News from
Family & Preventive Medicine
Highlights from November/December 2020
Just 55 Words:
Ted Johnson, MD, MPH
In the midst of all that 2020 threw at us, I feel gratitude. I am tremendously thankful for everyone’s efforts this year in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, advocating for antiracism, and working to support each other. In this month’s double-feature edition, please enjoy impressive updates on our work in research, education, clinical care, and outreach.
Transformative Research
Research News
A recording of the October 30th Department of Family and Preventive Medicine Research Retreat is available on SharePoint. If you did not already receive a link to the recording, please email Emily Chuba for the link and to be added to the department research mailing list.
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More Details about the New
Palliative Care Postdoctoral Research Training Fellowship
Faculty from the Emory Palliative Care Center (which encompasses Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta) have been awarded $500,000 by the Fraser-Parker Foundation to build a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to expand the pipeline of investigators in serious illness and palliative care research. This novel initiative will offer research training opportunities to individuals across the career trajectory, from postdoctoral trainees to existing early- and mid-career faculty.
The Fraser-Parker Foundation gift will support two interrelated programs. First, a two-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program will support doctorally-prepared candidates with intensive mentorship and a personalized career development plan to develop the skills necessary for academic research careers. Second, as a way to engage existing Emory faculty in scientific investigation, a Faculty Scholars Program will offer competitive pilot funding alongside individualized training and mentorship in specific research methodology. These two programs, in concert, will draw new talent to the field of palliative care research, while also providing research opportunities to enhance the careers of mid-career faculty.
The Palliative Care Science @ Emory Leadership Team consists of Dr. Tammie Quest, Director, Emory Palliative Care Center; Chief, Division of Palliative Medicine (pictured above, left), Dr. Dio Kavalieratos, Associate Professor, Division of Palliative Medicine (pictured above, center), Department of Family and Preventive Medicine; Director of Research and Quality, Emory Palliative Care Center), and Dr. Khaliah Johnson, Interim Chief, Division of Pediatric Palliative Care, Department of Pediatrics (pictured above, right). You can read more about the award and the program here.
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Emory and GSU awarded $600,000 through Project ECHO for virtual COVID-19 training
Faculty at Emory University and Georgia State University (GSU), including Dr. Ted Johnson and Dr. Miranda Moore, have been awarded $600,000 by the AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) ECHO National Nursing Home COVID-19 Action Network to provide training and mentorship to nursing homes in the metro Atlanta area to increase the implementation of evidence-based infection prevention and safety practices to protect residents and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no cost to the nursing homes for participating in this training and mentorship program.
GSU is the hub for this project, recruiting nursing homes to take part in a 16-week virtual training program and delivering the virtual training modules. Faculty from Emory University School of Medicine serve as mentors and content experts, available for nursing homes to ask questions about materials in the training modules or other issues in their facilities. As of early November, when the project began, Georgia’s NNHCAN ECHO team has trained 564 staff across 187 individual nursing homes that serve collectively over 10,000 residents.
Background:
As of Fall 2020, nearly one-quarter of the known COVID-19 deaths in the United States have been nursing home residents and staff. Advanced age, underlying frailty, and communal living conditions make nursing home residents especially vulnerable, and their reliance on nursing home staff members put these essential workers at high risk.
The new National Nursing Home COVID Action Network was created under an AHRQ contract worth up to $237 million that is part of the nearly $5 billion Provider Relief Fund authorized in 2020 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The Network will provide free training and mentorship to U.S. nursing homes to enhance evidence-based safety practices to protect residents and staff.
Goals:
- Prevent SARS-COV-2 from entering nursing homes where it has not been detected.
- Identify residents and staff who have been infected with SARS-COV-2.
- Prevent the spread of SARS-COV-2 between staff, residents, and visitors.
- Provide safe and appropriate care to residents with mild and asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.
- Ensure staff members have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to implement best-practice safety measures to protect residents and themselves.
- Reduce social isolation for residents, families, and staff during these difficult times.
To achieve these goals, over 15,000 nursing homes that are certified to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs will be able to participate in a 16-week training program using a standardized curriculum developed by the IHI. Training and mentorship will be provided through the Project ECHO model of telementoring. Nursing home teams that would like to participate may sign-up on the Project ECHO website .
Project ECHO has built a community of over 250 training centers (referred to as Hubs) across the United States, comprising leading academic medical centers and large healthcare delivery systems in nearly every State. The project will recruit over 100 existing and new Hubs for this nursing home training effort, which will use a standardized curriculum developed by IHI as a foundation.
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Recent Awards and Honors
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha (pictured above, left) has been awarded his K23, Mechanistic Pathways Linking Stress and Cognition, from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Congratulations, Dr. K!
Dr. Miranda Moore (pictured above, center), Dr. Jonathan Bonnet (pictured above, right), and the Healthy Teaching Kitchen team won Best Abstract in a Non-Trainee Category at the Teaching Kitchen Research Conference (virtual - November 2020) for their abstract titled Design, feasibility, and acceptability of the Emory Healthy Kitchen Collaborative – A multidisciplinary worksite wellness program.
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Family Medicine Residents Win at GAFP
Emory Family Medicine Residents took 1st and 2nd place in the research poster competition at the Georgia Association of Family Physicians Annual CME Meeting. Dr. Cassandra Mooney's (pictured above, left) 1st place poster, titled "The Primary Care Providers' Knowledge and Approach to Adult ADHD: A Follow Up Survey" describes work funded by Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha's AAFP grant. Dr. Zazi Nylander's (pictured above, right) 2nd place poster, "Implementing a standard operating procedure for PrEP increased provider comfort, knowledge, and prescribing in a Georgia residency program," describes her work with department faculty members Dr. Miranda Moore, Dr. Nina Ghose and Dr. Jose Villalon, along with former FM resident and current HIV Medicine Fellow Dr. Lin Mel. Congratulations to Drs. Mooney and Mylander and their mentors!
One of our Emory medical students also had an award-winning poster. Congratulations to Grace Moxley Saxon, MS-4, co-author Jamie Pattee, MS-4 and faculty mentor Dr. Angeline Ti. The QI project presented was titled Development of a Shared-Decision Making Protocol to Expand Contraceptive Choice for Uninsured Women. It was completed at the Emory student-run free clinic, The Harriet Tubman Women’s Clinic in Clarkston, GA, with the assistance of a Georgia Health Family Alliance Grant. The project implemented an evidence-based shared-decision making protocol for contraceptive counseling sessions, which resulted in excellent patient satisfaction with the method chosen.
You can view the posters HERE.
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Highlighted Opportunities
How to Continue Global Research in the Era of Foreign Influence
Robert Nobles, DrPH, MPH, CIP, Vice President for Research Administration.
January 14, 2021 noon - 1 pm. Register HERE.
GA CTSA KL2 Program: Clinical and Translational Research Career Development Program for Junior Faculty Member
Deadline: March 1, 2021
The purpose of this FOA is to support and enhance career development for junior faculty (MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or PharmD) committed to a career in clinical and/or translational research. Learn more.
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Recent Presentations
Bergquist SH*, Moore MA, Rastorguieva K, Bonnet J. Design, feasibility, and acceptability of the Emory Healthy Kitchen Collaborative – A multidisciplinary worksite wellness program. Teaching Kitchen Research Conference. Virtual, November, 2020 (oral presentation) [COVID-19 delayed from in-person April 22-23, 2020]
Bergquist SH*, Bonnet J, Rastorguieva K, Moore MA. Evaluation of the Emory Healthy Kitchen Collaborative’s Multidisciplinary teaching kitchen self-care curriculum. Teaching Kitchen Research Conference. Virtual, November 2020 (poster presentation) [COVID-19 delayed from in-person April 22-23, 2020]
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What takes 3 minutes per month and can boost your H-index? Updating your publications in Emory FIRST.
The Emory FIRST "Claim publications" button is right under your profile. Claim the publications that belong to you with one click.
Don't forget to add your ORCID to your profile to help Emory FIRST find all of your publications. The School of Medicine uses Emory FIRST to determine your H-index, so it's important to keep your publications up to date.
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Recent Publications
Isenberg SR, Kavalieratos D, Chow R, Le L, Wegier P, Zimmermann C. Quality versus risk of bias assessment of palliative care trials: comparison of two tools.BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2020 Nov 18:bmjspcare-2020-002539. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002539. Online ahead of print.PMID: 33208350
Luhar S, Kondal D, Jones R, Anjana RM, Patel SA, Kinra S, Clarke L, Ali MK, Prabhakaran D, Kadir MM, Tandon N, Mohan V, Narayan KMV. Lifetime risk of diabetes in metropolitan cities in India. Diabetologia. 2020 Nov 23. doi: 10.1007/s00125-020-05330-1. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33225415
Patel SA, Sharma H, Mohan S, Weber MB, Jindal D, Jarhyan P, Gupta P, Sharma R, Ali M, Ali MK, Narayan KMV, Prabhakaran D, Gupta Y, Roy A, Tandon N. The Integrated Tracking, Referral, and Electronic Decision Support, and Care Coordination (I-TREC) program: scalable strategies for the management of hypertension and diabetes within the government healthcare system of India. BMC Health Serv Res. 2020 Nov 9;20(1):1022. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-05851-w.PMID: 33168004
Qamar Masood M, Singh K, Kondal D, Ali MK, Mawani M, Devarajan R, Usha Menon V, Varthakavi PK, Vishwanathan V, Dharmalingam M, Bantwal G, Kumar Sahay R, Khadgawat R, Desai A, Prabhakaran D, Venkat Narayan KM, Tandon N. Factors affecting achievement of glycemic targets among type 2 diabetes patients in South Asia: analysis of the CARRS Trial. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2020 Nov 23:108555. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2020.108555. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33242515
Rasmussen SA, Goodman RA. Field epidemiology and COVID-19: always more lessons to be learned. Int J Epidemiol, 2020, 1-3. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyaa221(editorial)
Suvada K, Plantinga L, Vaughan CP, Markland AD, Mirk A, Burgio KL, Erni SM, Ali MK, Okosun I, Young H, Goode PS, Johnson TM 2nd. Comorbidities, Age, and Polypharmacy Limit the Use by US Older Adults with Nocturia of the Only FDA-approved Drugs for the Symptom. Clin Ther. 2020 Nov 27:S0149-2918(20)30513-0. doi: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2020.11.003. Online ahead of print. PMID: 33257091
Tapper CX, Curseen K. Rehabilitation Concerns in the Geriatric Critically Ill and Injured - Part 1. Crit Care Clin. 2021 Jan;37(1):117-134. doi: 10.1016/j.ccc.2020.08.012. Epub 2020 Oct 28.PMID: 33190765 Review.
Yan LD, Ali MK, Strombotne KL. Impact of Expanded Medicaid Eligibility on the Diabetes Continuum of Care Among Low-Income Adults: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2020 Nov 10:S0749-3797(20)30394-9. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.08.013. Online ahead of print.PMID: 33191065
MMSc-PA Candidate Isabel Walker co-authored a paper based on her MPH research/seminal project. The paper, Building reproductive justice into the safety net, was published in Public Health Nursing and can be found online here.
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Research Resources
Survey Program
If you utilize surveys for education/research consider using Qualtrics. It is free via Emory and available for School of Medicine faculty, residents, and staff via SharePoint. Click here to start using your free account.
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All of Us Research Program at Emory University Launches Researcher Workbench Database
A cloud-based platform enabling researchers to execute rapid, hypothesis-driven research on one of the largest and most diverse biomedical datasets of its kind, the Workbench Database is a major milestone for the All of Us Research Program whose goal is to help researchers understand more about why people get sick or stay healthy. The Researcher Workbench Database enables traditional and nontraditional researchers to learn from a community of hundreds of thousands of participants. Check it out
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Lunch with a Leader Series
Want an opportunity to have an informal lunch via Zoom with one of our DOM Vice Chairs? These small group will provide a unique forum to connect with colleagues from across divisions and with departmental leadership. Spots are limited, so registration is required and closes a week prior. Learn more and register
W. Robert Taylor, MD, PhD, Executive Vice-Chair, Department of Medicine
January 27, 2021 noon – 1 p.m. via Zoom
Jeffrey L. Lennox, MD, Vice-Chair, Grady Affairs
February 24, 2021 noon- 1 pm via Zoom
David S. Stephens, MD, Vice President for Research, Woodruff Health Sciences Center
March 23, 2021 noon - 1 pm via Zoom
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Funding Opportunities
A searchable External Funding Opportunities Database has been compiled from FOAs in the weekly What's Up in DOM Research newsletter.
Emory credentials required to view.
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Emory's Office of Corporate Relations and Office of Foundation Relations have created a SharePoint list of funding opportunities, updated weekly, that might be of
interest. Completing the Funding Opportunity Interest form also allows them to direct your inquiry to the OCR or OFR team for the next steps and support. You can also sign up on the site to receive email alerts of updates to the funding opportunities page and will have the ability to select the mode and frequency.
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Educational Investments for our future
PA Program Virtual Commencement
The PA Program Virtual Commencement was held on Friday, December 18th from 10 a.m. -12 p.m. You'll find more details, including the program and honors list, and - coming soon - a link to the ceremony video here. Congratulations to the #EmoryPA2020 graduates!
Smith named new Assistant Director of Undergraduate Medical Education and Faculty Advisor for Family Medicine Interest Group
Dr. Ryan Smith is our new Assistant Director of Undergraduate Medical Education and the new Faculty Advisor for FMIG. Dr. Smith earned his MD at Emory School of Medicine and completed his residency in Family Medicine at Emory. He also served as co-chief resident. Dr. Smith joined our faculty in summer 2020.
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Family Medicine Interest Group holds virtual panel
The Family Medicine Interest Group held their first virtual "What is Family Medicine?" event on November 2, 2020. Between 30-40 medical students participated and heard from a panel of providers (pictured below) who covered a wide range of topics.
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Faculty Development Opportunities
The FAALI (Faculty Academic Advancement, Leadership, and Inclusion) Lecture Series, presented throughout the year by senior faculty within the School of Medicine, covers practical topics aimed at assisting faculty in their career development. Details and
registration
Promotions and How to Attain One
Kathy Griendling Ph.D., Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development.
January 20, 2021 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Pandemic Disruption of the Healthcare Business Model
Bryce Gartland, MD, FHM, Hospital Group President and Co-Chief of Clinical Operations, Emory Healthcare
February 11, 2021 noon - 1 pm
Time Management and Improving Efficiency
Andi Shane, MD, MPH, MSc, Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Science
Being of Service
Lund elected At-Large Commissioner
Congratulations to Dr.Maha Lund, who has been elected At-Large Commissioner for the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the organization that accredits Physician Assistant programs in the US.
The Commission is comprised of 22 Commissioners who evaluate the reports provided by site visitors and make decisions on programs. accreditation status. Commissioners also participate in site visits, especially to programs with provisional accreditation or programs on probation.
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Curseen elected to AAHPM Board
Congratulations to Dr. Kimberly Curseen who was recently appointed to serve on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The AAHPM is the professional association for hospice and palliative medicine physicians and allied healthcare professionals who care for patients with serious illness and their families. The Board of Directors is the governing body of the Academy.
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Guest appointed to ATL LGBTQ Board
Congratulations to Dr. Jodie Guest who was recently appointed to the City of Atlanta's LGBTQ Advisory Board by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Focus areas of the Director of LGBTQ Affairs and the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board include:
- LGBTQ Youth
- LGBTQ Arts Entertainment and Culture
- Trans Affairs
- LGBTQ Health
- LGBTQ Economic and Community Development
Find out more about the Advisory Board and the Bottoms Administrations's commitment to making City Hall more open and inclusive here.
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Huey appointed Interim CEO of ACHA
The American College Health Association (ACHA) Board of Directors has appointed Michael Huey, MD, a Fellow of ACHA and its 2017-18 president, as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective November 17, 2020. Mike, a recently retired Associate Professor in our department and former Assistant Vice President of Emory Student Health Services, will serve as ACHA Interim CEO until the Board has identified a permanent replacement.
The American College Health Association serves as the principal leadership organization for advancing the health and well-being of our nation’s 20 million college students and their campus communities through advocacy, education, and research.
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Staff Cupcake Caravan Spreads Cheer!
The Family and Preventive Medicine staff delivered cupcakes during the week of December 7-11 to show their appreciation for our hard-working clinical providers. Pictured above, left: Tammi Teeters-McDade, Patricia Woodard, Yan Zhang, and Chariss Smith in the Family Medicine at Dunwoody parking lot. Pictured above, center: Dr. Kulshreshtha picks up a cupcake to be enjoyed later. Pictured above, right: Podiatry residents and Podiatry staff member Joslyn McLain. Porsha Clayton, Mary Davis, Jason Freiji, and Leigh Partington also made deliveries.
Box to OneDrive Migration
is coming!
Key Messages:
Emory is transitioning from Box as a storage/collaboration service to OneDrive for Business with a final completion date of April 2021.
The Box Migration team is working on the timeframe for the migration. Preparations for moving SOM departments will begin in January and the migration is scheduled to occur in February.
Please do not self-move your data to avoid any migration issues.
If you are doing more than just sharing folders and files in Box, we need information about your Box workflow processes. See below for how to submit your information.
Click HERE for more details, FAQ, and helpful resources, including IT contacts to answer any questions.
Don't Miss Opportunities!
2021 MLK Community Service Awards
Deadline: January 6, 2021
Emory University's Goizueta Business School, Rollins School of Public Health, and School of Medicine are pleased to announce that the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Awards nominations are now open.
The Awards this year will recognize up to four individuals and/or groups from the Emory community for their outstanding and unparalleled response to the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism. Nominees may have demonstrated but not limited to actions or initiatives within Emory or in the broader Atlanta communities that extend beyond typical responsibilities in service of addressing an issue or challenge raised by COVID-19 or racial unrest. Awardees will receive a $250 gift to the registered 501(c)3 of their choice.
To nominate an individual or group for this award, please complete the nomination form - click here. Nominations are due by 11:59 pm on January 6, 2021.
Georgia CTSA KL2 Program Request for Applications & Workshop
The goal of the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA, the NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award) KL2 Scholars program is to support and enhance career development for junior faculty (MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or PharmD) committed to a career in clinical and/or translational research. The Georgia CTSA program is committed to assisting junior faculty at partner institutions to become independent, established, and ethical clinical and/or translational research investigators. Application Deadline: March 1, 2021 at 5 p.m.
Events from the Office of
Faculty Academic Advancement, Leadership and Inclusion (FAALI)
FAALI recognized National Disability Employment Awareness Month by sharing the stories from three faculty members. Learn more about this initiative and recommend a faculty member for inclusion in future affinity month celebrations.
To ensure we have a diverse representation of speakers to represent EUSOM, a Speakers Bureau has been created to identify URiM and women faculty with areas of expertise and interest to present within academic, community or media forums. Join us as we continue to build a more equitable and inclusive culture.
Visit the FAALI website for information about future lectures and other programs.
HIV & Aging: Mitochondria to the Metropolis Virtual Conference
April 14-16, 2021
HIV & Aging: Mitochondria to the Metropolis is going virtual! The theme for the 2021 conference is "HIV & Aging: Mitochondria to the Metropolis — Population Determinants of Health." This multidisciplinary conference will provide a venue for
all attendees to build scientific partnerships and contribute useful knowledge to the quality of care and life of persons aging with HIV.
Call for abstracts is now open until January 15th and registration is opening soon! Click here for more information and to submit abstracts online. For questions, email hivaging@emory.edu.
Did you miss an issue?
Links to previous department newsletters can be found on
the department website HERE.
Got news? Please send your announcements and photos to leigh.partington@emory.edu. The DFPM newsletter is published monthly.
