Thank you to everyone who attended our first Strategic Plan Town Hall. This is our roadmap for the future, and it will impact all areas of the department – clinical, education, research. We welcome your feedback on the plan.

The comprehensive plan has five strategic pillars that we will collectively build upon. This week, we presented the research and training/education plans.

We aim to increase research funding, publications, and clinical trial accruals, and improve our reputation nationally and internationally. This requires expansion of our interdisciplinary teams and incorporating our APPs in clinical research. We also plan to develop opportunities for DOM researchers to work abroad.

We will strengthen our training and education programs to keep our graduates here for their next chapter, and growing scholarship and educational endowments. We will build recruitment strategies, pathway programs, and incorporate international opportunities for our learners.

For a deeper look into these pillars, visit the DOM Town Hall Box Folder, where all materials are available. (Jess Syposs has sent an email reminder.)

Your input is key to finalizing the Strategic Plan document, and we want every voice to be heard. Share your thoughts on the research and education pillars through this survey.

Please join us for another Town Hall on Monday, March 11 to learn about the three remaining focal points – DEI, workforce/culture, and patient care. We'll look for your feedback again, after this discussion.

I look forward to building a bright future with you all.

Be well,
Ruth O'Regan, MD

In the Community: Daniel Croft, MD, MPH, from Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, will discuss "Climate Change and the Air You Breathe" Thursday, March 7, at 7 p.m., at the Rochester Museum & Science Center. It is part of the museum's "Science on the Edge" lecture series.

Publication: TramAnh Phan, MD, Catherine Moore, MD, Erika Drury, MD, Rickinder Grewal, MD, Scott Liebman, MD, MPH, David Levy, DO, and Fahad Saeed, MBBS, all from Nephrology, are co-authors of "Exploring Patient Needs and Preferences in Chronic Kidney Disease Education: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study," published in Kidney 360.

Publication: Robert Fortuna, MD, MPH, Wallace Johnson, MD, Stephen Judge, MD, all from Primary Care, and Shalom Schlagman, MD, from Hospital Medicine, are co-authors of "Comprehensive Approach to Opioid Management in a Primary Care Network," published in Population Health Management.

In the News: Sandhya Khurana, MD, from Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, spoke to WROC about the Lung Cohort Study and its potential impact on care.

In the News: The Rochester Business Journal highlighted several Cardiology faculty recently: Mehmet Aktas, MD, and Robert Block, MD, MPH, are featured in "Stricter guidelines on cholesterol numbers still prioritize a heart-healthy lifestyle."

Jeffrey Alexis, MD, is featured in "LVAD gives cardiac patients a third choice for lifesaving treatment."

Leway Chen, MD, MPH, is featured in "Genetic testing is next step for at-risk patients with family history of cardiovascular issues."

Data De-Identification Service Now Available

The Office of the Vice President for Research, in conjunction with the UR CTSI, are excited to announce a new data de-identification service, available to the University research community. This service can help with the removal or masking of elements in research data sets that contain Protected Health Information (PHI) prior to publicly sharing or publishing data, as required by certain funding agencies or journals. To schedule a consultation or learn more about the service, see the Data De-Identification Service Center.

Explore URMC History: Exhibit on The Struggle for Racial Equity

Wendy Gonaver, PhD, is a postdoctoral associate in health Humanities and Bioethics. Her research on the history of race within URMC will be on display at the exhibit Examining the Past: The Struggle for Racial Equity at URMC on Wednesday, February 21 in Flaum Atrium. She also recently presented her work in the Health Humanities Grand Rounds lecture, "Learning From the Past."