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

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

[cid:image001.jpg at 01DC297F.14519AB0]

DOM Week
September 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
Outstanding staff awards
[Leila Armas and Andréa Campell]The Outstanding Staff Awards<https://bit.ly/40TQbXJ> aim to recognize and celebrate exceptional staff members who are dedicated to supporting our organization's mission of teaching, healing, discovery, and diversity, and upholding core values.

Congratulations to this year's recipients: Leila Armas-Valencia, fellowship administrator (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) and Andréa Campell, residency program administrator.

Learn more about the 2025 recipients on our news site<https://bit.ly/4mmowIY>.


Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Service Award
[R. Paul Robertson]The Endocrine Society announced the 12 leading endocrinologists as winners of its prestigious 2026 Laureate Awards<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/bit.ly/4piwe9D__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!g8zIhaiK4iB8dumGQnTxZwRiXxkkRzf2WZqQ4UWvZke0yAqPcFXRuAZq8Co13hq0ll2ND7IXJp4ipjTKX6BdibNrt0wI1g$>, the top honors in the field. Congratulations to Dr. R. Paul Robertson, clinical professor emeritus (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) who is the recipient of the Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Service Award, recognizing distinguished service to the Endocrine Society and the field of endocrinology.

Established in 1944, the Society's Laureate Awards recognize the highest achievements in the endocrinology field, including groundbreaking research and innovations in clinical care. The Endocrine Society will present the awards to the winners at ENDO 2026, the Society's annual meeting in June 2026.


Faculty news
In memoriam: Thomas Martin
[Tom Martin]Dr. Thomas Martin, professor emeritus (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) died peacefully on Sept. 14 surrounded by family. He was 77.

Martin received his medical degree with honors from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1973 and completed his residency at the University of Washington, where he also served as a chief resident.

He held many leadership positions over his 40+ year tenure at the UW, including director of the Pulmonary Research Training Program from 1993-2000, and vice chair and head of Hospital and Specialty Medicine at VA Puget Sound from 2000-2011. Nationally, he served as president of the American Thoracic Society (starting the ATS Research Program to fund promising new investigators), head of the ABIM Pulmonary Disease Board, and scientific director of the Parker B. Francis Pulmonary Fellowship Program.

He loved teaching and was nominated for an Outstanding Teacher Award by the medical students in 1985 and received the Beeson Award in 1991.

He is survived by his wife, their two daughters, three grandchildren, and five siblings. Donations to the ATS Research Program <https://aeugmntn.donorsupport.co/page/ThomasRMartinM> may be made in his honor.

Read more on our news site<https://bit.ly/4nF0U3c>.

________________________________

Lyn and Daniel Lerner Endowed Chair in Merkel Cell Carcinoma<https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2025/09/shailender-bhatia-endowed-chair-merkel-cell-carcinoma.html>
[Shailender Bhatia]Congratulations to Dr. Shailender Bhatia, professor (Hematology and Oncology) who is the inaugural holder of the Lyn and Daniel Lerner Endowed Chair in Merkel Cell Carcinoma at Fred Hutch. Bhatia has dedicated his career to providing outstanding clinical care to patients with MCC and has led numerous clinical trials to improve outcomes in this life-threatening cancer.

He collaborates closely with one of the only research teams in the world that focuses on MCC, and which has, within the last decade, transformed how advanced MCC is treated.

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


Education news
2025 Distinguished CHEST Educators
[Başak Çoruh and Amy Morris]Drs. Başak Çoruh, professor, and Amy Morris, associate professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) were recognized by the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) as 2025 Distinguished CHEST Educators. Distinguished CHEST Educators represent the top 3% of CHEST's international faculty and are recognized for their achievements and long-term contributions to the design and delivery of CHEST education.


________________________________

New NIDDK-funded research training program for kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases
[Nisha Bansal, Bryan Kestenbaum, Hunter Wessells]The Northwest Comprehensive Research Training in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Sciences (NCOR-KUH) program is a new training grant at the University of Washington which aims to train the next generation of scientists in kidney, urologic, and hematologic (KUH) diseases. The NCOR-KUH program is part of the NIDDK-funded national U2C/TL1 consortium.

The PIs are Drs. Nisha Bansal, professor, Bryan Kestenbaum, professor (Nephrology) and Hunter Wessells, professor (Department of Urology).

This new training grant is unique in that it unites training in three specialties - nephrology, urology and hematology - while supporting both pre- and post-doctoral trainees within a single program.

Learn more on our news site<https://bit.ly/46pqm5B>.

________________________________

Intern recruitment: Call for interviewers
Our residency program is seeking faculty who work with residents in clinical settings and are interested in participating in virtual interviews with residency applicants. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom from November through mid-January.
Faculty insights are a vital part of our selection process, and applicants greatly value the opportunity to learn more about UW, Seattle, and our program through these conversations. If you're interested in participating in this important process as an interviewer, please sign up<https://bit.ly/4nDYthe>!


Research news
Cells once viewed as menders may harm the heart
[Kristi Kooiker and Farid Moussavi-Harami]Fibroblasts, cells that repair heart damage, might cause a cycle of stiffening and scarring in certain heart conditions. Dilated cardiomyopathy, a leading cause of heart failure, has been seen as rooted in defective heart muscle cells. But the heart is a complex system of interacting cell types.

A study published Sept. 11 in Science<https://bit.ly/41NRBFQ> reexamined the role of fibroblasts and found they might be contributing to the disorder. Drs. Kristi Kooiker, research scientist, and Farid Moussavi-Harami, associate professor (Cardiology) are co-authors.

"Most heart conditions have a fibrotic response that can be harmful," said Moussavi-Harami. "But we don't have many therapies to address it. The uniqueness of this study is that we show functional improvement by knocking out the p38 pathway that drives fibrosis. I think that this strategy, in combination with other therapies like myosin activators, could be beneficial for patients who have genetic cardiomyopathies like DCM." Moussavi-Harami imagines that patients might someday be classified by fibrosis level -high, medium or low - to guide personalized treatments.

Read the full story from UW Medicine Newsroom<https://bit.ly/46e3cz7>.

________________________________

Expanding Lung Cancer Screening to Achieve Excellence
[Matty Triplette]Dr. Matthew Triplette, associate professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is a PI on a new UG3/UH3 grant titled "Expanding Lung Cancer Screening to Achieve Excellence."

This 6-year, over $7 million grant supports the design and implementation of a large-scale randomized controlled trial involving over 60 clinics. The trial will evaluate multi-level strategies aimed at improving lung cancer screening uptake and follow-up within a nationally representative sample of Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Part of the broader SUMMIT initiative, this study will fund approximately three investigator-initiated trials focused on lung cancer screening and three on tobacco cessation. All studies will incorporate harmonized data elements, with the goal of meaningfully advancing national lung cancer screening metrics and informing policy.

________________________________

Long COVID has impact on Latino communities
[Leo Morales]It has been more than five years since COVID-19 was first declared a pandemic in the United States. The lasting effects of long COVID are still being uncovered. A recent study<https://bit.ly/3IYf2Wi> is drawing attention to its serious impact on Latino communities. Researchers surveyed over 1,500 patients with confirmed COVID-19 cases and discovered that nearly half reported experiencing long COVID symptoms.

"The community that we surveyed were in frontline positions," explained Dr. Leo Morales, professor of medicine (General Internal Medicine). "There were high levels of exposure. They were living in group situations, so there was a lot of transmission to vulnerable people, and they had relatively little access to care."

Read the full story from UW Medicine Newsroom<https://bit.ly/47BUygj>.


Recent publications
Dr. Nisha Bansal, professor (Nephrology) is senior author of "Accuracy of Identification of Cardiovascular Events with ICD Diagnosis Codes versus Physician Adjudication in CKD and Kidney Failure<https://bit.ly/3InREl5>" in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. DOM co-authors are Leila Zelnick, Ian de Boer and Bryan Kestenbaum.

Dr. Crystal Brown, assistant professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is co-author of "Expanding Pathways to Major Journals for Early-Career Researchers<https://bit.ly/41ZN2Iw>" in JAMA.

Dr. Vincent Fan, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is lead author of "Perceived Access, Perceived Need for Treatment, and the Decision to Seek Care for COPD Exacerbations<https://bit.ly/4ndNyey>" in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Dr. Nicholas Johnson, associate professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is senior author of "Advanced Airway Practice Patterns and Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes<https://bit.ly/4nCfCb6>" in JAMA Network Open. DOM co-author is Thomas Rea.

Dr. H. Nina Kim, professor (Allergy & Infectious Disease) is co-author of "State-of-the-Art Review: Hepatitis C<https://bit.ly/4n5fYXP>" in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Dr. José López, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is co-author of "Kupffer cells are essential for platelet-mediated thrombopoietin generation in the liver<https://bit.ly/4gxUUaj>" in PNAS.

Dr. Andrew Luks, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is senior author of "Ignoble Gas: The Questionable Role of Xenon in Rapid Ascents of Mount Everest<https://bit.ly/42zdDfx>" in High Altitude Medicine & Biology. The research is also referenced in "They Said Xenon Helped Them Set a Record on Everest. Now Scientists Are Questioning If It Really Had an Impact.<https://bit.ly/4px7hao>" in Outside.

Dr. Peter Nelson, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is senior author of "Multiomic assessments of LNCaP and derived cell strains reveal determinants of prostate cancer pathobiology<https://bit.ly/47QipJo>" in JCI.

Dr. Graham Nichol, professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of "Advanced Airway Devices and End-Tidal Capnography Trends in Cardiac Arrest: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial<https://bit.ly/3KamPAP>" in JAMA Network Open.

Dr. Hongyang "Jo" Pi, acting instructor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is lead author of "Integrative Multiomics for Prognostic Assessment in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension<https://bit.ly/4grEtMt>" in Circulation: Heart Failure. DOM co-authors are Samuel Rayner, Peter Leary, and Sina Gharib.

Dr. Joshua Schiffer, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of "Molnupiravir clinical trial simulation suggests that polymerase chain reaction underestimates antiviral potency against SARS-CoV-2<https://bit.ly/42uU4oK>" in JCI.

Dr. Tessa Steel, assistant professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) wrote the editorial "One in Six: Substance-Related Critical Care<https://bit.ly/4gr8YC6>" in Critical Care Medicine.

Dr. Andrew White, professor (General Internal Medicine) is lead author of "Ensuring Safe Practice by Late Career Physicians<https://bit.ly/4mqvjkR>" in the Annals of Internal Medicine. DOM co-author is Thomas Gallagher.


In the news
Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is quoted in "Inside the CDC vaccine panel's high-stakes meeting: Science, politics and the future of vaccination<https://cbsn.ws/46uNGPK>" from CBS News, and participated in a Q&A on vaccine safety and recommendation changes in the U.S.<https://bit.ly/4gyE1Mz> for the UW SPH blog.

Dr. Vishesh Kapur, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is quoted in "Hate the time change? New evidence says it could even harm your health<https://bit.ly/42jXzhZ>" in the Washington Post.

Dr. Mary-Claire King, professor (Medical Genetics) talks about her background, her research, and her approach to science on "A Trailblazing Geneticist Reflects On Her Life And Work<https://bit.ly/3K95acK>" on Science Friday.

Dr. Coralynn Sack, associate professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in "Wildfire smoke to drift into greater Seattle area, impacting air quality<https://bit.ly/46pMuNr>" from FOX 13 News.


Events of interest
Federal Policy Town Hall
The next federal policy town hall<https://bit.ly/4mbo4gw> will be held on Sept. 26, 3-4pm, via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/98151483608>
. In addition to discussing research, federal funding, the status of legal action and more, Dr. John Lynch will discuss COVID-19 vaccines.


Weekly Calendar, September 22-26, 2025
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.


Coming up
Medicine Grand Rounds
Save the dates: The 2025 recipients of our Chair of Medicine Scholars Awards (Drs. John Bui, acting assistant professor, Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Linzee Mabrey, acting instructor, Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; Albert Yeh, acting assistant professor, Hematology and Oncology) will be presenting our next Medicine Grand Rounds on Oct. 3, 12-1pm in D209 (Turner Auditorium) or via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/812197730>


Upcoming Grand Rounds:

  *   Equity Academic Scholar Award presentations (Justin Bullock, Tijana Milinic, Khai Tram), Oct. 17
  *   State of the department (Trish Kritek), Nov. 7
  *   Fialkow Scholar Award presentation (Jennifer Ross), Nov. 21
  *   Kirby Lecture (Yonatan Grad, Harvard), Dec. 5
  *   Title TBD (Reena Mehra), Dec. 19

________________________________

Care of hospitalized patients with substance use disorders
The Substance Use Research and Education (SURE)<https://bit.ly/46aBi8D> unit is presenting a free CME-accredited half-day event titled Care of Hospitalized Patients with Substance Use Disorders. Oct. 3, 8am-12:30pm, HMC R&T Auditorium. Register for this event<https://bit.ly/4nc2idV>.

________________________________

New faculty welcome and orientation
New faculty who have joined the Department of Medicine since October 1, 2024, are welcomed and encouraged to attend a new faculty welcome and orientation workshop.
Topics include career development perspectives and resources, clinical programs introduction, and opportunities and resources for educators. Breakout sessions will be available based on career interests. We are offering two sessions: Oct. 9, 1-4:30pm and Oct. 31, 8:30-12pm. Both sessions will be held on the UWMC-Montlake Campus, South Campus Center 301. Please RSVP<https://bit.ly/4g8AS5V> and contact Dr. Cynthia Ko<mailto:cwko at uw.edu>, associate chair for faculty affairs, if you have any questions.

________________________________

Women in Medicine & Science faculty leadership workshop
Save the date! The UW Medicine Women in Medicine & Science (WIMS) Committee has announced the 2025-26 Women Faculty Leadership Workshop series. The first one, "Own Your Voice: From Core Values to Confident Communication" will be held on Oct. 15, 4-5pm and will be co-led by Dr. Abby Hussein, clinical assistant professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases). For more information and to register, please visit the WIMS website<https://bit.ly/3aHoGbp>.

________________________________

K and career development grant awardee networking event
Save the date! A networking event designed to foster community, connection, and collaboration among K-awardees in the Department of Medicine will be held on Oct. 16, 3-5pm at the Vista Café in the Foege Building. The event will be kicked off by Dr. Trish Kritek, interim chair of the Department of Medicine. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn more about departmental research resources from Drs. Conrad Liles (vice chair of research) and Nisha Bansal (assistant vice chair of clinical research). Drinks, appetizers and a light dinner will be served. Register by Sept. 26<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/bit.ly/4mbkbYY__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!kmjkXGugpcbgHT9e3ZD28p7H3RvxwcnxShJC5DbtYIf_SHvt6fnESSS9Ynl_k0prfogOHdh2EXmfFk1hldjmLw$> to reserve your spot.

________________________________

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


[cid:image020.png at 01DC297F.14519AB0]<https://bit.ly/3WsMqs5>[cid:image021.jpg at 01DC297F.14519AB0]<http://www.facebook.com/UWDeptMedicine>[cid:image022.jpg at 01DC297F.14519AB0]<https://www.instagram.com/uwdeptmedicine/>[cid:image023.png at 01DC297F.14519AB0]<https://www.linkedin.com/company/department-of-medicine-university-of-washington/posts/?feedView=all>[cid:image024.png at 01DC297F.14519AB0]<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/20250919/8db7b7aa/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/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 45748 bytes
Desc: image002.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0001.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2651 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0002.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image004.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 18437 bytes
Desc: image004.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0003.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image005.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1588 bytes
Desc: image005.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0004.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image006.emz
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 82599 bytes
Desc: image006.emz
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment.obj>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image007.png
Type: image/png
Size: 11622 bytes
Desc: image007.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image008.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 7229 bytes
Desc: image008.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image009.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1623 bytes
Desc: image009.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image010.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 16646 bytes
Desc: image010.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image011.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2418 bytes
Desc: image011.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0008.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image012.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 58017 bytes
Desc: image012.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0009.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image013.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 3296 bytes
Desc: image013.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0010.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image014.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 52740 bytes
Desc: image014.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0011.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image015.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 2618 bytes
Desc: image015.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0012.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image016.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 13775 bytes
Desc: image016.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0013.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image017.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1617 bytes
Desc: image017.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0014.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image018.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 17787 bytes
Desc: image018.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0015.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image019.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1701 bytes
Desc: image019.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0016.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image020.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1238 bytes
Desc: image020.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image021.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 5443 bytes
Desc: image021.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0017.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image022.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 7566 bytes
Desc: image022.jpg
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0018.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image023.png
Type: image/png
Size: 1852 bytes
Desc: image023.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0002.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image024.png
Type: image/png
Size: 3421 bytes
Desc: image024.png
URL: <http://mailman11.u.washington.edu/pipermail/domweek/attachments/20250919/8db7b7aa/attachment-0003.png>