News for BCM Faculty, Nov. 21, 2019
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Art Show: The annual College Art Show is open through Friday, Nov. 22, at the second-floor lobby of the Alkek Building, main Baylor. View original artwork by members of the Baylor community, then bid online to purchase it. Artists contribute at least 40% of their proceeds to the Arts in Medicine program at Texas Children’s Hospital. Pictured is President Paul Klotman with one of the photographs he submitted to the show.

Highly Cited: A number of Baylor College of Medicine physicians and scientists from a range of specialties have been named to the Highly Cited Researchers 2019 list by the Web of Science Group. Highly Cited Researchers are those whose publications are frequently referenced by their peers, demonstrating significant research influence. Eleven Baylor faculty members were recognized: Dr. Christie M. Ballantyne, professor of medicine; Dr. Biykem Bozkurt, professor of medicine; Dr. Malcolm K. Brenner, professor in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center; Dr. Chad J. Creighton, associate professor of medicine and DLDCCC member; Dr. Hashem B. El-Serag, professor and chair of medicine and DLDCCC member; Dr. Richard A. Gibbs, professor and director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center and DLDCCC member; Dr. Joseph Jankovic, professor of neurology and director of the Parkinson’s Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic; Dr. Erez Leiberman Aiden, assistant professor of molecular & human genetics and DLDCCC member; Dr. Joseph F. Petrosino, chair and professor of virology & microbiology and DLDCCC member; Dr. Cliona M. Rooney, professor in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy and DLDCCC member; and Dr. David A. Wheeler, professor of molecular & human genetics and DLDCCC member.

Faculty Kudos

Dr. Trevor Bibler, assistant professor of medicine in the Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy, discusses the science of hoping for a miracle in “For Heaven’s Sake,” the last episode of the inaugural season of Body of Work. If you’ve liked the podcast where Baylor scientists and physicians explore the impact of hot button issues on healthcare, research, community and education, be sure to subscribe, give us a five-star review and tell your friends to listen!.

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, was honored with the Ronald McDonald House Charities Medical Award of Excellence earlier this month during a ceremony at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. The award recognizes individuals for their leadership and contributions to improving the critical needs of children and their families throughout the world.

Children's Cancer Cause honored Dr. David Poplack, professor of pediatrics - hematology & oncology and director of the Global HOPE program at Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, with the $10,000 Leonard M. Rosen Memorial Research Award in recognition and support of his life-saving work around the world.

The Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees at its Nov. 20 meeting appointed Dr. Carolyn Smith dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Smith, a professor of molecular & cellular biology, came to the College in 1991 as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Bert O’Malley’s lab. She previously served as interim dean of the GSBS and was instrumental in its reorganization and reaccreditation.

Dr. Teri Turner, professor of pediatrics, has been named president-elect of the Academic Pediatric Association, an organization dedicated to child health professionals engaged in research, advocacy, improvement science and educational scholarship. She is the director of the Center for Research.

Dr. Laila Woc-Colburn, associate professor of infectious diseases and chair of the Faculty Senate, recently led a panel discussion on women in medicine at the Reach for the Stars STEM Festival at Rice University. The event for middle-school girls included activities and workshops coordinated by the Translational Research Institute for Space Health and the Center for Space Medicine. Read about it and all the latest news in the November issue of BCM Family.

College Events

Thanksgiving: In observation of the holiday, the College will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, and resume operations on Friday, Nov. 29. Faculty Commons will next publish on Thursday, Dec. 5.

Student Research Day: Physician assistant and orthotics and prosthetics students present their posters at the J. David Holcomb Health Professions Student Research Day, 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Rayzor Lounge, main Baylor.

Faculty Town Hall: The Faculty Town Hall starts at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Cullen Auditorium or via Zoom. The agenda includes a Strategic Plan update from President Paul Klotman, a Research Mission report by Dean Mary Dickinson, a Faculty Senate update from Dr. Laila Woc-Colburn, and a vote on revisions to the Faculty Bylaws.

Commencement: The School of Health Professions graduates physician assistant, doctor of nursing practice and orthotics and prosthetics students at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at Stafford Centre, 10505 Cash Road. Carl Fasser, professor and founding director of the Physician Assistant Program, is the commencement speaker.

Faculty Resources

Flu Shots: Saturday, Nov. 30, is the deadline to attest that you have gotten your flu vaccination and allow that information to be shared with affiliate hospitals and BCM BeWell. The Occupational Health Program offers flu shots from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22, in Alkek Lobby, main Baylor; check the OHP calendar for additional places and times.

Educator Workshop: Learn how to facilitate and engage small groups with “Leading Small Groups,” 3-5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, in Room N311, main Baylor. RSVP to attend.

Professionalism: “Transforming Professionalism Using the Principles of Relational Coordination” is the topic of two talks by Dr. Judy Hoffer Gittell, executive director of the Relational Coordination Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, sponsored by the Department of Medicine, Office of Professionalism and Academy of Distinguished Educators:

• Medicine Grand Rounds - 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in Room M112.
• Professionalism Support Series - 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 5, in Room 201A.

Faculty Opportunities

Robertson Award: Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Barbara and Corbin J. Robertson, Jr. Presidential Award for Excellence in Education. The criteria and review process recently have been updated to select and reward the most outstanding educators at Baylor as they educate the next generation for medical research, education and care. Please see the website for full details and submit your nominations by Dec. 13.

Clark Service Award: The Office of Faculty Development is accepting nominations for the Clark Faculty Service Award through Dec. 16. Any Baylor faculty member may nominate a fellow faculty member whose exemplary service, with professionalism, has made significant and enduring contributions to the College but has not previously been recognized with an official BCM award. Criteria and nomination information are available online.

Health Disparities: PLOS ONE Health Inequities and Disparities Research has issued a call for papers using an interdisciplinary approach to inform local, national and international initiatives to reduce and eliminate health disparities. The submission deadline is Jan. 21. Learn more online.

Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Events

Clinical Seminars

Ethics Grand Rounds: Dr. Andrew Childress, assistant professor in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, discusses “Medical Futility and Requests for Potentially Inappropriate Treatment” at 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 2, in the Cooley Auditorium at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, or via Zoom.

Surgery Grand Rounds: Dr. David B. Hoyt, executive director of the American College of Surgeons, speaks on "Damage Control Resuscitation: History and Current Status" at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, in N315, main Baylor or via Zoom.

Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar

Research Seminars

Environmental Health: Dr. Karyn Frick, professor of psychology at The Johns Hopkins University, speaks on “Estrogenic regulation of memory consolidation: Neural mechanisms and implications for Alzheimer’s disease” at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Room N315, main Baylor.

Biophysics: The Gulf Coast Consortia hosts the inaugural conference of its new Cellular and Molecular Biophysics Cluster with guest speakers Dr. Elizabeth Goldsmith of University of Texas Southwestern, Dr. Wayne Hendrickson, Columbia, and Dr. Grant Jensen, California Institute of Technology, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, at Rice University’s BioScience Research Collaborative. Register online to attend.

Regenerative Medicine: Dr. Mathijs Sanders of the Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands, discusses “Somatic mutations in normal tissues: from DNA repair proficiency to deficiency” at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Room M112, main Baylor.

Cancer: “Transcription Factor/Chromatin Interactions: Integrating Genome Wide and Real Time Dynamic Datasets” is the topic of a lecture by Dr. Gordon Hager of the Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression at the National Cancer Institute, 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4, in Room M112, main Baylor.

Research Resources

The Brain Research Foundation 2020 Fay/Frank Seed Grant Program will accept one institutional nomination from the College to support junior faculty working in new research directions in the field of neuroscience. Full-time assistant and associate professors are eligible to compete for the two-year, $80,000 grant. Submit your letter of intent, along with an NIH biosketch, research summary and letter of support to the BCM online submission portal by 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 25.

CPRIT Core Grants: The CPRIT Cancer Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility is offering small pilot grant opportunities to use toward core support services in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, antibody-based reverse phase protein array targeted proteomics, mass spectrometry-based proteomics and multi-omics data analysis. Cancer-relevant research projects are eligible with a priority for junior faculty research and funding need. See Faculty Opportunities for more information and the application form, due by Friday, Dec. 6.

From the Labs: Read how Dr. Chad Creighton, associate professor of medicine and co-director of Cancer Bioinformatics at the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, found that rearranging genomic structure rewires gene control in cancer 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.

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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