News from
Family & Preventive Medicine
April 2020
Just 55 Words:
Emily Herndon, MD
Dedicated to the Class of 2020
Virtual Match Day. Virtual Graduation. Who would’ve known when you gathered last, that you would not see your classmates again? Moving during a pandemic. Meeting colleagues virtually. Anxiously stepping into roles as doctors, knowing that this is what the years of studying, rounding and testing were for. These are extraordinary times. You are extraordinary students.
COVID-19 Information Sources
Free and Helpful Wellness Resources
Dr. Jenny Mascaro has gathered some wellness resources for faculty, staff, and learners during this stressful time.
This YouTube playlist is accumulating video clips produced by chaplains and others at Emory Spiritual Health. The clips provide short meditations, thoughts, and exercises to help during these challenging times.
Stay Healthy with Virtual Programs at Emory
Taking good care of ourselves is ever more important. Here are some Emory resources that can help you stay focused on your well-being:
- Blomeyer Virtual Programs
- Walking on Wednesdays Virtual Walking Group
- Move More Challenge
- Daily Yoga
- Daily Meditation
Additionally, Healthy Emory Connect offers numerous programs on mindfulness, sleep, nutrition and more!
COVID-19 Updates for Emory University Employees
Emory University has created a COVID-19 website that includes all FAQs, logistical information, and email communications related to COVID-19. The Emory University Office of Human Resources has developed a website with helpful information for working through COVID-19. The School of Medicine has also created a webpage to house SOM-specific updates and past communications.
Transformative Research
Congratulations and Kudos!
Dr. Dio Kavalieratos and team received a notice of award for a 3-year, $3.1 million grant from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to conduct a five-site, international clinical trial of specialty palliative care for adults with cystic fibrosis. This study is the first trial of palliative care in a genetic illness.
Dr. Jennifer Mascaro received a notice of award for her R01 titled "A Feasibility Study of Chaplain-Delivered Compassion Meditation for Patients Receiving Stem Cell Transplantation."
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha selected for the National Institute of Aging's Butler Wiliams Scholars Program, scheduled for July 2020. The Butler-Williams Scholars Program provides unique opportunities for junior faculty and researchers new to the field of aging to gain insight about aging research. In addition to lectures, seminars, and small group discussions, Dr. Kulshreshtha will receive support and consultation for the development of his research interests and advice on preparing and submitting research grant applications to NIA from NIA program officers.
Also, Brittney Brown, one of the psychology student trainees working with Dr. Kulshreshtha's LIGHT research group, was selected by Harvard for her internship.
Drs. Mo Ali, Oguchi Nwosu, and two RSPH graduate students (Sabrina Smith and Kara Suvada) have kicked off a global health project to do a systematic review of HPV/cervical cancer screenings.
Dr. Mo Ali participated on a panel titled COVID-19 and Diabetes: Current and Future Impacts. The slides are available here
Recent Publications
Dr. Jodie Guest published an editorial in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance on "The Three Steps Needed to End the COVID-19 Pandemic: Bold Public Health Leadership, Rapid Innovations, and Courageous Political Will." You can read the editorial HERE.
Dr. Leslie Johnson will publish "Epilepsy self-management behaviors among African Americans with epilepsy" in Epilepsy and Behavior.
Dr. Dio Kavalieratos published "Place of Death for Individuals with Chronic Lung Disease: Trends and Associated Factors from 2003 to 2017 in the United States" in the journal Chest. Access to the PDF is available HERE.
Dr. Sara Turbow published a paper on med ed during the pandemic in The Journal of Hospital Medicine. Click HERE for the full article.
Research Resources
Boilerplate language library
Writing a grant? Emory School of Medicine has a new Boilerplate language library containing descriptions of the schools and centers within Emory. Take a look at https://boilerplate.emory.edu.
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Subscribe to the Department of Medicine's weekly newsletter "What's Up in DOM Research" for the latest on NIH funding opportunities and notices, federal funding opportunities, and more. Email domresearch@emory.edu to subscribe.
Educational Investments for our future
Match Day 2020
Congratulations and welcome to our new Preventive Medicine residents!
We welcome Drs. Thomas Bakondy, Ronak Ghiya, and Alexander Paras to the Preventive Medicine Residency Program. In addition, current resident Dr. Chioma Erondu will be continuing into her second year.
Thomas Bakondy, MD – Magna cum laude graduate of Kent State University and graduate of Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, he is board-certified in Diagnostic Radiology, having previously completed his residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a fellowship in Breast Imaging at the University of California Irvine Medical Center.
Chioma Erondu, MD - Graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and Duke University School of Medicine, she completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas).
She pursued interests in public health and preventive medicine even while in her current OB/GYN residency during which she participated in a rotation at HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that was sponsored by the Association for Prevention Teach and Research.
Ronak Ghiya, MD – Summa cum laude graduate of Wright State University, and graduate of Wright State University School of Medicine, he is completing a residency in Internal Medicine at Baylor Scott & White Health.
Alexander Paras, DO, MPH – Magna cum laude graduate of San Diego State University, Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health, and Western University of Health Sciences / College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific. Dr. Paras previously completed a transitional year internship at Chino Valley Medical Center (California) and is completing service as an active duty medical officer (Major) in the U.S. Air force during July 2013 – June 2020.
More photos from Match Day 2020
Pictured below: Dr. Emily Herndon welcomes Emory graduates to the Family Medicine family.
Pictured below: Drs. Megha Shah and Susy Alfonso.
PA Program (virtually) rocks National Ultrasound Competition
Congratulations to the Emory Ultrasound Teams that competed in the national iScan completion! The annual iScan competition is usually associated with the national AAPA conference. This year the conference was cancelled, but the iScan competition was held virtually Friday April 17, 2020.
Emory faculty member and coach Jeremy Amayo reports, "After three elimination rounds, our class of 2020 team (Niels Sorensen, Daniel Kliner, Brent Bowler, Julie Smith and Brittany Moon) made it through and finished in SECOND PLACE (out of 33 teams). It was a challenging final round against Indiana University who took first. Our students got some questions right that 1. we NEVER taught them and 2. That I would have gotten wrong (including sonographic findings and clinical decision rules for an image of a pediatric septic hip joint)."
Congratulations also to Alex Milstrom and Logan Tuttle (representing the class of 2021) who finished second in their round, despite having minimal ultrasound training so far.
Also, big, big kudos to Jeremy Amayo who got a shout out from the organizers for being a critical part of facilitating and judging during this event. Jeremy’s involvement was both instrumental to the success of the event and inspirational to the participants and to the Society of Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Thank you, Jeremy!
Pictured below: PA students (top row, l to r) Brittany Moon, Niels Sorensen, Julie Smith, (bottom row, l to r) Daniel Kliner, Brent Bowler.
Pictured below: PA students Niels Sorensen, Brittany Moon, Julie Smith, Daniel Kliner and Brent Bowler
Being of Service
Thank you for your service, Dr. Marcewicz
The Division of Palliative Medicine would like to acknowledge the current deployment of Dr. Lauren Marcewicz as a major with the US Army National Guard. She is representing our Department and Division extraordinarily well in her role. Thank you for your service to our country. We look forward to welcoming you home later this year.
New National Service Positions
Dr. Ali John Zarrabi has been nominated by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine to represent them as a member of the American Medical Association Cannabis Task Force.
Dr. Dio Kavalieratos has been invited to join the Steering Committee of the Palliative Care Research Cooperative Group, which is the world’s largest palliative care research collaborative. The Steering Committee is the main governing board for the PCRC and is responsible for overall scientific oversight of the PCRC research resource.
Socially Distant Drumming Classes for Seniors
In addition to teaching PA students online, PA faculty Karen Newell has transitioned her live drumming classes that were taught in senior centers to an on-line format. For many senior citizens, this time has been VERY stressful and isolating. Karen has taught live classes to seniors at several local senior centers for several years but have recently transitioned to teaching these classes on-line since these centers are on strict social distancing protocols. The seniors absolutely love it and it brings a sense of community and fun to those who need social connection the most. Check out the fun at the links below.
Below: Central Dekalb Senior Center On-line Drumming Classes
Below: Holbrook Active Senior Living Community Courtyard Concert where residents came out onto their balconies and played pots/pans and even played plastic garbage bags.
Evidence of our Awesomeness!
Doctor's Day Recognitions for Palliative Care Center Physicians
In recognition of Doctors' Day, the Emory School of Medicine Recognitions Committee invited nominations of doctors who are exceptionally dedicated to serving others and who best exemplify the values of the Emory School of Medicine. Seven of our physicians from the Emory Palliative Care Center have been recognized this year. They join an ever growing group of our physicians who have been recognized with this honor in previous years. Please congratulate the following Emory Palliative Care Center faculty members!
Laura Brachman, MD
Kimberly Curseen, MD
C. McLean Ellis, MD
Joanne Kuntz, MD
Ravi Pathak, MD
Tammie Quest, MD
Jabeen Taj, MD
The full list of physicians honored by Emory can be found HERE.
Dr. Jodie Guest Honored with Two Teaching Awards
"It is a pleasure to recognize and celebrate Professor Jodie Guest’s receipt of the Department of Epidemiology’s 2020 Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr. Guest led a team to teach the first incarnation of EPI530 in the new methods curriculum, and was the sole instructor for the section of department students. She developed an excellent rapport with the students, keeping in touch with them in the spring semester through the EPI-Curious book club and then the COVID-19 journal club. She co-instructs “Methods in HIV Epidemiology” each spring semester, which is a perennial favorite among the department’s electives. In the School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program, she is Course Director of “Epidemiology and Biostatistics” and a three semester series called “Analysis in Medicine.” Earlier this year, she received the School of Medicine’s Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Award (2019). Given her role as an educator at both the School of Medicine and the Rollins School of Public Health, she has been recognized with an appointment on the Woodruff Health Sciences Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Council and the steering committee for the Woodruff Health Educators Academy, both of which foster collaboration among educators across the health sciences at Emory to promote and support the practice and scholarship of teaching and learning. Dr. Guest is an outstanding educator and colleague, and deserving of the recognition of this award."
Additionally, Dr. Guest is being honored as the 2020 Faculty of the Year for Rollins School of Public Health as awarded by the student body. Congratulations!
Dr. Mo Ali quoted in New York Times
Dr. Mo Ali was quoted in a NYT editorial about the reopening of Georgia and COVID-19. You can read the full article HERE.
Dr. Shah selected for 2020 AAMC Early Career Women Faculty Leadership Development
The Association of American Medical Colleges has selected Dr. Megha Shah for the 2020 Early Career Women Faculty Leadership Development Seminar, which presents a foundation for modeling leadership behavior. Participants will learn skills and strategies to assist them with creating individual leadership goals and will gain insights into the realities of building a career in academic medicine and science, grow their professional network, and explore various paths to leadership. Congratulations!
Dr. Tina-Ann Thompson promoted to Emory Program Lead, Primary Care
The Emory Clinic and Emory Specialty Associates leadership team is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Tina-Ann Thompson to the role of Emory Program Lead, Primary Care. In this role, Dr. Thompson will report to physician leader Ted Johnson, MD, Chair of Family Medicine and Chief of General Medicine and Geriatrics. Primary Care Medical Directors Drs. Fred Turton and Chris Masi will support her in this role.
Dr. Thompson received her Bachelors of Science from Yale University in 1996, her medical degree at Boston University in 2001, and graduated from the Emory Family Medicine residency in 2004. In 2006 she purchased Rockbridge Family Medicine, which soon expanded into two locations. In 2015, she became Medical Director-Clinical Services for the DeKalb Medical Physicians Group, and in 2016, the Chief Medical Officer for Primary Care.
As DMPG Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Thompson provided oversight of DMPG’s Quality Department. Through this role, she provided guidance and leadership for quality performance guidelines, data reporting, and generation of incentive revenue and address emergency preparedness and safety issues. Her accomplishments included enhanced timely physician documentation with creation and implementation of task completion policy, increased volume of annual wellness visits, and screening low dose lung CT scans with creation and implementation of workflow changes. She assisted with Root Cause Analyses of medical errors and SAFE Reports and coordinated needed workflow changes.
In her role as Program Lead, Emory Primary Care, Dr. Thompson will continue her work in her own clinical practice, and will have partnership and oversight of all primary care practices in The Emory Clinic and Emory Specialty Associates. As well, she will have collaborative oversight with Dr. Ted Johnson and the VP of primary care, Ms. LeShea Turner, on all recruitment and retention programs, marketing and strategic growth, financial, quality, patient satisfaction, and performance strategies.
Don't miss events and opportunities!
Online Faculty Development
The Office of Faculty Academic Advancement, Leadership, and Inclusion (FAALI) has created an online resource for faculty. If you have time for asynchronous learning, check out the FAALI video library. This online catalog includes recordings on a variety of topics including promotion and tenure, wellness, education, and teaching.
Thank an Emory Health Hero
Have you witnessed faculty member or trainee doing amazing work on the front lines of COVID-19? We want to hear from you! Share a message of encouragement or thanks HERE and help us spread appreciation for our dedicated healthcare community. You can also post a public shout out on social media using #EmoryHealthHeroes and we will share your kind words. Let’s show our faculty and trainees how proud we are of their service!
SOM Looking for Global COVID Heroes
We want to hear from the Emory-trained doctors and health care workers around the world risking their lives to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Tell us your stories and send us your pictures— so we can share with the world. Submit here: http://emory.edu/!c19stories
Funding Opportunities
The Georgia Healthy Family Alliance (GHFA) is seeking applications for its 2020 Community Health Grant Program which provides for grants totaling up to $5,000 each for projects addressing health care needs in communities throughout Georgia. Current Georgia Academy of Family Physicians members including medical students, residents and active / life members are eligible to apply for second cycle grant funding before May 14, 2020. Considering an application? Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha is on the GHFA Board and would be happy to answer your questions.
Got news? Please send your announcements and photos to leigh.partington@emory.edu. The DFPM newsletter is published monthly.
