The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) has appointed renowned cancer researcher M. Eileen Dolan, PhD, as its Deputy Director. She assumed the role January 3, 2022. Dr. Dolan, professor of medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology, has spent the past eight years working as UCCCC’s Associate Director for Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination. Previously, she was the long-time co-leader of the center’s Clinical and Experimental Therapeutics Program. In her new role, Dr. Dolan will work closely with Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, the Cancer Center’s Director and Dean of Oncology, on the organization’s vision, mission and strategy. She … Read More

Researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine have found new potential drug targets to treat atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease by developing and implementing a new single-cell sequencing workflow that could improve upon those currently in use. The approach will make it easier for other scientists to analyze single-cell genetic data to better understand coronary artery disease as well as other disease states and biological systems. The team used their cardioinformatics pipeline to reveal new types of vascular cells derived from the smooth muscle cells found in the walls of arteries, along with insight on the communication pathways among those … Read More

Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, the Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor, has been named the recipient of the 2021 William L. McGuire Award and Lecture, one of the highest honors in breast cancer research, by the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Olopade is internationally renowned for her expertise in breast cancer, and her research has advanced early detection, treatment and prevention of breast cancer in women at high risk for the disease. The William L. McGuire Memorial Lectureship was established in 1992 to commemorate the significant contributions to breast oncology by Dr. McGuire who, along with Charles A. Coltman, MD, … Read More

Two Department of Medicine faculty have received distinguished service professorships or named professorships effective January 1, 2022: Bana Jabri,MD,PhD has been named the Sarah and Harold Lincoln Thompson Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pathology, Pediatrics and the College, and Monica Peek,MD has been named as the Ellen H. Block Professor for Health Justice in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Jabri is a world expert in the study of celiac disease and mucosal immunology and has made seminal discoveries relating to the mechanisms underlying the development of complex inflammatory disorders such as IBD & type-1 diabetes. Her work … Read More

The Department of Medicine’s 2022 Janet D. Rowley Research Day will be held on Tuesday, March 1, 2022.   This year’s keynote speaker will be Kimryn Rathmell,MD,PhD, the Hugh Jackson Morgan Chair in Medicine, Physician in Chief and Professor of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University. Dr.  Rathmell is a physician-scientist /genitourinary oncologist whose work is focused on renal cell carcinoma. Dr. Rathmell’s talk  entitled “Exposing Gaps in Genomic Integrity in Renal Cell Carcinoma” will take place at Medicine Grand Rounds at noon via Zoom. Faculty and trainee awards for best poster in each category will be announced on March 1. Trainee abstract … Read More

Christine Babcock, MD, associate professor of medicine and interim chief of the Section of Emergency Medicine, has been named as  Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education (GME) and Designated Institutional Officer (DIO) for the Pritzker School of Medicine effective January 1, 2022.  In her new role, Dr. Babcock will oversee all aspects of graduate medical education, assuming the leadership for the PSOM GME Office which supports all of our residency and fellowship training programs at both University of Chicago Medicine and NorthShore University HealthSystem.  She will serve as a key voice for graduate medical education both within the institution and … Read More

Everett Vokes ,MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine, recently announced 4 new leadership appointments in the Department of Medicine effective January 1, 2022: Doriane Miller, MD has been appointed as interim Vice Chair for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI); Monica Peek, MD, MPH, MS has been appointed as Associate Vice Chair for Research Faculty Development; Thomas Spiegel, MD, MS, MBA has been appointed as interim Chief, Section of Emergency Medicine, and James Manthey, MBA has been named as Executive Administrator. Dr. Miller, Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine) and Director of the Center for Community Health and Vitality for … Read More

A new targeted nanomedicine treatment developed at the University of Chicago has shown promise in reducing vascular damage caused by atherosclerosis in mice. The research, a collaboration between Matthew Tirrell, dean of the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Assoc. Prof. Yun Fang in the Biological Sciences Division, could ultimately lead to better treatments for humans who suffer from complications of vascular disease. “We are really enthusiastic about this technology,” Tirrell said. “It directly targets the site of the inflammation and could have implications in a variety of vascular disorders.” Delivering medicine directly to inflamed cells In vascular diseases like atherosclerosis, the walls … Read More

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health recently announced winners of its prize competition aimed at increasing gender diversity among faculty members at colleges and universities and removing barriers for transformative change. The NIH Prize for Enhancing Faculty Gender Diversity in Biomedical and Behavioral Science recognizes institutions that have acted to effect systemic change to address gender diversity and equity among faculty members within their biomedical and behavioral science departments. Ten winners were selected, and the Department of Medicine Women’s Committee was recognized as an honorable mention for its program, “Using 3 R’s to Elevate Women.” The … Read More