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News for BCM Faculty, Dec. 3, 2020 Archive / Faculty Affairs / Today at BCM / Employee Discounts |
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All Faculty College News 
From the Labs: December’s image of the month is a cross section of a uterus from a 3-week-old mouse. Smooth muscle actin, a myometrial marker, appears in red and cytokeratin 8, an epithelial marker, in green. Nuclei are stained with DAPI. Image courtesy of Dr. Diana Monsivais, assistant professor of pathology & immunology. COVID-19 Trials: Baylor College of Medicine is seeking volunteers to participate in two clinical trials to determine if convalescent blood plasma therapy can effectively be used to treat people in the early stages of COVID-19 illness or prevent the infection in those who have had a high risk exposure to the virus at their homes or jobs. For more information, visit the website or call 888-506-1199.
Faculty Kudos Institutional Committees Results: The Office of the President and the ad hoc Committee on Institutional Committees have announced the seven winners of the inaugural Institutional Committee At-Large Faculty Elections. In 2021, additional institutional committees will open their membership to at-large faculty, providing more opportunities to self-nominate for service on these important, College-wide committees. Health Disparity Grants: The College has awarded its first round of grants for research projects on racial health disparities and social determinants of health in support of its position statement “Strengthening Our Commitment to Racial Justice to Improve Public Health.” The Office of the President garnered 46 proposals, from which eight were selected for one-year grants totaling $250,000. Projects will be showcased at the annual Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research Summit. The funded proposals are: College (Virtual) Events Graduation Events: The School of Health Professions celebrates the class of 2020 with a Virtual Commencement at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, via YouTube. Thoracon: The Advanced Lung Disease – Novel Therapies and Controversies Conference provides engaging state-of-the-art multidisciplinary lectures focused on the causes, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases of the lungs Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5-6, via webcast. Register to attend and earn CME credit. Red Risk School: The Translational Research Institute for Space Health presents a webinar series exploring human health risks in deep space – NASA’s Red Risks at 11 a.m. daily during the week of Dec. 7-11. See the website for topics and login instructions. Evenings with Genetics: Dr. Rohini Coorg, assistant professor of pediatrics – neurology, provides updates in the care of people with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, online. Register to attend the public program. Bioethics Grand Rounds: Dr. Ezekiel Fink of Houston Methodist Hospital discusses “Health Disparities in Pain Management Care and Research” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 9, via Zoom; to register dial 713-798-9666 and enter event ID: 974 3701 7486. Faculty Opportunities Faculty Awards: The Office of Faculty Development has announced upcoming deadlines for peer-reviewed faculty awards. See the website for more details.
Share Your Joy: 'Tis the season! Snap a photo of your office, lab or clinic ready for the holidays and email it to Anna Kiappes by 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18. Working from home? Send in a photo of your decorated home office! Don't forget to include your names and departments. Photos will be shared on Baylor's social media accounts the week of Dec. 21. Be sure to follow Baylor on social media to see all the great photos. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Faculty Resources Genetics Webinar: Dr. Carlos Bacino, professor of molecular & human genetics, and Laura Buckner of the University of Texas Center for Disability Studies, discuss “Children with Growth Problems: When to Assess for a Genetic Cause” at noon Monday, Dec. 7. Register for the webinar for health professionals. Cancer Seminar: “The Role of SOX2 in Barrett’s Esophagus and Esophageal Adenocarcinoma” is the topic of a talk by Dr. Ramon Jin of Washington University School of Medicine at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 10, via Zoom, meeting ID: 387 923 767, passcode: 831342. UH/BCM Symposium: The nine research groups that received University of Houston/Baylor College of Medicine Collaborative Pilot Grants in March present their findings at a virtual symposium with opening remarks by Dr. Mary Dickinson and Dr. Amir Elnashai, vice presidents for research at Baylor and UH respectively, at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, via Zoom. Register to attend. Advanced Technology Cores are operational and providing almost all the same support services offered prior to the pandemic. This includes scheduling of unassisted access to core instruments by trained/certified users and new training. Cores have developed new policies and procedures for physical distancing, use and provision of PPE, decontamination of instruments and workspaces, drop-off of experimental samples and access to core space by appointment only. Due to these policies, some services are slower than normal, particularly unassisted use of instruments and training. Please contact core directors for current status and procedures specific for each core. Requests for projects may be made through iLabs or the usual LIM/email system for each core. Contact information for each core can be found on the ATC website. CPRIT Survey: The College is submitting a competing renewal of its Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility Grant, which provides support for a wide range of cancer research projects. A crucial component of the application is to document future needs of core users and their cancer-related grants and research projects. If this core facility is of importance to your cancer research, please complete this survey by Friday, Dec. 18. TMC Library Hours: In response to an increase in coronavirus cases, the TMC Library building will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays and keep weekday hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Digital resources and virtual consultations continue to be available. Urgent Care Options: Baylor Medicine's new service, Telehealth 24/7, is ready to handle urgent healthcare needs. Board-certified emergency medicine physicians are available for issues such as allergies, cold and flu, COVID-19, pink eye, skin rash, urinary tract infections and more. Visit the Telehealth 24/7 webpage for more information and instructions on logging in and starting a visit from a desktop, laptop or mobile device. 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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Dr. M. Brooke Bernhardt, assistant professor of pediatrics, and Dr. Emily R. Garnett, assistant professor of pathology & immunology, will serve on the Environmental Safety Committee, overseeing research using hazardous agents. 
Dr. Andrea B. Braun, assistant professor of medicine, Dr. Catherine Joseph, assistant professor of pediatrics, and Dr. Connie Tran, associate professor of anesthesiology and a faculty senator, will serve on the Institutional Policy Committee, where they will opine on new and existing College policies. 
Dr. Richard Finnell, professor of molecular & cellular biology, medicine and genetics and a faculty senator, and Dr. Blesson Chellakkan Selvanesan, assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology, will serve on the Research Conflict of Interest Committee, which promotes research objectivity and transparency. 
“Addressing Social Needs and Behavioral Health Early in the Type 1 Diabetes Course to Mitigate Inequitable Health Outcomes among Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Minority Youth,” led by Dr. Ashley Butler, associate professor of pediatrics; “Perspectives of Mexican Americans about precision medicine for Alzheimer’s disease: Implications for dementia education and outreach,” led by Jamie Fong, CGC, assistant professor of genetics; “Concordance between the race of patients and their care team: overcoming chronic health outcome disparities in primary care,” led by Dr. Sylvia Hysong, associate professor of medicine; and “Transforming the Future of Social Determinants of Health Screening: A Medicaid Pilot Program to Address Food Insecurity,” led by Dr. Keila Lopez, assistant professor of pediatrics. 
Grants also are funding “It Takes a Village: A Project to Reach Mothers in Need,” led by Dr. Lucy Puryear, associate professor of obstetrics & gynecology; “Technological determinants of health: Factors associated with equitable utilization among minority Adolescents and Young Adults receiving sexual health services,” led by Dr. Meghna Sebastian, assistant professor of pediatrics and Allyssa Abacan, Ph.D. candidate; “Utilization of Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography Imaging for Suspected Pulmonary Embolism Based on the Patient's Race and Sex,” led by Dr. Ynhi Thomas, assistant professor of emergency medicine (not pictured); and “Potential Racial Bias During Pediatric Emergencies: A Simulation Study,” led by Dr. Kellie Williams, assistant professor of pediatrics (not pictured).
