Your Neck of the Woods
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dr. Suresh Alahari attended the three-day American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology symposium.
Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice
An interprofessional student and faculty team made up of Scott Edwards, Heather Allen, Colette Baudoin, Mina Hogan, Shane Sanne, Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, John Zamjahn, Patricia Molina, and Tina Gunaldo recently presented Interprofessional Student Team Development of an Annual Wellness Visit for the Prevention of Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Transmission at the American Physiology Summit.
Another interprofessional student and faculty team made up of Tina Gunaldo, Heather Allen, Colette Baudoin, Daniel Held, Harun Mazumder, Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, and Scott Edwards presented Let’s Talk: Evaluating Team Development in a Longitudinal IPE Experience at the Collaborating Across Borders VIII Conference.
At this same conference, Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Director Dr. Tina Gunaldo also presented:
- New to Interprofessional Education Research? Tips for Getting Started together with members of the AIHC Scholarship Committee
- Development and Validation of the IPEC Institutional Assessment Instrument along with colleagues from Leveraging the IPEC Competency Framework to Transform Health Professions Education Expert Panel
- So You Want to Get Started with Your Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Program? Start Here with colleagues from Indiana University
Dr. Gunaldo also presented Building Learning Upon IPEC’s Core Competencies at the Interprofessional Education Collaborative.
Internal Medicine
The ACGME recently reviewed all the Internal Medicine-related residencies and fellowships for New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette. The department received notification of continued accreditation for all of training programs.
Dr. Allison C. Augustus-Wallace was celebrated by the LSU College of Science during Black History Month. Dr. Augustus-Wallace is a Chemistry and Biochemistry alumna. The College shared her thoughts on diversity, inclusion and equity through their social media channels.
Dr. Augustus-Wallace was also highlighted by Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society, during Black History Month for her role as the Director of Undergraduate Academic Pipeline Programs for Diversity and for leading STEMM programs for the Office of Diversity and Community Engagement.
Dr. Augustus-Wallace led the 2023 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology symposium, “Bias In, Bias Out in Data Science,” which discussed implicit bias, race as a human construct, selection bias, health disparities and AI. As a member of the Maximizing Access Committee, Augustus-Wallace invited Dr. Lucio Miele and Dr. Robert Maupin, Jr. to serve as presenters.
Dr. Lauren Richey, Dr. Yussef Bennani (Infectious Diseases) and Dr. Robin English were part of the team that has been preliminarily selected to participate in the Midwest Integration of the National HIV Curriculum (MINHC) project, slated to run through August 31, 2027. The team will develop and integrate HIV curriculum.
Dr. Pia Chowdry (Hematology-Oncology) was selected to give an oral presentation, “The Long Road to Equity: Life in Cancer Alley” at the 2023 Annual Meeting for the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Agustin Garcia (Hematology-Oncology) was selected to present at the 2023 Best of American Society of Clinical Oncology – Los Angeles on Gynecological Malignancies. In addition, he will serve on a “Gyn and GU Stump the Faculty” panel.
Dr. Michelle Loch and Dr. Tom Reske (Hematology/Oncology) were invited to speak at the Louisiana Oncology Society Third Annual Cancer Congress held in New Orleans March 31 – April 1.
Dr. Mehnaz Rahman (Cardiology) was recently selected to be part of the 2023 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Emerging Faculty Leadership Academy. This is a highly competitive appointment in the ACC. The goal of this course is to develop the knowledge and skills for faculty committed to contributing to ACC's education mission and to facilitate the transfer of evolved competence into practice.
Dr. Mihran Naljayan (Nephrology) gave two talks at the recent Annual Dialysis Conference 2023 (Kansas City MO): Forum on the Role of the ESKD Team and Urgent Start PD: Coordination of Care Among Providers and Managing Acute Care Patients.
Dr. Ben Springgate recently hosted U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health and U.S Public Health Service, Admiral Rachel Levine, for a meeting with students and a roundtable discussion with LSU leaders as well as hospital, government, and community partners on the topic of Climate Change, Health, and Resilience.
Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology
Dr. Jeff Hobden (MIP) appeared on NBC affiliate television in Baton Rouge on March 22 discussing cases of fungal infections due to Candida auris in Louisiana and on Fox 8 in New Orleans on March 28 discussing the recall of infected artificial tears eyedrops.
Opthamology
Business Manager Kelli Gerkin attended the AUPO (Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology) & Educating the Educators in San Diego.
Dr. Eve Higginbotham, Vice Dean for Penn Medicine Office of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, LSU Eye Center Aluma, and the 80th annual Edward Jackson Memorial Lecturer @ AAO 2023, lectured as the Henry J.L. Van Dyk Memorial Lecturer at the annual Ophthalmology Research Day in May.
Dr. Taylor Phelps, Assistant Professor, attended the American Glaucoma Society Meeting in Austin in March.
Dr. Jayne S. Weiss, Chair, is an invited speaker on What is New in the Corneal Dystrophies for the XXI edition of the S.I.C.S.S.O. (The International Society of Cornea Stem Cells and Ocular Surface) Congress. The meeting will be held in Catania, Sicily, Italy, later this month.
Prevalence of Glaucomatous Appearing Discs in Patients Undergoing Artificial Intelligence Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy (Poster) by Chawla H(PGY3), Hicks CP, Assi LH (PGY3), Epling JP, Al Dujaili LJ, and Dr. Weiss will be presented at the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) Congress in Prague, Czech Republic later this month.
Central Retinal Artery Occlusion Secondary to Streptococcus Gordonii Endocarditis: Case Report and Clinical Implications (Oral) by Chawla H, Dr. J.S. Goldblatt (PGY2), Dr. J.E. Morgan (PGY4), Dr. A.K. Rao (Assoc Prof & Fellowship Program Director), and Dr. M.A. Reinoso (Assoc Prof & Residency Program Director) will also be presented this month to the European Society of Ophthalmology (SOE) Congress.
Members of the SOM OIG (Ophthalmology Interest Group) conducted a vision screening
for over 200 participants with the (LEF) Lions Eye Foundation at the Hispanic Apostolate
in Kenner. Volunteers included: Mr. Chris Carlone, Executive Director LEF, Dr. Alejandro Leon, Hannah Schwarzenberg, Jason Kim, Kaleb Robin, Ellen Ingram, Meva Beganovic, and Stacey Umeozulu in March.
Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
Dr. Rohan Walvekar is serving as an invited course faculty at the Harvard Medical School Sialendoscopy Symposium 2023 in Boston, MA.
Dr. Walvekar is also serving as an invited speaker at the American Surgical Technologist National Conference on “Sialendoscopy Paradigm Change in the Management of Salivary Gland Disorders” in May 2023.
Pediatrics
School-Based Health Clinics improve attendance and decrease behavioral issues, leading
to increased success for students in and out of the classroom. This school year the
LSUHSC SBHC, in partnership with CHNOLA, has treated 372 students with over 900 clinic
visits, and provided over 400 mental health visits in an integrated behavioral health
program.
Leadership from the department’s Residency and Fellowship Programs recently attended
the Annual Spring APPD Conference in Atlanta, GA. The meeting provides members with
the opportunity to network, learn what's new in medical education curriculum, and
other tools for academic advancement. Dr. Amy Creel presented a poster on a study entitled The Role of Residents in Supporting Medical Students' Sense of Belonging
Drs. Amy Creel and Robin English recently attended the Council on Medical Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) meeting. More than 300 pediatric medical educators attended the iternational annual meeting in Long Beach, CA. Dr. English was awarded the 2023 COMSEP Excellence in Education and Teaching Award for her outstanding work in medical education. Dr. Creel presented a platform presentation of her research titled, In the trenches together: Professional Identity Formation Through Belonging and Shared Suffering. She also presented two posters which were both selected (two of nine) for the honor of Professional Rounds: Climbing the Ladder Without Seeing the Rungs: Promotions Criteria for Medical Educators, and I'll be in There with You: Investing in Learning by Supporting Belonging, which won the Faculty Poster Award. Additionally, Dr. Creel co-led two workshops: Appraising and Getting Credit for Digital Scholarship and Saying Yes, No, or Maybe So – Maximize Fulfillment and Success in Your Career.
Drs. Amy Prudhomme and Jessica Patrick Esteve were announced as members of the 2024 host committee at the COMSEP meeting. New Orleans will be the host city for COMSEP April 3-6, 2024.
Kate MacWilliams, an LSUHSC Research Study Coordinator and Tulane MPH student, piloted the training
Addressing Adolescent Opioid Use at Sci-High's Wellness Day. This training was developed
with Dr. Pasternak and Dr. Springgate's guidance and is intended to be used for both staff and students in schools to expand
their overdose prevention awareness including how to use Naloxone. During the presentation,
students were both curious and engaged. The successful first run provided valuable
insight for future replication.
The LSU Pediatrics Interest Group had a book drive at the LSU School of Medicine in
which they donated over 300 books to the LSU Continuity Clinics. These children’s
books will be given away at each well child visit.
Physiology
Drs. Lisa Harrison-Bernard, together with Alison Augustus-Wallace and Fern Tsien, co-facilitated two Professional Development Workshops titled Tools to Mitigate Microaggressions for faculty, staff and trainees at LSUHSC.
Dr. Harrison-Bernard was also invited to extend her service as a Regular Member of the NIH-NIGMS Training, Workforce, Development and Diversity (TWD) Subcommittee – Dr. Harrison-Bernard is a Member of the American Physiological Society Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
Dr. Harrison-Bernard gave two hours of Medical Renal Physiology Review to the Pediatric Nephrology Fellows at Children's Hospital.
Dr. Rajani Maiya presented at the Department of Neuroscience Brown University: Molecular and Circuit Mechanisms Linking Social Stress and Addiction.
Dr. Liz Simon is a standing member of the NIAAA AA-1 study section. Dr. Simon was selected as Field Editor of Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research.
Drs. Andrea Jones and Pam Alonso set up an informational table at People Program for Brain Awareness Week (March 13-19th)
on behalf of the Greater New Orleans Society for Neuroscience Outreach Committee.
People Program is an activity center for adults 55+ in the New Orleans community.
Their programs include physical, mental, spiritual, social and cognitive activities
that foster healthy aging.
Dr. Andrea Jones was a judge for the Holy Cross School Science Fair (Seniors Division, Cell and Molecular Biology & Microbiology sections) as well as a judge for the Greater New Orleans Science and Engineering Fair (Seniors Division, Biochemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology Sections).
Psychiatry
Department Head Dr. Rhan Bailey gave the keynote presentation Mental Health Matters: Recognition, Recovery, and Resilience as part of UT Health San Antonio’s celebration of Black History Month.
Dr. Bailey was also invited as the inaugural speaker for The Office for Inclusive Excellence and Health Equity Lecture Series: Our Stories. Our Narratives. Our Collective Action by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonino as the inaugural speaker (February 22, 2023).
Dr. Joy Osofsky gave several presentations at the Society for Research in Child Development:
- Conversation Hour: Osofsky, J.D, Jones Harden, B., Mastin, M., Taglia, D., Cutulli, JJ. Identifying and Addressing the Needs of Children Who Lost a Parent or Caregiver to COVID, Conversation Hour, Society for Research in Child Development, 2023 Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. (March 2023)
- Invited Symposium: Osofsky, J.D., Davis, C., Lai, B., Powell, T.L., Osofsky, J.D.
Title: Developmental Impacts of Natural and Environmental Disasters: From Impact to Recovery. (March 2023) - Invited Presentation: Osofsky, J.D. and Zeanah, C., Childhood Trauma and Resilience, The Role of the Law in Childhood Trauma, Journal of Public Interest Law, Spring 2023 Symposium, Loyola University College of Law, March 31, 2021
Dr. Nathan Brown, Assistant Professor, is Chair of the Louisiana Psychological Association annual conference which is being held at University Medical Center later this month. More information and how to register can be found at the following link: https://louisianapsychologicalassociation.org/lpa-2023-spring-conference/
Dr. Marty Drell was appointed to the new diversity committee of the American Association of Directors of Child and Adolescent Programs (AACAP). Dr. Drell is co-head for the Virtual Mentor Programs beings set up by the ”Owls Group” of the AACAP. The Owls are for senior members of the AACAP; they meet biannually and focus on various levels of trainees.
Drs. Cody Roi, Chuck Coleman, and Meg Maher facilitated two workshops at the annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture: Moving From Theory to Practice at Every Level: Applying Social Determinants of Mental Health to Teaching Trainees, Working with Patients, and Addressing Institutional Policies (April 29, 2023).
Drs. Sebastian Del Corral Winder, Amy Rinner, and Michelle Moore, presented the poster Ethical Self-Care at the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers bi-annual conference in Louisville, KY on March 16, 2023.
Dr. Michelle Moore provided a community workshop What’s Your color?: A Tool to Increase Awareness and Understand Communication Styles on January 12, 2023 for the staff of Team Gleason, a non-profit organization in New Orleans.
Dr. Ronja Tripp-Bodola facilitated the workshop Teaching Medical Humanities at Med School – Opportunities and Limits at the University of Buffalo/NEMLA in March.
Surgery
Visiting Professor Dr. Fiemu Nwariaku kicked-off the 57th annual Cohn Rives Visiting Professorship in Surgery with his presentation about the alignment of health systems and academic surgery. Five faculty members and six residents also presented.
The Cohn Rives Surgical Society named their 2023-2024 officers:
- Fabienne Gray, MD – President
- Seeyuen Lee, MD – Vice-President
- Bruce Torrance, MD – Treasurer
- Valentine Nfonsam, MD - Secretary