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!

Genetics Research Excellence
Congratulations to Drs. Reine Protacio, Tresor Mukiza, Mari Davidson and Wayne Wahls in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The significance of their recent Genetics paper on the plasticity of meiotic recombination – a component of evolution of species – was just highlighted in the prestigious journal Nature Reviews Genetics. Their work was featured with top billing on the home page of the journal and will appear in the August print issue. The discoveries were also the topic of an invited perspective article in Frontiers in Genetics. Department Chair Dr. Kevin Raney notes that this is the tenth time that a scientific publication from Dr. Wahls’ laboratory has been discussed in a commentary, editorial, highlight or editors’ choice of top papers published during the year. As Dr. Raney said, this remarkable achievement “reflects the sustained high quality of fundamental, basic science research conducted by a group of talented UAMS scientists.” Read more here. Well done!

International Leadership in ENT
Dr. Susan Emmett, Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Director of the UAMS Center for Hearing Health Equity, delivered the keynote lecture at the recent virtual AG Bell Global Listening and Spoken Language Symposium. Attendees from over 50 countries listened to her talk, “The Road to Hearing Health Equity.” Her work also was highlighted at the World Health Organization launch of the WHO-International Telecommunications Union Global Standards for Accessibility of Telehealth Services in June. She was an invited speaker and the only academic researcher featured alongside international leaders in government and industry.    

Congratulations also to Professor Dr. Gresham Richter on being voted President-Elect of the American Broncho-Esophological Association, and on the publication of his latest paper, “Characterizing Pediatric Bilateral Vocal Fold Dysfunction: Analysis with the Pediatric Health Information System Database,” in The Laryngoscope.

The Nonfatal Injury Burden of Mass Shootings
For every death in civilian public mass shootings across the nation, another 5.8 individuals are injured. Assistant Professor Dr. Amanda Young and Associate Professor Dr. Carly Eastin in the Department of Emergency Medicine are coauthors on an important multicenter study, recently published in JAMA Network Open, into the burden of non-fatal injuries in mass shootings. The study documented the substantial morbidity associated with mass shootings, including injury characteristics, outcomes and impacts on health care services. The results reveal the importance of including data on nonfatal injuries to inform public policy and help prevent and reduce the harm caused by mass shooting events.

COVID-19 & Heart Failure
Congratulations to Dr. Husam Salah, Chief Resident in the Division of General Internal Medicine, on the publication of his paper in Nature Communications on the increased risk of heart failure among individuals previously hospitalized for COVID-19. Dr. Salah was first author on “Post-recovery COVID-19 and incident heart failure in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) study.” The work also was noted in a news article on COVID-19 in the state in today’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

National Pathology Leadership
Dr. Susanne Jeffus, Associate Professor of Pathology, has been elected to serve on the Council of the Program Directors Section of the national Association of Pathology chairs. The section provides a forum for the exchange of information and ideas and makes recommendations on governing content and management of pathology residency training programs. Dr. Jeffus served as Associate Program Director at UAMS from 2014-2019 and has been the Residency Program Director since then. Under her leadership, 100% of residents have given the program a positive evaluation on the ACGME survey for two consecutive years.

Using AI to Predict the Need for Brain Surgery

A shout-out to Assistant Professor Dr. Viktoras Palys‘ research group in the Department of Neurosurgery for their publication in Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery. Their article, with intern Dr. Thomas Harkey as first author and additional residents and students as coauthors, represents three years of neuroimaging data collection and exploration of automated volumetry software for the brain and skull. Dr. Palys’ team is striving to reduce the barrier to entry for research and clinical groups, including neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists, to incorporate these artificial intelligence tools into clinical workflow. A future extension of the group’s research is to utilize AI to prognosticate the utility of decompressive craniectomy in ischemic strokes with large vessel occlusion. In their efforts to improve outcomes in the Stroke Belt, these physicians have been awarded two grants from the Fund to Cure Stroke Grant at UAMS. 

Promising AI Scholar
Catherine “Cat” Shoults, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Informatics, already has drawn international attention for her promising work in artificial intelligence. She recently was accepted into the Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden) Institute for Artificial Intelligence Summer Scholar Program. We were saddened when the prestigious program was canceled for this year due to illness of a key organizer – but Cat nonetheless deserves a shout-out. Professor Dr. Jonathan Bona, who teaches information modeling at UAMS and is a previous TU Dresden Scholar, facilitated the opportunity, along with the College of Medicine Artificial Intelligence Creativity Hub led by Distinguished Professor and Biomedical Informatics Chair Dr. Fred Prior. At UAMS, Ms. Shoults is part of the Biomedical Ontologies Arkansas group chaired by Dr. Bona and Dr. Mathias Brochhausen, Professor and Vice Chair for Academic Programs. Her dissertation work focuses on data mining adverse events in Reddit to complement FDA drug safety reporting.

Highly Cited Work
A 2019 paper by Dr. Giulia Baldini, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Dr. Kevin Phelan, Professor of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, continues to provide obesity researchers with important insights and context. Their review article, “The melanocortin pathway and control of appetite-progress and therapeutic  implications,” was one of the most highly cited articles in the Journal of Endocrinology in 2021 and is now being showcased in the journal’s Impact Factor Collection. Congratulations, Dr. Baldini and Dr. Phelan!

Residency Celebrations & Honors
A few weeks ago, I noted that celebration was in the air across the College of Medicine as our departments and residency and fellowship programs honored graduating housestaff and outstanding educators. I am pleased to share some of the lists of honorees we have received. Congratulations to the exemplary graduates and faculty in Emergency Medicine, Family and Preventive Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Orthopaedic Surgery and Pathology!

I look forward to highlighting additional year-end celebrations and awards in upcoming Accolades. Program Directors and Coordinators can share information about ceremonies and honorees using this template and sending it to COMInternalCommunications@uams.edu.

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!

Residency Celebrations & Honors
June is a time for celebration across the College of Medicine and UAMS as our residency and fellowship programs honor exemplary graduating housestaff and the outstanding educators who made a difference during their training. I want to take a moment to congratulate the 189 housestaff who are graduating from College of Medicine programs this month. Congratulations as well to the 50-some Family Medicine residents and Sports Medicine fellows graduating at the UAMS Regional Centers.

This year also marks the graduation of the inaugural classes of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residents in the Baptist Health-UAMS Medical Education Program. Special thanks to Dr. Julea Garner, Program Director for the Family Medicine Residency, Dr. Paula Podrazik, Program Director for the Internal Medicine program, their faculty and staff team members, and Dr. Stan Kellar, Melissa Yandell and all of our partners at Baptist Health.

Finally, I invite our Program Directors and Coordinators to share information about your graduation celebrations and program honorees, so we can highlight them in Accolades. Here is a template you can use to tell us about your graduation ceremonies and awards. Please send your report to COMInternalCommunications@uams.edu. We will share the reports we receive in upcoming editions of Accolades.

Surgical Safety Education Accreditation
Congratulations to Dr. Karen Dickinson, Assistant Professor and Director of Interprofessional Simulation and Clinical Skills Training in the Department of Surgery, and her team on achieving accreditation for UAMS as a Focused Education Institute by the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The program evaluates and ensures the highest standards for simulation-based surgical education and training to promote patient safety. As an accredited institute, UAMS will join other top surgical programs and multidisciplinary professionals around the country in a safety-focused educational consortium. Under Dr. Dickinson’s leadership, UAMS recently had an outstanding site visit by the ACS Accredited Education Institutes team. Well done!

Shark Tank Winner
Congratulations to Dr. Gary Lewis, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology, on his winning innovation pitch in the “Shark Tank” competition during the recent American Brachytherapy Society annual meeting. Dr. Lewis’ proposal would use virtual reality to improve the patient experience during gynecologic brachytherapy. For patients with advanced cervical cancer, the brachytherapy treatment may be essential, but it can cause significant anxiety and discomfort. During the competition, Dr. Lewis explained how virtual reality technology could be used to soothe patients and reduce the need for potentially addictive opioid pain medication. The Shark Tank competition highlighted ideas for transforming the practice of brachytherapy by the year 2030. Great job, Dr. Lewis!

Radiation Oncology National Honor
Dr. Fen Xia, Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, has been selected to receive the prestigious Fellow designation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (FASTRO). The honor recognizes Dr. Xia’s service to ASTRO and contributions to the field of radiation oncology. Dr. Xia, who was recruited to UAMS in 2016, is an internationally known physician-scientist specializing in treatment of central nervous system tumors. Her research focuses on DNA damage response and repair and the impact of these processes on genomic stability, aging, carcinogenesis, tumor response and normal tissue injury in cancer treatment. Dr. Xia will be recognized at a convocation ceremony during ASTRO’s annual meeting in October.   

“Girlology” Empowers Arkansas Girls
A shout-out to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which recently held the first “Girlology” seminar in Central Arkansas and is gearing up for a second session. The physician-led program provides puberty education for girls ages 8-14, with the goal of providing young girls and their parents/caregivers a medically accurate educational experience to empower them to make good health choices. OB/GYN Chair Dr. Nirvana Manning, Dr. Laura Hollenbach, Associate Professor and Director of Pediatrics/Adolescent Gynecology, and Assistant Professor Dr. Kathryn Stambough conducted the well-attended and very well-received seminar. Based on the national Girlology program, the UAMS initiative is funded in part by a Chancellor’s Circle Grant. The next large-group Girlology event will be held at UAMS on August 7. Learn more and register here. 

Summer Lecture Tour
Dr. David Ussery, Professor of Biomedical Informatics, has had a busy summer so far with activities including a series of lectures on genomic epidemiology. On Monday, he gave a talk for Arkansas high school students as part of the Summer Health Professions Education Camp held at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia. Yesterday, he led a virtual round table discussion for a biodefense meeting in Washington, D.C. The discussion focused on using single-molecule sequencing for pathogens in wastewater to detect viral outbreaks, including monitoring for polio and monkeypox, both of which have been in the news recently. Today, he is giving a plenary talk at the biodefense meeting on what can be learned from more than 11 million COVID-19 genome sequences. Dr. Ussery also gave an introductory talk on genomic epidemiology at the recent Arkansas Summer Research Institute.

State Lab Accredited
Dr. Theodore Brown, Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of Autopsy at UAMS, also serves as Chief Medical Examiner for the state of Arkansas. Under his leadership, the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory has attained full accreditation by the National Association of Medical Examiners. The rigorous accreditation process ensures the highest caliber of medicolegal death investigations for our state. This accomplishment and Dr. Brown’s leadership role is yet another example of the ways our faculty serve Arkansans beyond the core areas of education, research and clinical care. Kudos, Dr. Brown.

Great Job, Geriatrics Fellows
Graduating Geriatrics fellows Drs. Bader Alkharisi, Anil Anandam, Sakiru Isa and Onna Lau presented well-received posters at the recent American Geriatrics Society meeting. The project titles were: “From tardive dyskinesia to Parkinsonism: an avoidable journey;” “The importance of dopamine deficiency evaluation in Alzheimer disease related dementias;” and “When treatment of hypertension becomes burdensome.” The fellows also presented a grand rounds on their quality improvement project, “Delirium Knowledge in Patients and Caregivers in a Geriatric Clinic,” which was mentored by Dr. Gohar Azhar. They were mentored for their abstracts and other Geriatrics grand rounds over the year by Dr. Jeanne Wei, Dr. Azhar, Amanda Pangle and Fellowship Program Director Dr. Priya Mendiratta, with assistance from Program Coordinator Joni Pharis. The fellows also contributed several novel innovations for the program during the year. Geriatrics faculty Dr. Kalpana Padala and Dr. Danish Hasan also presented at the AGS meeting.

Top Downloaded Paper
An article by Dr. Teresita Bellido, Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, and Dr. Jesús Delgado-Calle, Assistant Professor, was recently recognized as one of the 10 most downloaded articles in JBMR-Plus, a journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. The article, “Ex Vivo Organ Cultures as Models to Study Bone Biology,” describes the protocols optimized in their laboratories to establish bone organ cultures that enable the study of bone cells in their natural 3D environment. Dr. Bellido and Dr. Delgado-Calle also presented examples of how this technical approach can be used to study osteocyte biology, drug responses in bone, cancer-induced bone disease, and cross-talk between bone and other organs.

National Podcast
Dr. Jason Mizell, Professor of Surgery and Director of the nationally recognized Business of Medicine course, was featured this week in two episodes of the “Behind the Knife” podcast. The series is the premier podcast for comprehensive surgical education for health care providers and learners in all stages of their career. Dr. Mizell discussed financial principles for surgeons in the episodes – the 10^th podcast featuring Dr. Mizell and the innovative course he established at UAMS eight years ago. Congratulations!

Accolades will be on hiatus for the next couple of weeks, returning July 20. Meanwhile, I hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth of July holiday!

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!

Study Published in NEJM
Congratulations to Dr. Jeannette Lee, Professor of Biostatistics, and colleagues on the publication of results of the groundbreaking ANCHOR study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Lee was the lead statistician and the Department of Biostatistics was the statistical center for the multi-center phase 3 clinical trial focusing on anal cancer prevention in persons with HIV. The study, led by Dr. Joel Palefsky at the University of California San Francisco, showed that treatment of precancerous lesions reduced the progression to anal cancer. The success rate of the therapy was so high that the trial was halted early. Read more about the study in this June 15 news release from the National Cancer Institute and about Dr. Lee and her team’s role in this UAMS story from last November.

Improving Access to Hearing Care
A landmark study led by Dr. Susan Emmett, Associate Professor, and Dr. Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Assistant Professor, of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, shows the power of telemedicine for increasing access to hearing care for rural children. The study was published June 15 in The Lancet Global Health. Dr. Emmett and Dr. Robler are Director and Associate Director, respectively, of the new UAMS Center for Hearing Health Equity. The randomized controlled trial was conducted in 15 rural Alaskan communities with funding support from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). As Dr. Emmett explains in this UAMS news story, the study has important implications for addressing disparities relating to hearing and other preventable health conditions in rural states such as Arkansas. Excellent work!

Preparing Seniors for Residency
A shout-out to Dr. Karina Clemmons, Assistant Dean for Medical Education, for her innovative work to enhance the Residency Preparation course for seniors. Dr. Clemmons, an Associate Professor of Medical Humanities and Bioethics, developed the course improvements as a participant in the prestigious Harvard Macy Institute for Educators in Health Professions this past year. One of the creative additions to the revamped course is a series of podcasts with faculty and residents discussing topics such as how to prepare for residency interviews, evidence-based education, and communication and leadership skills. The course, co-directed by Dr. Nicholas Gowen, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, continues to feature mock residency interviews and clinical skills simulations to help graduating seniors transition to residency.

Spina Bifida Advocacy
The Spinal Cord Disorders Multidisciplinary Team is doing excellent work in Arkansas, nationally and internationally on behalf of patients with Spina Bifida. Dr. Eylem Öcal, Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, attended the recent 75^th World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) and side events in Geneva, Switzerland, as a member of the Global Alliance for Prevention of Spina Bifida. After the conference, she met with Turkey’s Deputy Minister of Health to discuss the importance of prenatal care and folic acid fortification in staple foods to prevent Spina Bifida and other birth defects. Meanwhile, team coordinators Becky Watkins-Bregy, RN, and Allison Curtis, RN, attended the Spina Bifida Association Clinical Care Meeting in Boston and accepted recognition of Arkansas Children’s as an official clinical partner. They represented ACH and the team’s Medical Director, Dr. Laura Hobart-Porter, Associate Professor of Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, who was unable to attend. Kudos to all for their outstanding work.

Academic Senate Service
Congratulations to the College of Medicine faculty who have been elected to the UAMS Academic Senate, and kudos to those who are continuing or have just completed terms. Dr. Tiffany Huitt, Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, has been re-elected to the leadership and will serve as President-Elect starting July 1. She is currently serving as Past-President in the three-year leadership cycle and is also a past representative of the College of Health Professions. Dr. Brad Martin of the College of Pharmacy will serve as President starting July 1.The new College of Medicine representatives to the Academic Senate are Dr. Steve Cherney, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Ronald Sanders Jr., Professor of Pediatrics/Critical Care, and Dr. Ben Stronach, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, who will serve two-year terms.

Dr. Priya Mendiratta, Professor of Geriatrics, will serve as Past-President in 2022-2023. A two-term COM representative, she stepped in to serve as President a year early and worked closely with former Dean Dr. Chris Westfall on a number of issues during the pandemic. Dr. David Ussery, Professor of Biomedical Informatics, will continue to serve as a Member-at-Large for the upcoming year. Dr. Richard Turnage, Professor of Surgery and Vice Chancellor for Regional Programs, completed his term as a COM representative.

Mediating Bone Loss
Dr. Stavros Manolagas, Distinguished Professor in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and colleagues in the Center for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases and the departments of Internal Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery and Biomedical Informatics collaborated on a newly published study in Scientific Reports. Former postdoctoral fellow Dr. Filipa Ponte was first author and Dr. Manolagas served as senior author on “Mmp13 deletion in mesenchymal cells increases bone mass and may attenuate the cortical bone loss caused by estrogen deficiency.” Other contributors were Drs. Ha-Neui Kim, Srividhya Iyer, Li Han, Erin Mannen, Horacio Gomez-Acevedo, Intawat Nookaew and Maria Almeida, and Aaron Warren.

Championing Biostatistics
The Department of Biostatistics and the Central Arkansas Chapter of the American Statistical Association (ASA) were highlighted in the ASA’s Summer 2022 Chapter Chatter newsletter for their participation in the Central Arkansas Regional Science and Engineering Fair this spring. Dr. Ruofei Du, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, organized the activity and penned the article for the newsletter. The Central Arkansas Chapter sponsored awards for exceptional application of statistical and data science techniques for analyzing, tabulating and/or visualizing data. Kudos to the Biostatistics team and the many faculty members across the college and UAMS who take the time to engage young Arkansans in research and STEM activities!

Red Sash & Gold Sash Honorees
Finally this week, congratulations to this year’s Red Sash and Gold Sash recipients. Red Sash honorees were recognized by members of the Class of 2022 for outstanding teaching during their four years of medical school. Gold Sash recipients received the highest number of votes by members of all four classes for their excellent teaching. Throughout my first year at UAMS, I have been amazed by the dedication of our faculty to our educational mission. It is an honor to serve alongside such skilled and passionate educators.  

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!

Nationally Recognized Pediatric Excellence
Congratulations to Arkansas Children’s on being ranked in seven national specialties in the just-released 2022-2023 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings from U.S. News & World Report – the most ever. This incredible accomplishment is the result of exemplary leadership and the dedication and teamwork of everyone involved. Below are the specialties that ranked along with the division/section chiefs for those areas. Kudos to these leaders and teams.

Cancer #42 – Ranked for the 1st time in Arkansas Children’s history!—Dr. David Becton and the Peds Hematology/Oncology team

Cardiology and Heart Surgery #44 – Improved from #50 in 2020!—Dr. Paul Seib, Dr. Brian Reemtsen and the Peds Cardiology/CV team

Diabetes and Endocrinology #29 – Ranked for the 1st time in Arkansas Children’s history!—Dr. Jon Oden and the Peds Diabetes and Endocrine team

Nephrology #34 – Improved from #50 in 2020!—Dr. Richard Blaszak and the Peds Nephrology/Dialysis team

Neurology and Neurosurgery #48 – Ranked again for the first time since 2019! —Dr. Fred Perkins, Dr. Greg Albert and the Peds Neuroscience team

Pulmonology and Lung Surgery #24 – Highest ranked service in Arkansas Children’s history!—Dr. John Carroll and the Peds Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine team

Urology #40 – Improved from #47 in 2020!—Dr. Stephen Canon and Peds Urology team

Many teams and specialties in addition to those above helped to make this happen, and we are grateful to all. Way to go to our UAMS colleagues and Arkansas Children’s!

Ensuring Safe Schools
Dr. Laura Dunn, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Director of the Psychiatric Research Institute, has been appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to the newly reinstated Arkansas School Safety Commission. In the wake of the May 24 mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas and other gun violence, Gov. Hutchinson on Friday issued an executive order convening and appointing new members to the commission, which initially studied school safety in 2018 and issued 30 recommendations. Dr. Dunn is lending her expertise in mental health as the group reviews and expands on those findings. The panel is chaired by Dr. Cheryl May, Director of the University of Arkansas System Criminal Justice Institute, and includes representatives from state government, schools, law enforcement and mental health care. Thank you, Dr. Dunn, for serving in this crucial role.

Speed Date with Research
A shout-out to Arkansas INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) and researchers from several departments in the College of Medicine and College of Public Health for doing a great job at a “Speed Date” style workshop for Arkansas college students focusing on obesity and diabetes research. The workshop, which drew raves from participating students, was organized by Dr. Thomas Kelly, INBRE’s primary undergraduate institution liaison, Professor of Pathology and Associate Director for Cancer Research Training and Education in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. INBRE is directed by Dr. Lawrence Cornett, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology. Other presenters included Drs. Elisabet Borsheim, Dinesh Edem, Eva Diaz Fuentes, Joseph Henske, Lee Ann MacMillan-Crowe, Tiffany Miles, Emir Tas, Michael Thomsen and Jerry Ware. Read more in the UAMS Newsroom.

AGEC Junior Faculty Fellows
Congratulations to the newly announced Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC) Junior Faculty Development awardees, including the College of Medicine’s Dr. Lee Isaac. Dr. Isaac is currently a postdoctoral fellow in clinical neuropsychology at UAMS specializing in geriatric neuropsychology. He will join the Department of Psychiatry as an Assistant Professor in August and will start his year-long AGEC fellowship in January. Congratulations also to the College of Health Professions’ Dr. Caitlin Price, who will start her AGEC fellowship next month. Read more about the awardees here.

Inspiring Innovation
Biomedical Engineering students at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville spend time in medical settings to identify vexing challenges and devise technological solutions. A team working with Dr. Astryd A. Menendez, a Professor of Pediatrics and pediatric pulmonologist at Arkansas Children’s Northwest, developed a concept and prototype for a pediatric spirometry training device that is progressing toward potential commercial development with support from a National Science Foundation National Innovation Corps award. Taylor Farnan, who has since graduated from the U of A, initiated the project and was joined later by Lina Patel (now an incoming UAMS nursing student) and Nathan Lucas, who also were students of U of A Associate Professor Dr. Morten Olgaard Jensen. Dr. Hanna Jensen, Assistant Professor of Surgery and Radiology at UAMS, made the initial connections with Dr. Menendez. Well done!

Quality Management Expertise
Kerri Hill, RN, OCN, Quality Management Director for the Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Program in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, has been selected to provide an educational course for the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). Ms. Hill will share her expertise in quality management for transplant programs across the nation and beyond. Her selection by FACT, the leading organization for transplant quality accreditation, demonstrates what she brings to our team, and the quality of our Stem Cell team more broadly. I join with Dr. Muthu Veeraputhiran, Director of the Hematology Section and Clinical Program Director of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, in extending congratulations.

Grateful for Great Residents
Dr. Manisha Singh, Associate Professor in the Division of Nephrology and Director of the Home Dialysis Program, recently wrote to Dr. Mollie Meek, Program Director for the Interventional Radiology Integrated Residency, and Dr. Roopa Ram, Program Director for the Diagnostic Radiology Residency, to congratulate them on graduating outstanding residents. Dr. Singh was grateful in particular for the expert and compassionate care provided in a recent challenging case by Dr. Scott Fleck, who graduated this month after serving as the 2021-2022 Chief Resident. Dr. Fleck went the extra mile with a patient with end-stage renal disease. In addition to expertly handling a difficult procedure, Dr. Fleck helped to assure and calm the anxious patient. “It is heartwarming to see such care,” Dr. Singh wrote. Kudos to Dr. Fleck, and to Dr. Meek, Dr. Ram and the entire Radiology Residency team.

Creative Writing Awards
Finally this week, congratulations to this year’s winners of the Drs. Paulette and Jay Mehta Awards in Creative Writing. The award for poetry went to medical student Samuel Byrd. The fiction category recipient was Dr. Stephen Nix, Assistant Professor of Pathology. The award for creative nonfiction went to graduating Emergency Medicine resident Dr. Elizabeth Hanson. Read more about the second annual awards ceremony and the Mehtas’ ongoing dedication to the arts and literature here. As Dr. Stephanie Gardner, UAMS Provost and Chief Strategy Officer, said at the ceremony, “These awards speak to the Mehtas’ belief in the ability of creativity and the arts to nourish our spirit, to cultivate lifelong learning and to guide us to becoming better health care providers.”

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!

Team Teaching
A shout-out to the Department of Internal Medicine and team members from across UAMS Health for their contributions to the System Based Practice Elective, a two-week course designed to teach Internal Medicine residents about navigating the complex landscape of the health care industry. Sixteen UAMS employees were honored at a recent luncheon for their commitment and dedication to the program. They included course instructors Julie Atkins, Catherine Corless, Ann Creel, Carla Elmore, Dr. Bhawna Jha, Ben Muse, Matthew Osburn, Lori Salisbury, Troy Schmit, Melissa Slater, Candy Snellgrove, Alison Stangeby, Dr. Carol Thrush, Monica Watson, Kari White, and course administrator Sheryl Young. Special thanks also to Dr. Ahmed Abuabdou, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Associate Chief Medical Officer, for his leadership of the initiative. Read more here.

Health Disparities Scholar
Congratulations to Dr. Akilah Jefferson-Shah, Assistant Professor in the Allergy and Immunology Section of the Department of Pediatrics, on being named a 2022 Health Disparities Research Institute Scholar by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). Dr. Jefferson-Shah was selected for the highly competitive program based on her past accomplishments and for showing great potential as a health disparities researcher. In August, she and other scholars will participate in lectures, seminars, interactive sessions and small group discussions with leading scientists and NIH staff to gain a broad overview of key issues in minority health and health disparities research and enhance grantsmanship. They will also attend a NIMHD Mock Review.

Equity in Obstetric & Gynecological Anesthesia
The June issue of Current Opinion in Anesthesiology is an insightful collection of review articles focusing on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in obstetric and gynecological anesthesia thanks to Anesthesiology Chair Dr. Jill Mhyre, who served as editor, and several UAMS faculty and residents. In addition to Dr. Mhyre’s editorial, the issue includes three articles co-authored by UAMS colleagues on issues relating to disparities in access to gynecologic care, under-treatment of pain, and workforce solutions for addressing disparities. UAMS contributors include Obstetrics and Gynecology residents Dr. Ann Marie Mercier and Dr. Stormie Carter and OB/GYN Chair Dr. Nirvana Manning; Dr. Jaleesa Jackson, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology/Pain Medicine; and Dr. Johnathan Goree, Chief of the Division of Pain Medicine and incoming UAMS Medical Center Chief of Staff.

Telehealth Award
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has awarded a Telehealth Equity Catalyst (TEC) award to the Institute for Digital Health & Innovation for the Arkansas Telemedicine Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program (TeleSANE), noting that it “stood out as a prime example of effective efforts to advance health care equity and telehealth.” The $15,000 pilot award, one of only three awarded nationwide, will be used to expand the program’s activities and bolster its sustainability. TeleSANE was launched in May 2021 to increase certified nursing access in emergency departments across Arkansas for adult and adolescent victims of sexual assault. The program is one of four U.S. Department of Justice-funded sites harnessing telehealth to improve sexual assault medical-forensic exams through trauma-informed, patient centered care. Well done.

National Spotlight
Dr. Gwen Childs, Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, was an invited speaker at two national meetings in May. She was a panelist and spoke on the topic of faculty evaluations and improving performance at the meeting of the Association of Medical School Neuroscience Department Chairs. At the American Society of Andrology meeting, she gave a talk on leptin signaling in male reproduction as part of a symposium on metabolism and male reproductive health. We also just learned that a review article by Dr. Childs on the importance of leptin to reproduction was among the top 10% of cited articles published in Endocrinology in 2020-2021. Coauthors were Dr. Angela Odle, Dr. Melanie MacNicol and Dr. Angus MacNicol. Congratulations!

AHA Committee Leadership
Dr. Steven Post, Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pathology, will continue to lend his expertise as Co-Chair of the American Heart Association’s Peer Review Committee for Established Investigator Awards. Dr. Post, who received the award himself many years ago, has served on the committee since 2012 and has co-chaired it since 2019. At UAMS, his roles include Associate Director of Shared Resources and leader of the Cancer Biology Program in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Director of the UAMS Tissue Biorepository and Procurement Service, and Director of the Experimental Pathology Research Core.

National Radiation Oncology Recognition
Congratulations to Dr. Ganesh Narayanasamy, Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, on receiving the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) Educator of the Year Award. Dr. Narayanasamy was nominated by UAMS Radiation Oncology residents for his outstanding teaching and mentorship.

Elite Reviewer
Dr. R. Dale Blasier, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, has been designated as Elite Reviewer for the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, one of the leading scientific publications in the field of orthopaedic surgery. In addition to reviewing multiple manuscripts, he earned the honor for achieving review ratings in the top 1-2 percentile and other factors. Fewer than 3% of the journal’s reviewers have achieved Elite Reviewer Status. Congratulations.

Poster Presenters
A shout-out to 2022 College of Medicine graduate Dr. Win Lubana and incoming PGY1 Pediatrics resident Dr. Amy Eisenberg, along with Dr. Laura Hobart-Porter, Associate Professor of Developmental Pediatrics and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, on their poster presentation at the recent national meeting of the Academic Association of Physiatrists. Their research was titled “Late effects of COVID in pediatric patients: one institution’s experience.”

Thank You, Dr. Schulz
Finally this week, I want to take a moment to thank Dr. Thomas Schulz for his many contributions to our educational efforts in Northwest Arkansas as he wraps up his time with UAMS. He has been recruited to Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, where he will serve in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and will be closer to his family. Since joining our faculty in 2015, Dr. Schulz has done an excellent job as the inaugural Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus. In partnership with the VA and Mercy hospitals, the program has grown from 24 positions to 33 and is graduating its fourth class of very well trained physicians later this month. Dr. Schulz also has served as Medical Director of the UAMS Neighborhood Clinic and the student-led North Street Clinic, where he has been an exemplary role model for our students and an advocate for patients in need of compassionate, high-quality care. Thank you, Dr. Schulz, and very best wishes for the future.

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!

Excellence in Teaching, Academic and Student Leadership
The College of Medicine Honors Convocation ceremony last Friday evening and UAMS Commencement ceremony on Saturday were both incredibly moving and inspiring. It was such an honor to participate in these events for the first time. I want to thank our Academic Affairs and Student Affairs teams for once again doing a fantastic job with Honors Convocation and to thank all of the speakers, presenters and participants.

I also want to congratulate the College of Medicine faculty members and residents who were recognized for teaching excellence. Dr. Gregory Snead, Professor and Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine, received the Chancellor’s Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence at UAMS Commencement.

At our Honors Convocation, Dr. Sung Rhee, Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, delivered the Faculty Charge and also was selected by students as this year’s Senior Golden Apple Award recipient. The Junior Golden Apple went to Dr. Lindsey Sward, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Sophomores awarded their Golden Apple to Dr. Manisha Singh, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine/Nephrology. Dr. Alan Diekman, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was the Freshman Golden Apple recipient. Earlier, COM students at the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus honored Dr. Sharon Reece, Assistant Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine, as their inaugural Golden Apple honoree.

Also at Honors Convocation, fourth-year General Surgery resident Dr. Tamara Osborn was recognized as Resident of the Year. For the Northwest Campus, third-year Internal Medicine residents Dr. Tony Hoyt and Dr. James Tullis received awards for Resident Physician Teaching Excellence.

Watch for lists of this year’s Red Sash and Gold Sash recipients in the COMmunication newsletter later this week. Meanwhile congratulations to all of these outstanding educators and, of course, the Class of 2022!

Pediatric Health IT Standards
Clinical informaticians from the departments of Pediatrics and Biomedical Informatics recently completed a two-year project to develop national electronic health record (EHR) system standards to improve care for pediatric patients. Dr. Pele Yu, Chief Medical Information Officer at Arkansas Children’s and Professor of Pediatrics, Biomedical Informatics and Public Health, co-chaired the effort as part of the Health Level Seven International (HL7) EHR Working Group. The resulting standards officially launched in May. Dr. Yu is Program Director of the UAMS Clinical Informatics (CI) Fellowship Program. CI fellows Dr. Daniel Liu, Dr. Lori Wong and Dr. Obeid Shafi contributed to the project and published an account of their experience in Applied Clinical Informatics. Read more on the Biomedical Informatics website.

National Honor for Incoming Resident
Congratulations to incoming PGY1 Neurosurgery resident Dr. Stenia Accilien, who has been awarded the national James E. Boggan Award. The award is presented to exceptional aspiring neurosurgeons with the goal of encouraging medical students from underrepresented groups to enter the field. Haitian born Dr. Accilien is a graduate of Florida State University College of Medicine, where she served as Class President. We are thrilled to have Dr. Accilien join Team UAMS!

Surgical Research Symposium
The inaugural UAMS Surgical Research Symposium was a great success last week thanks to the many faculty, residents and medical students who participated. The event showcased the diverse areas of research performed in the Department of Surgery focused on the generation of novel therapies and devices and modification of standard treatment protocols for improving patient care and outcomes across the UAMS campus. Presentation awards went to third-year medical student Tarendeep Thind – Best Overall; 2022 graduate Dr. Hailey Hardgrave – Chair’s Choice; and third-year student Samuel Byrd – Speaker’s Choice. Special thanks to Dr. Marie Burdine, Director of the Division of Surgical Research, Assistant Professor Dr. Hanna Jensen and Grants Manager Sandy Moore, MA, for their leadership and coordination of the symposium. Thanks also to keynote speaker Dr. Joshua Smith, who delivered an excellent talk highlighting his impressive research as a surgeon-scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Read more on the Department of Surgery website.

Expertise Highlighted in ACNC Webinar Series
The Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC) is doing an excellent job hosting a three-part webinar series in partnership with the Institute for Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences. The series of 90-minute webinars began May 17 with an overview of the ACNC by Director and Developmental Nutrition Section Chief Dr. Mario Ferruzzi and presentations focused on early-life determinants of metabolic health, including fitness and physical activity, by Pediatrics faculty members Dr. Elisabet Borsheim and Dr. Craig Porter. The series continued on Monday with talks focused on connections between the gut and the brain with Dr. Linda Larson-Prior (Psychiatry), Dr. Xiawei Ou (Radiology/Pediatrics) and Dr. Laxmi Yeruva (USDA-ARS). The series concludes tomorrow morning with a focus on maternal and child diet and physical activity with presenters Dr. Aline Andres (Pediatrics) and Dr. Taren Swindle (Family and Preventive Medicine).

Ehlers-Danlos Insights
A shout-out to Pediatric Pulmonology fellow Dr. Jordan Fett and the labs of Dr. John Carroll at Arkansas Children’s and Dr. Roy Morello in Physiology and Cell Biology on their new article in Physiological Reports. Dr. Fett is first author on “Haploinsufficiency of Col5a1 causes intrinsic lung and respiratory changes in a mouse model of classical Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.” The paper is the first comprehensive characterization of respiratory abnormalities and pulmonary function in a mouse model of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a group of inherited disorders that affect connective tissues, primarily the skin, joints and walls of blood vessels. Milena Dimori, a Research Assistant in Dr. Morello’s lab, also contributed to the project.

The Operating Table
Fifth-year Neurosurgery resident Dr. Matthew Helton did a great job presenting “The Operating Table – Past, Present, and Future,” at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting in Philadelphia earlier this month. Dr. Helton conducted his project with the help and guidance of Neurosurgery Professor Dr. T. Glenn Pait and Associate Professor Dr. Noojan Kazemi.

Fellows Research Day
Congratulations to the outstanding fellows who received awards at the Department of Pediatrics Fellows Annual Research Day on May 19. The Samuel D. Smith Outstanding Fellow of the Year Award went to Dr. Patrick Bonasso (Pediatric Surgery). The inaugural Outstanding Fellow Educator of the Year Award was presented to Dr. Mary Littrell (Hematology/Oncology). The Best Abstract, Poster and Oral Presentation awards went to Dr. C. Preston Pugh (Neonatology), Dr. Murad Almasri (Pediatric Cardiology), and Dr. Jacob Wooldridge (Clinical Informatics), respectively. For more information and photos from the event, click here.

Improving Services for Epilepsy Patients
Thanks to team members in the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, patients with implanted Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) devices can now have MRIs performed more quickly. Jason Guell, MRSO, and Emily Casson, LPN, are believed to be the first MRI technologist and LPN combo in the country to be trained for VNS device management – bypassing the need for having a Neurology resident or attending step aside from other urgent duties, or even having a VNS company representative come in from out of state, which can delay the MRI. The newly trained team members provide coverage on workdays, and when additional MRI technologists are trained, they will also provide services after hours in lieu of neurologists. This is a big win for patient accessibility, convenience and satisfaction. Kudos to Jason and Emily, along with Dr. Viktoras Palys, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Surgical Director of the center and Quality and Safety Officer for the Neuroscience Service Line, and MRI tech leader Gregory Martin.

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!

Jones Eye Investitures
Congratulations to three exemplary faculty colleagues in the Department of Ophthalmology and Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute – Dr. Ahmed Sallam, Dr. John Pemberton, and Dr. Paul Phillips – on their investitures in endowed chairs at UAMS yesterday.

Dr. Sallam, Professor, Director of Uveitis Services and Director of the Ophthalmology Residency Program, was invested in the John W. Nutt Chair in Ophthalmology. A faculty member since 2016, Dr. Sallam specializes in the management of uveitis and retinal care.

Dr. Pemberton, Professor, was invested in the Stella Boyle Smith/Gissur J. Petursson, M.D., Chair in Ophthalmology. A faculty member since 2011, Dr. Pemberton specializes in plastic surgery of the eyelids, orbital masses, orbital reconstruction, tear drainage repair and other surgeries of the structures around the eye.

Dr. Phillips, Professor, Chair of Ophthalmology and Director of the Jones Eye Institute, was invested in the Pat Walker Chair in Ophthalmology. A faculty member since 1997, Dr. Phillips has led UAMS’ outstanding programs in Ophthalmology since January 2020. He directed Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus services prior to assuming his current leadership roles. Dr. Phillips previously held the Smith/Petursson Endowed Chair.

Click here for the investiture program or here to watch the video recording of the event.

Disparities in Patients Over 80
A shout-out to graduating senior Anna Blach along with Department of Geriatrics Research Associate Amanda Pangle, Professor Dr. Gohar Azhar and Professor and Chair Dr. Jeanne Wei on their new article in Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine. The team identified disparities in the prevalence and distribution of common co-morbid conditions including hypertension, dyslipidemia, dementia and diabetes mellitus in heart failure patients over the age of 80 who live in rural settings. The study highlighted the importance of making extra efforts to engage older African American patients in seeking health care, and to reduce barriers that impede access to resources and clinical care in underserved areas.  

Drug Take Back Day Success
Here’s more great work from the Department of Geriatrics and Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging Team, which partnered with the UAMS Police Department on the recent Drug Take Back Day. UAMS came in sixth among law enforcement agencies across the state, topping some sizable cities in the amount of unused and expired medications that were collected. In the Institute on Aging, the state- and federally supported Opioid Prevention for Aging and Longevity (OPAL) group led the effort. I join with Dr. Jeanne Wei in thanking Patricia Savary, Amanda Pangle, Naomi Armstrong, Dr. Regina Gibson and Dr. Gohar Azhar for their work on the initiative. 

Dominant Force at Conference
Department of Ophthalmology and Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute trainees were a dominant force at the recent American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., with nine residents and others presenting 10 projects. Congratulations to the residents: Drs. Muhammad Shamim, Michalis Georgiou, Aric Clegg, Ahmed Shakarchi, Abdelrahman Elhusseiny, Zia Siddiqui, Heather Broyles, Sayena Jabbehdari and Philip Dockery; along with medical student Zain Chauhan; ­­­­­­Reem ElSheikh; and Dr. Ahmed Sallam, Professor and Residency Program Director. Read more about the presentations here.

Well Represented
UAMS and Arkansas Children’s were well represented at national and international conferences this month, with the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology presenting at the American Society for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) meeting in Pittsburgh, and the Vascular Anomalies team presenting at the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Also at the ASPHO conference, Professor Dr. Shelley Crary was elected Chair of the Research Working Group for Vascular Anomalies. She also sits on the Conference Planning Committee. Assistant Professor Dr. Joana Mack was appointed to the Training Committee and was voted Vice-Chair of the Education Working Group for Vascular Anomalies. Click here to learn more about the many presentations and UAMS contributors.

Caring for the Underserved
Kudos to graduating senior Taylor Winn and junior Manasa Veluvolu for their leadership and hard work this past semester on four pop-up clinics for underserved residents in Southwest Little Rock. Taylor and Manasa received a grant from the Pulaski County Medical Society (PCMS) for the clinics that were held at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church on Baseline Road. UAMS 12^th Street Health and Wellness Center student volunteers, along with UAMS vaccination team members, provided health screenings, COVID vaccinations and medical care. This important work will continue next year thanks to a follow-up grant awarded by PCMS to Manasa. I join with Dr. Elizabeth Gath, 12^th Street Medical Director, in thanking Manasa, Taylor and all of the volunteers for this initiative. Well done!

Transfusion & Trauma Teamwork
After a year of interdisciplinary planning, last week the UAMS Trauma Team began administering whole blood for patients with massive bleeding from severe trauma, rather than utilizing component blood products. The switch is driven by experience gained by the U.S. military. The Trauma Program has partnered with the UAMS Transfusion Services and the Oklahoma Blood Institute to bring this life-saving initiative to our trauma patients in Arkansas. Kudos to all. 

Lung Cancer Milestone
In yet another example of interdisciplinary teamwork and clinical and technological advancement at UAMS, a patient was successfully diagnosed and received a robotically performed lung lobectomy while undergoing anesthesia a single time last week. The case highlights excellent work on part of our teams in Primary Care, Low-dose CT, Interventional Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery. I join with Dr. Ron Robertson, Professor and Chair of Surgery, in thanking all who contributed to this success story. This type of case management, along with advancements in our robotic surgery programs and the Lung Cancer screening bus scheduled to roll out across Arkansas this fall, are transforming lung cancer treatment for our state!

Cardiovascular Insights
Dr. J.L. Mehta, Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine, Physiology and Cell Biology and Pharmacology and Toxicology, and colleagues have published two recent papers. Internal Medicine resident Dr. Vignesh Chidambaram is first author and Cardiovascular Diseases fellow Dr. Dinesh Voruganti is a coauthor with Dr. Mehta on “Association of Lipid Levels with COVID-19 Infection, Disease Severity and Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” published in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. Internal Medicine resident Dr. Tanya Sharma is first author with Dr. Mehta on “LOX-1: Implications in Atherosclerosis and Myocardial Ischemia,” published in EXCLI Journal.

Emergency Medicine Showcased at SAEM
The expertise and scholarly work of Emergency Medicine faculty and residents was showcased at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine – the largest and most prestigious academic conference in the field – in New Orleans last week. Click here for an overview of the contributions of faculty members Drs. Meredith Von Dohlen, Lauren Evans, Meryll Bouldin, Jason Arthur and Carly Eastin; second-year resident Dr. Ryan Waters, and, on the lighter side, the best costumes honor in the SonoGames ultrasound competition for first-year residents Drs. Paige Dailey, Anjali Patel, Jordan Takasugi and Jessica Shenoi. (Check out “The Big Squeezy” homage to New Orleans and a staple of ultrasound transmission!)

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!

New Era for Heart Care
UAMS’ first recipient of a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) recently headed home to a far better quality of life thanks to the dedication of many team members in the new Heart Restoration Program. As Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson said in a news story, this signals a new era for UAMS, including heart transplants in the near future. Dr. Paul Mounsey, Director of the UAMS Health Heart Center and the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine; Dr. Jay Bhama, Surgical Director of the Heart Center, Director of the Heart Restoration Program and Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery; along with Dr. Kalai Sivakumar, Medical Director of Advanced Heart Failure, have been instrumental in ushering in this new era. As for the first LVAD patient, Mr. Layman Roseby looks forward to the little things in life, like fishing with his two dogs in tow.  

National Mentoring Award
Congratulations to Dr. Alan Diekman, Professor in the departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Urology, who will receive the Distinguished Mentor Award from the American Urological Association and Urology Care Foundation at the AUA annual meeting in New Orleans on Saturday. The award recognizes Dr. Diekman for his work with medical students in the area of urology research and his long track record of providing an excellent training environment for early-career investigators. As many of you know, Dr. Diekman is also highly regarded at UAMS for his teaching. At Honors Convocation this month, he will receive his ninth consecutive and 10^th overall Golden Apple Award from freshmen. In 2020, he received the COM Master Teacher Award.

NHLBI Committee Appointment
Dr. Paula Roberson, Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics, will share her expertise in the design, management and data analysis of clinical trials as a member of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Single-Site and Pilot Clinical Trials Study Section. Her three-year term on the NIH peer-review committee will start July 1. Congratulations!

International Contributions
Dr. Emmanouil Giorgakis, Assistant Professor in the Division of Transplant Surgery, has been appointed by the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS) Executive Committee to a three-year term on the ILTS Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. The appointment is just the latest example of Dr. Giorgakis’ contributions to scholarly work globally. He also currently serves as guest associate editor for Transplant International, the official journal of the European Society for Organ Transplantation, on the special issue “Organ Reconditioning and Machine Perfusion in Transplantation,” and as an invited editor for Frontiers in Public Health on the Health Economics topic “Assessing the Value and Cost of Organ Donation and Transplantation.”

Beyond End-of-Life Care
UAMS researchers led by Dr. Hanna Jensen, Assistant Professor in the departments of Surgery and Radiology, and with senior medical student John House as first author, have published an article, “the Impact of Palliative Medicine Consultation on Readmission Rates and Hospital Costs in Surgical Patients Requiring Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation,” in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. Dr. Jensen and John, along with Dr. Kevin Sexton and Dr. Howard Corwin, also discussed the broader team’s findings in a blog post for the Joint Commission. While palliative care has traditionally been underutilized in surgery, the team identified significant benefits of palliative care for critically ill surgical patients, including lower hospital costs and readmission rates.

Dermatology Conference
Department of Dermatology faculty and residents and several medical students contributed extensively to the recent Arkansas Dermatological Society Annual meeting. Professor Dr. Jay Kincannon moderated case presentations by medical students Sophia Ly, Nikhil Nair, Zainab Atiq, Alyson McKinnon, Devea De and Delice Kayishunge, who were coached and mentored by residents Drs. Jon Rick, Josh Chang, Blake St. Clair, Patrick Phelan, Khiem Tran and Mavina Guram. Assistant Professor Dr. Megan Evans presented “Lumps and Bumps in Infancy and Early Childhood,” and Associate Professor Dr. Vivian Shi presented “Landscape of Immunomodulators for Atopic Dermatitis.”

Impactful Student Research
Haley Feezell, a second-year medical student mentored by the Department of Radiology’s Dr. Teresita Angtuaco, recently presented her research at the annual meeting of the Association of University Radiologists. Her research, titled “Analysis of the efficacy of a clinical decision support system for radiological imaging at an academic hospital,” seeks to reduce imaging overutilization at our institution to benefit our patients and colleagues alike. Haley’s work revealed that the use of clinical decision support (CDS) at UAMS has significantly improved our ability to order images that are in accordance with American College of Radiology guidelines. Collaborators included senior medical student Rachel Graham, Radiology IT lead Scott King, Dr. Nick Kaukis (Biostatistics/College of Public Health), and Dr. Hanna Jensen (Surgery/Radiology). Haley is currently analyzing whether there were significant changes in imaging overuse at UAMS during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Well-Earned Retirement
Finally this week, kudos to soon-to-be retiree Dr. Hemendra Shah, Professor of Radiology, for his 40 years of service to UAMS. Dr. Shah has made his mark on many radiology residents through the years. One of them, Dr. Marwan Moussa, now at Harvard and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, has made a gift to UAMS to establish the Hemendra R. Shah, M.D. Endowed Fund for Excellence in Radiology, which will support resident education in body CT, Dr. Shah’s area of expertise. A numbers of other residents, faculty and friends have contributed to this fund, bringing the endowment to over $40,000. Our thanks to all of these donors for their generosity – and best wishes for your retirement, Dr. Shah!

Congratulations to our 2022 Honorees!
I want to take a moment to congratulate all of the staff and faculty who were honored at the Dean’s Honor Day ceremony yesterday afternoon – and to again thank all COM team members for your contributions across our mission areas. This was my first Dean’s Honor Day, and it was amazing to hear about many of the ways our team members are making a difference. Watch for stories about our honorees in the May COMmunication and on the COM website later this month. Meanwhile, here is the video of the ceremony.      

Shark Tank Success
First-year Ophthalmology resident Dr. Sayena Jabbehdari was one of three finalists in the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery’s international “Shark Tank” style Winning Pitch contest at the recent EYEcelerator in Washington, D.C. Selected from among 150 innovators, her idea for an optical transparent Extracellular Matrix for the treatment of the corneal epithelial defect ultimately took second place. Dr. Jabbehdari was the first resident and the first female to become a finalist in the history of the contest, competing against an established cornea surgeon who took first place and an established pediatric ophthalmologist and oculoplastic surgeon who came in third. Way to go Dr. Jabbehdari!

National Presentation
Senior medical student Katherine Wang will present her research along with Dr. Murat Gokden, neuropathologist and Professor in the Department of Pathology, at the upcoming American Association of Neuropathologists Annual meeting for the third consecutive year. Their work, “Primary Extra-axial Glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype, of the Spinal Nerve Root,” also will be published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology. Dr. Gokden and Katherine collaborated with members of the Department of Neurosurgery on the paper. In July, Katherine will begin a combined residency/fellowship training program at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine. Well done!

Child Neurology Well Represented
UAMS and Arkansas Children’s were well represented at the recent American Academy of Neurology annual meeting in Seattle, with a study by Assistant Professor Dr. Aravindhan Veerapandiyan, Child Neurology resident Dr. Praveen Ramani and former resident Dr. Ezgi Saylam as one of the top 10 platform sessions accepted as “Hot Topics in Headache Medicine.” Their ongoing study is in collaboration with sleep medicine specialist Dr. Supriya Jambhekar and entitled “Assessing Sleep Quality in Children with Migraines by Implementation of Electronic Health Record Cue.” Six other abstracts from UAMS were presented, with Neurology and Child Neurology residents Drs. Rebecca Pratt, Praveen Ramani, Nayana Prabhu and Shubham Biyani as first authors and several other residents and attending physicians as co-authors.

Party of the Century
A shout-out to Dr. Jeanne Wei, Professor and Chair of the Department of Geriatrics, and her team, who partnered with Presbyterian Village recently to honor eight resident centenarians. These inspiring women ranged in age from 100 to 103, and UAMS helped to tell their stories as part of the event held simultaneously at the retirement community and the Donald D. Reynolds Institute on Aging. Joining Dr. Wei at the retirement community for the celebration were Drs. Onna Lau, Priya Mendiratta, Anil Anandam and Denise Compton with the Walker Memory Center. Learn more about the event and the honorees in this UAMS news story. It will make you smile!

Most Influential Researchers
I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Shuk-Mei Ho, UAMS Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, for the latest video in our Spotlight on Excellence series. Dr. Ho and I discussed the study by Stanford University that lists nearly 60 current and retired UAMS faculty among the top 2% of the world’s most influential researchers. Dr. Ho explained how the study came together and what having so many of our researchers on the list says about UAMS’ research enterprise as we strive to make our mark nationally. If you haven’t had a chance to watch our interview yet, check it out here. You can also read about the study in this UAMS news story. Congratulations to everyone on the list, and kudos to all of you who contribute to our research mission.

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!

The Gift of Sight
Imagine being able to see clearly for the first time in years. Seeing your children and grandchildren. Being able to read the labels on your medications. That is the impact of the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute’s second “Gift of Sight” event in two years. The initiative provided cataract surgeries for six additional Marshallese patients from Northwest Arkansas. And it was a great success thanks to the contributions of many volunteers from UAMS and the community. Bravo to JEI Director and Department of Ophthalmology Chair Dr. Paul Phillips, lead organizers Shelli Madison, Terry Takamaru and Stacia Dean, and the entire team who made this possible:

Aubrey Adams	Dr. Tammy Jones, RN
Pearl Atlan	Jeremy Lemmons
Ashley Banks	Shelli Madison
Heather Broyles	Alli Meyers
Dr. Sheena CarlLee	Alejandra Pelayo
Dr. Joseph Chacko	Dr. Paul Phillips
Shannon Coleman	Paul Pugh
Stewart Coleman	Valarie Robinson
Pam Collier	Dr. Ahmed Sallam
Angi Covert	Dr. Carina Sanvicente
Stefanie Daniels	Dr. Alvin Stewart
Stacia Dean	Kara Stewart
Lyndsay Dupree	Terry Takamaru
Valerie Green	Marilee Taylor
Dr. William Henry	Venus Wright
Dr. Joe Jimmerson, RN

ECMO Milestone
The UAMS ECMO program reaches an important milestone on April 30, one year after the first patient was placed on the advanced, resource-intensive life-support device to allow their heart and lungs to rest and heal from the ravages of COVID-19. Since then, the ECMO team has placed 20 patients on ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation), all but one of them for COVID pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. During the surge due to the delta variant last summer, the team cared for up to six patients on ECMO at one time, a heroic effort on the part of the H4 staff and others. For perspective, the original business plan for ECMO called for six patients in the first 12 months.

Because of our interdisciplinary ECMO team, several Arkansans are now home with their families. I want to add my thanks to these extraordinary nurses, perfusionists, therapists and physicians from multiple specialties including Trauma Surgery/Surgical Critical Care, Cardiac Surgery, Anesthesiology, Pulmonology/Medical Critical Care, and Emergency Medicine.

Planetary Health Report Card
For the third consecutive year, College of Medicine students have participated with medical students from the University of California, San Francisco and around the world to publish the Planetary Health Report Card. The initiative was developed to increase planetary health awareness and accountability among medical schools, and to engage future health professionals in addressing human-caused environmental changes that impact patients’ health. The involvement of UAMS students has resulted in increased campus advocacy toward climate and health-related goals.

“We are proud that our score has improved over the years and UAMS is now fourth among participating medical schools,” said MD/MPH student Morgan Gurel-Headley. (Read the full UAMS report here.) Kudos to Morgan and fellow contributing authors Zainab Atiq, Nickolas Alsup, Kristin Larsen, Madison Nichols and MaKenzie Presley, along with faculty advisor Dr. David Davies. Well done!  

Advanced Ultrasound Expertise
A shout-out to the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Drs. Greg Snead, Jason Arthur, Zachary Lewis and Brian Russ on achieving Focused Practice Designation (FPD) in Advanced Emergency Ultrasound. They were among the first cohort in the nation to take the standardized exam reflecting advanced understanding of clinical ultrasound and the skillset required to develop and maintain ultrasound clinical and teaching programs. The new designation is the current fellowship board equivalent for this advanced focus area administered by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Snead was the only fellowship-trained emergency medicine physician in Arkansas when he joined the faculty in 2013. Drs. Arthur, Lewis and Russ were among the first physicians trained in the UAMS EM ultrasound fellowship under Dr. Snead’s leadership.

Editorial Appointment
Congratulations to Dr. Yuet-Kin “Ricky” Leung, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, on being appointed as an Associate Editor for the Pharmacology of Anti-Cancer Drugs section of Frontiers in Pharmacology. The special section encompasses studies relating to drugs that target tumor cells, along with the various components of the tumor microenvironment (e.g., non-tumor cells such as endothelial cells, macrophages, lymphocytes and fibroblasts), and stress conditions such as hypoxia and acidity.

Insights into Hypertension
Dr. Shengyu Mu’s laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology published their recent research findings in the high-impact journal Circulation Research as a continuous study from their previous work published in Nature Communications. The current report further elucidated the pathological role of adaptive immunity, particularly CD8+ T cells, in contributing to the development of salt-sensitive hypertension. Contributing authors from UAMS include Lance Benson, Dr. Yunmeng Liu, Dr. Sung Rhee, Yunping Guo, Katherine Deck and Christoph Mora (Pharmacology & Toxicology); Dr. Lin-Xi Li, Dr. Lu Huang and Tucker Andrews (Microbiology & Immunology), and Dr. Zhiqiang Qin (Pathology).  

Resident Travel Grant
Congratulations to fourth-year Radiation Oncology resident Dr. Arpan Prabhu on receiving a travel grant from the Council of Affiliated Regional Radiation Oncology Societies (CARROS) to attend the American College of Radiology annual meeting in Washington, D.C., this week. Thank you for representing UAMS at the national level, Dr. Prabhu!

Thankful Colleague
Finally this week, I want to share a heartfelt open letter from a colleague who experienced the very best of UAMS when her mother spent four weeks at UAMS before succumbing to her illness. Dr. Deidre Wyrick is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery and Section of Pediatric Care Medicine, and Trauma Medical Director at Arkansas Children’s. Dr. Wyrick emphasized the contributions and compassion of many attending physicians, residents, nurses and others who made all the difference in her mother’s last days. “I am proud to work at a place that gave my mom such great care …,” Dr. Wyrick wrote. “UAMS, as an institution, should also be proud that these people who have been decimated by a pandemic still have empathy and compassion for the people they serve.”

I join with Dr. Wyrick in saying special thanks to resident physicians Drs. Collette Tilly, Kara Phillips, Erin Creighton and Don Vickers; faculty members Drs. Seth Berney, Jumin Sunde, Nikhil Meena and Michelle Krause; nurses Lorin Smith, Sydney Timmerman, Jodi Miles and Jillian Edwards; and housekeeper Antoinette Solomon.