E-mail not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Faculty Commons Banner

Faculty Commons, March 8 - 14, 2018
Please submit items for Faculty Commons to Erin Blair.

Archive / Faculty Affairs / Today at BCM / Employee Discounts

All Faculty

College News

image

 

PEEPSS in Action: Dr. Aymer Almutairi, assistant professor of family & community medicine, greets Dr. Tamara Ortiz-Perez, assistant professor of radiology and a faculty senator, at the inaugural gathering of Professionalism and Engagement Elevating Physician and Scientist Satisfaction, a Center for Professionalism initiative to increase faculty familiarity, collegiality and engagement through networking and socializing. The pilot phase, which began in February, targets the Faculty Group Practice. Read more about PEEPSS online.

 

Ben Taub News: The American College of Surgeons has re-verified College affiliate Ben Taub Hospital as an elite Level I trauma center for three years, through March 3, 2021. The Ginni and Richard Mithoff Trauma Center cares for more than 100,000 emergency patients each year. The verification process is designed to help hospitals improve trauma care by assessing relevant features of the program, such as commitment, readiness, resources, policies, patient care and performance improvement. In related news, the Ben Taub Tunnel reopened Tuesday, March 6, following repairs from Hurricane Harvey.


Faculty Kudos

imageDr. Susan Blaney, professor of pediatrics and deputy director of the Texas Children’s Cancer Center, accepted a Director's Service Award from the National Cancer Institute for her outstanding and dedicated service to the Institute and the Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee from 2015 to 2017.

 

imageDr. Sridevi Devaraj, professor of pathology & immunology, is featured in this week’s Meet Your Senator article on the faculty intranet portal. She represents her department’s faculty on the Senate.

 

imageJim Digan has been named senior vice president for institutional advancement, following a national search. Digan has 25 years of experience in academic and hospital fundraising, most recently as director of the Zweig Foundation, a private family foundation. Prior to that he was president of Nationwide Children’s Foundation and vice president of international outreach for Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He also served in leadership roles at Rochester General Foundation and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Digan will join the College in mid-April.

 

imageimageDr. Dorit Donoviel, associate professor of space medicine, director of the Translational Research Institute for Space Health and faculty senator, and Dr. Billy Cohn professor of surgery and director of the Center for Device Innovation at the TMC, will discuss human health and performance during deep space travel at SXSW Interactive on Saturday, March 10.

 

imageDr. Michael Lee, professor of physical medicine & rehabilitation, has been appointed interim chair of the department, replacing Dr. James McDeavitt, senior vice president and dean of clinical affairs, who now will devote his full-time efforts to his clinical leadership role. Dr. Eric Rohren, chair of radiology, will lead the search committee for a permanent physical medicine & rehabilitation chair.

 

imageDr. Jamie Loveland, assistant professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences, will receive the Gerald Stechler 2018-19 Research Award from the American Psychological Association Section VIII, Division 39 at its April meeting in New Orleans. Her research is on therapeutic action with couples who have substance addiction, from a psychoanalytic perspective.


College Events

DocTalk: Dr. Jennifer Dietrich, associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology, talks about “Empowering Young Girls to Discuss their Health” at noon Tuesday, March 13, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. Sign-in before 12:15 p.m. to receive 100 BCM BeWell points.


Women in Leadership: The Postdoctoral Association presents the Women in Leadership Seminar Series Wednesday and Thursday, March 14 – 15. The series includes expert panels on workplace climate, mentoring and sponsorship, advancement and leadership and preparing for the future. See the full seminar schedule.


Health Equity Grand Rounds features Dr. Margaret Nosek, professor of physical medicine & rehabilitation, speaking on “Women with Disabilities at Your Doorstep” at noon March 20 in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. CME credit is available.


Helis Lecture: Dr. Daniel Kastner, scientific director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, presents the 4th Annual Bobby R. Alford, M.D. Grand Rounds Distinguished Lecture at 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, in Room M112, with a reception to follow in the Alkek Lobby, main Baylor. His topic is “Horror Autoinflammaticus: Cutting Gordian Knots at the Pool of Bethesda.” The lecture is endowed by the Diana Helis Henry and Adrienne Helis Malvin Medical Research Foundations.


Alumni Awards Winners: Join the Alumni Association in celebrating the College's alumni and faculty for excellence in achievement and service, Including Dr. Carol Baker ’68, Dr. Joseph Coselli ’82, Dr. Jennifer E. Dietrich (Res.) ’04, Elizabeth Elliott P.A.-C ’06, Dr. Ellen M. Friedman, Dr. Sean McGuire ’03 and Dr. James L. Phillips. The Alumni Awards and Recognition Dinner kicks off Reunion Weekend at 6 p.m. May 3 at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston. Special pricing is available for faculty; contact the Alumni Office to RSVP.


Faculty Opportunities

BOP Mentors: The Rice University Premedical Society seeks medical mentors for the Big Owls/Little Owls Program (BOP), where physicians and medical students share their experiences with Rice undergraduates in casual, small group meetings. The 7 p.m. meeting Monday, March 19, on the Rice campus focuses on physician mentors and the advanced stages of medical education as well as their specialties and lives as physicians. To participate, complete the online form.


Faculty Resources

Fraud, Waste & Abuse: Over the past year, government agencies have recovered close to $5 billion through their fraud-fighting activities. Learn about the important actions you can take to avoid fraud, waste and abuse in this year's mandatory compliance training. Required for all Baylor employees and learners, the online training must be completed by March 30 or disciplinary action may be imposed. To complete the training, log into AMP, review the training module and successfully pass the quiz. Awareness of the College's new and significantly revised policies is a requisite part of the training. See the new and revised policies approved in 2017.


Faculty Career Coaching: The Office of Faculty Development offers one-on-one sessions with experienced senior faculty coaches. These sessions are designed to provide guidance on career progression, readiness for academic promotion, development of award portfolios, academic writing and educational research and evaluation. Contact Faculty Development at (713) 798-7285 for scheduling.


Back-Up Care: Whether you are experiencing a breakdown in your regular child care arrangements, looking for an after school sitter, have adult/elder care responsibilities or need someone to walk the dog - the Bright Horizons Care Advantage Program is ready to help. Learn more about this College benefit online.

Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Calendar

Clinical Events

Doctors' Day: TAPRO, the American Medical Professionals Foundation, hosts the 8th Annual Doctors' Day Celebration Dinner at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 28, at Bayou City Event Center. The event includes a keynote address by Dr. Jordan Orange, professor of pediatrics, on "Lessons learned from breakdowns in human immunity: New diseases and new broad therapeutic insights." Register online to attend.


Call for Nominations

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 5 p.m. tomorrow, March 9. Nomination information is available online.


Clinical Symposia

Global Surgery: Dr. Ray Price of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery is the keynote speaker and a number of Baylor faculty members are special guests at the Global Surgery Symposium, 12:30 – 7 p.m. Friday, March 9, at Jones Business School, Rice University. Register online. The symposium is part of the 6th Annual Global Health Conference March 9 – 10 at Rice. More information is available online.


GI & Liver Course: The 18th Annual GI & Liver Course, honoring Dr. Frank L. Lanza for more than 45 years of service and teaching, is scheduled for March 24 – 25 in Onstead Auditorium, 6767 Bertner Ave. Dr. Manreet Kaur, assistant professor of medicine – gastroenterology, is the course director, with Dr. David Katzka of Mayo Clinic and Dr. Brennan Spiegel of David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA as guest faculty. CME credit is available. Register online.


Quality & Safety: The 5th Annual Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Conference, offering health professionals and students an opportunity to present their ideas in an interactive forum, is set for is April 26. Directed by Dr. Emily Sedgwick, associate professor of radiology and chief quality officer for the Faculty Group Practice, the conference highlights a peer-reviewed selection of quality and safety research projects and program innovations. Registration is open.

Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar

Call for Abstracts

Chao Physician-Scientist Award: Promising junior faculty members who are in the process of securing K08 or K23 grants but need interim funding are encouraged to submit applications for the Chao Physician-Scientist Award. Applicants must be physicians who hold a primary full-time appointment in a BCM department. The awards, made possible through a generous gift from the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation, are for one year and up to $100,000, with no restriction on research focus. Applications are due by 6 p.m. April 12. Full details are available online.


Research Forum

CVRI Symposium: The 6th Annual Cardiovascular Research Institute Symposium, featuring keynote speakers Dr. Eric Olson of UT Southwestern Medical Center Dallas and Dr. John Cooke of Houston Methodist Research Institute, is set for April 10. Register online.


Research Resources

From the Labs: Read what Dr. Robert Britton, professor of molecular virology and microbiology, and his lab discovered about superbug C. difficile in this week's blog post. You can receive weekly articles on Baylor's research and innovation highlights as they are posted by going to From the Labs and entering your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the right. Or get a digest at the end of the month with links to the articles posted that month by emailing science writer Ana Rodríguez with "Subscribe me to From the Labs" in the subject line.


Funding Opportunities: See the Office of Institutional Diversity, Inclusion and Equity’s list of funding opportunities for research on healthcare disparities and social determinants of health. The Office of Research offers a list of privately funded awards currently accepting applications for March.

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.


Items for Faculty Commons: To submit items for this weekly email update for Baylor College of Medicine faculty, please contact us.

Connect With Baylor

facebook icon facebook icon twitter icon youtube icon linkedin icon google plus icon Instagram icon