|
| 05/30/25 |
| Letter from the Chair |
|
My last letter, sent the morning of our annual Leadership Retreat, detailed our ambitious goal for the day: to collaboratively brainstorm ways to meet the subspecialty care needs of our patients throughout our region. I’m happy to report that the retreat was a great success.
Leaders of the Department of Medicine and UR Medicine affiliate hospitals engaged in meaningful dialogue throughout the day. Working together, they devised plans to share expertise and specialty services across our hospitals so we can care for patients closer to home and alleviate patient volumes at Strong and Highland.
Each affiliate hospital leader and division chief developed tailored solutions based on their needs and available resources. Proposed solutions include leveraging remote consultations, as FF Thompson and Geneva General have done for infectious diseases, and sharing granular data so we can right-size resource deployment.
Dr. Mulkerin and I will continue to meet monthly with regional leaders to ensure that any proposed solutions that are feasible are brought to fruition, focusing first on those that provide the highest return on investment.
Thank you to everyone who attended the retreat and made it such a productive event. Your efforts will improve our regional coverage and, above all, our patients’ experience.
Check out this slideshow from the event to see your collaboration in action!
Be well,
Ruth O'Regan, MD
|
|
| RSV Hospitalizations Halved Following New Preventive Measures |
|
| Infant RSV hospitalizations were cut nearly in half after a maternal RSV vaccine and a monoclonal antibody for infants were introduced, according to a surveillance study. Our Infectious Disease team played an integral role in developing and testing the RSV vaccine now available to pregnant people. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Congratulations, 2025 Pilot Awardees! |
|
| This year’s Research and Education Pilot awardees will tackle a wide range of topics, from whether cardiopulmonary bypass pumps shed microplastics to how concerns about weight gain may impact women’s contraception choices. Awardees receive $20,000-$40,000 for one-year projects in basic, clinical, or translational research or educational scholarship. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Showcasing Our Collaborative Work at SGIM Annual Meeting |
|
| DOM faculty and trainees showcased their cross-departmental collaborative work at the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) annual meeting earlier this month. Representatives from Primary Care, General Medicine, Hospital Medicine, and the Medicine-Pediatrics Residency presented a range of education and research projects. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Award: Adnin Zaman, MD, Endocrine/Metabolism, was among the 2025 University Research Award recipients. Collaborating with a team at the School of Nursing, she will study the impact of semaglutide on mental health through the lens of the stress response system.
Publication: Brian McGarry, PhD, and Thomas Caprio, MD, of Geriatrics/Aging, coauthored “Hospice Visits and Perceived Hospice Quality Among Assisted Living Residents” in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Publication: Thomas Carroll, MD, PhD, of General Medicine, coauthored "The Ethics of Empathetic AI in Medicine" in IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society.
Publication: Syed Shahzad Mustafa, MD, of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, coauthored “Addressing Anxiety and Depression in the Allergy Clinic Through Motivational Interviewing, Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Curious Questions” in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
Publication: Kah Poh Loh, BMedSci, MBBCh, BAO, MS, of Hematology/Oncology, coauthored “Geriatric assessment in older adults with acute myeloid leukemia: A Young International Society of Geriatric Oncology narrative review” in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology.
Publication: Marshall Lichtman, MD, of Hematology/Oncology, coauthored “Uncommon phenotypes of BCR::ABL1-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia: a review” in Haematologica.
Publication: Allison Magnuson, DO, of Hematology/Oncology, coauthored “Same Day Discharges Among Elderly Mastectomy Patients: A Single Institution Prospective Study” in the Annals of Surgical Oncology.
Publication: Shivangi Kothari, MD, of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, coauthored “Balancing Panels: Let’s Call on Women Speakers” in JGH Open.
Publication: Eran Tallis, MD, of Genetics, coauthored “PMS2-related constitutional mismatch repair deficiency in a patient with unilateral retinoblastoma and negative germline RB1” in Ophthalmic Genetics.
Publication: Paritosh Prasad, MD, of Infectious Diseases, coauthored “Robust Visual Identification of Under-resourced Dermatological Diagnoses with Classifier-Steered Background Masking” in AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings Archive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Clinical Trials Day |
|
| On May 20, we celebrated Clinical Trials Day. Did you know the DOM brings in more research funding each year than any other department at URMC? We also have the second-largest catalog of clinical trials at the Medical Center, behind only the Wilmot Cancer Institute. Thank you to all our clinical researchers. Keep up the great work! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Check out the new artwork that pays homage to the Morning Report “mascots.” The ever-present pigeons, who perch on the windowsills to watch “the action,” or flutter around between the buildings, now have a permanent home in the recently upgraded conference room (7.2346/7.2366). |
|
Quarterly Hybrid Town Hall Reminder: This month, we will discuss the Hospital at Home Program, Load Balancing Efforts at Strong and Regionally, and the Take Back Initiative at noon on Monday, June 9 in the Class of '62 Auditorium and via Zoom. Register to attend in person and choose a box lunch.
Clinical Teams, Get Ready for Imprivata: Imprivata is a Tap-N-Go system for computer workstations that allows faculty and staff members to use UR Medicine ID badges to “tap” and automatically log in and out of shared clinical (auto logon) workstations throughout the workday. URMC ISD will begin installing Imprivata at several DOM locations beginning June 9. Employees must have a Smart University Medical Center ID (i.e. a badge issued after February 2020 that does not have a hole punched in the top) to use Imprivata. To get a new ID, visit the URMC ID Office in Room G.7009 between 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Clinical Research Webinar on Diversifying Funding: Learn how University faculty have obtained funding from industry, foundations, non-profit organizations, and local government sources in this panel discussion featuring Ilan Goldenberg, MD, of Cardiology Health Research, Jamie Adams, MD, of Neurology, and Eva Pressman, MD, of Obstetrics and Gynecology, on Wednesday, June 11 from 3 to 4 p.m.
Annual Pediatrics Allergy Symposium: Join the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology team on Thursday, June 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Memorial Art Gallery to learn about food allergies, chronic urticaria, contact and atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis.
Advancing Health Equity Through Clinical and Translational Science: Join the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at noon on Thursday, June 12 in the Helen Wood Hall Auditorium (1W-304) for the first Translational Science Grand Rounds, featuring guest speaker Timothy Murphy, MD, of the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Annie Medina-Walpole, MD, celebrated her daughter’s nuptials on the island of St. Maarten on May 17. Torrential rain cleared just in time for Hannah Walpole and Tim Hebberger to tie the knot in front of 87 family members and friends. Pictured above (going clockwise): mother and bride pose for photos prior to the ceremony, Dr. Medina-Walpole and her husband, Bill, running into the tropical sunset, Hannah and Tim laughing when the waiter dropped the wedding cake, and Dr. Medina-Walpole on Maho Beach, which is a famous plane-watching site due to its proximity to the Princess Juliana International Airport. Best wishes to the newly married couple!
|
|
|
|
|
The Levy Letter is always looking to learn about good things happening here!
Email us with your ideas. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
