NewsLink, Aug. 26, 2022 
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College News

'Global Postcards'

A team from Baylor Global Health went on a medical mission trip to Jamaica, where they trained local doctors to perform an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). Read more in this BCM Family story.

HR news: Staff Performance Management

It is time to close out the 2022 performance year (PY) and plan for PY2023. More information and tools are available on the HR Staff Performance Management web page. Key dates include: 

Sept. 1: PY2022 staff self-evaluations launch in SuccessFactors (SF); PY2023 Goal Plan becomes available. 

Sept. 19: Self-evaluation deadline (11:59 p.m.) Employee routes form to manager; incomplete forms will be automatically routed to manager. 

Oct. 31: Manager deadline to finish evaluation forms, hold staff discussions and complete electronic signature steps in SF (11:59 p.m.). 

Nov. 30: Deadline for staff goal discussions and entry into SF. 

At least one goal strongly recommended. Questions? Email performancemanagement@bcm.edu.

IT News

Citrix upgrade: The Office of Information Technology will perform a major upgrade to the Citrix platform (MyApps and Citrix Workspace) tonight, Aug. 26, at 9 p.m. The scheduled downtime is approximately 10 minutes. During downtime, Citrix will be unavailable. Learn what is changing and how to update your Citrix Workspace after the upgrade. 

IT email support: Beginning Thursday, Sept. 1, the email address it-support@bcm.edu will be retired. Tickets will no longer be created by using this address. You may still create a ticket by visiting the IT Service Portal and using the "Report a Problem" feature or by calling the Help Desk at 713-798-8737. 

Cybersecurity update: Beginning Oct. 1, Microsoft will end support for Basic Authentication to mail and other Office 365 Services and require a more secure method of authentication known as Modern Authentication. IT Security is communicating directly with Baylor users of Basic Authentication and will request you upgrade to the new technology. You may receive multiple emails from "Cybersecurity Compliance" referencing your use of Basic Authentication on various operating systems (iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, etc.). If no action is taken, the Office of Information Security will force the change before Oct. 1, upon notification. Please take the appropriate actions in a timely manner to avoid operational impact. Find more information here. 

Compliance education

The FY23 Annual Compliance Education is under way. The education should be completed by Friday, Sept. 30. Check your BCM email for communications from the Office of Compliance about this mandatory assignment. Any questions or concerns regarding the education can be sent to complianceeducation@bcm.edu. For issues with accessing Success Factors or other IT concerns, please reach out via the IT Service Portal.

Volunteers needed for flu research

Baylor's Vaccine Research Center is looking for volunteers between 18 and 64 years of age to participate in a research study that compares how well two different licensed flu vaccines protect people from the virus. If you are interested in participating, please register here; you will be contacted with additional details. For more information, email VRC-FluStudy@bcm.edu or call 713-798-4712.

Events

Cardiovascular seminar series

The James T. Willerson, M.D., Cardiovascular Seminar Series launches Wednesday, Aug. 31, noon – 1 p.m., room N315 in the Alkek Building, with a talk by Dr. David Durgan on "Blood Pressure Regulation: A Microbial Perspective." Durgan is assistant professor of anesthesiology and cellular and molecular physiology at Baylor. The seminar series is jointly sponsored by Baylor’s Cardiovascular Research Institute and Texas Heart Institute. CME available. Email cvri@bcm.edu for a calendar invite.

Submissions open: Off-Script Storytelling Event

Submit a story for the Texas Medical Center's storytelling hour on the theme of "Caring," — tell a story about care between people — and how it made all the difference. All members of the Houston and TMC communities are invited to submit. Sponsored by the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy's Narrative Medicine Program. Entries due by Sept. 4; storytelling event is Oct. 5. Learn more and submit.

Professionalism series

The Center for Professionalism presents a new series, The Summit Talks, starting Sept. 8, 5 – 6 p.m. Dr. Lee Poythress, associate dean of student affairs and associate professor of medicine, will discuss, "An Aspect of Professionalism: The Difficult Conversation," examining how academic medicine incorporates health and wellness as it develops students and residents into professionals with the skill sets needed to practice medicine. Presented in person, room M112 in the DeBakey building at main Baylor, or by Zoom (Password: 366894). CME ethics credit available. 

Awards and Recognitions

Guan receives V Scholar award

Dr. Dongyin Guan, assistant professor of medicine – endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism and a member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, was awarded a two-year, $200,000 2022 V Scholar Grant for his project "Identification of causal targets for circadian medicine in liver cancer." The grant is through the V Foundation, founded by ESPN and basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died at age 47 after his diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma.

Montealegre earns CPRIT grant

Dr. Jane Montealegre, assistant professor in Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, was awarded a grant for $2,499,180 by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. The CPRIT funding will be used to advance the implementation of evidence-based strategies for tobacco prevention and HPV vaccination in pediatric safety net settings.

Pereira joins AHA committee

Dr. Fred A. Pereira, associate professor in the Huffington Center on Aging and of molecular and cellular biology and otolaryngology, has begun a two-year term as a member of the American Heart Association Strategically Focused Research Awards Oversight Advisory Committee. The committee assures the award mechanisms achieve their stated study aims and overall objectives.

Van Horne awarded for upSTART program

Dr. Bethanie Van Horne, assistant professor of pediatrics – public health at Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital, has received a more than $45,000 grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield to support the upSTART program, a multicomponent, community-based program that focuses on families with children, prenatal to 3 years, to help them thrive. Elements of the program include Family Connects, which provides support to families through postpartum nurse home visits; upLIFT, offering postpartum support to women experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety; and upWORDS, a group-based parenting program designed to support early language and brain development.

Faculty in the News

Deep-brain stimulation to treat severe depression is showing promise. Dr. Sameer Sheth discusses results he has seen and where to go next in this Nature article. Read this and Baylor's other news media mentions in  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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