[domweek] DOM Week, August 4-8, 2025

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

[cid:image001.jpg at 01DC02FB.7629A5C0]

DOM Week
August 1, 2025
News, information, and events of interest from the Department of Medicine

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



Faculty news
In memoriam: Shaveta Vinayak
[Shaveta Vinayak]Dr. Shaveta Vinayak, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) passed away on July 25. She was 50.

Vinayak earned her medical degree from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and a master's in physiology and biophysics from Georgetown University. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and pursued fellowship training in medical oncology at Stanford University.

She joined the University of Washington in 2018 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 2023. A clinical and translational researcher, she aimed to develop novel immunotherapies for the treatment of triple-negative and BRCA-associated breast cancers. In 2022 she joined the UW Cancer Vaccine Institute as Director of Clinical Trials.

Read about her journey as a breast cancer doctor and patient. <https://bit.ly/3GLwEUH>

________________________________

Faculty spotlight: Lawrence Fong
[Lawrence Fong]The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium highlighted<https://bit.ly/4feRrgb> Dr. Lawrence (Larry) Fong, professor (Hematology and Oncology) this month. Fong joined the University of Washington in 2024 and was named the Bezos Family Distinguished Scholar in Immunotherapy at Fred Hutch, where he is scientific director of the Immunotherapy Integrated Research Center. The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium, established in 2013, combines the cancer centers of the Big Ten Conference to conduct multi-institutional research led by clinical and scientific researchers at member institutions. The UW/FHCC was invited to join in 2024.


Education news
Call for collaborations: Resident scholarship projects
It's the time of year when many IM residents actively seek scholarship projects. If you would like to partner with a resident on a scholarship project, please complete this form<https://bit.ly/474vgHa> to describe your project details.

________________________________

Memorial service for Stephen Njau
A memorial service for Dr. Stephen Njau will be held on Aug. 5, 1-2pm at Valley Burial & Cremation<https://www.valleyburialcremation.com/> in Puyallup. There will be a time of prayer, paying of last respects, and military honors. Everyone from UW who is able to attend is warmly welcomed.


Research news
Folashade Otegbeye receives Endowed Chair in Cell and Gene Therapy Translation
[Shade Otegbeye]Dr. Folashade "Shade" Otegbeye, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) is the new holder of the Fleischauer Family Endowed Chair in Cell and Gene Therapy Translation at Fred Hutch.

She currently supervises the minutiae of the machinery that fuels the Therapeutic Products Program<https://www.fredhutch.org/en/research/shared-resources/core-facilities/therapeutic-products.html> (TPP) at Fred Hutch. "I consider myself a manufacturing scientist," she said. "I oversee the manufacturing component of translational science." Support from the endowed chair will help establish a platform for CRISPR<https://www.fredhutch.org/en/research/divisions/clinical-research-division/research/co-operative-center-for-excellence-in-hematology/cell-manipulation-tools.html> gene editing. TPP has not yet used CRISPR, a gene editing tool that allows scientists to modify DNA, correcting or deleting faulty genes with extreme precision.

Otegbeye leads a TPP project developing this technology to alter and transform T cells and natural killer cells. Some of the newest life-saving cancer treatments over the last decade involve white blood cells collected from cancer patients, which are then manufactured into cancer-killing cells using gene-editing tools.

"It will now be easier and faster to turn new ideas for immune cell engineering into treatments for our patients in clinical trials," she said. "The endowed chair will help us continue evaluating, refining and developing the manufacturing processes and assays we need. It will also let us ask what else is out there, how can we keep up with it and how can we innovate on top of that?"

Read the full story from Hutch News<https://bit.ly/4lNk868>.

________________________________

Applications open for ITHS Pilot Awards
[Institute of Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) Logo]The Institute of Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) Pilots Program is designed to support innovative, high-impact translational research projects that have the potential to advance medical knowledge and improve human health. The Pilots Program is particularly focused on fostering interdisciplinary collaborations and accelerating the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical practice, with an emphasis on addressing health disparities and enhancing public health outcomes. The program is currently accepting applications for three funding opportunities. Letters of intent are due Sept 12. Learn more on the ITHS website. <https://bit.ly/4fesqS9>


Recent publications
Dr. Justin Bullock, assistant professor (Nephrology) wrote "These Ghoulish Hands: Bringing Our Whole Selves to Patient Care<https://bit.ly/4l49dUs>" in ATS Scholar is co-author of "Prevalence and Sources of Disability-Based Discrimination in a National Sample of Graduating Medical Students<https://bit.ly/44WWKNK>" in JAMA Internal Medicine and "Centering a Justice-Based Approach to Disability Inclusion in Medical Education<https://bit.ly/3Ub6q0O>" in Academic Medicine.

Dr. Connie Celum, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of "Doxycycline to prevent bacterial sexually transmitted infections in the USA: final results from the DoxyPEP multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial and open-label extension<https://bit.ly/4jButRp>" in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. DOM co-authors are Julia Dombrowski, Chase Cannon, Robert Suchland, and Olusegun Soge.

Ryan Choi, research scientist, is lead author and Dr. Wesley Van Voorhis, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of "Anti-Cryptosporidium efficacy of BKI-1708, an inhibitor of Cryptosporidium calcium-dependent protein kinase 1<https://bit.ly/4lbseEp>" in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. DOM co-authors are Matthew Hulverson, Lynn Barrett, and Kayode Ojo.

Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is lead author of "The Path Forward for Vaccine Policy in the United States<https://bit.ly/4mmUCoh>" in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Stephan Fihn, professor (General Internal Medicine) is senior author of "Encouraging the Registration of Observational Studies<https://bit.ly/4lY209V>" in JAMA Network Open.

Dr. Lorenzo Giacani, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of "Syphilis Pathogenesis: Host Immune Response versus Pathogen Immune Evasion<https://bit.ly/44XxnLJ>" in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Joshua Hill, associate professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of "Endogenous human herpesviruses 6A/B<https://bit.ly/3Jfs1CT>" in the Journal of Virology.

Dr. Nicholas Johnson, associate professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is co-author of "Multimorbidity Profiles and Severe In-Hospital Outcomes in Adults with Respiratory Syncytial Virus<https://bit.ly/3IV8ho2>" in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Steven Kahn, professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) is co-author of "Effect of obesity on the acute response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and development of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) in nonhuman primates<https://bit.ly/3HfbUER>" in PLoS Pathogens.

Dr. David Linker, associate professor (Cardiology) is senior author of "Reported Incidence of Atrial Fibrillation Varies by Ethnicity and Presentation in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis<https://bit.ly/4l9GD4b>" in Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.

Dr. M. Juliana McElrath, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of "Vaccination with mRNA-encoded membrane-anchored HIV envelope trimers elicited tier 2 neutralizing antibodies in a phase 1 clinical trial<https://bit.ly/3UIPYVC>" in Science Translational Medicine.

Dr. Katherine Ritchey, associate professor of clinical practice (Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine) is lead author of "Guiding Age-Friendly Care Through "What Matters": Restoring the Whole Person Back into Clinical Practice<https://bit.ly/4fcZfPk> " in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Michael Schweizer, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) is co-author of "Pasritamig, a First-in-Class, Bispecific T-Cell Engager Targeting Human Kallikrein 2, in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: A Phase I Study<https://bit.ly/4jAxnFu>" in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Ellen Schur, professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of "Advancing Person-Centered Care in the New Era of Obesity Treatment<https://bit.ly/4olk0g6>" in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Mazyar Shadman, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is lead author of "How I treat patients with CLL after prior treatment with a covalent BTK inhibitor and a BCL-2 inhibitor<https://bit.ly/3U48mIp>" in Blood.

Dr. Dabin Yeum, postdoctoral scholar, is lead author and Dr. Leticia Sewaybricker, research assistant professor (General Internal Medicine) is senior author of "The Impact of Eating Behaviors on Ultraprocessed Food Consumption Over 12 Months in Children<https://bit.ly/3J8fl0w>" in Obesity. DOM co-authors are Susan Melhorn and Ellen Schur.


In the news
Dr. William Grady, professor (Gastroenterology) is quoted in "Cancer DNA Can Be Detected in the Bloodstream Up to Three Years Before Diagnosis, Study Suggests<https://bit.ly/4fkBODO>" in Smithsonian Magazine.

Dr. Sara Hurvitz, professor and head (Hematology and Oncology) is quoted in "Gedatolisib Triplet Boosts Progression-Free Survival in Breast Cancer<https://bit.ly/4miBx6D>" in Cure.

Dr. Rachel Issaka, associate professor (Gastroenterology) is quoted in "Blood, Mucus, or Funky Shape: When Should You Actually Be Concerned About a Weird-Looking Poop?<https://bit.ly/3UDTMaO>" in Health.

Dr. Scott Ramsey, professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in "Will MCD tests revolutionize cancer screening? NCI begins enrollment in Vanguard "feasibility<https://bit.ly/478sCAi>" trial to start finding out" in the Cancer Letter.


Events of interest
Quiet week" August 4-8
As we continue to rebuild resilience and focus on mental health, we would like to preserve department-wide quiet weeks throughout the year. During these weeks, we hope that individuals can limit non-essential meetings to recharge and reflect, as well as thoughtfully minimize emails. We realize that this will not be possible for everyone but encourage all to take breaks when they are able.

Upcoming 2025 quiet weeks:
November 24-28
December 22-26

________________________________

Research Fellows Orientation Course
Registration is open for the annual Department of Medicine Workshop: "Surviving and Thriving During the Research Years<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/bit.ly/3S3jx3D__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!lZWile_eD8i2hniJr2ZIipFr4LmoN5sYhAp1SywYbaNZKAPUMs8ncwEV1ZGvXFEf_QFUJlFOYGOFc7Glr0AjCQ$>" on Aug. 6 at South Lake Union. This one-day in-person workshop provides practical guidance on career development, mentorship, manuscript writing and funding strategies (including a live mock study section) led by experts across the Department of Medicine.

Designed for physician and PhD research trainees and early-stage faculty spanning from those who are just starting in research to those preparing to submit a career development award, this workshop is also great networking opportunity to meet other early career and senior researchers. There is no charge to attend this course and breakfast and lunch are provided. Please register for this course<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/bit.ly/4j5ELsa__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!lZWile_eD8i2hniJr2ZIipFr4LmoN5sYhAp1SywYbaNZKAPUMs8ncwEV1ZGvXFEf_QFUJlFOYGOFc7GNo31hsQ$>.


Weekly Calendar, August 4-8, 2025
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.



________________________________

Amy Fields, Editor
amyf at uw.edu<mailto:amyf at uw.edu>


[cid:image010.png at 01DC02FB.7629A5C0]<https://bit.ly/3WsMqs5>[cid:image011.jpg at 01DC02FB.7629A5C0]<http://www.facebook.com/UWDeptMedicine>[cid:image012.jpg at 01DC02FB.7629A5C0]<https://www.instagram.com/uwdeptmedicine/>[cid:image013.png at 01DC02FB.7629A5C0]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/department-of-medicine-university-of-washington/posts/?feedView=all>[cid:image014.png at 01DC02FB.7629A5C0]<http://www.youtube.com/uwdeptmedicine>


To subscribe/unsubscribe from this list, go to:
https://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/domweek

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 22120 bytes
Desc: image001.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.png
Type: image/png
Size: 41907 bytes
Desc: image002.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.png
Type: image/png
Size: 10278 bytes
Desc: image003.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 13440 bytes
Desc: image004.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1638 bytes
Desc: image005.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 20978 bytes
Desc: image006.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1907 bytes
Desc: image007.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0004.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image008.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 6358 bytes
Desc: image008.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image009.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1380 bytes
Desc: image009.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image010.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1238 bytes
Desc: image010.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image011.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 5443 bytes
Desc: image011.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image012.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 7566 bytes
Desc: image012.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0008.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image013.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1852 bytes
Desc: image013.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0003.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image014.png
Type: image/png
Size: 3421 bytes
Desc: image014.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250801/e17bcebb/attachment-0004.png>