[domweek] DOM Week, December 22-26, 2025

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

DOM Week
December 19, 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
Call for Nominations: John R. Pettit Endowed Leadership Award
Nominations are now being accepted for the annual John R. Pettit Endowed Leadership Award, which honors the long and varied service of its namesake. All nominations<https://give.uwmedicine.org/pettit-award/> must be made by or before noon on Jan. 31. The award will be given out in the spring. The Pettit Award is open to professional staff members who are currently employed by UW Medicine. Preferred recipients will have five or more years of service at UW Medicine.


Education news
Spotlight on resident research: Pranusha Atuluru
Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and worldwide
and many patients undergo surgery for treatment. [Pranusha Atuluru] In the latest resident scholarship spotlight, “Identifying Barriers to Surveillance Care among Colorectal Cancer Survivors,” Dr. Pranusha Atuluru’s research focuses on barriers to colorectal cancer patients receiving follow up care who have undergone surgery.

The most commonly reported barriers were fears surrounding colonoscopy results and cancer recurrence, as well as challenges with bowel preparation. On the other hand, the strongest facilitators included patients’ motivation to seek reassurance and the support they received from the clinic in scheduling their appointments.

Dr. Atuluru’s interest in colorectal cancer is driven by its disproportionate impact on people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and minority communities, as well as the potential for early detection that completely changes the course of a patient’s life.

View the spotlight on the residency website<https://bit.ly/4s4pXzw>.


Faculty news
[Doug Paauw]Douglas Paauw makes ‘leaders and best’ list
Dr. Douglas Paauw, professor (General Internal Medicine) 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-7>. 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.


Clinical news
CARES Awards
[Yellow heart on a purple background with an image of an award in the middle of the yellow heart/UW Medicine Cares Award logo]The UW Medicine Cares Award<https://bit.ly/4aj1ywl>, established in 2013, recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of individuals and teams who consistently exemplify UW Medicine Service Culture Guidelines.

Congratulations to the following DOM members who received Fall 2025 Cares Awards:

Individual:
Carolyn Houk, clinical associate professor (General Internal Medicine)

Teams:
Addiction Medicine Consult Team: DOM members are Elly Bhatraju, assistant professor, Jocelyn James, associate professor, Jared Klein, associate professor, Sarah Leyde, assistant professor, and Joseph Merrill, professor (General Internal Medicine)

Community Heart Failure Program: DOM members are Danee Hidano, acting assistant professor, and Mrinal Yadava, assistant professor (Cardiology)

UWMC Critical Care Advanced Practice Providers: DOM members are Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Teaching Associates: Giana DeNisi, Jessica Kwon-Enriquez, Katherine McCusker, Michaela Morris, Jacob Okleshen, Courtney Pullen, Gayle Roberson-Wiley, Lori Schwark, Matthew Smith, Jessica Stasi, Sue Stewart, Melissa Winckler, Cameron Wright, Sarah Welch, and Ruby Young


Research news
Drug turns lung cells into slow-release antibiotic depots
[Shawn Skerrett and Eoin West]A new designer drug that turns lung immune cells into slow-release antibiotic dispensers can clear a lethal pneumonia infection in mice, researchers report. In the study, researchers created a compound known as a prodrug, an inactive form of a drug that becomes active only after being metabolized by the body. Prodrugs can be engineered to extend drug half-life, to ease storage and delivery — and to target specific cells or tissues.

The team’s goal was to create a prodrug that slowly released an antibiotic inside immune cells called alveolar macrophages. Macrophages are large cells that engulf and digest bacteria throughout the body. Alveolar macrophages are found in the lung’s tiny air sacs, the alveoli.

In earlier research, the researchers had used a similar design to kill bacteria that hide inside macrophages — a survival strategy that lets pathogens evade immune attack and many antibiotics. The new study tested whether the same approach could also kill bacteria in the surrounding lung tissue, said Dr. Shawn Skerrett, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine).

“We had seen that the antibiotic stays within cells for an extended period of time, suggesting the macrophages might serve as a reservoir from which the antibiotic would leak out into the surrounding tissue,” Skerrett said. The researcher team also included DOM faculty member Dr. T. Eoin West, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine).

Read the full story from UW Medicine Newsroom<https://bit.ly/4oWJvTO>.

________________________________

Latest in breast cancer research
Several DOM faculty presented their research at the latest San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, the largest breast cancer research meeting in the world.

‘Naked chemo’ vs. ‘smart chemo’
[Sara Hurvitz]Dr. Sara Hurvitz, professor and head (Hematology and Oncology) spoke on a new class of cancer drugs known as antibody drug conjugates, or ADCs, in a session on translational controversies. These new combinations ― a monoclonal antibody that binds to a specific protein expressed on tumor cells, a cancer-killing chemotherapy drug and a “linker” that connects them and triggers the drug’s release in the cell ― have changed treatment for many patients with breast cancers.

ctDNA for early prediction of ER+/HER2- mets
[Heather Parsons]Dr. Heather Parsons, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) presented data on a cohort of patients within the large international PALLAS trial, which tested the benefit of two years of CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib (Ibrance) plus endocrine therapy versus endocrine therapy alone in early-stage ER+, HER2- breast cancers after surgery and treatment.

A better way to ‘measure the unmeasurable’
[Jennifer Specht] Dr. Jennifer Specht, professor (Hematology and Oncology) presented findings from the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group’s<https://ecog-acrin.org/> FEATURE trial<https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04316117> (1183), which used modified FDG-PET/CT scan criteria to predict whether or not patients with metastatic ER+/HER2- breast cancer that’s spread to the bone are responding to treatment or not.

Read the full story from Hutch News<https://bit.ly/49cysRQ>.


Recent publications
Dr. Ryan Cassaday, professor (Hematology and Oncology) wrote “Challenges and opportunities for improvement in the practical management of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia<https://bit.ly/3KIyS9f>” in Blood Advances.

Dr. Denise Chac, staff scientist, is lead author and Dr. Ana Weil, assistant professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “Gut bacteria-derived sphingolipids alter innate immune responses to oral cholera vaccine antigens<https://go.nature.com/4j7cNOs>” in Nature Communications. DOM co-author is Susan Markiewicz.

Dr. Petros Grivas, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is co-author of “Advanced Urologic Cancer Consensus Conference (AUC3) 2025: Expert consensus on the management of renal cell and urinary tract cancers<https://bit.ly/3YCoV0c>” in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Dr. Steven Kahn, professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) is co-author of “Cardiovascular Outcomes with Tirzepatide versus Dulaglutide in Type 2 Diabetes<https://bit.ly/458DXhX>” in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Meghan Kiefer, associate professor (General Internal Medicine) is lead author of “Improving USMLE Step 1 outcomes in academically vulnerable students through a targeted, competency-based curriculum<https://bit.ly/4oTDrLS>” in BMC Medical Education.

Dr. Linnaea Schuttner, assistant professor (General Internal Medicine) is lead author of “Patient-Centered Prioritization of Health Care Processes for Multimorbidity<https://bit.ly/49k4OtR>” in JAMA Network Open. DOM co-authors are Scott Hagan and Katherine Ritchey.

Dr. Mazyar Shadman, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is co-author of “Epcoritamab monotherapy for Richter transformation (EPCORE CLL-1): findings from a single-arm, multicentre, open-label, phase 1b/2 trial<https://bit.ly/48GZUHb>” in The Lancet Haematology.

Dr. Philip Vutien, assistant professor (Gastroenterology) is co-author of “Long-term effectiveness of tenofovir alafenamide versus entecavir in treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B: A REAL-B study<https://bit.ly/4ajqYNX>” in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.


In the news
Dr. Nisha Bansal, professor (Nephrology) is quoted in “Heart and Kidney Diseases and Type 2 Diabetes May Be One Ailment<https://bit.ly/4s4Tg53>” in Scientific American.

Dr. Philip Mease, clinical professor (Rheumatology) is quoted in “Beneath the Surface: Who should prescribe GLP-1s?<https://bit.ly/3YADoK5>” in Healio.

Dr. Reena Mehra, professor and head (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) participated in a Q&A with Healio to discuss “Guideline recommendations established for managing OSA in inpatient setting<https://bit.ly/4913FpU>.”


Events of interest
Quiet week, December 22-26
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.


Weekly Calendar, December 22-26, 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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