NewsLink, Oct. 7, 2022 
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College News

HR news: 2023 Open Enrollment period

Open Enrollment for your 2023 benefits is Oct. 10 – 24. Attend the Virtual Benefits Fair on Oct. 12 plus in-person or virtual benefits meetings with HR representatives and one-on-one consultations. See more information here. Questions? Email ask-insurance@bcm.edu or call 713-798-1500.

IT news: MFA for new phones

If you have recently received a new cell phone, you will need to re-enroll in Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to access BCM resources remotely. You can enroll your device without having to call the Help Desk for assistance by reviewing the Knowledge Article located here. This is also a great opportunity to make use of the SMS (texting) capability for MFA. Please review the process for SMS here. By using the SMS capability, you do not need to use the Google Authenticator application, if your cell number remains the same.

Shuttle service changes

To reduce this confusion regarding BCM Shuttle routes, the Purple Shuttle will change to the Green Shuttle starting Oct. 10. The route and shuttle stops will remain the same, the only change is the color.

Send us your veteran photos

Are you a veteran and a member of the Baylor College of Medicine community? In honor of Veterans Day 2022, we would like to recognize and pay tribute to the many veterans who make up the Baylor community. Please send us your photo in uniform or during active duty, professional or candid. All submitted photos will be shared publicly on Baylor's social media channels and internal communications. This is open to students, staff and faculty. Please include your name, Baylor title, military branch, rank and years in which you served. Submissions can be made to pa@bcm.edu.

Nutrition and pregnancy study

Women in the first trimester of pregnancy are needed for a study of how nutrition throughout pregnancy impacts mothers and infants. The study involves four visits during pregnancy and one postpartum visit with the option to enroll infants. Visits involve body composition measurements, blood and milk samples, surveys on health and food, optical skin measurements and vision testing. Eligible participants must be healthy and meet body mass index criteria. To learn more about the Maternal Carotenoids Across Pregnancy Study and see if you qualify, call 713-798-0517, e-mail MCAPStudy@bcm.edu or complete an online contact form.

Events

Diversity and inclusion events continue

National Diversity and Inclusion Week continues with the following events presented by the Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and other activities:
Hispanic Heritage Month Poetry Reading: Noon – 1 p.m. Oct. 10 featuring Hispanic and Latinx prose and poetry read by Baylor faculty, staff, trainees and students. Register here to attend. To read your poetry or the work of other poets, please email Dr. Kimberly Lopez.
"Why Academic Needs LHS+ Identified Faculty and Leaders": A discussion on challenges and benefits to Latinx, Hispanic and Spanish inclusion in the medical and academic workforce, Oct. 13, noon – 1 p.m., with Dr. John Paul Sánchez of the Latino Medical Student Association Faculty Physician Advisory Council. Register here.
Diversity Map: Be an interactive participant in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week activities by marking your place of birth on a map of the world and seeing where others in our community are from:
- Visit the digital map
- Select the "Additions" tab
- Select "Add Marker – Simple"
- Put your initials, your first name or "Anonymous" in "Entry Name"
- Enter your birth location in "Location"
- Press Submit. The map automatically saves your pin
Diversity Video: Baylor values and celebrates the diversity of our faculty, staff and learners every day. In honor of National Diversity and Inclusion Week, we invited College community members to recite our mission statement in their chosen language. View the video.

Cardiovascular seminar

The James T. Willerson, M.D. Cardiovascular Sciences Seminar Series continues with Dr. Mark Drazner, president of the Heart Failure Society of America, Oct. 12, noon – 1 p.m. in McMillian Auditorium. The seminar is titled "The Clinical Examination in Patients with Heart Failure: New Insights." The event is open to trainees, faculty, staff and healthcare providers from all Texas Medical Center institutions interested in cardiovascular sciences. For details or a calendar invite, email cvri@bcm.edu.

Writing workshops for healthcare providers

Join a free, six-week reflective writing workshop Oct. 12 – Nov. 16, 6 – 7:30 p.m., Ben Taub Hospital, 6D classroom, presented by the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy in collaboration with Inprint. It will be led by Houston writer Tayyba Maya Kanwal, a fellow in the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. This workshop is intended for healthcare providers and trainees in the Texas Medical Center. Register here.

Ombuds Day at Baylor!

Stop by the Baylor Ombuds Office Oct. 13 from 8 – 10 a.m., room 409A at main Baylor, for Ombuds Day. You can meet the ombuds team, learn about the office's services and resources and grab a doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts and coffee from Starbucks. Ombuds Day was started by the American Bar Association to recognize the relatively unknown ombuds profession. This year's theme is Ombuds: Resilience, Respect, Resolve.

Conference on transition healthcare

The 23rd annual Chronic Illness and Disability Conference: Transition from Pediatric to Adult-based Care is Oct. 27-28, presented virtually by Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital. Geared toward healthcare providers as well as young adults with a chronic illness or disability and their parents or guardians, the conference will address the knowledge, skills and services needed for a successful transition from pediatric to adult care. Register here for the conference.  

Volunteer with Project C.U.R.E.

Baylor, in collaboration with Project C.U.R.E., will host a volunteer opportunity Oct. 28 to help sort and pack donated medical supplies to be sent to resource-limited countries. The in-person volunteer event will take place at the Project C.U.R.E. facilities at 8303 Kempwood Dr. Houston, TX. 77055. Project C.U.R.E. was founded in 1987 to address the staggering shortage of medical resources around the world. If you are interested in volunteering, fill out this sign-up form for more information. Questions? Email Alex Alanis, communications community outreach associate at Baylor.

Cybersecurity events

To mark Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, Baylor and other TMC institutions are offering events to raise awareness of the role we each play in protecting our cyber interests at home and at work. Presenters will highlight topics such as current trends, preparing for a cyber-attack, how our minds allow us to be duped and more. Oh, and trivia! See all the events here. Check out what’s going on this month here!

Awards and Recognitions

Amos to lead epidemiology and population sciences

Dr. Chris Amos has been named section chief of epidemiology and population sciences in the Department of Medicine, after serving as interim chief since 2019. Internationally recognized in genetic epidemiology with active funding for 11 research grants from the NIH and five from CPRIT, Amos also is director of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Research at BCM and associate director of population and quantitative science at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Balakrishnan earns NIH grant

Dr. Maya Balakrishnan, assistant professor of medicine, has received a five-year, $863,705 NIH K23 award through the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for her project, "Improving Outcomes among Mexican and Central American Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease." You can read more about the project here.

Lehnhardt presents at United Nations

Dr. Kris Lehnhardt, associate professor of emergency medicine and member of the Center for Space Medicine, presented at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit. The panel was entitled “Recasting the Space Agenda: Convened by the Alliance for Collaboration in the Exploration of Space” and focused on how space systems are crucial to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Lehnhardt's remarks focused on the intersection between space and telemedicine and highlighted how telemedicine capabilities developed for human spaceflight have significant benefits for life here on Earth.

LeMaire elected president of Texas Surgical Society

Dr. Scott LeMaire, professor of surgery and vice chair for research, was elected president-elect of the Texas Surgical Society. His term as the 108th president will occur in 2024. The Society's mission is to stimulate and improve the science and art of surgery and to elevate the standards of the practice of medicine. The organization meets twice each year in different cities throughout Texas.

Ma named lifestyle medicine fellow

Dr. Xin Ma, adjunct assistant professor of pathology and immunology, was named a 2022 Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. He promotes lifestyle medicine locally and globally through research and education and in his roles as director of the Houston Institute of Lifestyle Medicine and founding president of the Chinese Society of Lifestyle Medicine.

Valdez, Love honored as PAs

Isabel Valdez, PA-C, assistant professor of medicine, and Elissa Love, PA-C, assistant professor in the Physician Assistant Program in the School of Health Professions, are the 2022 recipients of the Carl E. Fasser Visionary Leadership Award. Named for the former longtime director of the Physician Assistant Program at Baylor, the award recognizes excellence by a physician assistant in education, research, clinical practice and service. Valdez and Love are just two of the outstanding PAs at Baylor that we celebrate during National PA Week.  

Faculty in the News

Ragweed, be gone! Not gonna happen? Read this article in the Houston Chronicle for coping tips from Dr. David Corry. 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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