No images? Click here
November 4, 2024
What you will learn in this week's edition of the Bulletin:
- Faculty Recognitions Week honorees
- Election Day is tomorrow!
- DOM Research Day is this Thursday!
- Education leadership announcement
- General Internal Medicine honors & appointments
- Atlanta POCUS recap
- Publication Spotlight: Doan Nguyen & Frances Eun-Hyung Lee in Nature Medicine
- Updates in the Research Corner
Scroll down to read more!
DOM ANNOUNCEMENTS
DOM shines during this year's SOM Faculty Recognitions Week
Last week, Emory School of Medicine celebrated Faculty Recognitions Week. Annually, this week celebrates faculty accomplishments and excellence in patient care, research, education, and innovation. We are proud to share that our faculty received 134 recognitions across all 10 of our divisions. Congratulations to all of the honorees on an extraordinary year!
Election Day is tomorrow!
Election Day is tomorrow! Are you ready to vote? If you have not made your plan to vote or have general voting questions, view the information provided by the Emory Votes Initiative or the CDIC's 2024 Voter Guide.
To vote tomorrow, you’ll need to go to your assigned precinct between 7 a.m.–7 p.m. Look up your location at My Voter Page under "Election Day Polling Place."
Join us for Research Day this Thursday!
2024 DOM Research Day is taking place this Thursday from 7:45 a.m.–5 p.m. in the Emory Student Center. Join us to learn about the groundbreaking research happening across the Department of Medicine and for the opportunity to network with other researchers!
If you're attending, be sure to tag us in your social media posts using the hashtag, #24DOMResearchDay. Can't join us this year? You can follow along via our Instagram stories for live updates throughout the day!
Dheepa Sekar, MD, named Associate Clerkship Director for the third-year medical student Core Internal Medicine clerkship
The Department of Medicine is delighted to announce that, after a department-wide search, Dheepa Sekar, MD, (General Internal Medicine) was selected as our Associate Clerkship Director for the third-year medical student Core Internal Medicine clerkship. Dr. Sekar will work alongside Audrey Jernigan, MD, who was named our new Clerkship Director this past July upon the transition of Varun Phadke, MD, to Program Director of the Infectious Disease fellowship program.
In this new role, Dr. Sekar will partner with Dr. Jernigan to oversee the eight-week required rotation for all third-year Emory University School of Medicine students. During the clerkship, each student rotates for four weeks at Grady Memorial Hospital and four weeks at one of the following three sites: the Atlanta VA Medical Center, Emory University Hospital, or Emory University Hospital Midtown.
Recap: National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Annual Meeting
From October 19-21, 2024, in Washington, D.C., the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) held its annual meeting, bringing together members from across the country and the world.
This year’s scientific symposium, “Bridging Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Mental Health” explored the vital topic of mental health and its impact on health outcomes. The keynote speaker was the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy who highlighted the importance of addressing the mental health and substance use epidemics in our country.
During this meeting, NAM also inducted their new members who were elected in 2023, including DOM faculty member, Igho Ofotokun, MD (Infectious Diseases), as well as Daniele Fallin, PhD, Dean, Rollins School of Public Health, and Wilbur Lam, MD, PhD, Professor, W. Paul
Bowers Research Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology. Each year the NAM elects 100 new members. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Congratulations again to Dr. Ofotokun on this outstanding honor!
Division of General Internal Medicine Honors & Appointments
Two GIM members were recognized by the Georgia Chapter of the American College of Physicians. Jason Higdon, MD, received the Laureate Award, which honors fellows and masters of the college for their commitment to excellence in medical care, education, or research, as well as service to their community, chapter, and the ACP.
Sarah Koumtouzoua, MD, received the Volunteerism & Community Service Award. This award is given annually to one member who demonstrates a significant and sustained commitment to the service of others at a local, state, national, or international level.
The med psych unit at Grady is the only such unit in the state and the faculty are also appointed in GIM. Lauren Gensler, MD, is one of these faculty members. She recently received two awards at the annual Association of Medicine and Psychiatry (AMP) meeting: the Kathol Pioneering Spirit Award and an Outstanding Service Award for the contributions she made while being the co-chair of the meeting. Learn about AMP.
Kimberly Manning, MD, was appointed to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Board of Directors. ACGME is an organization that sets and monitors voluntary professional educational standards essential in preparing physicians to deliver safe, high-quality medical care to all Americans. The ACGME oversees the accreditation of residency and fellowship programs in the U.S. Read more.
Division of Hospital Medicine hosts Atlanta POCUS 2024
The second annual two-day Atlanta POCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound) Conference was held at the Miller Ward Alumni House on October 17 and 18. This conference was supported by Emory's Division of Hospital Medicine and is one of only seven courses approved by the Society of Hospital Medicine and American College of Chest Physicians, nationally as a course for their certificate of completion program for POCUS. The course provided attendees with hands-on training in a 2:1 learner-to-faculty ratio, didactics on POCUS for various organ systems, and clinical integration of POCUS into practice. The course was very successful, full to capacity, and received excellent feedback. Learners traveled from all over the country to attend.
Manpreet Malik, MD, and Sneha Neurgaonkar, MD, from the Division of Hospital Medicine, co-directed the course. Several Emory faculty taught the course along with nationally and internationally recognized external faculty, including Mikhail Akbashev, MD (General Internal Medicine), Patricia Cheung, MPH, MD, PhD, (Hospital Medicine), Jason Williams, MD (Hospital Medicine), Caroline Coleman, MD (Hospital Medicine), and Adrian Umpierrez, MD (Hospital Medicine).
Next year's dates for the course will be announced on the course website—stay tuned for more information!
Message from SOM IT: Upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11
As part of the School of Medicine’s efforts to remain security compliant in the ever-changing Information Technology environment, the School of Medicine is working on updating all computer systems that currently have Windows 10 up to the latest and most secure version of Windows 11. As part of this process, IT will be reaching out via email and phone to schedule times with those users who have been identified as not already using Windows 11. A technician will evaluate your PC via remote access, and if the computer meets the requirements for Windows 11, it will be upgraded. The upgrade process can take up to one hour to complete, and your PC may reboot multiple times during the upgrade process.
If your PC does not meet the minimum requirements to upgrade to Windows 11, you can continue to use Windows 10. If you are unable to upgrade the operating system to Windows 11 because of “Specialized Software” that requires an older version of Windows, please let the technician know. Any computers that do not get upgraded to Windows 11 will be assessed on a future date for system refresh.
If you have any questions regarding this project, please don’t hesitate to ask your dedicated IT rep or feel free to email somits-help@emory.edu.
RESEARCH CORNER
Publication Spotlight: Doan Nguyen &
Frances Eun-Hyung Lee, MD in Nature Medicine
Today we are spotlighting two Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine researchers, Doan Nguyen, MD, PhD, (pictured left) and Frances Eun-Hyung Lee, MD, (pictured right) who recently published a paper in Nature Medicine. Read more below!
Abstract:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) mRNA vaccines are effective at protecting from severe disease, but the protective antibodies wane rapidly even though SARS-CoV-2-specific plasma cells can be found in the bone marrow (BM). Here, to explore this paradox, we enrolled 19 healthy adults at 2.5–33 months after receipt of a SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine and measured influenza-, tetanus- or SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody-secreting cells (ASCs) in long-lived plasma cell (LLPC) and non-LLPC subsets within the BM. Only influenza- and tetanus-specific ASCs were readily detected in the LLPCs, whereas SARS-CoV-2 specificities were mostly absent. The ratios of non-LLPC: LLPC for influenza, tetanus, and SARS-CoV-2 were 0.61, 0.44 and 29.07, respectively. In five patients with a known PCR-proven history of recent infection and vaccination, SARS-CoV-2-specific ASCs were
mostly absent from the LLPCs. We show similar results when measuring secreted antibodies from BM ASC culture supernatant. While serum IgG titers specific for influenza and tetanus correlated with IgG LLPCs, serum IgG levels for SARS-CoV-2, which waned within 3–6 months after vaccination, were associated with IgG non-LLPCs. In all, our studies suggest that rapid waning of SARS-CoV-2-specific serum antibodies could be accounted for by the absence of BM LLPCs after these mRNA vaccines.
Lab2Launch applications now open
Lab2Launch is now accepting applications for residency in 2025. Join Emory’s launch pad that offers researchers, entrepreneurs, and startups with the resources and support needed to bring innovative discoveries to life. Whether you’re developing cutting-edge diagnostics, medical devices, or biotech solutions, Lab2Launch is here to help you succeed. Gain access to state-of-the-art laboratory space and a supportive entrepreneurial network to launch and grow your business!
December DOM Ease of Research Initiative Town Hall
When: Friday, December 6 | noon–1 p.m.
Where: Hybrid, SOM 178P and Zoom
Guests:
Esmerelda Meyer, MD, JM, CPIA
Director of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
Deepika Bhatia, Associate Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Research Compliance and Regulatory Affairs
Light snacks and beverages will be provided.
(Only for DOM faculty, staff, and trainees).
MEDICINE GRAND ROUNDS
Tomorrow's Medicine Grand Rounds is canceled
#MedicineGrandRounds
PLEASE NOTE: Next Week's Medicine Grand Rounds is canceled for election day.
Mark your calendars!
Medicine Grand Rounds will resume next Tuesday, November 12, with Alex Dent, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.
Tuesday, November 12 | noon–1 p.m., Zoom
Zoom Link - Meeting ID: 940 3699 7411, Passcode: MGR
Session ID # 18860
For more information about Medicine Grand Rounds, visit bitly.com/grandround.
HUMAN RESOURCES ANNOUNCEMENTS
Annual Benefits Enrollment open through November 11
During the enrollment period, review your benefits to make sure you have the right coverage for you and your family. You can select or make changes to your benefits, such as medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and more.
This is also the time for you to set aside funds for your 2025 Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Dependent Day Care FSA, or Health Savings Account (HSA). Your benefits newsletter containing information about this year’s enrollment has been mailed to your home address and outlines the many changes occurring this year. Get more details or enroll at the annual enrollment website.
STAFF NEWS
Check out the latest list of open staff jobs within the DOM. See a job you are interested in or know someone who would be a good fit? Click the job title below to read the full description and apply. Be sure to follow the DOM LinkedIn page to stay up-to-date on the latest job openings!
IN THE NEWS
Recent Department of Medicine News
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Nine metro Atlanta hospitals receive excellence awards for specialty care (Emory Johns Creek Hospital, Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Emory University Hospital and Emory University Hospital Midtown featured)
New York Times: Is It COVID or the flu? New tests can check for both (Gregory Martin quoted)
WAGA-TV: Deadly McDonald's E. coli outbreak (Neil Winawer interviewed)
EVENTS
17th Annual Department of Medicine Research Day
Thursday, November 7 | 7:30 a.m.–5 p.m. | Emory Student Center
27th Annual Cardiology Update for the Non-Cardiologist
Friday, November 8–Saturday, November 9 | Grand Hyatt Atlanta
16th Annual Veterans Day Ceremony
Monday, November 11 | 11 a.m.–noon | Emory Quadrangle
2024 RYSE Fellowship Applicant Experience
Monday, November 11 | 6–7:30 p.m.
Health Equity Advocacy Community Forum
Tuesday, November 12 | 6–8 p.m. | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
SuperGLUE 2024: Uniting Point-of-Care Diagnostic Innovators & Clinicians
Thursday, November 14 | 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | HSRB Auditorium
EDDI Seminar Series: Karen Edelblum, PhD
Thursday, November 14 | 4–5 p.m. | Whitehead Auditorium
ACME-POCT's SuperGLUE 2024 Event *New*
Thursday, November 14 | 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | Health Sciences Research Building Auditorium
DOM Ease of Research Initiative Town Hall with Esmerelda Meyer and Deepika Bhatia *New*
Friday, December 7 | noon–1 p.m. | Hybrid, SOM 178P and Zoom
DOM Mid-Career Workshop Series
Friday, January 31, and Friday, February 7 | Woodruff Memorial Research Building, 1109
Faculty Education, Enrichment, and Development Conference (FEED) *New*
Friday, March 28 | 8 a.m.–noon | Zoom
RYSE Health Equity Day
Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | Hybrid: Grady Hospital Trauma Auditorium and Zoom
GIVE TO US
The Department of Medicine includes more than 800 faculty members across our ten divisions. Your support for our work can make a difference to health care locally and globally. Click the button below to learn more about making an impact through your support for the DOM. For general department giving inquiries, please contact Ashley Michaud, Executive Director of Development, at 404-778-1250.
STAY CONNECTED
Please send photos and news from your division to deptofmed@emory.edu and visit the Department of Medicine's blog, EmoryDailyPulse.com.
The Emory University Department of Medicine is a component of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center of Emory University, which includes the Emory Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health; Yerkes National Primate Research Center; Winship Cancer Institute; and Emory Healthcare.