[domweek] DOM Week, December 15-19, 2025

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

DOM Week
December 12, 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>)


Awards
Nora Disis honored as Seahawks' Delta Community Captain
[Nora Disis with Seattle Seahawks mascot]Dr. Mary (Nora) Disis, professor (Hematology and Oncology) has received the Delta Community Captain award for her groundbreaking work developing cancer vaccines that harness the body's immune system to fight disease.

The Seattle Seahawks and Delta team members were also able to visit UW Medicine to see her groundbreaking research firsthand and learn how it's shaping the future of care for our patients.

Learn more on the Seahawks website<https://bit.ly/44R7KeO>.


Staff news
[Kelli Corning]Staff Spotlight: Kelli Corning
Our latest staff spotlight is on Kelli Corning, associate director of the Seattle Internal Medicine Residency Program.

Learn more about her on our news site<https://bit.ly/4rCXm4a>.


Faculty news
You Matter: Voices in Health Care podcast
[Anita Chopra]Dr. Anita Chopra, clinical associate professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-hosting You Matter: Voices in Healthcare<https://bit.ly/4q6Qjzs>, a podcast produced by the Power of Providers at the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). The show features conversations with health care workers and leaders about resilience, managing stress, preventing burnout, and the systemic changes needed to better support Washington's health care workforce. Episode 1 is available now and new episodes will air every month.

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Larry Corey makes 'leaders and best' list
[Larry Corey]Dr. Lawrence Corey, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) was highlighted in the latest issue of Medicine at Michigan<https://umich.foleon.com/medicine-at-michigan/fall-2025-issue/175-years-175-stories-part-5>. The feature honors 175 alumni and faculty who have helped establish the University of Michigan Medical School's reputation as the "leaders and best" in celebration of its 175th anniversary. Dr. Corey appears at #83 on the list.


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Kay Johnson to be featured in the ACGME Clinician-Educator Journal Club
[Kay Johnson]Dr. Kay Johnson, professor (General Internal Medicine) and Stuart Slavin, Vice President of Well-Being for the ACGME, will lead a discussion based on the paper they co-authored with Dr. Traci Takahashi, associate professor, (General Internal Medicine), "Excellent vs Excessive: Helping Trainees Balance Performance and Perfectionism<https://jgme.kglmeridian.com/view/journals/jgme/15/4/article-p424.xml>." The monthly ACGME Clinician Educator Journal Club brings together current and aspiring clinician educators, authors, and ACGME staff to explore timely topics and recent journal articles in medical education. Dec. 18, 10am. Please register for this event<https://bit.ly/3KJUxOc>.


Clinical news
Practitioner Leads in Quality & Safety
In recognition of their substantial contributions to local healthcare quality and safety, Drs. Jeffrey Edelman, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), Justina Gamache, clinical assistant professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), Yoshio Hall, professor (Nephrology), Julie He, clinical assistant professor (Cardiology), Lauren Lin, chief resident, Ann O'Hare, professor (Nephrology), Clinton Olivas, chief resident, Mala Sanchez, clinical assistant professor (General Internal Medicine), Vicki Tang, chief resident, and Molly Tokaz, assistant professor (Hematology and Oncology) have been awarded the title of Practitioner Lead in Quality & Safety (PLQS) within the Hospital & Specialty Medicine service line at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System.
PLQS titles are based on contributions made over the previous year to achieving safer, higher quality care for our Veterans.
[Images of the ten Practitioner leads in quality & safety]


Research news
Breast Cancer Research Foundation grants
Scientists with the Fred Hutch Cancer Center/University of Washington/Seattle Children's Cancer Consortium received another year of funding from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) to pursue research into new therapies, new biomarkers and new vaccines meant to improve outcomes in this deadly disease.

[Nancy Davidson, Nora Disis, Mary-Claire King, Hannah Linden.]Dr. Nancy Davidson, professor (Hematology and Oncology) received funding to continue investigation of the NRF2 pathway and how it shapes the breast tumor microenvironment, with an eye toward exploiting it to overcome immune checkpoint inhibitor resistance.

Dr. Mary (Nora) Disis, professor (Hematology and Oncology) received funding to determine the optimal doses for the single-antigen vaccines and combining multiple antigens into a single DNA construct for improved immune response and further investigate vaccine-induced changes to the metabolic function of fat tissue and immune cells and test the safety of the vaccine.

Dr. Mary-Claire King, professor (Medical Genetics) received funding to further development of a new technology platform that enables researchers to sequence large swaths of DNA in single very long strands, rather than thousands of short bits. King is also exploring dysregulation of gene expression as a basis for inherited breast cancer.

Dr. Hannah Linden, professor (Hematology and Oncology) will continue investigating whether a PET/CT progesterone tracer known as FFNP can better predict response to endocrine therapy coupled with the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib (Verzenio).

Read the full story from Hutch News<https://bit.ly/44VX7HF>.

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[Mengyang Di]Lymphoma Research Foundation Career Development Award
Dr. Mengyang Di, assistant professor (Hematology and Oncology) has been awarded a 2026 Lymphoma Research Foundation Clinical Investigator Career Development Award for her proposal entitled "PROMOTE-FL: Pirtobrutinib-Mosunetuzumab Enhancing Efficacy in Previously Treated Follicular Lymphoma."


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Call for applications: Cystic Fibrosis research
The UW NIDDK P30 Cystic Fibrosis Research Translation Center (CFRTC) is seeking applications for Pilot and Feasibility Studies focused on development and/or translation of promising laboratory findings that may lead to novel therapies for individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF). First stage applications are due Feb. 1, 2026. Learn more on the CFRTC website<http://depts.washington.edu/cfrtc/pilots/>.


Recent publications
Dr. Sarah Baker, acting assistant professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is lead author of "An outer membrane vesicle vaccine prevents lung pathology in a macaque model of pneumonic melioidosis<https://go.nature.com/4s4waMf>" in Nature Communications.

Drs. Joseph Delaney, research associate professor (General Internal Medicine) and Stephanie Ruderman, research scientist, and Heidi Crane, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) are co-authors of "Age modifies the association between sex and the plasma inflammatory proteome in treated HIV<https://bit.ly/3KrGjSd>" in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Drs. Diana Eng, research scientist, and Stuart Shankland, professor (Nephrology) are co-authors of "Renal PIEZO2 is an essential regulator of renin<https://bit.ly/3KR0JEd>" in Cell.

Dr. Nicole Ehrhardt, assistant professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) is co-author of "Preparing to Meet the Needs of a Growing Older Adult Population with Type 1 Diabetes: A Narrative Review<https://bit.ly/4pvT9Od>" in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Michelle Erickson, research associate professor (Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine) is senior author of "Transport of CCL2 across an induced pluripotent stem cell-derived in vitro model of the human blood-brain barrier is heparan sulfate-dependent<https://bit.ly/4pzjVWg>" in PLOS One. DOM co-authors are William Banks and May Reed.

Dr. Helen Jack, assistant professor (General Internal Medicine) is senior author of "HIV Prevention for People Releasing from Incarceration: A Qualitative Pre-implementation Study<https://bit.ly/4pzAH7J>" in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. DOM co-author is Susan Graham.

Dr. Erin Kross, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is co-author of "Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines on Adult End-of-Life Care in the ICU<https://bit.ly/4ahzbSV>" in Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Ryan Lynch, associate professor, is lead author and Dr. Ajay Gopal, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is senior author of "Pharma steps back from Hodgkin lymphoma: now what?<https://bit.ly/3Yfk19h>" in Blood Advances.

Dr. Yue-Harn Ng, clinical professor (Nephrology) is senior author of "Association between Area Deprivation Index, Kidney Transplant Waitlisting, and Reasons for Denial<https://bit.ly/4iSVlwY>" in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. DOM co-authors are David Prince and Bessie Young.

Dr. Tahsin Özpolat, fellow, is lead author and Dr. Moritz Stolla, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) is senior author of "Transfusion-Induced Functional and Metabolic Shifts in Stored Platelets: Limitations of In Vitro Assessment<https://bit.ly/450dnYj>" in Blood VTH.

Dr. Mayuree Rao, acting assistant professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of "Associations Between Social Risks and Obesity in High-risk Veterans<https://bit.ly/3MUzNUx>" in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Mazyar Shadman, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is lead author of "Real-world treatment patterns and clinical outcomes among patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in a US healthcare claims database<https://go.nature.com/3MxyB9F>" in Blood Cancer Journal and senior author of "The Evolving Therapeutic Landscape of Richter Transformation<https://bit.ly/44lnpD7>" in Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports.

Dr. Asa Tapley, clinical assistant professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of "Determining vaccine responders in the presence of baseline immunity using single-cell assays and paired control samples<https://bit.ly/3MoeKK8>" in Biostatistics.

Dr. Suzanne Watnick, professor (Nephrology) is co-author of "Core Interventions for the Prevention of Peritoneal Dialysis Related Infections<https://bit.ly/4iSVbpm>" in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Eugene Yang, professor of clinical practice (Cardiology) is co-author of "Cuffless Devices for the Measurement of Blood Pressure: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association<https://bit.ly/48Qa0Va>" in Hypertension.


In the news
Dr. Nicole Chow Ahrenholz, clinical associate professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in "What Shots and Vaccines Do I Need to Get to Travel Right Now?<https://bit.ly/4q3a5f8>" in Fodor's Travel.

Dr. John Amory, professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in "Don't Push Through the Winter Blues: 4 Tips to Help<https://bit.ly/4pKd503>" in Right as Rain.

Dr. Oscar Bailon, clinical assistant professor (Cardiology) is quoted in "Keep your heart content as holidays approach<https://bit.ly/4pOsCLO>" from UW Medicine Newsroom.

Dr. Debra Cherry, associate professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in "New EPA-Approved Pesticides Stir Controversy<https://bit.ly/48HrlPJ>" in Everyday Health.

Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is quoted in "West Coast alliance continues to back universal hepatitis B vaccine<https://bit.ly/4oERgh6>" in the Seattle Times.

Dr. Barak Gaster, professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in "Alzheimer Disease Blood Test Cleared for Primary Care, but Questions Remain About Its Use<https://bit.ly/4a0I7fb>" in JAMA Medical News.

Dr. Scott Hagan, associate professor (General Internal Medicine) talked to KUOW in "Ask a Doctor: Ozempic, Wegovy and GLP-1 drugs in general<https://bit.ly/4oL7y81>."

Dr. Lorena Alarcon-Casas Wright, professor of clinical practice (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) is quoted in "What happens to your blood sugar when you eat sourdough bread regularly?<https://bit.ly/44mmimE>" from MSN.

Dr. Eugene Yang, professor of clinical practice (Cardiology) is quoted in "How Wi-Fi Could Become an Invisible, No-Touch ECG<https://bit.ly/4rKocr7>" from Medscape.


Events of interest
Medicine Grand Rounds
Dr. Reena Mehra, professor and head (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) will present "Reflections on a Journey of Purpose, Persistence, and Possibility in Academic Medicine" at Medicine Grand Rounds on Dec. 19, 12-1pm, Turner Conference room and via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/812197730>.



Weekly Calendar, December 15-19, 2025
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.


Coming up
Upcoming Grand Rounds
Dr. Dorrie Rhoads (Univ. of Oklahoma) will present "Building Academic-Tribal Partnerships to Advance Implementation Research and Improve Cancer Outcomes" at Medicine Grand Rounds on Jan. 16, 12-1pm, Turner Conference room and via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/812197730>.



________________________________

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


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