dr. Michael Wilson, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, who was recognized by the Journal of Emergency Medicine this month for being one of the top 20 reviewers for the publication last year. With over 400 reviewers for the journal, that’s quite an accomplishment. As a leading expert in behavioral emergencies, Dr. Wilson brings important perspective and insights to his role as a reviewer. Great job!

National Appointment
Dr. Spyridoula Maraka, Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, has been invited to serve a three-year term on the Guidelines and Statements Committee of the American Thyroid Association. Thank you, Dr. Maraka, for your excellent service at the national level as well as here at UAMS.

Well Represented
The Department of Radiology continues to be well represented nationally, thanks to the recent accomplishments of several residents. The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) selected Dr. Ronald Mora (PGY3) for the Introduction to Academic Radiology program, and Dr. Surbhi Raichandani (PGY3) for the RSNA Resident Representative (R3) program. Meanwhile, PGY2 residents Dr. George Vilanilam and Dr. Rangarajan Purushothaman were awarded Clinical Interventional Oncology Scholarships, and Dr. Vilanilam was appointed to a two-year term on the RSNA’s RadioGraphics Resident Subspecialty Panel for Neuroradiology. Congratulations to all! 

On the Cover
Dr. Meryll Pampolina Bouldin, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, puts a friendly and enthusiastic face on a career in medicine in the new edition of Arkansas Next: a Guide to Life After High School. The Arkansas Business Publishing Group publication for high school students features medical careers in this year’s lead feature. Dr. Bouldin graces the cover and shares her insights for young Arkansans considering careers as a physician on page 34. Dr. Corey Montgomery, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, is featured on page 32. Kudos to both for representing your profession and specialties so well!

Above & Beyond
A patient who was recently hospitalized for a neurological condition took the time to thank the Department of Neurology faculty, residents and staff, along with many other clinical team members, who participated in her care. The patient was grateful for the knowledgeable, empathetic and caring individuals who truly listened to her and made her smile during a difficult time. The “angels” she mentioned by name included Neurology Chair Dr. Lee Archer, Neurology Residency Program Director Dr. Mitesh Lotia, Neurology resident Dr. Rohan Sharma and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation resident Dr. Zachary Dawes. 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!

Quality First
Our ongoing health care quality and accountability efforts made strides this past year, with UAMS Medical Center advancing to three-star status and 80^th in the national rankings tracked for us by the performance improvement organization Vizient. Our recently received scorecard shows UAMS ranks particularly well in metrics related to efficiency, equity and patient-centeredness. Kudos to all whose hard work made this happen, with special thanks to Troy Schmit, M.S., Trenda Ray, Ph.D., RN, Tony Seupaul, M.D., Sofie Morgan, M.D., and Thea Rosenbaum, M.D.

Gold Standard
Dr. Matt Quick, Associate Professor of Pathology, served as the lead author for three chapters in the new edition of the World Health Organization’s “WHO Classification of Tumours – Female Genital Tumours.” One of the chapters describes mesonephric-like carcinoma of the ovary. Dr. Quick helped describe this new entity in gynecologic pathology in 2016 with Dr. Glenn McCluggage, who serves on the editorial board for the reference books. Also known as the “WHO Blue Books,” the series is regarded as the authoritative, international gold standard for the histological and molecular classification of tumors.

COVID & Pancreatitis
The Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology’s Dr. Sumant Inamdar recently published research that strengthens the evidence that patients with COVID-19 are at risk of developing pancreatitis, and that pancreatitis should be included among the gastrointestinal symptoms of the virus. Dr. Inamdar’s carefully designed research was published in the leading journal Gastroenterology. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

SUPER Project
The SUPER (Serving Underrepresented Populations through Engagement and Research) Project is off to a great start with the recent wrap-up of its Summer Institute. The institute prepared students at Philander Smith College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to conduct research with mentors at their home institutions and UAMS. SUPER is part of the HBCU Med Track Program and our HRSA-funded Arkansas Medical Education Primary Care Partnership. Kudos to Education Coordinator Renisha Ward, M.Ed., and all who participated in the event. Thanks also to the UAMS mentors, Drs. Antino Allen, Clare Brown, Kristy Caldwell, Alan Diekman, Nakita Heard, Grover Miller and Tremaine Williams. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Postdoctoral Scholars
Congratulations to postdoctoral fellow Dr. Zijing Zhang on her Postdoctoral Scholar Award and $200,000 in funding from the Global Consortium for Reproductive Longevity and Equality. Dr. Zhang, who works with Dr. Michael Birrer in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, is studying how biological changes in the ovary due to aging may influence reproductive health. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Congratulations also to Dr. Brittany Allman, a postdoctoral fellow at the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC), on her Loan Repayment Program for Pediatric Research award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases. The two-year award repays up to $50,000 in educational debt per year. Dr. Allman’s research focuses on how maternal obesity can contribute to offspring obesity and impact substrate metabolism in early life. Dr. Elisabet Borsheim serves as Dr. Allman’s primary mentor, with Dr. Aline Andres serving as an additional mentor.

National Talk
A shout-out to MD/PhD student L. Clai Morehead, who has been selected to present a talk at the annual MD/PhD National Student Conference this week. Clai also received a Diversity Award to support her participation in the virtual conference. Her talk, “Caloric restriction mimetics as an adjuvant to immune checkpoint inhibitors for treatment of melanoma,” is one of only six in the conference’s general medicine category, and Clai is among just 24 MD/PhD students chosen to present at the conference. We’re proud of you Clai!

Consultant of the Month
Congratulations to Dr. Timothy Hereford, third-year Orthopaedic Surgery resident, on being named Consultant of the Month by Emergency Medicine residents. The award recognizes residents from other departments for their collegial contributions to clinical care and education in the Emergency Department. Residents applauded Dr. Hereford’s exceptional willingness to help, noting that he often checks for potential cases before being officially consulted. 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!

Lifetime Achievement Award
Congratulations to Dr. Rodney Davis, Professor and Chair of the Department of Urology, on receiving the Headstream Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Arkansas Urologic Society. As many know, Dr. Davis is an internationally recognized expert in minimally invasive techniques to treat urologic malignancies. He has made innumerable contributions since his recruitment to UAMS from Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College in Nashville in 2012, both in Arkansas and nationally. A Malvern native, Dr. Davis has also earned many honors for his service in U.S. Army and Army Reserve, where he retired at the rank of Colonel.

New Patent
Congratulations to Dr. Lee Ann MacMillan-Crow, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, on her new U.S. Patent. Dr. MacMillan-Crow devised new, efficient methods and compositions for detecting mitochondrial dysfunction, the malfunctioning of the structures that produce energy for a cell, often due to stress or disease. Her patent relates to certain reporter molecules (OMA1) that are especially useful for drug discovery and detection of diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction. Way to go!  

Blood Tests for Cancer
Dr. Donald Johann, Associate Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Internal Medicine, had an integral role in an important new publication that establishes a set of generic analytical protocols and helps to define industry standards for the development of liquid biopsy tests – or blood tests – for detecting cancer. “Generic Protocols for the Analytical Validation of Next-Generation Sequencing-Based ctDNA Assays: A Joint Consensus Recommendation of the BloodPAC’s Analytical Variables Working Group” was published in Clinical Chemistry by the Blood Profiling Atlas in Cancer Consortium (BloodPAC). Dr. Johann has been a contributing member of the BloodPAC Analytical Variables Protocols Working Group since its establishment three years ago. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

National Presentation
Dr. Ericka Olgaard, Assistant Professor of Pathology and CLIA Laboratory Medical Director, was invited to give a webinar for the College of American Pathologists 2020 Focus on Laboratory Compliance webinar series. Her webinar on the topic of “Competency Compliance: Strategies to Avoid the Top Deficiency” is being presented today. This latest national contribution dovetails nicely with Dr. Olgaard’s work as an appointed member on the College of American Pathologists Accreditation Education Committee. Thank you for your excellent work nationally and here at UAMS, Dr. Olgaard.

MEFFA Awards Support Medical Education
A wide range of educational projects are underway this academic year thanks to the longstanding support of the Arkansas Medical Society and the Medical Education Foundation for Arkansas (MEFFA). The foundation has provided grants to support College of Medicine educational initiatives for many decades. This year’s projects focus on crucial clinical skills including prenatal care and ear examination, culinary medicine, interview skills for colorectal/cancer screening, a telemedicine “buddy” program pairing medical students with isolated senior citizens, and the annual Teach-the-Teacher conference.

Congratulations to Drs. Shashank Kraleti (Family Medicine); Puru Thapa (Psychiatry); Gloria Richard-Davis (OB/GYN); Andre Wineland (Otolaryngology); Ronda Henry-Tillman (Surgery); Pebbles Fagan (College of Public Health); Priya Mendiratta (Geriatrics); Tobias Vancil (Internal Medicine); and Karina Clemmons (Medical Humanities/Bioethics). You can read about their projects in this summary.

100% Pass Rate
Congratulations to Drs. Jerry Johnston, Jed Kinnick, Patrick Page, and all of their fellow 2020 graduates of the Anesthesiology Residency Program on their 100% pass rate on the American Board of Anesthesiology Advanced Exam – and kudos to all who contributed to their success. Special thanks to Program Director Dr. Charles Napolitano, Anesthesiology Chair Dr. Jill Mhyre, and Drs. Shannon Dare, Faiza Khan, Riley Lide, Jill Ramsey and Matthew Spond.

Teaching Excellence
A shout-out to the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology’s Dr. Sung Rhee and the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine’s Dr. Allison Shaw-Devine and Dr. Srikanth Vallurupalli – the team that helps second-year medical students get “from zero to 60” on ECG and arrhythmia in a matter of days. As the curriculum was winding down in August, Dr. Vallurupalli received a call from a Little Rock cardiac electrophysiologist who was highly impressed with the questions his son, an M2, was asking him about ECG and anti-arrhythmic drugs. The father thanked the educators for teaching the next generation of physicians – and potential cardiologists – in a thought-provoking, impactful manner.

Social Media & Medicine
Dr. Arpan Prabhu, a Radiation Oncology resident, was mentioned in an article published in Ophthalmology Times. ​Dr. Prabhu mentored Heba Mahjoub, a medical student at Johns Hopkins University, and collaborated with Dr. Shameema Sikder at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University, to study the information that patients seek regarding eye care on the popular social media site Reddit. Dr. Prabhu has published internationally on the digital presence of physicians and social media interactions among patients and physicians. Great job.

Above and Beyond
Third-year medical student Merit Jennings Turner was driving home after rounding with the General Internal Medicine team at the VA hospital recently when she came upon a major motor vehicle collision. Merit was the first person to stop and help. She immediately called 911 and tended to the collision victim, who was in and out of consciousness, while waiting for the EMS crew to arrive. Thank you for your selfless heroism, Merit. We are so proud of you!

The Gift of Creativity
Special thanks to Dr. Paulette Mehta, Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, and Dr. Jay Mehta, Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine and Physiology and Biophysics, for their thoughtful and generous gift to establish an endowed annual creative writing award open to all UAMS students, staff and faculty. The Mehtas’ recognition of the value of having a creative outlet is especially timely during the current, stressful public health crisis. Submission information is available here, and you can read about what inspired the Mehtas to create the award in this Inside UAMS feature story.

Champions for Diversity & Inclusion
Finally this week, congratulations to the exceptionally deserving recipients of Dr. Edith Irby Jones Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Awards. These individuals have strived to make UAMS and the broader community more inclusive – and stronger – through diversity. They have led by example, shared stories that amplify the humanity and dignity of each person, and joined with other voices to speak out against inequality. We are all fortunate to work, learn and grow with these colleagues.

Lifetime Achievement | Billy Thomas, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Pediatrics

Honored for his leadership and many years of service as the first Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion and Director of the Center for Diversity Affairs (now the Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), for his steadfast dedication to students of all backgrounds, and his extensive support for diversity- and volunteer-focused student groups.

Leadership | Mildred Randolph, D.V.M., Director, Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine (2007-2020)

Honored for her strong commitment to an inclusive culture and positive working environment, and for initiatives such as bringing the Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity (SEED) program to UAMS.

Middle/Senior Career Faculty | Erick Messias, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., COM Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs

Honored for his excellence and dedication to raising awareness about racial and ethnic disparities, implicit and explicit bias, and the extraordinary legacy of Dr. Edith Irby-Jones, as well as for his efforts to expand monitoring and reporting of faculty diversity metrics.

Early Career Faculty | Leslie Stone, M.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Family and Preventive Medicine

Honored for his devotion to patients in underserved communities and educating the next generation of dedicated and diverse family physicians who will care for these patients across Arkansas, and for fostering diversity, equity and inclusion at UAMS through mentorship of students and other activities.

Trainee | Oluwatomi “Tomi” Adegboyega, M.D., resident, Pediatrics

Honored for his service to patients, Arkansas Children’s, UAMS and the community, and for his insightful leadership, in collaboration with fellow resident Dr. Michael Grassi, of a peaceful march to the state Capitol after the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.

Staff | Sharanda Williams, M.A., COM Director of Academic Affairs

Honored for her broad service and volunteer activities at UAMS and in the community, including service as Chair of the UAMS House of Delegates and her mentorship of Project Search interns and younger employees.

Student | Arthur Shaw, College of Pharmacy

Honored for modeling the tenets of diversity, equity and inclusion and demonstrating caring and compassion in his many volunteer service activities and student leadership roles at UAMS and in the community.

Here are this week’s Accolades, a roundup of some of the honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine and UAMS faculty, staff, residents, fellows and students I’ve heard about recently!

Back to School Essentials
UAMS and Arkansas Children’s recently collaborated with the Arkansas Department of Health and the Arkansas Department of Education on two essential back-to-school guides for schools and families – the COVID-19 safety-focused Arkansas Ready to Learn Healthy School Guide and the behavioral health-focused Helping Students Cope Guide. Many UAMS and Arkansas Children’s team members were a part of this initiative (as listed in this PDF), including faculty from the College of Medicine departments of Pediatrics, Family and Preventive Medicine and Psychiatry.

Dr. Jose Romero, Dr. Cam Patterson and Marcy Doderer, FACHE, served with Commissioner of Education Johnny Key on the Governance Committee. Dr. Stephanie Gardner and Dr. Rick Barr served as Working Group Co-Chairs. Dr. Marisha DiCarlo, Dr. Angela Scott and Dr. Barr chaired key subcommittees. Other committee members making important contributions were Dr. Nikki Edge, Dr. Arlo Kahn, Tyra Larkin, Dr. Eddie Ochoa, Dr. Mark Williams, Dr. Jill Fussell, Dr. Sufna John, Allison Martin, LMSW, and Dr. Jessica Snowden.

This was an enormous undertaking in service to our state, and we are grateful to you all.

Novel Pain Study
Congratulations to Neurosurgery Residency graduate Dr. Heather Pinckard-Dover, current resident Dr. Angela Palmer and Dr. Erika Petersen, Professor and Residency Program Director, on the publication of their paper focusing on the successful treatment of a teenager with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The team reviewed neuromodulation as a treatment for CRPS and discussed their novel use of dorsal root ganglion (DRS) stimulation for a teen who experienced debilitating, unexplained pain and swelling of the ankle after a sports injury. The study was published in Neuromodulation: Technology at the Neural Interface.

Cancer Institute Honoree
Congratulations to Dr. Frits van Rhee, Professor of Internal Medicine and Clinical Director of the Myeloma Center, on receiving the Distinguished Honoree Award from the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Department of Volunteer Services and Auxiliary. Dr. van Rhee is internationally recognized as a leading expert in blood cancers, particularly Castleman disease. During a virtual ceremony, colleagues and guests honored him for helping the Myeloma Center earn a worldwide reputation for innovative research and treatment programs.

Deciphering Data Analytics
Dr. Hoda Hagrass, Assistant Professor of Pathology, has been appointed to a working group of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) that will develop a glossary to help AACC members and laboratory support staff understand the technology and applications of data analytics and machine-learning to laboratory medicine. The committee will help overcome the impediment of ambiguous language usage in popular discussions of the data analytics space. Dr. Hagrass serves as Medical Director for the Clinical Chemistry and Immunology Laboratories at UAMS and the Clinical Chemistry and Metabolic Diseases Laboratories at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Thank you for sharing your expertise at the national level, Dr. Hagrass!

Grateful Patient
A recent patient-survey comment speaks volumes about the exemplary and compassionate care that Dr. Corey Montgomery, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, provides for his orthopaedic oncology patients. “Dr. Corey Montgomery is the best doctor I have ever been to,” the patient wrote. “His bedside manner, compassion, kindness, and the ability to listen are unmatched. His intelligence is exceptional in so many areas. My wife and I think the world of him and appreciate all he’s done for us. He saved my life. He has become our friend. He has given us hope. We’ve told many people about Dr. Montgomery.”

EM National Honors
A shout-out to two outstanding Department of Emergency Medicine colleagues who have been selected for competitive national education programs in the field of academic emergency medicine. Dr. Meredith Von Dohlen, the department’s inaugural Medical Education fellow, was accepted in the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Post-Graduate Trainees: Future Academic Clinical Educators Course. And Dr. Jason Arthur, Assistant Professor, was selected for the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Advanced Research Methodology Evaluation and Design (ARMED) course. Congratulations!

Apheresis & Telehealth
Congratulations to Dr. Tina Ipe, Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of Transfusion Medicine, on the publication of a concise review in the Journal of Clinical Apheresis. The manuscript, “Understanding the basic technologies and apheresis medicine practice models,” is part of a position paper for the American Society for Apheresis and highlights the use of telehealth technologies in therapeutic apheresis.

Invited Panelist
Dr. Sarah Blossom, Associate Professor in the Allergy and Immunology Section of the Department of Pediatrics, recently served as an invited virtual discussion panelist for a National Academy of Sciences workshop, “Predicting Human Health Effects from Environmental Exposures: Applying Translatable and Accessible Biomarkers of Effect.” Dr. Blossom’s work in the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute focuses on how environmental exposures, particularly the solvent and common environmental pollutant trichloroethylene (TCE), alter CD4+ T cell function in the immune system. Great work!

Ophthalmology Video Standout
The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) regularly receives hundreds of eye surgery videos to potentially share on the AAO website for educational purposes. Dr. Riley Sanders, a fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology, has become quite a fixture on the site with several of his videos accepted and posted. His most recent “Editors’ Choice” videos (available here and here) are of sophisticated surgeries he performed with Associate Professor Dr. Sami Uwaydat.

Above & Beyond
A patient recently traveled from a far corner of the state for a complex surgery, and the anesthesia team determined a specific procedure would provide ideal post-operative pain relief. However, this case presented challenges due to lack of a dedicated neuro-imaging scan to ensure the safety of this option. Dr. Memoona Mian, a Neuroradiology fellow in the Department of Radiology, and Dr. Rudy Van Hemert, Interim Chief of Neuroradiology, quickly stepped in, evaluated a recent alternate scan from an outside facility, and were able to provide accurate and timely information to the anesthesia team. As Dr. Matthew Spond, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, said when relaying this story, Dr. Mian and Dr. Van Hemert went above and beyond to provide the best possible care for this patient. Bravo!

Alpha Omega Alpha Inductees
With the motto “Worthy to serve the suffering,” Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, recognizes exceptional students, faculty, house staff and alumni who embrace professionalism, scholarship, leadership and service. Congratulations to the newest members elected by the Arkansas Chapter of AOA!

COM juniors elected in Spring 2020: Muhammad Abu-Rmaileh, Amanda Catherine Ederle, Morgan Alleabelle Gongola, Jared T. Gowen, Justin Klucher, Brianna Laferney, Brandi M. Mize, Austin G. Morgan, Madison Brooks Morris, Katelyn M. Ragland, Michael B. Richardson, Jennifer Elizabeth Saccente, Connor Wilson, Taylor Winn, Courtney Wright (These students are now seniors. The next election of seniors will occur later this fall.)

Faculty elected in Academic Year 2019-2020: Dr. Nahed O. El-Hassan, Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology; Dr. Franscesca Miquel-Verges, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology; Dr. Emily Smith, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Hospital Medicine

Housestaff elected in Academic Year 2019-2020: Dr. Katie Guess, Pediatrics Residency, 2020 graduate; Dr. Morgan Moore, Medicine-Pediatrics Residency, now on faculty, Division of General Internal Medicine; Dr. John Pagteilan, now PGY5, Surgery Residency; Dr. Anna Nanigian Witt, now Chief Resident, Internal Medicine Residency

Alumni elected in Academic Year 2019-20: Dr. Gregory Bledsoe, M.D. ’99, Arkansas Surgeon General; Dr. Clare Campbell Nesmith, M.D. ’00, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology

Accolades will return the week after next, September 16!