Author: awesterb@bsdad.uchicago.edu

2022 BSD Distinguished Faculty Award Winners


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Dean Kenneth Polonsky, MD recently announced  the winners of this year’s annual Distinguished Faculty Awards for the Biological Sciences Division. Since 2011, the BSD Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) has been honoring fellow faculty members for their contributions to our collective missions of excellence in education, research, diversity and inclusion, program innovation, service to the community and patient care. Winners from the Department of Medicine are: Distinguished Leader in Diversity and Inclusion Monica Peek, MD, Ellen H. Block Professor for Health Justice (General Internal Medicine) Distinguished Investigator Bhakti Patel, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine) Distinguished Leader in Program … Read More

Shellie Williams, MD- Recipient of the Richard Payne Leadership Award from the Hastings Center and Cunniff-Dixon Foundation


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Shellie Williams, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics & Palliative Medicine) has been named as the inaugural recipient of the Richard Payne Leadership Award from the Hastings Center and Cunniff-Dixon Foundation. Dr. Williams is joining a very special community of 55 physicians over the last 12 years who have been chosen as leaders in the field of palliative care. Dr. Williams practices both geriatric and palliative medicine. Her clinical focus is primarily with aging dementia patients in underserved communities on Chicago’s South Side. She is a dedicated teacher, advocate, and researcher who focuses much of her work on addressing access and education disparities for … Read More

Olufunmilayo Olopade,MD Inducted into the National Academy of Sciences


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Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, the Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics and the founding director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics and Global Health, was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences on April  29, 2002 in Washington DC.  Election to the National Academy of Sciences is a widely accepted “ mark of excellence” in science and is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive. Members are elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.  Dr. Olopade joined the Department of … Read More

Alvin Tarlov and the revitalization of general medicine in the U.S.


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Half a century ago, a team of physicians lead by Alvin Tarlov, MD, recommitted the University of Chicago to running a leading-edge program in general medicine. Hospitals across the country took note. Wellness journey, holistic healthcare, integrative medicine: All of these terms highlight the increasing emphasis on viewing patients as whole individuals who harbor more than a specific ailment or medical need. Today, good healthcare does more than just address a patient’s illness or injury; it also endeavors to care for that person’s mental, physical, emotional and social needs, with the understanding that each of these components plays a role … Read More

Esra Tasali,MD- Appointed Director, UChicago Sleep Center


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Esra Tasali, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Section of Pulmonary/Critical Care), has been appointed as the Director of UChicago Sleep Center effective March 15, 2022.  This newly structured Sleep Center is the result of joint, multi-disciplinary, and collaborative efforts across several departments in the Biological Sciences Division. The UChicago Sleep Center will have three missions in clinical care, education, and research and builds on our longstanding and rich tradition in sleep medicine. In this new role, Dr. Tasali will oversee all aspects of the Center including clinical operations, research, and educational activities. She will work closely with Dr. Kenneth Lee … Read More

Robert Mulliken (1958-2022)


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Robert Mulliken, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Section of Emergency Medicine) passed away  on March 8,2022. He was 63 years old. Dr. Mulliken received his MD from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1984 and completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Illinois in 1987. Dr. Mulliken’s 34-year career at the University of Chicago began as an emergency medicine resident in 1987. After serving as Chief Resident, Dr. Mulliken was appointed to the faculty in 1990 as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor in 1998, the rank he held until his death. Dr. Mulliken’s … Read More

2022 Janet D. Rowley Research Day Poster Winners


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The Department of Medicine is pleased to announce the 2022 Janet Rowley Research Day  Best Poster Winners. Over 100 posters were reviewed and scored by 3 judges, comprised of DOM section chiefs, vice chairs & Research Day Committee members, to identify the top submission in each category: basic science research, translational research, clinical research and health service/medical education/social science research.  Congratulations to the following awardees: Faculty Best Poster Winners: David Wu, MD,PhD (P/CC):Basic Research– “Single-cell metabolic imaging reveals a SLC2A3/RhoA-dependent glycolytic burst in motile endothelial cells” Bhakti Patel, MD (P/CC):Clinical Research–“Randomized Clinical Trial of Long-term Outcomes with Early Mobilization of … Read More

New studies offer new look at relationship between weight and osteoporosis


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Published in Science Daily 2/10/2022 and reported on Good Morning America on 2/11/2022 Men with high levels of body fat have lower bone density and may be more likely to break a bone than those with normal levels of body fat, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Most studies have shown positive or neutral effects of body fat mass — the weight of fat in your body — on bone health. Lean mass is the entire weight of your body, including organs, skin and bones, minus fat. Health care providers … Read More

Getting more sleep reduces caloric intake, a game changer for weight loss programs


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Understanding the underlying causes of obesity and how to prevent it is the best way to fight the obesity epidemic, according to Esra Tasali, MD, Director of the UChicago Sleep Center at the University of Chicago Medicine and Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary/Critical Care. “The current obesity epidemic, according to experts, is mostly explained by an increase in caloric intake, rather than lack of exercise,” she said. Now, a new study on how getting sufficient sleep affects caloric intake in a real-world setting could change how we think about weight loss. In a randomized clinical trial with … Read More

Keme Carter,MD- Appointed Associate Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Education


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The Department of Medicine is pleased to  announce the appointment of Keme Carter, MD as Associate Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Education. Dr. Carter currently serves as Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Emergency Medicine and Associate Dean for Admissions at the Pritzker School of Medicine. In her new role, Dr. Carter will work closely with Drs. Doriane Miller, interim Vice Chair for DEI and John McConville, Vice Chair of Education, as well as program directors across the Department to oversee recruitment, GME climate as it relates to DEI, GME affinity groups and faculty development. … Read More