The Department of Medicine is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of one of their most beloved colleagues, Kirk T. Spencer, MD. Dr. Spencer was a longstanding and distinguished member of the Department of Medicine who was recognized as for his outstanding work as a  clinician, investigator, mentor and leader. During his nearly 25 year career, Dr. Spencer contributed immensely to the Section of Cardiology, the Department and the institution through his service. He will be greatly missed.  Dr. Spencer was born on February 8, 1962. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics (with highest distinction) from the University of Michigan in … Read More

Prescriptions for diabetes medications increased in the first two years after states expanded eligibility for Medicaid as part of the Affordable Care Act, compared to states that didn’t expand Medicaid. In 2014 and 2015, 29 states and the District of Columbia expanded eligibility for Medicaid among low-income adults. In a new study published in the August issue of Health Affairs, researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of Southern California (USC) analyzed data on more than 96 million prescriptions filled using Medicaid insurance between 2008 and 2015 to see the impact of expansion on access to diabetes medications. … Read More

In 2009, at the age of 75, Ralph Stuart was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in American men. Because of his age, and a previous diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, his doctors “just kind of left it alone,” according to Stuart’s wife, Austine.That could be a reasonable approach for an older man with a slow-growing disease. Mr. Stuart’s cancer didn’t immediately progress. It was there, but did not seem to be growing much, if at all. By the time he reached his early 80s, however, it gradually became clear the cancer was progressing. “To make … Read More

Facing a glowing screen and with a small, thumb-controlled device in hand, pulmonologist and advanced bronchoscopist D. Kyle Hogarth, MD, FCCP, looks like he could be playing a video game. Instead, he’s inside a room at the University of Chicago Medicine, guiding a new robotic device deeper into the lungs than most physicians have ever gone before. Hogarth is an expert in advanced bronchoscopy, a minimally invasive procedure that lets physicians see inside a person’s airways with the help of a small camera (or scope) attached to a long tube that’s inserted through the mouth. For years, he’d been frustrated by … Read More

Olufunmilayo Olopade, M.D., has been named one of six Illinoisans who will receive the 2019 Order of Lincoln. The award is the state’s highest honor for professional accomplishments and public service. Gov. Bruce Rauner announced the recipients on Thursday, July 12. Dr. Olopade, the Walter L. Palmer Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, Associate Dean for Global Health, and Director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics, came to the University of Chicago Medicine in 1987 and quickly built a reputation as an expert on cancer risk assessment and individualized treatment for the most aggressive forms of breast cancer, … Read More

President Robert Zimmer has named Keyoumars Soltani, MD as the Allan L. Lorincz Professor effective July 1, 2018. Dr. Soltani, Professor of Medicine (Section of Dermatology) is an authority on the treatment of skin cancers, cutaneous surgical procedures, graft-versus-host disease and blistering conditions who has served the Department of Medicine, Biological Sciences Division and the University of Chicago with distinction and dedication for nearly 50 years. Dr. Soltani earned his MD in 1965 from the University of Tehran, followed by a residency in 1971 at Temple University, and research fellowship training at the University of Chicago. In 1972 he was … Read More