NewsLink, March 18, 2022 
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College News

Match Day!

Today is Match Day, where fourth-year medical students learn where they will continue their medical training as residents for the next three to seven years. This is the first time students and their families are able to come to campus to celebrate Match Day since the start of the pandemic. All are welcome to join the event starting at 10:30 a.m. in the courtyard at main Baylor or follow on the livestream. Congratulations to the Class of 2022!

'Best Hospitals' voting open

The 2022-2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals reputation voting is taking place through March. Being listed is a significant honor and highlights the expertise of our world-renowned physicians and staff at Baylor and Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center. Board-certified physicians in one of the 15 adult specialties ranked by U.S. News may vote by logging into Doximity.

All of Us Research Program news

Data release: The NIH's All of Us Research Program has released the first genomic dataset of nearly 100,000 whole genome sequences as part of an effort to build one of the most diverse health databases in history. Baylor's Human Genome Sequencing Center is one of the genome centers generating this genomic data from program participant samples. The data will enable researchers to address yet unanswerable questions about health and disease, leading to new breakthroughs and advancing discoveries to reduce persistent health disparities. Learn more.

Diversity in research: The All of Us Evening with Genetics Research Program, an initiative of the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, is seeking Baylor faculty members with an interest in promoting diversity, equity and inclusion to mentor underrepresented early career investigators and help advance their research projects using All of Us data. Mentors will begin by guiding multidisciplinary teams of investigators at the Underrepresented Biomedical Researcher Faculty Summit on May 19-21 and are required to participate in the program for one year minimum. Applications are due March 21. Send questions to AllofUsEveningswithGenetics@bcm.edu.

Walk to End HIV

A team led by Baylor's Caleb Brown participated in the recent Houston Walk to End HIV, coming in as the top community team by raising more than $15,000. Learn more about Brown, and donate to his team.

Events

Transplant Roundup

The seventh annual O.H. "Bud" Frazier Transplant Roundup: Current Trends in Management and Treatment of Transplant Patients is Friday, March 25, 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Transplant physicians, nurses and allied health professionals will learn the latest in single- and multi-organ transplantation. Dr. Joseph Rogers, president and CEO of Texas Heart Institute will lead an "Interview with a Pioneer," with Dr. Frazier, professor of surgery at Baylor, chief of cardiopulmonary transplantation at THI and chief of the Center for Cardiac Support at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center. Register online.

Webinar on COVID vaccines for children

The SPARK for Autism team at Baylor and Texas Children's Hospital is hosting a free webinar with Dr. Julie Boom, associate professor of pediatrics, Friday, March 25, noon – 1:30 p.m. Boom will share the latest information about COVID-19 vaccines for children, their safety and effectiveness and what we are learning about effects of COVID-19 in children. Register online.

Community health event

A Baylor team led by Dr. Hoda Badr is co-hosting a community health event called DÍa de la Salud with Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. The event will engage communities that have been hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Spanish-speaking community health workers will provide COVID-19 vaccination and testing as well as preventive health (e.g., vision, dental, cancer screenings), mental health and wellness services. The event takes place at the North East Community Center at 10918 Bentley St. Houston, TX 77093 on Saturday, March 26, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Seminar with NASA astronaut

Join the Cardiovascular Research Institute for a special virtual seminar Monday, March 28, noon – 1 p.m., with NASA astronaut Dr. Kathleen Rubins, a molecular biologist who conducts research on the International Space Station. Register online or email CVRI@bcm.edu for a calendar invite.

Women's History Month events

Women of Excellence Awards & Keynote: Join the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the awards presentation and keynote by Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, associate dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor who is co-leading the effort to develop a global COVID vaccine, March 29, noon – 1:15 p.m. Register to attend by Zoom. 

Poetry reading: Celebrating poetry by female poets, March 31, noon – 1 p.m., hosted by Baylor's Group on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS) Chapter. Register to attend by Zoom.

Awards and Recognitions

Bottazzi recognized for vaccine efforts

Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi received the League of United Latin American Citizen's (LULAC) National Service Award for her exceptional and innovative work to develop and distribute COVID-19 vaccines to people around the world. She was honored with the award at the 25th LULAC National Legislative Awards Gala on March 17, which highlighted critical legislative issues affecting Hispanic Americans and recognized key leaders who have served the Hispanic community well. LULAC is the nation's oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization with members nationwide and in Puerto Rico.

Matzuk earns career achievement award

Dr. Martin Matzuk is the recipient of the 2022 Carl G. Hartman Award from the Society for the Study of Reproduction in recognition of career research and scholarly achievements in the field of reproductive biology. Matzuk is chair of the Department of Pathology and Immunology and director of the Center for Drug Discovery, and he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Read more about this honor.

Nurses honored for innovation

A team of nurses from Baylor and Texas Children's earned the 2022 American Nursing Association Innovation Award. Marilyn Hockenberry and Tadala Mulemba of Baylor and Michael Pickett, Jaime Choate and Jeannie Eggers with Texas Children's received the Nurse-led Team Award for developing devices that provide training on inserting catheters and performing peripheral intravenous therapies.

Mitochondrial Medicine Center of Excellence

Baylor's Pediatric Mitochondrial Medicine Clinic at Texas Children's Hospital and Adult Mitochondrial Disorders Clinic at the McNair Campus have been jointly designated as a Mitochondrial Center of Excellence and accepted as part of the national Mitochondrial Care Network. The network was created to help improve the quality of mitochondrial patient care and implement best practices and standards of care in mitochondrial medicine. The Pediatric Mitochondrial Medicine Clinic is co-led by Dr. Fernando Scaglia and Dr. Lisa Emrick, with support from Dr. Keren Machol, Dr. Jill Ann Jarrell, nurse coordinator Erika Idlebird and nurse practitioners Gina Santucci and Melody Hellsten.

Faculty in the News

Eating disorders have been on the rise in children and teenagers during the pandemic. Pediatrics Chair Dr. Catherine Gordon discusses what to look for in this news article. See this and Baylor’s other news media mentions in this week's Faculty in the News, and follow BCMHouston_News on Twitter to keep up with our experts in the media. Interested in science news? Read the latest in From the Labs.

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