Your Neck of the Woods
Campus-wide
The LSU Chapter of Sigma Xi is now officially the Louisiana State University Health
Sciences Center – New Orleans Chapter of Sigma Xi. This change unifies all Health
Sciences Center institutes and LSU campuses in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and New Orleans
under the leadership of the new President, Dr. Allison Augustus-Wallace. Dr. Augustus-Wallace has served as Sigma Xi’s Associate Director of Research and
Doctoral Constituency and the chapter representative. Chapter activities will now
originate from the LSUHSC-New Orleans campus, with the structure, charter and chapter
number (084) remaining the same.
The Spirit of Charity’s annual award gala will be held Friday, October 9, 2026 from 7-10 p.m. at Messina’s at the Terminal. Elma Ireland LeDoux, MD has been named this year’s award recipient. Tickets can be purchased on the website.
Anesthesiology
Dr. David Nguyen’s abstract, Factor VII deficiency and Remifentanil Use, was accepted for presentation at the 2026 Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology
(SOAP) held in Canada.
Brannon Broussard, MD and Jakayla Harrell, MD as coauthor, also had their abstract, Increased ICP in the Parturient with Alport Syndrome, accepted for presentation.
Cell Biology and Anatomy
Alicia Baker, DPT, was accepted into the Anatomy Training Program through AAA. Dr. Baker has a
clinical background as a physical therapist. Before joining the LSU Health faculty,
she worked in an outpatient setting for 10 years. Since 2022, Dr. Baker has taught
gross anatomy to a variety of health care professions at LSU Health. She is passionate
about creating an optimal learning environment for her students and furthering her
own education and knowledge depth. She is also currently working on a multidisciplinary
systematic review and a donor-based research project.
Medicine
Dr. Erwin Aguilar (Nephrology) and Dr. Brooks Robey (Nephrology) were recently elected to the Board of Directors for the National Kidney
Foundation of Louisiana.
Dr. Allison Augustus-Wallace recently had a medical student elective course approved titled “BIOMED 289: Intersection and Innovation in Science Policy.” This course explores the relationships among science, health, and law.
Dr. Augustus-Wallace was elected by her peers to serve as a Governing Councilor in the Health Administration (HA) Section of the American Public Health Association. Her two-year term begins on November 5, 2026, following the 2026 Annual Meeting.
Dr. Augustus-Wallace’s nationally elected role as a member of the AAMC GWIMS Steering Committee has concluded after four years of service. She has now been accepted to join two other AAMC affinity groups, the AAMC Med Ed Leadership and Administration Group and the AAMC Curriculum Assessment, Instruction & Research Group.
Dr. Augustus-Wallace has been re-appointed to a new three-year term to serve on Sigma Xi’s Committee on Finances.
As the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee (PRMC) Chair, Dr. Pia Chowdry (Hematology-Oncology) recently represented LSU and the state of Louisiana in an ASCO
Advocacy Committee visit on Capitol Hill. She spoke about the critical unmet need
for an NCI Designated cancer center in Louisiana.
Dr. Chowdry also recently spoke virtually at the ASCO for the Caribbean Association for Oncology meeting held in Trinidad & Tobago. Her talk was titled Updates in Prostate Cancer: From Evidence to Everyday Care in the Caribbean.
Dick Culbertson, PhD (Community and Population Medicine) and colleagues were selected to present an oral presentation, Reducing Rural Surgical Disparities through Policy Investment in Robotic Surgery: National Data and Real-World Implementation, at the IHF World Hospital Congress 2026 in October 2026 in Seoul, Korea.
Dr. Paul LeLorier, Dr. Mariam Rauf, Dr. Jameel Ahmed (Cardiology) and the Invasive Laboratory team at UMC marked a milestone, expanding
access to leadless left ventricular endocardial pacing (LVEP). This implant provides
patients with additional treatment options when conventional therapies may not be
sufficient.
Dr. Angela Johnson (Baton Rouge) was interviewed for the first KevinMD article of the year with a podcast to follow. The title is “Physicians and natural disasters, the 5th season (you guessed it…Hurricane Season).”
Dr. Stephen Landreneau (Gastroenterology) was elected to serve as the American College of Gastroenterology Governor for Louisiana. His three-year term begins following the College’s Annual Meeting to be held in October in Nashville, Tennessee.
Dr. Stephen Lindsey (Rheumatology) was one of the esteemed faculty for the Congress of Clinical Rheumatology.
Dr. Fred Lopez (Infectious Diseases) was the Medicine Grand Rounds speaker at LSU Shreveport. His
talk was titled Update in Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Lopez was also the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Visting Professor at LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine.
Dr. Lopez was also recently featured on 4WWL discussing cyclosporiasis in an article titled “Diarrhea-causing parasite illness linked to fresh produce: How to protect yourself.”
Dr. Shelby MacRae was highlighted by VUMEDI for her presentation, What's New in Bronchiectasis? Key Advances in Treatment and Care from ATS 2026, at the Insights from 2026 ATS Annual Meeting.
Dr. Rajesh Mohandas (Nephrology) was an invited speaker at LSU Shreveport and gave two talks: High Volume Hemodiafiltration: Are you Convinced Yet? and Medicine Grand Rounds titled The Silent Epidemic of Primary Aldosteronism: Rethinking Diagnosis and Management.
Dr. Mihran Naljayan (Nephrology) presented Going Virtual: The New Architecture of Kidney Care Education — Innovative Digital Approaches Transforming Kidney Care Learning at the National Kidney Foundation meeting held in New Orleans.
Kelly Rauser has been selected to represent the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine (CDIM) Clerkship Administrators Council on the AAIM FY 2027 CDIM Survey and Scholarship Committee.
Dr. Brandon Retif (Pulmonary/Critical Care) was invited to help lead an all-day POCUS course at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings.
Dr. Lauren Richey (Infectious Diseases) was selected by the ABIM for a standard setting meeting that will help determine the appropriate passing score for the Infectious Disease Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA).
Dr. Richey was also invited to serve as a member of the Community-Acquired Pneumonia Section Group for the NIH-HIVMA/IDSA Panel for the Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents with HIV. These guidelines are accessed by healthcare professionals across the world with nearly 500,000 page views annually.
Dr. Seth Vignes (Hospital Medicine) and Dr. Ben Springgate (Community and Population Medicine), both members of the department’s program in addiction medicine, led a discussion with the Oregon Health Sciences University Substance Use Disorder ECHO in June regarding Benchmarks for Quality of Inpatient Care for Opioid Use Disorder.
Drs. Vignes and Springgate also are featured in a new American Hospital Association podcast entitled Bridge to Care: Better Care Transitions for Opioid Use. The podcast discusses how improving care transitions is one of the most effective ways health systems can improve outcomes for patients with substance use disorders. Drs. Springgate and Vignes share how integrated care models, addiction consult services and peer navigators are improving care transitions and increasing access to evidence-based treatment. They also discuss how hospital leaders can reduce readmissions and strengthen recovery by breaking down barriers across the continuum of care.
Drs. Springgate and Vignes, with LCMC colleague Amy Pruim (LCMC Senior Director, Population Health) authored and led a virtual presentation in July to hospitals participating in the American Hospital Association /CDC Bridge to Care program about progress in care for Opioid Use Disorder at UMCNO and LCMC. This highlighted the team’s efforts creating a new buprenorphine order set within Epic for ED and Inpatient use; a new methadone initiation protocol; introduction of Substance Use Navigators in LCMC EDs; and other recent areas of progress. LSU and LCMC’s Bridge to Care team also included Drs. Jeff Elder, Patrick Greiffenstein, and Anjali Niyogi.
Dr. Gala True's (Community and Population Medicine) suicide prevention partnership with veteran and firearm retailer Caleb Morse on The Armory Project was featured in the May/June issue of SHOT Business, the National Shooting Sports Foundation trade publication, in the article Beyond Measure: An Uncomfortable discussion among friends put Caleb Morse on a life-changing course.
Dr. True also presented with Dr. Claire Houtsma as part of the series “Findings from the Frontline:
VA Suicide Prevention Research Dissemination” on The Armory Project’s work in a cyberseminar
titled Building Firearm Retail Partnerships to Prevent Veteran Suicide: Lessons from The
Armory Project to VA and community suicide prevention and mental health clinicians, providers, and researchers.
Amber Goff, Community and Population program manager, participated in The Boot: Veteran Wellness
Community Event at Bastion Community, where she presented The Armory Project: Preventing Firearms Suicides in Veteran and Service Member Communities to 
veterans and service members and their families.
Amber Goff and Amber Jolla (another member of the Community and Population Medicine team) partnered with several community volunteers to bring The Armory Project’s message to the Bossier City Gun and Knife Show and the Slidell Gun and Knife Shows, where they had suicide prevention conversations with attendees and gave away biometric gun safes.
Dr. Amy Wolfe (Pulmonary/Critical Care), Director of the nationally recognized and internationally
published Wetmore TB clinic, recently presented the poster Survey of Primary Care Access at TB Clinics in the USA in collaboration with the Wetmore Team and the National TB coalition of America.
The department was well-represented at the international ACP Annual Session in San
Francisco, CA. Drs. Cynthia J. Brown and Fred A. Lopez served as ACP Rapid Board Review 2026 Course Directors with Drs. Brown (General Internal
Medicine), Taniya De Silva (Endocrinology), Amita Krishnan (Pulmonary-Critical Care Medicine), Lopez (Infectious Diseases), Rajesh Mohandas (Nephrology), Mehnaz Rahman (Cardiology), Danny Raines (Gastroenterology) all serving as speakers. Dr. Brown also provided an update in
Geriatric Medicine and Dr. Lopez provided the Internal Medicine Meeting 2026 Highlights.
(Image, left: Dr. Taniya De Silva, Dr. Cynthia J. Brown, Dr. Fred Lopez)
The department was also well represented at the AAIM conference in Seattle. Attendees
included Shane Sanne, DO; Kyle Hoppens, MD; Dexter Matrana, DO; Calvin Rome, MD; Stephany Nguyen, MD; Corey Gregg, MD; Victoria Burke, MD; Vilma Cervantes; Allie Fenerty; Kelly Rauser; Kristen Hosking; Louis Schneider; and David Little. (Image: Drs. Sanne, Hoppens, Fenerty, Matrana, Nguyen, and Rome)
Emergency Medicine had a sizeable presence at the American Academy of Emergency Medicine’s Annual Scientific Assembly in Seattle:
- Andrej Pogribny, MD (Peds/EM faculty) and Dr. Jessica Aird (PGY-3) presented a poster titled Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome In A Pediatric Patient After Allogenic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. Read more on the Residents, Fellows, Grad Students and Post-Docs News page about residents' posters.
- EM faculty Dr. Pierre Detiege and Dr. Jordan Vaughn presented Health Equity Rounds- Real World Case Conferences.
- Dr. Vaughn also presented First, Do NO Harm: The Hidden Risks of Overcorrecting DEI in Emergency Medicine.
Emergency Medicine faculty and residents also had a strong showing at the Special Operations Medical Association’s 2026 Scientific Assembly in Raleigh, North Carolina.
- Michael Kling (PGY-3) and Dr. David Rayburn (EM/Peds faculty) presented a poster of their recent out of hospital research titled Cold O+ Blood for Life-Saving Transfusion- Delivery in the Prehospital Setting
- Dr. Rayburn combined with two other presenters for Ultrasound Augmented Triage: A Proposal to Refine Field Decision Making in Tactical Combat Casualty Care.
Dr. Lauren Richey (Infectious Diseases), Dr. Paula Seal (ID), Dr. Tat Yau (ID), and Dr. Michael Gee, Psy.D (Psychiatry) attended the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care
(IAPAC) Continuum 2026 Conference in Puerto Rico. Dr. Seal had an oral abstract presentation
titled Healthy Balance Weight Management Initiative in HIV Care (co-authors: Dr. Richey, Dr. Yau). Dr. Richey presented an e-Poster titled Continuity of Care for People with HIV during and after a Disaster (co-authors: Dr. Seal, Dr. Yau). Dr. Yau presented an e-Poster titled Statewide Clinical Quality Improvement Collaborative in Louisiana (co-authors: Dr. Seal, Dr. Richey).
Neuroscience Center of Excellence
Animara CEO Simon Jones created a short video regarding Dr. Nicolas Bazan’s work related to traumatic brain injury and
elovanoids.
Ophthalmology
Jayne S. Weiss, MD gave the Medal lecture at The International Society of Cornea, Stem Cells and
Ocular Surface Congress in Sardinia, Italy in June.
Dr. Weiss also gave the invited lecture Ophthalmic Drugs and Devices: Will FDA Regulatory Changes Affect Eye Health at the American Ophthalmology Society in New Mexico in May.
Orthopaedic Surgery
Dr. Robert Zura and Dr. Michelle Moore presented the CME-approved webinar, Conceptualizing Professional Development Through 6 Dimensions of Wellness, in June. (Moore, M.B., Zura, R. & Harvey, B. Conceptualizing Professional Development
Through 6 Dimensions of Wellness. American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics, Faculty
Development Institute Webinar.)
Otolaryngology
Stephen Hernandez, MD was invited to be a panelist at the American Rhinologic Society’s Summer Sinus
Symposium in Miami, FL.
Laura Hetzler, MD was a guest on the About the Face podcast to discuss her robust experience with a multidisciplinary facial nerve clinic and how it can improve care for patients with facial palsy.
ENT Alumnus Evan Longfield, MD traveled to Uganda as a member of Team Heart of Texas. The team performed over 86 specialized ear, nose, and throat surgeries in one week at Rakai Hospital.
Jacob Seicshnaydre, MD gave a lecture titled Physics in Medicine to Dr. David Young’s LSU undergrad physics class.
Jill D’Souza, MD (LSUHSC); Daniel Chelius, MD (Texas Children’s Hospital); Jeff Rastatter, MD (Lurie Children’s Hospital); Anthony Sheyn, MD (Univ. of Tennessee HSC); and Cyrus Abrahamson (Northwestern University – Feinberg School of Medicine) were selected to receive an AAO-HNSF Reg-ENT Resident Research Grant for their proposal, Evaluating the Necessity of Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis in Otolaryngology.
Vilija Vaitaitis, MD; Robert Peden, MD; and LSUHSC ENT residents coordinated and volunteered the Tour de Lis Bike Race & Medical Fair HNC Screening.
Caroline Bonaventure, MD and Michael DiLeo, MD made the oral presentation Most Interesting ENT Cases on the Gulf Coast at the Gulf States Regional Otolaryngology Conference in Gulf Shores, AL.
Dr. Bonaventure; Dr. DiLeo; Rula Mualla, MD; Sagar Kansara, MD; Adam Bess, PhD, Supratik Mukhopadhyay, PhD; Christopher Yao, MD; and Reed Smith, BS made the oral presentation Machine Learning Model to Predict Length of Stay Following Head and Neck Microvascular Free Tissue Transfer at Our Lady of the Lake Research Day in Baton Rouge.
Dr. Bonaventure, Dr. Kansara, Dr. Bess, Dr. Yao, Dr. Mukhopadhyay, Michael Simons, Lark Smith, and Ethan Leoni presented the poster A Machine Learning Model to Predict Prolonged Treatment Package Time to Postoperative Radiation in Head and Neck Cancer at AHNS International Conference on Head and Neck Cancer in Boston, MA.
Pediatrics
Several department physicians recently completed a year of ICF-aligned coach training
with professional coach Jennifer Griggs and are now ready to begin coaching within
the residency coaching program. Learn more about the program at LSU Pediatrics Resident Coaching Program.
Dr. Stuart A. Chalew has been appointed Professor Emeritus after serving for nearly three decades of dedicated
service to the department and division of endocrinology. As Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology
and founder of the LSU Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Program, he helped build
and strengthen the division while training generations of pediatric endocrinologists
who now serve patients and institutions across the country. Throughout his distinguished
career, Dr. Chalew earned national and international recognition for his research
in pediatric diabetes, obesity, growth disorders, and health disparities. His extensive
body of scholarly work, including numerous federally funded studies and more than
125 peer-reviewed publications, has advanced the understanding and treatment of endocrine
disorders in children while improving outcomes for countless patients. His commitment
to mentorship also fostered the development of medical students, residents, fellows,
and junior faculty, leaving an enduring legacy in academic medicine.
Dr. Alexandru Firan (Cardiology) recently led the Manning Family Children's Heart Center team that successfully
implanted the first Renata Minima Stent System, marking a significant milestone in
pediatric cardiovascular care. The Renata Minima is the first stent of its kind to
receive FDA approval for the treatment of vascular stenosis in neonates and infants.
It is uniquely designed to be gradually re-expanded over time to reach adult vessel
sizes, reducing the need for multiple interventions as a child grows.
Pediatric Residency and Fellowship Program Administrator Michele Hallinan was chosen to serve on GME’s Coordinator Advisory Group (CAG) for the 2026 – 2027 academic year. She was peer-nominated and selected by the GME staff and outgoing CAG members. Hallinan will serve a one-year term with the group which was created to improve communication with the central GME staff, advocate for the program coordinators and programs, and improve GME processes. CAG is a voice for their peers and provides valuable information to the institution regarding program functionality. She will be joined by six other LSU GME program administrators.
Dr. Staci Olister (Neonatology) recently moderated the podcast Dignity, Trauma and Leadership in a Hurting World featuring professional coach Jennifer Griggs and Mary Coughlin, President of Caring Essentials, an internationally recognized expert in trauma-informed care and keynote speaker at the Saul’s Light Conference.
Dr. Maria Velez (Hematology/Oncology) was invited to present at the International Society of Pediatric Oncology (SIOP) meeting, alongside Dr. Vivien Chen of LSUHSC School of Public Health. They presented Patient Care and Cancer Registration among Displaced Populations: Lessons from Hurricane Katrina.
Physiology
Dr. Lauri Byerley gave a talk, Physical Activity is Associated with a Distinct Gut Microbial Metabolic Profile in
Healthy Adults: a Pilot Study with Implications for Musculoskeletal Health, at the 22nd Annual Robert D. D’Ambrosia Lectureship & Research Day, LSUHSC Department
of Orthopedic Surgery.
Dr. Byerley was also the Faculty Champion for Nutrition Education for the LSU School of Medicine.
Kaitlin Couvillion gave an oral presentation Extracellular Vesicles from Ethanol- and Metabolically Stressed Hepatocyte Spheroids Increase Immune Cell Activation in PBMCs from People With HIV at the Research Society on Alcohol- HIV Satellite in San Antonio, TX.
Dr. Scott Edwards served on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Topics in Addiction Risks and Mechanisms study section.
Dr. Edwards was also appointed to serve on the NIH/NIAAA National Advisory Council (2026-2028).
Dr. Edwards also discussed the impact of the department’s research and training during his presentation titled Intersection of Substance Use with Chronic Disease in Vulnerable Populations at the April LSU Board of Supervisors meeting in Baton Rouge.
Dr. Edwards presented Get Rich Slowly: Investing for Busy Professionals at the May Lunch and Learn Meeting of the Association for Women in Science-South Louisiana Chapter.
Dr. Edwards presented the talk Comparative Effects of Alcohol and Cannabis Use on Pain and Cognitive Outcomes in the New Orleans Alcohol Use in HIV (NOAH) Cohort at the June Research on Alcohol and HIV RSA Satellite Meeting.
Dr. Edwards, Dr. Eden Gallegos, and Dr. Nicholas Harris presented Basics of Submitting Extramural Fellowship Applications at the School of Medicine May Research Café.
SOM Faculty Assembly President Dr. Jason Gardner and Secretary Dr. Stefany Primeaux were recognized at the Spring Faculty Meeting.
Dr. Nicholas Gilpin gave a talk, Old Dogs and New Tricks in the Search for Treatments to Reduce Escalated Alcohol Drinking after Stress, at the Stress & Alcohol meeting in Volterra, Italy.
Dr. Gilpin gave a talk, Adolescent Alcohol Exposure Leads to Lasting Hyperalgesia that is Mediated by Central Amygdala Circuits, at the Pain Mechanisms and Therapeutics Conference, in Verona, Italy.
Dr. Patrick McTernan gave an oral presentation, Harmful Alcohol Use Dysregulates Immunometabolism in Peripheral Senescent CD8+ T cells in People in HIV, at the 2026 Research Society on Alcohol.
Dr. Janos Paloczi co-chaired the symposium, Endocannabinoid System: a Gatekeeper of Alcohol Behavioral and Physiological Effects, at the 2026 American Physiology Society Summit.
Dr. Paloczi also gave an oral presentation at the 2026 American Physiology Summit: Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Cardiovascular Function During Aging.
Dr. Stefany Primeaux was elected Chair of the American Physiology Society Central Nervous System Section 2026-2029.
Dr. Liz Simon was elected Chair of the American Physiology Society Endocrinology and Metabolism Section 2026-2029.
Dr. Simon also co-chaired the symposium, Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Metabolically Active Tissues: From Mechanisms to Disease, at the 2026 American Physiology Society Summit.
Dr. Sydney Vita chaired the Teaching Education and Mentoring (TEAM) session at the 2026 National Neurotrauma Society Symposium.
Surgery
Dr. Charles Chappuis and Dr. Karen Curry, Internal Medicine Lafayette, summited Mt. Kilimanjaro and completed a 10-day trek
through the mountains. Although this was Dr. Curry's first mountain climb, Dr. Chappuis
has climbed nearly a dozen 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado over the last 10-12 years.
He saw Mt. Kilimanjaro during a Tanzania safari in 2013 and had wanted to climb it
ever since. Dr. Chappuis has shown all seven continents the LSU purple and gold flag,
and he proudly flew it atop of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Harvey Chim, MD, FACS was elected Chair of the Assembly of State and Regional Societies of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). He will also serve as a member of the board of directors of the ASPS for the coming year.