[domweek] DOM Week, January 12-16, 2026

[Department of Medicine weekly newsletter via domweek]

DOM Week
January 9, 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>)



Tisha Wang will be the new chair of the Department of Medicine
[Tisha Wang]Dr. Tisha Wang will become the seventh chair of the Department of Medicine on June 1, 2026. She is currently professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and senior executive clinical vice chair in the Department of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dr. Wang received her medical degree in 2002 with highest honors from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and completed her residency and pulmonary/critical care medicine fellowship at UCLA.

In her current role as senior executive clinical vice chair, she leads the UCLA Department of Medicine's expansive clinical practice, managing staffing, improving productivity and quality metrics, and driving operational efficiency and strategic growth across the enterprise.

She is an internationally recognized expert in a rare lung disease, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), and has served as principal investigator on numerous NIH- and industry-funded clinical and translational trials.

In addition to her role as UW DOM chair, she will also join the UW Medicine executive leadership team as associate vice president of clinical transformation. Dr. Wang views this role as a way to positively influence the system in a way that makes it easier for the Department of Medicine to successfully expand its clinical footprint.

"I'm thrilled to join this incredible community as your next chair," she says. "Even more importantly, I cannot wait to meet everyone and learn about the work that drives and inspires you-whether in clinical care, research, education, or community engagement. My commitment is to listen, learn, and collaborate with you to develop shared goals that will make our department an even better place to work and enable us to deliver exceptional care to the communities we serve across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. I'm excited to get started and look forward to all we will accomplish together!"

Learn more about her on our news site<https://bit.ly/49rtuPV>.


Awards
Reminder: John R. Pettit Endowed Leadership Award
Nominations are being accepted until noon on Jan. 31 for the annual John R. Pettit Endowed Leadership Award<https://give.uwmedicine.org/pettit-award/>, which honors the long and varied service of its namesake. 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.


DEIB news
MLK Day rally and march
[image005.png at 01DA3FF1]In recognition of Martin Luther King Day, the Department of Medicine Diversity Council, in partnership with UW Medicine, welcomes support and participation in the MLK Day rally and march<https://bit.ly/3oMah3a> on Jan. 19.

The event will commence at Garfield High School, and DOM participants will meet at the bottom of the stairs in front of the Garfield High School auditorium at 12:30pm for the march (additional workshops are also available earlier in the day).

Please let Sean Greenlee<mailto:seang151 at uw.edu> or Dave Horne<mailto:dnorne at uw.edu> know if you are thinking of attending or have any questions.


Research news
American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship
[Dabin Yeum]Dr. Dabin Yeum, postdoctoral scholar (General Internal Medicine) has been awarded an American Heart Association (AHA) Postdoctoral Fellowship, which targets early career scientists. The title of her project is: "Hypothalamic gliosis and genetic risk as early indicators of cardiometabolic risk."

Learn more on our news site<https://bit.ly/451Dluy>.

________________________________

Research Mentor Education (RME) course
The UW School of Medicine Office of Research & Graduate Education has partnered with the SOM Office of Faculty Affairs and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Office of Education and Training (OET) in offering a formal research mentor education program. This program teaches mentors how to improve mentorship relationships at all research career stages and promote cultural change that values diversifying the research workforce.

Several in-person (single-day) and virtual (two half-day) sessions will be offered from January through May. View session dates and register<https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=W9229i_wGkSZoBYqxQYL0hjF7BnGasdNvSWPV_b8_plURUJBRkY0RlM5UFdYOVowOVVTMFJNVzYwMi4u&route=shorturl>.


Education news
Call for applications: Invent Clinical Scholars Program (T32)
Applications are now being accepted for Invent Clinical Scholars, a new NIH-funded T32 training program at Seattle Children's. This program is designed to prepare physician-scientists to become global leaders in the clinical pharmacology of biotherapeutics. Candidates must be MD or DO physicians (with or without a PhD) who are in their first year of clinical fellowship training in an ACGME-accredited program. Applications are due Feb. 6. More information about the program can be found on their website<https://bit.ly/3Nbs9FH>.


Clinical news
UW Medical Center Recognized in '100 Great Hospitals'
UW Medical Center has received national recognition in the annual list of "100 great hospitals in America" by Becker's Hospital Review. The publication describes UW Medical Center as a regional and national referral hub for advanced care in such fields as solid organ transplantation, cancer care through our relationship with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, cardiac care, stroke, multiple sclerosis, robotics-assisted surgery and Level 4 neonatal intensive care. It also highlights UW Medical Center's historical achievement as the first hospital in the world to earn the Magnet designation for nursing leadership.


Recent publications
Dr. Aude Chapuis, associate professor (Hematology and Oncology) is senior author of "A CD8αβ co-receptor modified to contain an intracellular CD28 signaling tail enhances TCR-engineered T cell function independent of solid-tumor-associated co-stimulatory ligands<https://go.nature.com/3Z1Hn2v>" in Nature Communications. DOM co-authors are Michael Schweizer and Phillip Greenberg.

Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is co-author of "Estimated Burden of COVID-19 Illnesses, Medical Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths in the US From October 2022 to September 2024<https://bit.ly/4suRavJ>" in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Taylor Coston, fellow (Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine) is lead author of "Pre-Referral Antibiotics and Mortality Among Adults With Sepsis in Southeast Asia: A Secondary Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study<https://bit.ly/49Lb660>" in Critical Care Medicine. DOM co-author is T. Eoin West.

Dr. Barak Gaster, professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of "Acceptable standards for clinic-based digital cognitive assessments: Recommendations from the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease<https://bit.ly/4q9Jayx>" in Alzheimer's & Dementia.

Drs. Jenny Kanter, research associate professor, and Karin Bornfeldt, professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) are co-authors of "Non-remnant triglyceride-rich lipoproteins due to lipoprotein lipase deficiency increase atherosclerosis in mice<https://go.nature.com/4stFARk>" in Nature Communications.

Dr. Catherine Liu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is lead author of "Tackling antimicrobial resistance in people who are immunocompromised: leveraging diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship<https://bit.ly/3L3EF9E>" in the Lancet Infectious Diseases. DOM co-author is Emily Rosen.

Dr. Graham Nichol, professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of "The ADVANCE Clinical Research Network Past, Present, and Future: Accelerating Partnerships for Patient-Centered Research in Community-based Primary Care Settings<https://bit.ly/49LGAJd>" in Medical Care.

Drs. Warren Phipps, associate professor, and Jim Boonyaratanakornkit, assistant professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) are co-authors of "Monoclonal neutralizing antibodies elicited by infection with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus reveal critical sites of vulnerability on gH/gL<https://bit.ly/4qgiNXQ>" in PLoS Pathogens.

Dr. Londyn Robinson, fellow (Rheumatology) is co-author of "Corticosteroid Therapy and Long-Term Outcomes of Post-Infectious Inflammatory Syndrome in Non-HIV Immunosuppressed Cryptococcal Meningitis: A Multicenter Case Series<https://bit.ly/4aVL8hr>" in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Michael Schwartz, professor (Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition) is senior author of "Chewing the fat: a novel mechanism for lipolysis<https://go.nature.com/4qvAdjv>" in Nature Metabolism.

Dr. Andrew White, professor (General Internal Medicine) is co-author of "Nudges to Clinicians and Patients for Influenza Vaccines During Visits: The BE IMMUNE Randomized Clinical Trial<https://bit.ly/4psNJCY>" in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Dr. Eugene Yang, professor of clinical practice (Cardiology) is co-author of "Increasing cardiovascular mortality in young adults with diabetes mellitus as a contributing cause in the United States<https://bit.ly/3N0mFxx>" in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, and "Associations between neighborhood socioeconomic status with depressive symptoms, and psychological distress among Asian American adults in New York City<https://go.nature.com/45081ML>" in Scientific Reports.


In the news
Dr. Helen Chu, professor (Allergy and Infectious Diseases) is quoted in "RFK Jr. overhauls childhood vaccine schedule to resemble Denmark's in unprecedented move<https://bit.ly/49piT86>" from NBC News.

Dr. Rajnish Mehrotra, professor and head (Nephrology) wrote a new year's message<https://bit.ly/4qB87md> as president of the International Society of Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD).


Events of interest
Medicine 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>.


Weekly Calendar, January 12-16, 2026
Our events calendar is posted on our website<https://medicine.uw.edu/news/trumba-calendar>.


Coming up
Federal Policy Town Hall
The next Federal Policy Town Hall will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 4pm, via zoom<https://washington.zoom.us/j/98151483608>
. Please submit your questions in advance<https://discover.uw.edu/MTMxLUFRTy0yMjUAAAGfOnlBl-y-ytC1rkmA4XZxvhvyvvSvXuftvn5f830avWriw6dFxdiChxNoHH0z838Yh68NZzQ=>.

________________________________

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


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