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Stephen Stuart, MDStephen Stuart, MDResearch and Innovations in Medical Education (RIME) Week was a huge success last week. The conference, now in its seventh year, drew more than 100 faculty and fellows to workshops to enhance their med-ed skills and boasted 50 dynamic poster presentations.

Top 3 in Clinical Vignettes and Posters were awarded to the following:

#1 Vignette: Stephen Stuart, MD (PGY-2) “Painful Weight Loss – Making the ‘Arcuate’ Diagnosis”
#2 Vignette: J.R. Penick, MD (PGY-2) “A Case of Budd-Chiari Syndrome”
#3 Vignette: Ashley Vorenkamp, MD (PGY-2) “Neisseria gonorrhoeae Induced Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome”

#1 Poster: Joshua Blackwell, MS-3, “‘Sensitization’ of Medical Students Towards Nurse-Physician Collaboration: A Formative Assessment”
#2 Poster: F. Shawn Galin, PhD (Associate Professor, Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care) “A Post-OSCE Reflection Strategy to Increase Learner Confidence and Enhance Assessment Perceptions”
#3 Poster: Joseph Pearman, MS-3, “Medical Students in the Surgery Clerkship – Characteristics of Honors Designation”

More Good News for September 20, 2017

Kenneth G. Saag, MD, MSc (Professor, Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology) first-authored a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine on a new drug shown to lower risk of fracture in women with osteoporosis. The multi-center randomized control trial compared romosozumab to alendronate in post-menopausal women with osteoporosis and a fragility fracture, finding significant reductions in fracture with romosozumab.

Thomas Buford, PhD (Associate Professor, Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care) was recently awarded two R01 awards focused on understanding the role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in age-related declines in physical function. The projects are complimentary pre-clinical and clinical studies designed to identify RAS-based therapeutic strategies for preventing late-life functional decline.

In an insightful American Journal of Medicine commentary, Gregory D. Chapman, MD (Professor, Cardiovascular Disease) cautions against overuse of troponin assays and suggests practical means of improving our use of diagnostic testing.  

Christian Faul, PhD (Associate Professor, Nephrology) and his pre-doctoral fellow, Christopher Yanucil, are exploring molecular mechanisms of cardiac injury in the context of chronic kidney disease thanks to a recent F31 award from the NIH. Using cell culture and animal models, they aim to understand whether administration of active Vitamin D and soluble klotho might provide a more effective cardio-protective approach than current therapies like anti-hypertensives and diuretics.

Next Week at Medical Grand Rounds: Seth Landefeld, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine, will present the annual State of the Department of Medicine address. Hear the exciting highlights of 2017 and learn about our goals for the year ahead. If you’d like to ask a question in advance, please share your thoughts via this survey.

Upcoming Events:

  • Jennifer Pollock, PhD, Professor in the UAB Division of Nephrology will present, “Adversity in Childhood and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: Search for Mechanistic Insight” at the DOM Clinical Research Seminar. The lecture will be held at noon on Monday, September 25, in West Pavilion Conference Room E.

  • The 4th Annual Community Engagement Institute will be held at the BJCC East Meeting Hall on Friday, October 6. This day-long event is an education and training opportunity for academic and community partners to explore collaborative research and service, especially to address locally identified needs and to connect key stakeholders and change agents to one another for action. Learn more about this event online.

  • The first UAB i2b2 Abstract Contest will provide cash prizes for the best scientific abstract based on data from UAB’s i2b2 (Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside) clinical data repository. The contest is co-sponsored by the UAB Informatics Institute and the CCTS, and the details are posted online. The deadline is Friday, November 17.

View this week's slides.