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Faculty Commons, Oct. 5 - 11, 2017 Archive / Faculty Affairs / Today at BCM / Employee Discounts |
All Faculty College News 
Honoring Dr. William T. Butler: More than 300 colleagues, family and friends of the chancellor emeritus and former president of Baylor College of Medicine gathered in Cullen Auditorium Tuesday evening to honor his memory. The service included tributes from Dr. Robert Couch, professor emeritus of virology and microbiology, Dr. James Phillips, senior associate dean for diversity and community outreach, Diane Ware, former archives director, Marc Shapiro, former chair of the Board of Trustees, and Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean. Pictured are Dr. Daniel Musher, distinguished service professor of medicine – infectious disease, and Dr. Benjamin Musher, associate professor of medicine – hematology and oncology, who formed a quartet that played before the service.
Radiology Affiliation: The College and Radiology Partners have announced a new affiliation to provide services at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, as well as at Catholic Health Initiatives network hospitals and community hospitals throughout Southeast Texas. With the affiliation, the Department of Radiology adds a new organizational unit, Baylor Radiologists: A Radiology Partners Affiliated Practice, comprising 32 radiologists. By affiliating with Radiology Partners, the largest physician-led radiology practice in the U.S., the College gains access to important technology and clinical-operations capabilities, with significant new opportunities in research and education. Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials: The College has been selected as a site for the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network, joining an elite group of top institutions conducting clinical research with the support of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Canadian Institutes of Health. Dr. Todd Rosengart, the DeBakey-Bard Chair of Surgery, will lead cardiac surgeons from Baylor and the Texas Heart Institute in a randomized trial to study whether it is effective to repair the tricuspid valve in the heart when it is leaking as a result of mitral valve disease. Innovation is a Core Value: Baylor College of Medicine was ranked No. 44 on Reuters’ annual list of the most innovative colleges in the world. The College was praised for its biotech and pharmaceutical patents. Annual Report: The College’s 2017 Annual Report highlights accomplishments from major awards, discoveries and commercialization efforts to advanced initiatives, expanded diversity programs, more faculty development offerings and new clinical space on our developing McNair Campus. It is now available online. Celebrate PAs: The College recognizes the importance of Physician Assistants during National PA Week, Oct. 6 - 12. Baylor employs more than 116 PAs and our PA Program has graduated a total of 2,404 professionals. Be sure to express your appreciation to our PAs for their contributions to the health of our community. Faculty Kudos
College Events Diversity & Inclusion Week wraps up with Dr. Chester Brown, professor and St. Jude Chair of Excellence in Genetics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, speaking on “Leading to Promote Inclusion in a Diverse Work and Training Environment,” from noon to 1:30 p.m. today, Oct. 5, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. Benefits Fairs: The open enrollment period for faculty and staff benefits begins Monday, Oct. 9, and runs through Oct. 23. Your packet should arrive in the mail this week. Attend a meeting to talk directly with Human Resources staff or visit a Benefits Fair to learn about products, resources and services available to you:
DocTalk: Dr. Pedro Piedra, professor of virology and microbiology, discusses influenza at noon Thursday, Oct. 12, in Cullen Auditorium, main Baylor. Profiles in Professionalism: Dr. Lolita (Maria) Alkureishi and Dr. Wei Wei Lee, from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, discuss using the EMR to improve communication and the physician-patient experience in two sessions sponsored by the Center for Professionalism in Medicine on Thursday, Oct. 12:
Faculty Opportunities PA Program Director: Seeking a dynamic program innovator to grow and direct all aspects of the program in collaboration with other high-performing health professions programs and the School of Medicine. Certification as a physician assistant, a record of administrative and scholarly achievement, excellent teaching skills, and extensive clinical experience are required. A doctoral degree and primary care focus are preferred. Protected time will be provided for clinical practice. The targeted start date is summer 2018. Questions may be directed to Dr. Robert McLaughlin, dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences. Interested individuals may apply online. Faculty Resources Early and Mid-Career Advancement: The Career Advancement Series offers professional development opportunities in three categories for assistant professors, associate professors and individuals seeking to participate in an assistant professor women’s faculty group. More information and application instructions are available on the Institutional Diversity, Inclusion and Equity website. Deadline for applications is Sunday, Oct. 15. Retirement Plan Relief: The Benefits Administrative Committee has approved changes to the retirement plans offered by the College so that employees can take a loan or a hardship withdrawal on their vested retirement funds. Baylor will adopt several relief options for financial assistance approved by the Internal Revenue Service to help alleviate hardships caused by Hurricane Harvey. This retirement plan relief is available through Jan. 31, 2018, to help you if you need financial assistance as a result of the storm. Find more details online. Please email ask-retirement@bcm.edu with questions. Good to Hear: If you have UnitedHealthcare insurance through the College, you are covered for hearing aids and related supplies, up to $2,500 per calendar year. Participants are limited to a pair of hearing aids (one per ear) every 24 months. For more information about your hearing aid benefits, log into your MyUHC account to view your “coverage & benefits” for “medical equipment.” To learn more about hearing aid services at BCM, visit the website or e-mail ears@bcm.edu. For a Good Cause Diversity & Inclusion Drive: Give infant items and school supplies to benefit Houston Diaper Bank, Casa De Esperanza and Baylor-affiliated elementary and middle schools through Friday, Oct. 6, at collection bins around campus. See the list of items needed and bin locations online. BCM Wellness 5K: The sixth annual race/walk benefiting student wellness initiatives is Oct. 21 in the Texas Medical Center. This is a timed event, and runners can join as individuals or teams. There are lots of fun race-day activities and child care. T-shirts are included with adult registration and the first 50 kids signed up for the 1K event get a free T-shirt. Register online. Participants also can join the BCM Wellness fundraising team by creating a Reason2Race donation page and sharing it with friends and family for their support. Heart Walk: Join Baylor’s Ace of Hearts team for the 2017 American Heart Association Heart Walk on Oct. 28. The 5K event starts at 8 a.m. in the Texas Medical Center. Event-day details, including parking and other frequently asked questions, can be found online. For more information, please email wellness@bcm.edu. Get Your Rear in Gear: Help raise awareness about colorectal cancer, the second deadliest cancer killer, with the Colon Cancer Coalition’s race on Nov. 4. Survivors, caregivers, family, friends and the medical community will come together and work to educate our community about this largely preventable cancer. Events include a timed 5K run, 5K walk and kids’ fun run. Register online for the Baylor Booty Shakers team Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Calendar Call for Applications Health Equity: The Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research seeks clinical fellows and junior faculty from underrepresented minority backgrounds to receive didactic, experiential and research instruction, personalized mentoring and compensation as COE Scholars during this academic year. Applicants should demonstrate commitment to promoting social justice and health equities and leadership in addressing educational, societal and healthcare needs of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. Additional information and the application requirements are on the center’s website. The deadline to apply is Sunday, Oct. 15. Clinical Conferences Metastatic Breast Cancer: Dr. Charles Perou, the May Goldman Shaw Distinguished Professor of Molecular Oncology at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, will give the keynote talk at this annual medical conference that provides an update on the basic science, clinical advances and survivorship issues that relate to metastatic breast cancer. The conference is set for Thursday and Friday, Oct. 12 - 13, in Onstead Auditorium, 6767 Bertner Ave. Registration information is online. Anatomic Pathology: Registration is open for the All-City Anatomic Pathology Symposium Oct. 19 - 21, sponsored by the Department of Pathology and Immunology. Target audience includes medical, graduate and allied health students, residents and fellows and other healthcare professionals such as histotechnologists. More than 20 speakers from BCM and other institutions will present at the symposium. Registration is free for BCM students and staff. This event may offer up to 20 ASCP CME credits for non-physicians. Suicide Prevention: Dr. John Oldham, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the Barbara and Corbin Robertson Jr. Endowed Chair for Personality Disorders, is the activity director for this Advances in Clinical Psychiatry 2017 CME activity scheduled for Oct. 20 in Conference Rooms A & B, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center McNair Campus. Register online by Sunday, Oct. 15. Diabetes Symposium: Registration is open for the 13th Annual Diabetes Symposium: Diabetes for Primary Care in 2017, to be held Oct. 21 - 22 at Cooley Auditorium, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center Texas Medical Center. Chaired by Dr. Mandeep Bajaj, professor of medicine – endocrinology, this symposium will feature Dr. Ralph DeFronzo, UT Health Science Center San Antonio, Dr. Osama Hamdy, Harvard Medical School and Joslin Diabetes Center, Dr. Guillermo Umpierrez, Emory University, and Dr. Sam Dagogo-Jack, University of Tennessee, as well as Baylor and Baylor St. Luke’s faculty. CME credits are available. Register online. Women's Health and Fetal Medicine: Contemporary updates, controversies and collaborations in perinatal medicine, maternal-fetal surgical intervention, minimally invasive surgery, infectious diseases, prenatal genetics, reproductive psychiatry and medical ethics are among the topics for this conference set for Nov. 10 - 11 at the Hyatt Regency Houston Galleria. Register online by Nov. 5. Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar Call for Applications Genomic Research at NASA: The Translational Research Institute at Baylor is offering a visiting scientist opportunity for an individual specializing in “omics.” This visiting scientist will work at NASA Johnson Space Center for 6 to 12 months to assist in developing NASA research plans involving “omics” and also have the opportunity to perform some independent research. Find more information online. Research Resources Research Mentor Training: Faculty research mentors are invited to attend a four-hour workshop focused on skill-building activities in four mentoring competencies: Aligning expectations, maintaining effective communications, fostering independence and resilience and promoting professional development. The workshop curriculum is based on materials generated by the NIH-funded National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) but will be tailored to research mentors at the College. The workshop is set for 1 - 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12. If you would like to attend, please contact Dr. Anna Marie Sokac, an NRMN master facilitator. Core for Advanced MRI: This Advanced Technology Core lab provides technology and services for imaging studies of the function, physiology and anatomy of humans and large animals, with a special emphasis on blood-oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the human brain. CAMRI houses two Siemens MRI scanners (3 tesla field strength). A full complement of product pulse sequences is available for high resolution structural imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, fMRI, Arterial Spin Labeling and single and multi-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy. For functional studies, equipment is available for stimulation of the auditory, visual, somatosensory and gustatory modalities, for infrared eye tracking of subject eye position, and for manual and vocal response recording. For more information about any of the cores visit the ATC website. From the Labs: Read how Dr. Michael Wangler’s patient-inspired research identified a connection between sugar metabolism and peroxisomes in this week’s issue. Wangler, an assistant professor of genetics, worked with Dr. Hugo Bellen, professor, March of Dimes Chair in Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. You can receive weekly articles on research at Baylor as they are posted in our newsletter by going to From the Labs and entering your email address in the 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 October. 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
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VA Quality Scholars: Houston Coordinating Center members Drs. Aanand Naik, Kyler Godwin, Jane Anderson, Molly Horstman, Sylvia Hysong and LeChauncy Woodard, faculty in the Department of Medicine, Section of Health Services Research, hosted a successful VA Quality Scholars Summer Institute Conference in August. About 100 attendees from nine sites in the United States and Canada heard plenary speakers Dr. Troyen Brennan, executive vice president and chief medical officer of CVS Health, and Dr. Malaz Boustani, founding director and chief innovation and implementation officer of the Center for Health Innovation & Implementation Science at Indiana University. Medicine’s Vice Chair Group for Quality Improvement and Innovation sponsored a reception following a poster session (pictured) that highlighted quality and safety scholarship.
Dr. Donna Bloodworth, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, was the invited plenary speaker at the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine Conference. Her topic was “Beyond the Poppy: SNRIs and Calcium Channel Modulators in the Garden Grow.”
Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, professor and associate dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, was recognized by the National Congress of Honduras for her outstanding academic work and scientific research in tropical medicine. She received a gold medal in a plenary session ceremony.
Dr. Robert McLaughlin, dean of the School of Allied Health Sciences, was elected president-elect for the Texas Society for Allied Health Professionals (TSAHP) during its recent annual conference in Houston. Currently chair of the TSAHP Research Committee, McLaughlin will serve as president of the professional organization during the 2018-19 academic year. 
Dr. Matthew Rasband, professor and Vivian L. Smith Endowed Chair in Neuroscience, and Dr. Elior Peles, professor of molecular cell biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, have been named recipients of the Neufeld Memorial Research Award by the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation. Their project involves a complex study of nodes of Ranvier, also known as myelin-sheath gaps, that could lead to advances in treatment for several neurological diseases. 
Dr. David Young, professor of pediatrics – anesthesiology, is featured in this week’s Meet Your Senator article on the 
