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News for BCM Faculty, May 9, 2019
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Alumni Awards: The Baylor College of Medicine Alumni Association kicked off the local awards season by presenting Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, and Dr. Malcolm Brenner, professor in the Center for Gene Therapy, with Distinguished Faculty Awards at the 2019 Alumni Awards Dinner. Other faculty members recognized at the May 2 event include Dr. Martin Matzuk, interim chair of pathology, who accepted the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Dr. George P. Noon, professor of surgery, who received the Distinguished Service Award.

  • Young Alumnus Awards went to Dr. Ricardo Nuila, associate professor of medicine, and Steven Wei, PA-C, clinical instructor in the Physician Assistant program. Dr. Amy Coburn, clinical associate professor of ophthalmology, accepted the Humanitarian Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award honored Dr. Kenneth Mattox, professor of surgery. June Mattox accepted the award on his behalf. Video and photos from the event are online.

Faculty Senate Elections: The first round of elections for the Faculty Senate starts Monday, May 13. Look for an email from the Senate with your link to the ballot.

  • In this round, faculty in the following units vote for representatives: Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, Ben Taub Hospital, Center for Space Medicine, Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, DeBakey VA Medical Center, Family & Community Medicine, Institute for Clinical & Translational Research, Medicine, Molecular & Human Genetics, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Radiation Oncology, Radiology, School of Health Professions and School of Medicine.
  • The College-wide round of elections for at-large faculty senators starts June 3. Read about the candidates and the elections process online.

Faculty Town Hall: If you were unable to attend last week's town hall meeting, the video is now available on the intranet, as are the 2018 faculty survey data and data from previous surveys on Baylor faculty satisfaction and engagement.

Faculty Kudos

Dr. Katherine King, associate professor of pediatrics - infectious diseases, has been invited by the National Institutes of Health Center for Scientific Review to serve as a member of the Molecular and Cellular Hematology Study Section through June 2025. Membership is merit-based and provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort. King's research work is focused on the responses of hematopoietic stem cells to infection and inflammation.

Dr. Sharon Plon, professor of pediatrics - oncology and molecular & human genetics and co-director of the Texas Children's Cancer Center Cancer Genetics and Genomics Program, has been appointed by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research. Plon recently delivered Medical Grand Rounds at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and received its 11th annual Niehaus Southworth Weissenbach Award in Clinical Cancer Genetics.

Dr. Peggy Smith, professor of obstetrics & gynecology and director of the Teen Health Clinic, accepted the John R. Boettiger Jr. Award for Community Partnership from the Immunization Partnership at its Community Immunity Spring Luncheon April 25. The award recognizes her commitment to keeping Texans healthy and her support of the Immunization Partnership, its programs and mission.

Dr. Jason Yustein, associate professor of pediatrics with the Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, is one of the experts participating in the New Agents for Ewing Sarcoma Task Force recently formed by the Children's Oncology Group Bone Tumor Committee. The mission of the task force is to evaluate and prioritize new agents for incorporation into clinical trials for metastatic and relapsed Ewing sarcoma.

College Events

DeBakey Research Awards You are invited to attend the 2019 Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Awards Ceremony & Symposium, 2 – 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, in DeBakey Auditorium, Room M112, main Baylor. The awards recognize faculty members who have made significant, published scientific contributions to clinical or basic biomedical research during the past three years. This year’s honorees are Dr. Carl Allen, assistant professor of pediatrics – oncology, Dr. Christie M. Ballantyne, professor and vice chair of research in medicine and holder of the J.S. Abercrombie Chair, Dr. Robert A. Britton, professor of molecular virology & microbiology, Dr. Aleksandar Milosavljevic, professor of molecular & human genetics, and Dr. Marco Sardiello, assistant professor of molecular & human genetics. A reception follows the research symposium.

Faculty Awards Day: Cheer for your peers at this omnibus awards ceremony encompassing the Clark Faculty Service Award, Norton Rose Fulbright Faculty Excellence Awards, Barbara and Corbin J. Robertson, Jr. Presidential Award for Excellence in Education, John P. McGovern Outstanding Teacher Award, Faculty Awards for Excellence in Patient Care, and Ben and Margaret Love Foundation Bobby Alford Award for Academic Clinical Professionalism. The event is set for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 16, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor, with a reception to follow. See the list of 2019 Norton Rose Fulbright and Patient Care award winners online.

Faculty Opportunities

Patient Safety: The Medical School is actively recruiting clinical faculty to serve as small group facilitators for the Patient Safety Course, which meets on Tuesdays from 1 to 2:30 p.m., July 30 through Sept. 17. Each facilitator will be trained and then assigned about ten MS2 students to work through a clinical case. For more information, see Faculty Opportunities.

Call for Papers: The American Medical Association Journal of Ethics seeks manuscripts exploring the ethical complexities of cancer prevention as a global public health imperative for an upcoming theme issue edited by Dr. Zachery Tabb, pediatrics resident. More information can be found online (scroll to the February 2020 issue). The deadline for submissions is May 31.

Faculty Resources

Educator Workshop: Learn a variety of ways to make your lectures learner-centered and interactive in “Large Group Teaching,” 2 – 4 p.m. Friday, May 10, in Room M321. To attend, RSVP to the Office of Faculty Development.

The TMC Orchestra, which includes members from the Baylor community, will perform Mahler’s 3rd Symphony at 6 p.m. Saturday, May 11, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. Buy tickets online.

Psychiatry Grand Rounds: The Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences presents Dr. Ruth Shim, Luke and Grace Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, speaking on “The Science of Discrimination: An Unexamined Social Determinant of Health” at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 15, in the Bobby R. Alford Educational Center, McNair Campus. CME credit will be offered.

Weather Alert: Severe weather emergencies can happen at any time and often strike quickly. Being prepared for inclement conditions and natural disasters will go a long way in helping to keep yourself and others safe. Consult the Weather Safety page for useful resources and take a moment to register or update your contact information in Baylor’s Emergency Notification System.


Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Events

Clinical Seminars

Oropharynx Cancer: Dr. Andrew Sikora, associate professor of otolaryngology – head & neck surgery, and Dr. Vlad Sandulache, assistant professor in the department, lead “Innovations in Risk Stratification and Treatment of Veterans with Oropharynx Cancer” Thursday and Friday, May 9 – 10, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. The conference, sponsored by The Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and the College, summarizes epidemiology, clinical outcomes and disease management in veterans and presents preclinical and translational research into molecular and immune mechanisms of the cancer.

Precision Medicine Grand Rounds: Dr. Katherine Siminovitch, professor of medicine and immunology and director of the Fred Litwin & Family Genetic Medicine at University of Toronto, discusses “Connecting Genomics Research to New Understanding of Autoimmune Disease Cause and Management” at noon Monday, May 13, at the Denton A. Cooley Auditorium, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center. CME credit is available.

Surgery Grand Rounds: This week’s Chief Resident Presentations feature Dr. Jason Ho, Dr. Michael Long and Dr. Oluwabukola Olatubosun at 7 a.m. Wednesday, May 15, in Room N315, main Baylor or via Zoom, meeting I.D. 517 471 817.

Clinical Notes

Diabetes for Teens: “Adulting with T1D,” an educational outreach event for teens ages 16 and older with type 1 diabetes and their parents, is 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Saturday, May 11, at the Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, 18200 Katy Freeway. The event, organized by assistant professors of pediatrics Dr. Sarah Lyons and Dr. Marisa Hilliard, focuses on the transition from pediatric to adult care.

Physician Sunshine Act: Physicians and fellows have until Wednesday, May 15, to review and dispute industry payments that will be available publicly on the Open Payments Database on June 30. Baylor physicians are encouraged to examine the payments reported under their name for calendar year 2018 to verify their accuracy. For information on how to view and dispute records, see the Physician Payment Sunshine Act on the Compliance intranet page.


Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar

Research Seminars

Cancer Immunotherapy: “Cell-based Immunotherapy for Cancer” is the topic of a lecture by Dr. Steven Rosenberg, chief of the surgery branch and senior investigator of the Head Tumor Immunology Section at the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research, at 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 14, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. The lecture is sponsored by the Diana Helis Henry and Adrienne Helis Malvin Medical Research Foundations.

Reproducible Research: The Gulf Coast Consortia offers its Rigor and Reproducibility Workshop, focusing on research topics including data analysis, experimental design, resource sharing, publication and reporting, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Wednesday, May 15, at the Rice University Bioscience Research Collaborative. Free online registration is available.

Research Resources

Advanced Core Labs: The Cell-Based Assay Screening Services Advanced Technology Core has acquired a genome-wide lentivirus-based CRISPR gRNA library (human). For specific information regarding the gRNA and its other shRNA and cDNA libraries, and to inquire about CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing services, please contact core director Dr. Dan Liu or visit the website.

From the Labs: Read how Dr. Zhandong Liu, associate professor of pediatrics and neurology, developed a new CRISPR data analytical tool for easier identification of genes involved in particular diseases in this blog 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.


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