Letter from the Chair
With the end of 2021 almost upon us, the Department of Medicine can reflect proudly on a year of many achievements across our tripartite mission, all accomplished while we continue to manage the ongoing challenges of this pandemic.
Unfortunately, COVID rates are now beginning to go back up in St. Louis County and in many states across the US. We will need to be very careful, especially over the holidays. This news is accompanied by the formal recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine to children ages 5 to 11. Vaccinating children is a significant measure in preventing new cases and hospitalizations across all age groups in the months ahead and represents a significant step in the efforts to battle this pandemic. COVID booster vaccines are also very important for high-risk groups. Boosters will likely be available for broader groups soon.
Activity throughout the department is robust. Many divisions are busy showcasing their research and talents at national meetings. Recruitment efforts are well underway. Our faculty, staff, and trainees continue to achieve and thrive. We are particularly proud of the many Department of Medicine faculty recognized at the annual Academy of Educators Education Day for their contributions to educational excellence across the School of Medicine.
In this issue, we spotlight Cardiology’s Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH and the impactful research she is doing with health policy and equity. Take a moment to learn more about her efforts and read about the many significant accomplishments across the department.
We have excelled through difficulties and challenges throughout this pandemic. Thank you for your continued determination, innovation, and commitment to delivering the best in patient care, education and research. And, as always, thank you for your support of the Department of Medicine.
Best Regards,
Vicky Fraser, MD, Adolphus Busch Professor of Medicine, Chair, Department of Medicine
Spotlight
Dr. Joynt Maddox’s career as a health policy researcher sparked from an initial interest to affect change in the world around her. Today, Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, associate professor with the Cardiovascular Division and Co-Director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University, is doing just that, helping to define, educate and develop health policy and equity through research. Read more.
Clinical News
Results from Project ACHIEVE with Hospital Medicine’s Mark Williams, MD were published in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. Read the full study here.
Hilary Babcock, MD, MPH has assumed the role of BJC vice president and chief quality officer with the BJC Center for Clinical Excellence. Read more.
Research News
New technique may lead to safer stem cell transplants. Read more.
An unexpected path for inflammasome-mediated inflammation. Read more.
Hookworms have potential to protect soldiers from chemical, biological weapons. Read more.
Cross-discipline team publish study, “Breast cancer-derived GM-CSF regulates arginase 1 in myeloid cells to promote an immunosuppressive microenvironment”. Read more.
Paper Focused on Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Published in Nature. Read more.
Common respiratory virus manipulates immune genes to protect itself. Read more.
Most cases of never-smokers’ lung cancer treatable with mutation-targeting drugs. Read more.
Episode of ‘Show Me the Science’ highlights how stay-at-home orders changed the initial trajectory of the pandemic. Listen to the podcast here.
Podcast: Boosters? Vaccines for kids? Where do we stand heading toward winter? Listen to the podcast here.
Education News
Abby Spencer, MD, MS, FACP author on “Why Internal Medicine Program Directors remain in their positions, are effective, and thrive: A qualitative study”. Read more.
Grand Rounds: Check out Internal Medicine Grand Rounds every Thursday at 8am throughout the academic year. All presentations are available via Zoom. A schedule of upcoming Grand Rounds presentations is available on the DOM events calendar.
Missed a presentation? Recordings of past Grand Rounds can be found on the DOM website or via the DOM YouTube channel.
Office of Vice Chair of Education
Read the latest update from the Office of the Vice Chair of Education, Abby Spencer, MD here.
DOM Office of Faculty Development (OFD)
Office of Faculty Development (OFD) wishes to provide faculty with resources and guidance that will foster professional and personal growth and development in clinical care, education, research, and leadership. Visit our website to learn about existing resources.
Check our calendar for continuous updates on upcoming events:
- Building and Working in Effective Teams with Steve Miller, MD
December 7, 2021 from 3:30-5:00pm (Zoom)
Hosted by the Clinical Research Training Center - Spotlight on Women in Medicine and Science
Half-day symposium in March 2022 (Exact date to be finalized) Co-sponsored by multiple departments, including DOM - CEP Workshop – Save the Date!
February 2, 2022 from 5-6pm (In-Person; Location TBD)
Will Your CEP Get You Promoted? All faculty on the Clinician Track in the Department of Medicine are encouraged to attend and bring a completed CEP to be reviewed and discussed. Registration for this event will be limited to 30 attendees.
Research Articles of Interest
Links of Interest for All Faculty
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DOM Office of Inclusion and Diversity (OID)
Join the OUTmentor program! OUTmentor is a program for SGM/LGBTQ+ identifying individuals to build community, foster professional development, and engage in LGBTQ+ advocacy. OUTmentor is open to all SGM/LGBTQ+ identifying trainees and faculty (MD & PhD based programs) associated with the School of Medicine. Please sign up here by 12/1/21!
Congratulations to the inaugural members of the Internal Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Residency House Staff Council. View new members here. The resident-run house staff council organized by Cassandra Fritz, MD was established to elevate the importance of racially diverse perspectives throughout residency education, training, and the patient care climate.
New video on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion created for 2021 Internal Medicine Residency Interview Season. Read more.
The WUSM Office of Diversity Programs in conjunction with the Office of Inclusion and Diversity in the Department of Medicine will host the Diversity Residents Showcase on Friday, January 21, 2022 from 9:00-1:00pm. The Diversity Residents Showcase has been held annually since it started in 2017. This year’s showcase will be a virtual event and invites prospective URM residents who have interviewed for residency programs across the School of Medicine. The session itinerary includes a mixture of interactive sessions and speakers along with opportunities to connect with current WUSM residents.
Forum for Women in Medicine
We had a very successful first DOM Moms & Caregivers Event for the academic year. A lot of appreciation to Dr. Namrata Patel who is leading the subcommittee for organizing the Social Meet & Greet at the Park (pictured above). Seven families attended, including some significant others and a total of 11 children. There was a mix of faculty, fellows, and house staff that attended so it was a great afternoon of community building!
FWIM hosted a virtual session on Nov. 3rd, “Finding a Job 101: How to prepare for interviews and critically assess jobs” with guest speaker Michelle DeLair, PhD, Assistant Director, Graduate & Postdoctoral Career Development followed by a panel who will share their tips from diverse practice types. It was moderated by Maanasi Samant MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and included panelists:
- Lynn Cornelius MD, Professor and Chief of Dermatology
- Jennifer Alexander-Brett, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine
- Kristen Fisher, MD, Pulmonologist at St. Lukes Hospital
Advancing Women in Academic Medicine
AWAM has been working closely with Dr. Fraser and division chiefs in the department to develop a departmental values statement and to create a more standardized form for annual faculty reviews to improve transparency and consistency in evaluations. Read more.
Across the Department
Faculty and trainees attend professional development conferences for women in medicine. Read more.
Lisa Zickuhr, MD, MHPE, Andrew Robinson, MSW, LMSW, Frank O’Brien, MD, and Nathan Nolan, MD, MPH were selected to present at this year’s AIMW22 Conference. Read more.
The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLS0) partnered with the Division of Infectious Diseases to help audiences return to Powell Hall. The medical team, led first by Abigail Carlson, MD, then Stephen Liang, MD, along with a team of SLSO staff, developed concert protocols that adhere to the highest standards of health and safety. Read more in SLSO’s blog. More information about the partnership is included in the fall 2021 edition of Symphony Magazine.
Second-year WashU Nephrology fellows Maryam Saleem, MBBS, Bharat Neelam Raju, MD, Hassaan Iftikhar, MBBS, and Gaurav Rajashekar, MBBS, took part in the 2021 Nephrology Business Leadership University (NBLU) program, which wrapped up its week-long event on August 8, 2021. Read more.
St. Louis-hosted biennial meeting of the American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB), chaired by Dr. Jeffrey Miner, Division of Nephrology, was held September 12-15, 2021. The meeting, a huge success, was postponed last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
The American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2021 was held November 4-7. See our WashU Nephrology Calendar for a list of our speakers, poster presentations and moderators! Read more.
Welcome to Twitter:
- Division of Hospital Medicine - Follow them at @WashUHosp
- Division of Allergy and Immunology - Follow them at @WashUAllergyImm
Check out the newly redesigned websites for:
New Faculty Leadership
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Victor G. Dávila-Román, MD (left): Appointed Vice Chair of Global Health in the Department of Medicine. Read more.
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Thomas M. De Fer, MD (right): Appointed the Chief of the Division of General Medicine. Read more.
Awards/Honors
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Monica Chang-Panesso, MD: Chang-Panesso is the first recipient of the endowed Roger M. Perlmutter Career Development Professorship. Funds from the endowment are aimed at helping support aspiring physician scientists from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine and science to become independent investigators. Read more.
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Eryn Dixon, PhD: Dixon, a member of the Humphreys Lab was awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA F32 Grant to study "The Role of Nonmuscle Myosin IIA in Sex-dependent Failed Repair Mechanisms in Acute Kidney Injury.” Read more.
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Fang (Roseanne) Zhao, MD, PhD: Selected as a 2021 American College of Rheumatology Distinguished Fellow.
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Kelli King-Morris, MD: Inducted into WashU Academy of Educators. Read more.
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Jennie H. Kwon, DO, MSCI: Appointed to the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Antimicrobial Resistance Committee as well as the Awards Committee. Read more.
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Deborah Lenschow, MD, PhD: Appointed the John S. Daniels Professor in Immunology. The professorship was made possible by a gift from Noémi and Michael Neidorff and established in honor of Dr. John Daniels, a Washington University associate professor of clinical medicine who specializes in endocrinology and metabolism. Read more.
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Deborah Lenschow, MD, PhD: Named Pew Innovation Fund Investigator. Read more.
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Mauricio Lisker-Melman MD, FAASLD: Awarded the "Professional Life Achievements Award in Hepatology" and the "Life Achievement Award in Gastroenterology" by the Mexican Association of Hepatology and the Mexican Association of Gastroenterology.
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Laneshia K. Tague, MD: Received the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Award. Tague is being recognized for her work in understanding the role of genetics in patients’ responses to immunosuppression drugs following lung transplantation. Read more.
Angela Brown, MD and Anitha Vijayan, MD were honored as recipients of the Neville Grant Award for BJH for 2021.
Hilary Babcock, MD, MPH and Jennie H. Kwon, DO, MSCI: Reveal vaccine effectiveness in health care professionals in a publication in NEJM. Read more.
Longer Life Foundation Awardees: Eight researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have received funding from the Longer Life Foundation, a cooperative effort between Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Reinsurance Group of America (RGA). The funding period for the most recent cycle begins 10/1/21. Read more.
The researchers include:
Dennis Chang, MD and Mark Thoelke, MD: 2021 Academy of Educators Honor Roll Awardees. Read more. OpportunitiesDoris Duke COVID-19 Fund to Retain Clinical Scientist Program – Call for Applications The Institute for Informatics and the Healthcare Innovation Lab announce the 2022-2023 Big Ideas Competition to support informatics and healthcare delivery innovations with a grant of up to $50,000. A letter of intent to apply is due Mar. 15, 2022. Interested teams should attend at least one office hours session. The next session is Dec. 8. Read more. Seeking clinical research mentors to participate as mentors for the summer ASPIRE Program. If your lab does basic or translational research, and you are interested in participating as a mentor, please complete the brief Summer 2022 ASPIRE Mentor Interest Form by 1/1/2022. For more information, please visit the ASPIRE program website and view the Summer 2022 ASPIRE Mentor flyer. The Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE˛) McKelvey Collaboration Initiation Grants Events
Grants
Publications
Recent publications are provided using Research Profiles, the faculty profile and research information platform for the School of Medicine. Visit the website to check your profile, view network collaborations for yourself, department, or division, and locate faculty working in a particular research area. To update your profile or request corrections, use the Change Request form or contact Laura Simon, Research Support Librarian, at profiles@wustl.edu. Resources
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NIH awards 4 medical school scientists prestigious ‘high-risk, high-reward’ grants including Department of Medicine’s own 