Your Neck of the Woods
Medicine
Administrators Allie Fenerty (Internal Medicine), Ann Marie Onesti (Gastroenterology & Rheumatology) and Vilma Cervantes (Internal Medicine/Pediatrics) have all been selected as members of the 2025-26 Coordinator
Advisory Group. Marcy Navarre (Emergency Medicine Baton Rouge) will serve as CAG Mentor.
The Medicine Research Day Poster session 2025 was a great success with nearly 200
attendees. There were 92 abstracts in three categories: Translational Research, Quality
Improvement and Clinical Vignettes.
LSU-Baton Rouge was well represented at the recent the LSU-OLOL Quality and Research Day:
- Best Case Report/Case Series poster: Sarah Kirk, Connor Bennett, Melody Salmanian, Jessica Lacombe, Tiffany Ardoin (IM-BR): “Confronting the Crisis: Mpox in Patients with Advanced HIV”
- Best Performance Improvement poster: Katie Taylor (LSU ID faculty) and others: “A Tailored Approach to Reducing Surgical Site Infections”
- Best Oral Presentation: Hollis O’Neal, Christopher Thomas (LSU Pulm-CC faculty) and others: “Impact of a Novel Sepsis Diagnostic Test on the Prescribing Habits of Antimicrobials”
LSU faculty and residents recently attended and presented at the WADEM 2025 Tokyo,
Japan (World Association of Disaster and Emergency
Medicine). The following faculty and residents presented talks and posters: Dr. Jim Aiken, Dr. Meghan Maslanka, Dr. Jordan Vaughn, Dr. Nicole Kaban, Dr. David Rayburn and residents Dr. Alex Woodbridge (PGY4), Dr. Michael Kling (PGY2), and Dr. Jason Sreedhar (PGY2).
Dr. Tom Reske (Hematology Oncology/Geriatrics) and Dr. Michelle Loch (Hematology Oncology) recently spoke at the 20th Annual New Orleans Summer Cancer Meeting in New Orleans. Dr. Reske spoke on “Upper GI Cancer: Esophageal and Gastric - New Developments” and Dr. Loch presented difficult breast cancer patient cases for the “Oncology Tumor Board in 2025” discussion.
Dr. Reske and Dr. Lobna Ali (Geriatrics) presented two posters at the American Geriatrics Society meetings in
Chicago.
Dr. Ben Springgate (Community and Population Medicine) spoke at a Voters Organizing To Educate (VOTE) event on the dangers of fentanyl and the promise of medications for opioid use disorder. The audience consisted of advocates, students, professionals, and people with lived experience of incarceration.
Dr. Springgate also presented "Kratom - A Primer" to the Louisiana HOPE Council at the invitation of the Louisiana Department of Health. Kratom is a plant-derived substance which is commonly sold in tobacco shops that was banned in Louisiana effective August 1, 2025. There are no FDA approved uses of Kratom, and the ingestion of Kratom has been associated with a wide array or adverse effects, including dependence, liver injury, seizures, and death.
Dr. Tat Yau (Infectious Diseases), Dr. Lauren Richey (Infectious Diseases) and Dr. Danielle Gilbert (ID Fellow) recently presented the following e-posters at the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC) Continuum 2025 conference in Puerto Rico:
- Implementation of Low-Barrier Open Access HIV Care Clinic in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tat Yau, James Kinchen (School of Public Health), Tekeda Ferguson (SPH), Eric Babineaux, Paula Seal, Lauren Richey.
- Provider Comfort with Gender-Affirming HIV Primary Care. Danielle Gilbert, Lauren Richey
- Integrated Psychosocial PTSD Treatment and Adherence Intervention (Cognitive Processing Therapy; CPT-L) Reduces Stigma for People with HIV. Lauren Richey, Cristina Lopez (MUSC), Nathaniel Baker (MUSC), Stephanie Amaya (MUSC), Shane Bierma (LSU psychology), Erin Bisca (MUSC), Kaitlyn Catanzarite (LSU psychology), Michael Gee (LSU psychology)
Dr. Jameel Ahmed (Cardiology) was interviewed by Smithsonian magazine and asked to comment on recently developed technology that identifies heart conditions before any signs and symptoms develop. The magazine describes the work of a 14-year-old student who developed Circadian AI, an app that can detect cardiovascular abnormalities in seven seconds. The app, using sound recorded from a heart on a simple smartphone, analyzes the organ's sound patterns to detect irregularities that could potentially indicate underlying heart conditions. Tested on more than 15,000 individuals in the U.S. and 3,500 in India, the app has an impressive accuracy rate exceeding 96%.
Dr. Meredith Clement (Infectious Diseases) co-chaired a session on long-acting options for HIV prevention and had an oral presentation entitled, "LB-#2 - TwiceYearly Lenacapavir PrEP in Cisgender Gay Men, Transgender Women and Men, and Gender-Diverse People (PURPOSE 2)."
Dr. Ryan Falcone (IM Resident - Lafayette) and Dr. Farha Khan (Lafayette) presented an abstract titled "Access to care for the Underserved Population: Role of Healthcare Personnel-Academic and Administrative Initiatives" at the AAIM 2025 Conference in New Orleans.
Allie Fenerty (IM Program Coordinator) was selected to serve on the APDIM PA Program Planning Committee. Fenerty works with coordinators from across the country to assist with planning Academic Internal Medicine Week.
Dr. Matt Foy (Baton Rouge) was recently appointed as a faculty committee member for the Nephrology Medical Knowledge SelfAssessment Program (MKSAP) in 2025-26.
Dr. Tonya Jagneaux (Baton Rouge) provided a guest opinion piece, "Bad regulations will hinder the good AI can do in health care. Here’s why," in The Advocate about AI in healthcare as the state legislature attempts to add regulations.
Dr. Stephen Kantrow (Pulmonary/Critical Care) recently testified in front of the state legislature about the negative health outcomes of smoking and vaping prior to their vote on bills to increase taxes on tobacco and vaping products.
Dr. Kantrow was also featured in an article about the bills.
Dr. Fred Lopez (Infectious Diseases) recently gave the keynote welcome address to the 1st International Workshop on Long Acting Anti-Infectives in New Orleans.
Dr. Lopez was also recently appointed as a Deputy Editor for the American College of Physicians MKSAP in 2025-26.
Dr. Shelby MacRae (Pulmonary/Critical Care) was nominated as a future leader by the Editorial Board of touchRESPIRATORY and interviewed for an article by that same group.
Dr. Mihran Naljayan (Nephrology) co-authored two poster presentations at the 2025 annual meeting of the National Kidney Foundation held in Boston:
- Contemporary Trends in Peritoneal Dialysis Outcomes in the United States. Purna Mukhopadhyay, Kaitlyn Repeck, Eric Young, Jeffrey Perl, Jenny Shen, Mihran Naljayan, Roberto Pecoits-Filho, Ronald L Pisoni, Brian Bieber
- Increase in Conversions from Peritoneal Dialysis to Home Hemodialysis: A Pilot Study of a Structured Education Process. Mollie Horn, RN, BSN, Bernie del Rosario, MD, Mihran Naljayan, MD, Eric Weinhandl, PhD, MS
Drs. Katie O'Neal (Baton Rouge) and Victoria Burke (Infectious Diseases) were recently appointed as faculty committee members for the Infectious Diseases MKSAP in 2025-26.
Kelly Rauser (IM Student Rotation Coordinator) will be a member of the AAIM CDIM-CA Advisory Council as Chair of the Professional Development Committee.
Dr. Brooks Robey (Nephrology) has been appointed the Region 4 ACOS/R&D representative for the national VA Field Research Advisory Committee (FRAC) for 2025-2028. The purpose of this committee (FRAC) is to promote communication between ORD and investigators in the field, provide input on issues relevant to VA research including current operations, and to participate in strategic planning.
Dr. Judd Shellito (Pulmonary/Critical Care) was profiled in the Health Section of the Times Picayune newspaper on his research into health and nutrition. Dr. Shellito is the local PI of the multicenter NIH grant Nutrition for Precision Health that is studying genetic factors influencing the body’s metabolism of specific foods. Dr. Shellito commented on the relevance of this study to health and diabetes and provided information on how to participate.
Dr. Shellito and Dr. Ben deBoisblanc (Pulmonary/Critical Care) were recently celebrated at a retirement party filled with food, laughter and many stories. Both physicians will continue to be engaged with the pulmonary/critical care fellowship and section.
Dr. Seth Vignes (Hospital Medicine) was named the Senior Student Rotation Director for the department. In this role, Dr. Vignes will be responsible for the senior students who are completing Medicine Acting Internships and other medicine subspecialty rotations during their fourth year of training.
Dr. Amy Wolfe (Pulmonary/Critical Care) was featured in touchRESPIRATORY as part of their future leader series.
Dr. Farshid Yazdi (Nephrology) was named the Internal Medicine Career Advising Director for the department. In this role, Dr. Yazdi will serve as the lead departmental contact for all students (years 1-4) interested in pursuing residency in Internal Medicine. He will also lead the IM-RAMS (Internal Medicine-Residency Advisors for Medical Students) program.
Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery
Dr. Samuel A. Spear, the Department of Otolaryngology’s first neurotology fellow, was inducted into the
American Otological Society. (Image, left: Pictured with Dr. Spear are Dr. Erbele (recent LSU fellow), Dr. Arriaga, Dr. House and Dr. Slattery.)
Dr. Alyssa Ovaitt was appointed as a new member to the Ethics Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS).
Drs. Moisés Arriaga and Rahul Mehta led a Temporal Bone Course in May. (Image, left: Residents with Dr. Rahul Mehta and Dr. Moises Arriaga at the ENT Temporal
Bone Course)
Drs. Kevin McLaughlin, Katie Melder, and Stephen Hernandez led a Sinus Course in May.
Drs. Nick Poche (resident/fellow), Rohan Walvekar, and Charlotte Pearson presented the poster “Transoral Approach to Management of Plunging Ranulas – A Case Series” at the AAO-HNSF 2025.
Dr. Walvekar was also invited as International Faculty at the Turkish Society of OTO-HNS Conference.
At the Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia, Drs. Takeshi Ikuma, Melda Kunduk, Andrew McWhorter, and B. Story presented "pyLeTalker: A Python Framework for Wave Reflection Voice Synthesis” and Drs. Ikuma, McWhorter, and Kunduk presented "Perturbation Analysis of Synthetic Voices with Subharmonic Modulations.”
Resident Dr. Carley Boyce and Dr. Laura Hetzler presented “Longitudinal Outcomes Assessment: 8 Years of a Facial Nerve Disorders Multidisciplinary Clinic” at the QI Day Presentation.
Dr. Hetzler also co-chaired the AAFPRS Meeting at COSM.
Faculty, residents and fellows made several oral presentations over the quarter, including:
- RRAD: Sagar Kansara and Takeshi Ikuma
- AQL: “Feasibility Study of Subharmonic Voice Detection by Deep Learning” – McWhorter, Kunduk, and Ikuma
- AAP: “Pediatric Thyroid Nodule Management and Diagnosis” – Jill D’Souza
- Facial Synkinesis: “Unilateral Cervical and Masticatory Musculoskeletal Limitations…” – Caroline Bonaventure and Laura Hetzler
- “External Auditory Canal Trauma in a Pediatric Population: A Case Series” – Resident Carley Boyce and Belinda Mantle (Image, above right: Resident Dr. Carley Boyce at COSM 2025 in New Orleans)
Dr. Sagar Kansara interviewed Dr. Ravindra Uppaluri on Neoadjuvant Therapy for Advanced Head & Neck Mucosal Carcinoma for the American Head and Neck Society.
Dr. Kansara also delivered Grand Rounds at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. Andrew McWhorter was invited as Residency Graduation Speaker at Henry Ford.
Dr. Lisa Morris launched a Velopharyngeal Insufficiency (VPI) Program at OLOL Children’s Hospital in August 2025.
The Facial Plastics Team has applied for a Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship, with anticipated approval in September 2025 to enter the 2026 Match.
The department held its LSU ENT Alumni Reception - Photos here.
Pediatrics
Dr. Moulton hosted a Leadership Retreat for departmental leadership on Friday with sessions focused
on communication and team building. Manning Family Children's CMO, Mark Kline, spoke
about “One Voice, One Vision: Advancing Hospital-Academic Alignment Beyond Clinical
Care.”
The department launched its inaugural coaching program. Dr. Jennifer Griggs, MD, MPH,
Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan and an accredited leadership
coach, launched the one-year Faculty Coaching Program. At the end of this program,
faculty will demonstrate enhanced coaching capabilities for supporting medical trainees,
advanced communication and leadership skills, practical tools for promoting wellbeing
and professional development, strategies for building resilient medical education
environments, and expertise in supporting career development and transitions.
Ambulatory Division Chief Dr. Kimiyo Harris-Williams completed a research project establishing a high school student research cohort. The
students explored the world of biomedical research from the unique perspective of
the NIH All of Us Research Program, while learning the steps and utilizing the scientific
method. New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School students, with guidance
from Dr. Harris-Williams and their science teacher, Damionne Bell, developed a scientific
question based on the data available on the public tier of the All of Us Researcher
Workbench. They formulated a research question, hypothesis, conducted a research project,
wrote an abstract and presented their poster presentations.
Dr. Kyle Fulton recently presented a poster and led a panel discussion at the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial
Association Annual Meeting in Palm Springs.
The department celebrated Dr. Thomas Kimball’s retirement and honored his contributions to medicine.
Pediatric Fellowship Program Administrator Hanh Rimmer will serve on GME’s Coordinator Advisory Group (CAG) for the 2025–2026 academic year. She was peer-nominated and chosen by the GME staff and outgoing CAG members. CAG was created to improve communication with the central GME staff, advocate for the program coordinators and programs, and improve GME processes. Rimmer will be joined by six other program administrators, including Vilma Cervantes, Program Administrator for the Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program.
Dr. Lolie Yu has retired after 40 years at LSU Health New Orleans. The department held a reception
in her honor in June.
Physiology
Janos Paloczi, Danielle Levitt, and Sydney Vita introduced a group of NIAAA researchers to gator sandwiches during RSA.
Dr. Jason Gardner was elected to the SOM Faculty Assembly for another term.
Dr. Lisa Harrison Bernard is a member of External Promotions Committee of Pennington Biomedical Research Center. She was also a grant reviewer of Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Fellowship Review Board and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Science Diversity Leadership Award. In addition, she was a reviewer of the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Meeting abstracts.
Dr. Bernard also presented a workshop at the American Chemical Society Spring 2025 Scientific Meeting, “Mentor Training for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows” held in San Diego, CA. She also organized the LSUHSC-NO Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program in the Biomedical Sciences held in May and presented a talk titled “PREP Accomplishments.”
Dr. Scott Edwards presented a talk titled "Influence of Body Mass Index on Alcohol Use-Pain Interactions in People with HIV" at the 48th RSA Scientific Meeting/ISBRA Congress.
Dr. Edwards and Dr. Leslie Birke participated in a panel discussion on "Navigating the Relationship between Researcher and Research Veterinarian" at the College on the Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD) conference in June.
Drs. Liz Simon and Patricia Molina chaired the symposium at the 48th RSA Scientific Meeting/ISBRA Congress.
Dr. Simon also gave a talk entitled "Alcohol and calorie dense diet: implications on metabolism in HIV/SIV" at the Research on Alcohol and HIV, RSA Satellite.
Dr. Sydney Vita chaired a workshop entitled “Fueling Your Training and Research: A Hands-On Guide to Resources and Grants for Early Career Scientists” at the National Neurotrauma Society Conference in Philadelphia, PA.
The department presented many posters during the previous quarter:
- McTernan, P.M., Siggins, R.W., Lin, H., Molina, P.E., and Welsh, D.A. "At-Risk Alcohol Use Increases Circulating Activated Senescent CD8+ T Cells and Caspase 1 Activation in People With HIV" at the 48th RSA Scientific Meeting/ISBRA Congress in New Orleans.
- Byerley, LO, Ondrak, KS, Danos, DM, Taylor, CM, Chatterjee, S, Gallivan, KM. "The Impact of Increasing Dietary Protein Intake on the Gut Microbiome." 21st Annual Robert D’Ambrosia Musculoskeletal Research Day. LSUHSC Orthopedic Department. New Orleans.
- Kaitlin Couvillion, Eden Gallegos, Patrick McTernan, Robert Siggins, David Welsh, Patricia Molina, Liz Simon. "Interferon-gamma and Alcohol Produce Cellular Injury in a Hepatocyte Spheroid Model." American Physiology Summit 2025 in Baltimore, MD.
- Kaitlin Couvillion, Eden Gallegos, Patrick McTernan, Robert Siggins, David Welsh, Patricia Molina, Liz Simon. "Interaction of Interferon Gamma and Alcohol to Alter Cell Death Pathways in a Hepatocyte Spheroid Model." 48th RSA Scientific Meeting/ISBRA Congress in New Orleans.
- Keishla M. Rodríguez-Graciani, Liz Simon, Patricia Molina. "Electrical Pulse Stimulation and N-Acetylcysteine Protect Against Oxidative Stress-Induced Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Muscle Cells." American Physiology Summit 2025 in Baltimore, MD.
Radiology
Dr. Leonard Bok retired after serving as department head since 2006. He joined LSU Health New Orleans
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, playing a pivotal role in rebuilding and advancing
the Department of Radiology. Under his leadership, the department flourished, embracing
innovation and excellence in radiological education and patient care.
Dr. Hector Ferral served as the keynote speaker at the 2025 Texas Radiological Society annual meeting
in Austin, TX. He gave a presentation titled “Role of TIPS in the Management of Variceal
Bleeding.”
Dr. Ferral also presented “Hidden Gems: Unconventional Toys for Successful Procedure” at the Angio Club Workshop session “Breaking the ICE: Mastering TIPS in Portal Hypertension” at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) annual meeting. He also presented “How to Avoid Filter Retrieval Disasters: Lessons Learned!”
Dr. Dan Laney gave a talk at SIR’s annual meeting titled “Extreme IR: An Extreme Failure.”
Dr. Peyton Hopkins presented “Percutaneous Versus Transjugular Random Renal Biopsy in High-Risk Patients: Comparison of Outcomes” at the SIR annual meeting. Dr. Hopkins also created and facilitated an SIR Escape Room, which became a popular event. Participants had to solve puzzles as they walked through helping the “patient.”
Dr. Alexandra Fairchild presented, “The who, what, when, and how of capturing E/M services in an IR Practice” and moderated the panel discussion “Coverage Policies for IR: Making Sense of Medicare, Medicaid, and Private Payors” at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Revenue Cycle Management course in Atlanta, GA.
Several faculty members present at the Southern Radiological Conference in Point Clear, AL:
- Mark Froom presented “Soft Tissue Injuries in Trauma-Related Musculoskeletal Radiology.” Dr. Taylor Bragg assisted Dr. Froom with this project and was responsible for data collection.
- Dan Laney presented “Imaging and Interventions in Acute Trauma.”
- Anandraj Kanwar presented “Sinonasal Tumors for the General Radiologist.”
- Eric Wallace presented “Mesenteric Injury in Blunt Trauma.”