Jada Bussey-Jones, MD, FACP
Welcome to our newsletter! We are thrilled to share updates and achievements of our GIM team. In light of recent court rulings, it is important to note that our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion remains unwavering as we strive to create an inclusive environment for our team, learners, and patients. Thanks for all you do!
SGIM 2023 Highlights
Welcome to the GIM Family!
Dr. Hebist Berhane welcomed baby Noel to the world on May 3, 2023! Congratulations to Dr. Berhane and her family!
Best Wishes in Your New Endeavor!
Once upon a time, a 25-year-old woman named Iris Castro-Revoredo left her country, the Dominican Republic, to go to Barcelona, Spain, to become an endocrinologist.
An unplanned and unfortunate family event occurred that made her presence needed back home.
Later on, the wind took her to the USA, where she worked her way through English as a second language and the USMLE/ECFMG to become an Internal Medicine doctor. She was happy and devoted to her duties as an Academic, Hospital and End of Life physician, on top of working at the Diabetes Center at Grady.
One day she received a wake-up call from her memory that something was still pending. After some meditation and a few back and forth thoughts on all the possible implications, Dr. Castro-Revoredo decided to go back to training and is now ready to start a 2-year Fellowship in Endocrinology starting July 1st. She is very happy to have Grady as the first rotation and will be on call at Grady and Midtown the first weekend of the academic year.
Congratulations to Dr. Nathan Spell III on his retirement, effective August 25, 2023. Dr. Spell began practicing at Emory in 1998 and will mark 25 years of service in July 2023. He currently serves as the Associate Dean for Education and Professional Development and Executive Director of the Office of Continuing Medical Education. Dr. Spell also leads the Continuous Quality Improvement initiative for the MD program, directs the Emory Healthcare Quality Academy; and serves as Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine.
In retirement, he has accepted a leadership position as chair of internal medicine at the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in Asheville, N.C., where he will direct the growth of this recently created department to develop a strong healthcare workforce in rural western North Carolina. Before his departure, he will be working with leadership, faculty, and staff to ensure a smooth transition in his roles with Emory.
Kudos and Congratulations!
Dr. Shub Agrawal has been selected to be one of the bedside fellows for the Society of Bedside Medicine for 2023-2024! Dr. Agrawal was also awarded a "Building Trust through Diversity, Health Care Equity, Inclusion and Diagnostic Excellence in Internal Medicine Training" grant sponsored by AAIM, ABIM, ABIM Foundation, ACP, the Josiah H. Macy Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. The grant will fund the Health Equity Case Competition, including partnering with a local community organization and building a toolkit that enables other organizations to host case competitions and effectively partner with community organizations.
Iris Castro-Revoredo received funding from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. for a project entitled, “A parallel-group treatment, phase 2, double-blind, three-arm study to assess efficacy and safety of finerenone plus empagliflozin compared with either finerenone or empagliflozin in participants with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes.”
Dr. Tracey Henry was awarded SGIM Association of Chiefs and Leaders of GIM (ACLGIM) Leadership Award. Henry serves as SOM's EMPACT director, DEIRA curriculum thread director, and assistant health director of Grady Primary Care Center.
Dr. Jason Schneider received funding from GlaxoSmithKline LLC. for a project entitled, “A phase 4, randomized, open-label, three-arm study to evaluate implementation strategies for the delivery of cabotegravir for HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) across clinical settings for adult (>18 years) Black cis- and transgender women without HIV infection living in the United States Ending the Epidemic (EHE) territories.”
Dr. Sara Turbow's article, “Trends and Demographic Disparities in Diabetes Hospital Admissions: Analyses of Serial Cross-Sectional National and State Data, 2008-2017,” published in Diabetes Care, is one of two papers selected for the 2023 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Award for Outstanding Research, sponsored by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and AcademyHealth. Dr. Turbow will be recognized during the 2023 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting, June 24-27 in Seattle.
Dr. Erica Brownfield and Dr. Maura George received funding from ScholarRx for a project entitled, “Expanding metacognitive awareness in students through the creation of bricks concerning social medicine topics.”
Update on the new GIM Academic Internal Medicine Center
Below is a list of the newly selected Academic Internal Medicine (AIM) Center faculty and site leads. Also included are current and soon to be faculty of the Seavey Clinic. Together, these physicians make up the new academic team focused on GIM faculty career growth, collaboration and cohesiveness of the Emory GIM faculty practices and other GIM sites. The AIM Center will also help bring together the resources and tools all GIM faculty need to be successful as physicians, teachers, scholars and university faculty. The AIM Center is on track for a formal launch on Sept. 1, 2023. Other leadership and support positions will be announced in the next issue of the GIM newsletter..
Congratulations to our GIM faculty Top Docs!
Emory Healthcare proudly leads Atlanta magazine’s 2023 “Top Doctors” list with more physicians than any other metro Atlanta health system. The July issue of Atlanta magazine can be found on newsstands and you can click here to access the digital version.
Congratulations to our division of General Internal Medicine Top Docs (pictured above, left to right): Dr. Paul Baird, Dr. Dimple Shah, Dr. Christine Stoltz, and GIM division director Dr. Ted Johnson, a Geriatrics Top Doc!
Attending the 2023 National Medical Association
Scientific Convention and Assembly?
Dr. Natasha Travis is the Chair of the National Medical Association (NMA) Emory Engagement Committee as appointed by the Associate Dean for Community Engagement, Equity & Inclusion/Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. If you will be speaking at or attending the NMA Conference, please let Dr. Travis know by visiting this webpage. You can also see the list of confirmed Emory speakers/presenters.
Congratulations to our New GIM Faculty
Small Group Leaders!
Dr. Francois Rollin (pictured below left) and Dr. Mehul Tejani (pictured below right) have been named Small Group Leaders for Emory School of Medicine.
Seavey Clinic - Clinic of the Future
Former Dean of the Emory School of Medicine Dr. Vikas Sukhatme supported the Seavey Clinic with a grant to be a site for a Clinic of the Future. Dr. Sharon Bergquist provided details on what that means.
The Clinic of the Future:
Background: An increasing number of genetic and multi-omic tests at various stages of development are rapidly becoming available that may increase predictive accuracy for disease conditions, better assess stages of health and rate of aging, and serve as clinical biomarkers for evaluating efficacy of health-promoting interventions.
Aim: Evaluate the 1) clinical utility of select biomarkers, preferentially developed at Emory SOM, as adjuncts to established risk assessment tools and 2) changes in outcomes from clinical pathways that integrate biomedical, bioinformatic, and computational tools.
Vision: to be a leading national center for human healthspan and lifespan optimization.
GIM Grady Office Certified Green!
In a effort led by Dr. Stacie Schmidt and Issa Lee-Hall, Grady GIM has achieved Bronze status from Green Offices at Emory program by achieving 50.96% of applicable points. Dr. Schmidt will be presenting action items for moving forward towards silver certification at an upcoming Grady section meeting.
New Green Space at Grady FOB!
Dr. Richard Pittman led a team effort to refresh some neglected green space behind the Grady Faculty Office Building. With the support of Grady Admin, GIM residents, and GIM faculty and staff, Dr. Pittman organized a work day on May 8 to clean up the area and plant a variety of perennials.Pictured below: the planting team and the final results!
Dr. Richard Pittman (pictured, left) led a team effort to refresh some neglected green space behind the Grady Faculty Office Building. With the support of Grady Admin, GIM residents, and GIM faculty and staff, Dr. Pittman raised funds for plants and organized a work day on May 8 to clean up the area and plant a variety of perennials. Pictured below: the planting team and the final results!
2023–2024 DOM Clinical Distinctions Program
is accepting nominations
The Clinical Distinctions program is designed to recognize Emory faculty who have devoted a majority of their time and careers to providing excellence in clinical care. Distinctions are awarded at three levels: Senior Physician, Distinguished Physician, and Eminent Physician. Program guidelines, distinction criteria, and required supporting documents may be found here. Please email Leigh Partington if you are interested.
If you are interested in submitting an application for the Clinical Distinctions program, there are internal division resources to assist you in writing your clinical service statement and internal GIM deadlines that you must meet (see below).
July 10 – Nominee names for all three categories (Senior Physician, Distinguished Physician, and Eminent Physician) due to Leigh Partington.
August 2: Senior Physician candidate final materials due
August 11: Distinguished Physician candidate final materials due
August 24: Eminent Physician candidate final materials due
Approved Clinical Distinctions take effect September 1, 2024.
GIM Faculty Honored by Residents
Dr. Mikhail Akbashev
Golden Apple Teaching Award, Inpatient Attending (Grady)
Dr. Jennifer Lom
Golden Apple Teaching Award, Inpatient Attending (Grady)
Dr. Lesley Miller
Outstanding Research Mentor
Congratulations to all of the GIM faculty who were nominated by their colleagues and trainees for
2023 Educators Appreciation Day!
Outreach Projects
Dr. Ted Johnson was interviewed by Georgia Public Broadcasting Next magazine on the five things every Georgia should know about their annual wellness visit. Access the June 2023 issue here.
Dr. Lesley Miller was interviewed by the AMA on what patients should know about viral hepatitis. Read more.
Dr. Neil Winawer was interviewed by WAGA-TV about what it means now that the World Health Organization has ended the COVID-19 emergency declaration. Click here for the whole interview: COVID public health emergency declared over
The research corner is a place to share research-related opportunities, tips, and more. If you have any suggestions for things to include,
please let Dr. Saria Hassan know!
GIM-Wide Monthly Research Meeting
Launches in October
Starting Thursday, October 19th at 12:30pm and on the third Thursday of the month moving forward, we will bring all GIM sections together to highlight exciting clinically-relevant research led by our own faculty. An opportunity to foster collaboration between sections and beyond. Specific skill-building activities of relevance to the academic advancement of all GIM faculty will be incorporated. Mark your calendars now: Oct 19th @ 12:30pm!
Highlight your research on digital displays in the new Health Services Research Building (HSRB-II)!
For instructions on how to share research on the digital displays of the building please click here.
Opportunities to strengthen research skills
QUAL-WORKS offers a series of training workshops on qualitative research. They offer three types of workshops: scheduled workshops, individual mentored sessions, and customized workshops. Click here for more information.
Extramural and intramural funding opportunities
The School of Medicine curates a list of funding opportunities for Emory researchers. Click here to see the most current lists:
Important Survey on GIM Research
In an effort to strengthen research/project-related activities within Emory GIM and promote collaboration between our sections, please take 5 minutes to complete a brief survey.
This survey will collect information regarding your experience with research/projects and understand the breadth of your current project-related activities. The goal is to understand your needs and interests so we can better align GIM divisional activities and opportunities! Projects can be research, scholarship, quality improvement, education, and other activities outside your clinical work that can be considered academic. Click here to access the survey or scan the QR code.
Department of Medicine publishes a weekly newsletter called What's UP in DOM Research. Subscribe by clicking HERE.
Collaborative Publications:
Dr. Shelly-Ann Fluker, Dr. Sarah Koumtouzoua, and Dr. Lesley Miller published Large-Scale, Primary Care-Based Hepatitis C Treatment in an Urban, Medically Underserved Patient Population describes 20 years of growth and success in the Grady Liver Clinic.
Dr. Emily Pinto-Taylor and Dr. Tracy Vettese: Care Throughout the Journey - The Interaction Between Primary Care and Palliative Care
Dr. Francois Rollin and Dr. Stan Sonu published an editorial: Reflective Errors: A Call for a More Careful Use of Race in Research
Dr. Lesley Miller:
Characteristics and outcomes of black and white patients hospitalized with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: A nationwide analysis.
Dr. Emily Pinto-Taylor:
End-Stage/Advanced Heart Failure: Geriatric Palliative Care Considerations
Dr. Jason Schneider:
Stigma, Social and Structural Vulnerabilities, and Mental Health among Transgender Women: A partial least square path modeling analysis.
Dr. Tiffany Walker:
Development of a Definition of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection
Save the Date!
Grady sponsors a monthly Primary Care Grand Rounds webinar for Primary Care Physicians and APPs. Participants who complete and return the evaluation form will get 1 hour CME credit.
- August: Urology
update
Dr. Aaron Lay - Sept.: Diabetes insulin management update
Dr. Joseph Oliva - October: Telemedicine and how to do effective video visits
Aiyana Cottman/ Dr. Aerica Summers - Nov.: Safe use of anticoagulants
Dr. Mikhail Y. Akbashev/ Alyssa Utz - Dec.: TBD
Click HERE to join the monthly webinar every first Wednesday at noon.
Click HERE for recordings of previous sessions.
Join the Georgia Memory Net Network for our new monthly webinar series on brain health topics for primary care providers. Participants must register in advance for this free webinar. .5 hour CME credits available.
Click HERE for recordings of previous sessions.
