Featured Spotlights

[From left: Michael Abecassis, MD, MBA, dean of the U of A College of Medicine – Tucson, with Tom Rogers, Ginny L. Clements and Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Cardiology and Sarver Heart Center director.]
Sarver Heart Center gets $2M in gifts to found cardiovascular research institute

Donations from longtime U of A supporters Ginny L. Clements and Tom Rogers pave the way for a new institute, the first of its kind in the Southwest, at the Sarver Heart Center.
[A smiling man stands outside in a blue sport coat, shirt and tie]
Connecting with James Liao, MD: A Q&A

The leader of the College of Medicine – Tucson’s largest department envisions an inclusive, collaborative environment for future health care professionals to thrive.
[A woman in a bed using a CPAP machine]
Peer support could help millions with sleep apnea slumber easier, study says

University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers, led by Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, Pulmonary division chief and director, Center for Sleep, Circadian & Neuroscience Research, found that a peer support intervention could be the key to helping people who struggle with CPAP machines get the care they need.
[Hsiao-Hui “Sherry” Chow, PhD, looks at a bottle containing a biospecimen. With a particular focus on breast cancer, Dr. Chow has spent more than two decades in cancer research at the U of A Cancer Center. In that time, she led the Cancer Prevention & Control Program for several years, beginning in 2015, and the Analytical Chemistry Shared Resource, since 2001. She plans to retire Oct. 31.]
Dr. Sherry Chow: Chemoprevention innovator advances Cancer Center’s impact on early-stage trials

With more than a quarter century’s worth of dedication to the University of Arizona Cancer Center and her retirement approaching, the value of Dr. Sherry Chow’s impactfulness has been felt far beyond her work with early-phase cancer prevention research trials.
[Dan Combs, MD, assistant professor in pediatrics and sleep medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Department of Medicine, holds his hand up to a young Down syndrome patient for a high five in an office.]
Dr. Dan Combs helps young Down syndrome patients get good ZZZs

The assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics, who serves as assistant director of scholarly projects for the Sleep Medicine Fellowship and a member of the Center for Sleep, Circadian & Neuroscience Research, focuses on improving sleep as the first step toward a better quality of life for his patients and their families.
[Four people, including Mel Hector, MD, of the University of Arizona’s College of Medicine – Tucson, watch a reading of Dr. Hector’s play.]
All the world’s a stage for prolific playwrighting professor

The Division of General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine’s Dr. Melvin “Mel” Hector, a prolific author of local theatrical works, finds inspiration all around him.
[Left to right: The Division of Endocrinology’s Jennifer Stern, PhD, and her trainees, Kassandra Bruner, Isabella Byington (“with our Wildcat mascot, Polly, short for ‘Polymerase’”), Yashika Shaju (Honors undergraduate student), and Thadeus Carolyn (2024 summer intern).]
DOM faculty see big future in summer research interns, trainees

For Endocrinology’s Dr. Jennifer Stern, one of 18 Department of Medicine faculty who offered opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to train in their labs, she finds joy in sharing her knowledge and advancing their and her studies in the process.
[Collage of photos of Bijin Thajudeen, MD, DEI champion for the Department of Medicine at the College of Medicine – Tucson: Dr. Thajudeen with a patient (main image), Dr. Thajudeen looking at a slide in a microscope (top of three images on right); Dr. Thajudeen at a DOM DEI Mixer hosted in August 2023 (center); and Dr. Thajudeen in the lobby of Banner – UMC Tucson, where he is medical director of the Division of Nephrology inpatient dialysis unit.]
Dr. Bijin Thajudeen: What it takes to be a DEI champion

The Division of Nephrology professor was one of two original diversity, equity and inclusion champions for the Department of Medicine in 2018 and shares what that experience has been like and the rewards in showcasing inclusive excellence as a participatory process that lifts all boats.
[Passenger on plane working on laptop at daybreak, with inset image of Sairam Parthasarathy, MD, Pulmonary division chief at the College of Medicine – Tucson and director of the Center for Sleep, Circadian and Neuroscience Research at the U of A Health Sciences]
Circadian rhythm disruption linked to lung inflammation

Researchers at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center for Sleep, Circadian and Neuroscience Research, led by Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, are studying the effects of circadian rhythm disruption on the lungs.
[Young child using inhaler with a spacer device.]
Asthma study tracks Tucsonans from birth into adulthood

A decades-long study at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Asthma and Airway Disease Research Center that has included multiple Department of Medicine faculty, including Drs. Stefano Guerra and Tara Carr, is improving lung health through research.
[Bald man, in a gray T-shirt that says “Life is Good,” stands under a ramada holding a coffee cup]
Clinical trial gives cancer patient the gift of time

Silver Darmer gained years of family time thanks to the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Drs. Rachna Shroff and Yana Zavros, and a combination therapy that pairs immunotherapy with targeted chemotherapy.
[A Hispanic family in a kitchen preparing a healthy meal together]
Advancing diabetes research and serving an at-risk community

The Center for Disparities in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, led by Endocrinology division chief Lawrence Mandarino, PhD, is focusing on Latino community health while facilitating research through a specialized biobank.
[| SMART therapy offers a combined approach in one inhaler, reducing reliance on emergency department visits and optimizing long-term prevention and treatment.]
Breathing a sigh of relief: A new therapy for asthma management

People with asthma now have a way to manage their symptoms that is easier and more effective than traditional therapeutics, according to the Pulmonary division’s Dr. Tara Carr in this blogpost on asthma and how to better manage it.
[Meet Yourself-1_skin cancer inst.jpg | Image Two students assist at the Skin Cancer event booth at Tucson Meet Yourself, a food festival held annually in October. A young boy plays a giant Jenga on the table while his father looks on and take a photo.]
Skin Cancer Institute helps keep Arizona safe through prevention, early detection, treatment

In a state with the second highest UV index, Arizonans are affected by the Earth’s closest star daily. For Dr. Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, the connection between sun exposure and skin cancer is alarming. That makes UArizona Skin Cancer Institute research, care and outreach to better harmonize our lives with the sun all the more important.
[Dominoes lined up to split into two rows with red domino falling into them at center]
Using big data to target gene mutations in cancer tumor cells

UArizona Health Sciences researchers – including Dr. Aaron Scott, of the Division of Hematology & Oncology in the Department of Medicine – are leveraging molecular profiling data to better understand certain cancers and uncover new treatments.
[Three older adults walk through the University of Arizona Health Sciences campus]
UArizona designated an ‘Age-Friendly University’

A University of Arizona Health Sciences strategic initiative, research activities, educational opportunities and community events for older adults – including geriatrics and rheumatology programs, the Center on Aging and Arthritis Center – earn recognition.
[When Juanita Merchant, MD, PhD, threw a recent dinner party, she recreated a meal she’d made in Sicily, complete with homemade pasta.]
The doctor is in – in the kitchen that is

Everyone has to eat, but these UArizona Health Sciences faculty members – including Gastroenterology & Hepatology Division Chief Dr. Juanita Merchant and Dr. Andrew Weil, founder and director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine – take their cooking to another level. This story comes with a latke recipe, too!
[People load bags of donations into a small airplane while the pilot sits in the front seat.]
Taking the high route to deliver for the holidays

Dr. Geoffrey Block, a transplant hepatologist and Thomas D. Boyer Liver Institute director, and the College of Medicine – Tucson give a much-needed lift to the holiday season on the Navajo Nation.
[Three women working in a University of Arizona Health Sciences research laboratory]
Better way to study Parkinson’s disease in the lab could lead to earlier diagnosis

Dr. Lalitha Madhavan and her research team used induced pluripotent stem cell technology to reprogram adult skin cells into brain cells to study Parkinson’s disease in hopes of developing improved diagnostics and treatments for the neurological disorder.
[Nanotech medic programming microscopic healers in lab full of swirling molecules.]
Paging Dr. Robot – A Q&A with Dr. Marvin Slepian on AI in health care

Artificial intelligence platforms can help medical professionals diagnose and treat diseases – but are patients ready to trust them? Learn more in this interview with cardiologist and Sarver Heart Center stalwart Dr. Marvin Slepian...

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