What’s on my mind this month is the transformative power of modern medicine, exemplified by the advances we’ve made in transplantation science.
It is no secret that our transplant center is one of the busiest in the nation, performing over 450 transplants annually. This is truly one of our destination marquee clinical programs, and one which draws patients from around the world to seek care from leading experts in the field.
The strength of our program is derived from the exceptional surgeons and surgeon-scientists we have on the faculty. For example, Jonathan Bromberg, MD, PhD, Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery, is a leading expert in the field of immune tolerance and preventing immune rejection of transplanted organs and tissues, which is a major barrier to long-term transplant success. Rolf Barth, MD, Director of the Division of Transplantation in the Department of Surgery, performed Maryland’s first laparoscopic kidney removal surgery on a living donor, and is a leader in liver transplant. Sunjay Kaushal, MD, PhD, Director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, is quickly becoming known as a leader in the field of pediatric cardiac stem cell therapy. Bartley Griffith, MD, is a senior surgeon, scientist and entrepreneur in the Department of Surgery who developed a wearable artificial lung, both “bridging” devices to help patients waiting for an organ transplant. Finally, Stephen Bartlett, MD, Chair of the Department of Surgery, led the team that performed the most comprehensive full face transplant to date.
Founded in 1968, only 14 years after the first successful organ transplant—a kidney transplant performed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital—our transplant center has moved beyond solid organ transplantation into the most cutting-edge procedures in medicine today, namely, xenotransplantation, which uses a cell, tissue or organ donor from one species to transplant into a recipient from another species. Xenotransplantation may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but, in reality, is providing very real hope for the thousands of patients waiting to receive a life-saving transplant.
We have been fortunate at the School of Medicine to have a leader in the field of xenotransplantation in our Department of Surgery for many years. Richard “Robin” Pierson, MD, has extensively studied animal-to-human transplantation of lung, heart, kidney and liver, and has made significant progress in this area, receiving multiple years of federal funding for his research. Now, the School of Medicine is positioning itself to become a national leader in xenotransplantation, through its recent recruitment of Muhammad Mohiuddin, MD, one of the world’s experts in the field who had been working at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. I strongly encourage you to become familiar with the newest member of the School of Medicine transplant team.
I am pleased that Dr. Mohiuddin’s research will be further fueled by the support of the United Therapeutics Corporation, led by Martine Rosenblatt, whose mission is to improve care and provide treatments for people with chronic, life-threatening conditions. Ultimately, we envision creating a new destination center of excellence for xenotransplantation, which draws upon the research conducted by our faculty to deliver the state-of-the-art care to our patients. Building upon the strong clinical practice foundation we already have, I am confident that we will perform, fairly soon, the first-in-man, successful trial of an animal donor organ into a human transplant recipient.
It was not by chance that we included transplantation as one of our key areas of research strength at the May 1, 2017 Research Strategy Forum. We have some incredible faculty working in this area—not only those who provide the best possible care to the patients who come to the University of Maryland for their care, but those who conduct simultaneous research to advance the science and discovery medicine that our patients receive. However, we should always challenge ourselves to do more, aim higher, and solidify our position as a top-tier transplant center.
Now in our Third Century, we have an incredible opportunity to become the global leaders in transplantation—from solid organs and tissues, to stem cells, to xenografts, I encourage us to capitalize upon our strengths while looking ever forward into the future.
Sincerely yours,
E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA
Vice President for Medical Affairs, University of Maryland
John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and
Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine
We welcome our new faculty and staff!.
Paul Light, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, will be retiring as of July 1, after almost 50 years on campus. Dr. Light completed medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (SOM), and completed an Internal Medicine (IM) residency and a Nephrology fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) before being appointed to the faculty of the SOM in 1978.
An active citizen of the SOM, Dr. Light supported the educational mission as a contributor to the instruction of every medical school class since 1978 as the Renal Section Chief for Pathophysiology & Therapeutics II; as Instructor for Physical Diagnosis for 40 years; as a longtime Admissions Committee member who has continued interviewing applicants as a requested interviewer; and as Attending Physician on the Department of Medicine teaching service on an ongoing basis, polishing the skills of the third- and fourth-year students, while supervising delivery of quality care by the Department of Medicine IM residents.
Dr. Light’s clinical activities were focused on providing quality patient care, with an emphasis on optimization of care for patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. He worked tirelessly to improve the quality of care delivered to these patients as a founding member of the Mid Atlantic Renal Coalition (Quality Improvement Arm of CMS ESRD–Network 5). He served as MRB Chairman for more than a decade, continuously as a member of the Board of Directors and representative to Nation Quality Improvement organizations. Dr. Light served two terms as the SOM representative on the Governor’s Kidney Disease Commission, and was the longtime Medical Director of the IDF Parkview Dialysis Center, securing the Certificate of Need for the first Peritoneal Dialysis Program in the State.
After serving for more than a decade on the IRB and other committees, Dr. Light was appointed the Department of Medicine’s Compliance Director, serving as its representative on the FPI Compliance Committee, where his clinical expertise was recruited to guide the SOM’s transition to ICD10, and target achievement for outpatient EPIC EMR and Meaningful Use.
Dr. Light is looking forward to grandparenting duties, tending his two lovely princesses, as well as getting to develop his hobbies: gardening, coffee roasting, and stained glass design.
Kudos to our colleagues who are experts in their fields and give their all to represent the School of Medicine!
Kathryn Hughes Barry, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, gave an invited talk at the “International Conference on Genomic Medicine: Genomics for Future Medicine and Health” in Baltimore on February 23, where she presented “DNA Methylation at Chromosome 8q24 and the risk of Prostate Cancer.”
Jessica Brown, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was the Grand Rounds speaker for the Primary Care residents at UMMC Midtown on February 16, where she presented “Health Disparities: What Are They and Why Should We Care?”
Laundette Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, recently served as a scientific mentor in this year’s Scientist1Survivor Program, held during the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting April 1–5 in Washington, DC. Dr. Jones was also quoted in an article about the annual meeting in CancerToday, which can be found at http://www.cancertodaymag.org/EventCoverage/Pages/AACR-Annual-Meeting-2017-Science-Survivor-Program.aspx.
Niharika Khanna, MBBS, MD, DGO, Associate Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, hosted and presented a lecture at the Maryland Learning Collaborative-Garden Practice Transformation Network Learning Event, held in Clarksville, MD in late March. Her topic was “How to Get Your Practice Ready for Value Based Models—Focus on Tobacco Metrics.”
Robert Mitchell, Associate Director for Administration, Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, hosted a roundtable discussion and was a member of a panel discussion entitled “ Cancer Center Support Grant 101” at the annual Cancer Center Administrator’s Forum in St. Petersburg, FL, in May.
Pranshu Mohindra, MD, MBBS, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, moderated a press briefing on “Treatment Considerations for Focused Populations” on March 17 in San Francisco, CA, at the Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium. At the same meeting, Charles Simone II, MD, Associate Professor, presented “Prospective Trial of Circulating Tumor Cells as a Biomarker for Early Detection of Recurrence in Patients with Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Chemoradiation” on March 16 in a plenary session. The study was featured in press releases from the symposium organizers and from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In the UMSOM release, Dean Reece noted: “This clinical study led by Dr. Simone breaks significant new ground in demonstrating how circulating tumor cells can help to identify lung cancer patients likely to experience a recurrence well before the cancer can be detected by conventional imaging. With early detection, we will be better able to offer patients more effective, personalized treatment options.”
Brian Polster, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, presented “Mitochondrial Structural and Functional Remodeling in Microglial Activation” at the Burke Medical Research Institute/Weill Cornell Medicine Seminar Series in New York on May 2.
Congratulations to the following who have received honors!
Laura Buchanan, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, received the Student Council Clinical Faculty Award at the 2017 School of Medicine graduation ceremony in on May 18.
Neda Frayha, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Medicine, and Assistant Dean, Office of Student Affairs, received the Pass and Susel Medical Education Tool Chest Award at the 11th annual Student Awards Ceremony and Dinner on May 17.
Robert Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, and Director, Institute of Human Virology, received the ASI Lifetime Achievement Award from the AIDS Society of India (ASI), a national network of HIV medical experts. ASI conferred the prestigious honor upon Dr. Gallo in recognition of his pioneering role in advancing path-breaking HIV science over the decades. Dr. Gallo received this award at the Pioneers in Infectious Agents and Cancer meeting in Naples, Italy, on March 23, which also marked his 80th birthday. “Dr. Gallo, a globally-acclaimed biomedical researcher, is best known for his role in the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) as the infectious agent responsible for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and in the development of the HIV blood test, apart from being a major contributor to subsequent HIV research for several decades now,” said Dr. Ishwar Gilada, president of AIDS Society of India (ASI), while bestowing the honor.
David Gens, MD, Professor, Department of Surgery, was selected by the Class of 2017 to receive the American Medical Student Association Golden Apple Clinical Award at the 2017 School of Medicine graduation ceremony on May 18.
Erin Giudice, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, and Director of the Pediatrics Residency, was selected as a 2017 Pass and Susel Fellow of the Academy of Educational Excellence. She was recognized for this honor at the 11th annual Student Awards and Dinner on May 17.
Ann Hackman, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, received the Student Council Preclinical Faculty Award at the 2017 School of Medicine graduation ceremony on May 18.
Stella Hines, MD, MSPH, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, was selected by the Class of 2017 to receive the American Medical Student Association Golden Apple Preclinical Award at the 2017 School of Medicine graduation ceremony on May 18.
Guang Li, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, has been selected as a recipient of an Editor-in-Chief Award for a paper published in Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics (JACMP) last year (“Evaluation of Cassette-Based Digital Radiography Detectors Using Standardized Image Quality Metrics: AAPM TG-150 Draft Image Detector Tests”). JACMP is one of two journals published by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). The award will be presented during the AAPM annual meeting in Denver in July.
Wendy Lane, MD, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received the Dean’s Faculty Award for Diversity & Inclusion at the Tenth Annual “Celebrating Diversity” dinner, held on February 25 at the Baltimore Hilton Inner Harbor.
Joseph Martinez, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, and Assistant Dean for Clinical Medical Education & Residency Programs Liaison, was selected as a 2017 Pass and Susel Fellow of the Academy of Educational Excellence. He was recognized for this honor at the 11th annual Student Awards and Dinner on May 17.
Adam Puche, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, received the Student Council Preclinical Faculty Award at the 2017 School of Medicine graduation ceremony on May 18.
Shabnam Salimi, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received both a 2017 Outstanding Presentation Award and a Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program award at the 39th Annual Graduate Research Conference for her project “Pro-Inflammatory Biomarkers and Trajectory of Renal Function in Older Community-Dwelling Adults.” Co-authors on this project were Michelle Shardell, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Jack Guralnik, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor, and Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD, Adjunct Professor, all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; and Stephen Seliger, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine.
Nevins Todd, MD, Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Physiology, received the Student Council Preclinical Faculty Award at the 2017 School of Medicine graduation ceremony on May 18.
Emerson Wickwire, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Medicine and Psychiatry, has been selected to receive a Strategic Research award for his project “Demonstrating the Value of Board Certification in Sleep Medicine: Trends in Diagnosis and Impact on Quality of Care and Economic Outcomes Among Medicare Beneficiaries, 2006–2013.” He will receive up to $250,000 over three years. This award is aimed at improving the quality of healthcare delivery in the field of sleep medicine. His project will involve a series of comparative effective analyses to examine the public health, clinical, and economic implications of care delivered by board-certified sleep medicine physicians, relative to care delivered by non-specialist providers.
We applaud our colleagues on their recent appointments!
Michael Bond, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, was appointed to a member-at-large position on the Board of Directors of the Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine during the organization’s annual Academic Assembly, held in Fort Lauderdale in April.
Christopher Jewell, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, has been named to the Associated Scientific Advisory Board for Science Translational Medicine, effective July 1.
Judy LaKind, PhD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, has been invited to serve on the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) Risk Assessment in the 21st Century (RISK21) Scientific Advisory Board. The Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) is a non-profit institution whose mission is to collaboratively identify and help to resolve global health and environment challenges through the engagement of scientists from academia, government, industry, NGOs, and other strategic partners.
Myron Levine, MD, DTPH, the Simon and Bessie Grollman Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean for Global Health, Vaccinology and Infectious Diseases, Institute for Global Health, has been appointed to a second three-year term as a Member of the Board on Global Health in The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Pranshu Mohindra, MD, MBBS, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, has been elected to a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology.
Congratulations to our very productive faculty on their recent grants and contracts!
Soren Bentzen, PhD, DMSc, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received a one-year contract from the University of Pennsylvania for his work on the PCORI cooperative agreement “Pragmatic Randomized Trial of Proton vs. Photon Therapy for Patients with Non-Metastatic Breast Cancer Receiving Comprehensive Nodal Radiation: A Radiotherapy Comparative Effectiveness (RADCOMP) Trial.”
Ann Gruber-Baldini, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received a one-year, $25,000 award from the National Institutes of Health’s Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (OAIC) to study “Feasibility of Extended Post-Acute Intervention for Hip Fracture Patients with Mild Cognitive Limitations (HipERS).”
Isabel Jackson, PhD, received a $2,180,930 award from Chrysalis BioTherapeutics, Inc.—under a prime NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases award—for “TP508: A Novel Nuclear Countermeasure Targeting Endothelial Cells and Stem Cells to Combat ARS and Delayed Multiple Organ Dysfunction.”
Christopher Jewell, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, recently received a $1.1M merit Award from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (BLR&D); a renewal of his $600,000 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator Award focused on controlling T cell plasticity to enhance anti-tumor immunity; and a $500,000 grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation focused on induction of antigen-specific tolerance.
Yuanyuan Liang, PhD, MSc, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received a 10-month, $18,250 service agreement from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio to support the ReACH Center. Dr. Liang also received a five-year, $52,844 subcontract from the University of Texas at Austin in support of the NIH grant “Healthy Frio: A Rural Community Partnership to Advance Latino Obesity Research,” a three-year, $48,995 award from University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in support of their National Institutes of Health award “Pediatric Obesity Management Intervention Trial for Hispanic Families,” and a one-year, $10,568 award from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in support of their National Institutes of Health grant “Obesity Prevention in Head Start: Miranos! Program.”
Feyruz Rassool, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, received a two-year, $201,459 grant from the National Institutes of Health for “Mechanism-based Approach to Combine Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors with Parp Inhibitors for Therapy in AML.”
Alan Rathbun, PhD, MPH, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, received a three-year, $125,000, award for the study “Characterizing the Etiology and the Role of Depression in Osteoarthritis.”
Chozha Rathinam, MSc, DrRerNat (PhD), Assistant Professor of Medicine, Institute of Human Virology, was awarded an R01 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)/NIH in the amount of $1,250,000 over five years for conducting research on “NF-kB Signaling in the Control of Hematopoiesis.” The NF-kB signaling pathway is one of the most extensively studied and understood pathways; however, the physiological consequences of augmented NF-kB signaling in stem cells have not been understood. Despite many recent studies documenting constitutive activation of NF-kB in patients with hematological disorders, including Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), it remains unclear if constitutive NF-kB signaling is sufficient and/or necessary for the onset of these diseases. The proposed research will specify the role of NF-kB in the pathophysiology mediated by stem cells and identify novel NF-kB mediated signal transduction pathways. In addition, the proposed research will provide key insights into the molecular pathways by which deregulated NF-kB signals affect the biology of human Hematopoietic Stem Cells. This work will utilize various transgenic and knockout mouse models and a novel line of humanized mouse model. Knowledge obtained through the proposed research should aid the development of newer and more successful therapies for human hematologic diseases that arise due to constitutive NF-kB activation.
Hats off to those who have been published!
Sally Adebamowo, MBBS, MSc, ScD, Interim Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network, was among the co-authors on “Integrated Genomic and Molecular Characterization of Cervical Cancer” in Nature, 2017 Mar 16;543(7645):378-384.
Jennifer Albrecht, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was first author on “Treatment Charges for Traumatic Brain Injury Among Older Adults at a Trauma Center” in Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 2017 Feb 10 [Epub ahead of print]. Dr. Albrecht, Gordon Smith, MB, ChB, MPH, Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, and C. Daniel Mullins, PhD, Professor, School of Pharmacy and Department of Surgery (secondary), were among the co-authors on “Psychotropic Medication Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries Following Traumatic Brain Injury” in American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2017 Apr;25(4):415-424.
Kelley Banagan, MD, Assistant Professor, and Steven Ludwig, MD, Professor, both from the Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on “On-Field Evaluation and Transport of the Injured Athlete,” a book chapter in Spine Injuries in Athletes, published by Wolters Kluwer and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons [ISBN: 9781496360267]. Drs. Banagan and Ludwig, along with Eugene Koh, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Daniel Gelb, MD, Professor, both also from the Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on “Facet Joint Violation During Percutaneous Pedicle Screw Placement: Comparison of Two Techniques” in Spine, 2016 Dec 2 [Epub ahead of print].
Kathryn Hughes Barry, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was co-author on a research paper on pesticides that was the subject of an article in Environmental Health News. The article can be found at: http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/2017/feb/pesticides-and-farmers-dna-cancer-rates-prostate-cancer-agricultural-health-study
Rachel Bluebond-Langner, MD, Assistant Professor, and Sheri Slezak, MD, Professor, both from the Department of Surgery; Sally Cheston, MD, Assistant Professor; Elizabeth Nichols, MD, Assistant Professor, Randi Cohen, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, and Steven Feigenberg, MD, Professor (last author), all from the Department of Radiation Oncology; Soren Bentzen, PhD, DMSc, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; Cynthia Drogula, MD, Assistant Professor, Susan Kesmodel, MD, Assistant Professor, and Emily Bellavance, MD, Assistant Professor, all from the Department of Surgery; and Paula Rosenblatt, MD, Assistant Professor, and Katherine Tkaczuk, MD, Professor, both from the Department of Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Effect of Reduction Mammoplasty on Acute Radiation Side Effects and Use of Lumpectomy Cavity Boosts” in Practical Radiation Oncology, 2017 Jan 7 [Epub ahead of print].
Wengen Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, and Vasken Dilsizian, MD, Professor, both from the Department of Diagnostic Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Exploring the Pathophysiology of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy” in Current Cardiology Reports, 2017 Jun;19(6):53. Dr. Dilsizian was also the primary author on an Editor’s Page entitled “Quantitative PET Myocardial Blood Flow: ‘Trust, But Verify’” in Journal of the American College of Cardiology Cardiovascular Imaging, 2017 May; 10(5):609-10.
Niel Constantine, PhD, Professor of Pathology, Institute of Human Virology, was the lead author on “Assessment of Two Rapid Assays for Diagnostic Capability to Accurately Identify Infection by Treponema pallidum” in Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine, 2017 Jan;1(4).
Andrew Crouter, MD, Third-year Emergency Medicine Resident, along with Michael Abraham, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, and R. Gentry Wilkerson, MD, Assistant Professor, both from the Department of Emergency Medicine, co-authored “Emphysematous Pyelonephritis in a Renal Allograft” in The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2017 Mar;35[3]:520.e1-520.e2.
W. Andrew Eglseder, MD, Professor, Marcus Sciadini, MD, Associate Professor, Jason Nascone, MD, Associate Professor, and Robert O’Toole, MD, The Hansjörg Wyss Medical Foundation Endowed Professor in Orthopaedic Trauma, all from the Department of Orthopaedics, were the senior authors on “Radiographic Predictors of Symptomatic Screw Removal after Retrograde Femoral Nail Insertion” in Injury, 2017;48(3):758-762.
Reha Erzurumlu, PhD, Professor, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, was among the co-authors on “A Mutant with Bilateral Whisker to Barrel Inputs Unveils Somatosensory Mapping Rules in the Cerebral Cortex” in Elife, 2017 Mar 28;6.
Steven Feigenberg, MD, Professor, and William Regine, MD, Professor and the Isadore & Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair, both from the Department of Radiation Oncology, were among the co-authors on “Comparison of Onsite Versus Online Chart Reviews as Part of the American College of Radiation Oncology Accreditation Program” in Journal of Oncology Practice, 2017 May;13(5):e516-e521.
Deborah Frassica, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, was among the co-authors on “Evaluating the Role of Interdigitated Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Radiation in the Management of High-Grade Soft-Tissue Sarcoma: The Johns Hopkins Experience” in American Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2017 Apr;40(2):214-217; and on “Combined Modality Therapy Improves Overall Survival for Angiosarcoma” in Acta Oncologica, 2017 Mar 30:1-4 [Epub ahead of print].
Ann Gruber-Baldini, PhD, Professor (first author), Denise Orwig, PhD, Associate Professor, and Jay Magaziner, PhD, MSHyg, Professor and Chair (last author), all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; and Marc Hochberg, MD, MPH, Professor, Department of Medicine, were among the co-authors on “Cognitive Differences between Men and Women who Fracture their Hip and Impact on Six-Month Survival” in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2017 Mar;65(3):e64-e69. Dr. Gruber-Baldini was first author, and Lisa Shulman, MD, the Eugenia Brin Professor in Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, was last author on “Validation of the PROMIS(®) Measures of Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Conditions” in Quality of Life Research, 2017 Feb 26 [Epub ahead of print]. Drs. Gruber-Baldini and Shulman were also co-authors, with Stephen Reich, MD, the Frederick Henry Distinguished Professor in Neurology (last author), Department of Neurology, on “Are Patients with Psychogenic Movement Disorders More Likely to be Healthcare Workers?” in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, 2017 Jan/Feb;4(1): 62–67.
Mariana Guerrero, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, was a co-author on “A Radiobiological Model of Reoxygenation and Fractionation Effects” in Medical Physics, 2017 Mar 8 [Epub ahead of print].
Jack Guralnik, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the co-authors on “Effect of Physical Activity on Self-Reported Disability in Older Adults: Results from the LIFE Study” in Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2017 May;65(5):980-988. He and Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD (last author), Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Dynapenic Abdominal Obesity as a Predictor of Worsening Disability, Hospitalization, and Mortality in Older Adults: Results From the InCHIANTI Study” in Journals of Gerontology Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Science, 2017 Mar 8 [Epub ahead of print]; and “Three-Year Changes in Physical Activity and Decline in Physical Performance Over 9 Years of Follow-Up in Older Adults: The Invecchiare in Chianti Study” in Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2017 Mar 1 [Epub ahead of print]. Dr. Guralnik was also a co-author on “Effect of Physical Activity Versus Health Education on Physical Function, Grip Strength and Mobility” in Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2017 Feb 21 [Epub ahead of print]; “Association Between Baseline Frailty and Driving Status Over Time: A Secondary Analysis of The National Health and Aging Trends Study” in Injury Epidemiology, 2017 March 27 [Epub ahead of print]; “The Effect of Intervening Hospitalizations on the Benefit of Structured Physical Activity in Promoting Independent Mobility Among Community-Living Older Persons: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial” in BMC Medicine, 2017 Mar 28;15(1):65; and “Cortisol and Physical Performance in Older Populations: Findings From the International Mobility in Aging Study (IMIAS)” in Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2017 Mar 9;71:50-58.
Anthony Harris, MD, MPH, Professor, Daniel Morgan, MD, Associate Professor, and Kerri Thom, MD, Associate Professor (last author), all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “The Impact of Reducing Antibiotics on the Transmission of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms” in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 2017 Mar 8:1-7 [Epub ahead of print].
R. Frank Henn, MD, Assistant Professor, and S. Ashfaq Hasan, MD, Associate Professor, both from the Department of Orthopaedics, were the senior authors on “Anatomical Relationship of the Axillary Nerve to the Pectoralis Major Tendon Insertion” in Orthopedics, 2017 May 1;40(3):e460-e464.
Danielle Jahn, PhD, Assistant Professor (first author), Anjana Muralidharan, PhD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Amy Drapalski, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, Li Juan Fang, MS, and Alicia Lucksted, PhD, Associate Professor (last author), all from the Department of Psychiatry, and Clayton Brown, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were co-authors on “Differences in Suicide and Death Ideation Among Veterans and Nonveterans With Serious Mental Illness” in Psychological Services, 2017 Mar 13 [Epub ahead of print].
Jennifer Johnson, PhD, Associate Professor (first author), Gwen Robinson, MPH, Lead Clinical Research Specialist, and LiCheng Zhao, PhD, Research Specialist, all from the Department of Pathology; and Lisa Pineles, MA, Research Associate, Jennifer Albrecht, PhD, Assistant Professor, Anthony Harris, MD, MPH, Professor, and Kerri Thom, MD, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Carbapenem Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella Species Producing Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBLs) in Critical Care Patients from 2001–2009” in Antimicrobial Agents Chemotherapy, 2017 Feb 6 [Epub ahead of print].
Jibreel Jumare (first author), Samer El-Kamary, MB, ChB, MPH, Associate Professor, Laurence Magder, PhD, Professor, and Laura Hungerford, DVM, MPH, PhD, Adjunct Professor, all from the Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; Alash’le Abimiku, PhD, Professor of Medicine, and Man Charurat, PhD, MHS, Associate Professor of Medicine, both from the Institute of Human Virology; and Walter Royal III, MD, Professor (last author), Department of Neurology, were among the co-authors on “Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte HIV DNA Levels Correlate with HIV Associated Neurocognitive Disorders in Nigeria” in Journal of Neurovirology, 2017 Feb 27 [Epub ahead of print]. Dr. Magder was also a co-author on “Importance of Salmonella Typhi-Responsive CD8+ T Cell Immunity in a Human Typhoid Fever Challenge Model” in Frontiers in Immunology, 2017 Mar 2;8:208.
Yuanyuan Liang, PhD, MSc, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the co-authors on “FIB-4 and Imaging for Measuring Fibrosis in Hepatitis C Virus” in European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2017 Feb;29(2):192-198; and “Less Exercise and More Drugs: How a Low Income Population Manages Chronic Pain” in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2017 21 March [Epub ahead of print].
Nathan O’Hara, MHA, Clinical Research Manager, Robert O’Toole, MD, The Hansjörg Wyss Medical Foundation Endowed Professor in Orthopaedic Trauma, and Marcus Sciadini, MD, Associate Professor, all from the Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on “Survivorship after High-Energy Geriatric Trauma” in Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 2017 Apr 18 [Epub ahead of print].
Robert O’Toole, MD, The Hansjörg Wyss Medical Foundation Endowed Professor in Orthopaedic Trauma, Department of Orthopaedics, was the senior author on “Biomechanical Comparison of Cadaveric and Commercially Available Synthetic Osteoporotic Bone Analogues in a Locked Plate Fracture Model under Torsional Loading” in Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 2017 May;31(5):e137-e142. Dr. O’Toole and Theodore Manson, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on two peer-reviewed original research articles published in Injury: “Are Antibiotic Nails Effective in the Treatment of Infected Tibial Fractures?” [2016 Dec;47(12)2809-2815], and “Assessment of Trochanteric Osteotomy Fragment Union after Acetabular Fracture Surgery” [2017;48(2):384-387]. Dr. O’Toole and Marcus Sciadini, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on “When Should We Change Drill Bits? A Mechanical Comparison of New, Reprocessed, and Damaged Bits” in Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 2017 May;31(5):281-286. Dr. O’Toole and Jason Nascone, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on “Early Postoperative Displacement of Combined Pelvic Ring Injury with Acetabular Fracture” in Orthopedics, 2017 May 1;40(3):163-168.
Aruna Panda, BVSc, PhD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pathology and Epidemiology & Public Health, Program of Comparative Medicine; Louis DeTolla, VMD, PhD, DACLAM, Professor of Pathology, Medicine and Epidemiology & Public Health and Director, Program of Comparative Medicine; and Hervé Tettelin, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, Institute for Genomic Sciences, were among the co-authors on “Complete Genome Sequences of Mycobacterium Kansasii Strains Isolated from Rhesus Macaques” in Genome Announcements, 2017 Apr 20;5(16).
Ebrahim Paryavi, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Theodore Manson, MD, Associate Professor, and Robert O’Toole, MD, The Hansjörg Wyss Medical Foundation Endowed Professor in Orthopaedic Trauma, all from the Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on “Surgical Site Infection in Tibial Plateau Fractures with Ipsilateral Compartment Syndrome” in Injury, 2017 Feb;48(2):495-500.
Mary-Claire Roghmann, MD, MS, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was second author on “Infrequent Use of Isolation Precautions in Nursing Homes: Implications for an Evolving Population” in Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 2017 Mar;65(3):472-473. She and Patricia Langenberg, PhD, Professor Emerita, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; Emmanuel Mongodin, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology; and Jennifer Johnson, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, were among the co-authors on “Microbiological Effect of Mupirocin and Chlorhexidine for Staphylococcus aureus Decolonization in Community and Nursing Home Based Adults” in Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 2017 May;88(1):53-57.
Fabio Romerio, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Institute of Human Virology, was last author on “The Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 ASP RNA Promotes Viral Latency by Recruiting the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 and Promoting Nucleosome Assembly” in Virology, 2017 Jun;506:34-44. Juan Carlos Zapata, PhD, Research Associate in Medicine, Institute of Human Virology, was the first author. The Editorial Board of Virology chose this article to be highlighted in the journal’s online blog http://www.virologyhighlights.com/how-hiv-1-puts-itself-to-sleep/.
Bushra Saleem, MBBS, Neonatology Fellow at UMMC (first author), Alessio Fasano, MD, Clinical Professor, Shiv Kapoor, MBBS, Assistant Professor, and Rose Viscardi, MD, Professor (last author), all from the Department of Pediatrics; Laurence Magder, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health; and Jacques Ravel, PhD, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology and Associate Director for Genomics, Institute for Genome Sciences, were among the co-authors on “Intestinal Barrier Maturation in Very Low Birthweight Infants: Relationship to Feeding and Antibiotic Exposure” in Journal of Pediatrics, 2017 Apr;183:31-36.e1.
Marcus Sciadini, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, was among the co-authors on “Negative Stress Examination Under Anesthesia Reliably Predicts Pelvic Ring Union Without Displacement” in Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, 2017;31(4):189-193.
Charles Simone, II, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, was among the co-authors on “A Study of the Beam-Specific Interplay Effect in Proton Pencil Beam Scanning Delivery in Lung Cancer” in Acta Oncologic, 2017 Apr;56(4):531–540; on “A Benchmarking Method to Evaluate the Accuracy of a Commercial Proton Monte Carlo Pencil Beam Scanning Treatment Planning System” in Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, 2017 Mar;18(2):44–49; on “Clinical Outcomes of CyberKnife Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Elderly Patients with Presumed Primary Stage I Lung Cancer” in Translational Lung Cancer Research, 2017 Feb;6(1):6–13; and on “Risk of Major Cardiac Events Following Adjuvant Proton Versus Photon Radiation Therapy for Patients with Thymic Malignancies” in Acta Oncologica, 2017 Mar 24 [Epub ahead of print].
Gerard Slobogean, MD, MPH, FRCSC, Assistant Professor, and Andrew Pollak, MD, the James Lawrence Kernan Professor and Chair, both from the Department of Orthopaedics, were among the co-authors on “Quality of Life in Young Patients with Femoral Neck Fractures Treated with Internal Fixation: A Prospective Multicenter Chinese Cohort,” a Level I prospective cohort study in Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2017 Apr;25(4):297-303.
O. Colin Stine, PhD, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was last author on “Genetic Characterization of Vibrio cholerae O1 Isolates from Outbreaks Between 2011 and 2015 in Tanzania” in BMC Infectious Diseases, 2017 Feb 20;17(1):157.
Michael Terrin, MDCM, MPH, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was the author of “Commentary on Fleming et al.: Data Monitoring Committee Evidence Base Needed” in Clinical Trials, 2017 Apr;14(2):124-125.
J. Kathleen Tracy, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, was among the co-authors on “Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Willingness to Vaccinate in Preparation for the Introduction of HPV Vaccines in Bamako, Mali” in PLoS One, 2017 Feb 13;12(2):e0171631.
Jen Yu, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, and Soren Bentzen, PhD, DMSc, Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, were among the co-authors on “Joint Estimation of Cardiac Toxicity and Recurrence Risks After Comprehensive Nodal Photon Versus Proton Therapy for Breast Cancer” in International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 2017 Mar 15;97(4):754-761.
In Memoriam
Charles P. Barrett, PhD, Associate Professor (retired), Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology
The Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology regrets to announce the passing of Dr. Charles P. Barrett, retired Associate Professor, on July 12, 2016 (the department was only recently informed of his death).
Dr. Barrett earned his BS degree in Biology from King’s College in 1957 and his PhD in Anatomy from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1969. From 1959 to 1968 he held several positions at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland including Chief, Cell Biology Section, Pathology Branch, Directorate of Medical Research. Here he did research for the United States Army. His appointments at UMB were in the then Department of Anatomy (now Anatomy and Neurobiology), first as an Instructor in 1968, then rising to Associate Professor in 1977. At UMB his research interests were on the regeneration of damaged central neurons with emphasis on the spinal cord.
As the SOM curriculum was being revamped into its current “block” format, Dr. Barrett worked closely under Course Director Dr. Rosemary Rees to reshape the Anatomy Course for the new Freshman Block. The newly revamped course, Human Structure and Development, integrated the disciplines of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology into a single 10-week course. He served as Course Master of the new block course from 1993-1998, implementing several innovations to the course including co-writing the dissection guide that was used in the gross anatomy lab. He retired in 2003, but his love of teaching kept him involved with the University as an Adjunct faculty member. He continued to contribute to the improvement of the Structure and Development course, helping revise the dissector yearly and implementing new learning modalities to aid the students in mastering the course material.
Dr. Barrett was artistically talented in photography, drawing, and painting. He wrote poetry and traveled widely, especially to China. As Dr. Michael T. Shipley, Chairman of Anatomy and Neurobiology, noted, “He was a sweet, generous and kind-hearted man who was well-liked by the students, faculty and staff. We are sad that he is no longer with us.”