[domweek] DOM Week, February 9-13, 2026

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

DOM Week
February 6, 2026
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: Equity Academic Scholar Award
We are currently accepting nominations for the Equity Academic Scholar Award. Nomination deadline: April 1. The Equity Academic Scholar Award<https://bit.ly/4gC3Pq7> assists highly qualified and meritorious trainees at the rank of senior fellow/acting instructor and/or acting assistant professor in their transition to the roles of clinician-scholar, physician-scientist, research-scientist, and principal investigator (PI) as newly appointed assistant professors


Faculty news
Election to American Society of Clinical Investigation
[Petter Bjornstad, Helen Chu, Andrew Stergachis]Congratulations to the newly elected members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Petter Bjornstad, professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition), Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) and Dr. Andrew Stergachis, associate professor (Medical Genetics).

Election to the ASCI is a milestone in the physician-scientist career path. The society is an honor society of physician-scientists, who translate findings in the laboratory to the advancement of clinical practice. They will be inducted at the annual meeting in April.


DEIB news
February is Black History Month
[cid:image004.png at 01DC9780.5FE3E090]February is Black History Month, celebrating the achievements, influences and legacies of Black Americans.

Learn more about the story behind Black History Month at the Office of Healthcare Equity’s observance page<https://bit.ly/3NWVG6n> and find more Black History Month resources available from Vitals<https://bit.ly/3NNF80J>.

________________________________

Gender Equity Awards and Grand Rounds
There’s still time to nominate a colleague for the Barbara Jung Gender Equity Champion Awards<https://medicine.uw.edu/diversity/gender-equity/awards>, recognizing and celebrating individuals who are supporting the success of women/gender minorities in medicine through mentorship, leadership, advocacy, teaching and/or research. Nominations are due Feb. 20.

Gender Equity Grand Rounds
[Julie Silver]Please save the date for our Gender Equity Grand Rounds on April 3 (via zoom). We are delighted to welcome Dr. Julie Silver as our presenter. Dr. Silver serves as senior associate dean for faculty experience and success at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She previously founded and directed Harvard’s CME‑accredited course, “Career Advancement and Leadership for Women in Healthcare,” which has trained thousands of physicians and healthcare leaders across the U.S. and around the world.



Clinical news
Patient story: UW Medicine’s first altruistic living kidney donor
[Icon of kidneys being held by 2 sets of clasped hands]Linda Herbert, a Walla Walla ICU nurse, followed a powerful impulse to donate a kidney to a stranger and became UW Medicine’s first non-directed living donor in 2001.

Originally intending to donate anonymously, Linda eventually formed a profound bond with the recipient of her kidney and her family. 24 years later, Linda is still in good health and reflects on how offering her healthy kidney to someone in need became a gift that changed two lives at once.

Learn more about her and her story on the Nephrology website<https://bit.ly/3LOcNGZ>.



Recent publications
Dr. Christina Baik, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) is co-author of “Repotrectinib in NTRK fusion-positive advanced solid tumors: a phase 1/2 trial<https://go.nature.com/4qn374e>” in Nature Medicine.

Dr. Noelle Benzekri, assistant professor, is lead author and Dr. Peter Rabinowitz, adjunct professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is senior author of “The Medicine for a Changing Planet curriculum: a mixed methods evaluation<https://bit.ly/4qgkxj7>” in Frontiers in Public Health. This work was funded by the UW Center for Leadership and Innovation in Medical Education (CLIME). Dr. Benzekri will be presenting, “Development and Evaluation of the Medicine for a Changing Planet curriculum’ at the CLIME work in progress meeting<https://clime.washington.edu/clime-events/> on Feb. 10.

Dr. Julianna Brutman, postdoctoral scholar, is lead author and Dr. Paul Valdmanis, associate professor (Medical Genetics) is senior author of “A common 19 bp APOE enhancer deletion is protective against Alzheimer's disease in African Americans<https://go.nature.com/4qnOjSN>” in Nature Communications. DOM co-authors are Tina Busald, Eli Kaufman, Nzinga Hendricks, Suman Jayadev, Ellen Wijsman, and Elizabeth Blue.

Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of “Implementation Does Not Occur in a Vacuum: Sustaining a Comprehensive and Global Vision for HIV Research<https://bit.ly/4kjxYNy>” in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, and “The Erosion of a Pillar of Public Health: ACIP’s Role and the Future of U.S. Vaccine Policy Post–June 2025<https://bit.ly/4kgjzlo>” in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Drs. Madhav Dhodapkar, professor, and Andrew Portuguese, assistant professor (Hematology and Oncology) are co-authors of “Rethinking Multiple Myeloma Treatment: The Biological and Clinical Insights Guiding Immune-Based Combinations<https://bit.ly/45Ql041>” in Blood Cancer Discovery.

Dr. Emily Ford, assistant professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of “Epidemiology of Healthcare Facility-Associated Nontuberculous Mycobacteria From 2012 Through 2020 in a 10-Hospital Network in the United States<https://bit.ly/4kncvn8>” in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Jose Garcia, professor (Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine) is co-author of “Efficacy and Safety of Once-Weekly Lonapegsomatropin in Adults With Growth Hormone Deficiency: foresiGHt Trial Results<https://bit.ly/4qecDqm>” in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Dr. Sarah Haeger, fellow, is lead author and Dr. Nisha Bansal, professor (Nephrology) and assistant vice chair, is senior author of “A Step Forward Toward Precision Diuretic Management in Patients with Acute Decompensated Heart Failure and Diuretic Resistance<https://bit.ly/4r0QQ6R>” in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Nicholas Johnson, associate professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is co-author of “Estimated Effectiveness of 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccination Against Severe COVID-19<https://bit.ly/4r0EZ8A>” in JAMA Network Open.

Dr. Ganesh Raghu, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is co-author of “Polygenic risk and rare variants in endotypes of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a genetic analysis of population-based and case-control cohorts<https://bit.ly/4tiyhfF>” in The Lancet Respiratory Diseases.

Dr. Rachael Stovall, acting assistant professor (Rheumatology) is lead author of “Sex Differences in Medication Discontinuation in Axial Spondyloarthritis<https://bit.ly/4rqCrR8>” in Arthritis Care & Research. DOM co-authors are Katherine Wysham and Namrata Singh.

Dr. Nicholas Wang, clinical instructor (General Internal Medicine) is lead author, and Dr. Vincent Fan, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is senior author of “The Impact of Treated and Untreated COPD Exacerbations on Long-Term Health-Related Quality of Life<https://bit.ly/4khjqhN>” in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases. DOM co-author is Jeffrey Edelman.

Dr. Katherine Wysham, assistant professor (Rheumatology) is senior author of “Exploring Factors Associated With Cognitive Impairment in Rheumatoid Arthritis<https://bit.ly/3NR02Mt>” in Arthritis Care & Research. DOM co-author is Jose Garcia.


In the news
Dr. Martha Billings, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is quoted in “Rising Temperatures Are Taking a Toll on Sleep Health<https://bit.ly/4a90psZ>” in Wired.

Dr. Katherine Bennett, associate professor (Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine) is quoted in “New Seattle health center offers all-in-one care for older adults<https://bit.ly/4tekdUD>” in the Seattle Times.

Dr. Shailender Bhatia, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is quoted in “Neoadjuvant Therapy Rises in Patients With Cancer<https://wb.md/3ZWkFJC>” in Medscape.

Dr. Kelley Branch, professor (Cardiology) is quoted in “Are Statins Truly Safe — And When Should You Take Them?<https://bit.ly/4klA9Au>” in Right as Rain.

Dr. David Carlbom, associate professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is quoted in “5 Surprising Facts About Sepsis — No, It’s Not Just an Infection<https://bit.ly/3MlPK6i>” in Right as Rain.

Dr. Thomas Gallagher, professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in “When the Doctor Needs a Checkup<https://bit.ly/4texA7g>” in the New York Times.

Dr. Scott Ramsey, professor (General Internal Medicine) is quoted in “Getting the best bang for your cancer prevention buck<https://bit.ly/3M2doov>” from Hutch News.

Dr. April Stempien-Otero, professor (Cardiology) is quoted in “Yes, Broken Hearts Are Real, and They Can Mimic a Heart Attack<https://bit.ly/46wOIeD>” in Right as Rain.



Weekly Calendar, February 9-13, 2026
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.


Coming up
CMFA Black History Month networking dinner
All are invited to the Committee on Mentorship & Faculty Advocacy (CMFA) Black History Month networking dinner on Feb. 25, 5:30-8pm at the UW Waterfront Activities Center. This dinner will be a time to gather as a community and share a meal from Island Soul. Please RSVP<https://bit.ly/49NQZnZ> by Feb. 20.

Women Faculty Day
Save the date! The theme for Women Faculty Day this year is “Empowered to Thrive: Well-Being for Women in Academic Medicine” and will feature Dr. Susan Reed, professor emeritus (Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology) as the Keynote Speaker. May 6, 9am-3:30pm, UW Center for Urban Horticulture Center. Please register for this event<https://bit.ly/3ZLnFbF>.



________________________________

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


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