Dr. Moreno-Walton 1st Female Elected To Lead AAEM

 Leslie Capo, Director of Information Services 

Lisa Moreno-Walton, MD, FAAEM, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Director of Research and Director of Diversity for the Section of Emergency Medicine at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, has been elected President-Elect of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM). She is the first female to hold the position. After serving a two-year term as President-Elect, Dr. Moreno will serve a two-year term as President of the specialty society of emergency medicine, followed by a two-year term as Past-President. 

Dr. Moreno also serves as Director of the Latino Scholars Program at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine and Director of Viral Testing at University Medical Center’s Department of Emergency Medicine.  

During her years serving on the AAEM Board of Directors, she has focused on the development of women and underrepresented minorities in leadership positions.  She holds degrees in Medicine and Clinical Research and is a National Institutes of Health Research Scholar.  She is the founder of the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM), an academy of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM).  Her multiple awards include the SAEM Martin Leadership Award, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Professionalism Award, Council of Residency Directors in Emergency Medicine Distinguished Educator Award, and the ADIEM Outstanding Academician Award. She also received the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Healthcare Executive Diversity & Inclusion Certificate. 

The recipient of many research grants, she has also given more than 500 academic presentations and authored or co-authored 45 publications, including 6 book chapters. She is the author of the textbook, “Diversity and Inclusion in Quality Patient Care.” Her second textbook is in press.  

Her research interests include HIV, violence prevention and treatment, diversity, and healthcare disparities.  She participates in LSU Health New Orleans Summer Research Program, mentoring college students who aspire to careers in medicine towards the completion of basic research projects.  She has mentored over 300 students, residents and junior faculty around the world towards successful careers in research and medicine.   

As a global health consultant and educator, she has served in more than 20 countries with a focus on the development of research and elimination of healthcare disparities for women, underrepresented minorities, and the under-resourced.  

 

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Pediatric Endocrinology Division Hosts Annual Meeting

 The Pediatric Endocrinology Division hosted the annual regional meeting of the Pediatric Endocrine Society of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas (PESTOLA) in February at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown New Orleans. The coordinating team of Ricardo Gomez, MD and Dania Felipe, MD put on a stellar conference with about 90 regional faculty, clinicians, researchers, fellows, residents and medical students. Attendees commented that it was the best PESTOLA meeting yet. The lecturing faculty included the current President of the National Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES), two past presidents of PES and 2 faculty from the NIH.   

Several LSU faculty gave oral presentations:  

• Endocrine Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Treatment, Pinki Prasad, MD, MPH  
• Gonadal Preservation in CAIS, Christopher Roth, MD, Assistant Professor of Urology  

Poster presentations included:  

• Hypophosphatasia – A Spectrum of Disease, Aditya Dewoolkar, MD, Carmen Mironovici, MD, PhD, Dania Felipe, MD and Ricardo Gomez, MD  
• Does Iron Status Explain Racial Disparity in Mean Blood Glucose Independent HbA1c Outcome for Children with Type 1 DM? Mahmoud Hamdan, MD and Stuart Chalew, MD  
• Unexpected Diagnosis in a Female Adolescent Presenting with Primary Amenorrhea Carmen Mironovici, MD, PhD and Peter Tieh, MD  

Dr. Gomez thanked all involved, “On behalf of the PESTOLA organization, I want to thank all the members of the LSU Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital for your great support and participation which made this event possible. All the comments were positive, and the attendees were especially impressed by the quality of the speakers including members of the LSU and Children’s Hospital families.” The division has hosted the meeting in New Orleans about every 10 years but hopes to host more often in the future. 

 

Medical Student, Mirandy Li, Wins Leadership Award

Mirandy Li (MD/PhD student) has been selected as a recipient of the Women in Medicine LGBTQ Leadership Award, which will be given out at the annual conference to be held in Napa, CA August 5 – 9, 2018.  This award recognizes Mirandy’s demonstrated work in and for the LGBTQ community. 

New Residency Program Directors Join LSUSOM

Cardiovascular Center of Excellence Seminar Schedule for 2018

The LSUHSC Center of Excellence in Cardiovascular Research hosts an exciting Cardiovascular Biology Seminar Series! Renowned scientists from prestigious and innovative institutions visit our Center regularly, sharing ideas and inspiring us to become the best. Please take a moment to view the Cardiovascular Center of Excellence Seminar schedule. These seminars are golden opportunities to learn and visit with other scientists with similar interests.

Click on the following link to see the entire schedule for 2018:

https://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/cardio_center/docs/2018%20Seminar%20Series%20Poster.pdf  

Gold Humanism Award

The Gold Humanism Society extended its congratulations to the following students & residents who were nominated and elected by their peers for Students of the Month for September, October, and November 2017!

September:

• L1s- Ashley Van & Mary Gabriel
• L2s- Kaylin Beiter & Brett Salomon
• L3s- Elaine Meyers & Margaret Johnson
• L4- Megan Rabalais
• Residents- Dr. Alex Cruz-Saldana, Neurology & Dr. Christopher Johnson, General Surgery

October:

• L1s- Catherine Fontenot
• L2s- Ryan Chan & Sarah Lungaro
• L3s- Allison Falcon & Andy Van Hook
• L4- Oanh Trong & Louis Anzalone
• Residents- Dr. Elyze Bevier-Rawls, General Surgery & Dr. Lindsay Lasseinge, Neurosurgery

November:

• L1s- Abigail Olinde
• L2s-Aubrey Schachter
• L3s- Paige Davis
• L4- Tuan Tran
• Residents- Dr. Henry Huson, General Surgery & Dr. Jacob Leonard, General Surgery

Their interactions with their peers, patients, and community have been noted, and they are to be commended on being such great members of the LSUHSC community.  These students embody the GHHS pillars of Respect, Integrity, Service, and Empathy.

Congratulations again and keep on being golden!

 

Veterans Study Reports Reduction in Suicide Ideation After Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Leslie Capo
Director of Information Services

A pilot case control study of veterans of the US armed forces with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) or persistent post-concussion syndrome (PPCS), with or without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), has found significant improvements in persistent post-concussion syndrome and PTSD symptoms, neurological exam, memory, intelligence quotient, attention, cognition, depression, anxiety, quality of life, and brain blood flow following hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). Compared to controls, the patients’ brain scans were significantly abnormal before treatment and became statistically indistinguishable from controls in 75% of abnormal areas after treatment.

“Simultaneously and most importantly, subjects experienced a significant reduction in suicidal ideation and anxiety, possibly the most significant finding in the study given the current veteran suicide epidemic,” notes Dr. Paul Harch, Clinical Professor and Director of Hyperbaric Medicine at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine. “The PTSD symptom reduction is one of the greatest reductions in PTSD symptoms in a four-week period with any reported treatment, and combined with the effect on PPCS outcomes, HBOT represents the only reported effective treatment for the combined diagnoses of blast-induced PPCS and PTSD.”

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is the use of increased atmospheric pressure and increased oxygen levels to treat disease. Treatment effects are a function of dose and timing of intervention in the disease process.

“Dr. Paul Harch, for the past three and a half decades, has meticulously researched and published quality laboratory and clinical research about the efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen in treatment of sub- acute and chronic TBI, convincingly demonstrating its efficacy by favorable outcomes with careful statistical substantiation of his findings,” says Dr. Keith Van Meter, Clinical Professor and Chief of Emergency Medicine at LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine.  “He has added to his quality team of researchers, and their steadfast persistence has achieved these remarkable results.”

In addition to Drs. Harch and Fogarty, the research team also included Dr. Keith Van Meter, Juliette Lucarini and Dr. Susan Andrews.

Dr. Harch and Juliette Lucarini own a small hyperbaric consulting company. Dr. Van Meter owns a hyperbaric equipment leasing company and the treatment facility. Dr. Fogarty is President of the International Hyperbaric Medical Foundation and owns a holding company for a mobile hyperbaric clinic.

 

Upcoming Events

Otolaryngology:

• LSU ENT Resident Orientation and Luncheon, Baton Rouge, LA, July 11, 2017

Genetics:

• “Precision Medicine: Integrating Genetics and Genomics into the Clinic” CME event will be held on July 15, 2015 from 8am-1pm in the SOM Learning Center

Upcoming Events

Radiology:

The American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) conference will be held in New Orleans from April 30 – May 5. Accepted publications from our department include:

• Bradley Spieler and Dr. Eric Wallace titled “Persistent Sciatic Artery: A Favorable Anatomic Variant In A Setting Of Trauma.”
• Lillian Tiara Murphy and Dr. Bradley Spieler titled “Pancreatic Arteriovenous Malformations with Hepatitis C” and “Renal Excretion on Five Minute Delay Phase CT as a Predictor of Cardiopulmonary Arrest within 24 hours.”
• Stephanie Cajigas-Loyola titled “Emerging MRI Techniques for Characterization of Ectopic Endometrial Tissue.”

Otolaryngology:

LSU ENT Resident Sinus & Sleep Surgery Course, Course Director, Kevin McLauglin, MD, Center for Advanced Practice Conference Room, Lions Building, New Orleans, LA, March 31-April 1, 2017.

LSU ENT Resident Temporal Bone Dissection Course, Course Director, Moises Arriaga, MD, Center for Advanced Practice Conference Room, Lions Building, New Orleans, LA, April 21-22, 2017

Dr. Rohan Walvekar, Associate Professor is invited to speak and instruct at the ENT World Congress in Paris, France on June 24-24, 2017.

Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics:

The Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Student Colloquium will take place May 22-23, 2017 on the LSU Health Sciences Center campus. Dr. Mohan Raizada, Distinguished Professor of Physiology & Functional Genomics at the University of Florida, Gainesville will be the honored guest speaker.

Social Justice: Talking With a Purpose

Michael Okoronkwo (L2) 

 

Katherine Davidson (Class of 2019) and Michael Okoronkwo (Class of 2019) lead the discussion at a recent Social Justice lunch time Table Talk.

The expectation to address psychosocial factors influencing patient health status has always been a model within the culture of healthcare. Such commitment in recognizing this virtue as a fundamental tool in the goal of patient care is honorable.  Reflecting upon this mission in medicine, students from LOCUS, APAMSA, SNMA, and LMSA were inspired to create a community of open and honest dialogue aimed at fostering humanistic development for our growth not only as future physicians, but as future leaders. The collective voice of these students, and the audience which engages with us at our Table Talk lunch series, are passionate about moving the vision of equity, selflessness, and compassion in the approach to healthcare forward.  These goals are not lifeless themes that have evolved to a cliché in the hearts of us, but rather a responsibility to foster.

The role of a physician inherently draws the platform of influence given by our community. We are aware of such, and want to ensure that this influence is morally potent and empowering for our future patients and community at large. At our talks, we seek to invoke conversations that stimulate conscientious development for the student through group discussion.

In order to grow as future physicians and help strengthen the capacity and impact of our patient interaction, we confront and bring to the table of discussion common challenges that threaten the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship.  We acknowledge that many of these threats branch from the core of implicit bias.  We agree that all of us have them. However, we also agree that the weakness is not having implicit bias, but rather the weakness is ignoring the internal truth that we have them as we enter a profession where dedication to human service is our enduring responsibility.

Implicit bias in patient care can manifest in the form of gender, race, ethnic, or sexual identity bias.  By having a very diverse student population within our Table Talk series, we are able to share perspectives and gain insight about cultural values, norms, and differences shared by our diverse audience. These sessions result in transformative personal growth as we together make a step forward in cultural competency and human understanding.

The leaders from LOCUS, APAMSA, SNMA, and LMSA have opened an additional door of resource for students to think, discuss, and learn of ways in which we can be more of an asset to our future patient population beyond the clinical perspective.  These leaders have created the Table Talk series as a setting where the compassion of the human heart is the guide of discussion, as we recognize the moral obligation we have to our patients and community.