E-mail not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Faculty Commons Banner

News for BCM Faculty, Oct. 21, 2021
Please submit items for Faculty Commons to the Communications Office.

Archive / Faculty Affairs / Today at BCM / Employee Discounts


College News

image

Congratulations to Dr. Helen Heslop, director of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and interim director of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Election to the NAM is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Learn more.

Academic Council Update:

Dr. Paul Klotman, president, CEO and executive dean, welcomed Dr. Catherine Gordon to Baylor. Gordon is the new chair of the Department of Pediatrics and pediatrician-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital. Read more about Gordon in the Houston Chronicle.

Baylor's Gathering Guidance has been updated; now eating and drinking at College events in classrooms and auditoriums are permitted. Off-site College events are also permitted without prior approval if safety protocols are followed.

Baylor's COVID vaccine and flu vaccine policies have been combined. Flu vaccines can be obtained at locations in the community or at BCM through use of the flu app. Exemptions are available, and progressive discipline for those who do not complete vaccination and attestation or who are not approved for exemption, will follow the same COVID vaccine procedure. Read more about flu attestation.

Kimberly David, senior vice president and chief business officer, Rock Morille, vice president of facilities and Stephanie Young, senior vice president of institutional advancement, discussed the planned Health Sciences Building, to be located on the McNair Campus next to the Jamail Specialty Care Building. Phase 1 will include a parking garage, Health Sciences Tower and Commons Building. Institutional Advancement has a goal of achieving $122 million in commitments by December 2022.

Administrative Updates:

  • Jamie Bailey, interim CFO, has been appointed Chief Financial Officer.
  • Dr. Jennifer Christner, dean of the School of Medicine, has been promoted to senior dean of the School of Medicine and School of Health Professions. She will now also manage the simulation core and anatomy core.
  • Dr. Joe Petrosino, chair of virology & microbiology, has been appointed to the newly created position of chief scientific innovation officer.
  • Dr. Fidaa Shaib, associate professor of medicine, has been named chief medical officer for the Baylor Medicine practice.
  • Toni Gray, Title IX officer, is now a part of the Office of Human Resources.
  • Dr. Nancy Moreno, chair of the Department of Education, Innovation and Technology now manages the education and innovation core.

Faculty Kudos

Dr. C. Thomas Caskey, professor of molecular and human genetics, was awarded the William Allan Award by the American Society of Human Genetics. The award recognizes substantial and far-reaching scientific contributions to human genetics and was at the ASHG Virtual Meeting. See Caskey's acceptance speech and learn more about his work and the award.

Dr. Rayne Rouce, assistant professor of pediatric hematology and oncology, has joined the Board of Directors of Be The Match, a global leader in bone marrow transplantation for patients with life-threatening blood cancers.

Dr. Ourania Preventza, professor of surgery, served as the guest editor of the journal Annals of Cardiothoracic Surgery for its focus issue on transcatheter valve-in-valve. The issue includes keynote lectures, featured articles, operative techniques, editorials and videos. The focus issue currently is available online.

An international team led by Dr. Yingbin Fu, Sarah Campbell Blaffer Endowed Chair and associate professor of ophthalmology, received a five-year, more than $4 million grant from the National Eye Institute's Audacious Goals Initiative to advance regenerative cell replacement therapy for blinding eye diseases.

Dr. Ellen Friedman, professor of otolaryngology and director of the Center for Professionalism, delivered the Cotton-Fitton Endowed Lecture in Pediatric Otolaryngology at the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation Annual Meeting & Otolaryngology Experience. Her talk, "What You See Depends on Where You Stand," was a discussion of gender issues in otolaryngology.

Faculty Opportunities

Faculty associate dean positions available: Baylor's School of Medicine is expanding to Temple, Texas. Two faculty associate dean positions offer an opportunity for current Baylor College of Medicine faculty members to introduce the Baylor culture to the College's first regional campus in Temple, which is scheduled to welcome its incoming class in summer 2023. See the positions on the Faculty Opportunities page.

Mental health webinar: Learn about common mental health concerns among children, teens and adults and how to address them in a pre-recorded webinar presented by Baylor faculty in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Join Oct. 25 from noon – 1p.m. Register online or contact Ashley Siverand at Siverand@bcm.edu.

Virtual breast cancer event: The Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center is hosting a virtual Breast Cancer Awareness and Risk Prevention discussion on Thursday Oct. 28, at 5:30 p.m. Breast imaging radiologist Dr. Quan Nguyen, medical oncologist Dr. Julie Nangia and genetic counselor Georgiann Garza will join the panel, along with a representative from the American Cancer Society. Join via Zoom. Dial in: 877-369-0926 Meeting ID: 934 9947 0310 Password: 24814

Research symposium: Join the third UH-BCM Virtual Symposium, Friday, Oct. 29, 2 – 4:30 p.m. The event will feature short presentations from the nine research groups that received Collaborative Pilot Grants last summer from the University of Houston and Baylor College of Medicine. BCM and UH vice presidents of research, Dr. Mary Dickinson and Dr. Amr Elnashai, will provide opening remarks, followed by 15-minute presentations from each group. See agenda and register.

Interview asylum seekers: The BCM Student Chapter of Physician for Human Rights invites you to a virtual training to conduct medical & psychological forensic examinations for individuals seeking asylum. The BCM Human Rights and Asylum Clinic training will take place on Nov. 13, 9 am – 3pm. Participants can sign up online, and the Zoom link will be emailed out to registered participants. Questions? Contact phr.bcm@gmail.com.

Faculty award deadlines: Be sure to review the following award opportunities and deadline reminders. Follow the links for more information.


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

facebook icon facebook icon twitter icon youtube icon linkedin icon Instagram icon