NewsLink, July 1, 2016
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Awards and Recognitions

Northrop honored with excellence in teaching award

Dr. Michael Northrop, assistant professor of pediatrics – critical care at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, received the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium Pediatric Residency Excellence in Teaching Award for 2016 in the category of “Outside Sites” from the military program. By vote of the military pediatric residents, this award recognizes the best pediatric teacher for 2016 in non-military based programs.

Ghebre awarded junior faculty seed funding

Dr. Yohannes T. Ghebre, assistant professor of radiation biology in the department of radiation oncology, was awarded the 2017 Caroline Wiess Law Fund for research in molecular medicine at BCM. His project will investigate mechanisms by which nicotine accelerates lung inflammation and fibrosis. The study may have implications to understand the molecular basis by which tobacco smoke accelerates aberrant tissue remodeling.

Texas Children’s named leader in LGBT Healthcare

Texas Children’s Hospital has been named a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign. Organizations awarded this title meet key criteria, including patient and employee non-discrimination policies that specifically mention sexual orientation and gender identity, a guarantee of equal visitation for same-sex partners and parents, and LGBT health education for key staff members. Only two other health care institutions in the Houston metropolitan area (MD Anderson and the DeBakey VA Medical Center) and a total of 13 statewide, have received this designation.

Kanwal named editor-in-chief of clinical journal

Dr. Fasiha Kanwal, associate professor of medicine-gastroenterology, has been selected by the American Gastroenterological Association to serve as the next editor-in-chief for the high-impact, clinical journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Her term runs 2017 - 2022. She is the first female to serve as an editor-in-chief for any GI journal. This is also the first time that two successive editor-in-chiefs for the journal have come from the same institution – Kanwal is taking over the title from Dr. Hashem El-Serag, professor of medicine and chief of the section of gastroenterology at Baylor. Kanwal is also a staff physician at the Michael E DeBakey VA Medical Center, co-director of the clinical core in the Texas Medical Center Digestive Disease Center, and director of clinical research in the section of gastroenterology and hepatology at BCM.

Gramatges invited to speak at congressional hearing

On Thursday, June 23, Children’s Cause for Cancer Advocacy held a congressional briefing to raise awareness of childhood cancer survivorship. The purpose of the briefing was to promote the STAR Act (Cancer Survivorship Treatment Access and Research Act), a bipartisan bill with goals of maximizing childhood cancer survivors’ quality of life, moving childhood cancer research forward and helping kids get access to life-saving treatments. Dr. Monica Gramatges, assistant professor of pediatrics with Baylor and the Texas Children’s Cancer Center, was one of four physicians asked to speak to congressional staffers on behalf of the STAR Act. Gramatges explained the benefits of Passport for Care, a web-based clinical decision making tool for survivors and their caregivers, and how use of this application can overcome many of the geographic, educational, and access barriers faced by survivors.

Suarez recognized for work with Ecuador relief operation

The latest issue of Currents, the news magazine from the Neurocritical Care Society, features Dr. Jose Suarez, professor of neurology, and his work to help support the disaster relief operation in Ecuador following the devastating earthquake.

Suarez is also recognized in the same publication for his work on this year’s fourth Neurocritical Care Research Conference held in May. More than 120 attendees from the U.S., Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, The Philippines, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Hong Kong and Israel gathered to focus on subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke caused by bleeding between certain outer layers of the brain. Suarez is the founder of the conference that provides a forum for researchers to discuss their work with others and plan study design for upcoming research.

Events

Leading through influence course

Human Resources is pleased to announce enrollment for “Leading through Influence” which will be held on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 from 8:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. “Leading through Influence” is a one-day course designed to empower faculty with techniques on hiring, conflict resolution and employee morale. This course will also include Insights Discovery, a four color model designed to understand an individual’s unique working style and gain deeper insight into yourself and your colleagues. To register, please use the following link Leading Through Influence. For additional information, please contact youfirst@bcm.edu.

College News

BCM BeWell Program receives recognition from American Heart Association

Baylor College of Medicine is a fit-friendly place to work! The BCM BeWell Program has earned the 2016 Fit-Friendly Worksite Platinum Achievement from the American Heart Association. To learn more about our award-winning program, please visit the BCM BeWell page. Contact wellness@bcm.edu with any questions.

New updated policies available

Several new or revised policies have recently been published in the College’s Policy and Procedures Manual. A summary of new and updated policies is available. The newly updated policies cover faculty vacation, weapons and firearms on campus, event planning and various regulatory compliance issues (like reporting improper activity or wrongdoing through the Integrity Hotline). All Baylor College of Medicine policies are available in the Policy and Procedures Manual.

Faculty in the News

Dr. Sara Anvari, assistant professor of pediatrics in the immunology, allergy and rheumatology section at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, spoke with NPR’s On Point on children and food allergies. See this and other Baylor news media mentions in this week’s Faculty in the News. Interested in science news? Read the latest post in From the Labs on Dr. Wah Chiu’s work on DNA origami design.

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