[domweek] DOM Week, December 1-5, 2025

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

DOM Week
November 26, 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>)


DEIB news
[Jim Jarvis]Native American Heritage Month Faculty Spotlight: Jim Jarvis
November is Native American Heritage Month and throughout the month Vitals has been celebrating the contributions and diverse cultures of our American Indian and Alaska Native colleagues and what their heritages means to them in a multi-part series.

The latest spotlight is on Dr. Jim Jarvis, adjunct professor (Rheumatology). “Throughout my career, I have seen Indigenous families relax and seem more comfortable in the hospital or clinic when they realize their doctor is Indigenous and shares their values, world view, and, best of all, sense of humor. I mean, Native people are funny, really funny,” he says.

Read more in Vitals<https://bit.ly/3JReRwU>.

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Upcoming events
DOM Community Building Circle Event
The Center for Restorative Practice and the Department of Medicine are partnering to provide a special community building circle event (virtual) scheduled for Dec. 11, 3-4pm. Given the attacks on DEIB, DOJ investigations, political and sociocultural adversity, and devastating world events, CRP and DOM want to provide a supportive space for collective coping and enhancing well-being. A zoom link and more information (i.e., circle prompts) will be provided upon registration. Please RSVP for this event<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/forms.office.com/r/rwM1CykstV__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!jURzRuM_tB1mCGkBS71YmlesUebEdPciuZdverFpZj2j2KRluDNWOaoacDTBim726OoE7KrOBSHtaNJNtw$>.

To learn more about listening circles, detailed information is posted to our news site, “Building connection and community through deep listening<https://bit.ly/44AmTkD>.”

DEIB Community Gathering
All are welcome to attend an in-person Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) community gathering event on Dec. 11, 5:00-7:00pm at Métier Brewing Co<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/metierbrewing.com/locations/cherry-street/__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!kZCsEF4qBiRugp5upzkNvPXpOPMVYdcZLB0XqZl-olrD-3-pbqFTXEiaJFwIJcFBeRGtaWzKUzSnXg$>. Please RSVP for this event<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/forms.office.com/r/a5h8vHrQuw__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!nKj7zudaaAIcRAUVX_9orbuhvuTz-AMRzd7kjVdk2OCwa_wsP5GTKLwGX4nW6Odn5eniVGvi8GHq85ocOQ$>


Faculty news
[Kate Weaver]Faculty spotlight: Kate Weaver
Our latest faculty spotlight is on Dr. Kate Weaver, associate professor of clinical practice (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) and co-director of the AHEAD program (Achieving Health in Emerging Adults with Diabetes).

Learn more about her on our news site<https://bit.ly/3K8myPh>.

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[William Altemeier]William Altemeier new Endowed Chair in Pulmonary Diseases Research
Dr. William Altemeier, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) has been recently appointed as the Endowed Chair in Pulmonary Disease Research. Dr. Altemeier is a specialist in transcriptional regulation during acute lung injury. He directs the Center for Lung Biology. Learn more on our news site<https://bit.ly/4adTksO>.


Clinical news
[Karen de Wolski]Fostering Innovative Leaders program
Dr. Karen de Wolski, assistant professor (Nephrology) has been invited to participate in the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) 2026 Fostering Innovative Leaders in Nephrology and Dialysis (FIND) program—a part of ASN’s Excellence in Patient Care (EPC) portfolio. FIND is a year-long leadership development experience designed to empower early-career nephrology professionals to drive innovation, advance clinical care, and champion positive change for people living with kidney diseases.


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Harborview's Community Heart Failure Program earns national recognition
[Harborview Medical Center/University of Washington’s (UW) Community Heart Failure Program (CHFP) Group Shot]Harborview's Community Heart Failure Program (CHFP) was started by two cardiology nurses (Kate Smith and Jaimie Pechan) as a way for providers to treat unhoused vulnerable heart patients. In just a handful of years, the program has grown exponentially – thanks in part to a number of generous philanthropic donations.

There's a system for referrals now, and an average patient panel of around 90. The team is typically overbooked two weeks out, seeing around six to seven extremely sick patients a day, five days a week, venturing as far north as Shoreline and as far south as Renton.

Many patients may be simultaneously fighting substance use disorder, inadequately treated mental illness, housing insecurity and/or post-traumatic stress disorder. Because of this complexity of care, they often have UW Medicine medical residents make visits with the team, Dr. Mrinal Yadava, assistant professor (Cardiology) said. When these young doctors come along, they deepen the empathy and flexibility with which they approach future patient care.

Dr. Danee Hidano, acting assistant professor, the other cardiologist with the program, says that this work hinges on seeing and treating people as human beings, without judgment about someone's life choices or circumstances. “It's about bringing equitable care to people who need it the most, to allow them to live a better quality of life and feel like they matter in the world.”

After so much hard work over the last two years, the program recently garnered national recognition. The Heart Failure Society of America named CHFP as their 2025 Outstanding Heart Failure Care Team, an award that usually goes to large health care systems, according to Dr. Nate Green, associate professor, and head of cardiology at Harborview. “This is amazing news for a small, relatively new team that is working on an innovative model to push care into the community,” he added.

Learn more about CHFP<https://bit.ly/48rAFs5>.


Research news
Building Trust: Advancing Health Equity Grant Program
[Gina Kim and Mengru Wang]Through the ABIM Foundation’s Building Trust: Advancing Health Equity Grant Program, Dr. Gina Kim, clinical assistant professor, and Dr. Mengru “Ruru” Wang, assistant professor of clinical practice (Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine) have been leading a quality improvement project to address difficulties in accessing professional interpreter services (PIS) and communication barriers for patients who use a language other than English in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

While PIS is the gold standard of care, the availability of this service is frequently unavailable in low resource settings such as SNFs. This project also assesses the feasibility of hand-held translation devices for routine brief interactions between patients and SNF staff as a harm reduction model.

Their work was recently featured on the ABIM Foundation’s blog<https://bit.ly/3XcfPqx>.

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Xenon gas does not help elite climbers
[Andrew Luks]Inhaling xenon does not improve mountain-climbing performance, according to a recent scientific review<https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/15578682251377419> in the journal High Altitude Medicine and Biology. The authors found no evidence that inhaling the gas before high-altitude expeditions — a method tried by climbers during 2024 and 2025 Mount Everest ascents — improves acclimatization or shortens travel time.

The analysis examined claims that xenon inhalation could help mountaineers adapt more quickly to extreme altitude. Despite widespread media attention surrounding its use on Everest, the researchers concluded that using xenon with climbing lacks scientific support and that its risks may outweigh unproven benefits.

“I know that all the attention was on xenon in these stories, but the climbers were doing other things to prepare that made more of a difference,” said Dr. Andrew Luks, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) and senior author of the review. “In fact, there really was no evidence of xenon doing anything.”

Read the full story from UW Medicine Newsroom<https://bit.ly/43Tt3ft>.


Recent publications
Dr. Rahul Banerjee, assistant professor, is lead author and Dr. Andrew Portuguese, assistant professor (Hematology and Oncology) is senior author of “Prior transplantation and idecabtagene vicleucel in multiple myeloma: a secondary analysis of CIBMTR data<https://bit.ly/4rh6pYs>” in Blood. DOM co-authors Emily Liang, Jordan Gauthier and Madhav Dhodapkar.

Dr. Sina Gharib, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), Colleen Sitlani, research scientist, and Dr. Bruce Psaty, professor emeritus (General Internal medicine) are co-authors of “Genome-Wide Gene-Sleep Interaction Study Identifies Novel Lipid Loci in 732,564 Participants<https://bit.ly/3XPCp8v>” in Atherosclerosis.

Dr. George Ioannou, professor (Gastroenterology) is senior author of “Durability of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine Effectiveness Among US Veterans<https://bit.ly/4rk0Jgp>” in JAMA Internal Medicine.


In the news
Drs. Rotonya Carr, associate professor and head (Gastroenterology) and Cora Sack, associate professor (General Internal Medicine) from DOM and Dr. Alex Greninger (Lab Medicine and Pathology) are featured in the video “Federal funding cuts threaten health gains, innovation<https://bit.ly/3Xj3AIG>” from UW Medicine Newsroom.

Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is quoted in “Is the U.S. in Store for Another Brutal Flu Season?<https://bit.ly/3XfcvLh>” in Scientific American.

Dr. Christopher Damman, clinical associate professor (Gastroenterology) is quoted in “How Do Ultraprocessed Foods Affect the Gut?<https://nyti.ms/48361p4>” in the New York Times.


Events of interest
Improving care and advocating for LGBTQ communities
Internationally recognized researcher Dr. Carey Candrian is coming to Seattle in December for a series of public events. Dec. 3-4. Learn more on our news site<https://mednews.uw.edu/news/candrian/improving-care-advocating-lgbtq>.

Medicine Grand Rounds
Dr. Yonatan Grad, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will present the Kirby Lecture, “Antimicrobial use and resistance: what can we do better?” at Medicine Grand Rounds on Dec. 5, 12-1pm in D209 (Turner Auditorium) or via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/812197730>


Federal Policy Town Hall
The next Federal Policy Town Hall will be held on Friday, Dec. 5, 11-12m, via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/98151483608>.
Please submit your questions in advance<https://tinyurl.com/5n98pkym>.


Weekly Calendar, December 1-5, 2025
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.


Coming up
DOM Research Symposium
Collaboration in Research: Discovery, Innovation, and Impact
Join us for an inspiring afternoon celebrating research excellence and collaboration across the Department of Medicine and beyond. Keynote speaker: Dr. David Baker, PhD, professor of biochemistry, director of the Institute for Protein Design and 2024 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. Following the keynote, learn about Department of Medicine research innovations, explore opportunities in clinical trials, and meet leaders advancing research across our centers and institutes. Dec. 9, 3-5pm, Vista Café, Foege Building, UW Health Sciences Campus. All are welcome including faculty, staff, trainees, and those interested in research. Please RSVP<https://form.jotform.com/253235210995154>. More information, including the full agenda, is available on our intranet<https://bit.ly/47hcZF9>.

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Women Faculty Leadership Workshop: Building Effective Teams
The Women in Medicine & Science (WIMS) Committee invites you to join the next session of the 2025-2026 Women Faculty Leadership Series on Building Effective Teams. These workshops are open to all, they aim to foster career development, well-being, and leadership skills among women faculty in the School of Medicine. Dec. 16, 4-5pm. Please register<https://bit.ly/3L2pugj>.

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Medicine Grand Rounds
Upcoming 2025 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” on Dec. 19.


________________________________

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


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