[domweek] DOM Week, February 16-20, 2026

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

DOM Week
February 13, 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>)


Faculty news
In memoriam: Nirmal Charan
[Nirmal Charan]Dr. Nirmal Charan, professor emeritus (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), passed away on December 19, 2025, surrounded by his family. After completing medical school in India and residency training in Auckland, New Zealand, Charan came to the UW his pulmonary fellowship.

During his tenure at the Boise VA, he built the bronchoscopy service, pulmonary function laboratory, pulmonary consult service, and significantly expanded the ICU. He also launched a pulmonary research program in close collaboration with the UW Pulmonary Division, focusing on the anatomy and physiology of the bronchial circulation.

He leaves behind a lasting legacy through the students, residents, fellows, and research partners who learned from him and remained close friends throughout his life. His wife, Dr. Paula Carvalho, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine), plans to honor his legacy with a scholarship established in his name.

Learn more about him on our news site<https://bit.ly/4qAr5Ji>.


Clinical news
Preventing colorectal cancer through early detection
[Rachel Issaka]Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the United States, and significant racial, ethnic, and sociodemographic disparities continue to affect screening rates and survival outcomes.

Launched in 2021 and led by Dr. Rachel Issaka, associate professor (Gastroenterology), the Fred Hutch/UW Medicine Population Health Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening Program<https://bit.ly/3O3ZUJu> aims to ensure that colorectal cancer prevention, screening, and follow‑up care are high-quality, equitable, and accessible for all patients.

Since its launch, systemwide screening rates have increased from 62% to 73%, closing more than half of the gap toward the national 80% screening goal. By focusing on outreach to adults ages 45–49, a group experiencing rising cancer incidence, the program has boosted screening rates in this population from 26% to 57%. The team is also initiating a new partnership with HealthPoint Community Health Center to expand access for patients across Washington State.

Learn more in the program’s recent annual report<https://bit.ly/4trlFDd>.


Research news
Evidence‑based exercise guidance for older cancer survivors
[Jose Garcia]Regular exercise is commonly recommended as part of cancer survivorship care for patients of all ages, but there is little consensus on guidance for patients 65 and older.

“Older adults now represent the majority of cancer survivors, yet most exercise guidelines were not developed with their unique needs in mind,” said Dr. Jose Garcia, professor (Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine).

An expert panel, consisting of Garcia and other leaders in the field, was convened to address these needs and develop credible, evidence-based recommendations for delivering safe, accessible and effective exercise programming for older cancer survivors.

The panel reported their findings in “Exercise recommendations for older adults living with and beyond cancer: A consensus statement by the Advancing Capacity to Integrate Exercise Into the Care of Older Cancer Survivors expert panel<https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.70252>,” recently published in Cancer.

Read the full story on our news site<https://bit.ly/4a9GgEr>.

________________________________

Statin side‑effect warnings overstate the risks
[Jeff Probstfield]According to research recently published in The Lancet<https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01578-8/fulltext>, statins do not increase the chance of 62 of the 66 side effects listed on the label. This study represents the most extensive evaluation to date of the evidence behind reported statin side effects. Researchers analyzed 19 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 124,000 participants, with an average follow‑up period of four and a half years.

Overall, the study found no significant excess risk with statins for nearly all of the conditions listed on the medicine’s packaging. These findings reinforce previous conclusions that any risks associated with statin therapy are greatly outweighed by their cardiovascular benefits.

“This research provides important reassurance for patients and clinicians alike,” says co-author Dr. Jeffrey Probstfield, professor emeritus (Cardiology). “Despite the long list of possible side effects on statin labels, the evidence shows that that nearly all of them occur at rates comparable to those seen with placebo. This study reinforces what we see in practice every day: statins are among the safest and most effective medications we have for preventing heart attacks and strokes.”

Read the full story on our news site<https://bit.ly/4coujw7>.

________________________________

Clinical trials recruitment support service
[Crystal Brown]Co-led by Dr. Crystal Brown, assistant professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) the ITHS Recruitment Support Service (RSS) offers free consultations to investigators every Wednesday to help with recruitment retention and representation goals. Consultations focus on study design, implementation strategies, recruitment and retention planning, and budget development.

The RSS consult team will review both your proposal and the context of implementation to identify the characteristics of participants likely to be reached, enrolled, and retained, and strategies to meet representation goals. Learn more and request a consult<https://www.iths.org/investigators/services/recruitment-support-service/>.


Recent publications
Dr. Rachel Bender Ignacio, associate professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is lead author of “Mpox in People With HIV: Predictors of Diagnosis, Outcomes, and Vaccine Effectiveness in a Multisite Cohort<https://bit.ly/3OEbTgY>” in Clinical Infectious Diseases. DOM co-authors are Adrienne Shapiro, Bridget Whitney, Heidi Crane, Joseph Delaney, Rob Fredericksen, H. Nina Kim, and Mari Kitahata.

Dr. Petter Bjornstad, professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) is senior author of “Metabolic surgery mitigates early kidney injury in obese youth with diabetes by suppressing mTORC1/JAK-STAT signaling<https://bit.ly/3OfQACk>” in JCI. DOM co-authors are Ye Ji Choi, Hailey Hampson, Kalie Tommerdahl, and Robert Nelson.

Drs. Crystal Brown, assistant professor, and Erin Kross, professor (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is co-author of “A ‘PalliPulm’ framework to improve palliative care education and practice in pulmonary–critical care medicine: an official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report<https://bit.ly/3ZpqbV5>” in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Drs. Ryan Cassaday, professor, Noam Kopmar, assistant professor, and Catherine Lee, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) are co-authors of “Blinatumomab Nonresponse Correlates with Poor Survival After Brexucabtagene<https://bit.ly/4aukOZA>” in Blood.

Dr. Julia Dombrowski, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is lead author of “Evidence-Informed Provision of Doxycycline Postexposure Prophylaxis for Prevention of Bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infections<https://bit.ly/4agBeGo>” in Clinical Infectious Diseases. DOM co-authors are Chase Cannon and Connie Celum.

Dr. Joel Kaufman, professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of “Air Pollution and the Progression of Physical Function Limitations and Disability in Aging Adults<https://bit.ly/4qwoy2P>” in JAMA Network Open.

Dr. John Lynch, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of “‘I Didn't Know Him Before the Pandemic… Now He's on My Speed Dial’: Strengthening Collaboration Between Infectious Diseases Physicians and State and Local Public Health for Future Public Health Emergencies<https://bit.ly/3Mo7Jt2>” in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Paul Pottinger, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of “The Role of β-Lactam Antibiotics in Treating Mycobacterium abscessus: From Laboratory Insights to Clinical Applications and the Case for Clinical Trials<https://bit.ly/4kIS9ov>” in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Jeffrey Probstfield, professor emeritus (Cardiology) is co-author of “Assessment of adverse effects attributed to statin therapy in product labels: a meta-analysis of double-blind randomised controlled trials<https://bit.ly/4rfm628>” in The Lancet. See also the related editorial, “Statin safety: when warnings outlive the evidence<https://bit.ly/4qGTiOT>.”

Dr. Vincent Raikhel, assistant professor, is lead author and Dr. Jeffrey Redinger, assistant professor (General Internal Medicine) is senior author of “Building an implementation framework for directly observed feedback by attending physicians<https://bit.ly/4ahDko8>” in PLoS One. DOM co-author is Gabrielle Berger.

Dr. Karl Reis, R2, is lead author of “Characterizing the dual burden of stigma in people with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and HIV co-infection in South Africa: A mixed methods, prospective cohort study<https://bit.ly/3M2LngC>” in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Dr. Rudolph Rodriguez, professor (Nephrology) is lead author of “American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology: Pressing Issues and Insights<https://bit.ly/46MNnjW>” in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Dr. Joanne Stekler, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of “The Critical Importance of Clinical Use Case to Inform Point-of-Care Technology Development: A Case Study of HIV Nucleic Acid Assays in the United States<https://bit.ly/4tGANwL>” in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Roland Walter, professor (Hematology and Oncology) is co-author of “Pivekimab Sunirine in Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm<https://bit.ly/4rqhoyg>” in Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Eugene Yang, professor of clinical practice (Cardiology) is co-author of “PREVENT Equation Performance in Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Groups<https://bit.ly/4rNcJX0>” in JAMA Network Open.

Drs. Albert Yeh, acting assistant professor (Hematology and Oncology), John Amory, professor (General Internal Medicine) and Geoffrey Hill, professor (Hematology and Oncology) are co-authors of “Targeting donor XCR1+ and CD11b+ dendritic cells prevents Th1 and Th17-dependent GVHD within the Gastrointestinal Tract<https://bit.ly/4kwtKTb>” in Blood.


In the news
Dr. Meghan Kiefer, associate professor (General Internal Medicine) was interviewed for the MedEd Insights podcast, “Before You Fail – What Medical Education Gets Wrong About Risks, Readiness, and Rescue<https://bit.ly/4asR9jx>.”

Dr. Suzanne Watnick, professor (Nephrology) is quoted in “Counseling Patients About Alcohol In the Light Of the New Dietary Guidelines<https://bit.ly/4aqOW9P>” in Medscape.

Dr. Eugene Yang, professor of clinical practice (Cardiology) is quoted in “Good News for Patients Worried About Statin Side Effects: Study Finds Most Never Happen<https://wb.md/4rtyxrf>” in Medscape.


Events of interest
Quiet week: February 16-20
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.

Upcoming quiet weeks
April 13-17
August 3-7
November 23-27
December 21-25


 Weekly Calendar, February 16-20, 2026
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.


Coming up
UW Medicine Community Building Circles for Grief & Moral Injury
The Center for Restorative Practices is partnering with the Office of Well-Being to provide space for those in our community who are grieving and feeling challenged by professional, personal, national and world events. The focus of the event will be learning how moral injury contributes to and exacerbates grief and stress and proving space via community building circles to be in community for support and collectivistic grieving and coping. March 12, 3-4:30pm, South Campus Center. Light refreshments will be provided as well as mental health support during and after the event. Event will begin with a short presentation on moral injury and a brief meditation which will be followed by community building circles. Please RSVP for this event<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.addevent.com/event/1bcmqjc5z7jr__;!!K-Hz7m0Vt54!i7VmAH79jdVP7VHcpgoxFpOtcWtLgwuJkRk4aWBJk687ozUFIcwu2btj03L1VfpGYIOjkJXy-NNlIxE$>.

Gender Equity Grand Rounds
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.

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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