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 Fall in Tucson is the best time to be in the “Old Pueblo” as temperatures cool down to an average high of roughly 85°F.
The calendar, though, gets really hot about this time of year. In addition to walkathons and 5K/fun-run fundraisers for every conceivable ailment under the sun, come a host of special lecture series, seminars and conferences here on the University of Arizona Health Sciences campus. Invited speakers come from around the corner and across the globe to enlighten students, residents, fellows and faculty physicians about the latest updates in medical knowledge.
Last year, we had 512 listings on the DOM Events webpage. We’re up to 374 in 2018. Thirty-eight were in September. Seventeen are scheduled so far for October. Two that got bumped from the list are ones I mentioned in last month’s message. Due to scheduling conflicts, the departmental General Faculty Meeting will now be held Nov. 8, with Dr. Irving Kron, interim executive dean, UA College of Medicine – Tucson, among the invited speakers (be aware the college’s faculty meeting is Nov. 7). In addition, THE TUCSON CONFERENCE, an 8.0 CME event that features several DOM faculty as instructors, will now be held Feb. 2, 2019.
Don’t forget also to attend the UA/UAHS Strategic Plan Session for the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, which will be Tuesday, Oct. 2, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., in DuVal Auditorium. It’s your opportunity to share your voice to help shape the future of our university. From that perspective, you do indeed have the power to make history.
 Lastly, as we see construction work across the UAHS campus ebb and flow, please be aware that UAHS Homecoming and Reunion Weekend festivities, as well as the 2nd Annual Innovations & Inventions Fair, may push south of Drachman Hall due to start of work on the UA College of Pharmacy’s Skaggs Building. Meanwhile, work is coming to a close on the Health Sciences Innovation Building, with furniture on order. See this photo album of the progress at HSIB at the departmental Facebook webpage here.
PS: Special kudos to two groups you’ll read more about in the coming weeks at the DOM News webpage: 1) the UA Nephrology/Urology Team’s successful launch of the Kidney Stone Clinic at Banner – University Medicine North, and 2) UA/Banner All of Us Arizona Research Program, which is nearing 15,000 enrollees in the precision medicine initiative. No. 1 in the nation, the AllofUsAZ.org program’s nearest cohort is the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at just under 9,000 enrollees. The national goal is a million or more enrollees.
Monica Kraft, MD
Robert & Irene Flinn Professor of Medicine
Chair, Department of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson
Dr. Omavi Bailey, who graduates soon from the UA Sleep Medicine Fellowship, knows a lot about how a good night’s rest (or lack thereof) affects health and your mental state—particularly for men of African descent. His perspectives on the subject are as diverse as the life experiences from which he draws them, spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the United States...
See photos of the new Advanced Electrophysiology Suite at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson from an open house, hosted Sept. 13 by the first-floor Cardiac Catheterization Lab.  The new $4.2 million suite is equipped with a c-arm unit featuring a Philips Azurion image-guided therapy system that cost just over $2 million and is the low X-ray technology’s first use in Arizona. Congrats to UA Cardiac Electrophysiology Director Dr. Matthew Hutchinson, Dr. Peter Ott, Dr. Julia Indik and their team…
Scarring is a good thing. When you fall and scrape your knee, the natural process jumps into gear, seals up wounds and heals damaged tissue. But excessive scarring gone haywire, or fibrosis, causes many diseases that affect internal organs—most with no cure. Now, a $4.4 million U.S. Department of Defense grant for Dr. Louise Hecker and her research team will help UA researchers focus on a deadly fibrotic disease that affects the lungs, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis…
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The Arizona Bioindustry Association will present the UA Division of Dermatology’s Dr. Clara Curiel with this year’s top researcher award for her pioneering work in skin cancer prevention, screening, treatment and community outreach. She also is affiliated with the UA Cancer Center, UA Skin Cancer Institute and UA BIO5 Institute. The AZBio Awards Ceremony, Oct. 3 in Phoenix, is the high point of Arizona Biosciences Week (Sept. 30-Oct. 6). Several UA Health Sciences-related startup firms will present, including Avery Therapeutics and Valley Fever Solutions. Come celebrate with us…
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The UA Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health won a $1.25 million federal grant to train a new generation of students from underserved communities in cancer prevention and control research. The money will go to the Student Transformative Experiences to Progress Under-represented Professionals (STEP-UP) in Cancer Prevention Program, a 12-week, paid research program that involves direct community engaged research and experiential clinical trial opportunities designed for undergraduate and master’s-level students…
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The Third Annual DOM Fellows Retreat hosted by the UA Department of Medicine at the UA Cancer Center’s Kiewit Auditorium offered multiple insights into a successful academic and research career for members of the department’s 17 ACGME-accredited fellowships. Among last-minute agenda additions were Dr. Prabir Roy-Chaudhury (on mentoring) and Dr. Dean Billheimer (on new statistical support resource). Thanks also to Drs. Irving Kron, Monica Kraft, Jil Tardiff, Tara Carr, Anita Koshy, Larry Mandarino, Lauren Estep, and Michael Insel. See the photos, watch the video…
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Designed for graduate students and working professionals, the certificate program provides specialized training in navigating the path from research to bringing medical products to market. Be sure also to catch Regulatory Science Series lectures on Oct. 5 ( “Research Ethics & Compliance”) and Oct. 26 ( “Medical Device Regulation” with Dr. Marvin Slepian)…
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Loyola UMC President Dr. Chad Whelan started Sept. 26 in his new post overseeing Banner – University Medical Center Tucson and South clinical facilities, the Banner – University Medical Group physician practice plan and more than 6,000 employees in Southern Arizona. He reports to Larry Goldberg, CEO of the statewide Banner – University Medicine organization. Sarah Frost will remain as CEO of the two hospitals in Tucson…
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Flu season is just around the corner and it’s time to get a flu shot to keep you and everyone around you healthy. The University of Arizona will host flu shot clinics—free for state employees—on the UAHS campus on Oct. 5, Oct. 10 and Oct. 11. Banner Health flu clinics in Tucson are Sept. 28 and Oct. 22-24. See where and what time for these and other flu shot clinics, as well as what you’ll need to get your free shot…
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As the AMA recognizes September as “Women in Medicine Month,” so too does the UA Department of Medicine. We’re proud of all our female physicians and their contributions to academic, research and clinical progress. Kudos to you all, particularly those in leadership positions—including Drs. Julie Bauman, Liz Connick, Mindy Fain, Sireesha Koppula, Monica Kraft, Victoria Maizes, Juanita Merchant, Deb Meyers, Tammy Ojo, Merri Pendergrass, Amy Sussman, Nancy Sweitzer and Jil Tardiff...
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Medical students from the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, with the Department of Emergency Medicine and Sarver Heart Center, to increase use of chest-compression-only CPR among Hispanics in Arizona just got a new tool. Thanks to a $5,000 grant from the Arizona Area Health Education Centers (AzHEC), the student-led Resuscitation Education and CPR Training (REACT) Group, completed two videos in Spanish. Take a look…
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Congratulations to the UA Division of Dermatology team after news its latest four graduates from the Advanced Dermatology Residency Program—Drs. Jessin Blossom, Joseph Chao, Colleen Cotton and Jennifer Sawaya—sailed through their American Board of Dermatology exams. That’s five straight years of perfect scores. (Dr. Cotton is featured in a Dermatology News article, too!)…
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“Post-Radiation Dry Mouth,” “‘Evil’ Proteins,” “Hopi Tribal Alliance,” “Lymphoma Event”—these are just a few of the topics in the September issue of the UA Cancer Center Newsletter. Welcome also to Drs. Juan Chipollini and Leslie Farland and new UACC Communications and Public Affairs Director Megan Guthrie. Shared Resource Highlight: Tissue Acquisition and Cellular/Molecular Analysis. Read all about it…
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The UA Cancer Center’s Breast Team will educate the public about their risk for breast cancer in a presentation featuring talks about genetics, preventive surgery, risk reduction and clinical trials. The outreach event—“Are You at High Risk for Breast Cancer?”—is Saturday, Sept. 29, 9 a.m. to noon, in Building 2 at Banner – University Medicine North, 3838 N. Campbell Ave. The free event is open to the public…
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Eleven hospitalist physicians have started in the University of Arizona Division of Inpatient Medicine since July 1, with another set to start on Oct. 1. They come with a wide range of experiences, languages and clinical and research interests, says Division Chief Dr. Tejo Vemulapalli. Be sure to welcome Drs. Alvaro Altamirano, Tarun Bathini, David Brual, Soham Davé, Roshanak Habibi, Robert Koch, Shilpa Pedapati, Nanda Pullela, Sorabh Sharma, Annie Shergill and Kamaldeep Singh. Learn all about them…
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Dr. Ryan McGrath, a hospitalist for Banner – University Medical Center Tucson and clinical assistant professor in the UA Division of Inpatient Medicine, was recognized Sept. 20 at the Banner Combined Leadership Meeting for his work to improve timely patient discharges at the hospital. A key component to reach the facility’s goal is that physicians complete discharge orders by 10 a.m. for those patients being discharged on a given day…
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Is your office affecting your health? Workers in open office seating had less daytime stress and greater daytime activity levels than workers in private offices and cubicles, according to new research led by the UA Institute for Place, Wellbeing and Performance’s Drs. Esther Sternberg and Casey Lindberg. A paper on the topic was published in August in the journal, Occupational and Environmental Medicine...
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Infants with congenital heart disease and central sleep apnea are four times more likely to die in the hospital, UA researchers found. UA interim Pulmonary Division Chief Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, director of the UA Health Sciences Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences and Banner – UMC Tucson Center for Sleep Disorders, contributed to the study led by Dr. Daniel Combs, a UA pediatrics sleep specialist. A paper on the topic is in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine…
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Scleroderma and vasculitis specialist, Dr. Alicia Rodriguez-Pla joins the UA Division of Rheumatology and UA Arthritis Center. She trained at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Johns Hopkins University and Boston University and conducted research on lupus at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research in Dallas…
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Kudos to Terry Smith, REDCap program manager for the UA Health Sciences Center for Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics (pictured middle with Center director Dr. Yves Lussier on right), for receiving a Wildcat Family Spirit Award for his outstanding work, dedication, and commitment to making REDCap, which supports clinical surveys and databases projects and initiatives, a huge success for university researchers and collaborators…
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