NewsLink, June 4, 2021
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Awards and Recognitions

Shah honored in Fort Bend County

Dr. Asim Shah, executive vice chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor and chief of psychiatry at Ben Taub Hospital, was honored by Fort Bend County Judge KP George in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Shah, who chaired the Coronavirus Mental Health Task Force in Fort Bend, was recognized along with Dr. Connie Almeida, director of the county's behavioral health department, as champions for the mental health and well-being of area residents.

Pediatric oncology team earns NCI survivorship grant

Dr. Michael Scheurer, Dr. Monica Gramatges and Dr. Lisa Kahalley received a highly competitive cohort-building grant from the National Cancer Institute to study disparities in childhood cancer survivorship. They will receive approximately $2.1 million over the next two years to understand and address factors related to disparities in adverse outcomes and access to survivorship care, specifically among Latinos.

Equity Trailblazer Award recipients

Winners of BCM’s newly created Equity Trailblazer Award are Farah Ladha, 2021 graduate and class president in the School of Health Professions' Genetic Counseling Program; Dr. Andria Tatem, clinical fellow in academic general pediatrics; Amanda Gutierrez, M.P.H., senior research assistant in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy; and Dr. Keila Lopez, associate professor of pediatric cardiology. The award recognizes significant contributions and accomplishments in moving Baylor toward being a more diverse and inclusive community. Read more about the award and its inaugural recipients.

Research team to study mental health in OI patients

Drs. Eric Storch, Sophie Schneider, Brendan Lee, Reid Sutton and Gabriel Lazaro-Munoz recently were awarded a multi-year supplement from the National Institute of Mental Health to Dr. Lee's NIH-funded Brittle Bone Disorders Consortium of the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network. This award of $315,000 per year for three years will allow the consortium to comprehensively examine mental health concerns in people with Osteogenesis Imperfecta and their association with disease status variables using a patient-centered approach. Also supporting this research are the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Research, National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases.

M.D./Ph.D. student receives neurology award

Cole Deisseroth, a student in BCM's Medical Scientist Training Program, has received the prestigious 2021 Child Neurology Foundation Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Scholarship for his research project on EBF3-related disorders conducted in the lab of Dr. Hsiao-Tuan Chao, assistant professor of neurology. This scholarship is awarded to only one individual from the U.S. or Canada each year. He was awarded this scholarship for a cross-sectional study of a recently recognized neurological syndrome called Early B-cell Factor 3 related Hypotonia, Ataxia, and Delayed Development Syndrome (HADDS).

Events

Advancing biomedical discoveries

BCM and Deerfield Management, a healthcare investment management firm, will formally announce the launch of Blue Square Discoveries at a virtual event on June 8 from 10-11 a.m. The event will explain how Blue Square Discoveries will help in accelerating BCM's biomedical discoveries and bringing life-saving therapeutics to market. Learn more and get a link to join.

Breakthroughs in Cancer Research

Breakthroughs in Cancer Research, a virtual conversation with Baylor breast cancer experts who are leading innovative research on the disease, will be held Thursday, June 10, from noon – 1 p.m. Presented by Dr. James McDeavitt, executive vice president and dean of clinical affairs, the event features Dr. Matthew Ellis, McNair Scholar and director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center in the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Dr. Bora Lim, director of translational research at the Duncan Cancer Center. Register to attend.

Primary care conference

Primary Care Now, a Pri-Med virtual conference developed in partnership with BCM, is June 10 – 11, including a keynote address by Dr. Peter Hotez and sessions with Baylor and other experts covering the latest in primary care. Up to 12.50 CME credits available. Learn more and register.

Environmental Health Disparities pilot project workshop

The Maternal and Infant Environmental Health Riskscape (MIEHR) Research Center is hosting a workshop for potential pilot project applicants on June 22 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. MIEHR faculty from Baylor and Texas Southern University will provide information about the pilot project program, discuss research topics in environmental health disparities and answer potential applicants' questions. View the event flyer and pilot project program RFA and register to receive the Zoom link.

Bystander training during Pride Month

The Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is promoting free bystander training throughout June to stop LGBTQ+ harassment through Hollaback!, a global organization to end harassment. Learn more and register for this free training series.

College News

Apply to serve on Inclusion & Excellence Council

The Inclusion and Excellence Council is seeking applications to fill vacant faculty, staff and learner positions. The council provides a forum for engaging the Baylor community and supporting the diversity and inclusion goals of the College. Meetings are held quarterly and subcommittee meetings are monthly. Apply by Friday, June 18. See application guidelines and form.

LCME monthly newsletter

The School of Medicine's June LCME Newsletter features a Timeline of Upcoming Events and an overview of Element 8.1 — Curricular Management, Element 8.2 — Use of Medical Educational Program Objectives and Element 8.3 — Curricular Design, Review. Revision/Content Monitoring. Read the June newsletter.

HR news: BCM BeWell challenge

Register for the BCM BeWell SMART Move physical activity challenge, June 7 -July 11, to build knowledge, intentions, goal setting and motivation to increase your summer activity. This is an individual challenge that can be completed through the BCM BeWell portal. Learn more and register. Questions? Email wellness@bcm.edu.

NewsLink break

NewsLink will not be published next Friday, June 11.

Faculty in the News

Check out all of Baylor's news media mentions in this week's 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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