News for BCM Faculty, July 30, 2020
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Socially Distant Welcome: The School of Medicine hosted a brief on-campus orientation for its incoming medical students - eight at a time – on July 24. They will join new health professions students and graduate students in taking mostly virtual classes this term as Houston continues to confront the coronavirus pandemic.

Vaccine Volunteers: Baylor College of Medicine’s Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit is one of approximately 90 sites selected to participate in the Phase 3 clinical trial for Moderna’s investigational mRNA-1273 vaccine to evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine at preventing COVID-19 disease. Dr. Hana El Sahly, associate professor of molecular virology & microbiology and medicine, serves as a national co-principal investigator of the trial. For more information on the trial or to volunteer, call 713-798-4912 or email CoVID-vax@bcm.edu.

• Healthcare workers who treat COVID-19 patients still are needed for a clinical trial to determine if an existing TB vaccine may be effective for COVID-19. The BCG vaccine prevents tuberculosis and is one of the oldest vaccines still in clinical use. Researchers at Baylor and four other institutions around the country are working to find out if it also can work against the coronavirus. If interested, email Dr. Andrew DiNardo or Sharon Harrison.

10,000 Tests: The McNair Campus COVID-19 testing site has reached a significant milestone – conducting its 10,000th patient test on July 27. Employees across the College are playing an important role in this response to the pandemic. Read about the program in BCM Family.

U.S. News & World Report: Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center and the College’s affiliates look good in the latest U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals rankings. Baylor St. Luke’s is ranked in five adult specialties – Cardiology and Heart Surgery, No. 17; Neurology and Neurosurgery, No. 21; Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, No. 21; Cancer, No. 27; and – for the first time – Geriatrics, No. 47.

• Nationally, MD Anderson Cancer Center is ranked No. 1 in Cancer Care, Memorial Hermann TIRR is ranked No. 3 in Rehabilitation, and Menninger Clinic is ranked No. 9 in Psychiatric Care. Texas Children’s Hospital is ranked No. 4 in the country on the Children’s Hospitals list and listed on the Honor Roll with high rankings in 10 specialties.
• Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center is ranked No. 2 in Houston and No. 3 in the state, following Houston Methodist and UT Southwestern Medical Center.

Faculty Kudos

Dr. Vaishnav Krishnan, assistant professor of neurology, neuroscience and psychiatry and behavioral sciences, has received a Junior Investigator Award from the American Epilepsy Society for his project, "Neurodevelopmental Consequences of Fetal Anticonvulsant Exposure."

Dr. Nasser Lakkis, professor and chief of cardiology, and his colleagues at Ben Taub Hospital have earned the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 2020 Mission: Lifeline Gold Plus STEMI Receiving Center Achievement Award. The award acknowledges the hospital’s adherence to the most up-to-date, evidence-based treatment guidelines for coronary artery disease and its collaborations with emergency services to improve patient care and outcomes in the community.

Dr. Michael Mancini, professor of molecular & cellular biology, and Dr. Fabio Stossi, associate professor in the department, are collaborating with Dr. Tanmay Lele, a biomedical engineer at Texas A&M University, on a CPRIT-funded study of cancer mechanobiology — the mechanical aspects of biology. computerizing the analysis of nuclear shapes to research the cause of abnormal cancer structures.

Tiffany Rolle, graduate student in the molecular & human genetics program in the lab of Research Dean Mary Dickinson, has been selected for a prestigious science education and engagement fellowship sponsored by the American Society of Human Genetics and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). The fellowship is designed for geneticists interested in developing and implementing genetic and genomic literacy for K-12, undergraduate, postgraduate and professional audiences. She will begin the fellowship this fall at the NHGRI.

Faculty Resources

Research at Phase 2: Weekend access for researchers now is available for the main Baylor campus from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. starting Saturday, Aug. 1. Hours in the lab time bank will be increased so you can schedule shifts on the weekend freely. Weekend hours will no longer count double. All personnel must enter through the Cullen entrance on the weekends and follow the same masking, screening, social distancing and sanitizing rules as on weekdays.

Coronavirus Update: Baylor's infectious diseases team continues to compile weekly newsletter updates of the latest published and pre-print research on COVID-19 from around the world. Each newsletter also includes the latest statistics on local and statewide cases.

AIDS Research: Baylor, the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston and Texas Biomedical Research Institute are jointly applying for a Developmental Center for AIDS Research (D-CFAR). The mission of the D-CFAR is to promote HIV research at the institutions by facilitating collaboration in HIV research, offering pilot funding to all early stage investigators and to established investigators not currently involved in HIV research, and offering core services to researchers. Please take a moment to complete this brief survey to tell the D-CFAR leadership about your research and your needs for core services

Quality & Safety: The Institute for Continuing Professional Development in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety is accepting applications for its fall 2020 QI Jump Start course and for QI Coaches through Sunday, Aug. 9. Application forms and more information are available on the QIPS website.

Kleberg Grants: The Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation seeks highly innovative and groundbreaking medical research proposals in basic and applied research that will have the greatest impact on scientific knowledge and human health. Proposals should be distinctive and novel in their approaches, question the prevailing paradigm, and lead to advancement of knowledge in the field. Grants average $200,000 a year for three years. Baylor may submit one proposal. The internal submission deadline is Aug. 15.

Mentoring Award: The Department of Molecular and Human Genetics is accepting nominations for the Arthur L. Beaudet, M.D. Award for Outstanding Mentorship, endowed by Dr. Huda Zoghbi. All Baylor faculty members who have demonstrated exemplary mentorship, as reflected by the success of trainees, are eligible. Mentorship includes advice, feedback and guidance on research activities and/or patient care, coaching on work-life balance, fostering independence, providing professional opportunities, and assisting in the development of speaking, writing, and teaching skills. Contact Laura Rosales for submission details. The nomination letter, up to five letters of support and a CV are due by Sept. 1.

From the Labs: Read how Dr. Meenakshi Hegde, assistant professor of pediatrics – hematology-oncology, and a multi-institutional team gained new insights into the mediators of patient recovery after CAR T cell immunotherapy in this week’s 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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