DOM CONNECT:

In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we highlight the work of Mara Meyer Epstein, ScD, ScM, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Health Systems Science.

Dr. Epstein is a cancer epidemiologist with research interests in hematological cancers and developing methods to facilitate the use of large electronic health datasets for cancer epidemiological studies. She is also interested in the study of cancer screening and prevention, and has a background in molecular and nutritional epidemiology.

Dr. Epstein joined the faculty at UMass Chan in 2013. In addition to her appointment in Medicine, she also currently holds appointments in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences and the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, and is an inaugural co-chair of the Cancer Screening Research Committee of the UMass Cancer Center.

Read the full spotlight by clicking the button below.

Sunita Puri Discusses the Importance of Hospice Care with Yahoo News 

Sunita Puri, MD, associate professor of medicine, program director of the Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine Fellowship, and provider in the Division of Palliative Care Medicine, was recently featured in an article by Yahoo News on former President Jimmy Carter's decision to “spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care.”

With hospice care often being misunderstood, Dr. Puri explains common misconceptions as well as the importance of the service and its benefits to patients.

Gisela Banauch Featured in American College of Chest Physicians Blog

Gisela Banauch, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, was recently featured in a blog by the American College of Chest Physicians.

In the blog titled "Improve Your Skills at the Bedside with CHEST's Thorough Ultrasound Courses," Dr. Banauch explains the importance of Ultrasonography courses, as they "provide an important supplementary pathway to reach competence in both knowledgeable interpretation and skillful application of this new bedside technology."

The liver transplant team, part of the UMass Memorial Transplant Program, was recently recognized for performing their one-thousandth liver transplant at the medical center. This milestone was featured on CBS News Boston in early February, in a story highlighting the patient who received the transplant.  

"Our patients are fortunate to have access to high-quality transplant services in Central Massachusetts from a dedicated multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, and support staff. The transplant team has been a model for teamwork across divisions, departments, and disciplines. While 1,000 liver transplants is a momentous milestone for our program, I am most excited to see what great things are yet to come from this group," stated Christopher Marshall, MD, clinical chief and assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology. 

Savant Mehta, MD, transplant hepatologist and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, added: “The initiation of liver transplant in 1998 at UMass Memorial Healthcare was a landmark event and helped to fulfill our mission of improving the health of the people of our diverse communities of Central New England through culturally sensitive excellence in clinical care, service, teaching, and research. I was privileged to be a part of this initiative from its very early stages and I am happy to report that completing 1,000 liver transplants at UMass is a step in the direction of fulfilling this mission and we hope to continue to improve and enhance this further over the coming years.”  

We applaud the transplant program for achieving this milestone and look forward to its many continued successes. 

Learn more by clicking the button below.

Study by Lara Kovell Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association 

Lara Kovell, MD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, is senior author on the study “Social Determinants, Blood Pressure Control, and Racial Inequities in Childbearing Age Women With Hypertension, 2001 to 2018,” which was featured in a special “Go Red for Women” issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association in late February.  

Dr. Kovell and her team aimed to understand the health inequities in maternal mortality for women from under-represented racial and ethnic groups. The focus of the study was to evaluate blood pressure control and social determinants of health in women of childbearing potential with hypertension. Dr. Kovell concluded that black women of childbearing age were more than twice as likely to have uncontrolled blood pressure than white women of similar age. In addition, food insecurity was found to be one of the common social factors that may affect high blood pressure risk.  

Read more about the study by clicking the button below. 

Jennifer Kodela Develops PCCM Medical Education Curriculum Track and is Recognized for Outstanding Patient Care

Jennifer Kodela, DO, a second-year Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellow, has developed a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Medical Education (PCCM) track under the mentorship of Reid Evans, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and education specialist.   

The two-year, longitudinal curriculum is designed to develop skills in teaching, mentoring, and scholarship for those interested in pursuing a career as an educator in academic medicine. The curriculum consists of a short lecture series that occurs twice a year, supported by supplemental lectures offered by visiting speakers. In addition, fellows are expected to participate in authentic teaching practices, which involve standardized feedback, reflective practice, and experimental learning through committee participation and projects aimed at curriculum design. Fellows are also expected to complete a medical education portfolio by the end of the track and are encouraged to pursue scholarships throughout the two years.   

In total, five fellows are currently participating in or planning to join the track. There are six PCCM faculty members involved in the track, all of whom have completed the required trainings and are engaged in providing standardized feedback. The track offers core lectures for the residency and fellowship and is engaged in active projects directed at curriculum development and design. These projects include the revision of the VISTA curriculum respiratory block, the creation of the medical school ICU selective, and the development of the ECMO curriculum.   

In addition to her work on the PCCM track, Dr. Kodela was recently recognized for excelling in the care of a patient. The patient’s family expressed deep gratitude for Dr. Kodela, whom they said provided incredible physical care and treated their loved one with respect, compassion, and patience.  

We are grateful to Dr. Kodela for her many contributions to the Department of Medicine.  

2022-2023 Medical Grand Rounds

The Department of Medicine Grand Rounds series continued this past month, with presentations from Daniel Alford, MD, MPH, professor of medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, titled "Opioids, Pain, and Addiction: Preventing Harm and Maximizing Benefits," Julie Silver, MD, associate professor and associate chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, titled "Strategies to Address Patient Care and Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," Betty Diamond, MD, director, Institute of Molecular Medicine, professor and head, Center for Autoimmune, Musculoskeletal and Hematopoietic Diseases, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, professor of Molecular Medicine and Medicine, Hofstra Northwell Health School of Medicine, titled "Innate Immunity in Neuroinflammation: The Pivotal Role of C1q," and from Georg Schett, MD, W3 professor and head of Department of Medicine 3, Rheumatology and Immunology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU), Erlangen-Nürnberg, titled "Car T Cell Therapy in Autoimmune Disease."

View this year's line-up of speakers here. Please join us in person for these presentations if you are able. Light refreshments will be available. 

Interested in watching our Grand Rounds presentations? Click on the links below.

February 2 - Opioids, Pain, and Addiction: Preventing Harm and Maximizing Benefits

February 9 - Strategies to Address Patient Care and Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

February 16 - Innate Immunity in Neuroinflammation: The Pivotal Role of C1q

February 23 - No Grand Rounds - School Vacation

Congratulations to the following faculty on their recent appointments

Appointments



Madona Azar, MD

Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism

Associate Professor