Hats off to those who have been published!
Carla Alexander, MD, Assistant Professor; Chidi Nwizu, MBBS, Assistant Professor; Anthea Nwandu, MBBS, Assistant Professor, Anthony Amoroso, MD, Associate Professor; and Robert Redfield, MD, Professor, all from the Department of Medicine, and Michael Obiefune, MBBS, Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, all of whom are also with the Institute of Human Virology, were co-authors on “Pain Management for Persons Living with HIV Disease: Experience with Interprofessional Education in Nigeria” in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2014 Apr 20 [Epub ahead of print].
Norann A. Zaghloul, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, was among the co-authors on “Ciliopathy Proteins Regulate Paracrine Signaling By Modulating Proteasomal Degradation of Mediators” in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2014 May 1;124(5):2059-70; “Basal Body Proteins Regulate Notch Signaling Via Endosomal Trafficking” in the Journal of Cell Science, 2014 Jun 1;127(Pt 11):2407-19; and “Primary Cilia in Pancreatic Development and Disease” in Birth Defects Research Part C: Embryo Today: Reviews, 2014 May 26 [Epub ahead of print].
Annabelle (Mimi) Belcher, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, was among the co-authors on “Personality Traits and Vulnerability or Resilience to Substance Use Disorders” in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2014;18(4):211-217. In this recently published review, evidence is provided to support the use of personality traits as endophenotypes to explore the genetic bases of substance use disorder (SUD). Dr. Belcher and her colleagues argue that these traits are tied to specific brain systems and genes, both of which interact with the environment to confer vulnerability or resilience to SUD and other mental health disorders.
Brian Berman, MD, Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine and Director, Center for Integrative Medicine, was among the co-authors on “Acupuncture and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Among Female Child Abuse Survivors: A Randomized Waitlist-Controlled Pilot Study” in the Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine, 2014, May 7;20(5). He and Kamal Moudgil, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, were among the co-authors on “Traditional Chinese Medicine: Potential for Clinical Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis,” in Expert Reviews in Clinical Immunology, 2014 May 12:1-4 [Epub ahead of print].
Kunrong Cheng, PhD, Assistant Professor, Guofeng Xie, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Jean-Pierre Raufman, MD, Professor, all from the Department of Medicine, along with Cinthia Drachenberg, MD, Professor, Department of Pathology, were among the co-authors on “Divergent Effects of Muscarinic Receptor Subtype Gene Ablation on Murine Colon Tumorigenesis Reveals Association of M3R and Zinc Finger Protein 277 Expression in Colon Neoplasia” in Molecular Cancer, 2014, 13:77.
Michael 
Dimyan, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, was the lead author on “Nonparetic Arm Force Does Not Overinhibit the Paretic Arm in Chronic Post-Stroke Hemiparesis” in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2014 May;95(5):849-56.
Ali Farzad, MD, Clinical Instructor, Department of Emergency Medicine, is an assistant editor on the PEPID software, a widely used source of medical information designed to support point-of-care decision making. Five other emergency medicine physicians contributed chapters to the upcoming edition: Gregory Shamitko, MD, first-year resident (Hypocalcemia); Tu Carol Nguyen, DO, first-year resident (Syncope); David Bostick, MD, MPH, second-year resident (Prostatitis); Bradford Cotter, MD, first-year resident (Hypertension), and T. Andrew Windsor, MD, Clinical Instructor (Hypokalemia).
Steven Feigenberg, MD, Professor; Warren D’Souza, PhD, Associate Professor; Xiutai Shi, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; Karen Mooney, PhD, Postdoctoral Student, and Jolinta Lin, MD, Resident, all from the Department of Radiation Oncology, were among the co-authors on “Evaluation of Template Matching for Tumor Motion Management With Cine-MR Images in Lung Cancer Patients” in Medical Physics, 2014;41:052304. Dr. Feigenberg was also among the co-authors on “Reply to M.J. Brenner et al. and I.R. Vogelius et al.” in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2014 Jun 10;32(17):1853-4. Dr. Feigenberg and D. Hunter Boggs, MD, Resident, were first authors on “Stereotactic Radiotherapy Using Tomotherapy for Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma: Analysis of Intrafraction Tumour Motion” in the Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Oncology, 2014 Apr 27 [Epub ahead of print].
Peter Gorman, MD, Associate Professor, Paula Geigle, PT, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, and Henry York, MD, Assistant Professor, all from the Department of Neurology, were among the co-authors on “Reliability and Relatedness of Peak VO2 Assessments During Body Weight Supported Treadmill Training and Arm Cycle Ergometry in Individuals with Chronic Motor Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury” in Spinal Cord, 2014 Apr;52(4):287-91.
Chunsik Lee, PhD, Research Associate; Anguo Liu, PhD, Research Associate; Alba Miranda-Ribera, PhD, Research Associate; and Sang Hyun, PhD, Research Associate, all from the Department of Medicine; along with Erik Lillehoj, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics; Alan Cross, MD, and Simeon Goldblum, MD, both Professors, Department of Medicine; Antonino Passaniti, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology; and Bo-Young Kim, Research Specialist, and Paul Welling, MD, Professor, both from the Department of Physiology, were among the co-authors on “NEU1 Sialidase Regulates the Sialylation State of CD31 and Disrupts CD31-Driven Capillary-like Tube Formation in Human Lung Microvascular Endothelia” in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2014 Mar 28;289(13):9121-9135.
Jason Lempel, MD, Radiology Fellow; Aletta Ann Frazier, MD, Clinical Associate Professor; Jean Jeudy, MD, Associate Professor; Seth Kligerman, MD, Assistant Professor; and Charles White, MD, Professor, all from the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, along with Bartley Griffith, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery, were among the co-authors on “Aortic Arch Dissection: A Controversy of Classification” in Radiology, 2014 Jun;271(3):848-55. Drs. Kligerman and White, along with Cheng Ting Lin, MD, Visiting Instructor, were among the co-authors on “Missed Pulmonary Embolism on Abdominal CT” in AJR American Journal of Roentgenology, 2014 Apr;202(4):738-43. Dr. Kligerman and Gautam Ramani, MD, Assistant Professor, and Robert Reed, MD, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Medicine, were among the co-authors on “A Bad Shortcut: Partial Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return” in BMCase Reports, 2014 Apr 11 [Epub ahead of print].
Erik Lillehoj, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics; Sang Hyun, PhD, Research Associate, Anguo Liu, PhD, Research Associate, Irina Luzina, MD, PhD, Professor, Sergei Atamas, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Alan Cross, MD, Professor, and Simeon Goldblum, MD, Professor, all from the Department of Medicine; Chiguang Feng, Research Associate, and Lei Zhang, PhD, Associate Professor, Center for Vaccine Development; Wei Guang, MD, PhD, Research Associate, Wenji Sun, MD, DSc, Research Associate, and Tonya Webb, PhD, Assistant Professor, all from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology; Antonino Passaniti, PhD, Associate Professor, and William Twaddell, MD, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Pathology; Adam Puche, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology; and Lai-Xi Wang, PhD, Professor, Institute of Human Virology, were co-authors on “Human Airway Epithelia Express Catalytically Active NEU3 Sialidase” in the American Journal of Physiology, Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 2014 May 1;306(9):L876-86.
David Loane, PhD, Assistant Professor; Bogdan Stoica, MD, Assistant Professor; and Alan Faden, MD, the David S. Brown Professor of Trauma, all from the Department of Anesthesiology, were among the co-authors on “Progressive Neurodegeneration After Experimental Brain Trauma: Association With Chronic Microglial Activation” in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, 2014 Jan;73(1):14-29; “CR8, A Novel Inhibitor of CDK, Limits Microglial Activation, Astrocytosis, Neuronal Loss, and Neurologic Dysfunction After Experimental Traumatic Brain Injury” in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 2014 Mar;34(3):502-13; and “PARP-1 Inhibition Attenuates Neuronal Loss, Microglia Activation and Neurological Deficits after Traumatic Brain Injury” in the Journal of Neurotrauma, 2014 Apr;31(8):758-72.
Eric Manheimer, PhD, Research Associate, Center for Integrative Medicine and Department of Family & Community Medicine, was among the co-authors on “Using the Systematic Review Data Repository for Systematic Reviews of Complementary Medicine” in the Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine, 2014 May [Epub ahead of print] and “A Summary of a Cochrane Review: Green and Black Tea for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease” in Global Advances in Health Medicine, 2014 Mar;3(2):66-67.
Ayse Mindikoglu, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Matthew Weir, MD, Professor, and Stephen Seliger, MD, MS, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Medicine; Robert Christenson, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology; and Laurence Magder, PhD, MPH, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Performance of Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration Creatinine-Cystatin C Equation For Estimating Kidney Function in Cirrhosis” in Hepatology, 2014; 59:1532-42.
Mark Mishra, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, was among the co-authors on “Radiation Oncology Services In the Modern Era: Evolving Patterns of Usage and Payments in the Office Setting for Medicare Patients from 2000 to 2010” in the Journal of Oncology Practice, 2014 Apr 22 [Epub ahead of print].
Vincent Njar, PhD, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, and his lab personnel Senthilmurugan Ramalingam, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; Vidya Ramamurthy, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; Lalji Gediya, PhD, Research Associate; Puranik Purushottamachar, PhD, Research Associate; and Hannah Mbatia, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; in collaboration with Nicolas Ambulos, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, were among co-authors on “VN/14-1 Induces ER stress and Autophagy in HP-LTLC Human Breast Cancer Cells and Has Excellent Oral Pharmacokinetic Profile in Female Sprague Dawley Rats” in the European Journal of Pharmacology, 2014;734: 98-104.
Jerimy Polf, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, was the first author on “Detecting Prompt Gamma Emission During Proton Therapy: The Effects of Detector Size and Distance From the Patient” in Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2014 May;59:2325–2340.
Charlene Quinn, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the authors on “Telehealth Remote Monitoring Systematic Review: Structured Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose and Impact on A1C” in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2014 Feb 21;8(2):378-389.
Sanjay Rajagopalan, MBBS, the Melvin Sharoky, MD Professor in Medicine, was among the co-authors on “Reproducibility of Thoracic and Abdominal Aortic Wall Measurements With Three-Dimensional, Variable Fip Angle (SPACE) MRI” in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2013 Dec 31 [Epub ahead of print]; “Personal Black Carbon Exposure Influences Ambulatory Blood Pressure: Air Pollution and Cardiometabolic Disease (AIRCMD-China) Study” in Hypertension, 2014 Apr;63(4):871-7;“Effect of GLP-1 Mimetics on Blood Pressure and Relationship to Weight Loss and Glycemia Lowering: Results of a Systematic Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression” in Hypertension, 2014 Jan;27(1):130-9; “Long-Term Exposure to Concentrated Ambient PM2.5 Increases Mouse Blood Pressure Through Abnormal Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System: A Role for Hypothalamic Inflammation” in Environmental Health Perspectives, 2014 Jan;122(1):79-86; and “Relationship Between Heart Rate Variability and Pulse Wave Velocity and Their Association With Patient Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease” in Clinical Nephrology, 2014 Jan;81(1):9-19.
Jacques Ravel, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, and Associate Director of Genomics, Institute for Genome Sciences, was among the co-authors on “Feasibility of Self-Collection of Fecal Specimens by Randomly Sampled Women for Health-Related Studies of the Gut Microbiome” in BMC Research Notes, 2014 Apr 1;7(1):204.
Osamah Saeedi, MD, Assistant Professor, and Angelique Pillar, MD, Second-year Resident, both from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, were among the co-authors on “Change in Choroidal Thickness and Axial Length With Change in Intraocular Pressure After Trabeculectomy” in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, 2014 Mar 13 [Epub ahead of print]. Their study showed a linear relationship between the change in intraocular pressure and the increase in choroidal thickness after glaucoma surgery for the first time.
Congratulations to our very productive faculty on their recent grants and contracts!
Paul Antony, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, was awarded a four-year, $792,000 grant from the American Cancer Society for “The Role of Chronic Exhaustion in Cancer Recurrence.”
Joana 
da Silva, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Institute for Genome Sciences, was involved in a large international public-private partnership to improve vaccinology solutions to control East Coast fever (ECF) in Africa. This effort is funded largely by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and is led by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya. ECF is a tick-borne disease caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva. Over one million cattle die of ECF each year in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in annual losses that exceed US$300 million, with a devastating impact on local farmers.
Jeffrey Deiuliis, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, received a three-year, $440,121 K01 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) for “Adipose MicroRNAs (miRs) in Insulin Resistance.”
Paula Geigle, PT, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, was the PI on Grant #715 from The Paralyzed Veterans of America Educational Grant, which funded “Aquatics and Robotics: Unique Exercise Options for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury,” a regional, two-day conference held at the University of Maryland Rehabilitation and Orthopaedic Institute from April 4–5. Attendees included multi-discipline practitioners and students, and individuals with spinal cord injury and their families. Conference participants experienced interactive movement activities as well as outstanding keynote and panel presentations.
Thomas Hornyak, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, received a five-year, $1.68 million RO1 grant award from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases (NIH/NIAMS) for “Identification and Characterization of Melanocyte Stem Cells” in April.
Thomas MacVittie, PhD, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, and his Preclinical Radiobiology Lab (PRL) team within the Division of Translational Radiation Sciences, received a $1 million, six-month, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-sponsored contract through RxBio to assess proprietary drug efficacy in a “Randomized, Blinded, Vehicle-Controlled, Assessment of Rx100 Administration on Survival in Rhesus Macaques Experiencing the Acute Gastrointestinal Syndrome Following Exposure to 12Gy Partial-Body Irradiation With 5% Bone Marrow Sparing (PBI/BM5).” Dr. MacVittie is the PI on the contract.
Sandra Mooney, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, received a five-year, $1,726,875 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) for “Experimental Factors in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.”
Richard Thompson, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, has been awarded a two-year grant from the Bright Focus Foundation entitled for “Role of Zinc and Hydroxyapatite in Inducing Sub-RPE Deposits and Age-Related Macular Degeneration.”
Yan Wang, MD, DrPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, received a two-year, $162,240 grant award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for “Safety Promotion Trial for Toddlers.” The objectives of this secondary data analysis grant are to examine the impact of a safety promotion trial on behavioral and environmental changes among low-income families of toddlers. Co-investigators include Maureen Black, PhD, the John A. Scholl, MD, and Mary Louise Scholl, MD, Professor in Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, and Laurence Magder, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health.
We applaud our colleagues on their recent appointments!
Maureen Black, PhD, the John A. Scholl, MD, and Mary Louise Scholl, MD, Professor in Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, was appointed to the Steering Committee “Lancet Series: Improving the Development of Young Children Through Integrated Interventions: A Vital Ingredient for Equity and Sustainable Development Post-2015” by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ronald Gartenhaus, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, has been invited to serve as a member of the Molecular Oncogenesis Study Section, Center for Scientific Review for the National Institute of Health, for a six-year term beginning this month. Members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline, as evidenced by the quality of their research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.
Myung Park, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of The International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) for the term April 2014 through April 2017.
Five faculty members from the Department of Emergency Medicine have been appointed International Ambassadors by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). The ambassadors serve a two-year term as a liaison between emergency medicine practitioners in their designated country and ACEP and also serve as ACEP’s official representative to that country. They are: Veronica Pei, MD, MEd, Assistant Professor (Lead Ambassador, China); Jon Mark Hirson, MD, MPH, Associate Professor (Lead Ambassador, Egypt); Walid Hammad, MB, ChB, Clinical Assistant Professor (Deputy Ambassador, Egypt); Andrea Tenner, MD, Assistant Professor (Lead Ambassador, Tanzania); and Terry Mulligan, DO, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor (Lead Ambassador for the Netherlands, Oman and the European Society for Emergency Medicine, and Deputy Ambassador for Poland).
Congratulations to the following who have received honors!
Steven Fisher, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, has been awarded the 2014 Distinguished Service Award by the Physiological Genomics Group of the American Physical Society (APS).
Claire Fraser, PhD, Professor, Departments of Medicine, Microbiology & Immunology and Director of the Institute for Genome Sciences, was honored by the World Trade Center Institute at the 18th Maryland International Business Leadership Awards Ceremony on March 5. The award was presented by Governor O’Malley.
Michelle Giglio, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and the Institute for Genome Sciences, was named to The Daily Record’s 2014 list of Maryland’s Top 100 Women, in recognition of her science educational outreach to regional teachers and students. The Daily Record’s annual list of Maryland’s Top 100 Women was created to recognize outstanding achievement by women who have demonstrated significant professional accomplishments. The award was presented on May 5 in a ceremony at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.
Michael Lai, a PhD Student in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering of the University of Maryland, College Park, who is performing his research in the School of Medicine’s Department of Physiology, in the laboratory of Andrea Meredith, PhD, Assistant Professor, was awarded the first annual Hugo Gonzalez-Serratos Scientific Presentation Award for the best presentation at the joint Annual Retreat of the training programs in Integrative Membrane and Interdisciplinary Muscle Research. The award was established to honor the memory of Hugo Gonzalez-Serratos, PhD, who was a professor in the Department of Physiology until his death in 2011. Michael’s research concerns the role of BK-type potassium channels in the sinoatrial node of the heart, where he shows that they strongly influence the pacemaker of the heart.
Joseph Lakowicz, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, will welcome Rabani Adamou, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques at Abdou Moumouni University, Niamey/Niger, to study in his laboratory on a William Foreign Fullbright Scholarship. Dr. Adamou was selected by a committee appointed by the President of the United States.
Rick Matteson, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, and Director of Student Research Education and Dual Degree Programs, and Susan Wolfsthal, MD, the Celeste Lauve Woodward, MD Professor in Humanism and Ethical Medical Practice, Department of Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency Program Director, and Associate Chair for Education in the Department of Medicine, were inducted into the Carolyn J. Pass, MD ’66 and Richard M. Susel, MD ’66 Academy of Educational Excellence, which was established in 2008 to honor faculty members past and present who demonstrate exceptional innovation in, and dedication to, medical education; who embody the highest ideals of the medical and/or science professions; and who display a singular commitment to the best interests of medical students.
Keshava Rajagopal, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, was awarded the Norman E. Shumway Career Development Award on April 14. This prestigious $160,000 award from the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation is granted through a competitive application and is awarded to a single awardee every two years to recognize outstanding basic/translational research by an early career faculty member.
Matthew Trudeau, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, received the Cranefield Award for his paper “Direct Interaction of EAG Domains and Cyclic Nucleotide-Binding Homology Domains Regulate Deactivation Gating in hERG Channels,” which was published in the Journal of General Physiology in 2013. The Paul F. Cranefield Award was created by the Council of the Society of General Physiologists to honor Paul F. Cranefield, MD, PhD, who for 30 years served as Editor of the Journal of General Physiology. The Award is meant to recognize an independent young investigator who in the preceding calendar year has published an outstanding article in the journal. It further was stipulated that the Award need not be given every year; that it should be reserved for a truly noteworthy paper. This award comes with a $2,000 cash prize, to be issued at the Society of General Physiologists meeting in September 2014. Elena Gianulis, BS, Graduate Student, won the Graduate Student Cranefield Award for the same paper.
Paul Welling, MD, Professor, Department of Physiology, received the Steven Hebert Award from the American Physiological Society and was honored to deliver the Steven Hebert Distinguished Lecture at the Experimental Biology Meeting in San Diego, CA, in April 2014. This award from the Epithelial Transport Group honors Dr. Steven Hebert, former chair and C.N.H. Long Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Professor of Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine, who was a pioneer in developing a genetic and molecular understanding of renal ion transport mechanisms. Dr. Welling’s lecture highlighted his laboratory’s efforts to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of sodium-potassium balance, and blood-pressure control. Dr. Welling joins the illustrious company of former awardees such as Richard P. Lifton (Yale); Ernest M. Wright (UCLA); William Guggino (Johns Hopkins); and Gerardo Gamba (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico) in this honor.
We welcome our new faculty!
Jeanette Abell, MD, MBA, SFHM, joined the Department of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in April. Dr. Abell has also been appointed as the new Palliative Medicine Medical Director at the University of Maryland Medical Center, effective April 1. Dr. Abell will provide operational leadership for all palliative care services at the Medical Center and provide clinical leadership and expertise within the palliative medicine clinical team in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. Dr. Abell came to the University of Maryland from the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where she served as Chief Fellow in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Prior to that, she was Chief of Hospital Medicine at Sentara Medical Group, a large multi-specialty group with practices in six acute care hospitals in southeastern Virgina. In that capacity, she was responsible for the oversight of 80 Hospital Medicine clinicians and 12 Palliative Medicine providers. She was previously chief medical officer and managing partner at CrossWalk Consulting Group, LLC, a physician-owned consultant group focused on strategic and operational management of medical groups, hospitals and health care organizations with specific focus on Hospital Medicine. Dr. Abell received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Wright State University in Dayton, OH, and completed her residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, OH. Additionally, she holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Adnan Bhutta, MBBS, FAAP, has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Associate Professor and Head of the Division of Critical Care. Dr. Bhutta will oversee medical direction of the clinical, research and teaching services; faculty mentoring and development; fellowship program growth; expansion of current clinical services/volumes; expansion of the research enterprise; and increased divisional participation in the Department Resident Education Program.
Pranshu Mohindra, MD, MBBS, will begin with the Department of Radiation Oncology on July 28. As a clinician, Dr. Mohindra will have a primary focus in thoracic/lung malignancies and a secondary focus in gynecologic and lymphoma/hematologic malignancies. Dr. Mohindra is experienced in the latest radiation modalities, including intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). As a physician-scientist, Dr. Mohindra will work to achieve the primary long-term goal of linking the research efforts currently underway in the Division of Translational Radiation Sciences (DTRS) to the department’s NCI-designated multidisciplinary clinical oncology program. He will work with the research team in development of clinical indications for the compounds identified in the labs as potential mitigators of radiation-induced normal tissue injury. Dr. Mohindra received his medical degree and completed his internship at the Dr. D. Y. Patil Medical College, University of Mumbai, India, in 2003. He completed a Radiation Oncology residency and obtained Board certification from the prestigious Tata Memorial Center at the University of Mumbai, India. He also completed a short-term Laboratory Research Fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, and a year-long Clinical Fellowship in the Head-Neck Cancer Radiation Oncology program at the Princess Margaret Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada. Most recently, Dr. Mohindra completed a second Radiation Oncology residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, WI. Dr. Mohindra has received several academic excellence, research and travel awards and is actively involved in multi-disciplinary collaborative research endeavors, including prospective clinical protocols. To date, his clinical and research efforts have yielded 13 journal manuscripts, two book chapters, and 15 national presentations.
Sanjai Rao, DO, has joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Neurology.
Kudos to our colleagues who are experts in their fields and give their all to represent the School of Medicine!
Cynthia Bearer, MD, PhD, the Mary Gray Cobey Professor of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, ran the Baltimore Washington Virginia Perinatal Consortium, held April 15–16 at the Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, VA. The conference convenes Neonatology faculty, fellows and other trainees from the seven regional academic neonatology programs to enable participants to: 1) present their research clearly and precisely; 2) answer questions regarding their research; 3) ask pertinent questions of other researchers; 4) effectively moderate and chair research meetings; 5) network with other programs; and 6) develop collaborative relationships. Dr. Bearer also chaired the annual meeting of the Children’s Environmental Network from April 24–25 at the American Public Health Association in Washington, DC.
Brian Berman, MD, Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, and Director, Center for Integrative Medicine, moderated a panel presentation on “Big Data and Machine Learning” on May 16 at the 2014 International Research Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health in Miami, FL. Chris D’Adamo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine and Director of Research, Center for Integrative Medicine, led a symposium presentation on “Community Based Integrative Medicine Research” at the same meeting, and Dr. Berman was also a panelist for that presentation.
Vincent Bruno, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Institute for Genome Sciences, presented on “Identification of 2 Novel Signaling Proteins That Govern the Host Response During in vivo Disseminated and Vaginal Candidiasis” at the 12th American Society of Microbiology Conference on Candida and Candidiasis, held in New Orleans, LA from March 26–30.
Marcia Driscoll, MD, PharmD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, presented “Specific Dermatoses of Pregnancy” at the American Academy of Dermatology’s 72nd Annual Meeting on March 234 in Denver, CO. This presentation was part of a forum that Dr. Driscoll directed entitled “The Pregnant Pause: How to Evaluate and Treat Your Pregnant Patients.”
Howard Dubowitz, MB, ChB, FAAP, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, presented the keynote “Neglected Children: Challenges and Controversies” and a workshop on “Child Neglect: Principles for Practice” at the 27th Together for Children Conference, held in Lake Geneva, WI, on April 2.
Robert Edelman, MD, Clinical Professor, Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics, and Center for Vaccine Development, presented an invited introductory talk, “World Health Organization Guidelines for the Clinical Evaluation of Dengue Vaccines in Endemic Areas” at the NIAID/FDA Workshop on Regulatory Issues Related to Dengue Vaccines held in Rockville, MD on April 4, 2014.
Steven Fisher, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, was an invited speaker and presented “Regulation and Function of Myosin Light Chain Phosphatase” at “Symposium on Regulatory Circuits in Cell Motility: A Celebration of Dave Hartshorne’s Career,” sponsored by The Physiological Society of Philadelphia. He also presented on “Smooth Muscle Cell Biology and Mechanobiology” at the International Society for Applied Cardiovascular Biology in April.
Gary Fiskum, PhD, the M. Jane Matjasko Professor for Research and Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Anesthesiology, was a visiting Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Safar Center for Resuscitation Research, where he presented “Neuroprotection By Avoiding Unnecessary Hyperoxia Following Ischemic and Traumatic Brain Injury.” Dr. Fiskum was also a visiting Professor at the New York University Langone Medical Center’s Department of Anesthesiology, where he presented “Strategic Use of Oxygen During Neurocritical Care.”
Erin Hager, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, presented “Factors Associated with School-Level Implementation of Wellness Policies and Practices: A Statewide Analysis” at the Active Living Research conference in San Diego, CA, on March 12.
Kim Hankey, PhD, Research Associate, and Ann Farese, MA, MS, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Radiation Oncology, presented “Evidence-Based Support for Mitigation of the Acute Radiation Syndrome in Nonhuman Primates” at the 40th meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation, held in Milan, Italy, from March 30 to April 2.
Stacy Howes, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Pediatrics, presented “A Transactional Investigation of Chronic Maternal Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescent Mothers and Their Children’s Behavior” and “Prenatal Drug Exposure, The Stress Response, and Adolescent Drug Experimentation and Externalizing Behaviors” at the Society for Research in Adolescence in Austin, TX, from March 20–22. Maureen Black, PhD, the John A. Scholl, MD, and Mary Louise Scholl, MD, Professor in Pediatrics, was a co-author on both papers.
Scott Jerome, DO, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, presented “Nuclear Facility Perception of Site Accreditation. Results of an Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) Survey” and “Geographic Variation in Administered Radiation Dose for Myocardial Perfusion Imaging” at the annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, in St. Louis, MO, in June.
Richard Lichenstein, MD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, who also chairs the State Child Fatality Review Team, spoke on May 1 at the Howard County Health Department’s Baby Bumper Buy-Back Bonanza, where parents could exchange crib baby bumpers for gift cards. Baby bumpers have been shown to be part of an unsafe sleep environment for infants.
David Loane, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, was an invited guest speaker at the annual meeting of the British Neuropathological Society, where he presented “The Role of Neuroinflammation in Post TBI Pathology” at a special symposium on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and the Long-Term Consequence of Brain Injury at the Institute of Child Health, University College. London, U.K.
Amal Mattu, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was a visiting professor for the Emergency Medicine residency program at Stanford University in California on April 8 and 9. During those two days, he precepted their journal club in a discussion of recent articles on cardiology, led a legal case discussion, presented a Grand Rounds lecture on “Everyday Leadership,” and served as a judge for the program’s Research Forum. Dr. Mattu also presented three lectures at meetings in Las Vegas in April: “Wide Complex Tachycardias: Myths and Pitfalls” and “Acute MI: A Big Piece of Medico-Legal Pie” at the 25th Annual High Risk Emergency Medicine Conference, and “Everyday Leadership: Secrets of Great Minds Through the Ages” at EmCare’s 27th Annual Leadership Conference.
John McLenithan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Medicine and Physiology, gave a lecture on “Adipokines and Inflammatory Mediators: The Link Between Obesity and GDM” at the 13th Annual Meeting of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of North America, and “Adipose Tissue in Health and Disease” in a lecture at Howard University’s Department of Nutrition.
Andrew Neuwald, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, gave an Intel Life Sciences Tutorial Webinar entitled “A Statistical Approach to Life Sciences Big Data Analysis:Deciphering the Sequence Determinants of Protein Function” on April 3.
Casey Overby, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, was invited to present “Biomedical Informatics and Implementation in Genomic Medicine” for the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC) Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics on April 9, and “Electronic Health Record-Based Phenotyping in a Pediatric Setting: A Case Study for Drug-Induced Liver Injury” at the 2014 Pediatric Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine Conference at Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, MO on April 10.
Kevin Pereira, MBBS, Professor, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, presented “Inflammatory Disorders of the Pediatric Airway” during Grand Rounds at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Texas Houston Medical School on April 3. He also gave an invited lecture on “Anomalies of the Branchial Apparatus—An Update” at the Houston Society of Otolaryngology later that afternoon.
Sanjay Rajagopalan, MBBS, the Melvin Sharoky, MD Professor in the Department of Medicine, presented awards at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 63rd Annual Convocation in Washington, DC on March 31. Dr. Rajagopalan serves as Chair of the Herman Gold Young Investigator Award Competition in Molecular and Cell Biology at ACC competitions. He also presented “Emerging Therapies in Dyslidenia-PCSK9 Inhibitors, Mipomersan, Lomitapide and The New Lipid Guidelines—What Should the Primary Care Provider Know?” at the 8th Annual Primary Care Conference in Palm Coast, FL, on April 3; “Advances in Incretia-based Therapeutics and Recent Evidence from Cardiovascular Trials in Type II Diabetes” at the meeting of the Physicians’ Academy for Cardiovascular Education (PACE) Foundation in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from April 12–13; and “Implications From Recent Trials in Lowering CV Risk in Type II Diabetes” at a Johns Hopkins Hospital clinical conference on April 21.
Rob Rogers, MD, Associate Professor, and Haney Mallemat, MD, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Emergency Medicine, were invited faculty members for the Social Media and Critical Care Conference, held in Gold Coast, Australia, in mid-March. Dr. Rogers presented a plenary session lecture on “What Would Osler Tweet? The Future of Bedside Teaching and Education” and a lecture on “Aortic Dissection: Beyond the Diagnosis.” He also presented the following workshop lectures: “Propelling Your Career with Social Media,” “Making the Most of the Teachable Moment,” “Podcasting in Medical Education: If I Can Do It, So Can You!” and “How to Teach Procedures.” Dr. Mallemat’s plenary presentation was on “The Art and Science of Fluid Responsiveness.” His workshop topics were “No Pain, All Gain? Noninvasive Hemodynamic Monitoring” and “Morbidity and Mortality Conference Revisited.” The two also co-presented an education workshop titled “Teaching with Twitter, Hanging Out With Google.”
Lynn Schriml, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health and Institute for Genome Sciences, gave an invited speech on “The Disease Ontology: An Evolving Tool for Disease Curation and Annotation” at The 7th International Biocuration Conference, held from April 6–9 in Toronto, Canada.
Navesh Sharma, MD, Assistant Professor, and France Carrier, PhD, Associate Professor, along with graduate students Duc Nguyen and Elizabeth Chang, all from the Department of Radiation Oncology, presented “Contribution of Dual Oxidase 2 (DUOX2) to Hyper Radiosensitivity in Human Gastric Cancer Cells” at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting, held in San Diego, CA, from April 5–9. At the same meeting, Chang, Nguyen, Carrier, and Qingyuan Yang, PhD, a Postdoctoral Fellow, presented “Rational Targeting of Protein Translation for Cancer Treatments.”
Douglas Sward, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was an invited speaker for the Third Mid-Atlantic Student Wilderness Medicine Conference, held on April 12 and 13 at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. His topic was “Search and Rescue: Strategy and Initial Actions.”
Andrea Tenner, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, presented Grand Rounds on “Global Emergency Health: Seeing Your World From a New Perspective” for the Virginia Tech Carilion Emergency Medicine Residency Program in Roanoke, VA on April 24.
Kelly Westlake, PhD, MSc, PT, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science, was an invited speaker at the 40th Annual Hand Therapy Symposium “Surgery and Rehabilitation of the Hand with Emphasis on Tendon and Nerve” in Philadelphia, PA, from March 22–25. Her topic was “The Neurologic Upper Extremity: Neural Plasticity and Implications for Hand Rehabilitation.”
David Zimrin, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, presented a workshop on “Hybrid Revascularization” at the Annual Conference of the American College of Cardiology, held in Washington, DC, from March 29–31.
Thanks to those who selflessly donate their time, talent and resources. Your goodwill does not go unappreciated.
A team of 13 students from Southwest Baltimore Charter School (SBCS), mentored by ten first-year School of Medicine medical students, competed on this year’s CLUB UMB Maryland Science Olympiad (MSO) team. The groups met weekly on Wednesdays at SBCS to prepare for competition, which included proects focused on human anatomy, experimental design, engineering, entomology, and electronics. Materials for the proects were graciously contributed by Gregory Carey, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology. In the Baltimore Regional, the team earned seven gold medals, two silver medals and three bronze medals and placed third out of the seven participating Baltimore City middle schools. More importantly, their overall score improved by 65 percent over last year’s team’s score. In the Maryland State Tournament, the team earned one silver medal and two bronze medals, against schools that have been in the competition for years. Congratulations to both our students and the SBCS students on a ob well done!
A job well done to all who have kept us in the media spotlight!
Chris D’Adamo, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine and Director of Research, Center for Integrative Medicine, was quoted extensively in The Food Network’s Healthy Eats column entitled “Yes, Turmeric is the Spice of the Moment (Here’s Why)” on April 17.
Stephen Davis, MBBS, FRCP, FACP, the Theodore E. Woodward Professor of Medicine and Chairman, Department of Medicine, was quoted in the Baltimore Sun article “Officials Urge Consumers to Cut Back on Sugar” on March 21, and was featured in a WJZ-TV interview on March 25 at the opening of the Expanded Diabetes Center at the University of Maryland Midtown Campus.
Bruce Greenwald, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, had an interview with Lisa Robinson on WBAL TV News 11 about esophageal cancer in April, which was Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month.
Sanjay Rajagopalan, MBBS, the Melvin Sharoky, MD Professor in the Department of Medicine, was interviewed regarding recent health advances/research in cardiovascular medicine by Jeff Salkin on the “Your Health” segment of Direct Connection on Maryland Public Television on April 28.