University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College of Medicine: Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

2026 Research Symposium

Symposium Attendance

Approximately 173 faculty, residents, staff, and students from around Arkansas (Batesville, Berryville/Eureka Springs, Crossett, El Dorado, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Texarkana) attended. The symposium featured 32 in-person presentations and 60 scientific posters that were chosen from more than 130 submissions. 

Blue ribbons were awarded in the following categories:  

Best Poster Award (Staff)

“FIRST:ECE Trauma Informed Care Teaching Certification Program” – Maya McBride, Jennifer Harman, Karen Hickman, Danya Johnson, Angela Kyzer, Melissa Sutton, Anna Temple, Nicola Edge.

Academic poster titled 'FIRST:ECE Trauma Informed Care Teacher Certificate Program' by McBride, Harman, Hickman, Johnson, Kyzer, Sutton, Temple, and Edge from the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. The poster has a dark red header band with the UAMS logo and is divided into three columns with sections for Purpose, Methods, Results (including four figures), Focus Groups, Observations, Satisfaction, Conclusions, and References. Full text and data tables describing every figure are linked above this image.

Best Poster Award (Residents/Students)

“Photosensitive Lesions in Chronic Hepatitis C: A Case of Suspected Porphyria Cutanea Tarda” – Lavanyah Anbazhagan, Umesh Doppalapudi, Shail Bhatnagar.

Academic case-report poster titled 'Photosensitive Lesions in Chronic Hepatitis C: A Case of Suspected Porphyria Cutanea Tarda' by Anbazhagan, Doppalapudi, and Bhatnagar. The poster has a dark purple color scheme with sections for Introduction, Purpose, Patient Presentation, Images (three clinical photos labeled A, B, and C), a pathway diagram (Figure 1) showing how Hepatitis C leads to PCT, Clinical Course, Discussion, Conclusion, and References. Detailed text and image descriptions are linked above this image.

Best Poster Award (Faculty; there are two because there was a tie)

“Integrating Lifestyle Medicine Curriculum into Residency Didactics: A Practical Implementation Model” – Germán Corrales, Monica Ferrero, Lauren Gibson-Oliver, Wayne Bryant Jr.

Academic research poster titled 'Integrating Lifestyle Medicine Curriculum into Residency Didactics: A Practical Implementation Model' by Corrales, Ferrero, Gibson-Oliver, and Bryant from UAMS Family and Preventive Medicine. The poster has a light-pink color scheme with sections for Background, Objective, Methods, Results, Next Steps, and Conclusion, a bar chart of Lifestyle Medicine Board eligibility by graduating class, photos of grocery-store tours and plant-based culinary classes, and a QR code linking to the residency website. The full text and figure descriptions are linked above this image.

“Raise the Floor, Raise the Ceiling” – Amber Norris, Rajalakshmi Cheerla, Leslie Stone, Grace Chiu, David Kelley.

Academic poster titled 'Raise the Floor, Raise the Ceiling' by Norris, Cheerla, Stone, Chiu, Kelley, and Malhotra from the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. The poster has a dark red header band with the UAMS logo, and sections for Abstract, Background, Methods, Preliminary Results, Challenges, Conclusions, References, and Disclosures. It also features a color-coded map of Arkansas marking the eight regional UAMS sites. The full text and a description of the maps are linked above this image.

Plenary Speaker

The plenary speaker was David Rakel MD – professor and chair of the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Dr. Rakel spent time with the residents and met with the DFPM Executive Committee.

CARE Awards

The day culminated with the presentation of the second annual Chair’s Awards for Recognition of Excellence (CARE). There were 27 different awards for which 133 nominations were submitted. One of the highlights was the awarding of the Chair’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award to Ronald Brimberry MD for his more than 40 years as an honored teacher, mentor, scholar, and administrator. This award was presented to him by Dr. Kraleti and Dr. Rakel.

CARE Awards

Teaching Excellence Pins

The UAMS College of Medicine provided Teaching Excellence pins for 18 DPFM faculty members who were chosen based on their outstanding teaching evaluations by medical students. Their pins were presented by Dr. Kraleti.