What's the Buzz - October 2016

What’s on my mind this month is our fourth annual Festival of Science. This event is one of the highlights of the school year, both for the School of Medicine and for me personally. Every year, our institution highlights one area of research, and our community learns about the exciting, cutting-edge work our scientists are doing in that domain. Last year we focused on groundbreaking discoveries in brain science; this year, the theme will be cancer research.

Nearly all of us have known someone who has faced this terrible disease: almost 600,000 Americans die from cancer every year. Researchers at the School of Medicine are using a range of approaches to better understand and treat the diseases, and at the same time are developing treatments that will improve the lives of cancer patients, both today and in the future. In this issue, we focus on some of this innovative research. Some scientists here are doing basic research, while others are doing translation and clinical research, some having direct impact on patients’ lives.

Cancer is an extremely complex disease, and researchers here are examining it from a variety of perspectives. Some are focusing on enzymes that have been implicated in the process of disease. Amy M. Fulton, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Pathology, focuses on the role of inflammation in cancer progression. She has found that overexpression of the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is linked to more aggressive disease, and that COX inhibitors, a class of anti-inflammatory medications already on the market, could limit tumor growth and spread.

Another promising area is the immune system, which may not work properly in many patients with cancer. Eduardo Davila, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is working to understand more about the role of T cells in cancer genesis, and to use this knowledge to develop new ways to diagnose, prevent and treat cancer. Tonya J. Webb, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, is focusing on the role of natural killer T (NKT) cells, a class of immune cells that play a key role in regulating response to tumors. In many cancer patients, these cells are fewer and less active.

Others are investigating the role of genes. Feyruz V. Rassool, PhD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, is trying to unravel how DNA repair mechanisms go awry in cancer, especially in leukemia. She is now looking at possible ways to use DNA repair as a treatment strategy for leukemia and other cancers. At the other end of the spectrum, lifestyle remains crucially important as well. Joanne F. Dorgan, PhD, MPH, a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, is focusing on identifying hormonal determinants of cancer, particularly breast cancer, and the hormonal mechanisms by which environment and lifestyle affect cancer risk. In a study published earlier this year, she reported that adolescent girls whose diet is higher in saturated fats and lower in healthier unsaturated fats have higher breast density in early adulthood, which may increase their subsequent risk for breast cancer.

Others are focusing on ensuring that cancer treatment is proportional to the risk. M. Minhaj Siddiqui, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery, is studying how to better differentiate aggressive prostate cancer from non-aggressive tumors, using both MRI imaging as well as sophisticated measures of cell metabolism. Zeljko Vujaskovic, MD, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, is trying to elucidate how radiation injures normal tissue.

This is just a small sample of our exciting research on cancer. I am confident that in the years to come, this work will lead to breakthroughs.

Also in this issue, we are introducing a new feature, “Clinical Care News Update,” to highlight the growing range of clinical services in which our faculty is involved, as well as our exciting plans for the future. This month we focus on our rapidly expanding network of outpatient clinical practices in the state. These include our new facility at Waterloo Crossing in Columbia and our new orthopedics practice at Camden Yards. Our goal is to continue growing, and as we do we will be sure to let you know.

In the relentless pursuit of excellence, I am

Sincerely yours,

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E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA
Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland
John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and
Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine

 


We welcome our new faculty and staff!

Guang Li, PhD, joined the Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine as Assistant Professor and Imaging Physicist. Dr. Li received his doctorate in medical physics from the University of Texas Health Science Center and completed his residency in imaging physics at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Hilary Whitlatch, MD, joined the Department of Medicine’s Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition as an Assistant Professor in April. Dr. Whitlatch comes from the Brown Alpert Medical School in Providence, RI, where she was an Assistant Professor and Chief of the Endocrinology Section at the Providence VA Medical Center. Her clinical and research focus includes the clinical use and pharmacodynamics of highly-concentrated U500 insulin in severely insulin-resistant patients and the investigation of various biomarkers in the prediction of risk for diabetes-related microvascular and macrovascular complications. In addition to treatment of diabetes, Dr. Whitlatch is experienced in the evaluation and management of the full breadth of endocrinologic conditions, including thyroid, pituitary, adrenal, parathyroid/bone, and gonadal disorders.

Amelia Wnorowski, MD, joined the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine in August as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Wnorowski received her medical degree from New York University School of Medicine, completed her internship in internal medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital, and did her residency in diagnostic radiology at Thomas Jefferson University. She joined the department upon completing her fellowship in abdominal imaging at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Center for Vaccine Development in the Institute for Global Health welcomed two new trainees to the Vaccinology training program and training grant in August: Rekha Rapaka, MD, PHD, Infectious Disease Fellow, is working in the University of Maryland Medical Center, and Jason Bailey, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, is in the Division of Malaria Research at the Institute for Global Health.

Kudos to our colleagues who are experts in their fields and give their all to represent the School of Medicine!

Joana Carneiro da SilvaJoana Carneiro da Silva, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Institute for Genome Sciences, was an invited speaker at a Keystone Symposium on “New Approaches to Vaccines for Human and Veterinary Tropical Diseases” in Cape Town, South Africa, in May, where she presented “Genomics of Vaccine Efficacy: Lessons From the Buffalo Wildlife Reservoir of East Coast Fever.” Also in May, she presented “Genomic Composition of PfSPZ Vaccines” at the Spring PfSPZ Consortium meeting in Leiden in the Netherlands, and “Genomic Resources for Theileria parva” at the annual Workshop on Improved Vaccines for the Control of ECF in Cattle in Africa, which took place in London.

France CarrierFrance Carrier, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, gave a presentation on “Low-Dose Fractionated Radiation Therapy” and chaired a session at the International Conference on Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Therapy in Cologne, Germany, on July 14.

chen-wilburWilbur Chen, MD, MS, FACP, Associate Professor of Medicine, Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, was a member of the NFID’s (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases) Roundtable policy discussion on “Reinvigorating Influenza Prevention in U.S. Adults 65 Years and Older” in Bethesda, MD on July 26.

Marcus ChibucosMarcus Chibucos, PhD, Research Associate, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Institute for Genome Sciences, presented an invited lecture on “Semantic Integration of Life Sciences Knowledge Using Biological Ontologies” at the Department of Global Health, University of South Florida, in Tampa, FL on April 26. He also hosted the two-day workshop “Evidence & Conclusion Ontology & Ontology for Biomedical Investigations Workshop (Baltimore 2016): Scientific Evidence” at the BioPark on May 11–12, where members of the international biological ontology community discussed and refined methodologies for modeling evidence and provenance in scientific research.

New UMB logoDiana Lam, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, presented “Comparing Methods of Weighting Case-Control Data to Analyze Secondary Outcomes” on August 1 at the American Statistical Association Joint Statistical Meetings in Chicago.

Thomas MacvittieThomas MacVittie, PhD, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, gave a presentation on “Animal Models: Predicting the Human Response to Lethal Irradiation and Treatment” on July 18 at Medical Management of Radiation Casualties: Where Research and Usage Meet, a conference sponsored by NIAID and the Radiation Injury Treatment Network in Rockville, MD.

Jay MagazinerJay Magaziner, PhD, MSHyg, Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, gave an overview of his work in hip fracture at the ICFSR Task Force on Sarcopenia Trials, held April 27 in Philadelphia.

Andrea MeredithAndrea Meredith, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, delivered the TransCure Lecture in Physiology at the University of Bern, Switzerland in June. Her topic was “Big Time for BK: Mechanisms of Circadian Rhythm in Neuronal Activity.” She also gave invited seminars at Columbia University in April, the University of Washington in May, the Society for Biological Rhythms Meeting in Palm Harbor, FL in May, and the Ion Channels Gordon Research Conference in Mt. Holyoke, MA in July.

Andy NeuwaldAndrew Neuwald, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Institute for Genome Sciences, presented “Improved Protein Multiple Sequence Alignment and Covariance Analysis: Identifying Acetyltransferase Functional Determinants” at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, on April 25, and at the Institute for Genome Sciences on April 14.

Sethuraman_KinjalKinjal Sethuraman, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, presented “Gene Expression is Modified by Hyperbaric Oxygen in Humans” at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, held in Las Vegas in mid-June. Her lecture was based on a study performed in the laboratory of Gary Fiskum, PhD, the M. Jane Matjasko Professor for Research in Anesthesiology and Vice Chair of Research, Department of Anesthesiology, with collaborators Robert Rosenthal, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine; Yi Chun Hsieh, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology; and Marina Kloyzner, MD, a 2015 graduate of the University of Maryland Emergency Medicine Residency.

Taylor_SimeonSimeon Taylor, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine, presented a plenary lecture on “Understanding the Risk of DKA When Hyperglycemia is Treated with SGLT2 Inhibitors” at the 76th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association in New Orleans, LA in June.

Wickwire_EmersonEmerson Wickwire, PhD, ABPP, CBSM, FAASM, Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, presented “Why Treat Sleep?” at Department of Medicine Grand Rounds at Mercy Hospital on June 8.

Thelma WrightThelma Wright, MD, Esq, Assistant Professor, was featured on ABC 7’s Good Morning Washington on June 7, where she discussed “Opioid Use in America” on what would have been Prince’s birthday.

Sward_DouglasTwo students at the University of Maryland School of Medicine spent several weeks in Rocky Mountain National Park last summer, talking with backcountry hikers about their ability to avoid emergencies and their preparedness in the event that one occurs. Using a written survey, Michael D.T. Yue, BA, MS-II, and David Spivey, BA, MS-III, collected information from 379 hikers. Mr. Yue presented the results in “Rocky Mountain National Park Hiker Preparedness Survey: Does Wilderness Medicine Training Correlate with Preparedness for Injury and Altitude Illness?” at the 7th World Congress of Mountain & Wilderness Medicine, held in Telluride, CO, in August. Their faculty advisors and collaborators were Daniel Gingold, MD, MPH, Clinical Instructor, Department of Emergency Medicine, and Douglas Sward, MD, Attending Physician, Division of Hyperbaric Medicine, Program in Trauma, and Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine.

Warren D'SouzaAt the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, held July 31–August 1 in Washington, DC, members of the Division of Medical Physics and their colleagues in the Department of Radiation Oncology authored a record 47 oral and poster presentations, with additional service on panels and as educational session faculty. Members of the division whose work was featured included Warren D’Souza, PhD, MBA, Professor and Chief of Medical Physics; Stewart Becker, PhD, Assistant Professor; Haijian Chen, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; Shifeng Chen, PhD, Assistant Professor; Wookjin Choi, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; Heeteak Chung, PhD, Assistant Professor; Emily Draeger, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; John Eley, PhD, Assistant Professor; Arun Gopal, PhD, Assistant Professor; Mariana Guerrero, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor; Chaitanya Kalavagunta, PhD, Physics Resident; Gokhan Kirlik, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; Fujan Lan, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; Katja Langen, PhD, Associate Professor; Ulrich Langner, PhD, Assistant Professor; Minsik Lee, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; Sung-Woo Lee, PhD, Assistant Professor; Wei Lu, PhD, Associate Professor; Sina Mossahebi, PhD, Physics Resident; Jerimy Polf, PhD, Associate Professor; Karl Prado, PhD, Professor; Sadegh Riyahi, PhD, Postdoctoral Student; Amit Sawant, PhD, Associate Professor; Huijun Xu, PhD, Assistant Professor; Byong Yong Yi, PhD, Professor; Cedric Yu, PhD, Professor; Jen Yu, PhD, Assistant Professor; Baoshe Zhang, PhD, Assistant Professor; Hao Zhang, PhD, Assistant Professor; Jinghao Zhou, PhD, Assistant Professor; and Mingyao Zhu, PhD, Assistant Professor.

Congratulations to the following who have received honors!

abrahamDanielle Abraham, MPH, PhD candidate in the Epidemiology Doctoral Program, received the Renée Royak-Schaler, PhD, MEd Memorial Fund Award at the Commencement Celebration for the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, held on May 15. The Renée Royak-Schaler, PhD, MEd Memorial Endowment was established by Dr. Royak-Schaler’s family in 2011. This prestigious award recognizes excellence in the student’s academic work and in research and/or service in areas deeply important to Dr. Royak-Schaler: health disparities, health behavior, women’s health, cancer prevention, and/or community engagement and participation.

New UMB logoRotana Alsagaff, MSCR, and Rasheeda Johnson, MS, PhD, both from the Epidemiology and Human Genetics Program in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received recognition as new members of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi at the Commencement Celebration for the department on May 20.

Couser_ElizabethElizabeth Couser, MSW, Jennifer Howard-Doering, MPP, MSW, and Jing Xu, MA, all of the Gerontology Program in the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received the Gerontology Early Career Development Student Award at the Commencement Celebration held on May 20. Funded through a generous donation, this award fosters early academic productivity in aging research and serves as the foundation for becoming an independent scholar in the field of Gerontology.

Wade GaaschWade Gaasch, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, and Andrew Pollak, MD, The James Lawrence Kernan Professor and Chair, Department of Orthopaedics, received the U.S. Attorney General’s Citizen Volunteer Service Award during ceremonies held in Washington on July 21. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the mission of the U.S. Department of Justice and was presented to Dr. Gaasch and Dr. Pollak for their service as Special Deputy U.S. Marshals and Tactical Medics during dangerous fugitive apprehensions in and around Maryland.

New UMB logoSarah Kilby, MPH, and Leah Perrotta, MPH, both from the Masters in Public Health Program within the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received recognition as new members of the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health at the Commencement Celebration held on May 20. Delta Omega is the national honorary society for graduate students in Public Health. Founded in 1924, the society currently has 84 chapters throughout the world and has more than 15,000 members from top echelons of graduate schools and programs of public health, as well as the public health community.

Law_JennieJennie Law, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and the Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been selected as a participant in the inaugural American Society of Hematology Medical Educators Institute. Her project focuses on education in assessment and management of sickle cell anemia.

Sorkin_JohnThe Department of Epidemiology and Public Health held their commencement exercises on May 20, and awarded the following faculty for their contributions: Joanna Gaitens, MSN, MPH, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, received the Medical School Teaching Award; John Sorkin, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine, received the Epidemiology and Human Genetics Program and Gerontology Program Faculty Teaching Award; Gordon Smith, MB, ChB, MPH, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received the Epidemiology and Human Genetics Program and Gerontology Program Faculty Mentoring Award; and Sania Amr, MD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was the recipient of the Master of Public Health Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award.

We applaud our colleagues on their recent appointments!

Clement AdebamowoClement Adebamowo, BM, ChB, ScD, Professor of Epidemiology & Public Health, Institute of Human Virology, and Associate Director, Population Science Program, Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been elected a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology.

Amber BeitelsheesAmber Beitelshees, PharmD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Program in Personalized and Genomic Medicine, has been elected a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. Fellows were inducted at the Annual Meeting in October.

Adnan Bhutta, MBBS, FAAP, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, has been appointed a Fellow in the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM).

New UMB logoRiham Keryakos, Office Manager, Institute for Genome Sciences, has been elected to serve as Member-At-Large on the UMB Staff Senate executive committee for one year effective July 7. The committee is the point of contact for staff with the UMB President.

Macko_richardRichard Macko, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Neurology, has been appointed to serve on the US Department of Health and Human Services 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Committee.

Malek_RanaRana Malek, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, has been appointed as the new course director for Pathophysiology and Therapeutics II by the School of Medicine.

Andrea MeredithAndrea Meredith, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, has been appointed to a six-year term on the Neurotransporters, Receptors, Channels and Calcium Signaling (NTRC) Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Members are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline, as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors.

Pasetti_MarcelaMarcela Pasetti, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, was selected to serve on the Immunity and Host Defense Study Section, Center for Scientific Review. Members are selected based on demonstrated competence and achievement as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements, and honors. Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations, and survey the status of research in their fields of expertise.

Lynn SchrimlLynn Schriml, PhD, Associate Professor, Epidemiology & Public Health, was appointed as an associate member of the Population Science Program within the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) Program in Oncology, effective May 12.

New UMB logoMarcella Wozniak, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology, has been appointed Co-Chair of the Maryland State Governor’s Advisory Council on Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention.

Sethuraman_KinjalTwo faculty members in the Department of Emergency Medicine have been elected to officer positions in the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM). Kinjal Sethuraman, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, was elected as the Academy’s president-elect, and Wan-Tsu Wendy Chang, MD, Assistant Professor, was elected as its secretary. The purpose of the AWAEM, which is affiliated with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, is to promote the recruitment, retention, advancement, and leadership of women in academic emergency medicine through networking, mentoring, and research.

Congratulations to our very productive faculty on their recent grants and contracts!

Antalis_ToniToni Antalis, PhD, Professor of Physiology, Center for Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases, and Curt Civin, MD, Associate Dean for Research, Professor of Pediatrics, and Director, Center for Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, have received a five-year, $2,501,301 competing renewal T32 training grant from the National Cancer Institute. This training grant will continue support for the Training Program in Cancer Biology, launched in 2011, and will provide support for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees in basic, translational, and clinical research at the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Amber BeitelsheesAmber Beitelshees, PharmD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, received a $50,000 Pilot and Feasibility grant from the JHU-UMD Diabetes Research Center for “Toward Precision Medicine of Diabetes Treatment: A Pilot & Feasibility Study of DPP4 Inhibitors.”

Calu_DonnaDonna Calu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, was awarded a two-year, $70,000 2016 Young Investigator Grant from The Brain and Behavior Research Fund for her investigation of the “Role of Amygdala Projections in Incubation of Fear and Drug Craving.”

FrenkelVictor Frenkel, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine received a $154,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for “Investigations of Pulsed Focused Ultrasound for Increasing the Average Pore Size in Brain Tissue.” This award will support experiments to study pulsed ultrasound exposures as a means of effectively altering the microstructure of the extracellular space, with the goal of improving the dispersion of nanometer-sized therapeutic agents in the brain. Previous studies have shown that pulsed focused ultrasound increases penetration of nanoparticles, antibodies, and proteins in a variety of tissue types. This project will extend these studies to brain tissue. Results of the project will improve knowledge of the extracellular space in the brain and provide guidance in the design of more effective drug delivery strategies, such as improving interstitial drug delivery to the brain by methods such as convection-enhanced delivery.

gong_thumbDa Wei Gong, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, received a $10,000, National Kidney Foundation award for “Study on Protective Effect Against Acute Renal Injury by Elabela, a New Kidney Hormone.”

Jackson_IsabelIsabel Jackson, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, received an award of $350,088 from Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for “Therapeutic Efficacy Screening of AEOL10150 in Murine Model: Determining Duration, Timing, Natural History and Mechanism of Action. Amendment #10.”

Kaper_JamesJames Kaper, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor and Chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, received a five-year, $7,961,778 program project (P01) grant from NIAID for “Pathogenesis of E. coli and Shigella Infections in Human Enteroid Models.” As part of this, Eileen Barry, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, received five years of funding as PI of Project 2, and Marcela Pasetti, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics, Center for Vaccine Development and Institute for Global Health, received five years of funding as PI of the Immunology Core.

Kao_JosephJoseph Kao, PhD, Professor of Physiology, Center for Biomedical Engineering & Technology (BioMET), has been awarded a two-year, $310,000 Vision Prosthesis Pilot Study Award from the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC). The awards were created to fund research exploring novel technologies contributing to the development of a working visual prosthesis prototype for individuals who have sustained severe macular degenerate or traumatic eye injury. Dr. Kao is exploring the use of optical photostimulation—using focused light flashes to photo-release neurotransmitter molecules that stimulate neurons in the brain’s visual cortex.

Michael MazzeffiMichael Mazzeffi, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, has been awarded a SCA/IARS Starter Grant for $25,000 per year for two years for “Procoagulant and Anticooagulant Factor Levels, Thrombin Generation, and Bleeding During Veno-Arterial ECMO.”

DirkMayerDirk Mayer, Dr rer nat, Associate Professor, Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, was awarded an R01 grant for $1,922,053 from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDKD) to study “Metabolic Imaging of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.” Dr. Mayer also received an R21 grant for $423,750 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) to study “Metabolic Imaging of Energy Metabolism in Traumatic Brain Injury Using Hyperpolarized 13C Pyruvate.” In addition, together with Joseph Kao, PHD, Professor of Physiology, Center for Biomedical Engineering & Technology (BioMET), Dr. Mayer received another R21 grant—worth $369,098—for “Exploiting Altered Porphyrin Synthesis for Metabolic Imaging of Glioblastoma.” This last grant benefited from the Dean’s Challenge Award given to the investigators in 2014.

Andrea MeredithAndrea Meredith, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, received a $35,000 conference supplement from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for “Genetic & Animal Models for Ion Channel Function in Physiology and Disease” in support of her attendance at The 70th Annual Society of General Physiologists Meeting-Symposium in Woods Hole, MA, September 7–11.

PloweChristopher Plowe, MD, MPH, FASTMH, the Frank M. Calia MD Professor of Medicine and Founding Director, Institute for Global Health, received a two-year, $360,695 R21 grant from NIH/NIAID for “Ultra-Dense Peptide Array Analysis of Naturally Acquired and Vaccine-Induced P. falciparum Immunity.”

Toni Pollin, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, received a two-year, $210,016 award from the NIH via Miriam Hospital for “Salivary Amylase Gene (Amy1) as Predictor of Weight and Diet in Look Ahead and DPP.”

Jacques RavelJacques Ravel, PhD, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, and Associate Director, Genomics, Institute for Genome Sciences, was awarded a five-year, $2,489,438 grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) for “Elucidating Causes of Vaginal Symptoms Using a Multi-omics Approach.”

Salvato_MariaMaria Salvato, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Institute of Human Virology, received an EU Commission Grant for “Structural Changes to Attain Responsible Biosciences (STARBIOS2).” It is part of the Horizon 2020 EU grant series and is managed by Dr. Vittorio Colizzi of Tor Vergata University in Rome, Italy. The consortium includes scientists from all over the world who met in Rome for their kickoff meeting in late June. The grant brings $1.3 million over four years (May 2016 to April 2020) and pays 30–50% of each participant’s salary, as well as travel and communication costs. The goal of the grant is to institute mechanisms for research institutions to promote Education, Public Engagement, Open Access, Gender Equity, and Ethical Pursuit of Biosciences.

Silver_KristiKristi Silver, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, received a $210,016 contract from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc, for “A Randomised, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel Group, Efficacy and Safety Study of Empagliflozin (10 mg, 25 mg) Administered Orally, Once Daily, Over 24 Weeks.”

Taylor_SimeonSimeon Taylor, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine, received a $122,368, T32 NRSA Diversity Supplement Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease (NIDDK) to support a postdoctoral fellow (Shannon Dunn, PhD) who will conduct research related to the role of DYRK1B in cardiometabolic physiology in health and disease.

Herve TettelinHervé Tettelin, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Institute for Genome Sciences, was awarded a two-year, $103,934 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as a subcontract to New York Medical College for “Population Analysis of Group A Streptococcal Phenotypes.”

Yared_JeanJean Yared, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, received a $1.3M award from Gilead Sciences to conduct an investigator initiated trial entitled, “A Pilot Study of Zydelig in Patients with B-cell Malignancies as Post-Autologous Transplant Remission Maintenance.”

IHV-logoThe Institute of Human Virology (IHV) was awarded a $14.4 million grant from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in August to tackle a significant scientific global challenge in HIV vaccine research—the inability to produce long-lasting antibodies to protect against HIV infection.

We applaud the innovators among us!

Vincent NjarVincent Njar, PhD, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology and Head, Medicinal Chemistry Section, Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT), and colleagues from other institutions, were among the co-inventors on “Biomarkers for Treatment of Neoplastic Disorders Using Androgen-Targeted Therapies,” which was issued Patent No: US 9,387,216B2 on July 12. This is the first patent to issue for this technology. The patent will expire on August 12, 2034. This technology is licensed to Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Boston, MA.

Hats off to those who have been published!

Albrecht_JenniferJennifer Albrecht, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Gordon Smith, MB, ChB, MPH, Professor, both from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were first and last author, respectively; and Maureen McCunn, MD, MIPP, FCCM, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology; and Deborah Stein, MD, MPH, the R Adams Cowley, MD Professor in Shock and Trauma, Department of Surgery, were among the co-authors on “Sex Differences in Mortality Following Isolated Traumatic Brain Injury among Older Adults” in Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2016 Sep;81(3):486-92. Dr. Albrecht (first author), Giora Netzer, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine; Patricia Langenberg, PhD, Professor Emerita, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; and Bilal Khokhar, MA, from the Epidemiology of Aging Training Program, were among the co-authors on “Adherence to Maintenance Medications Among Older Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: The Role of Depression” in Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 2016 Sep;13(9):1497-504.

Amber BeitelsheesAmber Beitelshees, PharmD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, was among the co-authors on “A Genetic Response Score for Hydrochlorothiazide Use: Insights From Genomics and Metabolomics Integration” in Hypertension, 2016 Sep;68(3):621-9.

Bellavance_EmilyEmily Bellavance, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, was first author, and Laurence Magder, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was a co-author on “Surgeons’ Perspectives of Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy” in Annals of Surgical Oncology, 2016 Sep;23(9):2779-87.

Bhutta_AdnanAdnan Bhutta, MBBS, FAAP, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, was among the co-authors on “School-Age Test Proficiency and Special Education After Congenital Heart Disease Surgery in Infancy” in The Journal of Pediatrics, 2016 Jul 22. pii: S0022-3476(16)30492-9.

Edem Binka, MD, Resident; Susan Mendley, MD, Associate Professor; Peter Gaskin, MD, Assistant Professor; Carisa Himes, Cardiac Sonographer; Laide Jinadu, MD, Assistant Professor; and Carissa Baker-Smith, MD, MS, MPH, FAAP, FAHA, Assistant Professor, all from the Department of Pediatrics, were among the co-authors on “Description of Antihypertensive Medication Use in a Pediatric Practice: Single and Multiple Antihypertensive Medication Therapy” in Journal of Clinical Hypertension (Greenwich), 2016 Aug 2 [Epub ahead of print].

Maureen BlackMaureen Black, PhD, the John A Scholl MD and Mary Louise Scholl Endowed Professor, Department of Pediatrics, was co-author on “Early Child Development Programmes: Further Evidence for Action” in Lancet Global Health, 2016 Aug;4(8):e505-6.

Michael BondMichael Bond, MD, Associate Professor and Residency Program Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, collaborated with James Ahn, MD, and P. Charles Inboriboon, MD, Associate Residency Directors at the University of Chicago and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, respectively, on “Podcasts: Accessing, Choosing, Creating, and Disseminating Content” in Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 2016 Jul;8(3):435-6.

Charurat_ManhattanMan Charurat, PhD, MHS, Professor of Medicine, Institute of Human Virology (IHV), was last author; and Rebecca Nowak, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Kristen Stafford, PhD, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; and David Riedel, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, IHV, were among the co-authors on “Colonoscopy Findings in HIV-Infected Men and Women From an Urban United States Cohort Compared to Non-HIV-infected Men and Women” in AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, 2016 Sep;32(9):860-7. Drs. Charurat and Nowak, along with Hongjie Liu, PhD, Associate Professor (secondary), Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Online Sex-Seeking Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Nigeria: Implications for Online Intervention” in AIDS and Behavior, 2016 May 27 [Epub ahead of print].

Marcus ChibucosMarcus Chibucos, PhD, Research Associate, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and the Institute for Genome Sciences, was among the co-authors on “The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations” in PLoS One, 2016 Apr 29;11(4):e0154556. He was also among the co-authors on “From Data Repositories to Submission Portals: Rethinking the Role of Domain-Specific Databases in CollecTF” in Database (Oxford), 2016 Apr 25;2016.pii:baw055.

Amber BeitelsheesElizabeth Cutting, Graduate Student; Meghan Banchero, MS, MBA, Administrative Manager; and Amber Beitelshees, PharmD, Assistant Professor, all from the Department of Medicine and the Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine; Linda Jo Bone Jeng, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Pathology, Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine; Mark Kelemen, MD, Sr. Vice President and Chief Medical Informatics Officer; Alan Shuldiner, MD, the John L. Whitehurst Professor of Medicine and Director of the Program for Pharmacogenomics and Genomic Medicine; and Toni Pollin, MS, PhD, CGC, Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Public Health, Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, were among the co-authors on “User-Centered Design of Multi-Gene Sequencing Panel Reports for Clinicians” in Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 2016 July 13 [Epub ahead of print]. Drs. Beitelshees, Jeng and Shuldiner were also among the co-authors on “Educational Innovations in Clinical Pharmacogenomics” in Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 2016 Jun, 99(6):582-4 Dr. Pollin was also among the co-authors on “The Genetic Architecture of Type 2 Diabetes” in Nature, 2016 Aug 4;536(7614):41-7.

Vasken DilsizanVasken Dilsizian, MD, Professor, Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine was senior author on “Cardiac Molecular Imaging to Track Left Ventricular Remodeling in Heart Failure” in Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, 2016 Aug 1 [Epub ahead of print].

New UMB logoLaura Diegelmann, MD, RDMS, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was among the co-authors on “Sonography in Hypotension and Cardiac Arrest (SHoC): Rates of Abnormal Findings in Undifferentiated Hypotension and During Cardiac Arrest as a Basis for Consensus on a Hierarchical Point of Care Ultrasound Protocol” in Cureus, 2016 Apr 8;8(4):e564. As a member of the international, multicenter study group, Dr. Diegelmann collected data from patients with hypotension being treated at Khayelitsha District Hospital in South Africa.

Fink_JefferyJeffrey Fink, MD, MS, Professor, Department of Medicine, was first author, Min Zhan, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was last author, and Marni Yoffe, MA, Research Specialist; Jacob Blumenthal, MD, Assistant Professor; and Soren Snitker, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Patient-Reported Safety Events in Chronic Kidney Disease Recorded With an Interactive Voice-Inquiry Dial-Response System: Monthly Report Analysis” in Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2016 May 26;18(5):e125.

Cortney FosterCortney Foster, DO, FAAP, Assistant Professor; Shari Simone, DNP, CRNP, FAANP, Assistant Professor; Dayanand Bagdure, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor; Nan Garber, MD, Assistant Professor; and Adnan Bhutta, MBBS, FAAP, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Pediatrics, co-authored “Optimizing Team Dynamics: An Assessment of Physician Trainees and Advanced Practice Providers Collaborative Practice” in Journal of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 2016 Sep;17(9):e430-6.

Olga GoloubevaOlga Goloubeva, PhD, MSc, Associate Professor, was second author, and Amy Fulton, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology, was last author on “Upregulation of Cyclooxygenase-2/Prostaglandin E2 (COX-2/PGE2) Pathway Member Multiple Drug Resistance-Associated Protein 4 (MRP4) and Downregulation of Prostaglandin Transporter (PGT) and 15-Prostaglandin Dehydrogenase (15-PGDH) in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer” in Breast Cancer (Auckl), 2016 May 25;10:61-70.

Michael GrassoMichael Grasso, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Medicine and Emergency Medicine; and Zachary Dezman, MD, Assistant Professor; Angela Comer, MPH; and David Jerrard, MD, Assistant Professor, all from the Department of Emergency Medicine, were among the co-authors on “The Decline in Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen Prescriptions in Emergency Departments in the Veterans Health Administration Between 2009 to 2015” in Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2016;17(4):396-403.

Jack GuralnikJack Guralnik, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, was among the co-authors on “Postural Hand Tremor and Incident Hypertension in Young to Middle-aged Adults: The Bogalusa Heart Study” in Journal of Hypertension, 2016 Jul;34(7):1273-8.; “Clinically Relevant Depression in Old Age: An International Study with Populations from Canada, Latin America and Eastern Europe” in Psychiatry Research, 2016 Apr 29;241:236-241; and “Hospitalizations During a Physical Activity Intervention in Older Adults at Risk of Mobility Disability: Analyses from the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Randomized Clinical Trial” in Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2016 May;64(5):933-43. Dr. Guralnik was also a co-author on “Gender Roles and Physical Function in Older Adults: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS)” in PLoS One, 2016 Jun 3;11(6):e0156828, and on “Motoric Cognitive Risk Syndrome and Falls Risk: A Multi-Center Study” in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2016 Jun 18;53(3):1043-52.

Erin HagerErin Hager, PhD, Associate Professor; Yan Wang, MD, DrPH, Assistant Professor; and Maureen Black, PhD, the John A Scholl MD and Mary Louise Scholl Endowed Professor, all from the Department of Pediatrics, were among the co-authors on “Nighttime Sleep Duration and Sleep Behaviors Among Toddlers from Low-Income Families: Associations with Obesogenic Behaviors and Obesity and the Role of Parenting” in Childhood Obesity, 2016 Oct;12(5):392-400.

Anthony HarrisAnthony Harris, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was a co-author on “Research Methods in Healthcare Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship-Observational Studies” in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2016 Oct;37(10):1141-6.

New UMB logoLaura Hungerford, DVM, MPH, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the co-authors on “Spatial Modeling of Wild Bird Risk Factors for Highly Pathogenic A(H5N1) Avian Influenza Virus Transmission” in Avian Diseases, 2016 May;60(1 Suppl):329-36.

Jackson_IsabelIsabel Jackson, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Zeljko Vujaskovic, MD, PhD, Professor, both from the Department of Radiation Oncology, were among the co-authors on “A Survey of Changing Trends in Modelling Radiation Lung Injury in Mice: Bringing Out the Good, the Bad, and the Uncertain” in Laboratory Investigation, 2016 Sep;96(9):936-49.

Dheeraj GandhiGaurav Jindal, MD, Assistant Professor; Timothy Miller, MD, Assistant Professor; and Dheeraj Gandhi, MBBS, Professor, all from the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Small Intracranial Aneurysm Treatment Using Target® Ultrasoft™ Coils” in Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neurology, 2016 Jun;9(1):46-51.

Jones_LaundetteLaundette Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the co-authors on “RANKL/RANK control Brca1 Mutation-Driven Mammary Tumors” in Cell Research, 2016 May 31 [Epub ahead of print].

Dorgan_JoanneSeungyoun Jung, ScD, Postdoctoral Fellow, and Joanne Dorgan, PhD, MPH, Professor, both from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, were first and last author, respectively, and Olga Goloubeva, PhD, MSc, Associate Professor, was among the co-authors on “Dietary Fat Intake During Adolescence and Breast Density Among Young Women” in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prevention, 2016 Jun;25(6):918-26. Dr. Dorgan was also last author on “Early Life Body Fatness, Serum Antimüllerian Hormone and Breast Density in Young Adult Women” in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prevention, 2016 Jul;25(7):1151-7.

Kesmodel_SusanSusan Kesmodel, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, was first author; Katherine Tkaczuk, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, was last author; and Olga Goloubeva, PhD, MSc, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; Emily Bellavance, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery; Paula Rosenblatt, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine; Jennifer Thompson, PharmD; Ginah Nightingale, PharmD; and Nancy Tait, RN, all from the Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Elizabeth Nichols, MD, Assistant Professor, and Steve Feigenberg, MD, Professor, both from the Department of Radiation Oncology, were among the co-authors on “Patient-Reported Adherence to Adjuvant Aromatase Inhibitor Therapy Using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale: An Evaluation of Predictors” in American Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2016 Jun 17 [Epub ahead of print].

Lane_WendyWendy Lane, MD, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor, and J. Kathleen Tracy, PhD, Associate Professor, both from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were first and last author, respectively, and Lauren Levy, JD, MPH, Research Associate in the department, was among the co-authors on “Child Maltreatment and Problem Gambling: A Systematic Review” in Child Abuse & Neglect, 2016 Aug;58:24-38. Dr. Lane (last author); Bethany Strong, MD, MS (first author), recent graduate of the Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine program; and Andrea Shipper, MSLIS, Adjunct Instructor, also from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “The Effects of Healthcare-based Violence Intervention Programs on Injury Recidivism and Costs: A Systematic Review” in Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2016 Aug [Epub ahead of print].

Miriam LauferMiriam Laufer, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Malaria Research, Institute for Global Health, was among the co-authors on “Influenza-Like Illnesses Among Pregnant Women in Blantyre, Malawi” in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2016 Oct 5;95(4):915-917.

Matthew LaurensMatthew Laurens, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics; William Blackwelder, PhD, Professor of Medicine; Christopher Plowe, MD, MPH, FASTMH, the Frank M. Calia MD Professor of Medicine and Founding Director; and Miriam Laufer, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, all from the Division of Malaria Research, Institute for Global Health, were among the co-authors on “TSCQ Study: A Randomized, Controlled, Open-Label Trial of Daily Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole or Weekly Chloroquine Among Adults on Antiretroviral Therapy in Malawi: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial” in Trials, 2016 Jul 18;17(1):322.

Lewis_JoshuaJoshua Lewis, PhD, Assistant Professor, and May Montasser, PhD, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Genome-Wide Association Study of the Modified Stumvoll Insulin Sensitivity Index Identifies BCL2 and FAM19A2 as Novel Insulin Sensitivity Loci” in Diabetes, 2016 Oct;65(10):3200-11.

Kirsten LykeKirsten Lyke, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine; Andrea Berry, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Matthew Laurens, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Christopher Plowe, MD, MPH, FASTMH, Frank M. Calia MD Professor of Medicine and Founding Director, all from the Division of Malaria Research, Institute for Global Health, were among the co-authors on “Corrigendum: Protection Against Malaria at 1 year and Immune Correlates Following PfSPZ Vaccination” in Nature Medicine, 2016 Jun 7;22(6):692.

Edson AlbuquerqueJacek Mamczarz, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Edson Albuquerque, MD, PhD, Professor, both from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were first and last author, respectively; and William Fawcett, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Hegang Chen, PhD, Professor, and Edna Pereira Albuquerque, PhD, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; and Louis DeTolla, Jr., VMD, MS, PhD, SACLAM, Professor, Department of Pathology, were among the co-authors on “Spatial Learning Impairment in Prepubertal Guinea Pigs Prenatally Exposed to the Organophosphorus Pesticide Chlorpyrifos: Toxicological Implications” in Neurotoxicology, 2016 Sep;56:17-28.

Martinez_Joseph_smallJoseph Martinez, MD, Associate Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Medicine, was a guest editor for the May 2016 issue of Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, which focused on abdominal and gastrointestinal emergencies. He also co-authored the article “Abdominal Vascular Catastrophes.” Other contributors from the Department of Emergency Medicine were clinical instructors Christina Tupe, MD, and Thuy Pham, MD, who authored “Anorectal Complaints in the Emergency Department.” The foreword to the issue, “Oh, My Aching Belly!” was contributed by Amal Mattu, MD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, consulting editor for the journal. Dr. Mattu was also the editor-in-chief of Geriatric Emergencies: A Discussion-Based Review, a 27-chapter book published by Wiley Blackwell in July. Jon Mark Hirshon, MD, MPH, PhD, Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, served as an associate editor for the project and co-authored the chapter on ethical issues and end-of-life care with Phillip Magidson, MD, MPH, an emergency medicine/internal medicine resident, who also contributed to the chapter on Geriatric EDs. The following emergency medicine physicians also wrote chapters for the book: Nicholas Santavicca, MD, Critical Care Fellow, and Michael Winters, MD, Associate Professor (“Back Pain”); Mercedes Torres, MD, Assistant Professor, and Siamak Moayedi, MD, Assistant Professor (“Dyspnea in the Elderly”); and Michael Bond, MD, Associate Professor, and Kenneth Butler, DO, Associate Professor (“Elder Abuse and Neglect”).

Raufman_JeanPierre_2006Leon McLean, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Jean-Pierre Raufman, MD, Professor, both from the Department of Medicine, and Terez Shea-Donohue, PhD, Professor, Departments of Radiation Oncology and Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Type 3 Muscarinic Receptors Contribute to IntestinalMucosal Homeostasis and Clearance of Nippostrongylus Brasiliensis Through Induction of the TH2 Cytokines” in American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology, 2016 Jul 1;311(1):G130-41.

Minesh MehtaMinesh Mehta, MB, ChB, Adjunct Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, was among the co-authors on “Updates in the Management of Brain Metastases” in Neuro-oncology, 2016 Aug;18:1043–1065.

Elias MelhemElias Melhem, MD, PhD, Professor & the Dean John M. Dennis Chairman, Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, was among the co-authors on “Metabolic, Endocrine, and Other Genetic Disorders” in Handbook of Clinical Neurology, 2016;136:1221-1259.

Modiri_ArezooArezoo Modiri, PhD, Instructor, and Amit Sawant, PhD, Associate Professor, both from the Department of Radiation Oncology, were among the co-authors on “Inverse 4D Conformal Planning for Lung SBRT Using Particle Swarm Optimization” in Physics in Medicine and Biology, 2016 Aug 21;61:6181–6202

Andy NeuwaldAndrew Neuwald, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Institute for Genome Sciences, has co-authored “Bayesian Top-down Protein Sequence Alignment with Inferred Position-Specific Gap Penalties” in PLoS Computational Biology, 2016 May 18;12(5):e1004936. He was also sole author on “Gleaning Structural and Functional Information From Correlations in Protein Multiple Sequence Alignments” in Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 2016, Jun;38:1-8.

Vincent NjarVincent Njar, PhD, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacology and Head, Medicinal Chemistry Section, Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT), and his lab personnel Puranik Purushottamachar, PhD, Research Associate; A.K. Kwegyir-Afful, PhD; Postdoctoral Fellow; Vidya Ramamurthy, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; and Senthilmurugan Ramalingam, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; were among the co-authors on “Identification of Novel Steroidal Androgen Receptor Degrading Agents Inspired by Galeterone 3b-Imidazole Carbamate” in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2016 May 23;7(7):708-13. Dr. Njar was also among the co-authors on “Guidelines for the Use and Interpretation of Assays for Monitoring Autophagy (3rd edition)” in Autophagy, 2016; 12(1):1-222.

Shuldiner_Alan_2Elizabeth O’Hare; James Perry, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine; Alan Shuldiner, MD, the John L. Whitehurst Professor of Medicine and Director of the Program for Pharmacogenomics and Genomic Medicine; and Norann Zaghloul, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, all from the Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Assignment of Functional Relevance to Genes at Type 2 Diabetes-Associated Loci Through Investigation of b-Cell Mass Deficits” in Molecular Endocrinology, 2016 Apr 30(4):429-45.

Glenn OstirGlenn Ostir, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was last author on “Inpatient Walking Activity to Predict Readmission in Older Adults” in Archives of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation, 2016 Sep;97(9 Suppl):S226-31.

Raghavan_PrashantPrashant Raghavan, MD, Associate Professor, and Dheeraj Gandhi, MBBS, Professor, both from the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Venous Thrombosis: Causes and Imaging Appearance” in Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America, 2016 Aug;30(4):867-885, and “Neurologic and Head and Neck Manifestations of Sickle Cell Disease” in Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America, 2016 Aug;30(4):779-798.

Mary-Claire RoghmannMary-Claire Roghmann, MD, MS, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was last author on “Healthcare-Associated Infections in the Elderly: What’s New” in Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases, 2016 Aug;29(4):388-93.

Lynn SchrimlLynn Schriml, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the co-authors on “Integrated Genomic Analysis of Diverse Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from the Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium” in Stem Cell Reports, 2016 Jul 12;7(1):110-25.

Webb_TonyaSusannah Shissler, Graduate Student; Dominique Bollino, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; Irina Tiper, Graduate Student; Joshua Bates, Graduate Student; Roshanak Derakhshandeh, MD, Postdoctoral Fellow; and Tonya Webb, PhD, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, were among the co-authors on “Immunotherapeutic Strategies Targeting Natural Killer T Cell Responses in Cancer” in Immunogenetics, 2016 Aug;68(8):623-38.

Shuldiner_Alan_2Alan Shuldiner, MD, the John L. Whitehurst Professor of Medicine and Director of the Program for Pharmacogenomics and Genomic Medicine; Braxton Mitchell, MPH, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology; and Elliot Hong, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, all from the Program in Personalized and Genomic Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Cognitive Profiles and Heritability Estimates in the Older Amish” in Psychiatric Genetics, 2016 Aug;26(4):178-83.

Lisa ShulmanLisa Shulman, MD, Professor, Department of Neurology, was first author, and Melissa Armstrong, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology; Ann Gruber-Baldini, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; and Mark Rogers, PhD, PT, Professor and Chair, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, were among the co-authors on “Disability Rating Scales in Parkinson’s Disease: Critique and Recommendations” in Movement Disorders, 2016 May 19 [Epub ahead of print].

O. Colin SteinO. Colin Stine, PhD, Professor, and Mary-Claire Roghmann, MD, MS, Professor, both from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were first and last author, respectively, on “Transmission Clusters of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in Long-Term Care Facilities Based on Whole-Genome Sequencing” in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2016 Jun;37(6):685-91. Dr. Roghmann was first author, and Alison Lydecker, MPH, Research Coordinator, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the co-authors on “Strategies to Prevent MRSA Transmission in Community-Based Nursing Homes: A Cost Analysis” in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2016 May 13:1-5. Dr. Stine was last author on “Comparison of Inferred Relatedness Based on Multilocus Variable-Number Tandem-Repeat Analysis (MLVA) and Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) of Vibrio cholerae O1” in FEMS Microbiology Letters, 2016 Jun;363(12). Dr. Stine (last author); Shan Li, Research Assistant; and Brianna Lindsay, PhD, all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Individual-Specific Changes in the Human Gut Microbiota After Challenge With Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Subsequent Ciprofloxacin Treatment” in BMC Genomics, 2016 Jun 8;17(1):440.

SuntharalingamMohan Suntharalingam, MD, Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, was among the co-authors on “Establishing Quality Indicators for Neck Dissection: Correlating the Number of Lymph Nodes with Oncologic Outcomes (NRG Oncology RTOG 9501 and RTOG 0234)” in Cancer, 2016 Jul 15 [Epub ahead of print].

Taylor_SimeonSimeon Taylor, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine, was among the co-authors on “Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Sodium Glucose Transporter-2 Inhibitors and the Kidney” in Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications, 2016 Aug;30(6):1162-1166. He was also among the co-authors on “Effect of Leptin Administration on Circulating Apolipoprotein CIII levels in Patients With Lipodystrophy” in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2016 Apr;101(4):1790-7.

Shuldiner_Alan_2Christina Tise, PhD, MD-PhD Student; James Perry, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow; Leslie Anforth, MS, Pharmacy Student; Mary Pavlovich, MPH, Bioinformatics Analyst; Joshua Backman, PhD, Graduate Student; Kathleen Ryan, MPH, Bioinformatics Analyst; Joshua Lewis, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine; Jeffrey O’Connell, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine; and Alan Shuldiner, MD, the John L. Whitehurst Professor of Medicine and Director of the Program for Pharmacogenomics and Genomic Medicine, all from the Program for Personalized and Genomic Medicine, were among the co-authors on “From Genotype to Phenotype: Nonsense Variants in SLC13A1 are Associated with Decreased Serum Sulfate and Increased Serum Aminotransferases” in G3 (Bethesda), 2016 Sep 8;6(9):2909-18.

Waller_Sandra_2010Sandy McCombe Waller, PT, PhD, NCS, Associate Professor; Chieh-ling Yang, Graduate Student; Vicki Gray, MPT, PhD, Research Associate; and Mark Rogers, PT, PhD, FAPTA, Professor and Chair, all from the Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science; along with Laurence Magder, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Impaired Motor Preparation and Execution During Standing Reach in People with Chronic Stroke” in Neuroscience Letters, 2016 Jul 18;630:38-44.

Larry WeissLarry Weiss, MD, JD, Clinical Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine—along with colleagues from the University of California Irvine—analyzed records from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) related to allegations of patient dumping (refusing to provide service to patients for financial reasons). They found documentation of more than 6000 investigations, 40% of which found violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1986. Three percent of the violations resulted in fines against hospitals and physicians, primarily for failing to screen and stabilize patients with emergency medical conditions. The findings were presented in Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2016 May;17:245-251.

Wickwire_EmersonEmerson Wickwire, PhD, ABPP, CBSM, FAASM, Assistant Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, authored “How to Provide Better Patient Care Via Powerful Listening” in Sleep Review, 2016 Jun 22 [Epub ahead of print]. He was also a featured expert in the June 23 story “The High Costs of Insomnia” on the Today’s Geriatric Medicine website.

Jill WhitallElizabeth Woytowicz, BS, Graduate Student; Jill Whitall, PhD, Professor; and Sandy McCombe Waller, PT, PhD, NCS, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Science, and John Sorkin, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Determining Levels of Upper Extremity Movement Impairment by Applying Cluster Analysis to Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment in Chronic Stroke” in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2016 Aug 9 [Epub ahead of print].

Thelma WrightThelma Wright, MD, Esq, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, was among the co-authors on “Stellate Ganglion Block for Debilitating Photophobia Secondary to Trigeminal, Postherpetic Neuralgia” in Pain Practice, 2016 Sep;16(7):E99-E102.

Marcelo SzteinFranklin Toapanta Yanchapaxi, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Center for Vaccine Development (CVD), was the first author; Marcelo Sztein, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, CVD, was the last author; and Paula Bernal, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, and Stephanie Fresnay, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, both from the Department of Pediatrics; Laurence Magder, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology; and Myron Levine, MD, DTPH, the Simon and Bessie Grollman Distinguished Professor of Medicine, CVD, were among the co-authors on “Oral Challenge with Wild-Type Salmonella Typhi Induces Distinct Changes in B Cell Subsets in Individuals Who Develop Typhoid Disease” in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2016 Jun 14;10(6):e0004766.

Laura Yerges-ArmstrongLaura Yerges-Armstrong, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, and Marc Hochberg, MD, MPH, Professor, both from the Department of Medicine; and Jay Magaziner, PhD, MSHyg, Professor and Chair; Denise Orwig, PhD, Associate Professor; and Ann Gruber-Baldini, PhD, Professor, all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Pain, Genes, and Function in the Post-Hip Fracture Period” in Pain Management Nursing, 2016 Jun;17(3):181-96.

Zhuo_JiachenJiachen Zhuo, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Rao Gullapalli, PhD, MBA, Professor, both from the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Postnatal Growth of the Human Optic Nerve” in Eye (London), 2016 Oct;30(10):1378-1380.

New UMB logoA Commentary on the single-dose live oral cholera vaccine developed at our Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) appeared in “Successful Comeback of the Single-Dose Live Oral Cholera Vaccine CVD 103-HgR” in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 2016 Jul-Aug;14(4):373-7.