Faculty Assembly Report
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Pinki K. Prasad, MD, MPH; Faculty Assembly President 2021-2022
Stefany Primeaux, PhD, Chair of the Faculty Assembly Awards Subcommittee
This quarter, the Faculty Assembly announced both Faculty Assembly Award winners as
well as new delegates to the Assembly who will serve from 2022-2025.
The Faculty Assembly of the LSU Health Sciences Center-School of Medicine, in conjunction
with Interim Dean Dr. Richard DiCarlo, is happy to announce the winners of the 2022
Faculty Assembly Awards. These awards acknowledge the vitally important contributions
of the SOM faculty.
2022 Outstanding Service to the Institution:
Bonnie Desselle, MD, Professor of Pediatrics
Educated and trained at LSUHSC, Dr. Desselle has been a member of the LSUHSC community
for all but three of the past 38 years. She served as Associate Director (1996-2002)
and then Director (2002-2017) of the Pediatric Residency program, for which she supervised
the training of countless pediatricians now in practice in Louisiana and other states
across the country. Her lasting contributions to the program include the creation
and implementation of web-based content; shepherding the program through substantial
changes in the early 2000s to meet new ACGME accreditation requirements; and bringing
formal structure to the program. She has served as Chief Medical Education Officer
of Children's Hospital since 2019. In this role she successfully integrated Tulane
Medical School as a new clinical partner at Children's Hospital, an accomplishment
that garnered her recognition as a Woman of the Year by City Business. In addition
to her administrative roles, Dr. Desselle has served on numerous departmental, institutional
and hospital committees. She is a three-time recipient of the Nicholas Gagliano, MD
Outstanding Teaching Faculty award chosen by Pediatrics Residents and a 2019 recipient
of the Robert Suskind, MD & Leslie Lewinter-Suskind Outstanding Pediatric Faculty
award. In 2021 she was named a Master Pediatrician by the Louisiana Chapter of the
American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Desselle continues to be a leader on the forefront
of academic medicine, tackling contemporary topics such as faculty burnout and health
disparities in the pediatric ICU. Dr. Desselle's colleagues recognize her selfless
leadership qualities and identify her as the consummate LSUHSC Faculty.
2022 Outstanding Service to the Community:
Alexis “Lexy” Morvant, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Dr. Morvant serves as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC)
Program at Children's Hospital in New Orleans (CHNOLA), where she leads a multi-disciplinary
team dubbed “The Pelican Krewe” that serves the palliative care needs of the hospital's
sickest children. She is also Founder and Chair of the Gulf States Palliative Care
Consortium. As an educator, Dr. Morvant developed and directs the LSUHSC graduate
medical education/CHNOLA Palliative Care curriculum, the LSUHSC PPC elective and “Bootcamp”
for Residents in Pediatrics, and an elective in PPC for L4 students. She has also
extended her expertise to colleagues at Tulane, contributing PPC didactic course material
to the Tulane Fellowship in Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine. As an advocate,
Dr. Morvant has worked alongside other stakeholders to transform pediatric hospice
laws in Louisiana. She has succeeded in attracting philanthropic support, including
a $500,000 donation by the Bella Bowman Foundation to fund a new pediatric palliative
care suite at CHNOLA. Her peers admire her passion and dedication to ensuring compassionate
care for children with serious illness and their families. In just four short years
on the LSUHSC faculty, Dr. Morvant has affected transformative changes to healthcare
practice through her clinical service, education and advocacy initiatives for pediatric
palliative care.
2022 Outstanding Accomplishments by a Young Faculty Member:
Amita Krishnan, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary & Critical
Care
Dr. Krishnan is a former LSUHSC Fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) who has successfully transitioned to the LSUHSC faculty. Just one year into her faculty appointment, Dr. Krishnan has launched and directs the Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) Multidisciplinary Program, a clinical interest group of pulmonary, radiology and rheumatology physicians focused on solving complex cases of ILD. Components of the program include a monthly city-wide ILD Conference attended by LSUHSC, Tulane, and Ochsner clinicians across multiple disciplines, which Dr. Krishnan co-founded as a fellow, and an ILD clinic in which PCCM fellows receive training in the care of patients with ILD. She also participates in the training of students, residents and fellows in the General Pulmonary Clinic and during her inpatient services at several area hospitals, including providing fellows with specialized training in endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) bronchoscopy for the diagnosis and staging of lung cancer. Exemplifying the tripartite mission of LSUHSC, Dr. Krishnan is an active participant in clinical trials research, serving as the LSUHSC Site Principal Investigator on the TETON trial to investigate inhaled treprostinil in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, as well as serving as a sub-investigator on four additional clinical trials. Her colleagues note her infectious enthusiasm and approachability that complement her talents in education, research collaboration and patient care. Dr. Krishnan envisions continuing to grow the ILD Multidisciplinary Program into a nationally recognized Center of Excellence within the next five years.
2022 Outstanding Mentor:
Herbert Phelan, MD, Professor of Clinical Surgery
In his relatively brief tenure as faculty at LSUHSC, Dr. Phelan has already made a
substantial impact on those who have sought his counsel. As Vice Chair of Surgical
Research for the Department of Clinical Surgery, he has mentored numerous junior and
mid-career faculty seeking to launch or expand their research programs, while also
mentoring postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and other clinical and research
staff. He provides a structured mentoring program replete with regular one-on-one
meetings, valuable critique of research proposals and abstracts, and sound practical
advice. Dr. Phelan inspires and instills confidence in his mentees. As a result, his
mentees have demonstrated great progress in the form of published manuscripts and
recognition at regional and national meetings for outstanding presentations. Dr. Phelan's
mentees attest to his selfless commitment to their individual success and his talents
for forging authentic connections and cultivating professional curiosity.
2022 Outstanding Service in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Discrimination
Efforts:
Pierre Detiege, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Section of Emergency Medicine
Dr. Detiege is the inaugural recipient of the Outstanding Service in DEI and Anti-Discrimination Efforts. He serves as the Director of the LSU-NO Emergency Medicine Diversity Committee and the Director of Health Equity Curriculum for the School of Medicine. As an educator, Dr. Detiege has delivered Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds presentations on contemporary DEI topics, bringing critical awareness of the impacts of racism and bias on health outcomes to his colleagues. In 2020, Dr. Detiege was recognized as the University Medical Center - New Orleans Champion of Advancing Health Equity award recipient. His peers describe him as an outstanding advocate, mentor, leader and role model.
Congratulations to the 2022 Faculty Assembly Award Winners!
Congratulations are also in order for faculty assembly delegates elected to serve from 2022-2025.
From Basic Science:
Jason D. Gardner (Physiology)
Grace B. Athas (Pathology)
Robert “Bobby” Siggins (Physiology)
Suresh K. Alahari (Biochemistry)
From Clinical Science:
Pinki Prasad (Pediatrics)
Stacey Holman (OB/GYN)
Alexis Morvant (Pediatrics)
Andrew Abreo (Pediatrics)
Meredith Clement (Medicine)
Jill D'Souza (Otolaryngology)
Elizabeth McDonough (Pediatrics)
Tara Castellano (OB/GYN)
The faculty assembly meetings are open to all faculty of the School of Medicine and
a zoom option is available for those not on-site at our downtown campus who wish to
attend the meeting.