TUCSON, Ariz. — Among recent new hires, honors and awards at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson are the following news items:
Department of Medicine Chair Recognized by Rotary Club
Monica Kraft, MD, has been given the Paul Harris Fellowship Award from Rotary International for her contributions to precision medicine as both principal investigator for the University of Arizona – Banner Health All of Us Research Program and a renowned basic and translational physician-scientist specializing in precision medicine remedies to treat severe asthma.
“I am very honored to be recognized by a group that is so important to the Tucson community,” said Dr. Kraft, who is chair of the college’s Department of Medicine, the Robert and Irene Flinn Endowed Chair in Medicine, a BIO5 Institute member, and deputy director of the Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center at UArizona Health Sciences.
The award was presented Feb. 4 on behalf of the Rotary Club of Tucson Sunrise chapter. It comes with a pin, certificate and $1,000 donation from the club in Dr. Kraft’s name to the Rotary Foundation.
Dr. Kraft will speak at a weekly virtual meeting of the club on Feb. 11 at 7 a.m. Club President-Elect Ben Lawrance, PhD, said he and other members are excited to hear Dr. Kraft’s presentation. Dr. Lawrance, an Australian native and interim chair of the Department of History in the UArizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said he was particularly interested in Dr. Kraft’s research, since he and a nephew suffer from asthma.
“Australia has one of if not the highest incidences of asthma in the world per capita,” he said. “When I was a child, it inhibited me quite a bit – but once I left Australia, it almost disappeared. Now, it only surfaces when I'm exerting myself.”
UArizona Research Makes ‘Top Studies of 2020’ for National Sleep Journal
Department of Medicine professor Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, and Department of Psychiatry associate professor Michael Grandner, PhD, both authored papers named among the “Top Studies of 2020” published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
Dr. Parthasarathy was senior author on the paper, “Effect of Wearables on Sleep in Healthy Individuals: A Randomized Crossover Trial and Validation Study,” published May 15 and ranked No. 7 out of those with the “Top 10 Altmetric Scores” of the year. The score is an indicator of the amount of attention and reach an item received.
UArizona coauthors on the paper include: Sarah Berryhill; Chris Morton; Adam Dean; Adam Berryhill; Natalie Provencio-Dean; Salma Patel, MD, MPH; Lauren Estep, MD; Daniel Combs, MD; Saif Mashaqi, MD, and Lynn B. Gerald, PhD, MSPH.
The same Dr. Parthasarathy paper also was No. 3 on the journal’s list for “Top 15 Combined Pageviews and PDF Downloads” for 2020. At No. 7 on that list also was a paper by Dr. Grandner, “Narcolepsy and COVID-19: Sleeping on an Opportunity?” that appeared Aug. 15. The UArizona co-author on the narcolepsy paper was Fabian-Xosé Fernandez, PhD.
Dr. Parthasarathy is chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; director, Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, UArizona Health Sciences; and medical director, Center for Sleep Disorders, Banner – University Medical Center Tucson. Dr. Grandner is director of the Department of Psychiatry’s Sleep and Health Research Program and Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic.
Pulmonary Division Adds Three Faculty Members
Three new physicians have joined the faculty at the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine in the Department of Medicine. All three start as clinical assistant professors.
David C. Miller, MD, is now medical director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program after finishing a Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at the College of Medicine – Tucson. He is involved in clinical research and quality improvement projects with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Therapeutics Development Network and Cystic Fibrosis Learning Network. His medical degree is from the University of Pittsburgh and he did his internal medicine residency training at Harvard’s Beth Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
Lauren E. Estep, MD, earned her medical degree from Penn State University and completed her internal medicine residency training at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She also completed two fellowship programs – in pulmonary and critical care, and sleep medicine – at the College of Medicine – Tucson. Her research interests include microbiome and obesity patterns in patients with sleep apnea and drugs that may alter this relationship.
Nora Odisho, DO, graduated from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, Texas, and did her residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She completed the Allergy and Immunology Fellowship at the College of Medicine – Tucson and now holds a joint appointment with the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology in the Department of Pediatrics. She provides evaluation and treatment for allergic and immunologic conditions, including asthma, for all age groups.
In other pulmonary division news:
- Division chief Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, was named president-elect for the Sleep Research Society Foundation. He’ll begin serving a two-year term as president in June.
- Associate professor Afshin Sam, MD, was named to the board of directors for the American Lung Association’s Arizona Chapter.
New Division Chief, Child Cardiac Imaging Specialist Join Pediatrics Team
The UArizona Department of Pediatrics announced two new associate professors: Helene Felman, MD, and Andrew Hoyer, MD.
Dr. Felman will serve as General Pediatrics Division chief. She is a pediatrician with expertise in advocacy, well child care, and treating behavioral issues such as depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and anxiety. Her research interests include toxic childhood stress and adverse childhood experiences.
Dr. Felman completed her undergraduate and medical school studies at the University of Chicago, her pediatric residency training at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and a Residency Fellowship in Health Policy at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. Learn more here.
Dr. Hoyer specializes in fetal cardiology and pediatric echocardiography. He treats children with heart murmurs, chest pain, palpitations and fainting, and offers screenings for familial heart problems from fetal life to adulthood. His research interest is in prevention of congenital heart disease in children and new imaging technology uses for pediatric cardiac care.
He received specialized children’s heart and imaging training at Boston Children’s Hospital and Oregon Health & Science University. Dr. Hoyer did his residency training at the Children’s National Medical Center - George Washington University. Learn more here.
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NOTE: Photos available here – https://arizona.box.com/s/3a5n1x9e9p8sr585i7n1r7g0r8oag673
About the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson
The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson is shaping the future of medicine through state-of-the-art medical education programs, groundbreaking research and advancements in patient care in Arizona and beyond. Founded in 1967, the college boasts more than 50 years of innovation, ranking among the top medical schools in the nation for research and primary care. Through the university's partnership with Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country, the college is leading the way in academic medicine. For more information, visit medicine.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn).
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UArizona Health Sciences includes the Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona, the greater Southwest and around the world to provide next-generation education, research and outreach. A major economic engine, Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram).