Research Venues

One of the latest enhancements to our research mission will begin next week, when the first installment of our Research Seminar Series takes place. I believe that this venue represents an important platform to increase the exposure of the innovative research taking place within our department. I also expect to leverage these meetings to increase collaboration across divisions within the department, and with other departments in the College. We would all agree that many of the most significant research breakthroughs come from interdisciplinary teams, such as those in the Pappajohn Biomedical Institute. To create the opportunity for sharing ideas, we are limiting the presentations in the Research Seminar Series to just twenty minutes, reserving at least ten minutes at the end for audience questions. I encourage you to come prepared to engage with the ideas presented and to actively explore opportunities to build collaborations. We hope to see you there on the first Tuesday of every month at 4:30 p.m. For more information and a schedule of this year’s presenters, please read this post.

Continuing medical education represents another important venue by which our Department shares its expertise with colleagues, both within and outside the Department. Most recently, the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine hosted a day-long series of clinical updates at their 4th Annual Advances in Cardiovascular Diagnosis & Therapy. A wide variety of topics was covered and this well-attended event continues its tradition of connecting with regional providers to showcase the strengths of our cardiovascular faculty and health care providers. Later this month, on March 24, the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism will host the Advances in Diabetes & Obesity Management conference right here in the Medical Alumni Auditorium. We believe the diversity of topics and its particular urgency make it relevant to nearly everyone involved in patient care. To register, please visit the Continuing Medical Education site.

Our faculty and trainees continue to garner regional and national exposure at subspecialty conferences, further increasing the reach of our discovery and innovation. For example, this weekend, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Spring Meeting kicks off in Atlanta. A sizable contingent of members from the Division of Immunology will give oral presentations or display posters. Notably, third-year fellow in Rheumatology and Immunology Dr. Bharat Kumar and second-year fellow in Allergy and Immunology Dr. Joel Van De Graaff were each invited to present their abstracts in the Health Outcomes, Education, Delivery, and Quality Interest Section. At the end of the month in Chicago, Dr. Antonio Sanchez, Dr. Katie Imborek, Dr. Patrick Barlow, and Jeff Emrich will present their poster submission at the Regional Meeting of the AAMC’s Central Group on Educational Affairs. Their poster on teaching skills in taking sexual histories was accepted as an Innovation in Medical Education Poster. And Dan Matasic, a graduate student in Dr. Barry London’s lab, was selected for a Young Investigator Award and will present at the Heart Rhythm Scientific Sessions in Chicago in May.

The preparation of our trainees to become not only exceptional clinicians but also outstanding communicators of their work on the national stage reflects very positively on the quality of our educators. This is why I was pleased, though not surprised, to learn of the recent decision from the American Council for Graduate Medical Education to award our Internal Medicine Residency program full accreditation with zero citations after their recent site visit and program review. Congratulations are due to all our faculty and their support staff, but especially to our program director Dr. Manish Suneja for guiding his team through this process. Well done!