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Shafi named head of the Division of Nephrology, Hypertension and Kidney Transplantation
Tariq Shafi, MD, has been named the Head of the Division of Nephrology, Hypertension and Kidney Transplantation in the Department of Medicine.
Shafi is currently a Professor of Medicine and Director of Nephrology at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He also holds Professorships in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and in the School of Population Health.
Following medical school in Karachi, Pakistan, Shafi completed his internal medicine residency at Wayne State University and a nephrology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He then completed a master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. Shafi spent the next 10 years on the faculty of the Nephrology Division in the Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine. In 2018, he became the John D. Bower Director of the Division of Nephrology at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Shafi is a physician-scientist with more than 140 peer-reviewed papers, reviews and book chapters and is currently on the editorial boards of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney 360 and the American Journal of Medicine.
Tariq Shafi, MD
Shafi has had continuous NIH research funding for the past 20 years on topics including: the impact of renal failure on cardiovascular outcomes and hypertension, the science and application of hemodialysis and efforts to reduce healthcare disparities for kidney transplant patients. He has served on several nephrology-related NIH study sections. Shafi has mentored dozens of graduate students and residents in their research careers and has been awarded numerous teaching and mentorship awards. He has been elected to Fellow status in the following societies: The American College of Physicians, the American Society of Nephrology, the Southern Society of Clinical Investigation and the National Kidney Foundation.
Shafi will be starting at Houston Methodist in October 2022. He has been awarded a Katz Investigatorship by the Houston Methodist Academic Institute to support his research efforts. He will begin broadening the academic nephrology division with a focus on world-class patient care, clinical investigation and strong GME and CME programs.
Digital Methodology
Lessening Pain After Knee Replacement Surgery
Researchers found that infusing morphine and vancomycin directly into the tibia during knee replacement reduces pain and pain medication patients need after surgery. The article on the study, which first appeared in digital Methodology, was repurposed by the Houston Methodist Public Relations team for release on EurekAlert and Newswise wire services, as well as the Houston Methodist newsroom. As a result of these efforts, news of this research appeared in more than 200 media outlets with an estimated audience reach of 61.5 million. Orthopedic surgeon Kwan “Kevin” Park, MD, was interviewed for an article by HealthDay, a national syndicated newswire service that feeds into top publications, on the study he did in collaboration with Francesca Taraballi, PhD.
Announcements
Gollihar Lab website
The Gollihar Lab website is now accessible.
2022 PCORI Annual Meeting Registration Now Open
Registration for the 2022 PCORI Annual Meeting is now open. The annual meeting will be held virtually Oct. 26-27 and will report on PCORI’s progress in funding initiatives to determine which care approaches work best, for whom and under what conditions.
As part of this year’s event, attendees will hear from expert researchers, health-care and industry leaders, committed community partners and patients with lived experience who have been part of the research PCORI funds.
There will be keynote speakers, more than 50 breakout sessions and plenary and poster sessions including presentations focused on such topics as:
- Applying for PCORI funding
- COVID-19
- Health equity and disparities
- Health-care innovation
- Intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Maternal health
- Telehealth
George and Angelina Kostas Research Center for Cardiovascular Nanomedicine
“The New Frontier of RNA Nanotherapeutics” meeting, presented by the George and Angelina Kostas Research Center for Cardiovascular Nanomedicine, will feature a discussion on the events that led to the RNA vaccine breakthrough and preview emerging RNA nanotherapeutics. Advances in the design of RNA constructs to improve stability and translational efficiency will be presented along with the leading-edge developments in nanomedicine to improve delivery and tissue specificity. The hybrid conference will be Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Click here to register.
Praying for each other
Every week, the Prayer Connect Team at Houston Methodist Hospital sends an email with prayer requests. About 160 Methodist employees have committed to pray for requests from our colleagues and community.
We believe that staying connected is vital to our well-being, so please consider joining the chaplains in this initiative. If you would like to join us in praying for the requests of our employees and community, please reply to this email or contact Michela deTranaltes, Project Specialist for Grace Ministries, so we can add you to our confidential online community.
If you would like to submit a prayer, either text PRAYER to 45991 or email HMHPrayerRequest@houstonmethodist.org.
Hang Ten: Employee Support Group
Hang Ten provides a safe and confidential environment for mutual support. A chaplain will facilitate the group and introduce life tools such as mindfulness, intentionality and reframing.
Each session will stand alone, so feel free to log on any week for as long as your time permits. The group meets every Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. Click here to join the recurring meeting.
Accolades
The Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center, led by Jenny Chang, MD, PhD, was admitted into the American Association of Cancer Institutes (AACI). The AACI cited the Neal Cancer Center’s commitment to developing novel cancer therapeutics, training the next generation of physicians and scientists and pursuing community-focused efforts to decrease the burden of cancer among the reasons for its addition to membership.
Jeffrey Friedman, MD, Cathy and Ed Frank Centennial Chair in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery; Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery, has been named Chair of the Board of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons for 2024.
Arianne Dowdell, JD, Vice President, Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer, will be recognized as a Top Diversity Officer in Healthcare by The National Diversity Council at the Upcoming Health Equity & Inclusion Conference.
Siddhartha Ganguly, MD, Carol Cockrell Curran Distinguished Centennial Chair in Hematologic Oncology, was appointed new Associate Director for Clinical Investigation at the Houston Methodist Neal Cancer Center.
Stephen Little, MD, John S. Dunn Chair in Clinical Cardiovascular Research and Education, DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, Houston Methodist, was appointed the Board of Directors President of the American Society of Echocardiography, 2022-2023.
Kai Sun, MD, PGY6 Chief Hematology and Oncology Fellow, received the 2022 Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
NIH News
Navigating Early Career Funding Opportunities Webinar
Are you ready to transition to a fully independent position as an investigator, faculty member, clinician scientist, or scientific team member? The NIH has a variety of programs to help you establish your career in research. To explore your options and hear application advice directly from NIH experts, plan to take part in this multi-presentation and discussion of Navigating Early Career Funding Opportunities on Sept. 15.
Upcoming Grantee Training Webinar: Essential Resources for CPRIT Grantees
Join CPRIT for a redesigned webinar that will help current grantees successfully navigate compliance and reporting requirements. The training will include an overview of essential grantee resources, relevant administrative rule changes, programmatic updates, and a Q&A with staff.
CPRIT's administrative rule (§ 703.22) requires all CPRIT grantees to complete an annual compliance training by December 31 of each year. The Authorized Signing Official (ASO) and at least one other individual from each organization must attend the annual compliance training; however, we encourage all staff who use CPRIT’s grants management system to participate in this training, including Principal Investigators. Attendance at this webinar will satisfy the training requirement for 2022.
CPRIT staff participating in the webinar will include representatives from the compliance department, program staff, operations staff, and the legal department.
To register for the webinars, click on the links below or visit the Ethics and Compliance Page on the CPRIT website.
Watch
Videos on Watch
7th Annual Houston Heart Failure Summit
4th Annual Houston Methodist Critical Care Symposium
First Annual Colorectal Cancer Updates for Primary Care
Treating and Preventing Chronic Metabolic Disease
11th Annual Nantz National Alzheimer Center Symposium
In the Media
Ashley Drews, MD, spoke with the Houston Chronicle about COVID-19 and its outlook.
Kershaw Patel, MD, provided expert commentary to The New York Times on new research on how walking after a meal can help lower blood sugar. Patel shared how even small steps can have benefits. You can read the article here.
A study by Muralidhar Hegde, PhD, and Joy Mitra, PhD, reviewed the emerging insights and evidence that suggest COVID-19 infections may have short- and long-term neurological effects.
The news release is posted on our science wire services EurekAlert and Newswise, as well as on the Houston Methodist Newsroom.
Mitra also was interviewed about recurring headaches following COVID-19 infection in Lifehacker.
Linda Le, MD, was interviewed live by FOX26 on vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the blood vessels. Actor Ashton Kutcher recently announced he has recovered from this condition. You can watch the interview here.
Neha Mathur, MD, recently provided expert comments for a New York Times article about hemorrhoids and treatment options. The WELL is a longtime health/medical column in the NYT.
Infectious diseases physician and scientist Cesar Arias, MD, PhD, was interviewed by BuzzFeed for a story about measures being undertaken to stretch out the monkeypox vaccine supply and ways individuals can protect themselves.
Neil Gandhi, MD, was interviewed by Lifehacker about how humidity increases your risk of heat stroke.
Mouaz Al-Mallah, MD, was interviewed by NPR about a study on COVID-19’s impact on the heart. The interview aired on Houston Public Media and nationally on “All Things Considered.” You can listen here.
Jason Thonhoff, MD, PhD, was quoted in the online health publication STAT for his review of a new ALS study in the journal Brain Communications. The study, performed by researchers at the Tisch MS Research Center of New York, involved injecting mice with spinal fluid from sporadic ALS patients – those with no family connection or cause for the neurodegenerative disease. Researchers found an unlikely culprit, the protein apolipoprotein B-100, as a common denominator. With further study, researchers theorize that filtering out this protein from the spinal fluid could potentially slow or stop disease progression. Read the STAT article here.
Sanket Borgaonkar, MD, was interviewed by Buzzfeed on how energy drinks affect the heart, a trending topic on TikTok. The article is available here.
Josh Septimus, MD, was quoted in a Houston Chronicle article discussing aging and living past 100.
John P. Cooke, MD, PhD, was interviewed by the Houston Chronicle for his mRNA expertise on the bivalent boosters available soon targeting the latest Omicron variants. The article can be read here.
Cooke also was interviewed recently for an episode on ReachMD, a learning platform for physicians and other health-care professionals, offering peer-to-peer medical education. You can hear Cooke speak about how mRNA medicine works at this link.
Andrew Lee, MD, provided expert comments for a Prevention magazine article on ocular migraines. His HM bio is hyperlinked in his title, and the article also was picked up by MSN.com and Yahoo! Lifestyle.
Anthony Brissett, MD, and patient Kisha Peters recently interviewed with KHOU-TV, Ch. 11 on the topic of ethnic rhinoplasties. Click here to watch.
DEI Spotlight
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration
The Hispanic LatinX Alliance ERG hosted a kick-off celebration in recognition of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 - Oct. 15) in the Crain Garden. Univision Houston’s Beto Najera was the guest speaker for the event, which included a curated art exhibit hosted by MECA Houston along with live mariachi band performances.
Click here to watch a video from the event.
Native American Heritage Month Recognition
The Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is reaching out to Houston Methodist staff members interested in providing personal insight and comments in an upcoming edition of the DEI Corner on the significance of November’s designation as Native American Heritage Month. In addition, as we develop plans to honor the achievements and contributions of Native Americans, we are seeking input on culturally appropriate activities to engage fellow staff members in celebrating this month. If you are interested in offering your assistance or have any questions, please email us at theofficeofdei@houstonmethodist.org.
DEI Glossary in DEI Toolkit
A “Glossary of Important DEI Terms” is now available in the DEI Toolkit. The glossary provides definitions of more than 100 terms and is intended to provide clarity and context to help encourage conversation around DEI topics.
DEI Personal Day Experiences
Dawn Marshall, executive assistant, Department of Surgery, visited Puerto Rico in August with her family and used her DEI Personal Day during the trip, which offered insight into the island’s culture and heritage.
The DEI Personal Day gives eligible Houston Methodist employees the opportunity to celebrate days that are special to them and other members of their faith, race or nationality or anything else that makes them unique.
As outlined in HR Policy 72, DEI Personal Day hours can be used for any reason and in combination with a PTO request, but unlike PTO, it does not roll over to the next year. We’d love to see how you’ve spent your DEI Personal Day. Please share photos of you enjoying your DEI Personal Day in a future DEI Corner by forwarding to theofficeofdei@houstonmethodist.org.
Job Postings
We have several job openings in the Academic Institute. Click here to find one that interests you, or if you know of someone who might be interested.
New Employees
We welcome these new employees who joined the Academic Institute in December 2021.
- Jennifer Berman, Education – CNREP, Instructional Designer
- Grace Concepcion, Comparative Med General, CMP Business Representative
- Remington Crossnoe, Neurosurg – Sayenko, Research Technician I
- Omar Daher, Infectious Disease - Gollihar, Research Assistant I
- Amr Darwish, Imaging, Research Associate II
- Anna Dodson, Regenerative Medicine Admin, Scientific Writer
- Catalina Gutirrez, Cancer Clinical Trials, Research Coordinator III
- Lindsay Kowis, Infectious Disease – Musser, Research Coordinator II
- Kristian Kragholm, Imaging, Postdoctoral Fellow 0
- Carrie Lemmonds, AOCT Ops - Quality Assurance, Internal Auditor
- Kailee Leveck, HRPO – IRB, Administrative Assistant
- Joshua Henkelman, Transplant – Admin, Clinical Research Nurse
- Cassidy Johnson, Comparative Med General, Veterinary Technician
- Sunita Mathews, RSRCH & ED Clinical/Informatic, Mgr IT Systems
- Diego Medrano, TAMU HSC Partnership, RI Trainee Affairs Coord
- Devon Miller, Regenerative Medicine Admin, Mgr Research Operations
- Maria Dolores Montalvo Parra, Neurosurg – Krencik, Postdoctoral Fellow 0
- Eric Nagueh, CV Regeneration – Cooke, Research Assistant I
- Harper Oelfke, Comparative Med General, Veterinary Technician
- Nafisat Omotayo, TP&Q - cGMP Core, cGMP Specialist
- Anna Pena, HRPO – IRB, RI Human Rsch Protection Coord
- Sowmya Ravulapati, Cancer Clinical Trials, RI Quality Assurance Analyst
- Muthuraju Sangu, PET Imaging Core, Research Associate II
- Vashti Singh, Neurology - Jun Li, Research Assistant I
- Peiqi Sui, SMAB – Lab, Research Assistant I
- Jalissa Valencia, Education – CME, Sr Continuing Med Edu Coord
- Valentina Villarroel, AOCT Operations – HMH, Research Coordinator I
- Nelson Villasmil Hernandez, Medicine - Lung Center, Research Coordinator I
- Martin Vu, CV Regeneration – Cooke, Financial Analyst
Policy Reminders
BP in Practice is an educational reminder designed to raise awareness regarding Business Practices hot topics, relevant laws and policies & procedures. Find archives of BP in Practice here. If you have questions, contact the BP EthicsLine at 800.500.0333 or visit tmhs.myethicsline.com.
Publications
21-Gene recurrence score predictive for prognostic benefit of radiotherapy in patients age ≥ 70 with T1N0 ER/PR + HER2- breast cancer treated with breast conserving surgery and endocrine therapy
Chevli, N., Haque, W., Tran, K. T., Farach, A. M., Schwartz, M. R., Hatch, S. S., Butler, E. B. & Teh, B. S., Sep 2022, In: Radiotherapy and Oncology. 174, p. 37-43
99mTechnetium-labeled cardiac scintigraphy for suspected amyloidosis: a review of current and future directions
Saad, J. M., Ahmed, A. I., Han, Y., Saeed, S., Pournazari, P. & Al-Mallah, M. H., Sep 2022, In: Heart Failure Reviews. 27, 5, p. 1493-1503
A Combined Transoral and Contralateral Submandibular Approach in the Surgical Management of Osteoradionecrosis of the Mandible With Free Flap Reconstruction
Shum, J., Manon, V. & Huang, A., Sep 2022, In: Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. 80, 9, p. 1544-1549
Advanced strategies to thwart foreign body response to implantable devices
Capuani, S., Malgir, G., Chua, C. Y. X. & Grattoni, A., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Bioengineering and Translational Medicine.
Alterations in brain activation patterns in women with functional defecatory disorder: A novel fMRI rectal balloon expulsion study
Neshatian, L., Karmonik, C., Khavari, R., Shi, Z., Elias, S., Boone, T. B. & Quigley, E. M. M., 2022, (Accepted/In press) In: Neurogastroenterology and Motility.
If you have a featured publication, for example on a journal cover, please let us know so we can include it in our next issue.
Funding Opportunities
Houston Methodist Center for Critical Care Chevron-Innovation Research Acceleration Fund (IRAF) Request for Applications
Key Dates
Applications Due:
Oct. 7 at noon
Scientific Review:
October/November
Award Announcement:
December
Estimated Funding Start Date:
Jan. 1
The Houston Methodist Center for Critical Care offers rigorous and comprehensive interdisciplinary programs in critical care medicine that provide optimal patient care, groundbreaking research and innovative educational programs. This Request for Applications (RFA) solicits projects in any area of critical care medicine that focus on innovative thinking and research. Critical care medicine involves work in/or supporting the intensive care unit. Applications that will be considered include but are not limited to those focused on clinical advancements, quality improvement and outcomes research in critical care medicine. This RFA is not intended to support applications focusing on development of new therapeutics, diagnostics, devices and software development projects.
For full details and questions related to this RFA, please reach out to HMCenterforCriticalCare@houstonmethodist.org.
Applications must be received via electronic submission to HMCenterforCriticalCare@houstonmethodist.org by noon, Friday, Oct. 7, 2022.
Houston Methodist Academic Institute Golfers Against Cancer Request for Applications
Key Dates
Applications Due:
Oct. 14 at noon
Applications Reviewed:
October/November
Limited Submission Selection:
November
Golfers Against Cancer (GAC) announces the reissuance of their Request for Applications (RFA) to support cancer research in all areas of cancer and for proposals meeting the following criteria:
- Research aimed at finding a cure for cancer
- Proposed research is innovative with a high potential for a medical breakthrough
- Results are not limited to only one type of cancer and have the potential to impact a broad population of cancer patients
Houston Methodist Academic Institute Clinical Scholar Awards (Clinician Scientist Award, Clinician Trialist Award, and Clinician Education Award) Request for Applications
Key Dates
Applications Due:
Nov 30 at noon
Applications Reviewed:
December 2022 - January 2023
Limited Submission Selection:
February 2023
Houston Methodist recognizes the distinctive and critical role that clinician scientists, clinician trialists, and clinician educators play in advancing the academic mission of the system. These faculty advance our mission by:
1) Performing clinical and translational research to advance medicine and health;
2) Driving innovation and translation by conducting clinical trials; and
3) Educating the next generation of innovators and health-care providers.
The goal of this funding mechanism is to recruit or retain and develop clinical faculty possessing a rare blend of talent, ambition, and devotion to doing research, conducting clinical trials, and/or to educating trainees. Houston Methodist department and Centers of Excellence chairs may nominate candidates with outstanding records of accomplishments and commitment to pursuing careers in alignment with at least one of the academic pillars of the Houston Methodist Vision for the Second Century (Clinical Research, Innovative Education, Restorative Medicine, Outcomes Research and Precision Medicine).
Applications must be submitted via the Houston Methodist Intramural Awards portal by Nov. 30 at noon. Please see the provided Applicant Guide document for additional details. For questions related to this RFA, please contact Academic Affairs at academicaffairs@houstonmethodist.org.
Find details here.
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