Dialysis Clinic, Inc. surprised Professor Emeritus Ed Rutsky, MD, this week with the announcement that DCI will contribute $1.5 million to the Division of Nephrology to establish an endowed chair in his honor. Attendees at the NRTC conference where the announcement took place report that for the first time in memory, Dr. Rutsky was rendered speechless! The Department is most grateful for Fred Steading, administrator for one of the Birmingham DCI units, and Azita Takeshian, a former UAB nephrology fellow, who were instrumental in making this enduring tribute to Dr. Rutsky possible. 

Just in time for February and American Heart Month! Mark Sasse, MD (Cardiovascular Disease) recently performed a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for the first black Chief of Police in Selma, Alabama. The procedure has given the patient a new lease on life. Read the UAB News story here. 

Surya Bhatt, MD (Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine) was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association for the discovery that a phenomenon linked to smoking known as expiratory central airway collapse (ECAC) may have a stronger connection to underlying lung disease than previously believed. Read the UAB News story here.

Jennifer Pollock, PhD (Nephrology) has been elected to the Council of the American Physiological Society. 

The story of the 1917 Clinic is filled with countless challenges, losses, hard work, compassionate care, cutting edge research, comprehensive prevention, fighting stigma, and lives won. The Department heartily congratulates the Clinic on its 28th anniversary. Thanks for all you do to serve our community!

Eman Gohar, PhD (Nephrology) and Mercedes Morales-Aleman, PhD (Preventive Medicine) were selected for 2016 Career Enhancement Awards from the Office of Postdoctoral Education. Dr. Gohar also won a travel award. 

Katherine LaVie, MD (Infectious Diseases) was published in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, “Neutropenia Associated with Long-Term Ceftaroline Use.”

Sam Dalvi, MD (Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology), Peter Phan, MD (General Internal Medicine) and Rita Paschal, MD (Hematology and Oncology) have been selected for the Society of General Internal Medicine’s 2016 TEACH Program (Teaching Educators Across the Continuum of Healthcare). 

The Residency Program welcomes its first ever triplets! Tim Peters, MD (PGY3) and his wife, Katherine, are the proud parents of an adorable trio: Georgia, Jack, and Alice. Everyone is doing well, and three-year-old big sister, Lucy, is proud as a peacock. Anyone who would like to contribute to the diaper drive or provide other helpful baby items, please contact Yolanda Horton.

Coming next week to Medical Grand Rounds: George Tsokos, MD, Professor and Chief of Rheumatology, Harvard University/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will present the Holley Prize Lecture, “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Novel Basic and Clinical Concepts.”

View this week's slides.

Do you have Good News to share? If so, please email the Department of Medicine's Director of Communications, Carolyn Walsh.