The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine has named Ashley Booth Norse, M.D., as chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and clinical service chief for emergency medicine for UAMS Medical Center. Dr. Norse, who started at UAMS on Jan. 6, 2025, previously served as professor and associate chair of operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville.

“Dr. Norse is known nationally and in Florida as an ardent emergency medicine physician, leader and patient advocate who has strived to improve standards and performance in her field and medicine more broadly,” Steven Webber, MBChB, College of Medicine dean and UAMS executive vice chancellor, said in an Aug. 26 announcement to faculty.  “She will be an outstanding leader for our excellent programs, faculty and staff in Emergency Medicine.”

Dr. Norse served as a faculty member at University of Florida (UF) Health Jacksonville from 2005 until her recruitment to UAMS. Her leadership roles there also included medical director for the UF Emergency Department and ED Observation Unit, as well as director of Physician Assistant Services, Governmental Affairs, and the Emergency Medicine Administrative Fellowship in the department.

Norse received her medical degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans in 2001. She completed her residency in emergency medicine at the University of Florida/Shands Hospital (now UF Health) in Jacksonville, serving as chief resident during her final year. Norse continued her training with a fellowship in health care policy at the University of Florida before joining the UF Health faculty as an assistant professor.

In addition to her academic and clinical roles at UF Health, Norse has held numerous national and state roles. She is a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians (FACEP) and currently serves on the ACEP Governmental Affairs, Reimbursement and State Legislative Affairs committees. She is also vice-president of the Florida Medical Association and serves on its Board of Directors. She is a past-president of the Duval (Florida) County Medical Society and the Florida College of Emergency Physicians.

Norse’s scholarly work has included numerous publications and regional, national and international presentations. She has received many honors for teaching and professional service, including the Administrator of the Year Award from the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine; Medical Director of the Year Award from the American Association of Women Emergency Physicians; the Martin J. Gottlieb Award for Outstanding Advocacy in Emergency Medicine from the Florida College of Emergency Physicians; and multiple faculty awards from UF Health Jacksonville.

(This article was updated in January 2025.)

Alan Tackett, Ph.D., distinguished professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and deputy director of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), has been appointed executive associate dean for basic science research in the UAMS College of Medicine.

“Dr. Tackett has served in many research leadership roles at UAMS and Arkansas Children’s and has an extensive portfolio of successful grants and scholarly accomplishments, Steven Webber, MBChB, MRCP, College of Medicine Dean and UAMS Executive Vice Chancellor,” said in an Aug. 23 announcement to faculty. “Alan will provide excellent leadership as we work to expand basic science programs in the College of Medicine.”

“I look forward to working with faculty colleagues, administration and leadership in the UAMS College of Medicine to take our research enterprise to the next level,” said Tackett. “We will look to build upon strategic partnerships and collaborations across UAMS, our state, and beyond to address pressing biomedical research questions that impact human health across the lifespan.”

Tackett has served as deputy director of the Cancer Institute since 2021. He has directed the Center for Translational Pediatric Research (CTPR) – a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) – in the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute since 2017. Tackett has directed the NIH IDeA National Resource for Quantitative Proteomics at UAMS since 2016. He has also served on numerous institutional committees.

Tackett earned his doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology at UAMS under the mentorship of Kevin Raney, Ph.D., graduating in 2002. He completed postdoctoral training in cancer epigenetics and proteomics at the Rockefeller University in New York. He joined the UAMS faculty in 2005 and rose through the academic ranks to become a distinguished professor in 2023. He holds secondary faculty appointments in the College of Medicine departments of Pathology and Pediatrics.

While serving on the UAMS faculty, Tackett has built an internationally recognized research team focused on uncovering new therapeutic strategies to treat metastatic melanoma and developing the next generation of molecular profiling technologies to identify cancer biomarkers. He has been funded as principal investigator by five different NIH institutes for both basic and translational research across the biomedical research spectrum. He has been continuously funded by the NIH throughout his career, with more than $40 million in federal funding to date, and currently serves as a principal investigator of four R01s, one R21, and two center-level grants.  

Tackett has published more than 150 scientific articles and holds multiple patents stemming from his research. He has shared his expertise on more than 60 NIH study sections and review panels. He is currently vice-president and president-elect of the National Association of IDeA Principal Investigators.

Among many honors, Tackett has served since 2016 as the inaugural recipient of the Scharlau Family Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at UAMS. He was named Investigator of the Year by the Arkansas Biosciences Institute in 2018, was named a Fellow of the Arkansas Research Alliance in 2021. He will be recognized by his undergraduate alma mater this year as a Hendrix College Odyssey Medal recipient for research.

Paul Drew, Ph.D., has been named chair of the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine, effective July 1.

Drew, who is currently a professor and vice chair of the department, will succeed Gwen Childs, Ph.D., a distinguished professor who has chaired the department since 2000. Childs previously announced her decision to step down from the post after the next chair had been appointed. She will remain on the faculty.

“Following a national search, Dr. Drew was identified as the best candidate to lead the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences as it expands and enhances its programs in research and education in the years to come,” said Steven Webber, MBChB, dean of the college and executive vice chancellor of UAMS. “He brings a wealth of leadership experience to his new role, with 27 years of service on our faculty and several key leadership positions behind him.”

Drew has served as vice chair of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences since 2015 and as director of research in the Department of Neurology, where he holds a secondary appointment, since 2017. He has also held a variety of college-wide leadership roles, including assistant dean for research in 2022-2023 and chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee.

Drew’s research interests include neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on multiple sclerosis and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. His research has been steadily funded by the NIH, the National Science Foundation, and private funding agencies including the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Rampy Foundation for MS Research. He reviews grants regularly for the NIH, the Department of Defense and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Drew received his doctoral degree in Zoology (Cell and Molecular Biology) from the University of Maryland. He completed postdoctoral training in the Neuroimmunology Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, National Institutes of Health (NIH), before joining the UAMS faculty in 1997.

“In addition to welcoming Dr. Drew to his new leadership role, I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Childs for her dedicated service as chair,” said Webber. “We are very happy that she will continue to serve on our faculty after July 1. In addition to her leadership of a department that is integral to the pre-clinical education of our medical students, she has been internationally recognized and honored for contributions to the field of histochemistry and cytochemistry.”

The UAMS College of Medicine is pleased to introduce the recipients of the 2024 Dean’s Honor Day awards. The faculty and staff members highlighted on this page were recognized at an April 16 ceremony for their outstanding work and service in clinical care, research, administration and humanism.

The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Dean’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award to Eduardo R. “Eddie” Ochoa Jr., M.D., a professor in the Department of Pediatrics who has strived to improve the health and quality of life of children in Arkansas and nationally since joining the faculty in 1999. He also has held impactful roles such as helping the college identify and select promising future physicians as a multi-term member of and chair of the college’s student admissions committee.

Read more about Ochoa and the ceremony overall in the 2024 Dean’s Honor Day main feature story.

Congratulations to the following 2024 award winners!

Staff Excellence Awards

Staff Excellence – Education

Jessica Bursk
Program Education Manager
Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

Jessica Bursk has been a tireless champion for medical education in a variety of roles with the College of Medicine Department of Family and Preventive Medicine (DFPM) and UAMS Regional Campuses since 2015, including Program Education Manager since 2023.

“She has been an indispensable contributor to our department’s medical student programs, and that is saying a lot, because our department has activities and programs across the curriculum and really in every corner of the state,” Leslie Stone, M.D., MPH, assistant professor and director of the Family Medicine Clerkship, said when presenting the award.

Bursk works closely with current medical students and potential students participating in UAMS pipeline programs. Stone said Bursk is always approachable and supportive for both students and faculty and a skilled communicator and facilitator who remains “relentlessly positive.” In his nomination letter, he included a comment from a grateful medical student who spoke of Bursk’s “passionate” advocacy of family medicine.

“Jessica’s resourcefulness and creativity have ensured that when we do meet challenges, they are quickly overcome,” Stone added. “She shows us every day the impact of always placing students first.”

Staff Excellence – Research

Caroline Miller Robinson, B.S.
Program Financial Manager
Arkansas INBRE

Caroline Miller Robinson, B.S., has been an integral contributor to the Arkansas INBRE (IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence) program at UAMS since its inception in 2001, helping the program build a statewide research infrastructure that serves as a pipeline for future and emerging biomedical scientists.

“When I talk about Caroline’s role, I think of it as being like the ringleader at a three-ring circus,” Jerry Ware, professor of Physiology and Cell Biology and Arkansas INBRE program coordinator, joked when presenting the award. “I see 40 simultaneous juggling acts going on … and half of the jugglers don’t know how to juggle, so Caroline has to teach them. She does this with patience, with professionalism, and she is very passionate about the program.”

Ware and Lawrence Cornett, Ph.D., distinguished professor of Physiology and Cell Biology and Director of Arkansas INBRE, noted in their nomination letter that with Robinson’s help, the program has brought in more than $83 million in National Institutes of Health funding.

“Caroline is the ‘go-to person’ when a PUI (primarily undergraduate institution) faculty member, administrator or student needs help finding a research resource, navigating the complexities of NIH grant regulations, or just learning more about the opportunities that the Arkansas INBRE provides,” they wrote.

Staff Excellence – Clinical

Chris Cathcart, DPT, MBA
Physical Therapist
Trauma Program

Chris Cathcart, DPT, MBA, has been an indispensable member of the UAMS Trauma team for over a decade, bringing his expertise in physical therapy and compassion to countless patients with complex injuries.

“Our success and excellence in trauma patient care outcomes at UAMS relies on the expertise, coordination and effective communication on a multidisciplinary level, and Chris is one of the best examples of that approach,” nominator Mary Katherine Kimbrough, M.D., associate professor of surgery, said at the ceremony.

“Our trauma patients can be a challenging patient population due to multiple pre-existing comorbidities, complicated injuries and complex social situations,” Kimbrough explained. “Chris’ profound impact on the recovery journey of our patients, particularly those affected by injuries, overwhelming fear, and pain, exemplifies unparalleled dedication, skill and humanity. Chris is able to calm their fears, build rapport and trust, and motivate our patients to move.”

Other members of the Trauma team echoed those sentiments in testimonials Kimbrough shared in her nomination letter, including Britney Beumeler, APRN, who said Cathcart is adept at navigating each patient’s unique challenges. “His tenacity in the face of adversity, coupled with his ability to foster trust and confidence in even the most apprehensive of patients, sets a benchmark for clinical excellence,” Beumeler wrote.

Staff Excellence – Administration

Robin Rogers, B.A.
Associate Chair, Finance and Administration
Department of Biomedical Informatics

Robin Rogers, B.A., has been crucial to the growth of biomedical informatics programs at UAMS as the administrative leader for a team of over 50 researchers and other personnel in the Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI).

“Without Robin, we would not have been able to build this (former) division into a strong department that is supporting the mission of a modern academic medical center,” Mathias Brochhausen, Ph.D., professor and vice chair for academic programs and faculty development, said when presenting the award. “Robin has been steadfast in communicating inside and outside of the department what our vision and mission is. She was proactive in making sure everyone found a ‘home’ in the department as it grew.”

Joining Brochhausen in nominating Rogers were assistant professors Yasir Rahmatallah, Ph.D., and Tremaine Williams, Ed.D. “We have relied heavily on her guiding of our faculty and students through many critical milestones in our department’s history,” Williams wrote, citing the development of biomedical informatics graduate programs as an example.

“With 25 years of service in different units within UAMS, Robin has intimate knowledge of different administrative levels in the organization,” Rahmatallah wrote. “She is the trusted go-to person when personal or work-related issues are encountered. Her dedication to duties and staff members is exemplary.”

Graduate Medical Education (GME) Educator Awards

GME Educator – Program Coordinator

Angela Warr
Program Coordinator
Pain Medicine Fellowship

Angela Warr has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the UAMS Pain Medicine Fellowship since its inception in 2019, bringing exceptional dedication to her role as program coordinator.

Molly Gathright, executive associate dean for graduate medical education and the designated institutional official (DIO) for the College of Medicine’s residency and fellowship training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), shared accolades from nominators Jarna Shah, M.D., program director, and current fellow Bryan Slepicka, D.O.

“(Warr) is described as detail oriented, inquisitive and talented in knowing the ins and outs of all of the ACGME requirements,” Gathright said, quoting from Shah’s letter. “And as the DIO of UAMS College of Medicine programs, I can tell you that knowing the ACGME requirements well means everything for the excellence and success of our training programs.”

“Angela believes in excellence,” Shah wrote in her letter. “She is incredibly organized, intelligent and driven. There is no task that is too challenging for her to tackle. She pushes me to be the best version of a PD that I can be.”

In his nomination letter, Slepicka praised Warr for always being available to help and for assisting him and his wife as they settled in Little Rock when he started the fellowship.

GME Educator – Program Director

Priya Mendiratta, M.D., MPH
Program Director, Geriatrics Medicine Fellowship
Professor, Department of Geriatrics
Alexa and William T. Dillard Distinguished Endowed Chair in Geriatrics

Priya Mendiratta, M.D., MPH, has trained, mentored and inspired many geriatrics fellows as program director for the Geriatrics Medicine Fellowship – along with a wide range of other learners as vice chair for education and clerkship director in the Department of Geriatrics.

“Dr. Mendiratta’s contribution reaches far beyond Geriatrics,” Molly Gathright, M.D., executive associate dean for graduate medical education and designated institutional official for College of Medicine GME programs, said when presenting the award.

Gathright noted that Mendiratta has developed an interprofessional geriatric education course with innovative approaches to enhance experiential learning. “She frequently teaches residents from both Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, as well as postdoctoral fellows from other fellowships at UAMS,” Gathright said. “She teaches students from the colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Health Professions, including the Physician Assistant Program. So, as you can see, Dr. Mendiratta has an impact on a broad spectrum of learners at UAMS.”

Multiple nomination letters echoed Mendiratta’s dedication, leadership and innovation to geriatric education. Nominators included Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of Geriatrics and executive director of the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging; Joni Pharis, fellowship coordinator; and Tasha Smith, clerkship coordinator. Eleven current and former fellows wrote in support of Mendiratta’s nomination.

Faculty Awards in Education, Research and Humanism

Master Teacher Award

Steve Schexnayder, M.D.
Professor, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Executive Vice Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Morris and Hettie Oakley Chair in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine

Steve Schexnayder, M.D., has strived to enhance medical education for students, residents, fellows and faculty in the Department of Pediatrics and College of Medicine for over two decades, exemplifying the characteristics of a “master teacher.”

“While he is nationally and internationally known as a critical care physician, Dr. Schexnayder is also known locally as a consummate educator,” William Steinbach, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics and associate dean for child health in the College of Medicine, said at the ceremony.

Schexnayder, who currently serves as executive vice chair in the Department of Pediatrics, has held many leadership roles in education, including vice chair of education in 2011-2019. Earlier posts included associate director and director of the Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship, associate director of the Pediatrics/Internal Medicine Residency, and associate program director of the Pediatric Residency Program. He served as chief of the Section of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine in 2003-2023. Schexnayder has overseen the training of more than 50 pediatric critical care fellows and has mentored countless residents, fellows and medical students.

Schexnayder has received many honors for his work in education, including multiple student-selected Golden Apple, Gold Sash and Red Sash awards, department resident teaching awards, the UAMS Chancellor’s Faculty Teaching Award, and the College of Medicine Educational Innovation Award.

Educational Innovation

Ahmed Abuabdou, M.D., MBA
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Chief Clinical Officer, UAMS Medical Center

Ahmed Abuabdou, M.D., MBA, implemented an innovative elective experience for resident and fellow physicians called System-Based Practice that goes beyond the curriculum of most programs.

“One novel aspect of the elective involves having participants shadow into the Tier-3 hospital leadership safety huddles,” said nominator Carol Thrush, Ed.D., a professor of education in the departments of Surgery, Internal Medicine and Graduate Medical Education. “Another novel feature is the interprofessional structure. Clinical and operations leaders and staff at UAMS serve as co-instructors, addressing system-level topics that are not usually otherwise covered in the curriculum. For example, co-instructors are leaders in charge of areas such as physician advising, audit and billing compliance, care management, quality improvement and legal affairs.”

“The experience is designed to offer participants a behind-the-scenes look at the operations and hospital functioning, with the goal of imprinting our graduates with a systems-based and institutional level lens, to deliver the highest quality of patient care,” Thrush said.

The elective was first offered to Internal Medicine residents, starting in 2020. By popular demand, this year it was offered more widely to trainees in any specialty program at UAMS. Abuabdou has gained national attention for the elective from organizations and other academic medical centers that are interested in offering it to their trainees.

Educational Research

Karen Dickinson, MBBS, M.D., MBA
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery
Director of IPE Simulation and Clinical Skills Training

Karen Dickinson, MBBS, M.D., MBA, brings exceptional passion and enthusiasm for surgical education scholarship, along with significant expertise in the field, to UAMS.   

“Dr. Dickinson brings a unique perspective to her role as a UAMS surgical educator, based on her training experiences in both the U.K. and the U.S.,” said nominator and surgical research collaborator Mary Katherine Kimbrough, M.D., associate professor and program director for the General Surgery Residency.

“She has truly demonstrated exceptional educational scholarly work,” Kimbrough said. “Her enthusiasm for surgical education research is infectious, and she has had a great impact on our department.” Among many contributions, Dickinson was instrumental in achieving American College of Surgeons-Accredited Education Institutes (ACS-AEI) accreditation status for the UAMS Centers for Simulation Education.

“Impressively, Dr. Dickinson has had 40 surgical educational research papers in the last three years alone, 23 as first author and eight as senior author, where she mentored others,” Kimbrough said. “Dr. Dickinson has been recognized nationally and internationally for the quality of her educational research, including being selected as the recipient of the 2022 Promising Educational Scholar Award from the Association of Surgical Education, and more recently being selected for the competitive appointment to the Research Committee for the international Society for Simulation in Healthcare.”

Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine

Presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation

David Kelley, M.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
Director, DFPM Division of Undergraduate Education
Co-Course Director, Practice of Medicine II

David Kelley, M.D., joined the faculty in 2022 and has quickly gained respect and appreciation as an outstanding physician and educator who exemplifies humanism.

Kelley recently was named Director of the Division of Undergraduate Education in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine (DFPM). He also serves as Co-Course Director of the Practice of Medicine II course for second-year medical students. Nominator Diane Jarrett, Ed.D., M.A., assistant professor, shared comments from students, residents and patients that reflect Kelley’s positive impact on them.

“Medical student evaluations include, ‘I feel inspired by his communication skills with patients and the strategies he uses to gain their trust so quickly;’ and ‘He makes patients feel safe,’” Jarrett said. “Residents said, ‘He has helped me so much with my professional and personal growth;’ ‘He is an amazing mentor;’ and ‘He’s a role model physician.’”

“His patients are even more laudatory,” Jarrett said. “They have said things like, ‘kind and considerate;’ ‘A spirit of caring along with being compassionate;’ ‘the best care I have ever received;’ and this one is my favorite: ‘He is one of the best doctors I’ve ever seen, so definitely give him some accolades and high stars.’”

Excellence in Research

Lorraine McKelvey, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
Developmental Psychologist, Research and Evaluation Division

Lorraine McKelvey, Ph.D., has made substantial scholarly contributions relevant to social determinants of health and the development of children from high-risk backgrounds as a leading researcher in the field.

“Dr. McKelvey conducts cutting-edge research in the field of applied developmental science, helping us to understand the impacts of both adverse and positive experiences on child development, and effective interventions to promote family health and child resilience,” said Nikki Edge, Ph.D., professor and vice chair of research in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine (DFPM) and one of multiple nominators. “Her research is internationally known and has important implications for policy and practice across the fields of early childhood, prevention science and medicine.”

McKelvey joined the UAMS faculty in 2005. She has received 32 grants and contracts to date, totaling more than $35 million, from federal, state and foundation sources. She has authored more than 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts, including many published in top journals in the field. She has delivered more than 200 national and international presentations and has served on numerous national expert scientific panels.

 “Those who know Dr. McKelvey would say that her excellence as a researcher is eclipsed only by her excellence as a human being,” Edge said. “She is a generous colleague, a mentor to so many, and a loyal and supportive friend.”

Clinical Excellence Awards

Outstanding Advanced Practice Provider

Ashley Wilson, DNP
APRN Nurse Practitioner
Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery

Ashley Wilson, DNP, APRN, has provided exceptional care for complex pediatric cardiac patients at Arkansas Children’s while making important contributions to clinical research and education.

“Ms. Wilson is a colleague and a friend who, in my humble opinion, exemplifies the three pillars of academic medicine: clinical ability, academic curiosity, and commitment to education,” nominator Lawrence Greiten, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Surgery and a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon, said when presenting the award.

“Beyond the walls of UAMS, she serves on numerous committees, has administrative and leadership abilities, and has become a regional leader in mechanical and circulatory support, as well as improving the quality and outcome measures of the complex congenital heart patients she cares for,” Greiten said.

Wilson’s national contributions include serving on the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative. In Arkansas during the COVID-19 pandemic, she had a leading role in growing the Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Program.

“I would also be remiss if I also did not use this opportunity to personally thank Ms. Wilson for all the countless hours she puts into my practice and the ACH Heart Institute as well,” Greiten said. “All of us have benefited from her patience, her practice, and her mission to support our patients, practice and mission.”

Excellence in Quality and Safety

Tabasum Imran, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
UAMS West Regional Campus

Tabasum Imran, M.D., has championed best practices, achieved exemplary performance on clinical outcome measures, and implemented tools and processes to improve patient experience at UAMS West in Fort Smith since 2011.

“Dr. Imran has personified these standards for years and continues to serve as a role model for others in the areas of quality and safety,” said nominator Shashank Kraleti, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and director of the UAMS Primary Care and Population Health Service Line.

“The best example of her work and leadership is the project leading to better blood pressure control for patients at UAMS West,” Kraleti said. Clinicians across Arkansas and the nation struggle to control blood pressure in their patient population. Under Imran’s guidance, every clinician at UAMS West has been able to surpass the national target for the measure. “This has led to putting UAMS and Arkansas on the national map for CDC’s Million Hearts Program,” Kraleti said. “Fort Smith is the only site that has hit the target and surpassed it.”

Imran recently was appointed as assistant service line director for clinical quality. “I really look forward to her bringing these initiatives and measures across the primary care network and improving the quality of care that we provide across the state,” Kraleti said.

Excellence in Service & Professionalism

Chenia Eubanks, M.D., MPH
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Section Chief, Community Pediatrics

Chenia Eubanks, M.D., embodies compassionate leadership and dedication to the betterment of children in Arkansas, inspiring the colleagues she leads in the Section of Community Pediatrics.

“As the section chief for the Section of Community Pediatrics, Dr. Eubanks has not only been a beacon of inspiration, but also the driving force behind the impactful initiatives that touched the lives of countless children and families in our state,” said Sarah Sobik, M.D., MPH, who presented the award on behalf of several co-nominators.

“Dr. Eubanks has demonstrated remarkable leadership qualities that have propelled our section and department to new heights,” Sobik explained. “She possesses a rare combination of empathy, expertise and vision, which has enabled her to guide our team with grace and determination. Under her guidance, we have witnessed the implementation of innovative programs that address the unique health care needs of children in southwest Little Rock.”

Eubanks is known for her unwavering commitment to serving those in need. “I often tell her she’s the most empathetic person that I have ever met,” Sobik said. “Whether volunteering, advocating for underserved populations, or mentoring aspiring health care professionals, she goes above and beyond to make a better, positive impact wherever she goes, and her dedication to fostering a culture of inclusivity and compassion sets a shining example for us all.”

Best Consulting Physician

Sarah Cobb, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics-Child Neurology
Director of Neonatal Neurocritical Care

Sarah Cobb, M.D., embodies the qualities of an ideal consulting physician with extensive clinical expertise as a neonatal neurologist, exceptional communication skills and a collaborative spirit.

“She embodies what a consulting physician needs to be, said neonatologist and co-nominator Franscesca Miquel-Verges, M.D. “Dr. Cobb is an excellent clinician, but she goes out of her way to provide great care to not only the babies in the NICU, as well as all of their family – frankly, she takes care of all of us in the NICU.”

“She goes above and beyond to make sure that the primary team knows what the plan is for the baby,” Miquel-Verges said of Cobb. “She never makes us feel stupid when we say, ‘Say that again? You want me to do what with the baby?’ She will come by and explain it. She will take the time to look at the MRI. When the family comes back later, she will come back and explain things to them.”

“Not only does she do this all of the time – she does it with a smile,” Miquel-Verges said, noting Cobb’s kindness. “Thank you, Sarah, for showing us what physicians at UAMS and Children’s can be.”

Collaborations & Teamwork

Lyle Burdine, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Director, Solid Organ Transplant Surgery

Lyle Burdine, M.D., Ph.D., has fostered an environment of collaboration at UAMS Medical Center and around Arkansas to ensure that transplant patients receive the comprehensive, coordinated care they need.

“Dr. Burdine is the epitome of clinical collaborations and teamwork,” said nominator Ron Robertson, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Surgery. “He has led the Transplant Program to unparalleled heights.”

Robertson noted that UAMS recently received the best possible five out of five bars for both the kidney and transplant programs from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients. “The Transplant Program has the distinction of being first in the United States in patient survival for those awaiting transplantation,” he said. “We are second in the United States for the speed at which patients receive a deceased donor liver.”

Burdine’s leadership also has been instrumental in developing satellite clinics across the state to provide accessible care for transplant patients. “These clinics are not just centers of excellence for transplant medicine; they also serve as vital access points for dialysis access, hepatobiliary cancer treatment and general surgery, especially for those unable to travel to Little Rock for care,” Robertson wrote in his nomination letter.

Rising Star Clinical Faculty

Dinesh Edem, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine-Endocrinology
Director, Medical Weight Management

Dinesh Edem, M.D., is providing compassionate care for Arkansans struggling with obesity while gaining national recognition as an expert in endocrinology, diabetes and obesity.

“Dr. Edem exemplifies everything that a rising star would be,” said nominator Manisha Singh, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology. “Like a light in the dark skies, he decided to take on the challenge of obesity and diabetes in our state. I find that extremely inspiring.”

Edem directs the popular and impactful Medical Weight Management Program at UAMS. As an expert on obesity, he has been featured in numerous state and national media articles and broadcast interviews on issues relating to obesity and treatments for obesity. Singh noted that Edem has authored or co-authored 12 publications in peer-reviewed journals in the past two years. He is a prolific peer reviewer for nine medical journals.

“Beyond his professional accomplishments, Dinesh exemplifies the qualities of a true leader and role model within our institution,” Singh wrote in her nomination. “He consistently demonstrates integrity, humility and a collaborative spirit, earning his colleagues’ and peers’ respect and admiration.”

Physician of the Year

Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D.
Professor and Executive Vice Chair, Department of Surgery
Division Chief, Breast Surgical Oncology
Muriel Balsam Kohn Chair in Breast Surgical Oncology

Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D., is a nationally and internationally renowned breast surgical oncologist, leader in the Department of Surgery and UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, and devoted champion of patients in Arkansas and around the world.

Ron Robertson, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery, lamented the difficulty of trying to convey Henry-Tillman’s many accomplishments in a short award presentation.

“First of all, she is nationally and internationally recognized as a breast surgeon who has pioneered many of the operative techniques in breast oncoplastic surgery,” Robertson said. “And her patients absolutely adore her.”

Henry-Tillman is chief of breast surgery oncology and executive vice chair in the Department of Surgery at UAMS, where she has served on the faculty since completing her clinical breast fellowship in 1999. She also serves as director of UAMS Health Initiative and Disparities Research in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Henry-Tillman is a national leader in surgery, serving on numerous boards including the American Board of Surgery and the American Society of Breast Surgeons. She has received many honors, including the UAMS Dr. Edith Irby Jones Lifetime Achievement Award, induction into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, and election to the Halsted Society, one of the most prestigious surgical societies in the world.

Watch the video recording of the ceremony here.
Watch the video tribute to associate professors.
Watch the video tribute to professors, distinguished professors and emeritus faculty.
Download a list of the 2024 promotion and tenure honorees.

All photos by Bryan Clifton

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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What do you like to watch on TV?

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

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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?

Faculty and lab teams from the departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences in the College of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy hosted 30 “sweethearts” — high school sophomore and junior girls participating in the American Heart Association and AHA Arkansas Chapter “Sweethearts” program — on two evenings in January.

Nancy Rusch, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, organized the event and welcomed each evening’s participants during an introductory session. Groups of “sweethearts” then rotated through five laboratories to learn about cardiovascular health and cardiovascular research at UAMS.

Conducted over several months, the AHA program focuses on heart healthy lifestyles, prevention of heart disease and volunteer work.

Participating laboratories and faculty included:

• Abdelrahman Fouda, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, who discussed treatments for stroke and retinal diseases.
• Yunmeng Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, who along with trainees in the lab of Associate Professor Shengyu Mu, Ph.D., demonstrated blood pressure measurement and discussed salt-sensitive hypertension.
• Nirmala Parajuli, DVM, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and staff, who discussed the team’s research to improve renal transplant outcomes.
• Kevin Phelan, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, who demonstrated cardiovascular ultrasound imaging with hands-on opportunities for students to image the heart.
• Amanda Stolarz, PharmD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, who introduced the students to the lymphatic circulation and discussed her lab team’s efforts to find a treatment for lymphedema.

Kudos from the AHA Arkansas Chapter and Dr. Rusch to the many department administrators, faculty and trainees who contributed to this year’s event.

Watch for more about this event on the UAMS website soon!

Rebecca Latch, M.D., has been appointed associate dean for student affairs in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine, effective Feb. 1. Latch is an associate professor and vice chair of education in the college’s Department of Pediatrics and has served on the faculty for 20 years.

“Dr. Latch brings a long track record of outstanding work and leadership in medical education to her new role,” G. Richard Smith, M.D., interim dean and executive vice chancellor, said in an announcement to the college. “She has served as a trusted and highly respected advisor to medical students and residents and has earned many honors for her teaching.”

Latch received her medical degree from UAMS in 2000. She completed her residency and served as chief resident in the Department of Pediatrics before joining the faculty in 2004, initially in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Latch shifted her focus to Pediatric Hospital Medicine and led the program as section chief in 2018-2022. She has been extensively involved in medical student education throughout her career, serving as pediatric clerkship director (2009-2019) and director of pediatric medical student education (2009-2020). She was appointed vice chair of education for the Department of Pediatrics in 2020.

At the college level, Latch has contributed her expertise to the curriculum committee since 2007. For the past two years, she has served as co-chair of a task force planning a major curriculum innovation for the College of Medicine. Latch has served on the college’s admissions committee since 2021. Her academic and professional interests include promoting compassionate, family-centered care, health equity and evidence-based practice.

Among many honors relating to her teaching, Latch received the Golden Apple Award from junior medical students in 2012, along with numerous Gold Sash and Red Sash awards from graduating seniors. In 2022, she was selected to deliver the keynote faculty address to incoming freshmen at the White Coat Ceremony. In the Department of Pediatrics, she received the Educator of the Year Award in 2012 and 2017 and the Mentor of the Year Award in 2022.

Latch succeeds Sara Tariq, M.D., who is relocating to Virginia for family reasons.

Turkey roulade with apple cider gravy. Browned butter mashed potatoes. Pumpkin roll cake.

Those were just a few of the things whipped up by College of Medicine students at a cooking class hosted by the Integrative Medicine Interest Group (IMIG) just before Thanksgiving.

One might never guess the dishes all had a healthier twist, were it not for the tips provided by the instructor from the UAMS Culinary Medicine Program and the student group’s mission to help its members and others live more healthful lives – even during the holidays.

“Our holiday meals tend to be the biggest of the year, and we’re all focused so much on the flavor, but perhaps not so much on how healthy the food is,” said third-year student Humam Shahare, the group’s Vice President. “But there is room for both. I think that is what we are here to figure out today – how to achieve that balance of pleasure and health. Balance is what it is all about.”

The Thanksgiving-focused class included gourmet recipes devised by a professional chef. It was the first for the year in the IMIG Cooking Series. Organizers plan to offer future sessions focused on themes such as cuisine from around the world. The group received a $2,500 grant from the Arkansas Medical Society-sponsored Medical Education Foundation for Arkansas (MEFFA) this fall to re-launch the series, which also has received past support from MEFFA.

“IMIG is very excited to bring back our cooking classes,” said IMIG President Sairi Zhang. “The last time we were able to do them was back in 2020. At the time, the classes were held at Pulaski Tech, and they were very popular with medical students. Unfortunately, COVID put a temporary stop to things.”

“This year, we were fortunate to receive the MEFFA grant to restart the classes and host them at UAMS’ very own teaching kitchen,” Zhang said. “The new location is much more convenient for medical students, and the staff are fantastic. We are so happy to be able to offer these events to students, as they are a fun, interactive way to learn about healthy diets that can be used to educate future patients.”  

The UAMS Culinary Medicine Program kitchen is located on the first floor of the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. The facility, which opened a couple of years ago, provides ample space and top-notch equipment for events such as the IMIG series as well as interprofessional education courses, an elective for fourth-year medical and pharmacy students, and culinary medicine education that has been integrated into the third- and fourth-year medical school curriculum.

Culinary Medicine Instructor Alyssa Frisby, MS, RD, LD, also referred to “balance” when explaining that festive, delicious food can also be healthy. For example, she said, mashed potatoes can be prepared without incorporating butter or cream within the potatoes. Instead, cooks can brown butter to drizzle on top, adding a punch of flavor with less fat and calories.

During the class, more than a dozen students divvied up the menu and prepared the multi-course meal with guidance from Frisby. Other IMIG officers who attended and helped to organize the class included M4 Class Representative Pranav Kolluru, Treasurer Alex Heffington and Secretary Vanessa Weidling.

“This is also a great opportunity for us to unwind, said IMIG Vice President Shahare. “So, a little bit of nutritional education here, a little bit self-care there, and if people who come to our cooking classes end up leaving with a little bit more info on how to take care of themselves, then I think we’ve hit our goal.”