News for BCM Faculty, Dec. 6, 2018
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Strategic Plan Events: Faculty members from across the College took part in two Strategic Plan events last week. The Research Synergy Social brought together about 50 basic and clinical science researchers and trainees to network and collaborate. They learned about the Precision Medicine & Population Health RFA that is due Friday, Dec. 14, and heard from a panel of investigators including (pictured, left to right) Dr. Chris Amos, Dr. Christie Ballantyne, Dr. Richard Gibbs and Dr. Andrew Sikora, with Dr. Mary Dickinson as moderator. The Road to a Learning Health System Speaker Series welcomed Dr. Chris Callahan, founding director of the Indiana University Center for Aging Research, who discussed “Population Health: The Space between Inertia and Audacity” and fielded questions from the audience. Next in the series is Dr. Eric Boerwinkle, dean of UTHealth School of Public Health and associate director of BCM’s Human Genome Sequencing Center, speaking at 4 p.m. Jan. 10 in Cullen Auditorium.

FDA Recognizes ClinGen: The database created by the Clinical Genome Resource program (ClinGen) is the first to be recognized by the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration Human Variant Database program. ClinGen, a NIH-funded program, is a resource dedicated to establishing a central database that defines the clinical relevance of genes and variants with the intention of informing precision medicine and research. It was launched in 2013, with Dr. Sharon Plon, professor of pediatrics – oncology and genetics, as principal investigator and Baylor faculty playing key roles in developing and advancing the program.

Time Is Running Out: The StandPoint faculty engagement survey closes Friday, Dec. 14. If you have not yet taken the survey, please search your email (including junk folders) for the link in a message from StandPointSurveys@aamc.org. The confidentiality of your responses is protected by the third-party survey administrator. Only aggregate reports that contain institution-wide information and departmental data from groups with at least five respondents will be shared and answers to open-ended questions will be de-identified and redacted.

Faculty Kudos

Brian Jammer has been named vice president for state government relations, succeeding Tom Kleinworth, who is retiring after 33 years of leading the College’s government relations. Jammer previously served as associate vice chancellor for government relations at University of Texas health-related institutions since 2003.

Nurse Practitioner Kimberly Johnson, assistant professor of medicine – geriatrics, will receive the 2019 American Association of Nurse Practitioners State Award for Excellence for Texas. The award is given to an individual nurse practitioner in each state who has demonstrated excellence in clinical practice. It will be presented at the AANP National Conference in June in Indianapolis.

Dr. Toyin Olutoye, professor and faculty senator, served as editor of the second edition of Clinical Pediatric Anesthesia: A Case-based Handbook along with Dr. Erin Williams, Dr. Catherine Seipel and Dr. Titilopemi Aina, assistant professors of pediatric anesthesiology. Additional Baylor and Texas Children’s Hospital faculty served as chapter editors.

Dr. Russell Ray, assistant professor of neuroscience, molecular physiology & biophysics and biochemistry & molecular biology, is featured in the “Meet Your Senator” profile on the faculty intranet portal. The McNair Scholar represents neuroscience faculty on the Senate.

Dr. Victor M. Rivera, distinguished emeritus professor of neurology, was recognized at the X Latin American Congress of Multiple Sclerosis in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Nov. 23 for his contributions to research and treatment of MS in Latin America. He presided over the Scientific Program and the closing Magisterial Conference was named for him.

Dr. Emily Sedgwick, associate professor of radiology, was named the Press Ganey Physician of the Year at the patient satisfaction tracking company’s annual conference in Orlando. She was honored for her compassionate commitment to the patient experience, including developing and leading the same-day breast biopsy program that has reduced wait times for breast imaging and biopsies and greatly enhanced the patient experience.

College Events

McNair Memorial Service: The public memorial service for Bob McNair, Baylor trustee and Texans owner and founder, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, at NRG Stadium. McNair and his wife Janice created the McNair Scholars program and generously supported College initiatives.

Medical Ethics & Health Policy: Dr. Andrew Childress, assistant professor in the Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy, presents “The Creature Speaks: What Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Can Tell Us About Humanism In Medicine” as part of the Center’s Conversation Series. The luncheon begins at noon Thursday, Dec. 13, at Third Coast, 6550 Bertner Ave. Register online to attend.

Faculty Opportunities

Faculty Awards: Deadlines for the major faculty awards are just around the corner. Nominations for the Ben and Margaret Love Foundation Bobby Alford Award for Academic Clinical Professionalism are due Wednesday, Dec. 12. The Clark Faculty Service Award’s deadline is Thursday, Dec. 13, and nominations for the Barbara and Corbin J. Robertson, Jr. Presidential Award for Excellence in Education are due Friday, Dec. 14. Submit your portfolio for the Star Faculty Award for Excellence in Patient Care no later than Jan. 7.

Cardiology Course Associate Director: The School of Medicine seeks an innovative clinical faculty member, board certified in cardiology, to serve as associate course director for the second-year course, Cardiology, which begins in late July and ends in late August. This position assists Dr. Gabriel Habibe, the course director, and has 10 percent FTE support. See the website for more information; applications are due Friday, Dec. 14.

GME Innovations: The Office of the Provost is assembling a grant development workgroup to draft “bold, innovative, achievable ideas” that promote systemic change in graduate medical education in preparation for the American Medical Association Request for Proposals, “Reimagining Residency,” in January. If you have an interest in participating in the workgroup, please email Mae.Reyes@bcm.edu.

Faculty Resources

Blackboard Upgrade: IT is updating Blackboard Learn to incorporate the Ultra interface. This new interface has a sleek, modern look and feel, is mobile friendly and will save you time with simpler workflows and easier access to important information. There is nothing you need to do in advance of this upgrade. When you log in on or after Monday, Dec. 17, you will see the new interface. All courses will remain available in their current format. They will look and function exactly as they do now. To learn more about this upgrade, see the announcement on the bottom of the Blackboard login page.

Retirement Savings: The Internal Revenue Service has changed some of the benefit limits for retirement plans. Review the updates for the 2019 plan year, and visit Fidelity online or call (800) 343-0860 to enroll and make changes to investments or contribution levels. Changes to your 403(b) Plan contribution must be made through Fidelity, even if you have chosen TIAA as your investment vendor. For more questions, email ask-retirement@bcm.edu.

Show Some Holiday Spirit: Snap a photo of your office, lab or clinic decorated for the season or celebrating the holidays and email it to Social Media Manager Anna Kiappes by 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14. Don't forget to include your names and departments. Photos will be shared on Baylor's social media accounts the week of Dec. 17. Not connected to Baylor on social media? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Attention Clinicians: See Clinical Events

Clinical Seminars

Ethics Grand Rounds: The Center for Medical Ethics & Health Policy hosts Dr. Julia Andrieni, Cathy Easter, Janice Finder, Kim Mabry and Ryane Jackson, of Houston Methodist Hospital, presenting “Building a Social Determinate Team for Healthier Patient Outcomes” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, in the Rio Grande Conference Room at Houston Methodist. Medical ethics and professional responsibility credits are available.

Women's Heart Symposium: Dr. Stephanie Coulter, clinical associate professor of medicine and associate director of non-invasive cardiology at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, is course director for the 9th annual Women’s Heart and Vascular Symposium on Jan. 26 in Texas Heart Institute’s Cooley Auditorium. Dr. Jeff Williamson, a gerontologist at Wake Forest School of Medicine, presents the keynote address, “Sprint Mind: Beyond the Heart: Impact of Blood Pressure on Cognitive Decline and Dementia.” Register online.

Attention Researchers: See Research Calendar

Research Seminars

CVRI Seminar: Dr. Charles Lin, assistant professor of molecular & human genetics, speaks on “Targeting chromatin remodeling in cardiovascular disease” at noon Wednesday, Dec. 12, in Room 301A, main Baylor.

Epigenetics Seminar: Dr. Richard Roberts, Nobel laureate and chief scientific officer of New England BioLabs, presents “Bacterial Methylomes” at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 14, in Onstead Auditorium, 6767 Bertner Ave.

Neuroscience Seminar: Dr. Christopher Gregg, assistant professor of neurobiology, anatomy and genetics at the University of Utah, discusses “Phylogenomics and epigenomics to unravel the basis of complex economic behavior patterns” at noon Monday, Dec. 17, in the First Floor Conference Room of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute.

Research Resources

Blindness Prevention: Research to Prevent Blindness and the American Academy of Ophthalmology seek applications for grants to support the use of the IRIS clinical registry and its analytic capabilities to further population-based research in ophthalmology and blindness prevention. See the website for more information and application instructions. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31.

From the Labs: Read how Dr. Rituraj Pal, postdoctoral associate, and Dr. Marco Sardiello, assistant professor of molecular and human genetics, are connecting mTOR and Src, two major players in cancer growth, in this post. You can receive twice-weekly articles on Baylor's research and innovation highlights as they are posted by going to From the Labs and entering your email address in the "Subscribe" 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.

Questions or Comments?

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