Faculty Commons, June 28 - July 4, 2018
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College News

Surgical Skills Olympics: The Simulation Center was the site of the fifth annual Surgical Skills Olympics for general surgery residents to demonstrate their dexterity, skill and speed as individuals and in teams. Pictured is Dr. M. Andrew Davis, assistant professor of surgery, going over some rules before the start of the timed portion of the event. Photo courtesy of Scott Holmes, Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery.

Faculty Senate Elections: In the last round of annual voting, senators have elected two colleagues to serve as officers in the Faculty Senate. Dr. Kim Worley, senator for the Human Genome Sequencing Center, will represent the basic sciences faculty, and Dr. Manisha Gandhi, senator for obstetrics & gynecology, will represent the clinical sciences faculty alongside the chair, chair elect, secretary and past chair on the Senate’s Committee on Committees. Their two-year terms begin July 1.

Congratulations TCH: Our affiliate Texas Children’s Hospital ranks No. 4 in the U.S. News & World Report 2018-19 edition of Best Children’s Hospitals. It is nationally ranked in 10 pediatric specialties, including No. 1 for cardiology and heart surgery and pulmonology. TCH nephrology, neurology, urology and gastroenterology services all rank in the top 5.

Fourth of July: The College will be closed Wednesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.

Policy Updates: The BCM Board of Trustees approved several new and revised policies during the second quarter of 2018, including: 23.2.01 – Respectful & Professional Learning Environment Policy: Standards for Student Conduct and College Oversight; 23.1.10 – Distance Learning Policy; 23.1.06 – Student Records Policy; 23.1.01 – Admissions Records Policy; 08.4.05 - Record Retention Policy; 01.2.01 - Establishment and Operation of Institutional & School Committees; 14.2.02 - Service Centers Policy; 12.1.15 - Physical Security Policy; 31.3.07 – Teaching Physician Rules: Evaluation & Management Services; 31.4.14 – Uses & Disclosures of PHI: Limited Data Sets and Data Use Agreements; and 31.4.23 – Non-Employee Access to Epic. Additionally, at the request of senior administrators and with the approval of the appropriate functional unit leader, six other policies were modified to clarify minor ambiguities, correct inaccuracies and delete obsolete information. Please consult Policy Updates for June 19, 2018, for more information.

Faculty Kudos

Dr. Erik Antonsen, assistant professor of emergency medicine in the Center for Space Medicine, was the recipient of the 2018 Joseph Kerwin Award in recognition of his work to advance the understanding of human physiology during spaceflight. The award, presented last month in Dallas at the Aerospace Medical Association Annual Scientific Meeting, honors former astronaut Joe Kerwin and salutes innovation in the practice of space medicine.

Dr. Helen Dunnington, assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology, is featured in this week’s Meet Your Senator article on the faculty intranet portal. She represents the faculty at large on the Senate.

Dr. Michael Kauth, professor of psychiatry & behavioral Sciences, will receive the 2018 GLMA Achievement Award at the annual conference of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, the world's largest and oldest association of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender healthcare professionals. GLMA’s Achievement Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the LGBTQ community for improving the quality of health services for LGBTQ people, improving the environment for LGBTQ healthcare workers and contributing significantly to gains made by the LGBTQ civil rights movement.

Dr. Zhandong Liu, assistant professor of pediatrics – neurology, received a Distinguished Service Award from the International Association for Intelligent Biology and Medicine. Liu, who conducts research at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, was recognized for his service and contributions to the field of computational biology and for his leadership of the organization's annual conference.

College Events

Faculty Town Hall: President Paul Klotman invites all faculty members to join him for a town hall meeting at 5:30 p.m. today, June 28, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. The agenda includes administration and mission leader updates plus a "Finance 101" presentation on funding sources for academic medicine – and the College. The meeting is available on Zoom and can be seen online the following week.

Faculty Opportunities

Educational Scholarship: The annual Academy of Distinguished Educators Showcase of Educational Scholarship is Baylor's premier venue for highlighting scholarship within medical education, using a peer-reviewed format. This year the showcase is set for noon to 3 p.m. Sept. 21 in Rayzor Lounge, main Baylor. All Baylor faculty members are eligible to submit abstracts. The deadline is 5 p.m. Aug. 1. For more information or to apply, please go online.

Faculty Resources

Women in Science: The Association for Women in Science Gulf Coast Houston hosts its monthly networking event from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 3, at Mongoose versus Cobra, 1011 McGowen St. The first Tuesday of each month is your time to network with other women in the sciences and discuss workshops and career development opportunities. Information and registration are online.

Faculty Leadership Course: Human Resources offers a one-day "Leading through Influence" course on July 12 at O’Quinn Medical Tower, 6624 Fannin. Designed to empower faculty members with techniques on hiring, conflict resolution and employee morale, the course includes Insights Discovery, a program for understanding working styles and interactions. Register online. For additional information, contact Tomeka Johnson.

Faculty Portfolio: The Office of Faculty Development presents "An Introduction to Portfolios for Academic Promotion and Awards," 1 – 3 p.m. July 13 in Room N317, main Baylor. Dr. Geeta Singhal, associate professor of pediatrics, Dr. Susan Raine, associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology, and Dr. Nancy Weigel, professor of molecular & cellular biology, give tips and strategies for preparing a clinical or educational portfolio. RSVP to Debbie Fernandez to attend.

For a Good Cause

Healthy Dads & Kids: Latino fathers with children ages 5 – 11 are needed to answer an online questionnaire about their interactions with their child to promote physical activity and eating behaviors with the Children's Nutrition Research Center. Compensation is provided. If interested, email healthydads@bcm.edu about the Fathers Study, or complete the online survey.

Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Calendar

Clinical Event

Breast Cancer Conversations: Dr. Matthew Ellis, professor, McNair Scholar and director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center, hosts a community forum on "Treatments in Breast Cancer: What’s New?" The event begins at 5:30 p.m. July 19 at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center McNair Campus. Free registration is available online.

Clinical Seminars

Breast Cancer Summit: OncLive State of the Science Summit: Breast Cancer will present the latest research for healthcare professionals from 5 to 9 p.m. July 11 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Houston Greenway Plaza. The summit is sponsored by Baylor's Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center and co-chaired by Dr. Matthew Ellis, professor, McNair Scholar and director of the Lester and Sue Smith Breast Center. Register online or by emailing kcollins@curetoday.com.

Hernia Symposium: The Multidisciplinary Management of Complex Hernias symposium is Sept. 15 at the McNair Campus. Lectures focus on complex open and minimally invasive abdominal wall reconstruction techniques, reconstructions in the setting of infection, inguinal hernia repairs, and setting up a hernia center. CME credit is available. Register online.

DFCon2018: The 18th annual interdisciplinary diabetic foot conference is set for Oct. 11 – 13 at the Royal Sonesta Galleria. The continuing education course is designed for the wide spectrum of generalists and specialists who diagnose and manage the diabetic foot. Didactic talks, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, specialty symposia and workshops will delve into diagnostic and interventional strategies for diabetic foot ulcers and amputation prevention. Information and registration details are online.

Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar

Call for Applications

Space Postdoc: Baylor's Transitional Research Institute for Space Health, TRISH, is seeking applications for a two-year postdoctoral fellowship focused on finding solutions to space health issues defined by NASA's Human Research Program. Applications are encouraged from those performing research on terrestrial human health and performance, which may be adapted for use in space, and research that involves bioinformatics, big data analysis, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and image processing. The proposal deadline is July 31. Download the full description.

Research Resources

Data Science Boot Camp: Rice University offers a week-long course Aug. 6 – 10 to get you up to speed on skills required to start leveraging the latest data analytics tools. Participants should have some previous exposure to basic probability, statistics, linear regression, matrix and vector notation, as well as some familiarity with R and Python programming languages. For more information and registration, please go online.

From the Labs: Read what Dr. Jochen Meyer, instructor of neurology and neuroscience, has learned about absence epilepsy – when the brain is like "an orchestra without a conductor" – in this article from the blog. 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 July.

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.

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