Congratulations to all our students, alumni, faculty, and staff on their recent success. The items below highlight the breadth of achievement and expertise that can be found at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) in recent months. Submit your news about recent Appointments, Awards, Promotions, or Publications.
Acknowledgements:
Marissa Birkmeier, DPT, director of clinical education and assistant professor of health, human function, and rehabilitation sciences (HHFRS), along with HHFRS colleagues Matthew Garber, DSc, PT, associate professor, and Heather Richards, DPT, adjunct instructor, presented, “Innovations and Resiliency in Clinical Education in the Time of COVID-19,” at the GW PT Clinical Education Focus Group and Education Session last month.
Shawneequa Callier JD, associate professor of clinical research and leadership, presented, “Genomics Research in African Diaspora Populations: Promises and Pitfalls,” at the Harvard MIT Broad Institute: Equity in Biomedicine Seminar Series earlier this month.
Yan Cheng, PhD, assistant research professor of clinical research and leadership, presented, “Mg and Covid-19: Data from Nationwide U.S. Veterans,” at the International Society for Research in Magnesium workshop on Magnesium, Neuroscience and Nutrition in Current Covid-19 Pandemia.
Yuliya Dobrydneva, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of biomedical laboratory sciences, and Rohini Ganjoo, PhD, program director of the Masters of Sciences in Health Science programs and assistant professor of biomedical laboratory sciences, presented the poster, “Concordance or Discordance Between ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and hs CRP (high sensitivity C-reactive protein): Are Both Tests Necessary for Patient Diagnosis?” at the Experimental Biology 2021 event in April.
Leigh Frame, PhD, executive director of the Office of Integrative Medicine and Health and assistant professor of clinical research and leadership, and Christine Matey, MSHS ’21, presented a “Gut Health Cooking Demo” at the 2021 Integrative Medicine & Health Symposium from the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health in April.
Mountasser Kadrie, PhD, associate professor of clinical research and leadership, presented, “Staff Psychological Safety: A Strategic Mandate To Power and Transform Care Delivery,” at the Institute of Health Improvement: 2021 Patient Safety Congress.
Kevin O’Connor, DO, of health, human function, and rehabilitation sciences and senior medical advisor for health sciences programs at GW SMHS and physician to the president, delivered the commencement address to Campbell University’s Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine Class of 2021 on May 6.
Appointments:
Gaetano Lotrecchiano, PhD, associate professor of clinical research and leadership, was named co-chair of the Professional Workforce Development Committee with the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.
Kathleen Thoma, EdD, assistant professor of clinical research and leadership, was accepted into the Academy of Education Scholars by the SMHS Center for Faculty Excellence.
Maranda Ward, EdD ’17, MPH, assistant professor of clinical research and leadership, was appointed as a voting member of the Faculty Senate Standing Committee on University and Urban Affairs for 2020–21.
Awards:
Professor Emerita Mary Corcoran, PhD, received the Distinguished Educator Award from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science at the association’s annual conference in April.
GW immunology and microbiology PhD student Stephanie Gomez won third place in the virtual Three Minute Thesis, or 3MT, Competition, hosted by the GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences. Gomez, whose thesis is titled “How Can the Immune System Be Activated to Treat Ovarian Cancer?” received $500 as her prize.
Maranda Ward, EdD ’17, MPH, assistant professor of clinical research and leadership, received the 2021 Faculty Development Grant by the GW Honey Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service for her project, “Racial Justice in Health Training,” to create a structural racism curriculum for medical, physician assistant, and clinical research and leadership students.
Publications:
Rohini Ganjoo, PhD, program director of the Masters of Sciences in Health Science programs and assistant professor of biomedical laboratory sciences, co-authored with Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences colleagues Lisa Schwartz, EdD ’10, associate professor; Yousif Barzani, MD, assistant professor; and Marcia Firmani, PhD, MSPH, chair, the article, “Exploring Instagram To Promote Student Engagement in an Online Didactic Environment,” in the March edition of the Journal of Microbiology Education.
Paige McDonald, EdD ’12, vice chair and assistant professor of clinical research and leadership (CRL), along with CRL colleagues Phillip Van der Wees, PhD, adjunct professor, and Mary Corcoran, PhD, Professor Emerita, published, “Learning Health Systems from an Academic Perspective: Establishing a Collaboratory Within a School of Medicine and Health Sciences,” in the April edition of Medical Education Online.
GW Orthopaedic Surgery residents Seth Stake, MD, Alex Gu, MD, and Chief Resident Safa Fassihi, MD, in conjunction with members of Johns Hopkins and Virginia Commonwealth University published the article, “Increased Revisions in Conversion Total Knee Arthroplasty After Periarticular Open Reduction Internal Fixation Compared with Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Matched Cohort Analysis,” in the Journal of Arthroscopy. Gu and Fassihi also published, “Comparison of Revision Risk Based on Timing of Knee Arthroscopy Prior to Total Knee Arthroplasty,” in the journal Bone and Joint Surgery.
Maranda Ward, EdD ’17, MPH, assistant professor of clinical research and leadership, published the article, “Embedding Ethnocultural Empathy in a Community-Based Health Intervention Writing Assignment,” in Prompt: A Journal of Academic Writing Assignments.
Qing Zeng, PhD, professor of clinical research and leadership (CRL), co-authored with CRL colleagues Yan Cheng, PhD, assistant research professor; Yijun Shao, PhD, assistant research professor; Helen Sheriff, MD, adjunct assistant professor, and Ali Ahmed, MBBS, MPH, professor of medicine, published, “Cardiovascular Safety of Hydroxychloroquine in Veterans with Rheumatoid Arthritis,” in the May edition of Arthritis and Rheumatology.
