Congratulations go out to third year medical student Lauren Petit for winning best clinical research poster at LSU-Health Baton Rouge Regional Research day! Lauren is presently performing third year clinical rotations in Baton Rouge.
Her poster is entitled “Clinical Impact of Shave Biopsy on Surgical Management of Cutaneous Melanoma” and was performed with John Lyons, M.D. in Surgical Oncology.
Congratulations to out to Jennifer Avegno, M.D., of the section of Emergency Medicine for securing at $10,000 grant from the Junior League to support the UMC Forensics program! 
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.
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:
Poster presentations included:
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.
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.
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
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:
October:
November:
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!
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.
