School of Medicine

Your Neck of the Woods

 

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dr. Hari K Koul Professor and Interim Head, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Professor of Urology and Associate Director, Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, School of Medicine, LSUHSC-New Orleans, delivered the 9th Professor R. Nath Memorial Oration at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh India on April 7th via virtual mode. 
 
Genetics
Dr. Fern Tsien, Assistant Dean of Medical Student Research and Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, was recently interviewed about the All of Us Research Program and internship opportunities at LSU Health New Orleans on the radio station from the New Orleans Hispanic website Jambalaya News.
 
Internal Medicine
Fred A. Lopez, MD, MACP presented the Alpha Omega Alpha Lecture for the Beta Chapter at the University of Tennessee  in April 2021.
 
Dr. Lopez also presented the Update in Infectious Diseases for the American College of Physicians Annual Session in April 2021.
 
Ophthalmology
Jayne S. Weiss, MD, presented a talk on Fuchs Dystrophy at the New Orleans Academy of Ophthalmology's 10th Annual Technicians' Conference in April.
 
Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Dr. Larissa Sweeny served as a panelist at the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) Virtual Education Series: To Reconstruct or Not: Early Stage Oral Cavity Cancers in February. 
 
Dr. Carlos Busso is preparing a LIF2 grant application for his project “The Bio-Molecular Analytical System (BAS) - A Novel Instrument for Rapid Spectral Profiling and Analysis of Biomolecules.”  
 
Pediatrics
The Grand Rounds Committee is pleased to announce that Drs. Isa Ashoor and Toni Gross will lead the Children's Hospital-LSU-Tulane Grand Rounds Committee at the start of the upcoming academic year. The department thanks Dr. Gary Duhon for serving in this role for the previous two years and leading the expansion of quality speakers and participants as well as the successful transition to a virtual platform.

The department was strongly represented at the 2021 Southern Regional Meeting. Pediatric residents, fellows, and faculty presented 28 posters and 2 oral presentations and contributed their leadership and service to the regional meeting:

  • Dr. Marcie Houser serves as Region 7 co-chair for the Academic Pediatric Association. She moderated two sessions at the meeting: Session: 2.1 Neonatal Case Reports and Session: 2.2 Moving Your Clinical Case Presentation into a Published Manuscript. Dr. Houser also reviewed abstracts and organized the selection of pediatric and neonatology abstracts for presentation. 
  • Dr. Luke Wall continues to serve as SSPR Institutional Representative.
  • Dr. Julie Gallois served as a reviewer of Neonatology case reports.
  • Dr. Jerussa Aita-Levy presented a lecture titled "Wellness for Trainees and Academic Pediatricians."

Poster presentations included:

  • Louisiana Pediatricians' Beliefs and Practices Regarding Adolescent Parents. N Khorsandi and S Dumas, Abstract 127
  • Remaining Flexible: A Case of Meningoencephalitis. M Lai, H Elaasar and S Sarkar, Abstract 128
  • A Novel Dll4 Intragenic Deletion in an Infant with Adamsoliver Syndrome and Persistent Truncus Arteriosus with Crossed Pulmonary Arteries. S Cheang, H Meddaugh, S Samples, M Brumund, R Zambrano and T Kimball, Abstract 214
  • A Case of High Insulin Resistance and Shifting HHS to DKA Diagnoses. M Bell, K Mentore, LS Engel and T DeSilva, Abstract 235
  • Protocol Based Standardized Endocrinological Evaluation of Children with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Qi Initiative. J Bhat, SC Schultz and R Gomez, Abstract 236
  • Déjà Vu: Recurrent Abdominal Mass and New Paraspinal Mass in a Young Adult. M Lago, H Chachere, J Sansone, H Elaasar, J Taylor, R Gomez and C Straatmann, Abstract 244
  • Amber Eyes: A Tale of a Choledochal Cyst. J Sansone, N Zeky, C LeBlanc and P Arias, Abstract 283
  • The Ripening Process: Finding the Perfect Balance Between Tuberculosis and Ulcerative Colitis. N Zeky, E McDonough and R Zwiener, Abstract 288
  • Flu Vaccination Rates of Documentation During Flu Season. N Lalchandani, C James and S Sarkar, Abstract 302
  • Subcutaneous Panniculitis Like T-Cell Lymphoma Presenting with HIH. CM Sullivan, A Loghmani, A Abbas, K Thomas, H Hall, G Destin, S Guillory, S Walvekar, R Chowdry and LS Engel, Abstract 395
  • Vertebral Collapse as a Presenting Feature of Leukemia: An Uncommon Presentation of A Common Childhood Malignancy. HL Valdin, M Alicea Marrero, W Accousti and Z LeBlanc, Abstract 397
  • Persistent Fever with Accompanying Back Pain. A Kala, A Reeves and L Reilly, Abstract 424
  • Legionella of Doom. HE Oddo Moise, TV Joshi, DT Lake, H Phillips, LS Engel and K Boudreaux, Abstract 432
  • Is My Patient Allergic to Nafcillin Or Cefazolin? T Yau, D Barua, M Shaw, M Bulathsinghala, LS Engel and S Sanne, Abstract 449
  • Bilateral Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy in a Neonate Treated with Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation Support. M Lago, A Tufton, C Mumphrey and T Bradford, Abstract 463
  • Early Recognition of NEC in Rural Nursery. K Lejeune and R Mangat, Abstract 464
  • Severe Neonatal Presentation of Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome with Refractory Hypoglycemia, Bony Abnormalities and Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. A Nuttli, J Gallois and S Olister, Abstract 467
  • A Case of Transient Global Amnesia in a 48 Year Old Female. TS Montet, D Wisa and LS Engel, Abstract 482
  • Lethargy and Poor Feeding Due to Hyperammonemia in a Six Day Old Male. KL Angelle, Abstract 492
  • A Case of Clinical Decision Making in a High Risk Brue. R Metts, SL Short, SB Palombo, J McKone and M Opel, Abstract 524
  • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. K Procarione, M Burke and S Lefevre, Abstract 534
  • A Unique Neonatal Chest Wall Anomaly with Complete Sternal Cleft and an Extrathoracic Mass A Tufton, S Cheang, F Gray, D Gottlieb-Sen, G Mundinger, G Pridjian, S Yang and J Surcouf, Abstract 548
  • Reading Between the Lines: A Genetic Disorder Identified by a Distinct, Patterned Rash. HL Valdin, BK Pangli, A Farge, I Hill and MR Houser, Abstract 550
  • Maternal Hypertension Type and its Affect on the Neonatal Platelet Count. P Joslyn, A Chapple, C Rosenbaum, MC Velez, A Heard and B Barkemeyer, Abstract 569
  • Perinatal Intracranial Hemorrhage in a Patient Born Without the Use of Instrumentation: A Rare Initial Presentation of Hemophilia A. P Joslyn, MC Velez, O Roberts, M Knecht, P Prasad, A Bauchat, J Robichaux and J Surcouf, Abstract 570
  • Collapsing Glomerulopathy in a Pediatric Kidney Transplant Recipient with COVID-19. E Levenson, T Shepherd and I Ashoor, Abstract 625
  • Abnormal Positron Emission Tomography Scan in Child with Kidney Transplant. N Lalchandani, D Manning, and I Ashoor, Abstract 623
  • A Case of Acute Paralysis. SL Short and I Ashoor, Abstract 636
 
LSU Pediatrics also presented several posters at the recent Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) annual meeting:
  • Dr. Lauren Davis and Dr. Amy Prudhomme presented a poster titled "Bias in Medicine Student Conference" in collaboration with Dr. Robin English and Dr. Christy Mumphrey. (view poster)
  • Dr. Jessica Patrick-Esteve and Dr. Amy Prudhomme presented in collaboration with Dr. Amy Creel a poster on their H&P assessment form titled "Does Changing a Form Change Grades?" (view poster)
  • Dr. Shannon Palombo and Dr. Bonnie Desselle presented a poster about the virtual 4th year student elective that was created this past year. The poster titled "Implementation of a Virtual Diversity Rotation for Fourth Year Medical Students" included several other other collaborators: Dr. Casie James, Emma Crady, Dr. Chelsey Sandlin, Dr. Amy Prudhomme, and Dr. Amy Creel. (view poster)
  • Dr. Amy Prudhomme presented a poster titled "Novel Educational Approach in Response to COVID-19" which outlined the 3rd year virtual clerkship created during the COVID quarantine. Other collaborators included Dr. Chelsey Sandlin, Dr. Shannon Palombo, and Dr. Jessica Patrick-Esteve. (view poster)
 
Dr. Shannon Palombo and Dr. Chelsey Sandlin also presented two of the posters above at the annual meeting of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) in March.
  • Sandlin C, Palombo S, James C, Crady E, Prudhomme A, Creel A, Desselle B. Promoting Diversity through a Pediatric Virtual Rotation for 4th Year Medical Students. Association of Pediatric Program Directors Annual Spring Virtual Meeting. March 2021.
  • Palombo S, James C, Crady E, Sandlin C, Prudhomme A, Creel A, Desselle B. Implementation of a Virtual Diversity Rotation for Fourth Year Medical Students. Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics Annual Spring Virtual Meeting. April 2021.

LSU Pediatrics faculty members celebrated Mardi Gras this year with their very own house floats. We are grateful to Ryan Pasternak (top photos), Jessica Patrick-Esteve (bottom left), and Leslie Reilly (bottom right) for sharing their pictures.

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Pediatric Nephrology:
Dr Straatmann enrolled a patient in Horizon Pharmaceuticals sponsored clinical study on the rare genetic kidney disease Cystinosis - The North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies and Horizon Pharma plc Announce New Long-Term Cystinosis Registry | Horizon Therapeutics plc (news release)
 
The division received a 98.8% score for their data quality in the North American Pediatric Renal Trials and Collaborative Studies registry study with a total of 14 active patients enrolled in the study. Dr. Ashoor is currently the site principal investigator and Dr. Aviles is the co-principal investigator with all other nephrologists as study team members. 
 
LSU/CHNOLA received a bonus payment of $13,725 as a reward for our high retention rate (88%) of our pediatric glomerular disease cohort in the NIH-funded Cure Glomerulonephropathy (CureGN) study. We ranked #6 of 33 pediatric sites. Study leadership includes Dr. Aviles (Principal investigator) and Dr. Ashoor (Co-principal investigator). The study has been going on now for six years. 
 
Pediatric Hematology/Oncology:
Abstracts authored by several Hematology/Oncology fellows and faculty members were recently accepted to the annual meeting of the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology:
  • Resolution of Monosomy 7 after Immunosuppression in a 12-year-old Male with SLE and Lupus Nephritis  Maria G. Espanol, Abdulla M. Ehlayel, Minelys Alicea, Maria C. Velez  
  • Extrarenal Malignant Rhabdoid Tumor of the Heart: An Extremely Rare Diagnosis in an Infant Minelys Alicea, Maria G. Español, Zachary LeBlanc
  • COVID-19 Infection in Pediatrics Hematology Oncology Patients in Louisiana Pinki Prasad, Zachary LeBlanc, Maria C. Velez , Dana LeBlanc, Renee Gardner, Cori Morrison, Leron Finger, Victoria Charbonnet, Lolie Yu
 
Dr. Marcie Houser spearheaded an effort by Tiger Care Clinic which provided packages of fresh fruits and vegetables to 10 families in March from Top Box Foods. Top Box Foods is a community-based non-profit with a simple purpose: to make healthy food affordable and accessible to all. Tiger Care is also the recipient of an AAP Section on Obesity Grant, receiving 60 boxes of Eatable Alphabet Cards (valued at over $1000) to distribute to patients and families. Eatable Alphabet Cards were developed by ChopChop Family in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight and with funding from the CDC. Eatable Alphabet Cards engage kids and caregivers in activities that promote early nutrition awareness, introduce language and food literacy, use food to stimulate all five senses, and teach valuable life skills. https://www.chopchopfamily.org/eatable-alphabet/