NewsLink, July 15, 2016
Please submit items for the weekly Newslink to Dana Benson.

Archive / BCM Family / You FIRST / BCM News on Twitter

Awards and Recognitions

Franklin named Aspen Institute Fellow

Dr. Wayne Franklin, associate professor of pediatrics - cardiology, was selected by the Aspen Institute as a Health Innovator Fellow for its 2016 class. The Health Innovators Fellowship Program was created in 2015 to strengthen the leadership of innovators across the U.S. health care system and to connect, inspire and challenge them to create new approaches that will improve the health and well-being of all Americans. Fellows must be nominated by a third party and selected by the Aspen Institute to participate in the program. Fellows participate in four seminars of five to seven days each, directed by experienced Aspen Institute-certified instructors, and also commit to designing and launching a leadership venture of his or her own choosing.

Events

PaintFest cancer outreach event July 18

PaintFest America, a traveling outreach event for patients, families and staff of cancer centers throughout the country, will be making a stop at Baylor July 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Baylor College of Medicine Medical Center on the McNair Campus, first floor lobby. Hosted by the Foundation for Hospital Art, the event will allow those affected by cancer to come together to paint large murals that will eventually be hung on hospital and cancer center walls in the U.S. The canvases are color coded and all supplies are provided. All patients, families, faculty, staff and members of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center are invited!

Doc Talk July 27

The next DocTalk is Wednesday, July 27, at noon at the McNair campus, conference rooms A and B, with Dr. Peggy Smith, director of the Baylor Teen Health Clinic, on contemporary challenges during adolescence. DocTalk is a series of informal lunchtime talks with Baylor faculty on a variety of health topics followed by a question-and-answer session. Eligible employees who attend will receive BCM BeWell Vitality points.

College News

Blood drive success

The recent blood drive for the CHI-St. Luke's Blood Center, which provides blood for the Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, was a success. There were a total of 57 whole blood donors; when those blood units are separated into red cells, platelets and plasma, it means that 171 patient lives were extended or saved by these generous donors. The next CHI-St. Luke's Blood Center drive will be held on Sept. 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Rayzor Lounge at main Baylor. Stay tuned for more details!

Volunteers needed for study on depression and gut function

Participants are needed for a study to understand how depression and gut function may be related in youth. Volunteers between the ages of 7 and 17 years who have experienced symptoms of depression and those who have not are both needed for the study. Volunteers must be healthy, not have taken any antibiotics in the past six months and not have taken any psychiatric medications in the past three months. The study visit will involve completing questionnaires, providing a stool sample, taking a sugar solution and collecting urine for 24 hours, a blood draw and bone scan and MRI. Volunteers will be compensated for their time and mileage will be reimbursed. Those interested should complete the following online screening form. For more information, call 832-824-5002 or email Calarge_Research@bcm.edu.

Online special journal issue focuses on opioid addiction and treatment

Dr. Tom Kosten, and Dr. Coreen Domingo, both of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, serve as editors of a virtual special issue of articles from the American Journal on Addictions that provides a review of the critical national issue of prescription opioid abuse and its treatment with the partial opiate agonist buprenorphine, or BUP. The special issue includes 13 articles published in the AJA over the last three years. These articles begin with a discussion of the use of BUP during its first 10 years by various types of providers based on their training, followed by several problems with pain and prescription opioids, and closing with medical safety including BUP use in liver disease and during pregnancy. This resource is available online.

Stay hydrated through BCM BeWell challenge

Getting enough water every day is important for your health! The BCM BeWell program is launching a new challenge designed to keep you hydrated during hot Houston August – and beyond. Participants will track their water intake during the month of August using a tracking form that will be provided. Up to 500 BCM BeWell Vitality Points available! Learn more and register online for the "'Water' You Drinking?" challenge. A registration confirmation and your challenge log will be sent before the start of the challenge.

Faculty in the News

Dr. Peter Hotez was interviewed by NBC News and several other media outlets on Zika. Read this and Baylor's other news media mentions in this week's Faculty in the News. Interested in science news? Read the latest in From the Labs.

Follow BCM