Archived Announcements
National efforts are underway to reduce 30-day readmission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, new research suggests that COPD readmissions may be related to risk factors that cannot be modified, including advanced disease and psychosocial factors.
This study was presented during CHEST 2012, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, held October 20 - 25, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Please join me in congratulating Drs. Calhoun and Ameredes for their lead article in JAMA. This work will transform the management of patients with asthma
and limit the routine use of biomarkers.
Gulshan Sharma, MD, MPH
Director
Congratulations to Dr. Shawn Nishi and Dr. Cory Hicks for winning the Best Poster Award at the Annual Academy of Master Teachers Meeting held on May 18, 2012. Their work highlights the framework for simulation training in ultrasound guided vascular access.
Hung Bryant Nguyen, MD, Vice Chair of Research and Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Loma Linda University in California is the visiting lecturer for the 2012 John W. Middleton Lectureship in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
He addressed the division of P&CCM on "Hemodynamic Monitoring: Beyond PA Catheter" and gave Grand Rounds to the Department of Internal Medicine on "2012 Update on Sepsis."
Over the next 5 years his team will work on examining the role of preferential single-strand break repair in the active genes of mammalian cells.
Dr. Bill Ameredes was recently named in March of 2012 as a Founding Member of the UTMB Academy of Research Mentors (ARM), approved by the UTMB Council of Deans, and supported by the UTMB Institute for Translational Science (ITS)/Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA). The seventeen Founding Members are representative of schools and departments across the campus, and will serve as the group that initiates the work of the ARM to focus on mentorship of young faculty members, through service, scholarship, and further recruitment of outstanding research mentors at UTMB. The ARM is a unique and pioneering academic construct that will help our young faculty develop into the research leaders of the future, particularly in the area of translational science.
Dr. William Calhoun was awarded a prestigious UTMB President's Cabinet Award on September 16, 2011, for his proposal entitled: "Development of a Joint Venture Between UTMB and Galveston College to Train Clinical Research Coordinators". The award will provide $50,000 to support the initiation of a joint agreement between UTMB and Galveston Community College, to offer a one-year certificate program for the education and training of Clinical Research Coordinators, beginning in the Fall of 2012, with the goal of preparing the students to pass national certification examinations.
The program is also supported by the UTMB Institute for Translational Science (ITS)/Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA), and is a novel co-joint institutional approach to educating the next generation of Clinical Research Coordinators to support the conduct of clinical and translational research trials in academia.
Jazmin Ruiz wins Minority TraineeTravel Award from ATS
Please join us in congratulating Jazmin Ruiz, B.S., for her Minority Trainee Travel Award (MTTA) from the American Thoracic Society, for the ATS meeting in San Francisco, in May 2012, where she will present her work entitled "Involvement of the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain in the Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Carbon Monoxide in Human Airway Smooth Muscle Cells." Ms. Ruiz is a pre-doctoral graduate student of the Preventive Medicine and Community Health graduate program of the UTMB Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), working for the past 4 years in the laboratory of PCCM faculty member Bill T. Ameredes, Ph.D., on the effects of CO in human cells, and during which she has been supported as an Environmental Toxicology Research Fellow, by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) of the NIH.
Simulation Lab Opens!!!!
Dr. Jokhio will see patients at the Mainland Harbourview Sleep Clinic; at Victory Lakes Town Center; and, UHC.

For questions contact Dr. Shawn Nishi via phone 409.772.9535 or email spnishi@utmb.edu; or make an outpatient referral to our conveniently located pulmonary clinics at UHC, 409.772.2222 and Victory Lakes, 832.505.2150.
for receiving the 2011 Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award from the UTMB School of Medicine!
The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine welcomes Dr. Tu-Quynh Hoang Edwards, who has joined as an Instructor effective July 10, 2011. Dr. Edwards received her medical degree from UTMB Galveston and completed a combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency at UTMB.
During her fellowship in PCCM, Dr. Edwards completed the MD Anderson Clinical Safety and Effectiveness course and currently is a CERCIT Scholar. She is involved with various QI/QA projects within the Division. Her clinical Interests are COPD, lung cancer, and ICU outcomes. Her research interests include comparative effectiveness of management strategies for pulmonary diseases.
Please join us in welcoming our newest member to the Division-Dr. Shawn P. Nishi. Dr Nishi completed her medical school, internal medicine residency and fellowship training at UTMB, Galveston. She is an excellent clinician and has received several accolades for her compassionate and high quality care during her training. Her clinical interests are lung cancer, COPD and interventional pulmonology.
We are honored and privileged to have her join the Division. She is committed to excellence in patient care and education of our trainees.
Congratulations to Dr. Vincent Valentine
Dr. Vincent Valentine, a UTMB Health professor of medicine and the medical director of the Texas Transplant Center, has been chosen to serve as the editor of ISHLT Links, the newsletter of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. You can download a current copy of the newsletter online.
http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/139/6/1361.abstract
Congratulations to Dr. Shah for winning first prize in the Clinical Poster Session at the 2nd Annual Department of Internal Medicine Quality and Research Forum held on May 26, 2011.
As a result of an extensive peer review, we have three of our faculty nominated to "Best Doctors in America".
The Division of PCCM congratulates Drs. William Calhoun, Alex Duarte and
Vincent Valentine on their selection to Best Doctors 2011!
The UTMB Center for Global Health Education (CGHE) is dedicated to the training of tomorrow's global health work force to improve health for the people of Texas and around the world. Check out their website for more information on the global health programs and education going on in our department.
Featured Videos
The department of internal medicine is developing evidence based clinical protocols which will be available in EPIC (as order sets) for use when admitting patients with these diagnoses. Their AIM is to standardize care and decrease length of stay and readmission rates.
Currently available protocols are:- CAP - Community Acquired Pneumonia Orderset
- Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Diabetic Ketoacidosis Adult, ICU
- General Medicine Admission
- Immunodeficiency Flow Panel
- MICU/CCU Admission Order Set
- Oral Analgesic Medicaitons
- Parenteral Opioids
- Sepsis, Adult ICU
All protocols can be found in the EPIC order set section.
The department of Internal Medicine has a large role in the Meaningful Use Initiative. Our participation is key for the success of the initiative. Please visit the meaningful use website for important communication and updates from the Meaningful Use Initiative.
