News for BCM Faculty, Jan. 3, 2019
Please submit items for Faculty Commons to Erin Blair.

Archive / Faculty Affairs / Today at BCM / Employee Discounts

All Faculty

College News

Ask Me About My Research: Dr. Paul Ling, associate professor of molecular virology & microbiology, joins special guest Maya Storch to show the importance of talking with members of the public about your work 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.

IRB News: Changes to the Common Rule, the federal policy governing human subjects research, will go into effect Monday, Jan. 21. Studies approved by the College’s Institutional Review Board on or after Jan. 21 will be governed by the new rule. Studies approved prior to Jan. 21 will NOT have to be amended. More information regarding the IRB’s implementation of the revised Common Rule can be found on the Office of Research webpage.

Faculty Kudos

Dr. Kjersti Aagaard, the Henry and Emma Meyer Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been honored with a 2018 Nature Award for Mentoring in Science. Awardees are nominated by a group of their former trainees, from different stages of the mentor’s professional life. With the prize, she plans to establish the Aagaard Research Mentorship Award in Pregnancy & Women’s Health.

Dr. Dorit Donoviel, director of the Translational Research Institute for Space Health and a faculty senator, and Emmanuel Ordonez, senior research manager, served as consultants to a team in the First Lego League, an international program that challenges students to research a real-world problem and develop a solution. Read about their experience in BCM Family.

Physician Assistant Kathy Erdman has been named the new program director for the Physician Assistant Program. A distinguished fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, she has served as interim director since July 1. In making the announcement, School of Health Professions Dean Robert McLaughlin commended Erdman’s commitment and contributions to the College.

Dr. David Poplack, the Elise C. Young Chair in Pediatric Oncology, associate director of the Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers and director of the Global Hope program, received the Angel Award in recognition of lifetime achievement at the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation's Dream and Promise Awards Benefit in Houston last month. In addition, Dr. Howard Weiner, professor and chief of neurosurgery at Texas Children's Hospital, was the organization's medical honoree for his commitment to patient care.

College Events

Surgical Jeopardy: A team-based, Jeopardy-style competition between residents, faculty and all-star resident teams in the Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery is set for 7 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, in Room N315, main Baylor. The competition is in preparation for the upcoming ABSITE tests.

DocTalk: Dr. William Fann, professor of pharmacology & chemical biology, discusses “Medical Quackery” at noon Thursday, Jan. 10, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. Bring your lunch, join the conversation and earn BeWell points.

Learning Health System Series: Dr. Eric Boerwinkle, professor of genetics and epidemiology and dean of UTHealth School of Public Health, associate director of Human Genome Sequencing Center at BCM, speaks at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 10, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor.

Faculty Opportunity

Learning Community Advisors: The Office of Student Affairs is recruiting Learning Community Advisors for academic year 2019-2020. These are 10 percent FTE-supported positions. Interested M.D. faculty members should submit a one-page statement of interest, their CV, and a letter of support from their department chair to the Learning Community coordinator Dianne Ohnstad by 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4.

Faculty Resources

Women in Science: The Association for Women in Science Gulf Coast Houston hosts its monthly networking event at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 13 Celsius, 3000 Caroline St. Information and registration are online.

SMART Program: Mentors are needed for the 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Training (SMART) program. SMART provides research experiences for 80-90 undergraduates from around the nation in a supportive and rigorous environment with supplemental educational activities. Over a nine-week period, students work in a laboratory and attend research seminars, professional development workshops, and GRE prep classes to broaden their exposure and prepare them for scientific careers. If you are interested in mentoring an undergraduate student in your lab this summer, please complete a SMART Mentor Commitment Form before Friday, Jan. 11. If you have questions, email Evelin Young .

Professionalism: The Center for Professionalism presents Dr. Maxine Papadakis of University of California, San Francisco, speaking on the “Assessment of Professionalism as an Obligation for Self-Regulation,” in two sessions at main Baylor on Thursday, Jan. 15: Department of Medicine Grand Rounds, 12:15 p.m. in Room M112, and Professionalism Support Series, 4 p.m. in Room 201A. Both sessions are eligible for CME ethics credit.

Portfolio Workshop: Dr. Susan Raine and Dr. Geeta Singhal offer tips and strategies for preparing a clinical or educational portfolio for promotion and faculty awards in an Educational Portfolio workshop from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, in Room N317, main Baylor. To RSVP, email the Faculty Development Office or call (713) 798-7285

Summer Interns: Human Resources is offering the summer internship program June 4 through Aug. 2. The unpaid professional development program is for rising high school seniors and college and graduate students. Interns are introduced to the roles that support the clinical, research and education missions of the institution; however, the program does not involve lab research. Email adminintern@bcm.edu if you would like to host an intern or learn more about the program.

For a Good Cause

Spin for Gyn: Help raise funds for the BCM Woman to Woman gynecologic cancer support program and earn 100 Wellness points by cycling for a cure from 2 to 5 p.m. Jan. 26 in the spin class at LA Fitness, 2130 W Holcombe Blvd. Sign up online.

Fatty Liver Test: Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center’s Advanced Liver Therapies program offers a free screening for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease with an FDA-approved ultrasound test that detects fat and scarring in the liver. Participants will receive their CAP-Fibroscan results and may join an informational study at the College. For more information, contact the coordinator or call (713) 798-5569.

Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Events

Clinical Seminars

Evenings with Genetics: Dr. Fadel Ruiz, assistant professor of pediatrics and director of the Cystic Fibrosis Care Center at Texas Children’s Hospital, and Pam Tuley, CFCC program coordinator, discuss cystic fibrosis, genetics and personalized medicine in a community outreach seminar starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15, at the Children’s Museum of Houston. The event is free but registration is required.

Women's Heart Symposium: Dr. Stephanie Coulter, clinical associate professor of medicine and associate director of non-invasive cardiology at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, is course director for the 9th annual Women’s Heart and Vascular Symposium on Jan. 26 in Texas Heart Institute’s Cooley Auditorium. Dr. Jeff Williamson, a gerontologist at Wake Forest School of Medicine, presents the keynote address, “Sprint Mind: Beyond the Heart: Impact of Blood Pressure on Cognitive Decline and Dementia.” Register online.

Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar

Research Seminars

DLDCCC Seminar: Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell, director of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses “Remodeling makeovers in renal cell carcinoma” at noon Monday, Jan. 7, in Room N315, main Baylor. The seminar summarizes recent findings of epigenetic contributions to genomic instability and endogenous retrovirus gene expression in renal cell carcinoma, which may alter the response to immunotherapy.

Core Labs: Learn about the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas-supported Cancer Proteomic and Metabolomic Core Facility at a symposium from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, in Kleberg Auditorium, main Baylor. The symposium covers topics such as mass spectrometry proteomics and metabolomics discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets, targeted proteomics by reverse phase protein array, and integrated multi-omics data analysis for cancer research projects. Please complete the registration link to RSVP to the event.

Stem Cells: Dr. Margaret Goodell, professor and director of the STaR Center, presents “Immortal Hematopoietic Stem Cells in Aging and Cancer” at noon Monday, Jan. 14, in Room M112, main Baylor.

10x Genomics: Find out about the newest products developed by 10x Genomics at a 9:30 a.m. seminar on Wednesday, Jan. 16, in Room M112, main Baylor. Learn how to enhance biological discoveries with genomics and high-throughput single cell transcriptomic products and explore the Single Cell ATAC Solution and Single Cell Gene Expression Solution with Feature Barcoding technology. Please register to attend.

Research Resources

Precision Medicine RFA: The College has extended the application deadline for its precision medicine and population health grants to 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4. Projects must leverage large data sets that are currently available at BCM or an affiliated hospital or health network and must be relevant to population-based clinical care (such as diagnosis, risk prediction, treatment, prevention and healthcare delivery). Guidelines are available online.

TRISH RFP: The Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) at BCM seeks proposals for Biomedical Research Advances for Space Health on topics including ophthalmic imaging as a means of assessing overall health, health surveillance of astronauts on deep space missions and "just in time" medications. A pre-proposal webinar is scheduled for Jan. 30 and step-1 proposals are due Feb. 14. See the website for more information.

BWF Awards: The Burroughs Wellcome Fund Physician-Scientist Institutional Awards program is accepting applications for up to five $2.5 million grants to increase the number of single degree M.D.s who enter research and launch careers as independent investigators. The one-step full application is due Feb. 15. Please visit the website for more details.

From the Labs: Read what Dr. Mauro Costa-Mattioli, Cullen Foundation Endowed Chair of Neuroscience and director of the Memory and Brain Research Center, and Dr. Martina Sgritta, postdoctoral associate, discovered that a microbe-based treatment reverses social deficits in mouse models of autism in this week’s post. You can receive twice-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.

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