55 Words from the Chair

Welcome to the FPM Family!

Congratulations to Dr. Kevin Day on the new addition to his family! Aaron Robert Day was born on 12/15/21 and he is doing very well! 

Congratulations to Dr. Aparna Mark on the new addition to her family!  Dhani Mark Kamaraju was born 12/13/21 on Dr. Mark's grandmother’s 84th birthday. Big sister Arya is very excited to have a baby brother!

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Wellness Corner

Can we purposefully seek growth
from adversity?

The mantra “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” resonates with many of us, but what does the science say about it? As might be expected, it’s complicated! People often find a way to find meaning from challenging experiences, make peace with them, or gain a better understanding of themselves and others. But not surprisingly, there is a lot of variation in how people respond to adversity (for example, here, here, and here). The science of post-traumatic growth may offer some guidance on the factors that lead to growth in response to challenging life circumstances.

Interested in post-traumatic growth? Here are some other resources:

• Harvard Business Review
• Positive Psychology
• Greater Good: Can Any Good Come of Our COVID Lockdowns?

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What You Need to Know About Masks

Epidemiologists Dr. Jodie Guest (PA Program) and Dr. Marybeth Sexton (Infectious Diseases) go through the gamut of respiratory masks, from the heavy-duty N95 to surgical masks to cloth masks. What's the difference between them? How do you get the right fit? (Using actual masks and showing how to do it.) What are some problems with surgical and cloth masks? "[Wearing the right mask] is one of your best defenses to add on top of vaccinating and boosting," says. Dr. Guest. (9 minute video below)

Transformative Research

News

The curriculum is activity-oriented and participatory, with workshops focused on helping participants hone their expertise in each topic area. The 4 sessions cover:

• Communicating With a General Audience
• Your Online Identity and Finding Your Comfort Zone in Social Media
• Media Training (or, How to Become an “Expert”)
• "Engaging a Live, Non-Expert Audience" Workshop with Dad’s Garage Theater

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Recent Awards

Abstract: As the United States population ages, experts estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer’s and related dementias will increase dramatically. Organizations and researchers have deemed building dementia-friendly communities a priority for everyone, and innovative programs are being developed to meet the educational and infrastructural needs of individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. However, there are no currently available tools to assess how dementia-friendly a community is or the effectiveness of these interventions to increase dementia-friendliness. Through a partnership with the Alter program, which aims to improve the physical and mental health outcomes of African American church community members using educational and infrastructural interventions, we propose to use survey methodology and factor analysis to create and validate a measure to assess the level of dementia friendliness of these faith communities.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ted Johnson and Dr. Jennifer Mascaro on their recent funding award! In response to HRSA’s program purpose to support the COVID-19 era health workforce with high-quality training for the health professions and nursing, The Atlanta's Resiliency Resource fOr frontline Workers (ARROW) will leverage academic practice partnerships and engage stakeholders in a sustainable community of front-line workforce resiliency training. This program will offer comprehensive resources for resiliency enrichment, training, and professional development for both practicing and student nurses, physicians, and public safety personnel.

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Recent and Upcoming Presentations

Dr. Miranda Moore and the Healthy Kitchen Team including Family Medicine resident Dr. Nikhila Gandrakota won an Excellent Research Poster Award for their poster "Dietary, cooking, and eating pattern outcomes from the Emory Healthy Kitchen Collaborative Emory University" at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine 2021 (virtual) Annual Meeting, November 7-10, 2021.

Dr. Leslie Johnson presented a poster entitled, “Applying the behavior change wheel to facilitate integration of hypertension care into HIV clinics in South Africa” on behalf of the iHEART-SA team at the 14th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health held virtually December 14-16, 2021. This abstract presented research conducted as a part of the formative phase of the iHEART-SA study. Dr. Johnson also chaired a session “Strategies for Implementing mental health evidence-based practices in diverse settings.” 

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Highlighted Opportunities:

8th Annual Health Services Research Day
May 4, 2022
Emory School of Medicine Building, Auditorium 110

Symposium and networking opportunity where GA researchers learn about ongoing quality, effectiveness, and value-based research activities, including access to health care, health care delivery, and outcomes.  

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Elizabeth McGlynn, PhD 
Professor of Health Science Systems Executive Director, Center for Effectiveness and Safety Research Vice President, Kaiser Permanente Research 

Submit your abstract by March 7, 2022.

Register now and view examples of successfully submitted abstracts.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/HSRDay.
 

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Invitation for Underrepresented Researchers in Medicine in the Areas of Vascular factors, Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders

The Goizueta ADRC in collaboration with the Department of Medicine Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council has issued a special request for applications from trainees and junior faculty from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in medicine, who are interested in developing greater experience in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD) research. Applicants will have the opportunity to enhance their career interests in CV and AD/ADRD research through tailored mentorship, lectureship, and hands-on training. In addition to scholarly support, this opportunity will provide funding of $10,000/year to support or supplement a small research study, financial support for travel to workshops or training relevant to the applicant’s career stage, assistance in manuscript and grant writing, and more. Further details are available here. 

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Events
 

New Faculty Member Lecture, Feb. 15

All are welcome - register here. 

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FPM Research Meeting, Feb. 18

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Featured Researcher:
Megha Shah, MD

In what division do you work and who is your mentor?

My primary division is Family Medicine, but my mentorship team is across Emory University.  My primary mentors are Dr. KM Venkat Narayan at Rollins and Dr. Mo Ali.

Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?

My research stems from my clinical experience.  We often see patients who just struggle with the management of their chronic health conditions for a variety of reasons—it may be that they come from a different culture and English is a second language, or have trouble with transportation, or can’t pay for medications.  We have a growing evidence-base for how to help folks that have trouble managing their chronic health conditions, but it’s often hard to take what we read about and apply it to different groups. My focus is on how we take evidence-based programs for diabetes management and prevention and adapt them for immigrant communities in Atlanta.  I do this through community-engaged research in the South Asian community.  Figuring out how we take what we know can work from the published literature and adapting it to the communities in which we work is the backbone of translation and implementation science.

What do you like most about Emory?

I have found Emory to be an incredibly collaborative environment, which I have loved.  For me, I have also loved that I can do a little bit of everything here.  I still get to work with students and residents, see my own panel of patients, and engage in research that I’m passionate about.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

What’s that? (j/k!)  I enjoy time with my family!  My husband is also on faculty at Emory and we have 2 kids.  We love exploring what ATL has to offer!

What is a fun fact about you?

I’m an aspiring (very amateur) yogi and made it my COVID goal to learn how to do “sirsasana” pose (a yoga headstand)!

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Recent Publications

Collaborative department publications
 

Dr. Kim Curseen, Dr. Ashima Lal, and Dr. Ali John Zarrabi published Financial Hardship and Quality of Life Among Patients With Advanced Cancer Receiving Outpatient Palliative Care: A Pilot Study. Cancer Nurs. 2021 Dec 30. doi: 10.1097/NCC.0000000000001052. Online ahead of print. 

Dr. Leslie Johnson and Dr. Mo Ali published Effect of a Collaborative Care Model on Anxiety Symptoms Among Patients with Depression and Diabetes in India: The INDEPENDENT Randomized Clinical Trial. (General Hospital Psychiatry. 2022;74: 39-45. doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2021.11.003.) 

Dr. Leigh Partington and Dr. Ted Johnson published Roles of Academic Writers in a Department: Benefits, Structures, and Funding. Fam Med. 2022 Jan;54(1):16-23. doi: 10.22454/FamMed.2022.465116. PMID: 35006595

Dr. Megha Shah and Dr. Mo Ali published A culturally adapted, social support-based, diabetes group visit model for Bangladeshi adults in the USA: a feasibility study. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2022 Jan 24;8(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s40814-022-00974-9. 

Faculty publications

Dr. Mo Ali: 

• Temporal changes in diabetes prevalence and achievement of care goals in urban South Asia from 2010 to 2016 - The Center for Cardio-metabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia Study.  Diabet Med. 2021 Feb;38(2):e14424. doi: 10.1111/dme.14424. 
• COVID-19 and tobacco cessation: lessons from India.  Public Health. 2022 Jan;202:93-99. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.11.010. 
• Time to start addressing (and not just describing) the social determinants of diabetes: results from the NEXT-D 2.0 network.  BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2021 Dec;9(Suppl 1):e002524. doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002524. 
• Environmental risk factors for reduced kidney function due to undetermined cause in India: an environmental epidemiologic analysis.  Environ Epidemiol. 2021 Sep 24;5(5):e170. doi: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000170. eCollection 2021 Oct. 
   

Dr. Sarah Cross: 

“That little bit of time”: Transition-to-Hospice Perspectives from Hospice Staff and Bereaved Family. (Innovation in Aging. 2022 Jan 18. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igab057
 

Dr. Jodie Guest:

• Decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 from cold-chain food packaging provides no marginal benefit in risk reduction to food workers.  Food Control. 2022 Jan 20:108845. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.108845. 
• Association between the geographic accessibility of PrEP and PrEP use among MSM in nonurban areas.  J Rural Health. 2022 Jan 7. doi: 10.1111/jrh.12645. 
   

Dr. Ted Johnson:

Updating the landmark literature for the practice of geriatrics: Notable articles from 2012-2019.  J Am Geriatr Soc. 2022 Jan 25. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17661. 
 

Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha:

 Physician attitudes and self-reported practices towards prostate cancer screening in Black and White men. Fam Med. 2022; 54(1):30-37. DOI: 10.22454/FamMed.2022.474827
 

Dr. Miranda Moore:

•  Placing nurse-led programs in the hands of the right consumers: The value of collaborating with branding consultants. Res Gerontol Nurs. 2022 Jan-Feb;15(1):2-4. doi: 10.3928/19404921-20211209-01
•  The Alter Program: A nurse-led, dementia-friendly program for African American faith communities and families living with dementia. Nursing Administration Quarterly. 2022 Jan-Mar 01;46(1):72-80. doi: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000506.
   

Dr. Megha Shah:

• Diabetes and hypertension among South Asians in New York and Atlanta leveraging hospital electronic health records. Diabetol Metab Syndr. 2021 Dec 18;13(1):146. doi: 10.1186/s13098-021-00766-w. 
• PENTOSAN POLYSULFATE AND VISION: Findings from an International Survey of Exposed Individuals. Retina. 2021 Jul 1;41(7):1562-1569. doi: 10.1097/IAE.0000000000003078. 

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Educational Investments for our future

PA Program Graduates 50th Class!

 Congratulations to the historic PA Class of 2021 and the whole PA Program Team! 

You can watch the PA Program Class of 2021 Honors Ceremony and the PA Program Class of 2021 Graduation Ceremony. The Graduation Ceremony featured Charles Bearden, PA-C, CPTC,  graduate of Emory's first class of PA graduates, speaking on the history of the PA profession and his memories of Emory.

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Four Family Medicine Residents
Match in Sports Medicine

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FPM Faculty Share Educational Expertise through FAALI

The video library curated by Emory Faculty Academic Advancement, Leadership, and Inclusion (FAALI) has new selections featuring familiar faces. 

Dr. Maha Lund presented Educational Scholarship in a Nutshell with Dr. Linda Lewin 

Jeremy Amayo presented Smile! You’re on Camera: The Non-Videographer’s Guide to Creating Engaging & Educational Videos

Dr. Ali John Zarrabi, Dr. Holly Gooding, and Dr. Paul DeSandre presented Using Art and Museums to Enhance Learning in Health Professions Education

Being of Service

DeSandre receives 2021 Emory@Grady Above and Beyond Award

This award has been established to recognize a faculty member whose performance goes beyond the expectation of their position and advances the mission and vision of the School of Medicine. Congratulations, Dr. DeSandre!

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Quest chosen for EVPHA Search Committee

Information about the search, along with an opportunity to provide your thoughts about the next EVPHA, including nominations, is available on the search website.

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Call for RYSE Health Equity Volunteers

The RYSE DEI Council is seeking volunteers to serve on the 2022 Health Equity Day Committee. This year's event will be held May 17, 2022.

Health Equity Day brings together faculty, staff, and trainees from all divisions, providing a platform to share compelling new findings and identify opportunities for collaboration. The program will include equity-related presentations on clinical quality, research, education, professional development, advocacy, and outreach; a case competition; a storytelling pre-event; and a keynote address.

If you are interested, please submit your name and a brief comment about your interest in the position to Jada Bussey-Jones, MD. 

News from the DEI Council

The Department Climate Survey is complete. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey. The Council is analyzing the data and will share the results soon. 

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DEI Recommended Reading

In this new monthly column, members of the DEI Council will recommend articles that might be of general interest. 

January's focus is representation in research:

Sanders, J. J., Gray, T. F., Sihlongonyane, B., Durieux, B. N., & Graham, L. (2021). A Framework for Anti-Racist Publication in Palliative Care: Structures, Processes, and Outcomes. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 2021 Oct 16.

"As constituents of academic publishing, we have an obligation to re-examine and reformulate the structures and processes that underlie manuscript solicitation and review, and the outcomes by which we measure merit for dissemination and publication. To support this effort, publishers should develop and require authors to complete anti-racist publication educational modules as a pre-condition for publication. To further guide researchers in meeting reporting standards that align with anti-racist principles, the authors propose an Equity in Publication checklist (Table 1 below), which provides a formalized assessment tool to enhance the quality of reported research." 

Further reading:

Armstrong K, Ritchie C. Research Participation in Marginalized Communities—Overcoming Barriers. New England Journal of Medicine. 2022 Jan 15.

Swenor B, Deal JA. Disability Inclusion as a Key Component of Research Study Diversity. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2022 Jan 15.

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SOM Diversity Council Newsletter 

Read January Issue.
Subscribe by emailing somdei@emory.edu

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Monthly DEI Pearls Coming Soon

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DEI Council Spotlights:

Each month, the FPM DEI Council will spotlight a different staff member of the department.  This month, the council spotlights Ms. Yan Zhang, Administrative Assistant, Division of Family Medicine.

The 2^nd longest river in China, the “Yellow River,” runs through the city.  It’s the railway center of the nation.  The city has changed rapidly in the last few years.  Every time I visit, there are new buildings and skyscrapers being built.  Zhengzhou is also famous for being home to the Shaolin Temple where Shaolin Martial Arts and Kungfu are practiced.

4. A fun fact about yourself. 

I really enjoy Chinese folk dancing and recently started teaching my granddaughter how to speak Chinese so that she can learn about her heritage.

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News from the
Faculty Development
Committee

Our department deadlines can be found here.

• If you are going up for Associate Professor (non-tenure) in the service or teaching area of distinction, talk to your division or program director by April 4.
• If you are going up for Associate Professor or Full Professor in the scholarship area of distinction, talk to your division or program director by May 16.
• If you are going up for Full Professor in the service or teaching area of distinction, talk to your division or program director by July 15.

We also highly recommend that you view the following video: Understanding Promotion in the School of Medicine before meeting with your division or program director.

Please note that our department deadlines are different from the School of Medicine deadlines. You should follow our department deadlines.

Got news? Please send your announcements and photos to leigh.partington@emory.edu.
The DFPM newsletter is published monthly.