Our Faculty at University of Nebraska Medical Center Division of Infectious Diseases have worked hard to maintain a strong academic presence at UNMC. We are a growing division, filled with faculty at all stages of their careers, and their collective academic prowess has our division leading the pack. Our recent Department of Medicine Research report for 2017 pegged UNMCID as the #1 Division for the number and amount of extramural contracts/awards and #2 for number of publications (out of 10 Divisions in Internal Medicine). We recently had several posters and oral presentations presented at #CROI2018, #SHEA2018 and #ECCMID2018. We are proud of our faculty and would like to share some of their accomplishments with our followers.
Dr. Alison Freifeld has been invited to speak at #IDWeek2018 on new developments in the management of cancer patients, and she is on the steering committee for the American Council on Education (ACE) program at UNMC: goal is to internationalize our campus/curriculum/student body. This program is mandated by the Chancellor and reflects UNMC’s commitment to expanding our efforts in international engagement and global health education and research.
Dr. Jasmine Marcelin was recently co-recipient of the award for Outstanding multi-site Quality Improvement Project for 2017 – Mayo Clinic Quality Review Board {Project: Management of Febrile Neutropenia (MOFN), completed as a fellow with Drs. Jack O’Horo and Omar Abu Saleh}. Dr. Marcelin also co-authored recently published papers about Mycobacterium genavense infections in non-HIV immunocompromised hosts (Infectious Diseases) and Efficacy of Antitoxin Therapy in Treating Patients With Foodborne Botulism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cases, 1923–2016 (Clinical Infectious Diseases).
Dr. Susan Swindells was recently highlighted in ground-breaking research likely to change the paradigm of latent TB treatment in persons living with HIV; presented at #CROI2018: One Month of Rifapentine/Isoniazid to Prevent TB in People with HIV. Dr. Swindells also collaborated with UNMC colleagues (including Jennifer O’Neill, RN of the Specialty Care Clinic) on a recent paper published in Brain: Aberrant occipital dynamics differentiate HIV-infected patients with and without cognitive impairment.
Dr. Sara Bares‘ academic interests include medical education and research about persons living with HIV. Dr. Bares’ recent publications include a paper in the Journal of Women’s Health demonstrating that
Dr. M. Salman Ashraf has been especially busy. His area of expertise is Antimicrobial Stewardship, especially in Long-term Care Facilities. Over the last few months he has been invited to speak at several conferences, with webinars/videos/synopsis available (here) and (here) and (here) and (here).
Four of our UNMC ID faculty received Top Teacher Awards from the Department of Medicine: Drs. Sara Bares, Angela Hewlett, Mark Rupp and Trevor Van Schooneveld.
Dr. James Lawler (former White House Homeland Security Council biodefense policy director) was recently called upon to share his expertise pertaining to Biosecurity at the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, where he cautioned that we are unprepared for biological threats that may affect our country and the world. He called for a new paradigm of innovation to prepare ourselves for future threats. A video of his testimony can be found here.
Nice. Congrats all.