News from
Family & Preventive Medicine

November 2021

Just 55 Words: 

Announcing the retirement of Karen A. Newell, MMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA (Assistant Professor) School of Medicine PA Program. Karen has been on the faculty at Emory for 27 years and has been instrumental in the education and training of literally generations of PAs! In addition to teaching, her clinical experience during that time included emergency medicine (11 years at Grady Hospital), orthopedic surgery (6 years at the former Crawford Long Hospital), and orthopedic surgery (3 years at Piedmont Hospital). Karen plans to move to Colorado (where she is originally from) and be a full-time caregiver to her mother who came to live with her during Covid after a fall. She will also continue to pursue her other passion of music (drums and percussion). Follow her new adventures at  https://knewelldrums.com/. 

FPM YouTube Channel

Videos for your program/division can be added as public, private, or unlisted and linked to our department website or intranet. Contact Leigh Partington for more information.

Thankful for You!

The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine is thankful
for all of our faculty, staff, and learners.

Below are some specific shout-outs of thankfulness for colleagues.

Wellness Corner

 “Listen with ears of tolerance! See through the eyes of compassion! Speak with the language of love”. ― Jalaluddin Rumi

Feeling lonely? It may be hard not to these days, even as we start to be able to connect with people in person. More than 1 in 10 people report that they always or often feel lonely, and loneliness has increased during the pandemic (for example, see here).

Ø  Former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy talks about his experiences of loneliness and on the importance of focusing on the quality of our relationships: Greater Good and in his new book, Together

Ø  Resources for learning about how to combat loneliness: campaign to end loneliness

Ø  And here is another plug for Emory’s Building Resilience and Compassion Enculturation (emBRACE) program, a peer support program to decrease physical, psychological, and emotional distress and to increase well-being: email

Transformative Research

In the News 

Congratulations to Dr. Ali John Zarrabi for his acceptance into the highly competitive 2022 Harvard Medical School Workshop on Research Methods in Supportive Oncology! The workshop will be held virtually, starting the evening of Sunday, January 23, through Friday, January 28, 2022. 

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Dr. Leslie Johnson has joined the Editorial Board of Cardiovascular Epidemiology (specialty section of Frontiers in Epidemiology) as a Review Editor.

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Recent Awards

Dr. Dio Kavalieratos and colleagues at University of Toronto were recently awarded funding for their project Improving Access to an Innovative Interdisciplinary Regional Home-based Palliative Care Program for Patients with Heart Failure: The General Medicine Inpatient Initiative (GEMINI)-Pall-HF Study. 

Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha and his team won Best Oral Presentation Award, Emory Department of Medicine Research Day 2021 for their presentation COVID19 Vaccine Hesitancy among Healthcare Workers in Four Major Atlanta Hospitals. 

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Recent and Upcoming Presentations

Family Medicine resident Dr. Baker Bernadette and Family Medicine faculty Dr. Susy Alfonso and Dr. Miranda Moore presented Reproductive-age women prescribed ACE-inhibitors not receiving appropriate pregnancy screenings. 2021 STFM Conference on Practice and Quality Improvement. Virtual. September 13-15, 2021. (poster presentation)

Dr. Miranda Moore and team presented Variation in state laws regulating insurance coverage for substance use disorder treatment at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2021 Annual Meeting and Expo. Denver CO, October 24-27, 2021. (oral presentation).

In October, Family Medicine faculty Dr. Leslie Johnson was invited to give a talk to undergraduate students in the NIH-funded Emory Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) program on Applying to Graduate School and Summer Research Programs. The IMSD program is designed to increase diversity in the scientific workforce.

Preventive Medicine resident Alexander Molinari will be presenting a poster titled Public health’s role in ECHO via the experiences of a state department of public health at the MetaECHO 2022 Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 14-17, 2022.

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Highlighted Opportunities:

The Center for Health in Aging is seeking applications that fit the overall mission of the center, can be completed in one year, and require no more than $45,000 in direct costs. Pilots can include basic science, translational studies, and health services research. Cross-disciplinary proposals with investigators from more than one School or Department/Division are encouraged. More details are available here.

Submissions are due to Naquia Mitchell by Friday, November 5, 2021 at 5 pm EST and should include the following:

• NIH biosketch of the Project Lead (must be an Emory faculty member at any rank)
• Two-page project description including the project title, project lead, senior/key personnel, and a structured description of the project (background, aims, methods, and fit with the Center for Health in Aging mission).
• One-page budget justification along with completed budget template

Applications will be reviewed and project leaders of those projects will be selected for funding by December 15, 2021. Award funding will begin January 1, 2022. Each selected pilot project will receive up to $45,000 in direct costs for the project year, depending on scope, and will be required to provide progress reports at least quarterly to CHA leadership.

Emory Center for Health in Aging's Mission: Identify, attract, and catalyze Woodruff Health Sciences Center and Emory-wide creative resources to promote the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health of older adults and to address the challenges that threaten their health and well-being.

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Featured Researcher:
Leslie M. Johnson. MPH, PhD

During my doctoral training, I spent a year in India as a NIMH-funded Fogarty Scholar, and as a postdoctoral fellow in the Hubert Department of Global Health I spent 6-weeks in Australia as the Health and Behavior International Collaborative Award Recipient for the Society of Behavioral Medicine. I finished my postdoctoral fellowship within the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine before joining the faculty.

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

I am in the Division of Family Medicine and Dr. Mo Ali is my mentor.

Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?

My research portfolio includes the conduct of mixed-methods needs assessments, program evaluation, community-engaged research, and the testing of behavioral interventions for patients with co-morbid depression, with a more recent focus on implementation research. Currently, my work focuses on tailoring and testing implementation strategies to integrate diabetes and cardiovascular disease care practices into real-world settings. My research also aims to advance the use of qualitative research methods in health services and policy research. I use these methods in my work and train physician scientists and public health practitioners on how to best employ them because I believe this methodological approach allows us to better center patients’ experiences while providing valuable insights into care delivery processes that can inform how we improve care quality and how we effectively scale and sustain health care interventions.

What do you like most about Emory?

I love that Emory prioritizes service-learning and works to promote a sense of community that supports a collaborative research environment.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I enjoy exploring new cities, cooking, painting, and spending time in nature with my husband, toddler, and three furkids.

What is a fun fact about you?

I’ve met with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on three different occasions, including once at his residence in Dharamshala, India.

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Recent Publications

Dr. Mo Ali et al. Trends in inpatient admissions and emergency department visits for heart failure in adults with versus without diabetes in the USA, 2006-2017. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2021 Oct;9(1):e002377. doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002377.

Dr. Mo Ali et al. Abdominal aortic calcification and cognitive function among older adults: Cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013-2014. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2021 Nov;36(11):1778-1784. doi: 10.1002/gps.5599.

Dr. Richard Goodman et al.  Life in Data Sets: Locating and Accessing Data on the Health of Americans Across the Life Span. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2021 May-Jun 01;27(3):E126-E142. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001079. 

Dr. Jodie Guest et al. Constructing a Web-Based Health Directory for Adolescent Men Who Have Sex with Men: Strategies for Development and Resource Verification. Journal of Community Psychology. 2021 Oct 29. doi: 10.1002/jcop.22738. Epub ahead of print.

Dr. Jodie Guest et al. The spatiotemporal distribution of pre-exposure prophylaxis accessibility in the United States, 2016–2020. Annals of Epidemiology. 2021 Dec. doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2021.09.006

Dr. Ted Johnson et al. Development and evolution of a two-day intensive resident experience in geriatric medicine. Gerontol Geriatr Educ. 2021 Jan-Mar;42(1):24-37. doi: 10.1080/02701960.2019.1587753. 

Dr. Ted Johnson, Dr. Christine Koniaris-Rambaud et al. Palliative care aspects of wound healing in complex patients: a case report.  J Wound Care. 2021 Oct 2;30(10):845-852. doi: 10.12968/jowc.2021.30.10.845. 

Dr. Maha Lund, Dr. Jennifer Mascaro et al. Impact of App-Delivered Mindfulness Meditation on Functional Connectivity, Mental Health, and Sleep Disturbances Among Physician Assistant Students: Randomized, Wait-list Controlled Pilot Study. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Oct 19;5(10):e24208. doi: 10.2196/24208.

Dr. Miranda Moore et al. Hair cortisol, perceived stress, and resilience as predictors of coronary arterial disease.  Stress Health. 2021 Oct 15. doi: 10.1002/smi.3106. 

Educational Investments for our future

PA Program 50th Anniversary Events

The PA Program 50th Anniversary celebration continues! October began with the ribbon-cutting for the PA Banner exhibit at the School of Medicine on October 5th. The Physician Assistant History Society and the National Library of Medicine partnered to design a six-banner traveling exhibit, titled Physician Assistants: Collaboration and Care, which describes how the profession developed as a solution to meet the social and health care needs of the mid-20th century and how it continues to evolve today. The banners have already traveled to many university PA programs and libraries, and they also put in appearances at the 2017 AAPA and PAEA conferences. Check out the 50th Anniversary webpage for new events and more photos. 

Below: PA Program Director Dr. Maha Lund and Assistant Dean for Medical Education Douglas Dr. Ander cut the ribbon to open the exhibit.

White Coat Ceremonies

The festivities continued with not one, but two White Coat Ceremonies, in person! The full-length videos can be found on the FPM YouTube channel, or you can click below to watch the Class of 2022 and the Class of 2023! 

Heel to Heal Fun Run 

The Emory PA Program had 71 registrants for this student-run event and raised $1100, benefiting the Emory Farmworker Project.

Below: PA Program Assistant Professor Lissette Valdes and recently retired Assistant Professor Catherine Dragon.

Save the Date!

Physician Assistant Program Commencement Ceremony

December 17, 2021

1:00 PM

Location: Emory Student Center Ballroom

Being of Service

GAFP inaugurates Dr. Alfonso as President

to fellow family physicians and their patients.

“I am honored and humbled by the privilege to represent Georgia’s family physician community as we advance our mission to promote the health of the citizens of Georgia,” said Dr. Alfonso. “As a woman of Latina descent, one of my goals is to continue to seek ways to advance family medicine in traditionally underserved communities and promote a pipeline of family physicians among traditionally underrepresented minorities.”

Dr. Alfonso is an associate professor of family and preventive medicine at Emory University where she serves as Medical Director of Emory’s Physician Assistant Program.  She currently practices at Emory Family Medicine in Dunwoody where in addition to her own patient panel she trains residents and teaches medical and physician assistant students.  

She obtained her bachelor’s degrees in biology and Spanish from Emory University, her medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia and completed her residency program in family medicine at Emory University. Following that she earned her Master of Science in Healthcare Management from Harvard University.

Dr. Alfonso was born in Ecuador and was raised in Atlanta where she has 21 first cousins.  She is married and has two adult sons and loves to cook, travel, and exercise.

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FPM Faculty Awards and Recognitions

Dr. Rabinovitz named FPM Hidden Gem

Dr. Rabinovitz developed SARS-CoV-2 testing protocols, implemented dormitory and campus surveillance strategies, ran contract tracing, provided care and treatment for ill students, and coordinated responses to ensure the health and safety of University students. Dr. Rabinovitz's leadership has been steadfast and forward-thinking. Her efforts were of benefit to the entire Emory University and Atlanta community. We are indeed fortunate to have Dr. Rabinovitz as our Emory Student Health Services Executive Director. 

FY2021 Diamond Providers
Top 1% Provider Recognition List

The Patient Experience Team would like to congratulate the following Emory PGP Providers for achieving the 99th percentile within their respective specialty, for survey question “Likelihood of Recommending Care Provider”, in FY21.

From Family Medicine:

From Palliative Medicine:

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FY2021 
Top 10% Provider Recognition List

The Patient Experience Team would like to congratulate the following Emory PGP Providers for achieving the 90th percentile within their respective specialty, for survey question “Likelihood of Recommending Care Provider”, in FY21.

2021 Service Hero at the Dunwoody Clinic

Congratulations to Kristen Jensen!

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Emory Farmworker Project
Heads Back to the Fields

Here are some pics from the Fall Emory Farmworker Project in Valdosta. The team was incredibly thankful to be back! They vaccinated 152 people. Dr. Jodie Guest had 29 students join her, along with Dr. Susy Alphonso and Dr. Kim Le. Joanne Williams, long-time volunteer physician, and 3 Emory PA alums (Meghan Timpone, Erin Lepp and Leanne Martinelli) joined as preceptors. 

Below: pictures from the weekend, Emory Farmworker Team, Fall 2021.

Below: Vaccinating the hospitality industry in Atlanta. (PA faculty Jeremy Amayo and Dr. Jodie Guest with PA student Nafisah Paige and members of Dr. Guest's ORT). 

Below: PA students and faculty: Stephanie Nam, Sarah Thibadeau, Nafisah Paige, Kylie Golden, PA faculty Dr. Jodie Guest, Alex Millstrom, new PA faculty Joe Borrillo, and PA faculty Dr. Susy Alfonso) 

Below: Vaccine event at Rehab Cathedral church with Dr. Guest and her ORT and PA students.

News from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council

The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine inaugurated its first Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Antonio Graham, in June 2020.  Under his guidance, the DEI Council has begun the process to address the following initiatives:

• Included staff spotlight in each monthly FPM newsletter
• Formed 5 affinity groups (staff development, education, faculty development, social media, community engagement)
• Held roundtable with department chair to understand salary and salary inequities. 
• Developed department-wide climate survey 
• Established protected time for the initiative of DEI
• Gave a voice to societal issues – through department-wide current events

In addition, a formal DEI curriculum has been instituted within the FM residency didactics. This curriculum was created to address the gap based on the AAMC Antiracism collection and consists of 8 topic areas separated into 12 different interactive lectures occurring during a 50-minute didactic session each month.  Lecture topics include micro-aggressions, implicit bias, social determinants of health, race in Science & Medicine, etc.  Sessions are taught by trained DEI staff and physicians at accredited medical institutions and are attended primarily by residents but also include faculty and clinic staff.  The effectiveness of individual lectures is assessed via evaluation surveys and the DEI Council and FM residency leadership will conduct a comprehensive pilot program assessment after the completion of the full curriculum at the end of the academic year.

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You're Invited!

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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 Leigh Partington, PhD.

4. A fun fact about yourself. I'm an Emory legacy (my dad graduated in 1949), alum (Ph.D. 1999), parent (class of 2022), and staff member (2015-present). I was also on faculty (2000-2001) as a visiting assistant professor in the Department of English.

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News from the
Faculty Development
Committee

The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine inaugurated its first Vice Chair of Faculty Development, Dr. Lynn O'Neill, in June 2020. De. O'Neill has created a Promotions and Tenure Committee and an Awards and Recognitions Committee. Updates on the work of these committees will be included in upcoming newsletters. 

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SOM Faculty Development Events

SOM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Update Forum.
Nov. 4: Noon -1 p.m., Zoom. Register.

 The Sum of Us: An Emory Community Conversation with Heather McGhee. 
Nov. 10: 5:30 - 7 p.m., Zoom. Register.

Planning for Retirement or Planning to Not Retire. 
Nov. 11: Noon – 1 p.m., Zoom. Learn from a panel of senior faculty your options for winding down your career, staying involved at Emory, and how to get involved in the emeritus college. Register.

Researcher Survival Skills - SBIR/STTR Grant Workshop
Nov. 15: 2 - 5 p.m. Looking for startup funding? Thinking about an SBIR or STTR? Come learn from experienced academic investigators how to craft a well-written proposal. We will cover the basics of the SBIR and STTR, how these grants are different from a typical R01, commercialization plans, submission and review process, and finally some pearls of wisdom from previous award winners. Get a solid foundation before submitting on Jan. 5 or future deadlines! Register.

AAMC Virtual Leadership Development Seminar for Women Faculty in Medicine and Science
Dec. 7- 9: Noon - 4 p.m. Mark your calendars for the AAMC Virtual Leadership Seminar for Women Faculty in Medicine and Sciences. The seminar will help you create a path towards your leadership goals and career advancement through highly interactive sessions. Registration information forthcoming. Learn more.

Transition to First Faculty Position Workshop
Dec. 8: 9 am – noon. Starting off in your first faculty position after finishing your training? This workshop is designed to increase your confidence in assuming the mantle of leadership inherent to being a faculty member, managing tricky power dynamics, and maintaining professional balance and focus as you begin your academic career. Register.

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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.