News for BCM Faculty, Feb. 20, 2020
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Ask Me About My Research: In recognition of Heart Health Month, Dr. Christie Ballantyne, professor of medicine and chief of the section of cardiology, and Juriel Rosa-Archeval, seventh grader at BCM Biotech Academy at Rusk, show how easy and important it is to talk about your work with laypeople in this episode of Ask Me About My Research. You can pick up your own “Ask Me” button in the Office of Communications & Community Outreach, Room 176B, main Baylor.

Faculty Senate:

• Elizabeth Hatfield, interim Title IX coordinator, and Associate Attorney Krisztina Petz explained the new Texas Title IX mandatory reporting requirements at the Feb. 13 meeting. All faculty and staff must report incidents of sexual harassment that they witness or hear about to the interim Title IX coordinator at (713) 798-5305 or the Integrity Hotline at (855) 764-7294. Institutions are required to terminate employees who do not comply with the reporting mandate and criminal penalties will apply. A Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Reporting Guide training has been added to all employees' and students' Learning Assignments in SuccessFactors. See the Title IX website for additional information.
• Lee Leiber, vice president for Information Technology, and Chad Howard, executive director of IT Clinical Services, described ongoing work to improve coordination of care between the EPIC EMR systems used by Baylor Medicine and Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. At the request of senators, a special meeting will be held to discuss interoperability between Baylor Medicine and Harris Health System EPICs.
• The Administrative Operations Committee brought forward resolutions to address concerns with the implementation of employee career planning, following a special session in January with Chief Operating Officer Joe Doty. The resolutions will be reviewed and voted on by the Senate later this month.
• In response to discussions with the Senate, the College administration has formed a Defining Pathways & Possibilities workgroup to include three faculty senators, three department chairs and three administrators to work with Human Resources on DPP matters.
• The Curriculum & Educational Mission Committee presented the plan for a proposed Department of Education Innovation and Technology, created by the Office of the Provost to prepare faculty as educators and educational scholars and to collaborate with departments to develop program approaches and tools. The new department, which requires board approval, would support clinical and research faculty and provide a community for faculty educators, well positioning the College for the LCME site visit.
• The Faculty Affairs & Benefits Committee explored constituent requests for same day clinic access for Baylor faculty and staff. Family & Community Medicine offers acute care appointments within 24 hours at its River Oaks, Upper Kirby and Baylor Clinic locations. Existing patients use option #3 on the appointment line, (713) 798-7700. Department leadership is looking into the feasibility of expanding the access to Baylor employees needing expedited care.
• Nominations for the Senate officer positions of basic sciences representative and clinical sciences representative, at-large senators and senators representing departments, centers, schools and affiliates open March 30. Faculty Senate elections will be held in May and June.

Coronavirus Update: Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the agent responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is causing a growing public health emergency in China and elsewhere in the world. Baylor College of Medicine with its National School of Tropical Medicine has created a continuing medical education update and resources for physicians across the College and the CommonSpirit Health System.

Organ Donation Statement: The College has issued a statement to address organ donation oversight and accountability. More than 113,000 people in the U.S. need a lifesaving organ transplant, but unfortunately, approximately 28,000 organs from donors go unused each year. Baylor supports federal efforts to oversee organ procurement organizations to increase the number of organs recovered and save lives of those waiting for an organ transplant. The position statement details four strategies to improve organ donation policy, including increased oversight of organ procurement and an easier donation process for patients, families and hospitals.

College Events

Professionalism Series: “Thriving: Wisdom and Life Lessons from Happy Physicians” is the topic of a CME-eligible talk by Dr. Benjamin Doolittle, associate professor of medicine, pediatrics, religion and health and medical director of the faculty resident continuity clinic at Yale School of Medicine, at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in Room 301A, main Baylor, hosted by the Center for Professionalism.

Profile in Professionalism: Dr. Caprice Greenberg, surgeon at the University of Wisconsin, discusses women and diversity in surgery in "Stop Fixing Women,” 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, in Taussig Auditorium, Level 16, Texas Children’s Hospital Legacy Tower, hosted by the Center for Professionalism.

Blood Drive: Schedule your appointment online to donate blood when the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center comes to campus, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, in Rayzor Lounge, main Baylor.

Black History Month: The Association for Graduate Student Diversity, African American Women in Science, African American Men in Science and Office of Institutional Diversity, Inclusion and Equity sponsor a panel discussion on “Racial Disparities in the Lab, Clinic and Community,” 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in Room M321, main Baylor, with a short reception to follow. All members of the Baylor community are invited to attend. RSVP to Dr. Kim Lopez, associate director of community outreach.

Faculty Opportunities

Love Award: Nominations are open for the Ben and Margaret Love Foundation Bobby Alford Award for Academic Clinical Professionalism. Candidates are considered for their professionalism in patient care, clinical research and education as well as their humanism. The opportunity to nominate a faculty candidate for this prestigious award is limited those at the highest levels of leadership at the College or affiliated institutions. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Feb. 28. Nomination information is available online.

DeBakey Awards: Nominations are open for the 2020 Michael E. DeBakey M.D. Excellence in Research Awards, given to Baylor faculty who have made the most significant published scientific contribution to clinical or basic biomedical research during the past three years. Any faculty member may submit a nomination packet comprising a nomination letter and statement of significance, copies of up to three papers upon which the nomination is based and a copy of the nominee’s biosketch. Online nominations are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28.

Space Health Swap: The Translational Research Institute for Space Health at Baylor is seeking applications for the Faculty Exchange Program: Space Health Swap. The program stimulates new collaborations, ideas and approaches for biomedical research to tackle NASA's health and human performance challenges. It provides an opportunity for clinicians and scientists to spend time learning at a NASA center during summer 2020. Applications are due March 6. Learn more and apply online.

CTAPS Facilitators: The School of Medicine is soliciting nominations for team-based learning (TBL) facilitators and session designer positions to support the active learning course Critical Thinking and Problem Solving (CTAPS), which is required for all first-year medical students and directed by Dr. Sarah Bezek. Innovative faculty members with an interest in learning to integrate metacognition and critical thinking concepts within problem-based learning or team-based learning instructional modalities are encouraged to apply. The TBL facilitator and session designer administrative efforts and FTE will be supported by the Office of Curriculum. See the Faculty Opportunities page for more details and apply by March 18.

Faculty Resources

Rodeo Raffle: Faculty, staff, students and trainees can enter for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the 2020 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Winners will be selected by random drawing and notified by email. Enter online. The College is proud to be a part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo by sponsoring the Chuck Wagon Races and hand sanitizer stations throughout the livestock show and rodeo grounds.

DOI Update: The Disclosure of Outside Interest (DOI) process for 2019 is underway. All calendar year 2019 financial disclosures must be reported by BCM covered personnel through the DOI Portal by March 31. Training materials are available on the BCM DOI intranet page, including a list of department representatives who can offer assistance. Additional questions can be directed to compliance@bcm.edu or research.coi@bcm.edu.

Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Events

Clinical Seminars

Kellaway Lecture: Dr. Hal Blumenfeld, professor of neurology, neuroscience and neurosurgery at Yale University School of Medicine, delivers the 2020 Peter Kellaway, Ph.D. Endowed Lecture in Epilepsy on “Consciousness, Epilepsy and Neurostimulation” at noon Monday. Feb. 24, in Conference Rooms A&B, Baylor Medicine Medical Center, McNair Campus, or via Zoom.

Surgery Grand Rounds: “Surgical Coaching for Continuous Performance Improvement” is the topic of a presentation by Dr. Caprice Greenberg, surgeon at the University of Wisconsin, at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, in Room N315, main Baylor.

Best of SABCS: The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and the Texas Society of Clinical Oncology host "The Best of SABCS," a concise critical review of advances in breast cancer research that are changing clinical practice, starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 29, in Kleberg Auditorium, main Baylor. Register online to attend.

Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar

Research Seminars

Bench to Bedside: Dr. Jason Spence, professor of gastroenterology and director of the Translational Tissue Modeling Laboratory at University of Michigan Medical School, presents “In Vitro and In Vivo Development of Human Intestine at Single Cell Resolution” at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in Room N315, main Baylor. The seminar is part of the Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Bench-to-Bedside Series.

"Virus Wars: The Cell Strikes Back" is the title of a lecture by Dr. Paul Bieniasz, professor and head of the Retrovirology Lab at the Rockefeller University, set for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, in Room M112, main Baylor.

Research Resources

Junior Faculty Seed Awards: The College supports new investigators at the assistant professor level who are beginning their careers as independent researchers with the Junior Faculty Seed funding program. Several awards of $30,000 each are available for fiscal year 2021 to help junior faculty prepare to submit applications for outside funding for clinical or basic science proposals. The deadline to apply is April 8. Application instructions and more information are available on the website.

Research Mentoring: Faculty research mentors are invited to attend a four-hour workshop focused on skill-building activities in the mentoring competencies of aligning expectations, maintaining effective communications, fostering independence and resilience and promoting professional development. The workshop curriculum is based on materials generated by the NIH-funded National Research Mentoring Network, tailored to research mentors at the College. RSVP to attend and specify your preferred date:

• 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, in Room N311, main Baylor
• 12:30 to 4 p.m. Friday, March 6, in Room N302, main Baylor

From the Labs: Read what Dr. Fabio Stossi and Dr. Michael Mancini, faculty in the Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, found when they investigated how cells modulate their responses to estrogen at the single-cell and -gene level in this week’s post. Receive From the Labs via email by entering your email address in the box at the end of any article and clicking the "subscribe" button.

Questions or Comments?

Faculty Senate: Please contact your senator for faculty-related questions or suggestions.

Institutional Policy Committee: Contact the Policy Committee to learn more about College policies and procedures.

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