Tamara Robinson

Accolades – April 10, 2024

Congratulations to our 2024 Dean’s Honor Day Award Winners!

Next Tuesday, April 16, we will celebrate excellence across our college at the 2024 Dean’s Honor Day celebration. I am really looking forward to ceremony. I know we will hear wonderful stories about these staff and faculty who exemplify the very best of the College of Medicine.

Please join us from 4:00-5:00 p.m. in Fred Smith Auditorium, 12^th floor of the Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute. In addition to nearly 20 awards to faculty and staff, we will have photo gallery-style video tributes to our faculty who are receiving promotion and/or tenure this year. A reception will follow the ceremony. If you can’t make it in person, tune in to the ceremony livestream.

Meanwhile, I am very pleased to announce the faculty and staff who will receive awards at the ceremony. Please join me in congratulating these remarkable members of our team!

Awards

Staff Excellence

Education

Jessica Bursk — Family and Preventive Medicine

Research

Caroline Miller Robinson, B.S. — Physiology and Cell Biology/INBRE

Clinical

Chris Cathcart, DPT, MBA — ICE, Physical Therapy/Trauma Team

Administration

Robin Rogers, B.A. — Biomedical Informatics

GME Educator

Program Coordinator

Angela Warr — Pain Medicine Fellowship

Program Director

Priya Mendiratta, M.D., MPH — Geriatric Medicine Fellowship

Master Teacher

Steve Schexnayder, M.D. — Pediatrics/Pediatric Critical Care

Educational Innovation

Ahmed Abuabdou, M.D., MBA — Chief Clinical Officer/Cancer Service Line

Educational Research

Karen Dickinson, MBBS, M.D., M.Ed. — Surgery/IPE Simulation and Clinical Skills Training

Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine

David Kelley, M.D. — Family and Preventive Medicine

Excellence in Research

Lorraine McKelvey, Ph.D. — Family and Preventive Medicine

Clinical Excellence

Outstanding Advanced Practice Provider

Ashley Wilson, DNP — Surgery/Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery

Quality & Safety

Tabasum Imran, M.D. — Family and Preventive Medicine, UAMS West

Service & Professionalism

Chenia Eubanks, M.D., MPH — Pediatrics/Community Pediatrics

Best Consulting Physician

Sarah Cobb, M.D. — Pediatrics/Pediatric Neurology

Collaborations & Teamwork

Lyle Burdine, M.D., Ph.D. — Surgery/Transplant Surgery

Rising Star

Dinesh Edem, M.D. — Internal Medicine/Endocrinology

Physician of the Year

Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D. — Surgery/Breast Surgical Oncology

Distinguished Faculty Service Award

Eduardo Ochoa Jr., M.D. — Pediatrics/Community Pediatrics

Promotion and Tenure

Click here for a list of faculty receiving promotion and/or tenure this year.

Meet Dr. Steven Webber: a Q&A with the College of Medicine’s New Dean and UAMS Executive Vice Chancellor

Dr. Steven Webber in lobby of the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, resting arm on a counter.

Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, began serving as Executive Vice Chancellor of UAMS and Dean of the College of Medicine on March 1. (Read Dr. Webber’s bio here.) Now that most of his boxes are unpacked and he has had his feet on the ground for a month, we asked Dr. Webber to help the College of Medicine team and others get to know him a little better. Our Q&A touched on his background (including, for the benefit of many of us, what those credentials after his name stand for), his priorities for the College of Medicine, and what you might find him doing in his spare time.

Dr. Webber, you have had an illustrious career as a pediatrician, researcher and leader in academic medicine. You were recruited from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where you served for 12 years as Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. Earlier, you held leadership posts, particularly in pediatric cardiology, at the University of Pittsburgh. Could you talk a little about what drew you to UAMS and serving in the role of Dean and Executive Vice Chancellor?

Thank you. Yes, I am very fortunate to have had several wonderful career opportunities, all of which provided platforms for continuous learning and personal growth. For a while, I had been considering one last career move that would be both challenging and at the same time rewarding. There are quite a few Dean opportunities out there right now. I was looking for a college of medicine that is deeply committed to all its missions – clinical care, education, research and community engagement – and where the college, hospital and clinics are part of the same entity, which often is not the case in academic medical centers. This structure facilitates close alignment between the clinical enterprise and the college, with everyone working toward common goals.

Another key “must have” for me was the desire to work at an academic medical center where collegiality and teamwork are core values. I was also struck by the deep commitment of the UAMS faculty and staff to improve the lives of all Arkansans, and to further develop a statewide network of care focused on health equity and to rural as well as urban communities. These and many other factors led me and my family to Little Rock, and we are delighted to be here and to call Arkansas our home.

Now that you have been here full time for several weeks, and you’ve worked with UAMS leaders for several months, what have been some of your impressions about our college and academic medical center? What has surprised you the most?

Yes, I started working with UAMS leaders a couple of months before I arrived, and I have now been here a month. It was wonderful to work with Interim Dean Rick Smith during this transition period. Dr. Smith is the quintessential servant-leader and helped stabilize the college at a very difficult time, following the untimely passing of Dean Susan Smyth and as health care institutions including UAMS emerged from the pandemic.

Although April 1 was the one-month anniversary of my arrival, I don’t think I have been “fooled” by anything or anybody yet! My first impressions are straightforward – firstly that UAMS has, as expected, the same fiscal challenges that exist in all academic medical centers at this time as we continue to recover from the pandemic and adjust to the new realities including high health care inflation and constraints on revenue growth. But I am convinced that UAMS has the talent, experience and ideas to emerge ever stronger from these challenges. So, I am very optimistic about the future.

My second observation is how wonderfully friendly everyone is. People just say “hello” as you walk by. You may all take that for granted, but I promise you that is not the norm around the country. My third observation is the obvious deep commitment of everyone at UAMS to our core missions, in particular the desire to improve the health and well-being of the communities we serve.

What are your top priorities for the College of Medicine and what we can do in the years ahead to enhance health in Arkansas?

There are many priorities to work on. Fortunately, thanks to the excellent leadership within the college and university, there are not too many immediate fires to put out. We must focus on making sure we stay on target for UAMS Vision 2029. I plan to partner extremely closely with Dr. Michelle Krause, Senior Vice Chancellor of UAMS Health and CEO of UAMS Medical Center, and her leadership team, to help ensure that the clinical enterprise is firing on all cylinders. The hospital and College of Medicine must be in complete alignment to help support our mutual goals.

Beyond the obvious goal of improving health, a thriving clinical enterprise is needed to support our academic missions of training the next generation of providers and expanding our research footprint. The ongoing research in the College of Medicine is already impressive, but there is clearly room for growth. We must be strategic as we invest our research resources, focusing on areas of current strength, and select new areas where we believe we can excel with appropriate investments. Cancer will remain a top priority as we drive toward NCI designation. There is also great opportunity to bring the clinical and basic science departments closer together to support translational research in areas such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. All of these are areas of strength at UAMS and all are key drivers of the health of our population.

I hope to see significant increases in grant and contract support in the coming years, and this will be supported by the development of more formal physician-scientist and Ph.D. scientist research training programs. This should also entail strong efforts to increase our portfolio of training grants. I also plan to focus on expanding philanthropy to better support our ambitious goals.

What are some of the first things on your agenda?

There are many “first things” on my agenda – and the rate limiting step right now is the hours in a day! I am trying to meet as many people as possible across the enterprise to help me better understand the challenges and, most importantly, the opportunities for the College of Medicine and UAMS. I am also seeking to meet community leaders and hospital partners around the region, so that I will understand the state better. This will involve visiting all our regional campuses and our regional partners across the state. It is also very important for me to help build an ever-stronger relationship with Arkansas Children’s so that we can continue to grow and thrive together. Our faculty serve both campuses, and our missions are very closely aligned. We are partners that must grow stronger together. This partnership creates many excellent opportunities, such as enhancing transitions of care for teenagers, growing combined educational programs and enhancing research across the lifespan.

Let’s talk for a moment about your medical degree and credentials, which may be a little unfamiliar to some of our team members and readers. After your name, you use “MBChB, MRCP.” What do those mean?

I was born in London and did my medical school training at Bristol University in the west of England. Latin scholars will know that “MBChB” stands for “Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae,” that is, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. This is the standard British medical degree. But please don’t be taken in by the ChB part. It would not be good for me to operate on our patients! The “MRCP” stands for Member of the Royal College of Physicians. In the U.K., this is the equivalent of internal medicine boards in the U.S. Although most people know me as a pediatrician and pediatric cardiologist/transplant physician, I actually did three years of internal medicine internship and residency before I “saw the light” and switched to pediatrics – and then completed a second full residency.

After graduating first in your medical school class, and completing residencies in medicine and pediatrics, you continued your training with fellowships in pediatric cardiology in British Columbia and at the University of Pittsburgh. You went on to serve in leadership posts such as Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, co-director of the Heart Institute and medical director of the Thoracic Transplantation Program at the University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. What drew you to the specialties of pediatrics and pediatric cardiology?

I initially planned to be an adult cardiologist. I always loved cardiology. However, my training occurred before the revolution in medical and catheter management of arrythmias, and we saw little rheumatic heart disease or tuberculous pericardial disease in the U.K. at that time. So, almost all the patients had coronary disease and/or heart failure. The former was managed mainly by vein grafts in those days, and these frequently clotted off early – especially with so much tobacco usage and poor self-care. The options for managing heart failure were primarily digoxin, Lasix and captopril, so there were far fewer of the options than we have today. Transplantation and assist device support were only in their infancy.

One day, I was working with a wonderful mentor, an adult cardiologist from South Africa who had cared for both adults and children. He said to me after rounds, “If you love cardiology but are not sure that you want to take care of adults all your life, why don’t you become a pediatric cardiologist?” He then took me several times a week to the pediatric cardiology wards and taught me about “blue babies” and complex congenital heart disease. I was hooked immediately. Here were patients we could really help in a meaningful way – children who just one or two decades earlier almost always died in infancy.

However, my training in adults was never wasted, as it set me up well to manage the growing population of young adults with congenital heart disease – a rapidly growing population and one of the true success stories of modern medicine, thanks in large part to the ingenuity of cardiovascular surgeons. Later, I moved to Pittsburgh to complete a fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. CHP and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were then the leading international centers for solid organ transplantation, under the leadership of the late Dr. Thomas Starzl. Once again, serendipity played a big part in my career development, as I then became focused on how to help children with end-stage heart and lung disease who could not be managed with conventional medical and surgical approaches. Transplantation offered a final chance of life to those who had run out of other options. It was an honor to be there at the earliest stages of this work. We were learning on the fly, the patients being our main teachers.

The College of Medicine team is looking forward to working with you and getting to know you. Could you tell us a little about yourself and your family?

As I mentioned, I am from London, England. My dad was an electrician, and my mom was a homemaker. Both instilled in me the critical importance of education. Both had their education cut short during the Second World War, when most children in London were evacuated to remote rural areas without their parents, and schooling ceased. On returning to London, most did not get the chance to resume secondary education. So, my brother and I were first-generation college students, and we have tried to really make use of the opportunities that my parents did not have.

My wife, Jennifer, works in the not-for-profit sector to support college success for first-generation college students. I have two daughters, Hannah and Katie. Hannah is a health care attorney in Nashville and Katie is a third-year medical student in Washington, D.C. She also plans to pursue a career in pediatrics – or at least that is the current plan!

What are some of your favorite things to do in your spare time, when you can find it?

I am an avid reader and try to read a book a week, but I don’t always succeed since we all have busy jobs. I like to alternate novels with history books or biographies. I am always struggling with the desire to read late into the night versus the need to get a good night’s sleep to face the next day! I am sure I am not alone with that conflict. I also love to learn other languages, although I can only speak most at a rudimentary level. My French is quite good. My latest foray is into Norwegian, though I am not quite sure why, as 99% of Scandinavians seem to speak perfect English!

What is your favorite book, and what is the last book you read for enjoyment, not professional purposes?

I don’t have a single favorite book, but some of my favorite authors include English writers Graham Greene and Julian Barnes, Indian writer Amitav Ghosh, Tanzanian-British writer Abdulrazak Gurnah – who won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature – and the Kenyan writer, Ngugi wa Thiongo. The last three have all written novels set in darker periods of British colonial history. I just finished Ghosh’s “Sea of Poppies” trilogy. It is beautifully written and describes the shocking but true story of how the British went to war, starting in 1839, to force the Chinese to continue to accept imports of raw opium from India, even though it was killing huge numbers of Chinese citizens. Oddly, we never learned about the history of the Opium Wars at school, or how Hong Kong was ceded to the British as part of the settlement. We teach the things we wish to teach – which is not necessarily the same as teaching what should be taught.

I also like to read about topics I know absolutely nothing about. Since we all seem destined to be gobbled up into a Black Hole one day, I just finished Carlo Rovelli’s “Seven Brief Lessons on Physics.” However, I quickly got lost when he started to speculate about the existence of “White Holes,” where time seemingly might go backwards. I encourage everyone to randomly read about things we never learned about. It is a lot of fun.

What do you like to watch on TV?

I don’t own a functioning television, so no, I never watch!

Who would be your ideal guests (anyone living or deceased) for a dinner and conversation?

I am not sure who my ideal guests would be. I met Dolly Parton once when I was in Nashville. She is a fascinating person and it would be fun to learn more about her. Maybe I would also ask the actor Hugh Grant to join us. He was in my high school class, and he was exactly the same then as he is in his movies. So, he has made his fortune being himself! Maybe something we could all try?

Accolades – March 27, 2024

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.

COM Students Win National IR Competition
A team of five UAMS medical students took home top honors in the finals of the Biodesign Competition at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) annual meeting in Salt Lake City on Saturday for their design of an innovative “AccessAnywhere” Catheterization Trainer. Prompted by the contest theme of “Telehealth in Interventional Radiology (IR),” the team interviewed interventional radiologists in the Little Rock area and Northwest Arkansas to learn about procedural training needs that could be addressed in part through telehealth technology.

The team learned that some of the most common IR procedures incorporate central and peripheral venous catheterization. Then they designed a device that combines an affordable and portable vascular model with computer-mediated sensing, recording and feedback capabilities to give IR fellows, residents and even medical students an opportunity to practice the fundamental skill of catheterization in a low-pressure environment before attempting it “for real” in the IR suite. Read more about the project on the Radiology website.

Congratulations to team members Andrew Mathews (M2), Aaron Rieth (M2), Mason Belue (M3), Milenko Petrovic (M2), and Josue Calderon (M1), and their faculty mentors from the Division of Interventional Radiology, Professors Dr. Mollie Meek and Dr. Bob Dixon. Way to go!

UAMS Well Represented at Geriatric Psychiatry Conference
UAMS was well represented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry in Atlanta. Third-year medical student Michael Ward delivered a podium presentation on “Navigating Ethical Complexities in Suicide Attempts in Older Adults,” which described a clinically and ethically complex case that was expertly handled by the Department of Psychiatry’s Consultation-Liaison Service. His mentors were Drs. Samidha Tripathi, Amy Grooms, Payton Lea and Psychiatry Chair Dr. Laura Dunn. PGY-4 Psychiatry resident Dr. Adam Burroughs delivered a podium presentation on driving-related issues in older adults with cognitive impairment. His talk focused on screening for risk factors, discussion of resources, and a review of driver laws to equip physicians for assessing and counseling elderly drivers. Dr. Dunn chaired a symposium titled “Becoming an Authentic, Resilient Leader: An Interactive Workshop to Enhance Your Abilities to Lead.”

Arkansas ACP Leadership
Department of Internal Medicine faculty members Dr. Meer Akbar Ali, Dr. Sheena CarlLee and Dr. Sri Obulareddy were recently elected to the Governor’s Advisory Council of the American College of Physicians (ACP) Arkansas Chapter. Dr. Akbar Ali is an Associate Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. CarlLee is an Assistant Professor and Program Director of the UAMS/Washington Regional Internal Medicine Residency Program in Northwest Arkansas. Dr. Obulareddy is an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Keyur Vyas, a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, is Governor of the ACP Arkansas Chapter. Kudos to all for their service to Arkansas as well as UAMS.

Brain & Behavior Top Score
Second-year medical student Haya Safar was honored by educational leaders recently for earning the top score in the M1 Brain and Behavior Module as a freshman last year. For her outstanding work in the foundational course, she received a plaque, monetary award and recognition on the Neuroscience Award plaque located on the south wall of the ground floor of the Education II building. I join with Brain and Behavior Module Co-Directors Dr. Shona Ray-Griffith, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, and Dr. Laura Stanley, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, in congratulating Haya!

Recent Faculty Appointments – March 2024

Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.

Department of Internal Medicine

Joseph DeLuca, M.D.

Joseph DeLuca, M.D., has joined the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, practicing in El Dorado. Dr. DeLuca earned his medical degree from Saint George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, in 2003. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Louisville Health Sciences. Dr. DeLuca has served as a hospitalist at South Arkansas Regional Hospital in El Dorado since 2014 and as its Assistant Medical Director for Inpatient Rehabilitation since 2022. He has held numerous other clinical leadership positions in El Dorado and Camden, Arkansas, since 2006.

Anuradha Kunthur, M.D.

Anuradha Kunthur, M.D., has rejoined the Department of Internal Medicine as an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. Dr. Kunthur received her medical degree from Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in Tirupathi, India, in 1997. She completed her internal medicine residency at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital Montefiore North Division in New York City in 2004. After completing a hematology/medical oncology fellowship at UAMS in 2011, she began serving as a staff physician at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System and Adjunct Assistant Professor at UAMS. She worked most recently at St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock.

Department of Pediatrics

Obeid Shafi, M.D.

Obeid Shafi, M.D., has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Section of Clinical Informatics. Dr. Shafi received his medical degree from Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh, India, and completed his pediatric training at Delhi University. He went on to complete a pediatric residency at New York Flushing Medical Center and Hospital in Queens, New York, and served as Chief Resident.

Dr. Shafi became interested in improving pediatric care by leveraging health information technology tools. His education and experiences led him to pursue a fellowship in clinical informatics at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where he now uses data and technology to improve health care delivery and quality for clinicians and patients. His work includes enhancing clinical decision support systems, optimizing electronic health record systems and exploring the potential of artificial intelligence in medicine. He is also committed to medical education, quality improvement and safety initiatives.

Accolades – March 20, 2024

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.

Match Day Heralds Next Chapter for Senior Class
The Class of 2024 learned where they will complete their residency training at the Match Day ceremony last Friday – and what a celebration it was! As a newcomer, it was wonderful to see the excitement and joy of our graduating seniors and the sea of family, friends and faculty who cheered them on as they opened their envelopes and announced their match locations. Nearly half of our students will be joining residency programs in Arkansas, while others matched to programs in 25 other states. About 48 percent will be training in primary care specialties. Here is a list of where are seniors are going. View a video of the ceremony here, and watch for a story on the UAMS website soon.

Meanwhile, congratulations to all. As I said on Friday, we are confident that the hard work you put in here over the past four years will make you an asset to the institution you are joining. We know you will do great things.

Pediatric Eye Research Prominence
Department of Ophthalmology faculty and their clinical colleagues at Arkansas Children’s are gaining national prominence for their work with the National Eye Institute-funded Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG). The team is the No. 1 investigator group in the country for an exotropia study under the leadership of Dr. Paula Grigorian, and among the top investigators for a retinopathy of prematurity study thanks to the efforts of Dr. Florin Grigorian. Both faculty members received awards for their work at the recent PEDIG meeting in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Paul Phillips, Ophthalmology Chair and Director of the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, is an elected member of the PEDIG executive committee.

Surgery Research Showcase
The IDW Education Building buzzed with intellectual energy during the third annual Surgery Research Symposium hosted by the Department of Surgery on March 12. Along with a keynote address from renowned trauma specialist Dr. Martin Schreiber, the event showcased cutting-edge research through 26 scientific posters. Awards were presented to Ph.D. student Khandoker Usran Ferdous for Best Overall Poster and surgical residents Dr. Hailey Hardgrave and Dr. Nicholas Callais for the Speaker’s Pick and Chair’s Pick, respectively. The symposium underscores the department’s commitment to enhancing patient care through research. Kudos to Surgery Chair Dr. Ron Robertson and the faculty, residents and organizers who made it a great success.

Alcohol Research Award Finalist
Dr. Mustafa Mithaiwala, a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Ashley Acheson’s Neurodevelopmental Risk and Resilience program in the Psychiatric Research Institute, has been selected as a finalist for an Enoch Gordis Research Recognition Award from the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA). The international research group presents the awards annually to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows working in the areas of biological, psychosocial and translational research. As a finalist in the prestigious competition, Dr. Mithaiwala will present his research in June at the RSA’s annual scientific meeting in Minneapolis, where the awards also will be presented. We’ll be rooting for you, Dr. Mithaiwala!

Paper Examines CCG Molecules
Dr. Pankaj Patyal, a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Geriatrics and Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, was first author on an article in Cells that sheds new light on the mechanisms of certain small molecules, CCG-203973 and CCG-232601, for potentially treating cancer. The article, “Inhibitors of Rho/MRTF/SRF Transcription Pathway Regulate Mitochondrial Function” was coauthored by faculty members Drs. Xiaomin Zhang, Gohar Azhar and Jeanne Wei (senior author) and post-doctoral fellow Dr. Ambika Verma.

Lectureship Brings Renowned Neurosurgeon to UAMS
The Department of Neurosurgery and Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute recently hosted a renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Jaques Morcos, for the M. Gazi and Dianne C.H. Yasargil Lectureship on Advances in Neuroscience. Dr. Morcos, President-Elect of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, discussed two types of cerebrovascular surgeries as “the inseparable twins.” He also praised Dr. Yasargil, a UAMS Emeritus Professor who has been hailed as the “Neurosurgeon of the Century” for his work between 1950 and 1999. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Thank You, Dr. Worley
Dr. Linda L.M. Worley, a Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology, has devoted her expertise to help patients, physicians and other colleagues, students and residents achieve better mental health and wellbeing. She retires at the end of this month after serving in many clinical and academic leadership roles and a career that has been driven, in Dr. Worley’s own words, by a determination to prevent and relieve suffering. Dr. Worley currently serves as Chief Wellness Officer for the College of Medicine, following five years as Associate Dean for Northwest Arkansas. Earlier roles included founding the now campus-wide student and faculty wellness programs, the Women’s Mental Health Consultation Service in the statewide Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines for Education and Learning System – and much more.

On behalf of our college, thank you, Dr. Worley, and best wishes for your well-earned retirement.

Accolades – March 6, 2024

Here’s to Great Beginnings
My first full week at UAMS is underway, and I am happy to continue the tradition of sharing recent honors and accomplishments of College of Medicine faculty, staff, students, residents and fellows with you. I already have noticed that many of the Accolades suggestions we receive reflect not only the excellent work being done across our mission areas, but also the collegiality of team members who take a moment to make sure we hear about someone who deserves a shout-out.

Speaking of which, I want to reiterate what I said in my “hello” message last Friday, Employee Appreciation Day, about being thankful to all of you for your important contributions to our work in Arkansas. I also want to express my gratitude to Dr. G. Richard Smith for his dedicated service as Interim Dean and for his invaluable, ongoing guidance as I continue to learn about our institution.

Let’s do great things together.

Next Freshman Class Takes Shape – Thanks to Many
The essential work to ensure that the strongest, most promising applicants are offered one of the 175 spots in the next freshman class culminated in the final meeting of the College of Medicine Admissions Committee on Feb. 16 and the completion of admissions notifications early last week. We greatly appreciate all of you who were integral to this effort, including the 156 faculty members and 43 senior medical students who volunteered to serve on interview teams this year. Kudos also to Tom South, Assistant Dean for Admissions, Dr. Jeanne McLachlin, Director of Admissions and Recruiting, and Tammy Henson-Platt for their hard work throughout the process.

Finally, very special thanks to the physicians on our faculty and from across the state who served on the Admissions Committee. Dr. Richard Turnage, Professor of Surgery and Vice Chancellor for UAMS Regional Campuses, assumed the role of Chair this year, his third on the committee. Two members completed their fourth and final year of service: Dr. Amy Cahill of White Hall and Dr. Alan Wilson of Monticello. The full committee is listed below.

Dr. Lee Archer
Dr. Amy Cahill
Dr. Rhonda Dick
Dr. Wesley Garner
Dr. Adam Johnson
Dr. Jonathan Laryea
Dr. Rebecca Latch
Dr. Matthew McNelley
Dr. Michele Moss
Dr. Sheldon Riklon
Dr. Analiz Rodriguez
Dr. Richard Turnage
Dr. Jordan Weaver
Dr. Richard P. Wheeler
Dr. Alan K. Wilson

Science Communication Fellowship
Congratulations to graduate student Carol Morris on being selected for the 2024 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Science Communication Training Fellowship. Carol, who works in the lab of Dr. Abdel Fouda, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, was one of only 10 researchers accepted this year in a highly competitive process open to students, postdocs and junior faculty members. Carol has received multiple national and UAMS honors for her research in stroke and retinal ischemic injury. The ARVO fellowship helps early-career researchers hone their science communication and advocacy skills and includes a visit to Washington, D.C., to engage with legislators.

Sleep Medicine Expertise
Sleep specialists across the state and their patients will benefit from the expertise of COM faculty members who are speaking at the Sleep Professionals of Arkansas Meeting later this week. Faculty presenters and panelists include Dr. Patrick Fraley and Dr. Jeffrey Kirsch, Associate Professors, and Dr. Gresham Richter, Professor and Vice Chairman of Pediatric Services, in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; and Dr. Praveen Nandamuru, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.

Race to the Finish
It may seem like a race to the finish line now for any senior medical student, but for Robert “Robbie” Kiss, the race was literal on Sunday. Robbie took first place in the Half Marathon event held as part of the Little Rock Marathon. The Fort Smith native beat 2,295 other finishers with a remarkable time of 1:15:29.5. Many other COM and UAMS students, residents and team members also participated in the Marathon events this year. Way to go, everyone, and congratulations, Robbie!

Recent Faculty Appointments – February 2024

Please join us in welcoming these recent additions to the College of Medicine faculty.

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Gannon B. Randolph, M.D.

Gannon Randolph, M.D., has joined the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as an Assistant Professor and spine surgeon at UAMS Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine in Northwest Arkansas. Dr. Randolph received his medical degree from Oregon Health Science University School of Medicine. He completed his orthopaedic residency at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center in Salt Lake City and continued his training with a fellowship in comprehensive spinal surgery at the University of California Los Angeles.

Dr. Randolph has practiced medicine in Northwest Arkansas for 15 years, previously working at Ozark Orthopaedics and serving as the Director of the Mercy Hospital spine program. He is an emeritus president of the Arkansas Orthopaedic Society. His special interests are complex cervical surgery, nerve pain, oncology, surgery to treat spinal degeneration and arthritis, minimally invasive spinal surgery, and peripheral neurological surgery. He will see patients at the UAMS Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Clinic in Lowell. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Department of Radiology

Naghmehossadat Eshghi, M.D., Ph.D.

Naghmehossadat Eshghi, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the Department of Radiology as an Assistant Professor in the Division Emergency Radiology providing overnight coverage. Dr. Eshghi received her medical degree from Heinrich-Heine University in Duesseldorf, Germany. She also holds a doctorate (Ph.D.) from the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Rheinisch-Westfaelische-Technische Hochschule (RWTH) University of Aachen in Germany.

Dr. Eshghi completed her radiology residency at Maria-Hilf Clinic in Mönchengladbach/Germany (teaching hospital at RWTH-University of Aachen). She continued her training with fellowships in nuclear medicine, PET/CT, neuroradiology and body MRI at the University of Arizona, Tucson. She is board certified in radiology and nuclear medicine.

Accolades – February 28, 2024

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.

Shaping Food Allergy Medications
The Arkansas Children’s Food Allergy Program, under the leadership of Dr. Stacie Jones, Professor of Pediatrics, has been a major contributor to advancing therapies for food allergy patients for almost 20 years. The field took a major step forward this month with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Xolair (omalizumab) as the first biologic treatment for multi-food allergy in patients ages 1-55. The medication can help reduce life-threatening allergic reactions from accidental exposure to one or more foods.

The Arkansas team, including Drs. Amy Scurlock, Safia Nawaz, Robbie Pesek and Tamara Perry, along with a host of committed team members, patients and families, contributed as one of 10 sites for the landmark OUtMATCH study, which was published Feb. 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Jones and colleagues have lent their expertise to the NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-funded Consortium for Food Allergy Research as an inaugural center since 2005. Well done.

Insights from UAMS in NEJM Catalyst
UAMS’ unique challenges as the state’s lone academic medical center (AMC) and the contributions of institutions like ours to states that only have a single AMC are the focus of a new article in the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst. Co-authors of the insightful article are Dr. Cam Patterson, UAMS Chancellor and CEO for UAMS Health; Dr. Stephanie Gardner, Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Provost and Chief Strategy Officer; and Dr. Kristie Hadden, Associate Professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics and UAMS Senior Strategy Associate. UAMS is one of 10 institutions across the country that serve as the lone AMC in their state. Drs. Hadden, Patterson and Gardner and colleagues also collaborated on an article about UAMS’ leadership in a novel rural hospital alliance, published this month in the Southern Medical Journal.

AAMC Educator Award Regional Honoree
Dr. Lauren Gibson-Oliver, Assistant Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine and Program Director of the UAMS Little Rock Family Medicine Residency Program, has been selected as the regional winner of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) M. Brownell Anderson Award. The award celebrates early-career medical educators who exemplify enthusiasm, commitment and creativity in medical education. Dr. Gibson-Oliver will be honored by the Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA) at its annual meeting in April. She and three other regional winners are under consideration for the national award to be presented later this year.

Reducing Preventable Trauma Mortality
The outstanding work done by the Arkansas Trauma System to save lives of severely injured Arkansans was reported in a recent article in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and presented at the 2023 Southern Surgical Association (SSA) meeting. UAMS coauthors included Department of Surgery faculty members Drs. Kyle Kalkwarf, Deidre Wyrick, Ben Davis and Department Chair Dr. Ron Robertson, along with Dr. Charles Mabry, Adjunct Associate Professor and surgeon at Jefferson Regional Medical Center, UAMS Trauma Program Manager Terry Collins, RN, and Dr. Austin Porter with the UAMS College of Public Health and Arkansas Department of Health. Dr. Mabry presented the study at the SSA meeting.

Otolaryngology Research Funding on the Move
A shout-out to Dr. Susan Emmett, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Epidemiology, on her ranking as the 10th highest National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded PI in the nation in otolaryngology and the second highest funded otologist, with $2.16 million in NIH funding for FY23 in the prestigious Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings. With this funding alone, the Department of Otolaryngology ranked 26^th in the country among otolaryngology departments, just behind the University of North Carolina and Duke University.

Coagulation Study Insights
Department of Surgery Division of Acute Care Surgery team members, led by senior author Dr. Joseph Margolick, recently had their work presented by second-year Surgery resident Dr. Maraya Camazine at the annual Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) Scientific Assembly. The presentation was titled “Standard ROTEM Protocols May Mask Underlying Coagulopathy in Hypothermic Trauma Patients.” Other contributors included Drs. Nolan Bruce, Avi Bhavaraju, Kyle Kalkwarf and Ginell Post, along with medical student Hudson Surber and UAMS biostatistician Scott Stewart. In addition, the premise of the work – that coagulation studies run at room temperature may not reflect current physiology – has been deemed worthy of an EAST multicenter trial that will start enrolling soon.

Neuroanesthesia Expertise
Department of Anesthesiology second-year (CA-1) resident Dr. Emily Breland, Associate Professor Dr. Priya Gupta and Dr. Indranil Chakraborty, Professor and Chief of the Division of Neuroanesthesiology, authored a peer-reviewed medically challenging case report that was published in the quarterly newsletter of the Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology and Critical Care (SNACC). Their article, “Functional Pituitary Macroadenoma: Anesthetic Considerations” reflects the world-class treatment of complex neurosurgical cases and associated neuroanesthesia care available at UAMS.

Welcoming Dr. Webber
Tomorrow marks my last day as Interim Dean, and Dr. Steven Webber begins serving as Dean and Executive Vice Chancellor on Friday. Dr. Webber is a highly regarded pediatrician, researcher and leader in academic medicine who is internationally known for his expertise in solid organ transplantation in children. He trained and has served at leading institutions in the U.K. and U.S., including the University of Pittsburgh and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he served as the James C. Overall Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Pediatrician-in-Chief of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital from 2012 until his recruitment to UAMS. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know Dr. Webber over the past several months and appreciate his collegiality and friendship. The College of Medicine has a bright future ahead under his leadership.

Thank You, Colleagues
Last but not least this week, I have one final accolade to share – for all of you. It has been an honor to work with you in this role for the past 14 months. Last year was challenging in many respects, but we enjoyed many successes as well. These wouldn’t have been possible without your contributions and your dedication to our college, our students and trainees, our patients, and all those we serve across our state.

Thank you.

Accolades – February 21, 2024

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.

Chair-Elect of the LCME
Dr. James Graham, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, has been elected by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) as its Chair-Elect. Dr. Graham’s one-year term as Chair-Elect will begin on July 1, and he will begin serving as Chair of the national accrediting body for M.D.-granting U.S. medical schools the following July. Dr. Graham was first elected to the LCME in 2020 as a nominee of the American Medical Association (AMA), after serving for about a decade as an LCME site survey team member for other medical schools during their accreditation and reaccreditation processes.

Dr. Graham’s election to this high-profile national leadership role reflects the high regard of his peers in the AMA and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the LCME’s joint sponsors. At UAMS, Dr. Graham has served as Executive Associate Dean since 2020, after 10 years as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education. A Professor of Pediatrics, he joined the faculty in 1991 and was Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine in 2005-2010. Early central leadership roles included Director of the Clinical Medicine I course (now called Practice of Medicine I) from 1999 to 2017.

Congratulations, Dr. Graham, and thank you for your service nationally and at UAMS.

Flagship for Adult Trauma Care
UAMS has received designation as an adult Level 1 Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) for another three years following a comprehensive on-site review in November that lauded UAMS as the “flagship trauma center” for the state. UAMS remains Arkansas’ only adult Level 1 Trauma Center, having first earned the verification from the ACS in 2017. Evaluators gave UAMS high marks in several areas and specifically noted the contributions of Dr. Kyle Kalkwarf, Associate Professor of Surgery and Trauma Medical Director, and Terry Collins, RN, Trauma Program Director. Kudos to them and the entire Trauma Team for their commitment to providing exceptional care for seriously injured trauma patients. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

National Honors for Pediatric Trauma Leaders
I am also delighted to share good news about two of our pediatric surgeons this week. Dr. Todd Maxson, a Professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, has been named President of the Pediatric Trauma Society. The society is the leading organization in the development of optimal treatment guidelines, education, research and advocacy for injured children. Arkansas Children’s is the state’s only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center.

Dr. Deidre Wyrick, Assistant Professor and Trauma Medical Director at Arkansas Children’s, has been selected as a Future Trauma Leader by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. Only a small number of promising young trauma surgeons receive the honor each year. The two-year program includes travel to national meetings, mentorship from national trauma leaders and other opportunities.

Students Serve as Anatomical Scholars
The College of Medicine’s Anatomical Scholars program will kick off its sixth year in the fall with six students who were recently selected from a competitive pool to serve as teaching assistants in the M1 Human Structure module. Congratulations to Little Rock current M2s Drew McFall, Jade-Michael Matthews, Dane Richey and Brittany Montgomery, and M3 Asher Parvu, and current M2 Fayetteville student Kelly Fowler. The students were selected for their academic record and narrative application, and for having strong potential for an anatomically oriented field within medicine. All six will participate in a research-focused journal club and receive $5,000 scholarships along with elective credits. In recent years, previous scholars have devised and conducted education-related research projects that resulted in published conference abstracts and poster presentations at national meetings.

Congratulations also to the six students who have been serving as Anatomical Scholars for the 2023-2024 academic year: Little Rock M3s Evan Hicks, John Lee, John Norys, Humam Shahare and Vanessa Vyas, and Fayetteville M4 Russell Garner. Their research projects have been accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for Anatomy. The studies span a wide range of topics, including the intersection of medical education and advances such as artificial intelligence and ChatGPT. Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences faculty members Dr. Tiffany Huitt and Dr. David Davies served as faculty mentors.

National Psychiatric Research Colloquium
Third-year Psychiatry resident Dr. Wesley White has been selected by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to participate in its 2024 Research Colloquium in New York City on May 5-6. Dr. White will participate and present his research in sessions focusing on alcohol, pain and substance-use research. The program provides a travel stipend and opportunities for networking with senior researchers. Dr. White’s research focuses on substance use in pregnancy, psychiatric causes of maternal mortality and the laws surrounding drug use in pregnancy. His mentor is Dr. Jessica Coker, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Director of the Women’s Inpatient Psychiatric Unit and Co-Director of the Women’s Mental Health Program.

Giving Matters
Finally this week, I want to highlight the extraordinary generosity of a longtime faculty member and leader, Dr. Michael Jennings, and Paula Jennings, M.A., who also has served UAMS in many volunteer and philanthropic leadership roles. The couple has supported our college in many ways, including the creation of a scholarship for medical students in 2018. Now, they have pledged $1 million to create an endowed chair in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, and $1 million in additional support for the endowed scholarship.

Dr. Jennings saw the power of endowments while serving as Chair of Physiology and Biophysics for 25 years, as an endowed chairholder himself, and as Executive Associate Dean for Research. He continues to help our college build philanthropic resources as a member of our Board of Advisors, in addition to teaching. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

Accolades – February 14, 2024

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.

MVPs Rock!
Congratulations to the five College of Medicine team members who were named Most Valuable Players (MVPs) for 2023. Nominated by colleagues, these individuals were selected as MVPs for their exemplary contributions to their respective programs and our college’s mission, and for simply making UAMS a better place to work. I had the great pleasure of meeting them all in individual presentation ceremonies throughout November and December. The winners were announced in our Spread Kindness newsletter last week, and we will share comments from their nominators in the upcoming February COMmunication newsletter. Meanwhile, for all they do, please join me in thanking our newest MVPs:

Dr. Mauricio Garcia
Associate Professor and Chief, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Dr. Diane Jarrett
Assistant Professor and Director, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Office of Communication and Departmental Relations

Rachel Kelley
Office Manager, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology and Oncology, CORE

Angela Kyzer
Program Manager, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Research and Evaluation Division

Ashley Wilson
Physician Assistant, Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Heart Surgery

Serving Across Mission Areas
A shout-out to Dr. Tuhin Virmani, Associate Professor of Neurology, for his contributions across our missions of clinical care, research and education. Dr. Virmani is a superb physician-scientist, and he has a passion for teaching and mentoring medical students, residents and fellows in Neurology and other specialties, along with physician assistant students and other young scientists. Likewise, his educational work with patients, caregivers and the community as Director of the Neurodegenerative Disorders Program has helped UAMS to garner national recognitions of excellence for our clinical services in Parkinson’s and related disorders and Huntington’s disease. Dr. Virmani has held numerous educational roles in the department and most recently was named Vice Chair for Education.

International Digital Health Forum
Dr. Spyridoula Maraka, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Program Director of the Endocrinology Fellowship, will be an invited speaker for a forum on digital health at the University of Oxford in the U.K. this Friday. Dr. Maraka was selected for the panel because of her insights as a member of the Endocrine Society panel that wrote a Policy Perspective for the appropriate use of telehealth in endocrinology. In her presentation, she will discuss the effective use of telehealth in the field, including the potential for enhancing access and flexibility in endocrine care for some patients. Dr. Maraka is also internationally known for her expertise in thyroid disease.

Family Medicine Teaching Talks
Dr. Rajalakshmi Cheerla, Associate Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine, Clerkship Site Director and Family Medicine Residency Clinic Medical Director at the Baptist-UAMS Medical Education Program, delivered multiple presentations at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Conference on Medical Student Education in Atlanta last week. Dr. Cheerla was the lead presenter for a session on conducting an innovative preventive care workshop in clerkship education and for a roundtable discussion on effective clinical teaching in the patient’s presence. She was a co-presenter for a session on designing fourth-year electives in sports medicine.

UAMS Hosts Dermatology Conference
The Department of Dermatology welcomed residents, medical students and faculty from four other schools in the region as the host of the Southern Dermatology Consortium Annual Research Day on the weekend of Feb. 2-3. UAMS residents Dr. Josh Hekmatjah and Dr. Hera Wu presented talks, and Dr. Hekmatjah won first place for his talk, “Allergenicity of 100 popular over-the-counter acne treatments.” UAMS visiting research fellow Caitlyn Dagenet (a medical student at the University of Arizona) and UAMS medical student Jordan Pilkington received first and second place, respectively, for medical student poster presentations. UAMS medical students Mary Phillips, Phoebe Bruffett, Hannah Wu, Mia Alshami and Kayla Perry also presented posters.

EyeWiki Honoree
Third-year Ophthalmology resident Dr. Abdel Elhusseiny has won a prestigious contest sponsored by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) for the second consecutive year. Dr. Elhusseiny was one of only four residents and fellows across the country selected as winners of the AAO’s EyeWiki challenge, which recognizes outstanding articles submitted to EyeWiki, an online reference. Dr. Elhusseiny won the challenge for the article “Biosimilars in Ophthalmology.” UAMS co-authors included Professor Dr. Sami Uwaydat and medical student Ramsey Ghaleb. Dr. Elhusseiny will be honored at the AAO Mid-Year Forum in April.

Thoracic Surgery Advocacy
Dr. Matthew Steliga, a Professor in the Division of Thoracic Surgery, and General Surgery residents Dr. Seana Corbin and Dr. Lauren Johnson recently traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Leadership and Advocacy Program. The UAMS team met with members of the Arkansas delegation including Sen. John Boozman, Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. French Hill as well as with STS leadership, to discuss workforce shortage issues and an initiative to expand coverage for lung cancer screening. Here’s a photo of their visit with Sen. Boozman.