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 Summer is upon us, unleashing a heatwave unlike any seen in a couple of decades in Southern Arizona.
On June 19, the temperature hit 115°F—tying a record. The next day at 3:56 p.m., it hit 116°F—breaking the record. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning that’s in effect until the end of the week. A dip is predicted, but we can expect daily highs to fluctuate in and out of the teens as we wait for the monsoon season to start.
With a myriad of health issues affected by the heat (see Dr. John Galgiani on Valley fever in a recent KGUN9 broadcast and me on asthma and COPD on KVOA News4 in the “COM-T in the News” section of the new Workplace by Facebook app—more on that below), it’s a good time to visit  Summerhaven on Mount Lemmon (left), go north to Flagstaff/Sedona, Prescott or the White Mountains, or west to beaches in San Diego or Rocky Point. If you stay home, keep indoors or confine your outdoor activities to early morning or evenings. Always take water with you and stay hydrated.
That said—as you can see by the plethora of notices in this newsletter—things are not cooling off any time soon in the UA Department of Medicine. Faculty and staff have been going gangbusters, as have fellows and residents. We welcome a new crew of trainees over the next few weeks. Congratulations to those who recently graduated from our nearly 20 ACGME-accredited training programs.
I’m also very excited about the news that the UA-Banner Academic Management Council approved lifting the post-employment non-compete clause from Tucson provider contracts with Banner – University Medical Group. It’s a huge positive for our recruitment and retention efforts. Read more about it below.
Monica Kraft, MD
Robert & Irene Flinn Professor of Medicine
Chair, Department of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson
At the graduation dinner for the Class of 2017 members of the University of Arizona Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson Campus, a number of awards were presented—some in recognition of the hard work of three year’s training, others in jest—reflecting the camaraderie developed in that time. View the photo gallery and see who won awards. Click here for coverage of the South Campus internal medicine residents' grad night event at the Omni Tucson National Resort...
By now, you’ve likely seen the emails from Dean Charles Cairns, MD—et al.—announcing the roll-out in June at the UA College of Medicine – Tucson of the Workplace by Facebook app, a collaborative platform to serve as the college’s intranet communications tool. Staggered invitations are being delivered via email to faculty and staff, with a goal of having fellows, residents and Banner folk on by summer's end...
Testimony to a U.S. Senate subcommittee by DOM Chair Dr. Monica Kraft on legislation to relax air quality standards stirred a bit of controversy as reported in an article from Cronkite News. Citing their potential health impact related to asthma, Dr. Kraft spoke against two Senate bills (S. 263 and S. 452) that co-panelist Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Misael Cabrera supported…
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Banner Health dropped the non-compete clause for physicians working for Banner – University Medical Group in Tucson, which had negatively impacted physician recruitment and retention for both the health care company and UA College of Medicine – Tucson. The move was announced June 7 in an email from co-chairs of the Academic Management Council…
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Drs. Elizabeth Juneman and Andrew Kraft closed out the DOM Research Seminar Series for the 2016-17 academic year, June 8, speaking about electrophysiology in heart failure and targeted therapy of cancer. See the photo gallery and archived video for this and all the lectures in the inaugural year for this series, for which much of the focus was on translational and precision medicine solutions to medical challenges...
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Drs. Louise Hecker and Heidi Mansour won a $415,491 NIH grant to determine effectiveness of the active ingredient in an FDA-approved oral drug that inhibits relapse and progression in multiple sclerosis in treatment of IPF, an advanced lung disease that affects the elderly. They'll test oral delivery as well as via inhaler. Their findings could lead to clinical trials…
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The UA-Banner All of Us℠/Precision Medicine Initiative team is seeking staff for photos to advertise the diversity of our unique Southwest population AND volunteers – or friendlies – to enroll during this “soft launch” before the national research program goes into full swing later this summer. Good news, you don’t have to be a Banner-bonded patient! Ask your family, friends and colleagues to join. Also see the latest All of Us℠ newsletter for June, out now…
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Winners of the Academic Half Day (AHD) Research Day poster competition for the University of Arizona Internal Medicine Residency Program – Tucson Campus were Drs. Jawad Bilal, Matt Adams and See Wei Low. The three also had their work chosen for oral presentations as Clinical Vignettes during the Medicine Grand Rounds on May 17…
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UA Internal Medicine Residency Program - South Campus member Dr. Balaji Natarajan won a research poster contest May 20 at the 2017 Arizona Annual Meeting of the American College of Cardiology hosted at the Mayo Clinic – Scottsdale Campus. His research looked at NMR spectroscopy imaging in psoriasis patients and lipoproteins associated with cholesterol buildup in arteries to evaluate cardiovascular disease risk…
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Several UA Internal Medicine Residency Program – South Campus physicians had research projects recognized at the GME Scholarly Day event hosted May 16 at Banner – University Medical Center South’s La Galería auditorium. Winners included Drs. Norm Beatty, Balaji Natarajan and Jessica August. Three others took second place spots…
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Medical students, residents, fellows and faculty physicians were all recognized at the Arizona Inn during the annual UA Department of Medicine Education Awards Reception, May 4. Graduating med student John Dicken was honored by two divisions, and Drs. Tammer El Aini and Tirdad Zangeneh repeated as winners of teaching awards. See photo gallery…
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Dr. Monica Kraft was picked for the prestigious Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program as a fellow in its Class of 2017-18. The part-time fellowship is hosted by the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership at Philadelphia’s Drexel University. She is the ninth UA faculty member to participate in the program…
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The UA Department of Medicine’s Drs. Jil Tardiff and Jarrod Mosier received 2017 Faculty Mentoring Awards and Dr. Kent Kwoh got an honorable mention May 17 as part of the UA College of Medicine – Tucson General Faculty Meeting. Other items on the agenda included GME Committee, MSRP Committee, SAVAHCS and UAHS New Buildings & Renovation Projects reports. Read on to see who else was recognized…
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UA Sarver Heart Center's Drs. Nancy Sweitzer and Carol Gregorio capped the center's 30th Anniversary community lecture series May 17 on human "disease in a dish" or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. iPSC could completely change cardiovascular medicine in terms of understanding individual variation, underlying disease mechanisms, transforming and personalizing drug discovery and targeting treatments. See Facebook Live link for video...
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UA dermatologist Dr. Vivian Shi won the Dermatology Foundation’s 2017 Patient Directed Investigation Grant for $20,000 to study mechanisms involved in regulating anti-oxidative enzymes, skin barrier proteins and inflammatory molecules in patients with atopic dermatitis—or eczema. She’s accepting patient volunteers for her research now…
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UA senior medical student Jose “Anthony” Cervantes, who’s headed for a dermatology residency program in Texas, has had a lot of “enablers” in his life. For him, that’s a good thing. They’ve helped this U.S. Air Force Reserve Pararescue jumper born in Laredo, Texas, be the first in his family to graduate from high school, college and, now, medical school. In one generation, he has taken his family from poverty to prosperity—all in service to others…
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Dr. Archita Desai, a UA assistant professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and research associate with the UA Liver Research Institute, won a two-year, $150,000 grant from the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease Foundation to fund her project, “The Intersection of Precision Medicine and Population Health to Improve Health Equity in Liver Disease”...
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UA geriatrician and the UA Center on Aging's Dr. Monica Vandivort has won a $50,000 start-up grant from the Arizona Area Health Education Centers for a clinical research initiative entitled, “A Community Paramedicine-Primary Care Partnership in Rural Cochise County Pilot Project to Improve Health Outcomes of Seriously Ill Elders.” It involves a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort between multiple health care organizations in and around Sierra Vista, Ariz…
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UA Center on Aging Co-Director and Division of Geriatrics, General Internal and Palliative Medicine Chief Dr. Mindy Fain is quoted in a new report from The Commonwealth Fund that supports home-based primary care as a more effective, less expensive and compassionate way to handle health needs of patients who suffer from severe or chronic illness, frailty or functional limitations. Her comments came as current president of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine…
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The UA Division of Hematology and Oncology’s Dr. Pavani Chalasani and Dr. Lana Gimber, of the UA Department of Medical Imaging, are winners of the 2017-18 Better Than Ever Research Grant for $30,000 from the University of Arizona Cancer Center. Their study focuses on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in breast cancer patients. It’s the final project funded through the BTE program, which began in 2000 and has distributed nearly $2 million in the past two decades…
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For his May 8 retirement, UA Cancer Center director emeritus and Regents professor Dr. David Alberts was honored with a scientific symposium, a “Celebrating a Stellar Career” tribute and a large reception. A key player in the center’s founding as well as that of the UA Skin Cancer Institute, he has pledged to building a $5 million endowment to support the institute. See pictures and find how you can support that effort…
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Look for new faces soon in the UA Division of Inpatient Medicine. Along with some recent departures come arrivals as well. Those include Drs. Srinivasa R. Madhavan, Nathan R. Copeland, Sujatha Doddi, Ryan McGrath, Sudheer Belur Sreenath and Nadia Ghallab. Dr. Madhavan started in April. Most others are set to arrive this summer…
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The UA Center for Integrative Medicine recently unveiled a new look for its website. Among other recent news, generous donations have allowed four new scholarships for the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine and Dr. Victoria Maizes was recognized with the Leadership in Integrative Medicine Award at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City. Be sure to check out the site and make sure, if you've linked to anything there, that you update your hyperlinks...
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A Phoenix couple touring the nation on behalf of sufferers of chronic kidney disease, Raymond and Analyn Scott, made a stop in Tucson in May to meet with faculty and investigators in the UA Division of Nephrology and Arizona Kidney and Vascular Research Center. Their organization, 1in9 Kidney Challenge, underscores the fact 1 in 9 U.S. adults suffers from kidney disease. They offered a patient perspective on living with CKD and heard about the latest related UA research…
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A recent Arizona Republic op-ed article co-written by the UA senior VPs Drs. Kimberly Andrews Espy (research), and Leigh Neumayer (health sciences), on federally funded research under way at the UA to ease breathing woes of those suffering from asthma. The May 31 article spotlights the work of Drs. Fernando Martinez and Monica Kraft, both of whom received large NIH grants in the past year…
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With funding from the American Sleep Medicine Foundation, Dr. Sai Parthasarathy and his research team at the UAHS Center for Sleep & Circadian Sciences will investigate if delivery of therapy for insomnia is effective and more convenient for patients through telehealth visits rather than conventional in-person consultations. They look to enroll up to 85 patients in a clinical study over next few months...
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DOM Chair Dr. Monica Kraft has been elected as a Fellow of the European Respiratory Society (FERS). Dr. Kraft is one of 17 people and two Americans to receive the honor this year. She is also a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, American College of Physicians and American College of Chest Physicians…
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A big contingent from the UA Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and the UAHS Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center brought their impactful scientific findings to the ATS 2017 International Conference in Washington, DC, May 19-24. They include faculty, fellows, residents and students. A number won scholarships to attend. See who all went and a few "postcards" sent back…
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Dr. Yves Lussier, associate vice president for data science and chief knowledge officer at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, and director of the UAHS Center for Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics, was presented with the Ambassador Award from his alma mater, the University of Sherbrooke, in Quebec, Canada…
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