55 Words from the Chair
Ted Johnson, MD, MPH
I’m grateful for the winter holiday break as an opportunity to recharge and take stock and reflect on the Department’s accomplishments of the year. I’m so appreciative of the outstanding contributions and inspiring achievements of the staff, faculty, trainees, and students. I hope that you also have upcoming weeks full of family and friends.
How to beat the winter blues
"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is time for home."
- Edith Sitwell
This time of year we hear a lot about seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – that particular variety of depression related to changing seasons, light patterns, and biorhythms. When it feels like every day is gray and rainy, it’s easy to wonder whether depression and sadness are inevitable. Research done by Emory alum Kari Leibowitz has shown that a positive wintertime mind-set – finding ways to think of winter as something to be enjoyed rather than endured – is associated with well-being. She did this research in the northern parts of Norway where, although there are stretches of time with almost zero sunlight, depression rates remain low. Read more about Kari’s work here or listen by podcast.
One of the important insights of the research on mind-sets is that it doesn’t take much to shift them. By celebrating the coziness of the season and enjoying community rituals and festivals that celebrate all-in-it-togetherness, we can lean into and even create a more positive wintertime mind-set:
- Find or start new rituals that celebrate the season: Take bundled winter hikes or find community festivals (for example). Start winter movie nights with hot chocolate, a cozy sock-swap at work, a neighborhood chili and poker night, or a weekly winter zoom cup-of-tea with far-away family or friends.
- Notice the unique beauty of winter: It can be easy to only focus on the gray of winter, which can then make the season feel relentlessly monotone. Paying attention to subtle shifts in the colors and changes in sunlight patterns helps remind us of the beauty of the season.
- Hack your circadian rhythm to better align with the winter light/dark schedule: try to get daylight exposure as soon as possible in the morning. The circadian clock is most sensitive to light about 1 hour after your usual wake-up time, so taking a walk during this time may be particularly helpful to regulate sleep patterns. And another bonus of exercise – it helps with circadian phase-shifting!
Transformative Research
Create a Digital Persistent Identifier
for Your Scholarly Work
Emory University has launched a campaign to familiarize the Emory community with the Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID). ORCID is a global not-for-profit organization that offers researchers a unique digital persistent identifier (DPI) that accurately connects them to their scholarly work throughout their careers.
This free numerical identifier eliminates problems with name similarities, name changes, and variant spellings of names in non-Roman alphabets. By linking your body of work such as publications, grants (applications and reporting), peer review, and affiliations, your ORCID iD can serve as an easily shareable record of your professional career. Additionally, in accordance with National Security Presidential Memo 33 (NPSM-33), beginning in 2023, researchers applying for and receiving federal funds must use a DPI, and the ORCID iD is the only one to meet NPSM-33 requirements.
If you have not yet, navigate to https://orcid.emory.edu to register for an ORCID iD, connect it to Emory, and populate your ORCID record. If you already have an ORCID iD, be sure to connect it to Emory at the same URL.
If you have questions or concerns, visit this library guide or contact Emory Libraries’ Head of the Scholarly Communications Office Jody Bailey at jody.bailey@emory.edu or the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library’s Research Impact Informationist Kim Powell at krpowel@emory.edu.
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Dr. Turbow's Hotspotters Awarded Funding
Dr. Sara Turbow's Student Hotspotting Team was awarded WHSC Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Funding for FY23 for their project “Transforming Interprofessional Education through Student Hotspotting: An Experiential Approach to Interprofessional Training and Collaboration.”
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Recent and Upcoming Presentations
Dr. Ambar Kushreshtha presented "Differences in diabetes control in telemedicine vs. in-person only visits in ambulatory care setting" at the North American Primary Care Progress in Phoenix, AZ.
Dr. Kulshreshtha also presented "Dementia: Diagnosis and Evaluation" at the American Academy of Family Physicians Geriatrics Meeting.
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Emory’s Healthy Kitchen Collaborative attended the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative Annual Member meeting. Pictured below, Dr. Miranda Moore, Tina Rastorguieva, and the full group of meeting participants.
Dr. Miranda Moore and FPM research staff member Grayson Gunn presented "Using research to advance the dementia-friendly community movement at the local, national, and international level: Developing a measure of community-level dementia-friendliness in faith communities" at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting in Indianapolis, IN, November 2-6, 2022 (symposium presentation).
Dr. Moore and Family Medicine resident Dr. So Mang "Sarah" Chang presented "The impact of electronic medical record and portal messages on physician burnout" at Georgia Academy of Family Physicians Annual CME Meeting. Atlanta GA, November 10-12, 2022 (poster presentation)
And finally, Dr. Moore and the Healthy Kitchen Collaborative team presented "Design, implementation, and outcomes of a teaching kitchen lifestyle medicine program" at the 2022 Lifestyle Medicine Annual Conference in Orlando, FL, November 13-16, 2022 (oral presentation).
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One of Dr. Leslie Johnson's graduate students, Joi Henry MPH, presented findings from Dr. Johnson's COVID-19 pregnancy support study at the American Public Health Association’s Annual Conference in Boston on Nov 6. The presentation was entitled, “Women’s Perception of COVID-19's Impacts on Psychosocial Health and Social Support During and After Pregnancy in Georgia.”
Dr. Johnson was also invited to teach a one-week qualitative research training program for early-stage physician-scientists in Nigeria this November as a part of the Vanderbilt-Nigeria Building Research Capacity in HIV and Non-communicable Diseases (V-BRCH) D43 training program at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital in Nigeria.
And finally, Dr. Johnson received an NIH-sponsored travel award to attend the 15th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health. Pictured below: On December 13, Dr. Johnson presented findings from her COVID-19 pregnancy support study in a poster entitled, "Women’s perspectives on the implementation of CDC guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination during and after pregnancy: A rapid qualitative analysis."
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Some of the Preventive Medicine residents spend a large amount of their time earning MPH degrees in applied epidemiology in Emory’s own Rollins School of Public Health and some of them also develop scientific work product during rotations that may then be accepted by and presented through medical and public health professional groups, like SGIM. Dr. Siri Chirumamilla has had an abstract accepted for an oral presentation at the Southern Society for General Internal Medicine Conference in April 2023. The project started at the beginning of her residency with Dr.Marshall Fleurant at Grady regarding adverse childhood experiences in adult populations.
Dr. Chirumamilla was also selected to make an oral presentation at the HRSA Preventive Medicine Annual Stakeholder Meeting on November 16, 2022 based on her work with faculty and staff Infectious Disease physician colleagues at the Atlanta VAMC.
If you’d like to see and hear her talk, it’s easily found on the video by sliding the button forward to 4:26.10 (4 hours / 26 minutes / 10 seconds). Over 70 participants representing government agencies, health care nonprofit organizations, professional organizations, medical societies, universities, Preventive Medicine and Public Health Training Centers faculty, project directors, and residents attended the meeting.
Dr. Chirumamilla's project work at GA-DPH this past summer was also selected as an Outstanding APE Award Finalist. Dr. Chirumamilla will be presenting it to Dean Fallin at Rollins School of Public Health in April 2023. Congratulations to Dr. Chirumamilla on all of her recent and upcoming presentations!
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Check out Episode 3 of the
DOM Research Ride Podcast
In this episode, ride leader Charlie Searles, MD, is joined by Ted Johnson, MD, MPH, Division Director of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. Dr. Johnson describes how he found his research niche in nocturia (i.e. urinating at night), lessons he has learned from both sides of the mentorship coin, how his childhood experiences inspired him to serve vulnerable human (and canine) populations, the origin of his Twitter handle (@BaldHeadTed), and the three songs he cannot live without. Listen on YouTube
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SOM Promoted Funding Opportunities
This calendar contains the deadlines for funding opportunities that offer cross-unit, multidisciplinary, or unique collaborative opportunities. It also highlights all limited-institution submissions or opportunities that are high risk / high reward.
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Recent Publications
Collaborative department publications
Dr. Sarah Dupont and Dr. Sara Turbow published Effects of Health Information Exchanges in the Adult Inpatient Setting: a Systematic Review in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2022 Nov 14.
Dr. Sara Turbow and Dr. Mo Ali published Association of distance between hospitals and volume of shared admissions. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Dec 15;22(1):1528. They also published Prevalence of and Mortality Associated with Cross-State Inpatient Care Fragmentation Among Older Adults in a Nationally Representative Dataset. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Dec;37(16):4283-4285.
Dr. Megha Shah, Family Medicine resident Dr. Nikhila Gandrakota, and Dr. Mo Ali published Cardiometabolic Risk in Asian Americans by Social Determinants of Health: Serial Cross-sectional Analyses of the NHIS, 1999-2003 to 2014-2018. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Nov 22.
Dr. Miranda Moore and Dr. Nikhila Gandrakota published Clinical Outcomes after Use of Inhaled Corticosteroids or Oral Steroids in a COVID-19 Telemedicine Clinic Cohort: A Retrospective Chart Review. JMIR Form Res. 2022 Dec 1.
Dr. Dio Kavalieratos and Dr. Jane Lowers published Embedded Specialist Palliative Care in Cystic Fibrosis: Results of a Randomized Feasibility Clinical Trial. J Palliat Med. 2022 Nov 9.
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. 2023 Jan-Feb 01;46(1):3-13.
Dr. Ted Johnson and Dr. Jennifer Mascaro published Scalable and sustainable approaches to address the well-being of healthcare personnel. J Adv Nurs. 2022 Nov 25.
Faculty publications
Dr. Mo Ali:
Cost-Effectiveness of a Collaborative Care Model Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Depression in India. Diabetes Care. 2022 Nov 16:dc212533.
The bidirectional association between diabetes and long-COVID-19 - A systematic review. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2022 Dec 7;195:110202.
Trends and Race/Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes-Related Hospital Use in Medicaid Enrollees: Analyses of Serial Cross-sectional State Data, 2008-2017. J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Nov 16.
Two Decades of Diabetes Prevention Efforts: A Call to Innovate and Revitalize Our Approach to Lifestyle Change. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2022 Dec 2:110195.
Dr. Jodie Guest:
Trends in Cause-Specific Mortality Among Veterans With HIV: A 35-Year (1982-2016) Analysis of the HIV Atlanta VA Cohort Study. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2023 Jan 1;92(1):17-26.
Dr. Leslie Johnson:
Feasibility, appropriateness, and acceptability of a mobile mindfulness meditation intervention to improve sleep quality among a racially/ethnically diverse population. Sleep Health. 2022 Nov 9:S2352-7218(22)00182-6.
Dr. Dio Kavalieratos:
Immediate Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on the Voice. J Voice. 2022 Nov 22:S0892-1997(22)00342-3.
Trends in Obesity Prevalence among US Older Adults in the Last Two Years of Life, 1998-2018. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022 Nov 14:S0885-3924(22)00967-8.
Dr. Deanna Kaplan:
Social-Ecological Measurement of Daily Life: How Relationally Focused Ambulatory Assessment can Advance Clinical Intervention Science. Review of General Psychology. 2022 0(0).
Biological and psychological predictors of heart rate patterns during physical activity. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 65. Online First.
Dr. Tammie Quest:
Oncologic emergencies and urgencies: A comprehensive review. CA Cancer J Clin. 2022 Nov;72(6):570-593.
Dr. Megha Shah
A Cost-Effective Analysis of Motivational Interviewing with Palliative Care Versus Usual Care: Results from the Living Well Project. AIDS Behav. 2022 Nov 5.
Learner Publications
Dr. Siri Chirumamilla, Preventive Medicine resident, presented a Poster Abstract: Development and pilot testing of barriers to diabetic foot care with a qualitative assessment at ENDO 2022 on June 11, in Atlanta. The abstract was published post-conference with reference noted below:
Journal of the Endocrine Society, Volume 6, Issue Supplement_1, November-December 2022, Page A295, https://doi.org/10.1210/jendso/bvac150.609
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Educational Investments for our future
New Educational Leadership Position
for Dr. Ghose
Dr. Neena Ghose has been selected as the new Assistant Director of Undergraduate Medical Education for the Division of Family Medicine! Dr. Ghose is an experienced educator of learners, frequently precepting students in clinic as well as serving as core faculty in the FM residency program. She has helped shape rewarding student experiences as Medical Director of the Family Medicine at Dunwoody Clinic and as a member of the School of Medicine Curriculum Committee. Dr. Ghose joins Director Dr. Ryan Smith and Academic Coordinator Ms. Porsha Clayton on the FM UGME team.
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New Leadership Training for Ms. Ward
Ms. Khaliala Ward has been selected as a participant in the 2023 Essentials of Leadership at Emory Program. This program is designed to create an environment that fosters excellence in Emory's employees and to strengthen leadership performance across the University. Congratulations, Khaliala!
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Welcome Class of 2023-2024!
The incoming Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellows hail from training programs across the country and the world, with diverse experiences and perspectives that will enhance their learning and practice together. The brief bios below will provide an initial introduction.
Adugnaw Bekele, MD, hails from Ethiopia where he attended medical school in Ethiopia at Addis Ababa University, graduating in 2003. He completed internal medicine residency at Atlanta Medical Center in 2018 and has worked as a hospitalist for the past 4 years in Clarksville, TN.
Rebekka Depew, MD, is a 3rd year Chief Resident in Family Medicine at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park, IL. Prior to her current training, she completed undergraduate studies at Harvard University and medical school at Vanderbilt University.
Kenneth Harang, MD, is the Teaching Chief Hospitalist at North Shore University Health Systems where he has worked as a hospitalist for the past 9 years. Prior to that, he completed undergraduate studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, post-baccalaureate studies at Loyola University of Chicago, medical school at Rush University, and residency in internal medicine at Tulane University.
Chike Leigh, MD, is a current internal medicine resident at George Washington University. He grew up in Atlanta before moving to Scotland for university at St. Andrews. He returned to the States and completed a post-baccalaureate program at Georgia State University before going to medical school at New York University where he earned a joint MD/MPH.
Lauren Lewis, MD, grew up in Gwinnett County and graduated from Georgia Tech. She completed medical school at Mercer University and is now a 3rd year resident in internal medicine at Mercer. She lives with her family in McDonough, GA.
Annie Lips, MD, attended St. Olaf College for undergrad and University of Minnesota for medical school. She is a current 4th year resident in the combined medicine/pediatrics residency at University of Rochester in New York.
Meghan Murphy, MD, grew up in Stockbridge, GA, before attending University of Georgia for college. She then went on to medical school at Medical College of Georgia followed by residency in pediatrics at Vanderbilt University. She is currently a fellow in pediatric hematology/oncology at Vanderbilt.
Deborah Yu, MD, was born and raised in Queens, New York, and is currently a pediatrics resident at Cohen's Children Hospital/Northwell Health on Long Island. She attended Swarthmore College for undergrad and University of Rochester for medical school.
Service for our future
New National Appointment for Kulshreshtha
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha has been appointed to the Commission on Health of the Public and Science for the American Academy of Family Physicians. His term of service begins on December 15, 2022, and ends on December 14, 2024; at that time, he will be eligible for reappointment for two additional years. The mission of the American Academy of Family Physicians is to improve the health of patients, families, and communities by serving the needs of members with professionalism and creativity.
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Family Medicine Program
Volunteers with Trees Atlanta
At the Family Medicine Mentoring Program Tree-Planting Event, team members helped plant 63 trees in the Sylvan Hills neighborhood, along with other Trees Atlanta volunteers. Pictured department participants include Dr. Reneeta Basu (FM), Dr. Susan Kunihiro (Palliative), Dr. Allison Choi (FM PGY2), Chris Awad (MS4), and Dr. Ryan Smith (FM).
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Joyful Service
Pictured above: Dr. Tina-Ann Thompson, Jonathan, and Zoe showing off their not-so-ugly sweaters in the Fishbowl.
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Wanted: Nominations for
MLK Jr. Community Service Awards
Emory University's Goizueta Business School, Rollins School of Public Health, School of Medicine, and Nell Hodgson School of Nursing are pleased to announce that the 2023 Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Awards nominations are now open.
This year’s MLK Jr. Community Service Awards Ceremony, “The Sword That Heals: Championing Leaders of Peace, Love, and Justice” celebrates the message of MLK Jr.’s quote, "Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles [those] who wield it. It is a sword that heals."
The Awards this year will recognize up to four individuals and/or groups from the Emory and Atlanta communities who have taken up the mantle and led people through love and peace while promoting justice for all. Nominees may have demonstrated, but are 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 institutional racism or social injustice. 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 4, 2023.
Register for the virtual Award ceremony, which will take place on Thursday, January 19, 2023, from 4:00 PM-5:30 PM Eastern. If you have any questions, please contact Committee Co-Chair for the SOM, Aparajita Maitra @ aparajita.maitra@emory.edu
News from the DEI Council
Save the Date: King Week Events
January 15, 2023: King Week Beloved Community Sunday Service with Rev. Tolton Pace
January 17, 2023: National Day of Healing Video Screening
January 19, 2023: Community Day of Service Awards
January 22, 2023: Legacy Museum Tour in Montgomery, AL
Save the dates to participate in Emory-wide programs, services, and celebrations in honor of the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Call for Nominations: Black History Month
The SOM Office of Equity and Inclusion seeks self-nominations and/or peer nominations of faculty and staff members who identify with this group and are willing to share their stories. Contact somdei@emory.edu with questions. Submit a nomination. Deadline: Feb. 1
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SOM LGBTQ+ Mentoring Program
The LGBTQ+ Faculty Affinity Group recently launched a mentoring program. Using a family approach to mentoring, the group will meet quarterly for events for all program members as well as smaller meetings among "families." Contact Jason Schneider (medicine) for more information. Registration opens Jan. 2023
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Read the SOM OEI Year-End Report
The Office of Equity and Inclusion recently published its year-end report. The 16-page document features highlights of the vast amount of work the office has done since its inception in 2021. Read the report.
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Recognition, Remembrance, and Reflection: The Syphilis Study 50 Years Later
On Nov. 30, the CDC held a symposium entitled "Recognition, Remembrance, and Reflection: The Syphilis Study 50 Years Later." This impactful, heartfelt, and powerful event consisted of four acts. To hear the stories from the family members of those who were part of the study, the context of
what this means for the history of Black people who continue to suffer from health inequities, and the commitment of the CDC to making a difference as stated by Dr. Wolensky, clearly encourages us to do what we must do to advance health equity.
Jasmin Eatman, past president of the SOM SNMA, and Tuzo Mwarumba, president of Black Men in White Coats, student representatives on the Actionable Education Initiative at the SOM, attended the event and shared their reflections here. Read more.
News from the Office of Faculty Development
The Faculty Development Committee will begin offering CV reviews for faculty considering promotion in the next 1-3 years. Make sure you are ready to sign up for a review by updating your CV over the winter break!
Got news? Please send your announcements and photos to leigh.partington@emory.edu.
The DFPM newsletter is published monthly.
