[domweek] DOM Week, January 1-5, 2024

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter]

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DOM Week
December 29, 2023
News, information, and events of interest from the Department of Medicine <http://bit.ly/1TemKEY>

(If you have items for DOM week, please email amyf at uw.edu<mailto:amyf at uw.edu>)



2023 year in review
Most viewed Department of Medicine News stories
We are sharing our top 10 most viewed stories of 2023 from our News Site<https://bit.ly/3VBmiIa>:


  1.  In memoriam: Jared Randall Curtis<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/curtis/in-memoriam>
  2.  Alaska IM Residency Program<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/alaska-im-residency-program>
  3.  2023 Top Doctors<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/2023-top-doctors>
  4.  Sara Hurvitz to lead newly united Division of Hematology and Oncology<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/hurvitz>
  5.  Seattle Met's Top Doctors, Physician Assistants and Nurses<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/2023-top-docs/seattlemet>
  6.  Reena Mehra new head of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/mehra/division-head/pulmonary>
  7.  UnBIASED patient-provider interactions<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/unbiased-patient-provider-interactions>
  8.  Santiago Neme new UWMC Medical Director<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/neme/medical-director-uwmc>
  9.  40 under 40: Andrew Stergachis<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/40-Under-40-Andrew-Stergachis>
  10. New Center for Indigenous Health to address American Indian and Alaska Native health inequities<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/center-for-indigenous-health>

Most viewed Hutch News stories
Department of Medicine faculty were featured in 3 of the top 5 most-read articles from Hutch news in 2023:


  1.  Dr. Sara Hurvitz joins Fred Hutch, University of Washington<https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2023/06/dr-sara-hurvitz-joins-fred-hutch-university-of-washington.html>
  2.  Going long: Viruses linger with lasting impact<https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2023/04/viruses-linger-with-lasting-impact-hpv-hsv-hiv-long-covid.html> (Drs. Rachel Bender Ignacio, Jim Boonyaratanakornkit, Steven Pergam)
  3.  Dead to me? Insights into a tumor's necrotic core<https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2023/02/new-research-insights-into-cancer-tumor-necrotic-core-.html> (Dr. Kevin Cheung)

Popular Huddle stories of 2023
We are featured in 3 of the top 10 stories from The Huddle in 2023:


  1.  Get to know our Chief Residents and Fellows<https://huddle.uwmedicine.org/get-to-know-chief-residents-and-fellows/> (Omeed Alipour)
  2.  Volunteer-Led Virtual Bedside Concert Program Thrives<https://huddle.uwmedicine.org/virtual-bedside-concerts-program/> (Matthew Smith)
  3.  Celebrating (But Not Touching) Black Women's Hair<https://huddle.uwmedicine.org/celebrate-black-womens-hair/> (Bessie Young)



Staff news
[cid:image019.jpg at 01DA3A6D.26C482F0]Staff Spotlight: Michael Dudley
Our latest staff spotlight is on Michael Dudley, a program operations analyst in the Department of Medicine.

Learn more about him on our news site<https://bit.ly/3TGomS3>.


Clinical news
Cord blood transplant saved woman from rare cancer
[cid:image020.jpg at 01DA3A6D.26C482F0]When patient Alexes Harris was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer known as myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, and the disease reemerged after aggressive chemotherapy initially pushed the cancer into remission, her team explored a bone marrow transplant.

For Harris, whose father was Black and Filipino, and her mother, who was white, finding a match was a challenge. "We are so underrepresented on the bone-marrow registry. Being African American, Asian American, Native American, Latinx - and then if you have any intersections of those identities, we have a very low likelihood of finding matches, something like 20 to 30%," she said.

One clinician on her team, Dr. Filippo Milano, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) suggested an alternative: a transplant using stem cells obtained from umbilical cord blood. He was running a trial involving cord blood transplantation at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and the results had so far shown "very similar to a 100% match," Harris recalled. The transplant was deemed a success.

Read the full story from UW Medicine Newsroom<https://bit.ly/3NP2Y9h>.


Research news
Brain scans suggest subtypes of Alzheimer's disease
[cid:image021.jpg at 01DA3A6D.26C482F0]Brain scans have shown marked anatomical differences among the brains of patients with different subtypes of Alzheimer's disease, researchers from the United States and Europe reported recently<https://bit.ly/3RW9Fsy>.

The new evidence supports the theory that there are multiple, biologically distinct subgroups of the disease. If this is correct, it suggests that different disease factors could be driving the different subtypes, and that distinct treatments targeting those factors could improve individuals' care.

"Breast cancer was once considered one disease," said lead author Dr. Paul Crane, professor (General Internal Medicine). "But we now know there are different subtypes of breast cancer that respond to different treatments. Our findings suggest a similar approach may apply to Alzheimer's."

Read the full story from UW Medicine Newsroom<https://bit.ly/3RY8Pvk>.

________________________________

Knowing your risk for inherited cancers matters
[cid:image022.jpg at 01DA3A6D.26C482F0]Around 5-10% of cancers are germline or hereditary; commonly inherited cancers include prostate, breast, ovarian, gastrointestinal, colorectal, pancreatic and melanoma. Hereditary testing may provide options for early screenings and management of cancer at an earlier stage when it is more likely to be cured. DOM cancer genetic experts Drs. Heather Cheng, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) and Marianne Dubard-Gault, assistant professor (Medical Genetics) study inherited cancer risk and help patients weigh their options and interpret test results.

New research in 2024
Cheng will continue to expand her work within prostate cancer in the new year, particularly with men who have advanced prostate cancer, through the Prostate Cancer Registry of Outcomes and Germline Mutations for Improved Survival and Treatment Effectiveness (PROMISE) program, where she is principal investigator.

Dubard-Gault is seeing artificial intelligence, or AI, beginning to be incorporated into her research, most recently on an initiative related to the accessibility of genetic testing educational materials. She also is particularly excited about AI's data-processing potential, which will ultimately result in more patients being identified faster and treated more optimally. Moving into the new year, she said her goal is to continue to build on the work that has been done to reduce health care disparities so all patients who need hereditary testing will have access to it.

Read the full story from Hutch News<https://bit.ly/3RK5rTQ>.


Recent publications
Dr. Lorenzo Giacani, associate professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of "Prevalence and Predictors of Oral Treponema pallidum Detection by qPCR in Early Syphilis<https://bit.ly/484OOch>" in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Grace John-Stewart, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of "Using viral sequence diversity to estimate time of HIV infection in infants<https://bit.ly/3GVu7Ul>" in PLOS Pathogens.


In the news
Dr. Irl Hirsch, professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) is quoted in "Apple Keeps Chasing the Ultimate Health-Tracking Watch-but It Could Take Years<https://on.wsj.com/4aAjBPR>" in the Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Babak Nazer, associate professor (Cardiology) participated in a Q&A with UW Medicine Newsroom in "Could a pacemaker draw energy from the heart itself?<https://bit.ly/3H0OaRm>"

Dr. Namrata Singh, assistant professor (Rheumatology) is quoted in "Frailty Worsens Side Effects of Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment<https://bit.ly/48utQmN>" in MedPage Today.


Events of interest
Medicine Grand Rounds
Dr. Susan Graham, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) will present "HIV Treatment and Prevention: Long-Acting Modalities, Patient Preferences, and Financial Considerations" at Medicine Grand Rounds<https://medicine.uw.edu/grand-rounds> on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024,12-1pm, via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/812197730>.


Weekly Calendar, Jan 1-5, 2024
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.




________________________________

Amy Fields, Editor
(206) 685-3685
amyf at uw.edu<mailto:amyf at uw.edu>


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