Category: Archives

A protein too big to be ignored as a potential drug target for reversing blood diseases


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Previously published in At The Forefront, June 7, 2019  It all started with a simple question: “How do cells communicate with the outside world to sense their environment?” The pursuit of the answer turned out to reveal far more than what Amittha Wickrema, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, had dreamed. Focusing on how the production of red blood cells is triggered, Wickrema and his long-time collaborators Amit Verma, MD, from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Chuan He, PhD, the John T. Wilson Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry at UChicago, identified a key protein that could serve as … Read More

POLO trial for advanced pancreatic cancer: a new standard of care


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As previously reported in At The Forefront on June 3, 2019 Treatment with the drug olaparib significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death from metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to findings from the recently completed, international, phase-III POLO (Pancreas cancer OLaparib Ongoing) trial. Olaparib (trade name LYNPARZA, jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Merck) is a PARP inhibitor. It targets cancer cells that have a defect in DNA damage repair. Progression-free survival, the primary endpoint in this study, was 7.4 months on the olaparib arm, and 3.8 months on the placebo arm. From 6 months onwards, more than twice the proportion … Read More

2019 ASCO Annual Meeting: Caring for every patient, learning from every patient


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As previously reported in At The Forefront on June 10, 2019    Each year, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), a professional organization representing health care providers of all oncology sub-specialties, holds its annual meeting in Chicago. This year, the conference brought together more than 42,000 oncology professionals from around the globe to promote communication among oncology-related sub-specialties and the exchange of the latest findings from clinical research studies of novel treatments, cancer risk, survivorship and the value of cancer care. This year’s meeting took place from May 31 – June 4, 2019 and focused on the theme, “Caring … Read More

Large genome-wide association study is first to focus on both child and adult asthma


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Originally published in The Forefront on May 7, 2019 Asthma, a common respiratory disease that causes wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath, is the most prevalent chronic respiratory disease worldwide. A new study, published April 30, 2019 in Lancet Respiratory Medicine, is the first large investigation to examine the differences in genetic risk factors for childhood-onset and adult-onset asthma. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) found that childhood-onset asthma was associated with nearly three times as many genes as adult-onset asthma. Genes associated with adult onset asthma were a subset of those associated with childhood-onset asthma, nearly all with smaller effects on … Read More

Treatment option to restore natural heartbeat could be on the horizon for heart failure patients


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Originally published in The Forefront, May 10, 2019 A new therapy to re-engage the heart’s natural electrical pathways – instead of bypassing them – could mean more treatment options for heart failure patients who also suffer from electrical disturbances, such as arrhythmias, according to research led by the University of Chicago Medicine. In a first-ever pilot study, called the His SYNC trial, researchers compared the effectiveness of two different cardiac resynchronization therapies, or treatments to correct irregularities in the heartbeat through implanted pacemakers and defibrillators. The current standard of care, known as biventricular pacing, uses two pacing impulses in both lower chambers, whereas … Read More

UCM Earns 15th Consecutive “A” for Hospital Safety from Leapfrog


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The University of Chicago Medicine has earned its 15th “A” grade in hospital safety from the Leapfrog Group — making UCM  one of just 41 health care providers across the country to have received consecutive top marks from the industry watchdog group and the only one in Chicago to have earned this distinction. The pool of hospitals with continuous A’s shrank by one in this spring’s results. In fall 2018, 42 institutions earned the top score in all 15 survey periods. In spring 2018, 49 had such a record. In the current grading cycle, more than 2,600 hospitals were surveyed … Read More

2019 BSD Distinguished Faculty Award Winners


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Congratulations to the following Department of Medicine faculty who were selected as recipients of Distinguished Faculty Awards by the Biological Sciences Division. DISTINGUISHED CLINICIAN Kathleen Mullane, DO, PharmD Professor of Medicine Senior Award DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN PROGRAM INNOVATION Valerie Press, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Junior Award DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR/MENTOR Shannon Martin, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Clinical Sciences Award DISTINGUISHED LEADER IN COMMUNITY SERVICE AND ADVOCACY Mai Pho, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine Junior Award Rita Rossi-Foulkes, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Senior Award     FACULTY PHYSICIAN PEER ROLE MODEL AWARD Helen S. Te, MD Professor of Medicine  THE FRANCIS STRAUS … Read More

Halina Brukner, MD – Named as Dean for Medical Education, Pritzker School of Medicine


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Halina Brukner,MD, Professor of Medicine (General Internal Medicine) has been named as Dean for Medical Education for the Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Brukner is an extremely experienced and accomplished member of the faculty, and she has held a host of leadership positions both within the medical school as well as the Department of Medicine since joining the University of Chicago in 1985. Dr. Brukner completed her medical school education at New York University School of Medicine and her residency in internal medicine at the University of Chicago. In 1986, she was appointed as the clerkship director of medicine, a … Read More

Hedy Kindler, MD Appointed Associate Vice Chair for Clinical Research


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Hedy Kindler,MD,  Professor of Medicine in the Section of Hematology/Oncology, has been named as Associate Vice Chair for Clinical Research for the Department of Medicine effective May 1, 2019.  Dr. Kindler  is an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma and pancreatic cancer. Her research focuses on investigating novel agents for the treatment of these malignancies. Dr. Kindler received her MD from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  She completed her internal medicine residency training at UCLA and Montefiore Medical Center, and fellowship training in Hematology/Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  She served on the faculty … Read More

Infectious Diseases Program Earns Recognition


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The Department of Medicine’s Infectious Diseases Program, under the direction of David Pitrak,MD, has been awarded the designation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence (CoE) by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.   The CoE program recognizes institutions that have created stewardship programs led by infectious diseases physicians and ID-trained pharmacists that are of the highest quality and have achieved standards aligned with evidence-based national guidelines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Core Elements.    Jennifer Pisano,MD,  assistant professor of medicine, serves as the medical director for the Antibiotic Stewardship Program for the medical center.  A total of 41 … Read More