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 Dear Colleagues:
With the beginning of the academic year and the early autumn changes in the Wisconsin countryside, this week we held our Eighth Annual Department of Medicine Faculty Dinner and Awards Ceremony. On Wednesday evening, nearly 180 of us gathered at the Monona Terrace to review the previous year’s accomplishments, introduce an outstanding class of new faculty and recognize excellence in teaching, clinical care and research. Please make note of our award winners listed below and give them your personal congratulations. Also, please note that many more in our department deserve recognition for what they do every day.
This issue marks the 8th edition of Vital Signs. My thanks to Lori Strelow, senior public affairs specialist, and Sharon Gehl, associate administrator, along with Drs. Betsy Trowbridge and Sam Lubner, co-chairs of the "Get the Word Out" committee, for developing this venue to share news and accomplishments to our department and beyond.
As I read yet another edition of Vital Signs, and especially after our awards celebration this week, I am tremendously proud to serve as chair of our department.
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Two of the award winners, Drs. Craig January and Jim Stein, stand with Dr. Condon Vander Ark at the 8th Annual Awards Dinner.
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Department of Medicine award winners are:
Graham-Meyer Teaching
Awarded to a member of the Medicine faculty who has excelled in educating residents and fellows in the ambulatory setting.
Robert Holland, MD
Evans-Glassroth Teaching Award
Awarded to a member of the Medicine faculty who has excelled in educating residents and fellows in the acute care setting.
Miguel Leal, MD
Schilling-Harkness Teaching Award
Awarded to a member of the Medicine faculty who has excelled in educating medical students.
Kevin McKown, MD
Rankin Research Award
Awarded to a senior member of the Medicine faculty who has made a significant research contribution toward advancing the field of medicine.
Craig January, MD, PhD
Puestow Research Award
Awarded to a junior member of the Medicine faculty who has made a significant research contribution toward advancing the field of medicine.
Richard Halberg, PhD
Dickie Research Award
Awarded to a Medicine fellow who has made a significant research contribution toward advancing the field of medicine.
Jeniel Nett, MD, PhD
Clinical Excellence Award
Awarded to a Medicine physician who exemplifies characteristics that would lead you to send a loved one to him or her.
Michael Field, MD and Sam Lubner, MD
Extra Mile Award
Awarded to a UW Health faculty member, outside of the Department of Medicine, who has made significant contributions to the Department of Medicine.
Joshua Medow, MD
Jeffrey E. Grossman Professionalism Award
Awarded to a Medicine faculty member who displays the highest standards of professionalism and compassion in our missions and represents the Department with energy, honor and humility.
David Hei, MD
In addition, Jeffrey Grossman, MD, CEO for the UW Medical Foundation, announced that Jim Stein, MD, was the recipient of the UW Health Presidential Physician Leadership Award. He presented this on behalf of himself, Donna Katen-Bahensky, CEO for UW Hospital and Clinics and Robert Golden, MD, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. This award was established to recognize a UWHC-practicing clinical physician who demonstrates exceptional leadership skills outside of his/her department and in institution-wide work along with a commitment to the mission, vision and values of UW Health within his/her department, across the organization and through community service activities that extend beyond discipline-specific professional activities.
Congratulations to all of the new faculty and our award winners. And thank you to everyone who made this evening a great success.
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Register Now for an Upcoming WeTALK Workshop
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 The one-day WeTALK workshops will be required for all residents, fellows, attendings, and advanced practice providers.
To register, please go to http://wetalk.medicine.wisc.edu. Click on the date of the session you would like to attend and fill out the short form. Please register at your earliest convenience, as workshops are being scheduled now. Additional workshops will be available throughout the year.
CME:
• Sponsored by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medicine and Office of Continuing Professional Development
• This live activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM
• Please see the WeTALK website for additional CME information
Questions? Email WeTALK@medicine.wisc.edu
Individualized Coaching: The WeTALK faculty will extend your education via real-time coaching encounters in your clinical practice. These sessions will be scheduled with your coach following your participation in one of the WeTALK workshops.
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Jarjour Votes Yes to Recommend FDA Approval
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The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) Allergy and Pulmonary Drug Advisory Committee voted to approve a new treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on September 10, 2013. This is a combination of two long-acting bronchodilators: Umeclidinium and vilanterol, given as once-daily inhaled therapy targeting airflow obstruction in patients with COPD. Nizar Jarjour, MD, chief of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, who was recently appointed as a regular member on the committee (2013-2017), stated that he voted "yes" to recommend approval of this new therapy because there is a real need for additional treatments of COPD and the clinical studies have demonstrated clear benefit with improved patient function and reduced exacerbations. If approved by the FDA, this inhaler would be marketed under the trade name Anoro Ellipta by GlaxoSmithKline.
For more information go to the FDA website.
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DOM's Part in Patient Experience Week
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Patient Experience Week, September 16-20, 2013, was designed to help all caregivers deliver the BEST Patient Experience to patients and families. The offerings during Patient Experience Week included a variety of ways to learn and participate. Department of Medicine physicians Lisa Grant and Toby Campbell led sessions during this week.
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Lisa Grant, DO, General Internal Medicine, directed her participants in a mindfulness stress management session. She used slowly guided physical postures and optimal breathing methods to help the group anchor their attention and awareness. Mindfulness is a tool that helps one be fully present in the moment and anchor one’s attention to the here and now.
Grant is teaching a Yoga Mindfulness class on Mondays, October 14 – November 25, from 12:00-12:30 pm at the UW Health Administrative Office Building in Middleton. The class is open to any UW Health employee. See uconnect for more information.
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Another presenter during Patient Experience Week was Toby Campbell, MD, Hematology/Oncology. Campbell, who practices mindfulness meditation himself, explained how the practice helps him to be completely present with patients. His session focused on crucial medical conversations and described several approaches for “how to” talk with patients during those crucial moments such as high-risk decision making or bad news.
Campbell feels patients and families who have a good understanding of their illness often make very appropriate, and more personal, medical decisions. His goal was to help providers in their discussions with patients so they may achieve a more patient-centered decision. He emphasized that, even when bad things are happening to patients, good communication helps to preserve hope while still being realistic and forms an even stronger patient-provider relationship.
Campbell developed the WeTALK workshops that are required for all Department of Medicine residents, fellows, attendings, and advanced practice providers. For more information visit: wetalk.medicine.wisc.edu.
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UW Health/SMPH Faculty/Staff Flu Shot Information
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The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), as part of UW Health, is committed to being a national leader in health care. To ensure the highest quality of care, all staff and providers need to be effective role models for our patients. For these reasons, all SMPH staff and faculty, students, both part-time and full-time, including temporary employees, all volunteers who regularly work in UW Health facilities, contract employees, medical students and students on clinical rotation in UW Health facilities, and other affiliated individuals, are required to receive an influenza vaccination. Only those with a completed medical waiver for a medical contraindication or religious/personal conviction waiver will be exempt from receiving the vaccine.
Please refer to the UW Health Influenza Vaccine Policy for further information. Detailed information regarding these policies and requirements and the instructions and/or schedules for TB/Flu Clinics, are available on uconnect.
SMPH employees may choose to receive the vaccine from their own health provider, campus flu clinics, or other community based flu vaccination programs, but must provide documentation of the vaccine to the SMPH Dean's Office Human Resources department by Friday, November 22, 2013. (MORE)
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Pepperell’s Research on TB Genomes Makes the News
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Caitlin Pepperell, MD, Infectious Disease, has analyzed dozens of tuberculosis genomes gathered from around the world and created a more detailed picture of why TB is so prevalent and how it evolves to resist countermeasures. In her most recent publication in the journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Pathogens, Pepperell led a team of researchers who describe a bacterium that marches in lockstep with human population growth and history, evolving to take advantage of the most crowded and wretched human conditions. This research has been picked up in several media outlets and UW-Madison. Here are links to a few of the articles:
UW-Madison, Science2.0, scicasts.com,
www.pharmamicroresources.com
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 Adnan Said, MD, Gastroenterology & Hepatology was on the Joy Cardine Show, September 19, 2013, talking about fatty liver disease in children. According to a recent report, it is estimated that 10 percent of all children have fatty liver disease. “Fatty liver disease is a kind of chronic liver disease that is related to the obesity epidemic.” commented Said. “Fatty liver disease, unfortunately, is one of the most common causes of cirrhosis.” You can listen to the entire interview on the Joy Cardine Show.
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"I have been a patient of Dr. Juanita Halls for 20+ years. I trust Dr. Halls implicitly in terms of diagnosis, advice and treatment. I have never hesitated to call for an appointment or felt that I received anything less than first class treatment by Dr. Halls, the doctors in residency, the nurses, or any of the staff supporting her. Each has always been professional, competent and sensitive to my health related concerns. From what I have been told by others about their care providers, I wish more health care professionals were as competent, emotionally intelligent and patient-centered as Dr. Halls and those who learn from and support her. Dr. Halls is the primary reason I have made the choice to stay with my current insurance provider. Thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts," said a patient after an appointment in General Internal Medicine.
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 October 4, 2013
Eliot C. Williams, MD, PhD, Professor
Division of Hematology/Oncology
Title: "Update on the Management of Venous Thromboembolic Disease"
 October 11, 2013
Karen Hansen, MD, MS, Associate Professor
Division of Rheumatology
Title: "Steroid Induced Osteoporosis"
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The UW Health Kidney Clinic-Fitchburg won the UW Health Clinic Team Award for demonstrating UW Health Ambulatory Service Standards through exemplary, proactive behavior and positive attitudes which are reflected in patient perceptions.
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Campbell Receives Agrace Hospice Award for Excellence
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 Toby Campbell, MD, Hematology/Oncology, received the Agrace Hospice Award for Excellence in End-of-Life Care for his contributions in mentoring fellows and working with faculty on crucial conversations. The award, given annually during Agrace's End-of-Life Forum, recognizes a community member who has made a difference in the lives of patients with life-limiting conditions and their families. The award came on September 19, 2013, during their annual End-of-Life Forum at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI.
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Results of ACP Research Competition
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A total of 16 medicine residents and 2 fourth year medical students participated at the 2013 Wisconsin American College of Physicians (ACP) Clinical Vignette and Research Competition held in the Wisconsin Dells on September 6, 2013. Andrew Vreede, MD, took home first place and a $500 prize in the clinical vignette poster competition with his case on "A Re-emerging Cause of Acute Aseptic Meningoencephalitis" and Dustin Andresen, MD, Jill LaGrange, MD, and Abby Bales, MD, won the Scott Sprtel Memorial Doctors Dilemma and a trip to compete at the National ACP Jeopardy competition.
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Djamali Elected Medical Director
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 Arjang Djamali, MD, Nephrology, has been elected as the Medical Director and the Chair of the Nephrology Committee of the National Kidney Registry (NKR) for 2013-2015. The mission of the NKR is to save and improve the lives of people facing kidney failure by increasing the quality, speed, and number of living donor transplants in the world (http://www.kidneyregistry.org). In this role Dr. Djamali will advise and make policy recommendations to the medical board, will ensure that the NKR medical policies meet the standard of ethics and that medical policies meet current regulatory recommendations.
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Cleary Supports Palliative Care in Africa
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 Jim Cleary, MD, Hematology/Oncology, recently attended the first-ever palliative care session in Africa for ministers of health, at the 4th Regional Palliative Care Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, September 18-20, 2013. The ministers and representatives of 15 countries, issued a declaration strongly supporting the role of palliative care and opioid availability. Cleary spoke at the conference on the recently released breast cancer guidelines and supportive palliative care for lower income countries. Prior to the conference, Cleary met with the Palliative Care Association of Zambia where he talked with physicians, regulators and non-governmental organization representatives and toured health care facilities.
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Byars-Winston and Carnes to Speak at Upcoming Grantee Meeting
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  Angela Byars-Winston, PhD, General Internal Medicine, (pictured left) and Molly Carnes, MD, Geriatrics, (pictured right) are invited speakers at the upcoming National Human Genome Research Institute/NIH grantee meeting on October 15, 2013 in Madison, WI. This meeting’s focus is research training and will be attended by grantees from two programs—the institutional training grants and a special program, the Diversity Action Plan, which has as its purpose in the recruitment of underrepresented minorities into genomics. Byars-Winston and Carnes will be discussing their research on effective mentoring relationships and the impact of cultural stereotypes on academic career advancement, respectively.
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The Partnership Education and Research Committee (PERC) of the Wisconsin Partnership Program recently awarded Christie Seibert, MD, General Internal Medicine, a targeted renewal grant in the amount of $2,474,587 over three years for “Transforming Medical Education 2.0: Healthcare System Improvement, Community Engagement and Advocacy,” effective August 1, 2013 to July 31, 2016.
Ozioma Okonkwo, MD, Geriatrics, received a K23 Beeson Mentored Training Award titled: “Early detection of asymptomatic middle-age adults at risk for AD.” Specific training goals include: (1) cultivate a more nuanced understanding of aging and geriatric cognitive disorders, (2) receive dedicated training in neuroimaging methods, (3) develop advanced neuroimaging data analytic expertise, (4) receive ongoing training in the responsible conduct of research, and (5) obtain the career guidance needed for successful transition from the K23 to an independent research career, and maturation into a future leader in the neuroimaging of preclinical AD.
Jennifer Weiss, MD, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, has received a five-year American Cancer Society Mentored Research Scholar Grant to support her career development, as well as her research on optimizing interventions to improve colorectal cancer screening rates.
Ravi Balijepalli, PhD, Cardiovascular Medicine, received grant funding from Gilead Sciences, Inc., for his grant entitled: “Ranolazine for the treatment of arrhythmia and potential use in LMNA related dilated cardiomyopathy and sudden death.” This is a proof of principle study that will be useful in determining the therapeutic potential of GS967 and GSXXXX in Lmna-related dilated cardiomyopathy.
Ambulatory Care Innovation Grant (ACIG) program awarded Kathryn McComb, PA, Wisconsin Dialysis Fitchburg, Round 11 funding for her grant proposal: "Improving Volume Management and Blood Pressure in the Hemodialysis Population.”
UWHC employee Nola Endres, clinical nutritionist working with Cardiovascular Medicine, received a large grant from the Ambulatory Care Innovation Grant Program at UW Health to fund her project "Intervention for Lifestyle Changes in Ventricular Assist Device, Heart Transplant, and Heart Failure Patients.”
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Graham M, Frederick J, Byars-Winston A, Hunter, A-B, Handelsman J. Increasing persistence of college STEM majors. Science 27 September 2013: 1455-1456. [DOI:10.1126/ science.1240487]
Ravina Kullar, Debra A. Goff, Lucas T Schulz, Barry C. Fox, and Warren E. Rose, The EPIC Challenge of Optimizing Antimicrobial Stewardship: the Role of Electronic Medical Records and Technology. Oxford Journals, Clinical Infectious Diseases Volume 57, Issue 7Pp. 1005-1013.
Pepperell CS, Casto AM, Kitchen A, Granka JM, Cornejo OE, Holmes EC, Birren B, Galagan J, Feldman MW. The Role of Selection in Shaping Diversity of Natural M. Tuberculosis Populations. PLoS Pathog. 2013 Aug;9(8):e1003543.
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Shenker Translates Chekov for Production
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 Yoram Shenker, MD, Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism, translated Chekov's The Seagull from the original Russian to English. This new translation was used in a stage production, with plans for further productions next spring.
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New Department of Medicine Faculty
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New faculty will be listed after their photos are available.
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 Muhammad Munir, MD
Hospital Medicine
Clinical Assistant Professor
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 Vanessa Tamas, MD
Emergency Medicine
Assistant Professor (CHS)
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New Department of Medicine Staff
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 Mitch Biermann
Research Assistant
Cardiovascular Medicine
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 Christopher Nicholas, PhD
Research Associate
Geriatrics
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At Grand Rounds on September 13, I listened to William Ehlenbach, MD, MSC, Pulmonary and Critical Care, give his presentation on “Long Term Outcomes Following Critical Illness.” His research reminded me of an article I read in the New York Times titled “Nightmares After the ICU.”
The article stuck with me, making sense of a time when my father became paranoid during an ICU experience. He blamed my mother for hiding things in his ice cream and was convinced he was held captive in a machine shop. We just thought he was going crazy. Now I have a new opinion. I asked Dr. Ehlenbach to share his thoughts on this article.
"In this piece Jan Hoffman recounts the story of a Dallas nurse named Lydia Dunsworth who remained tormented by anxiety, sleep disturbance, and memory loss for several years after receiving care in an ICU for intra-abdominal sepsis. She effectively uses that story as a launching point to a narrative summary of our growing understanding of the some of the burdens that many survivors of critical illness face, particularly psychological syndromes such as PTSD. As she implies, there can be something powerful in simply validating the experience of patients facing these challenges by telling them that they are not alone. She also focuses on changes in practice that might improve these outcomes: sedation strategies aimed at treating pain first and targeting lighter sedation levels as well as minimizing or avoiding benzodiazepines; early mobilization of ICU patients, including those requiring mechanical ventilation; and screening survivors for psychological symptoms and cognitive symptoms. Improving practice is obviously an important goal among scientists working to improve our understanding of the causes and mechanisms of these associations. But I am also motivated to carry out research in this area because improved knowledge of the challenges survivors might face can translate into better information to assist patients and families as they face difficult decisions about the initiation or continuation of life sustaining therapies. With better understanding we will be better able to educate our patients and their families about all of the possible outcomes after critical illness."
I really appreciate the work that Ehlenbach is doing. It is comforting to know the experts in ICU are paying attention to a patient’s mental state as well as their physical well being.
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We want to hear from you!
Please email us at marketing@medicine.wisc.edu and share information about your community service/outreach efforts, grants awarded, papers published, accomplishments in education and clinical work, or anything else which you are proud or think would be of interest to your colleagues.
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