Noyan Gokce, M.D., and Ohio University Researcher Awarded NIH Grant
Congratulations to Noyan Gokce, M.D., Professor of Medicine in the Section of Cardiology, who received a 4 year, $2.2 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Gokce and his co-principal investigator Vishwajeet Puri, PhD, Professor at The Diabetes Institute at Ohio University, will investigate the relationship between obesity-induced changes in fat tissue metabolism in human adipose stores (tissue that stores energy in the form of fat) in relations to vascular and cardiometabolic dysfunction. Obesity is rampant in the United States, with 69% of the population currently overweight or obese. Drs. Gokce and Puri's research will seek to characterize the relationship between obesity, adipose tissue dysfunction, insulin resistance, and how these processes cause vascular disease.
Read more: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2018/07/11/bu-and-ohio-university-researchers-awarded-nih-grant/
The Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Establishes Two New Arcs To Promote Team Science
ARCs consist of faculty and trainees from different disciplines across both BU campuses and are organized around foci of common research interests. The development of the ARCs create opportunities for new interdisciplinary approaches to research and training in biomedical research.
The new ARCs include:
Connecting Tissues and Investigators (Fibrosis in Pathology)
Co-Directors: Irving Bigio, PhD; Maria Trojanowska, PhD; and Xaralabos (Bob) Varelas, PhD
This ARC will bring together basic researchers, clinicians, and bioengineers across both campuses to test the hypothesis that there are shared and tissue-specific factors in organ fibrosis. These factors can be utilized to develop improved and more quantitative diagnostics to identify both global and/or tissue-specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The team will focus on molecular phenotyping of profibrotic cells, metabolomics and imaging of fibrosis.
Tobacco Regulatory Science
Director: Jessica Fetterman, PhD
Co-Directors: Stine Grodal, PhD; Naomi Hamburg, MD; and Andrew Stokes, PhD
The Tobacco Regulatory Science ARC seeks to tackle questions related to the safety, perceptions, marketing, and use patterns of new and emerging tobacco products and to evaluate the effectiveness of associated regulatory measures. Research is needed to inform policy makers of the health, perceptions, economic and behavioral effects of new and emerging tobacco products in order to develop the appropriate policies to protect human health.
Retrieved from: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2018/06/21/two-new-arcs-established-to-promote-team-science/
Maureen Dubreuil, MD, MSc, Receives 2018 Spondylitis Association of America (SAA) Bruckel Early Career Investigator in Axial Spondyloarthritis Award
Maureen Dubreuil, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor of Clinical Epidemiology Research & Training, received the 2018 Spondylitis Association of America (SAA) Bruckel Early Career Investigator in Axial Spondyloarthritis Award. The $20,000.00 award was created to recognize outstanding “contributions to the care and understanding of patients with spondyloarthritis," and named in honor of the Associations co-founder Jane Bruckel. It is awarded on an annual basis to an early career investigator that shows the most promise to contribute to the understanding or therapy of axial spondyloarthritis. Spondyloarthritis is a type of arthritis which attacks the spine and the joints of the arms and legs in some individuals.
Dr. Dubreuil's research is focused on comorbidities and pharmacoepidemiology of spondyloarthritis, and she is currently studying patient preferences and cost-effectiveness of treatment modalities for this disease. This award will help with her ongoing research. Congratulations Dr. Dubreuil!
Emelia J. Benjamin, M.D., ScM, Selected To Lead New AHA-Funded Center on AFib
Emelia J. Benjamin, M.D., ScM, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Epidemiology at BUSM and BUSPH, has been selected to lead a new center focused on AFib research, being funded by the American Heart Association (AHA). The Center will examine AFib risk and stroke risk in patients with AFib, with a specific focus on African Americans. The objective is to advance AFib precision medicine by predicting individuals at risk and providing insights that are essential to developing effective prevention, treatment, and management strategies.
This is part of a $28 million grant to six institutions in the AHA research network and is the first grant of this type for BU. The other institutions to join Boston University include Cleveland Clinic, Northwestern University, Stanford University, University of Utah and Vanderbilt University.
Read more: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2018/06/13/emelia-benjamin-to-lead-new-aha-funded-center-on-afib/
Shoumita Dasgupta, PhD, Elected to Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics
Congratulations to Shoumita Dasgupta, PhD, Associate Professor in the Section of Biomedical Genetics, who was recently elected as the president-elect of the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics (APHMG). Dr. Dasgupta, who also serves in the capacity of assistant dean of admissions, will serve as president-elect from 2018-2020 and president from 2020-2022.
David Center, MD, Named Treasurer of Association for Clinical and Translational Science
Congratulations to David Center, MD, Section Chief of Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine and Professor of Medicine, for being named as treasurer of the Board of Directors for The Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) in 2018-19. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science focuses on four realms: research, education, advocacy and mentoring and provides an outstanding platform for enhancing education, research and public policy related to clinical and translational science.
Faculty Members Promoted to Associate Professors
Congratulations to the following DOM faculty members that have recently been promoted to Associate Professors:
Vipul Chitalia, MED, Medicine (Nephrology), is an emerging national and international physician scientist in the field of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Focusing on cardiovascular manifestations in patients with CKD and using thrombosis as a disease model, he was the first to uncover the highly prothrombotic effect of some of the retained solutes in CKD patients. This work explained observations from several clinical trials that in the past had shown CKD as a strong and independent risk factor for thrombosis. These discoveries now have been developed into a ‘theranostic’ platform with a biomarker program and potential druggable therapeutic targets, which has attracted interest from the biotech industry. Dr. Chitalia serves as a scientific advisor to several leading biotech companies in the greater Boston area and also is an Associate Scientific Advisory Board Member of Science Translational Medicine, where his work has been lauded as “the most mechanistic contribution to the field of chronic kidney disease and vascular biology.”
Jean M. Francis, MED, Medicine (Nephrology), is a clinician educator and innovator. His work has led to improved care of patients with thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) on a national level through the adoption in other institutions of a multidisciplinary team approach for management of patients with TMA, which he began at BMC. He has been invited to give more than 25 national and international lectures on TMA and TMA team building. His clinical innovation also is reflected by a collaborative effort between BMC and Brigham and Women’s Hospital to create a pancreas transplant program, for which he serves as medical director. Dr. Francis has been elected as one of 11 national representatives for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) and United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) Pancreas Transplantation Committee. He represents all pancreas and islet cells transplant programs in UNOS Region One (New England).
Craig Eric Gordon, MED, Medicine (Nephrology), is recognized as an international expert in the management of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dr. Gordon has served as Associate Director of the Evidence Review Team for three clinical practice guidelines developed by Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO), the leading international organization for clinical practice guidelines in Nephrology, including an upcoming update to the KDIGO guidelines on HCV in patients with CKD. The KDIGO guidelines as well as publications and national/international presentations delivered by Dr. Gordon paved the way toward an increased awareness of the importance of HCV in CKD patients from a diagnostic, treatment and infection control perspective. Recently, Dr. Gordon served as guest editor of a supplemental issue of Hemodialysis International focused on HCV in CKD. Additionally, Dr. Gordon has worked in the area of procedural safety beginning with the development of the concept of a medical procedure service and later through publications identifying best practices in procedural safety for kidney biopsy and thoracentesis. He has lectured extensively related to procedural safety in various venues nationally.
Christopher Huang, MED, Medicine (Gastroenterology), is a clinician-educator with a special interest in endoscopy education and training, and expertise in performing advanced procedures such as endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic ultrasonography, endoscopic mucosal resection of premalignant tumors and stenting of malignant gastrointestinal strictures. His skill set allows him to provide a unique service to patients with oncologic, biliary or pancreatic disorders. Dr. Huang has made significant contributions toward improving the Fellowship Program’s endoscopy training curriculum by developing several endoscopy-related lectures, integrating simulation training and implementing tools for the evaluation of procedural competency
Matthew Jones, MED, Medicine (Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care), studies inflammatory responses to acute bacterial pneumonia. Dr. Jones is the director of the GMS PhD Program in Molecular and Translational Medicine and regularly mentors graduate students. He is a member of several institutional committees and a reviewer of several peer-reviewed journals in addition to being co-PI on an NIH R01 grant extending through 2022, and is co-I on six others (U01, R35, R56 and 3 R01s). Dr. Jones has given invited national and international presentations and has served as a member of multiple Department of Defense research review panels on respiratory health.
George James Murphy, MED, Medicine (Hematology & Medical Oncology), is an accomplished investigator, mentor and teacher. Dr. Murphy is one of the founding co-directors of the Boston University and Boston Medical Center’s Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM), which now houses 50 members and 100 affiliated faculty with sizable extramural funding. His research focuses on the creation and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and their use in understanding both development and disease. His laboratory’s accomplishments include the generation of widely used protocols and platforms for the study of sickle cell anemia and hereditary amyloidosis. He also has pioneered methodologies for the large-scale production of blood cells from stem cells allowing for the first in human trials of iPSC-derived platelet transfusions. A sought-after speaker, Dr. Murphy plays a central role in the Hematology T32 Training Program, and is engaged in community outreach to inspire the next generation of scientists.
Allan Walkey, MED, Medicine (Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care), is a leading expert in the clinical impact of atrial fibrillation in sepsis. Dr. Walkey’s research seeks to improve processes and outcomes of critical care, reduce cardiovascular complications of sepsis, better account for patient goals in the delivery and evaluation of healthcare, and develop novel methods to compare outcomes in observational research. He has a demonstrated track record of high-impact research with >100 publications, many in top-tier journals such as JAMA, JAMA Internal Medicine and the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Walkey also serves as co-Director of the Center of Implementation and Improvement Sciences, seeking to improve the rigor of efforts to translate research into practice.
Andrew A. Wilson, MED, Medicine (Pulmonary, Allergy, Sleep & Critical Care), is a pulmonary and critical care clinician-scientist with long-standing focus on regenerative medicine and stem cell biology. His research seeks to advance the understanding of and treatment for genetic causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the lung and liver diseases associated with the alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), largely through the platform of patient-derived stem cells. He has overseen the creation of and directs one of the world’s largest repositories of reprogrammable blood samples associated with highly characterized participants in the Framingham Heart Study. In addition to laboratory-based science, he also leads an epidemiological study to define the incidence of and risk factors for liver diseases associated with AATD. Dr. Wilson is the founding director of the Alpha-1 Center at BU and BMC, one of the largest clinical centers for patients with AATD in the region. Since 2008 he has supervised 19 trainees in one of the most demanding scientific laboratory disciplines.
Retrieved 5/16/18 from bumccorporatecomm@bu.edu.
Craig Noronha, MD, Named As A 2018 Faculty Selection For Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA)
Alpha Omega Alpha is the only national honor medical society in the world, and is organized solely for educational purposes. The goals of the society are the promotion of scholarship and research in medical schools, the encouragement of high standards of character and conduct among medical students and graduates, and the recognition of high attainment in medical sciences, practice, and related fields.
Read more: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2018/05/09/a%CF%89a-announces-2018-selections/
Ryan Chippendale, MD, Receives Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
Congratulations to Ryan Chippendale, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Section of Geriatrics, who has been chosen as the recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, which is presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
The award is presented to faculty that best demonstrate the foundation’s ideals of outstanding compassion in the delivery of care, respect for patients, their families and health-care colleagues, as well as clinical excellence.
Jude Deeney, PhD, and Darrell Kotton, MD, Honored as 2018 BUSM Educators of the Year
Congratulations to Jude Deeney, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Section of Endocrinology, and Darrell Kotton, MD, David C. Seldin Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary, for being honored as BUSM Educators of the Year by the Committee on Faculty Affairs (CFA). They were honored as BUSM Educators of the Year in addition to seven other BUSM faculty members. The awards recognize BUSM educators that provide excellence in teaching and mentoring and are given annually in the areas of pre-clinical sciences, clinical sciences and graduate medical sciences. Jude Deeney, PhD was honored as the Educator of the Year in Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS), Master’s Program and Darrell Kotton, MD was honored as the Educator of the Year in Graduate Medical Sciences, Dissertation Advisors.
Read more: http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/2018/05/03/2018-educator-of-the-year-awards-announced/