Department of Family and Preventive Medicine News
2024: Volume 7, issue 4
55 Words from the Chair
Here is the June 2024 newsletter! The USPSTF recommends you read it (Grade A). We also invite you to download the DFPM Decade in Review Report. The outlook for this month? Sunny. The forecast for our next decade? Mind-boggling growth in research, education, clinical care, and service, with greater collaboration and higher career satisfaction.
Good News!
Don't Miss Opportunities!
Presented by the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology and Emory SOM. This course is designed to give medical providers and other members of the multi-disciplinary health care team basic and cutting-edge knowledge for optimizing the delivery of services to the expanding older adult population. This event will be held at the Hilton Peachtree City Atlanta Hotel and Conference Center located at 2443 Hwy 54 West Peachtree City, Georgia, from July 19 - 20, 2024.
News from the Vice Chairs
From Dr. Kim Curseen, VC of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
As we celebrate Pride Month this June, it is important to recognize and honor the diversity within our community. The Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at Emory University values and supports all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
We believe creating an inclusive and welcoming environment is essential for promoting health and well-being for all. Let us continue to champion equality, diversity, and acceptance not just this month but every day.
Happy Pride Month to all!
In recognition of Pride Month, please take a look at the 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People.
On June 19, Emory University and its colleges close in honor of Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans after the Civil War. Dive into Emory Libraries' curated resources that explore the significance of this day in American history here: https://links.emory.edu/Xn. You can also Commemorate Juneteenth with 19 Days of Wellness.
Transformative Research
Dr. Megha Shah's DREAM Atlanta study and two of her publications were highlighted at a recent NIMHD council public meeting. Dr. Shah's work was selected based on the high level of community care and for using an intervention as part of the research design. The featured publications were Protocol and Baseline Characteristics for A Community Health Worker-led hypertension and diabetes management program for South Asians in Atlanta: The DREAM Atlanta Study and A Culturally Adapted, Telehealth, Community Health Worker Intervention on Blood Pressure Control among South Asian Immigrants with Type II Diabetes: Results from the DREAM Atlanta Intervention.
In May, Dr. Sarah Cross gave an oral presentation, “Racial Differences in Palliative Care Use in Heart Failure,” at the European Association of Palliative Care World Research Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
Dr. Deanna Kaplan received Notice of Awards for two foundation grant awards earlier this month! One is an Emory grant and one is a multi-site international collaboration with the University of Melbourne. Both of these awards provide significant support for the use and continued development of the app she built, Fabla. Details are as follows:
09/2024 – 09/2027 Perception Box Grant, Tiny Blue Dot Foundation. Title: “When does meditation expand the perception box? A comparative longitudinal study.” Role: Co-investigator (PI: Julieta Galante, University of Melbourne)
09/2024 – 09/2027 Perception Box Grant, Tiny Blue Dot Foundation, $450,000. Title: “Identifying optimal responses to challenges related to expanding the perception box in psilocybin-assisted therapy.” Role: Co-investigator (PI: Roman Palitsky, Emory University)
In addition, Emory Media Relations office just produced and released this 3-minute video about the Fabla app. Click below to watch!
Collaborative Publications
Dr. Sara Turbow and Dr. Mo Ali published Care fragmentation and readmission mortality and length of stay before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: data from the National Readmissions Database, 2018-2020 and Fragmented Readmissions From a Nursing Facility in Medicare Beneficiaries.
Dr. Sara Turbow, Dr. Puneet Chehal, and Dr. Mo Ali published Is Electronic Information Exchange Associated With Lower 30-Day Readmission Charges Among Medicare Beneficiaries?
Dr. Jennifer Mascaro and Dr. Deanna Kaplan published Diversity, equity, and inclusivity in observational ambulatory assessment: Recommendations from two decades of Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) research and Reliability and Validity of Measures Commonly Utilized to Assess Nurse Well-Being.
Individual Publications
Dr. Mo Ali
Advancing diabetes surveillance ecosystems: a case study of India.
Longitudinal associations between ambient PM2.5 exposure and lipid levels in two Indian cities.
Dr. Kimberly Curseen
Dr. Jodie Guest
Dr. Deanna Kaplan
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha
Hemodynamic Reactivity to Mental Stress and Cognitive Function in Coronary Artery Disease.
Dr.Miranda Moore
Dr. Sathish Thirunavukkarasu
Dr. Ali John Zarrabi
Educational Investments for our future
Emory Shines at STFM
Dr. Kim Thompson, FM resident Dr. Nikhila Gandrakota, and EUSOM M4 Lindsey Garrett represented Emory School of Medicine and the Family Medicine Residency Program at the 2024 Society for Teachers of Family Medicine meeting in Los Angeles. Dr. Gandrakota was also awarded the Faculty for Tomorrow Resident's Scholarship by the STFM.
Dr. Agarwal, PrevMed Class of 2024,
Receives USPHS Award
PrevMed Graduates Bolster
U.S. Public Health Workforce
Congratulations to Chioma Erondu, MD, MPH who joins the ranks of our PMR/F program graduates already or about to be working in U.S. public health. Dr. Erondu came to Emory in July 2019 having completed OB/GYN residency training at Baylor; she completed our program, including having been recognized for her stellar academic record in the RSPH Applied Epidemiology MPH track. Dr. Erondu is working as a medical officer / clinical reviewer at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also the home of CDC, NIH, AHRQ, and other agencies. Within that billet, she’ll be working on a Reproductive Team in FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Office of New Drugs (OND), Division of Urology, Obstetrics, & Gynecology (DUOG). In general, the medical officers/ clinical reviewers within CDER/OND analyze new drug applications (NDAs) and biologic licensing applications (BLAs), and during drug development, review Investigational New Drug Applications (INDs). Her specific focus is on treatments for Obstetric and Gynecologic conditions.
Fortunate for Atlanta, the community, and Wellstar Health System, Dr. Erondu will be working from Atlanta and also has been approved to continue clinical work within the Wellstar Health System!
Dr. Erondu joins other recent graduates of the Preventive Medicine Residency/Fellowship Program who are working for public health agencies:
- Dr. Elizabeth Rabold – CDC
- Dr. Sandra Valenciano – DeKalb County Health Department
- Dr. Siri Chirumamilla – Los Angeles County Health Department
- Dr. Alex Molinari – CDC
- Dr. Kimberly McKinney – CDC and US Air Force
- Dr. Annie Rouza – DeKalb County Health Department (begins in July)
- Dr. Radhika Agarwal – CDC (begins in the Fall, tentatively)
Service for our future
Dr. Ali John Zarrabi's work with
Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy
featured in Emory Medicine Magazine
Click here to read the full article: Therapeutic Psychedelics (emory.edu).
