College of Medicine Magazine Summer 2022 by OU Health

onHealthcaretheMove [Summer 2022]

This spring, the OU College of Medicine graduated the Class of 2022, a dedicated and passionate group of young people who spent their clinical education years during a global pandemic. They, like the college itself, have been changed by the hardships of COVID-19, but have infused their outlook with optimism about how they can serve others through their profession.

In the patient care section, you’ll read about a novel clinical study created by one of the college’s hematology-oncology faculty members. It aims to gather evidence that blood infusions, when administered by hospice in a patient’s home, greatly improve quality of life. Currently, when patients with blood cancer decide to start hospice treatment, they must still go to a hospital or clinic for transfusions, rather than receiving them at home.

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The College of Medicine finds itself at that same junction, having emerged from a very difficult time, yet still invigorated about academic medicine. In this issue of the magazine, you will read about many of the education, research and patient care activities that are furthering our mission.

Finally, be sure to check out the stories on Evening of Excellence and Alumni Day, both of which faced cancellations because of the pandemic but were ultimately held earlier this year.

In the research section, we are proud to announce a historic first for the college and campus — a new cancer drug, developed without the help of a pharmaceutical company, is being tested for the first time in humans in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The drug shows tremendous promise as a cancer treatment without causing toxic side effects, as well as a preventive cancer drug.

In the OU-TU School of Community Medicine section, you’ll find a story about one of our students who, as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, created a project to increase COVID-19 education and vaccination among Spanish-speaking patients at Bedlam Clinic.

The activities and accomplishments you’ll read about in this magazine are what make me hopeful about the future of medicine. Our tripartite mission is what sets us apart in academic medicine and allows us to care for those who need us today, while also transforming the future of the profession. As always, I am grateful for your support of the OU College of Medicine.

John P. Zubialde, M.D. Executive Dean, OU College of Medicine

MEDICINE

Other research news is similarly exciting. I hope you enjoy the feature on our adult and pediatric diabetes research programs, which have increased in federal funding from $2 million to $20 million in just the past three years. We are also glad to participate in two federally funded clinical studies that aim to better understand the long-term effects of COVID-19 infection in adults and children.

Contributing Writers

Executive Dean, College of Medicine John Zubialde, M.D

Valerie Pautsch

12. Historic First

26. AI in Stroke Care

27. Health and Climate Change

16. Diabetes Research Growing

A hematologist-oncologist is leading a clinical study, in partnership with the Oklahoma Blood Institute and local hospice agencies, that aims to gather evi dence that home-based blood transfusions improve a patient’s quality of life.

MEDICINE University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

Editor/Writer

April Wilkerson

The OU College of Medicine held its 37th annual Evening of Excellence gala, which has raised funds resulting in $3.6 million in grants to college researchers.

Like us at www.facebook.com/oucomalumni

24. Improving End of Life

COVER PHOTO:

A new cancer drug developed by an OU College of Medicine researcher is being tested in humans for the first time in a Phase 1 clinical trial. The achievement is a historic first for the campus and the state.

OU Health, the clinical partner of the OU Health Sciences Center, announced Richard Lofgren, M.D., MPH, as the inaugural CEO of the health system.

In the past three years, federal grants for diabetes research have increased from $2 million to $20 million, and researchers studying both adult and pediatric forms of the disease are taking major strides toward new discoveries.

37. Real-World Experience

Alexander Raines, M.D., an associate professor in the Department of Surgery, has been honored with the 2022 Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award.

Students at the OU-TU School of Community Medicine provided nutrition and wellness education at Lindsey House, where displaced women discover life-changing practices and develop skills to nurture and support their families.

Earlier this year, faculty members were honored with awards and professorships from the OU Board of Regents, the OU President, and the Senior Vice President and Provost of the OU Health Sciences Center.

Interim Senior Vice President and Provost, OU Health Sciences Center

“The Health Sciences Explorer,” a customized RV pur chased through a grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, is a mobile health class room that will travel across Oklahoma to give young people a window into healthcare professions.

Medicine is published twice a year by the OU College of Medicine. For more information or to submit news for the Class Notes section, Aprilcontact:Wilkerson, april.wilkerson@ouhealth.comEditor

Medical students who organized this year’s Bridges to Access Conference wel comed speakers from around the nation to talk about the looming health crisis caused by climate change, as well as the steps students can take to help their future patients.

Gary Raskob, Ph.D.

06. OU Health CEO

04. Master Teacher Named

After cancellations because of COVID-19, the annual Alumni Reunion Day returned this year. Honorees included a family medicine physician, an OB-GYN, and a state legislator.

47. Evening of Excellence

Assistant Vice President of Development, OU Health Sciences Center

42. Faculty Awards

The University of Oklahoma, in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices, or procedures. This includes, but is not limited to: admissions, employment, financial aid, housing, services in educational programs or activities, or health care services that the University operates or provides.

During the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical student Jamaljé Bassue discovered his passion for painting. One of his first pieces was selected for the cover of a prestigious medical journal.

Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to: Christine Taylor, University Equal Opportunity Officer and Title IX Coordinator, 405-325-3546, christine.taylor@ou.edu , or visit Copiesou.edu/eoo.htmlofthismagazine were printed at no cost to the taxpayers of the state of Oklahoma.

contents

Neurologists and neurosurgeons with the OU College of Medicine are giving their patients the latest in stroke care with the first computer-aided triage sys tem approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The OU College of Medicine Alumni Association is on Facebook.

Melissa Monroe

Medicine is online at medicine.ouhsc.edu

44. Alumni Day Returns

29. Art and Medicine

Stacey Maxon

Raines earned his medical degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha in 2009. From 2009 to 2016, he was a general surgery clinical/research resident at the OU Health Sciences Center. He then began his role as a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the OU College of Medicine. He is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery.

The honor, awarded since 1983, recognizes OU College of Medicine faculty members for excellence in teaching. It was established through an endowment made by the late Okla homa City businessman Stanton L. Young. The award comes with a $15,000 cash prize, one of the largest in the nation for medical teaching excellence.

He holds numerous leadership roles with the OU College of Medicine and with OU Health, the clinical partner of the OU Health Sciences Center. He is Director of Robotic Surgery for the college’s Department of Surgery, as well as OU Health Surgeon-in-Chief for Outpatient Services. He also heads the Division of General Surgery at OU Health Edmond Medical Center. He is a consultative general surgeon for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the city’s National Basketball Association team.

In a nomination letter for the Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award, a student wrote: “Dr. Raines has been a mentor and role model for me — someone whom I hope to emulate as I continue in both my medical career and personal life. There are a great many educators within the College of Medicine; still, I can confidently say that he is the most complete and passionate educator I have had the honor of interacting with.”

Alexander Raines, M.D., left, winner of the 2022 Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award, is pictured with John Zubialde, M.D., center, executive dean of the College of Medicine, and Barish Edil, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery.

Raines is active as an educator and has mentored and provid ed career advising to numerous students. He is site director of the surgery residency program at Edmond Medical Center, and he co-directs the surgery clerkship for third-year medical students. He also is the faculty sponsor for the Student Sur gery Interest Group. Raines has received numerous honors for his skills as an educator, including the Aesculapian Award, the Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Faculty Award, and the Dewayne Andrews, M.D., Excellence in Teaching Award.

“We are grateful for faculty members like Dr. Raines who are dedicated to their patients while also furthering the profession of medicine through research and training the next generation of physicians,” said John P. Zubialde, M.D., executive dean of the OU College of Medicine. “Dr. Raines is passionate about medical education, which is reflected by the respect and ad miration he has earned from students, residents and fellows.”

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Raines Honored with Master Teacher Award

Alexander Raines, M.D., an associate professor in the Depart ment of Surgery at the OU College of Medicine, has been hon ored with the 2022 Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award.

Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Enhances Heart Facility

In an effort to help pediatric specialists provide the most ad vanced cardiac care to their patients, the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Heart Center team has announced the opening of a state-of-the-art hybrid suite facility.

Arshid M. Mir, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pe diatric Cardiology, explained that catheter-based procedures are associated with lower risks. They may be performed on the heart as well as great vessels. “Patients realize tremen dous benefits with catheter-based interventions, including shorter hospital stays, reduced recovery time, less pain and no scarring,” he said.

To optimize functional capabilities of the hybrid suite, the bi plane imaging system is integrated with an impressive array of state-of-the-art operating room equipment, as well as:

• Data and image integration software

• Patient-focused audio-video enhancements for calming and relaxation

• Specialized anesthesia, hemodynamic, electrophysiology, cardiac mapping, cardiac ablation, cardiac perfusion, car diovascular ultrasound and cardiovascular surgical systems

physicians and staff alike can benefit from the low-dose X-ray levels, superior imaging, and the unparal leled set of enhanced clinical technologies and operational improvements this hybrid facility provides,” said Phil Farley, administrative director of the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Heart Center. “It will also provide our Heart Center team with the ability to perform a variety of complex diagnostic, inter ventional and surgical procedures more safely and efficiently, which translates to our patients spending less time under anesthesia, and on their way to recovery and going home to their families much sooner.”

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Today, congenital heart defects occur in approximately nine of every 1,000 babies born in the United States. As a result, it is a priority for the multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses,

He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), serves on the national ACS Advisory Board for General Surgery, and is president-elect for the Oklahoma chapter of the ACS. He is an active member of many other organizations, including the Association for Academic Surgery, Southwestern Surgical Congress, American Hernia Society, Society of American Gas trointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, Clinical Robotic Surgery Association, and Association for Surgical Education.

These specialized systems are designed to provide patients and their families with the level of superior service experienc es and high-quality clinical outcomes they should expect and

[ Summer 2022 ] 5 VITAL SIGNS

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technologists and support staff at Oklahoma Children’s Hos pital to offer the most advanced care and treatment services

The new facility will provide a diverse range of interventional cardiology, electrophysiology and cardiovascular surgical ser vices for infants, children and adults with simple to complex congenital heart defects and disease.

Children’s Hospital is now home to the only hybrid suite in Oklahoma to offer this level of comprehensive cardio vascular care and treatment for congenital cardiac conditions in a single care setting. In the near future, the facility will also have the potential to offer highly specialized care and treat ment applications in pediatric vascular interventional radiology and interventional neuro-radiology.

• Ambient lighting features

The next-generation biplane image-guided therapy system installed in the hybrid suite is equipped to provide low-dose X-ray exposure while providing superior image quality. Addi tionally, it provides a host of clinically significant functional en hancements, time-saving workflow efficiencies and numerous quality control improvements. It is also equipped to perform fusion imaging, which allows superimposition of images from CT/MRI on angiographic images, thus further lowering the radiation dose and amount of contrast administered during any given case.

Raines has been active in research, serving as an author on nearly 20 peer-reviewed publications. He is a member of the Academy of Teaching Scholars, a College of Medicine group that fosters scholarly education projects.

Oklahoma Children’s Hospital has opened a hybrid suite facility to treat patients with congenital heart defects and disease.

“We are very excited to announce Dr. Lofgren as the CEO of OU Health. He is uniquely qualified to lead our health sys tem as we create a seamless experience for our patients and provide the highest-quality, research-driven healthcare,” said G. Rainey Williams Jr., board chair of the OU Health Board of Directors. “Dr. Lofgren’s experience is perfectly suited to advance our newly integrated health system as we transform health for all Oklahomans. He brings incredible experience and vision to OU Health as we transform into a single entity with leading clinical programs for the citizens of our state.”

Lofgren earned his medical degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He completed an internal medicine residency and a master of public health degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, serving as chief resi dent during his final year.

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Prior to his tenure as CEO of UC Health, Lofgren held physi cian leadership roles that focused on executing large strategic visions, including healthcare redesign that elevates quality outcomes and operational efficiencies.

the OU Health Board of Directors for their confidence in my ability to lead OU Health in this inaugural role,” said Lofgren. “OU Health and the University of Oklahoma are uniquely positioned to transform healthcare across the state and region, and I’m looking forward to working with our physicians, providers, employees, the community, our state and our partners to realize the vision for a healthier Oklahoma.”

Richard Lofgren, M.D., MPH

Lofgren came to Oklahoma from UC Health in Cincinnati, where he has served as president and CEO since 2013. His executive experience in healthcare spans more than 40 years and includes leadership roles at University HealthSystem Consortium, University of Kentucky, Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Pittsburgh.

Lofgren has worked in accelerated leadership roles over the course of his lengthy career, most recently as the president and CEO of UC Health, the affiliated academic health system of the University of Cincinnati. He led the organizational trans formation into a premier academic referral center, garnering unprecedented growth, expansion of services and process improvement across the system.

As CEO of OU Health, he will lead the overall health system and report directly to the OU Health Board of Directors. He will be responsible for the strategic vision, clinical and opera tional direction, strategic growth, quality and safety, financial performance, and ongoing integration of OU Health.

In addition to his expertise as a CEO, Lofgren brings con siderable experience in the tripartite mission of academic healthcare. As an academic physician, Lofgren served as a tenured faculty member while at University of Kentucky, Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Pittsburgh. Throughout his career, he has earned 14 awards for teaching excellence in academic healthcare and created two different health services research centers aimed at improving health care outcomes for veterans. Lofgren has been a funded researcher and has numerous publications and scholarly contributions spanning his 40-year career.

Lofgren comes to Oklahoma after years in the Midwest. He has a wife of 43 years, three adult daughters and five

Lofgren is filling OU Health’s inaugural CEO position. The position was created as part of a historic merger in July 2021 making OU Health Oklahoma’s only fully integrated, compre hensive academic health system. Lofgren is a national thought leader within academic healthcare, and he is an expert in health system transformations and redesign, with a track record of uniting hospitals, clinics and centers into a single health system with a unified purpose.

OU Health Names Richard Lofgren, M.D., MPH, CEO of Health System

The OU Health Board of Directors on Feb. 4 announced Richard Lofgren, M.D., MPH, as CEO of OU Health, Oklahoma’s integrated, comprehensive academic health system.

With her own work history spanning 15 years at Edmond Medi cal Center, Leslie Buford, chief operating officer, is considered the resident expert on the hospital’s community roots. Accord ing to Buford, the hospital’s mission is perpetually driven by another question: “How can we serve not only medical needs, but enrich community life at every level?” The answer lies in what might be called a holistic approach to population health. “The attributes that make Edmond a great place to live, work and raise families include the community’s passion for edu cation, arts and culture. The hospital’s unwavering support of what this community values is the key to mutual growth and ability to Spanningthrive.”three-quarters of a century, the history of Edmond Medical Center clearly reflects its passion for community, demonstrated by deep engagement in myriad events that

“One of the greatest attributes of a community hospital — this community hospital — is its warm sense of family,” Buford said. “Nobody wants to make a hospital their literal home, but if you’re here because you require hospital care, you know you’ll receive exceptional care with genuine compassion, close to home.”

Located at Second Street and Bryant Avenue, OU Health Edmond Medical Center began serving the Edmond commu nity as Edmond Hospital in February of 1947. Earlier this year, leaders and staff launched a year-long celebration of the 75year milestone.

Medical Center has a great legacy, but equally important, a future bright with promise. For 75 years, Edmond Medical Center has reaped the benefits of capable and insightful leadership, including Lisa Wilson, M.S., MBA, who retired this year as EMC’s president.

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OU Health Edmond Medical Center is celebrating its 75th anniversary with activities throughout 2022.

Why should any person, especially someone facing a medical emergency, travel beyond the Edmond area to access excel lent healthcare, top-flight facilities and expertise that’s second to none? This is the underlying question, spoken or not, that drove civic leaders to establish an Edmond-based hospital to fill a healthcare void, and to grow and succeed in step with the local community.

promote health and well-being across the lifespan. Scores of activities that promote healthy lifestyles continue to be initiat ed and/or sponsored by hospital leaders, and enthusiastically supported by employees and staff across work areas and

OU Health Edmond Medical Center Celebrates 75 Years

“Nobody wants to make a hospital their literal home, but if you’re here because you require hospital care, you know you’ll receive exceptional care with genuine compassion, close to home.”

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Bufordresponsibilities.saidEdmond

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OU Health and Intuitive Health expect to open facilities at three more central Oklahoma locations by 2024. These facil ities will be the first of their kind in the region. With ER and urgent care in the same building, patients no longer need to self-diagnose what level of care they need. Patients will only be charged for the level of care required.

A combined emergency room and urgent care clinic opened this summer in Yukon. OU Health is partnering with Intuitive Health to operate the facility.

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“The goal of the partnership is to minimize unnecessary ER utilization as well as improve the quality of care for patients,” said Leslie Buford, interim administrative executive of the OU Health Community Health and Primary Care division and interim president, OU Health Edmond Medical Center. “The facilities provide both urgent care and emergency services in a way that saves money for patients and their employers. No patient is charged emergency room prices for urgent care services if they come in during urgent care hours.”

Each facility will operate a full-service ER 24 hours a day with urgent care hours from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily including week ends, providing the most urgent care hours in Oklahoma City

“Patients, now more than ever, are demanding healthcare that is convenient, high-quality, cost-effective and safe,” said Thom Herrmann, CEO of Intuitive Health. “We are excited to partner with OU Health to bring an innovative combined ER and Urgent Care model that offers patients exactly what they are looking for. Our new location will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will offer all of the same life-saving emergency services as a hospital ER, but if you only need urgent care level services your insurance company will only receive a small urgent care bill. Families will no longer need to choose between safety and cost. We promise the right care at the right price, close to home.”

and surrounding areas. Outside of those hours, ER pricing applies. Facilities will have on-site lab equipment, a radiology suite with X-ray, and multi-slice CT scanners. Every patient will be seen by an ER-trained physician, and an assessment deter mines if the appropriate care is emergency or urgent care.

VITAL

OU Health has launched a partnership with Intuitive Health to open a healthcare facility in Yukon that will combine emergen cy services with urgent care under one roof. The facility, locat ed at 709 N. Czech Hall Road, began seeing patients in June.

ER, Urgent Care Combination Opens

Texas-based Intuitive Health, founded in 2008, partners with health systems nationwide to build, operate and launch retail healthcare facilities that combine urgent care and emergency room services. Intuitive Health’s patient-centered retail-care model is built on a proven business system focused on con cierge-level customer service and transparency.

Hospital leaders and clinicians tour the new pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health.

“With a total of 59 pediatric ICU beds, in addition to 96 licensed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) beds, we are better positioned to provide the most appropriate level of care for serious and life-threatening heart conditions. Children’s Heart Center offers the most sophisticated treatment options for this special population,” he said. “Previously, PICU beds were often occupied by patients whose needs were more aligned with CICU care. The availability of 25 CICU beds will not only ensure more focused, comprehensive care, but will decrease the occurrences that require us to divert patients to facilities not as well-equipped to provide the robust measures these patients require.”

Monica Kraft, MSN, R.N., director of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, said the renovation and expansion have immense significance for the broader scope of pediatric care available in the state. According to Kraft, the data is impres sive, but doesn’t reveal the bigger picture.

“We can make statistical projections, but the numbers don’t capture the most meaningful part of the story. Over the first five years, we expect CICU admits on average to increase by at least 80 patients annually. That creates more capacity in our PICU for children recovering from surgeries, long-term illness or trauma,” she said. “Because we can move NICU heart ba bies to CICU, we have the ability to care for 50 more neonates each year — critically ill newborns who need this level of support for a chance at life. We have the capacity to perform more than 300 open-heart surgeries annually, and we are de veloping pediatric heart transplant and VAD (ventricular assist device) programs. These are remarkable advances in capabil ity and care. As a result, hundreds of children with a range of congenital heart conditions will experience better outcomes. They grow up to live healthy and fulfilling lives with families who cherish them. The multigenerational impact is vast.”

Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Opens New CICU

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Morris Gessouroun, M.D., pediatric intensivist and immediate past chair of the Department of Pediatrics for the OU College of Medicine, said the CICU expansion sets in motion a positive domino effect, as it will allow fuller and more efficient utiliza tion of all the hospital’s intensive care services — pediatric, pediatric cardiac and neonatal.

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Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health has opened a new pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). The 25-bed unit is the only pediatric CICU of its kind in the state, dedicated solely to the care of children with a range of heart conditions.

NCI designation became a specific goal for Stephenson Cancer Center in 2001, when the Oklahoma State Legislature approved House Bill 1072. Passed with bipartisan support, the bill called upon the university to create a comprehensive cancer center to provide leadership in cancer treatment, research and outreach. Further, the overarching goal was to achieve national recogni tion as an NCI-designated cancer center. Over the past decade, more than $400 million has been committed to the support and ongoing development of the cancer center, making it the larg est public-private biosciences initiative in Oklahoma history.

“We’re keenly focused on research-driven patient care that provides access to tomorrow’s therapies today. It is research that drives us toward a future reality in which the burden of cancer is reduced or eliminated,” Mannel said. “Here, we have harnessed the resources that will one day help to defeat this adversary, which has taken such a toll on families across the globe. Stephenson Cancer Center is an inspiring model of what we can accomplish as Oklahomans united for such a compelling cause.”

“Stephenson Cancer Center is an inspiring model of what we can accomplish as Oklahomans united for such a compelling cause.”

Stephenson Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated center in Oklahoma. NCI designation belongs to an elite group of cancer centers representing the top 2% of centers in the United States. Then and now, the cancer center demonstrates an unprece

Stephensoncommunities.Cancer

Theirs was the largest single donation to the OU Health Scienc es Center at the time. In 2019, the Stephenson Family Founda tion presented a transformative $20 million gift to expand the center’s research mission. Extending the impact of the Stephen son family’s generosity, the cancer center committed to raise an additional $20 million, dedicated to the discovery of new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. The philanthropic sup port of the Stephenson family served to sustain momentum that helped secure the cancer center’s designation as a National Institutes of Health (NCI) Cancer Center in 2018.

The presence of this resource makes it possible to offer a broad range of latest-generation therapies and research-driven clin ical trials. Further, it allows patients to access world-class care close to home, eliminating the necessity of travel beyond state borders. This benefit preserves patients’ networks of physical, mental and emotional support found in family, friends and spiri tual

OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, located on the OU Health Sciences Center campus in Oklahoma City, has marked more than a decade of delivering the most advanced, re search-driven, comprehensive care for patients facing the challenges of a cancer diagnosis. Dedicated on June 30, 2011, Stephenson Cancer Center opened to patient care three weeks

In addition to generous private philanthropy, several community partners played key roles in the growth of Stephenson Cancer Center. These include the State of Oklahoma, through tobacco tax revenues, the University Hospitals Authority and Trust, Okla homa Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations, OU Health, Presbyterian Health Founda tion, and the University of Oklahoma.

dented commitment to fighting cancer through improved treat ment, clinical research, support programs and education.

gift made in 2010 by Tulsa residents Charles and Peggy Stephenson, longtime supporters of the University of Oklahoma, capped a $50-million private fundraising campaign.

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Alater.$12-million

Center is a national leader in early and late-phase clinical trials, and is one of 32 Lead Academic Partic ipating Sites in NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network. Stephen son Cancer Center also houses two research centers — TSET Health Promotion Research Center and the Center for Cancer Prevention and Drug Development.

Robert Mannel, M.D., Stephenson Cancer Center director, emphasized what it means to have such a resource in the state: “Cancer is the greatest challenge of modern-day medicine, possessing an intimidating force to irrevocably alter the lives of patients and their families. Cancer touches all of us, with one of two Oklahoma men and one in three Oklahoma women getting a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime. Stephenson Cancer Center’s vision is to eliminate cancer in Oklahoma and beyond. Its mission is to provide patient-centered, research-driven mul tidisciplinary cancer care. Such care is available in Oklahoma at Stephenson Cancer Center.”

Stephenson Cancer Center Marks Milestone

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Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented a celebration, the OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center is observing more than a decade of comprehensive care to people in Oklahoma and beyond.

The OU Health Sciences Center is taking part in two federal studies to better understand “long COVID” symptoms in both adults and children.

COVID-19 has resulted in long-term symptoms rarely seen with other viral infections. Some people who have been infect ed return to normal quickly, while others struggle with linger ing symptoms for months. The most common “long COVID” symptoms in adults include pain, headaches, fatigue, “brain fog,” shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, fever, chron ic cough and sleep problems. Symptoms in young people include fatigue, chronic cough, memory issues, neurological problems and skin issues. Because the virus causes entire organ systems to become inflamed, the heart, lungs, kidneys and other organs may experience ongoing problems.

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Investigating “long COVID” symptoms is crucial because they may affect future health and increase the need for healthcare

RESEARCHTULSA

“This study will help us understand some of the peculiarities of the COVID-19 virus in the pediatric population and what resources will be needed to care for these children in the fu ture,” said Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health pediatric emergency medicine physician Amanda Bogie, M.D., who also serves as Professor and Section Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics of the OU College of Medicine. She is leading the pediatric “long COVID” study.

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is taking part in federally funded studies to better understand the longterm effects of COVID-19 in both adults and children.

The studies are part of the RECOVER (Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery) Initiative of the National Institutes of Health. Its aim is to learn why some people have prolonged symptoms (often called “long COVID”) or develop new or returning symptoms after the acute phase of infection from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

services. Better understanding symptoms is an important first step for preventing and treating them.

The OU Health Sciences Center is uniquely qualified to serve as a study partner for this NIH initiative by leveraging the Oklahoma Clinical and Translational Science Institute (OCT SI). The OCTSI unites universities, nonprofit organizations, American Indian communities, public agencies and primary care providers in research addressing the health outcomes of Oklahomans. OCTSI’s existing infrastructure is being used to enroll patients from across the state, including those in rural and medically underserved areas. The OU Health Sciences Center is among more than 30 academic healthcare institu tions across the nation enrolling patients in the study.

OU Health Sciences Center Taking Part in Studies to Better Understand ‘Long COVID’ Symptoms

Benbrook, a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, began working on the compound more than 25 years ago. New drugs developed within an academic institu tion, without the aid of a pharmaceutical company or venture capital, are exceedingly rare. The Food and Drug Administra tion approved the drug to be given to humans in the clinical tri al, and it is initially being given to women with advanced-stage ovarian, endometrial and cervical cancer.

“It is very exciting to reach the point where we can test OK-1 in a clinical trial,” Benbrook said. “This drug is not available anywhere else in the world right now. We believe it has tre mendous potential for treating cancer without causing toxic side effects.”

Historic First for Campus and State Researcher’s Cancer Drug Approved for Testing in Humans

An OU College of Medicine researcher, Doris Benbrook, Ph.D., has achieved a historic first for the campus and the state: Her new cancer drug, which was developed entirely in Oklahoma, without the aid of a pharmaceutical company, is being test ed in humans for the first time in a Phase 1 clinical trial at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.

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that supports healthy functioning. Some forms of retinoic acid, as well as synthetic versions called retinoids, have been used to treat cancers such as leukemia. However, both are highly toxic, Benbrook said, and patients often become resistant to their effectiveness. Her aim was to create a better version of the drug that is able to kill cancer cells but is less toxic to normal cells.

Robert Mannel, M.D., director of OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center, welcomes the audience at a media event announcing the launch of the Phase 1 clinical trial to test a new cancer drug created on campus.

Doris Benbrook, Ph.D., speaks during a media event announcing that her cancer drug is now being tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.

OK-1 is derived from the natural compound vitamin A. The human body uses vitamin A to make retinoic acid, a nutrient

“OK-1 gives us the opportunity to bring combinations into trials that may work better without compromising safety. The potential is so exciting.”

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Kathleen Moore, M.D., is leading the Phase 1 clinical trial that is testing OK-1. Moore is Associate Director of Clinical Research and Director of the Oklahoma TSET Phase 1 Program at Stephenson Cancer Center.

Kathleen Moore, M.D., Associate Director of Clinical Research and Director of the Oklahoma TSET Phase 1 Program at Stephenson Cancer Center, is leading the clinical trial. “The Phase 1 investigators are so excited to finally have this novel drug available to our patients,” Moore said. “It is a completely new class of drug, which, in addition to having efficacy in and of itself, may help other current cancer therapies work better without adding toxicity. This is kind of the holy grail. We have many combinations that work better than the single drug, but the combinations are far too toxic for general population use. OK-1 gives us the opportunity to bring combinations into trials that may work better without compromising safety. The poten tial is so exciting.”

“We found in our experimental models that when we add OK-1 to other cancer therapies like paclitaxel, which is the standard chemotherapy for endometrial cancer, we get a synergistic ef fect that is much better than either drug alone,” Benbrook said.

OK-1 works by taking away one of the “tricks” that cancer cells use to survive. When cancer cells develop, the body naturally tries to stop their invasion and growth. In response, cancer cells increase their production of “chaperone proteins,” which act like “bodyguards” to keep the cancer cells from dying. The drug OK-1 is able to attach to the chaperone proteins, disabling them in the process. The body’s immune system, or another drug like chemotherapy, is then better able to kill cancer cells because they are no longer protected by “body guards.” The drug does not harm healthy cells because they do not need the chaperone protection.

That effort has taken over two decades of experimentation. Benbrook worked with a collaborator to modify the drug’s chemical structure and test the biological activity of new versions. The new drug they ultimately developed has been modified to such an extent that it works in a completely dif ferent way than vitamin A. Collaborators in the OU College of Pharmacy performed research that was necessary to test OK-1 in clinical trials. The work has been supported by millions of dollars in grants from the National Cancer Institute.

Phase 1 clinical trials are conducted to determine the highest dose of a new drug that can be given safely without causing severe side effects. While OK-1 has been tested extensively in the laboratory and in animal research models, the true effect can’t be known until it is given to humans. However, preclini cal studies of the drug have proved that it is effective without causing severe side effects or birth defects, Benbrook said. The drug is being given to humans in capsule form.

At the conclusion of the Phase 1 trial, Moore and her team will have learned the optimal dose of OK-1. In subsequent trials, they plan to test the drug in combination with other cancer drugs already on the market. Benbrook has made patent appli cations on several drug combinations; OK-1 appears to be most effective when given with other existing drugs.

During the media event announcing her new drug, Doris Benbrook, Ph.D., participates in interviews.

In addition to funding from the National Cancer Institute, Ben brook’s research has been supported by grants from Oklaho ma City-based Presbyterian Health Foundation, as well as the OU College of Medicine Alumni Association. Dena Newlun and her service dog, Tripod Petey, are pictured at the media event an nouncing a new cancer drug created by an OU College of researcher.MedicineNewlun is on a different clinical trial, but spoke about what it would mean to receive a drug like OK-1 that showed very few side effects during preclinical studies.

Benbrook’s preclinical research also has shown that OK-1 may be effective for preventing cancer. She plans to test OK-1 in an ovarian cancer prevention trial in the Cancer Prevention Clini cal Trials Network, a program of the National Cancer Institute. The drug will be given to women who are going to have their fallopian tubes surgically removed. Because most ovarian can cers originate in the fallopian tubes, researchers will examine the effect of the drug on fallopian tube tissues. Ultimately, the drug could be given to women who are genetically predis posed to cancer, such as those with a BRCA gene mutation.

“It has become increasingly evident over the past 10 to 15 years that the smallest blood vessels are important in terms of

[ Summer 2022 ]14 RESEARCH

Shannon Conley, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the college’s Department of Cell Biology and a research member of the Oklahoma Center for Geroscience and Healthy Brain Aging, earned the five-year grant, which will allow her to further ex plore how damaged micro-vessels in the brain may contribute to cognitive decline.

In the process of aging, many older adults bear the heavy burden of dementia and vascular cognitive impairment, con ditions that can rob them of quality of life and put them at risk for falls and injuries. To explore a promising premise in aging research — that changes to the brain’s tiniest blood vessels may play an outsized role in cognitive decline — an OU Col lege of Medicine researcher recently received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The Oklahoma TSET Phase 1 Program at Stephenson Cancer Center is the only such program in the state and is considered among the top 10 programs in the nation. As a National Can cer Institute-designated cancer center, Stephenson can offer patients first access to early-stage drugs like Benbrook’s OK-1.

“This is a very exciting time to be conducting the first Phase 1 trial for a drug developed on our campus,” said Robert Mannel, M.D., director of Stephenson Cancer Center. “It is only pos sible because of Dr. Benbrook’s passion and determination and the ability of Stephenson Cancer Center to offer Phase 1 clinical trials. We have a very special team of doctors, nurses, researchers and staff who work together to safely give these new drugs to humans.”

Shannon Conley, Ph.D.

OU College of Medicine Researcher Awarded $1.7 Million Grant to Study Origins of Age-Related Cognitive Impairment

Conley is focusing on the relationship between IGF-1, a common growth hormone that promotes blood vessel health, and smooth muscle cells, which surround the outside of blood vessels and help regulate blood flow by contracting and dilating. Researchers know that a person’s IGF-1 levels decline with age and that a deficit of the hormone can lead to defects in blood vessels. However, much less is known about the role of smooth muscle cells in that process.

“The research community has not really looked at the role of IGF-1 deficiency on the smooth muscle cells, specifically in the brain and in the context of aging and age-related cognitive impairment,” Conley said.

Conley’s study will also seek to determine what is happening on a molecular level when smooth muscle cells cannot re spond to IGF-1. “For example, do we see changes in the genes that are associated with cell contraction? Do we see early death of smooth muscle cells?” she said.

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contributing to disease pathology,” Conley said. “In the brain, this is especially important with aging. Because the brain can’t store any extra oxygen, the loss or damage of even a few tiny blood vessels means there’s not enough oxygen being sup plied. In this project, we want to understand what is causing the damage or loss of blood vessels in the brain of an older

For this project, Conley has created a genetically altered mouse that does not have a receptor for IGF-1 in the smooth muscle cells, resulting in a research model that mimics accel erated aging. Her first aim is to chronicle what happens when the smooth muscle cells can’t respond to IGF-1. Potential ef fects include damage or loss of blood vessels and impairment of the blood-brain barrier. She will also monitor to see whether the smooth muscle cells become impaired in their ability to contract as they normally do.

“One of the things that is important about smooth muscle cells in the brain is that they contract to protect the small blood vessels from the effects of systemic hypertension,” she said. “If you have systemic high blood pressure, you don’t want the tiny blood vessels in the brain to experience that. They’re very fragile and could have small bleeds or hemorrhages. So we’ll be watching to see if the smooth muscle cells lose their ability to protect the small blood vessels.”

“As we have longer life spans, it’s really important to identify ways to simultaneously promote increased health spans,” she said. “It’s very challenging when you have loved ones who have severe illness or cognitive impairment, yet they are not dying; they are physically able to keep living. We want to help people stay healthier longer.”

As people live longer, research like Conley’s is especially important. Medical advancements may be able to keep people alive longer, but many will be diagnosed with conditions that significantly decrease their quality of life.

Conley’s research is a component of the growing discipline of geroscience research, the study of the biology of aging. Aging itself is one of the biggest risk factors for disease, and many of the cellular mechanisms of aging are common across a wide range of pathologies.

“The things that go wrong in the blood vessel cells in the brain that can lead to dementia are some of the same things that can go wrong in the retina and lead to age-related macular de generation. And some of those same cellular mechanisms can contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease pathol ogies or Parkinson’s disease pathologies. Among geroscience researchers, there is a lot of interest in what we call the basic cellular mechanisms of aging. We’re not looking specifically at the disease, but how the cells change as we age, and how that increases our risk for a variety of pathologies.”

Research reported in this story is supported by the National Institute on Aging, a component of the National Institutes of Health, under the award number 1R01AG070915-01A1. Federal funds were secured with the help of seed grants from the Presbyterian Health Foundation, the OU College of Medicine Alumni Association, and the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.

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Ultimately, one of her goals it to identify targets that might be suitable for a therapeutic intervention. Treating an IGF-1 deficiency isn’t as simple as giving someone a supplement of IGF-1; because it is a growth factor, it could promote abnormal growth in other tissues and cells. However, some of the chang es that occur because of IGF-1 deficiency could be a target for future treatments, she said.

Specifically,adult.”

David Sparling, M.D., Ph.D., Section Chief for Diabetes and Endocrinology in the Department of Pediatrics, is active as a researcher and a clinician.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 554,400 Oklahoma adults have a diabetes diagnosis, which equates to 14.3% of the population. One in 10 infants and tod dlers are already obese, and one in five youth are both obese and at risk for childhood diabetes. Every year, diabetes and pre-diabetes costs $3.2 billion in Oklahoma, including $873 million in indirect costs for lost productivity. If trends continue, the American Medical Association estimates that one-third of all children born in the United States, as well as one-half of Native American children, will develop Type 2 diabetes in their

Diabetes Research Expands to Meet Needs Driven by Aggressive Conditions

During the tenure of Jed Friedman, Ph.D., director of Harold Hamm Dia betes Center, federal research dollars have increased from $2 million to more than $20 million.

With both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes continuing to increase, researchers are fueled by a sense of urgency to drive innova tions that slow growth of the disease and the toll it is taking on people of all ages.

“Thelifetimes.face of diabetes has undergone striking changes over several decades,” said Jed Friedman, Ph.D., director of Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. “The number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 5.5 million in 1980 to 34 million in 2020. Currently, one in eight Oklahomans has Type 2 diabetes, and one-third of the state’s adult population have pre-diabetes and are completely unaware of their precarious

[ Summer 2022 ]16 RESEARCH

The first 1,000 days is a major focus in the Section of Diabe tes and Endocrinology in the Department of Pediatrics. The section has expanded dramatically, led in its early growth by former Section Chief Kenneth Copeland, M.D., and continued today under the leadership of newly appointed Section Chief David Sparling, M.D., Ph.D. The section’s research enterprise broadly focuses on the outcomes of obesity in youth, maternal determinants of disease, the long-term metabolic effects of breast milk, the importance of microRNAs to metabolism, alter nations in the gut microbiome, and many other areas.

studies (Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth) found that people with Type 2 diabetes diagnosed during youth — as young as 10 years old — have a high risk of developing complications at early ages and have a greater chance of multiple complications within 15 years after diagnosis.

Thenations.TODAY

“The TODAY studies demonstrated that youth-onset Type 2 diabetes is much more aggressive than Type 2 diabetes in adults. Youth experience multiple complications very early in their disease process. This demonstrates the need to aggres sively treat youth-onset Type 2 diabetes as well as continue to strive for better treatment to prevent the disease progression,” said pediatric endocrinologist Jeanie Tryggestad, M.D., an associate professor in the section. Tryggestad continues to analyze data from the TODAY studies.

The pediatric version of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is also a major research focus. Like Type 2 diabetes, NAFLD was historically only diagnosed in adults but is now observed frequently in young people and appears to develop quicker. NAFLD, a buildup of excess fat in the liver not relat ed to alcohol use, leads to inflammation and fibrosis. It is the

Both the pediatric research team, pictured here, and the adult team, shown below, have grown in size and number of grants.

Cherokee Nation, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma City Area Office of the Indian Health Service. About 40% of study participants in Oklahoma were youth from tribal

The section also maintains respectful partnerships with many tribal nations in Oklahoma. These partnerships began as a clinical partnership; later, mutually beneficial research collabo rations were added. Among the most notable of those re search partnerships are the National Institutes of Health-fund ed TODAY studies, whose cumulative findings were published in July 2021 in the prestigious New England Journal of Medi cine. The OU Health Sciences Center was the largest of 15 na tional clinical sites in the trial and partnered with tribal nations and communities including the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, the

condition. Native Americans have over twice the risk of devel oping diabetes and are almost twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to die from diabetes or suffer from its complications, in cluding cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease and cancer. While these statistics are grim, we know that research holds the key to make progress against this disease.”

The statistics are alarming, and a changing dynamic is especial ly concerning: Type 2 diabetes, which formerly was only seen in adults, is dramatically increasing in children, driven by the obe sity epidemic. Related conditions like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are taking the same course, leading to a lifetime burden of care. Additionally worrisome is that both conditions seem to progress faster in youth than they do in adults.

The research enterprise in the OU College of Medicine and OU Health Harold Hamm Diabetes Center continues expand ing to meet the demand for new insight into the causes of and treatments for both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. In the past three years, seven new investigators, with established federal funding, have been recruited, which brings the diabetes re search base to approximately 130 faculty and trainees across five colleges, the OU Norman campus, and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Federal research grants have increased from $2 million to $20 million, and philanthropic support is strong and growing.

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Friedman, who arrived on campus in 2019, established three research pathways toward a cure for diabetes. The first focuses on the first 1,000 days — from conception to a child’s second year of life — when there are critical windows of development where metabolic conditions are established that affect a person’s health across the life span. The second pathway, protecting the pancreas, involves identifying proteins that could play a role in interrupting the destruction of the pancreas. The third pathway, the intersection of diabetes and cancer, addresses common risk factors and explores connect ed solutions for the two diseases.

[ Summer 2022 ]18 RESEARCH

“NAFLD in children is paralleling what we see with Type 2 diabetes — they are diseases formerly observed almost ex clusively in adults,” Short said. “It is concerning that children are developing these diseases because they’ll have a lifetime burden of care. With NAFLD in children, the condition not only worsens at a faster pace than it does in adults, but an increas ing number of young people are requiring liver transplants by the time they reach young adulthood. In order to develop new treatments, we need to distinguish how kids may be different than adults who have the same disease.”

“Ouradulthood.recent

Kevin Short, Ph.D., an associate professor in the section, is co-leading a new $2.3 million federal grant that aims to better understand the characteristics that drive the development of NAFLD in children, and to identify biomarkers that could one day be used to monitor treatments.

most common liver disease worldwide, affecting nearly 40% of youth with obesity and 10% of the general pediatric popula tion. NAFLD usually develops silently and is often diagnosed in its advanced form along with diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes Comprehensive Clinic in Youth is a vehicle for enrolling patients in clinical trials studying new drugs for Type 2 diabetes, which pale in comparison to the number of medications for adults with Type 2 diabetes, Sparling said.

is that metformin on the maternal side crosses the placenta and creates an adult dose of the drug in a devel oping fetus,” Friedman said. “The fetus is not accustomed to experiencing this drug at a high level, and it doesn’t have a way to clear it. Even though these babies are not overgrown when they are born, we have epidemiological evidence that, as teenagers, they start to develop obesity. We think that whatever sets that in motion probably occurs with their exposure to metformin. We just don’t know how or under what conditions that happens. Team science involving nutrition, neonatology, endocrinology and OB-GYN make these studies

A dramatic increase in Type 2 diabetes in children is among the drivers of research in the OU College of Medicine.

Friedman’s experiments center on the bone marrow, which is where the immune system originates in a stem cell and sets the stage for inflammatory cells going forward. His hypothe sis is that a mother’s obesity and high-fat diet are changing the gut microbiome and the genes that control immunity and, therefore, inflammation in the future can be changed by im proving the maternal diet.

grant, Friedman is investigating how a mother’s obesity and high-fat diet may change the way her offspring’s genes, including the gut microbiome, work. Studies in animals and neonates suggest that development of the im mune system is profoundly altered by disruption of pioneering gut bacteria in early life, which can promote chronic inflamma tory disease development in later life. Even a brief disruptive period can induce immunological changes that persist into

Clinical research is also a strong focus for both pediatric and adult versions of diabetes. In the Section of Diabetes and En docrinology, researchers take part in several national consor tiums, including the Pediatric Diabetes Consortium, the Type 1 Diabetes Exchange, and TrialNet. Wavelengths, a research program and clinical registry operated in partnership with OU Health adult providers, allows researchers to follow the outcomes of older adolescents and young adults with Type 1 OUdiabetes.Health’s

publications showed that a gut microbial imbal ance in human infants is associated with changes in immunity with direct connections to both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes and obesity,” he said.

Friedman is spearheading two major studies, funded by a combined $10 million in NIH grants, that focus on the first 1,000 days. One investigates how the diabetes drug met formin, used by millions of pregnant women, affects develop ing babies and their future risk for obesity. Because women

Withpossible.”thesecond

with diabetes often give birth to newborns with excessive birth weight, metformin is frequently prescribed to lower the expectant mother’s blood sugar and slow the growth of the fetus. While metformin is beneficial in that regard, researchers lack understanding about the long-term safety of the drug in “Ourpregnancy.concern

“Researchers have begun to realize that people with fatty liver disease may develop NASH for different reasons, or a combi nation of different reasons,” Li said. “It is important to better understand how the disease develops because we don’t currently have a drug to treat NASH.”

Harold Hamm Diabetes Center researcher Archana Unnikrishnan, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

In addition to the leap in federal research dollars for diabetes research, philanthropic support is on the rise as well. The Chickasaw Nation made a major gift, and the Harold Hamm Foundation donated $34 million to accelerate faculty recruit ment and to establish a pilot grant program with matching grants. This year, with matching funds from the Presbyterian Health Foundation, Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Meinders Foundation and the OU Health Sciences Center, the Harold Hamm Diabetes Cen ter awarded $1.83 million to 17 researchers.

With a $1.6 million federal grant, Li is also studying the pro gression of NAFLD in adults, which affects approximately one-quarter of the global adult population and often occurs with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Some people have NAFLD for years with little to no harmful effects, but a small percent age slowly develop NASH, or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, an advanced form of fatty liver disease that can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Why some people develop NASH and others don’t is not well understood.

In the cancer-diabetes research focus, a recent drug-related finding by an adult diabetes researcher holds promise for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes in adults. Tiangang Li, Ph.D., discovered that a drug developed to suppress cancerous tu mors also has the ability to lower blood sugar levels that were elevated due to obesity and Type 2 diabetes. In addition, the

Michael Rudolph, Ph.D., is a researcher at Harold Hamm Diabetes Center and an assistant professor in the Department of Physiology.

Tiangang Li,, Ph.D., is a researcher at Harold Hamm Diabetes Center and an associate professor in the Department of Physiology.

“Classically, children were not involved in large research studies that established whether a medication was safe and effective,” Sparling said. “While there are many medications for adults with Type 2 diabetes, there are very few for children. Until just a few years ago, the only medication first indicated for a child with diabetes was metformin. If their diabetes could not be controlled with metformin, the only other medication we had was insulin. And the TODAY study demonstrated that more than 50% of kids who go on metformin will fail that treat ment in less than four years and progress to needing insulin. We currently have only two other medications approved for treating Type 2 diabetes in youth, and they must be injected. Our hope is that with expansion of medications for children we can slow the disease process. Because Type 2 diabetes is so aggressive in children, we need to be aggressive in treating it.”

drug appears to be effective at lowering blood sugar without requiring a reduction in body weight. “This project illustrates a new pathway whereby a cancer drug can be repurposed for possible diabetes therapy,” Friedman said.

“We like to say that research is at the root of our enterprise,” Friedman said. “The expansion of our research programs is critical for helping children, adults and their families live healthier lives without diabetes and its consequences. With our increased federal dollars, generous philanthropic support and extensive collaborations, we are poised to make discover ies that will achieve our mission.”

[ Summer 2022 ] 19 RESEARCHTULSA

“These two treatments have been considered the standard of care for metastatic melanoma, and they were both developed in the same time period, but they had never been compared head to head,” Ikeguchi said. “This trial is important because it demonstrates that our patients with advanced melanoma will likely live longer if they receive the immunotherapy drugs first, followed by the targeted therapy drugs.”

Treatmentsaid.atStephenson

Alexandra Ikeguchi, M.D., an assistant professor of medicine, led OU Health’s participation in the trial, which examined two treatment sequences for advanced melanoma to determine which one increased the survival rate for patients. The treat ments involved four drugs given in two combinations — two immunotherapy drugs and two targeted therapy drugs. The trial produced a clear answer: Patients who received the two immunotherapy drugs first, followed by the targeted therapy drugs, had a 20% increase in survival over two years.

Alexandra Ikeguchi, M.D.

Cancer Center has aligned with the findings. The trial is also important news for community oncol ogists who are not affiliated with a research-driven academic center like OU Health. Community oncologists treat fewer pa tients with advanced melanoma, and because the N/I immuno therapy combination can cause significant side effects, those oncologists tend to shy away from prescribing it, Ikeguchi said.

“Because we are a National Cancer Institute-Designated Center, we don’t have to confine ourselves to one cooperative group. We can pick out trials that are important and beneficial to our patient population no matter where they are headquar tered,” Ikeguchi said.

An OU Health physician served as an investigator for a National Cancer Institute-sponsored clinical trial that yielded important answers concerning the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma skin cancer.

Oncologist Helps Lead Clinical Trial Showing Best Treatment Sequence for Metastatic Melanoma

[ Summer 2022 ]20 RESEARCH

“The toxicity associated with the N/I combination is manage able, but you have to be experienced in managing it. If oncol ogists only see half a dozen patients a year with advanced melanoma, they may not have the comfort level in doing that,” she said. “Most oncologists in the community have been prescribing targeted therapy, so this clinical trial is saying that practice should be re-examined.”

The two immunotherapy drugs are nivolumab and ipilimumab (N/I), and the two targeted therapy drugs are dabrafenib and trametinib (D/T). As immunotherapy drugs, the N/I combina tion works by prompting the body’s natural defenses to fight cancer. In this case, it keeps the body’s T cells from “turning off” so that they can actively attack cancer cells. The D/T com bination directly targets cancers with a BRAF V600 mutation, which drives cancer cell growth. The mutation is present in about half of patients with metastatic melanoma skin cancer, Ikeguchi

“Our patients at Stephenson Cancer Center are very eager to go on clinical trials, as was the case with this trial,” she added. “They want to help themselves, but they are also altruistic in giving their time and effort to a trial that will ultimately help many people.”

The trial, called the DREAMseq phase 3 clinical trial, was carried out by researchers from the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and American College of Radiology Imaging Network). It consists of 1,300 member institutions in the United States and around the world and is primarily supported through research funding from the National Cancer Institute. As a National Cancer Insti tute-Designated Cancer Center, Stephenson Cancer Center participates in ECOG-ACRIN clinical trials and those of many other oncology groups.

Rajagopal Ramesh, Ph.D.

If Ramesh’s laboratory study is successful, his next steps would be to scale up the production of exosomes to be tested in humans as drug delivery vehicles. The concept is encourag ing for its potential to “outsmart” clever tumor cells.

“The challenge we have with cancer, in particular lung cancer, is that tumor cells have the ability to modify themselves in a way that the drugs cannot recognize them anymore. It’s like a cop constantly chasing a thief,” he said. “That’s why we are trying this new option to see if we can prove the concept.”

For this study, Ramesh’s use of exosomes is three-fold. First, he loads the exosomes with chemotherapy drugs. Then he adds iron oxide particles, the same agent that is used in MRIs to capture an image inside the body. Finally, he coats the entire exosome with a tumor-targeted peptide that essentially provides directions so that the exosomes travel to the cancer ous cells instead of normal cells.

vehicle because of their nanoparticle size, which allows them to pass through tiny blood vessels to reach areas that con ventional drugs cannot. And because exosomes are naturally produced, they are likely less toxic than particles that are synthesized using chemicals.

Lung cancer often metastasizes to the brain, liver and bone, which makes it especially difficult to treat with conventional therapies. Because exosomes are only 30 to 160 nanometers wide (for comparison, a human hair is approximately 100,000 nanometers wide), Ramesh hypothesizes that they will be able to reach those different areas efficiently and deliver the

Lung cancer, especially when diagnosed at stage 3 or 4, is notoriously difficult to treat. Only a fraction of patients respond to existing treatments, and the five-year survival rate is less than 18%. In an effort to improve those odds, an OU College of Medicine researcher is studying an innovative new approach to treatment — using tiny particles naturally produced by the body, loading them with chemotherapy and an imaging agent, then giving them directions to the cancerous cells.

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[ Summer 2022 ] 21

Rajagopal Ramesh, Ph.D., professor of pathology, recently earned a $2.8 million grant from the National Cancer Insti tute to conduct the promising study, one of only a few such projects funded in the United States. He is focusing on exo somes — nanometer-sized particles produced in the billions by the body’s cells. Exosomes are attractive as a drug delivery

Decadeschemotherapy.ago,researchers

considered exosomes “cellular gar bage,” but over the past 10 to 15 years, the scientific communi ty has reconsidered their role, Ramesh said. Both normal cells and cancer cells produce exosomes. Cancer cells produce a higher number of exosomes, and they seem to carry a mes sage to normal cells telling them to transform into cancer cells, he said. Researchers then began thinking about using exo somes from normal cells to deliver drugs to cancer cells.

Researcher Earns Federal Grant to Study New Drug Delivery Concept for Lung Cancer

“Our preliminary data show that more than 90% of the exo some specifically goes to the tumor cells instead of harming normal cells with chemotherapy and causing side effects,” Ramesh said. “Once it reaches the tumor, we can monitor the killing of cancer cells in real time because of the imaging agent we loaded into the exosome. After treatment, we can again image the reduction of cancer cells. That’s why we call it a targeted multi-functional exosome.”

Research reported in this story is supported by the National Cancer Institute, a component of the National Institutes of Health, under the award number 1R01CA254192-01A1. The project also has been supported by the Presbyterian Health Foundation in Oklahoma City and the Jim and Christy Ever est Endowed Chair in Cancer Developmental Therapeutics Research, which Ramesh holds.

Their work is often demanding. Last year, there were 6,500 trauma cases at OU Health’s Level 1 Trauma Center; someone from Cavett’s team was present for each one, keeping families updated and comforted. They also respond to all heart attacks and strokes that occur within the hospital, as well as every death. They help families find funeral homes, facilitate autop sies with pathologists, obtain signatures for death certificates, and more. In addition, they aim to visit every new patient with in 24 hours of admission.

“I’m going to miss being there every day, but I will stay con nected,” Cavett said. “It’s been my life and has helped me feel fulfilled. I love having relationships with families.”

For 45 years, Danny Cavett has been a compassionate and supportive presence for hospital patients and their families, helping them navigate difficult circumstances and create meaning from situations that seemed to have none. This spring, Cavett officially retired as Director of Pastoral Care for OU Health, where his work as a chaplain has touched an untold number of people.

“It’s been my life and has helped me feel fulfilled. I love having relationships with families.”

After 45 Years, Danny Cavett Retires as Director of Pastoral Care at OU Health

“We do that to the tune of about 95%. I’m proud of that,” Cavett said. “We know that if a person receives a visit from pastoral care, even if it’s to say, ‘We’re here if you need us,’ then studies show that patient satisfaction goes up quite a bit.”

During his 45 years on campus, Danny Cavett supported patients and healthcare providers alike.

Children’s Hospital OU Health, and OU Health Edmond Medical Center. Cavett also directed OU Health’s nationally certified Clinical Pastoral Education Program, which has four full-time chaplain residents in training.

PATIENT CARE

Although patients may receive visits from their own clergy, the work of a chaplain is a bit different, Cavett said. Chaplains talk about the patient’s medical problems, ask what kind of help they may need, and work with the patient to move toward goals or find meaning in what they’re experiencing. They do so by honoring the patient’s own ideas about spirituality. “Our calling is to work with the patient’s own background instead of me placing my spirituality on them,” Cavett said. “We want to take their story and help them grow with it.”

Cavett is retiring from a program that he has significantly strengthened. The pastoral care department now has a staff of eight chaplains and two administrative assistants, along with several other chaplains who fill in as needed. They cover OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center, Oklahoma

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Building in downtown Oklahoma City, he had just walked into Children’s Hospital. He never went to the bombing site be cause the need was so great at the hospital.

Althoughretirement.heisready

That was the genesis of Cavett Kids, a calling that has run in parallel to Cavett’s career as a chaplain. The first camp he organized was for children with kidney disease; it’s still going strong 44 years later. In 1997, Cavett Kids Foundation became a nonprofit organization, and today it offers seven camps and numerous other programs free of charge for children with chronic and life-threatening illness.

“We set up a place for the parents who were waiting to hear about their kids (who were in a daycare in the building), and we went into the ER and tried to match kids with their parents,” Cavett said. “By noon that day, it was pretty clear that there would not be many more children who survived. The parents kept coming back to me asking if there was any news. And there wasn’t. That still really haunts me. It’s a memory I have to deal with.”

“Danny’sbedside.

Whenbuilding.he

dedication to our health system and the patients we serve has been invaluable,” said Jon Hayes, President of Okla homa Children’s Hospital OU Health. “He has been a kind and comforting presence for our patients as well as our healthcare providers and staff. As we have faced tremendous challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, Danny’s wisdom and compas sion have never been more important. It is hard to imagine OU Health without Danny, but he has made us all better at what we do because of the example he has set.”

PATIENT CARE

In the aftermath of the bombing, Cavett helped start a sup port group for families who lost children. He also helped colleagues in psychiatry conduct research on the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among survivors. Because of his experience with that tragedy, he was called upon to help after planes hit the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. He was assigned to the New York City Fire Depart ment’s medical clinic, where he talked with each firefighter who came in, listened to their experiences, and recommended mental health services if needed. He also traveled to individ ual fire departments to further visit with firefighters who were working at the site.

Throughout his career, Cavett has given his expertise to two other important entities in the healthcare profession: the Medical Ethics Committee at OU Health and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the OU Health Sciences Center. Medical Ethics Committee members are on call to provide consulta tions anytime a healthcare provider, patient or family member has a concern about a treatment regimen. They thoroughly look at each case and make recommendations to physicians overseeing care. As an IRB member, Cavett is part of the group that reviews and monitors research involving human participants. He plans to continue serving on the oncology IRB in his

[ Summer 2022 ] 23

“It was wonderful that children began living longer, but we were still treating kids like they were going to die,” he said. “Everything was centered around them, and that gave some kids a victim mentality. I decided that we needed to start a camp to teach kids how to cope with their illnesses — to be a thriver and embrace their story.”

to step back from many of his duties, Cavett said he will stay connected to OU Health through committee work and filling in as a chaplain when needed. His decades of experience will no doubt continue influencing others as well.

started, the hospital had room for about 50 children who were in wards instead of private rooms. Cavett saw each patient or family three times a day, and quickly became known at the hospital. Unfortunately, he also conducted many funer als for children who could not be cured by medical treatments available at the time. As medicine advanced, life expectancy lengthened, and Cavett noticed a related phenomenon among young patients.

Cavett’s career also has been shaped by communal trage dies. In 1995, when a bomb exploded at the Alfred P. Murrah

“I try to teach people about how to handle the stories we see and hear because compassion fatigue, burnout and moral distress are very real,” he said. “Some stories are very dear, so I keep them in my emotional bag around my shoulders. But if I keep every story in that bag, it becomes too heavy to carry. Some stories I have learned to put on a shelf where I can retrieve them if I need to.

“During my career, I’ve seen a progression of myself becoming less stoic and more willing to show my feelings. I still remem ber a young girl at one of my early camps who loved to play golf. She got to play golf during the camp, and the next week she died. That’s very dear to my heart. The tears come a lot quicker now. I used to hide them, but now I don’t.”

Cavett and his fellow chaplains have faced additional challenges during the time of COVID-19. When the surge of cases has been at its highest, no family members could come into the hospital; instead, Cavett and his team would go find the patient’s family in their car to deliver news. If a patient was near death, one or two family members could go to the

Since he began his career, Cavett has experienced substantial change in the medical profession and the evolution of hospital facilities. He began working as a chaplain in 1977 at Oklahoma Children’s Memorial Hospital, which was then located in Biel stein Center near the intersection of 13th Street and Stonewall Avenue. Soon, the hospital expanded with the construction of Garrison Tower, which now connects to the original Bielstein

“I remember that first year, we connected all the kids because they didn’t know each other,” he said. “I still do all the teaching at the camps about not being a victim. Our motto is that the illness does not define the child. They get to have fun with other kids who have the same medical condition, and they learn what it means to be a thriver.”

Currently, patients with a blood cancer who want to go on hospice cannot receive blood transfusions at home, but must travel to a hospital or clinic. A clinical study offered by OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center aims to provide evidence that home-based transfusions are important for patients’ quality of life.

Nicholson was exactly the type of patient for which the trial was designed: a person with a hematologic malignancy (blood cancer) who no longer wanted to be treated for her cancer, but still needed to have blood and platelet transfusions to relieve crushing fatigue and prevent bleeding and bruising. However, very few such patients enter hospice care, nor do hematologists typically recommend hospice. That’s largely be cause almost no hospice agencies provide blood and platelet transfusions in a patient’s home.

While blood and platelet transfusions are technically covered by Medicare, hospice agencies face a number of barriers in providing the service. That means patients and their families often forgo supportive hospice services and instead make frequent trips to a hospital or clinic for transfusions that take several hours. If the hospital or clinic is many miles away, they

When Patrisha Nicholson of Edmond decided to discontinue treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, she agreed to enroll in a pioneering study being offered by OU Health Stephen son Cancer Center in conjunction with the Oklahoma Blood Institute and local hospices. The study is unique in that it is not testing a new drug, but a means of improving quality of life in a patient’s last weeks or days of life.

Partner for Innovative Clinical Trial Studying Home-Based Blood Transfusions

Center, OBI,

Stephenson Cancer Hospice Agencies

PATIENT CARE

[ Summer 2022 ]24

lose even more precious time at home with family and friends. In some cases, patients might decide they are too tired to even make the trip, and their quality of life and health declines further.

Jennifer Holter-Chakrabarty, M.D.

OU College of Medicine hematologist-oncologist professor of medicine Jennifer Holter-Chakrabarty, M.D., was all too familiar with these barriers and decided to develop a local study after serving on the government affairs committee of the American Society of Hematology, which is advocating for change at the national level. She and palliative care physician and oncology fellow Rabia Saleem, M.D., designed the study, which aims to evaluate whether home-based transfusions improve the patient’s quality of life. They hope this might serve as evidence that this therapy should be considered for hematologic patients and provide rationale for a federal reimbursement model to hospice agencies. The study is a collaboration with the Okla homa Blood Institute, which is providing the blood, lab testing and nursing staff to perform transfusions, as well as two local hospices, Integris Hospice and Apex Home Health and Hos pice, which are overseeing care and collecting data.

The study’s intention is also likely to resonate with blood do nors. “It’s easy for donors to understand that someone might need blood after a car accident, for example, but this allows our donors to see that they give good days to people in addi tion to saving lives,” he said.

“They get more of their life back.”

“When my patients are being treated for cancers like leukemia or myeloma, they usually receive a significant dose of chemo therapy, which keeps their bone marrow from working well, and they require blood transfusions two or three times per week. In addition, their disease disrupts normal marrow func tion that produces red blood cells and platelets. If they want to transition to hospice, the need for transfusions doesn’t go away,” Holter-Chakrabarty said. “Patients often feel exhausted and are so short of breath that just getting up and walking to the door is a task they can’t contemplate. Many of my patients tell me that after they get a unit of blood, they have enough energy to get up and make a meal or spend time with family. They get more of their life back”

John Armitage, M.D.

“We wanted to flip the script and give the patient control,” she said. “Because this is aimed at palliative, supportive, pa tient-centered care, then the patients’ symptoms should trig ger a transfusion, not a number. We are also collecting blood each week so that at the end of the study we’ll be able to see how those trigger levels compare to symptoms.”

[ Summer 2022 ] 25

“This model allows patients to receive the palliative benefits of blood transfusions sooner rather than starting hospice in the last week of their lives,” he said. “These patients have every right to comfort and family time. Local organizations are working together to remove this barrier. This is why you go into healthcare — to give better care and use your knowledge to improve life for people.”

are rare, and studies conducted in Europe — where home hospice transfusions are routine — show a reaction rate of less than 1%.

In the study, patients’ symptoms determine when they need a transfusion of blood or platelets, which is the opposite of what occurs in a hospital or clinic, where a patient’s lab results for hemoglobin or platelets determine whether a transfu sion is needed. Not all patients have symptoms at the same hemoglobin or platelet level, Holter-Chakrabarty said, and they have experienced enough transfusions to know when they need one. Each week, study participants receive blood products based on an evaluation of symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, bruising or bleeding.

“I truly believe we wouldn’t have had her for seven weeks had she not been part of the study,” Steuber said, “nor would she have had her quality of life for that long without the transfu sions. She was a very social person, and although COVID-19 complicated things, she had neighbors and relatives come over with their masks on, and someone from church brought her communion. She was often able to get up and sit at the dinner table and was very animated.

“Being part of the study was also important to her because she was a pioneer in other areas of her life. She was an educa tor and was active in civil rights as it pertained to desegrega tion of the Oklahoma City public school system, and she was the first female athletic director for the entire district. Paving the way for others was her calling.”

The study is also addressing the safety of home-based trans fusions. Concerns about transfusion reactions have favored transfusions being conducted in a hospital or clinic instead of a home setting, Holter-Chakrabarty said. However, reactions

That sense of purpose was also meaningful to Patrisha Nichol son, who spent seven weeks in hospice before passing away at age 83. She was the first patient enrolled in the trial and was grateful to be part of something that not only benefited her but could enhance care for others in the future, her daugh ter Jennifer Steuber said. Her mother received weekly blood transfusions at home and was comfortable and engaged up until a few days before her death.

John Armitage, M.D., CEO of Oklahoma Blood Institute, said the study is a perfect fit for OBI’s mission of saving lives and improving quality of life. As the sixth-largest nonprofit blood collector in America, OBI is able to provide units of blood and lend leadership in advocat ing for the effort. Armitage said he hopes the study’s evidence will ultimately allow patients to enroll in hospice earlier when they are ready to take that step.

PATIENT CARE

“This new AI-backed technology allows our team to collaborate together in real time to make the diagnosis and develop the treatment plan quicker.”

Synchronizing the AI-powered imaging analysis with a re al-time communication platform though a phone app, a more optimized workflow is possible, ensuring the right patient is seen by the most appropriate specialist without delay.

“This platform can potentially save critical minutes, even hours, in the triage, diagnosis and treatment of strokes,” said Hakeem Shakir, M.D., a neurosurgeon with OU Health’s Com prehensive Stroke Center. “It will change the trajectory of how we care for patients, saving lives and improving outcomes.”

The OU Health Comprehensive Stroke Center offers the high est level of stroke care, setting high goals for administration of IV tPA within 30 minutes, and for endovascular thrombectomy within 60 minutes of patient arrival.

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Software that uses artificial intelligence is enhancing stroke care at OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center.

PATIENT CARE

“When a patient arrives with a suspected stroke, two things are of critical importance — coordination and time,” said Evg eny Sidorov, M.D., Ph.D., director of OU Health’s Comprehen sive Stroke Center. “This new AI-backed technology allows our team to collaborate together in real time to make the diagnosis and develop the treatment plan quicker.”

The new technology promises significantly improved health outcomes by accelerating diagnosis and treatment after an individual with a suspected stroke arrives at the center. The software uses a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) system that automatically analyzes computed tomography scans for suspected large vessel occlusions (LVOs). An LVO is a type of ischemic stroke that occurs when a large artery in the brain is blocked.

This stroke care platform will allow University of Oklahoma Medical Center to further enhance the power of its stroke care team through faster detection and notification of suspected LVO strokes and beyond. Further, it will allow care teams to securely communicate to achieve synchronized care and de termine the optimal patient treatment decision.

As a leader in stroke care, OU Health is bringing the first com puter-aided triage system approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Comprehensive Stroke Center at OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center.

OU Health Brings Artificial Intelligence to Stroke Care

College Welcomes Chair of Newly Created Department of Oncology Science

As they prepare for their careers, OU College of Medicine students are increasingly expanding their knowledge base beyond diagnosing and treating illness to better understand ing today’s pressing issues affecting health. This year, their focus has been on climate change, which the World Health Organization has declared the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century.

[ Summer 2022 ] 27 MEDICAL EDUCATION

Singh comes to the OU College of Medicine from the Eppley Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, where he served as professor and co-leader of the Cancer Biology Program at the Fred and Pa mela Buffett Cancer Center. He also served as coordinator for the Cancer Metabolomics Resource.

Each year, students organize the Bridges to Access Conference and focus on a theme that may negatively affect

The OU College of Medicine has created a new department — the Department of Oncology Science — to increase cancer re search and offer a doctoral degree program. Pankaj K. Singh, Ph.D., is founding chair and professor of the department, in addition to holding the Jim and Christy Everest Chair in Cancer Research and serving as Senior Director of Oncology Science at OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center.

He has held numerous R01 awards from the National Institutes of Health, participated in multiple U54, P01, P20 and P50 NIH grants, and has published nearly 100 articles in scholarly jour nals. He has served on many grant review study sections and serves as editor for many scientific journals.

Pankaj K. Singh, Ph.D.

Singh brings extensive experience as a researcher, educator and mentor. His research interests include: metabolic alter ations in the regulation of chemotherapy/radiotherapy resis tance in pancreatic cancer; metabolic regulation of cancer cachexia; nutritional interventions to prevent/revert wasting in cancer patients; tumor-stromal metabolic interactions; meta bolic regulation of stromal and immune microenvironment in

Students Understanding,Gain Embrace Advocacy on Issues of Climate and Health

pancreatic cancer; and metabolic regulation of stemness and cancer metastasis.

The new Department of Oncology Science is possible be cause of the philanthropic support of the Stephenson Family Foundation, whose $20 million gift was established as a chal lenge grant. In less than two years, the gift was matched. The $40 million is funding five endowed chairs at $4 million each, the renovation of lab space, and ongoing faculty recruitment. At its full faculty complement, which is anticipated in the next three to five years, the department will have 10 faculty mem bers in addition to the chair.

the patients they will one day see in their practices. The conference, now 15 years old, engages health profession students and faculty across all seven colleges at the OU Health Sciences Center, as well as community members and healthcare industry leaders. This year’s speakers on climate change urged students to not only deepen their understanding of the high stakes regarding climate and health, but to advocate for solutions.

EDUCATION

A keynote speaker at the conference, Robert W. Haley, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, presented detailed scientific evidence of climate change and stressed the urgency of the global

Another keynote speaker, Elena Craft, Ph.D., senior director of climate and health at the Environmental Defense Fund, talked about a new Climate Vulnerability Index tool to identify health disparities exacerbated by climate change. Craft has helped public officials identify toxicological exposures from large releases of air pollution, including during climate-fueled disasters like hurricanes. Her work uncovered a massive leak of cancer-causing benzene in a Houston neighborhood during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Audrey Vu, who led the Marketing Committee for the Bridges to Access Conference, said speakers helped her better understand the extent to which climate changes affect health.

MEDICAL

“There is widespread consensus among the health profes sionals leading our most prominent medical journals that the greatest threat to our health right now is inaction on climate change,” said OU College of Medicine student Alice Moon, chair of this year’s conference. “Not only does climate change directly impact our health, but it can contribute to worsening health disparities globally and nationally.”

“Climatesituation.change

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is a rapidly growing threat to our children’s future, but it can be constrained by action in the next 11 years,” Haley said. “We have to slow the rate of warming by transi tioning from fossil fuel burning to non-polluting, renewable sources of power. We need to put people in office who are taking this seriously. This is the No. 1 issue in the world.”

Audrey Vu, another medical student and conference organiz er, said speakers like Craft drew connections between health and climate that she wouldn’t have seen on her own.

“Dr. Craft’s presentation on cancer clusters in Houston helped paint a tangible picture of how, when and where climate change impacts us,” Vu said. “It was really impactful for me

“At the heart of Bridges to Access is the mission to improve healthcare disparities through education and empowerment,” Moon added. “Unfortunately, climate change will have the greatest impact on those communities that already suffer healthcare disparities or lack sufficient resources or autonomy to respond. These include vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, ethnic minorities, poorer communities, and those with chronic disease.”

Alice Moon, who chaired this year’s Bridges to Access Conference, has had a longtime interest in combating climate change and protecting the environment.

College of Medicine student Jamaljé Rohnquist Bassue

to see the lived experience of people so close to me and recognize that climate change is right in our backyard. Climate change has its hand in everything, more so than I had realized or previously learned about. It should be a priority for health care professionals to know why the landscape of environmen tal risk factors is growing and how that changes the demo graphic and outcomes of patients they’ll see every day.”

MEDICAL EDUCATION

“Climate change is a health crisis in the most fundamental way — humans are a product of their environment, and when the environment suffers, so too will the health of its beneficiaries,” Moon said. “For example, if air quality is poor, lung conditions are exacerbated and we will see higher rates of asthma prob lems in the ER. If our soil and crops are contaminated or have decreased yields due to temperature, we will have poorer nutrition and our efforts to reduce under-nutrition globally will be

[ Summer 2022 ] 29

communities, it is important for physicians to be aware of oth er factors that could negatively impact their patients’ health such as climate change.

“Physicians have power and a high standing in society,” Reed added. “That standing allows physicians to be powerful advo cates for their patients and the communities in which they live. I believe physicians have a responsibility to advocate and be the voice for people in their communities who don’t have as loud of a voice or whose voice has been silenced. Physicians also have unique power through lobbying organizations such as state and national medical associations that individual members of the community may not have the same access to. On the level of the individual physician or other healthcare professionals, it is important to help spread awareness of issues that impact public health, including climate change, so that we can all be on the same page when it comes to taking lobbying stances and trying to impact solutions on a larger scale.”

and medical student Brandon Reed said it is important for physicians to learn about climate change because they have a responsibility to treat their patients in a holistic manner. “We are shortchanging our communities if we are simply treating symptoms and managing disease when we could be doing more to prevent our patients from being afflicted by certain diseases in the first place,” he said. “Just as issues such as food deserts, air quality, and access to health care in communities can affect patients’ health on a broad scale and require advocacy from physicians in those affected

Conferencehampered.”organizer

Brandon Reed served as Health Care Committee lead for this year’s Bridges to Access Conference. He said physicians should be aware of issues like climate change that affect their patients’ health.

Other speakers focused on topics like antibiotic resistance and animal agriculture, vector-borne diseases, carcinogen in creases, and solar energy. Changing global temperatures also have already affected health. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, heat-related deaths among people over 65 have increased by more than 50% in the past 20 years. Higher temperatures have led to increased dehydration, loss of kidney function, skin cancers, tropical infections, cardiovas cular and pulmonary disease, pregnancy complications, and more. Extreme weather events also have taken a toll.

AMA Journal Recognizes Student’s Painting, ‘The Duality of the URM’

As a third-year medical student at the OU College of Medicine in Oklahoma City, Jamaljé Rohnquist Bassue is well on his way to fulfilling a longtime dream of becoming a physician. More recently, he has discovered his passion for another interest — painting — and has earned recognition for his combination of both Bassuepursuits.grewup

on the island nation of St. Kitts in the West Indies and, like most students on the island, completed his primary and secondary education at age 16. After earning a degree in natural sciences, he landed in Oklahoma by way of his older brother, an aeronautical engineering student at OU. A

brief visit and the pictures his brother sent back home led him to believe OU was where he wanted to be, too, and he soon applied to medical school.

Now Bassue has two new passions — dermatology and painting. As a child, he doodled and scribbled, but during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was seeking an outlet for his stress when a nearby art supply store drew him in. The staff gave him some tips, and he left with everything he needed to paint with watercolor. He immediately found the brushstrokes therapeutic.

Encouraged by a classmate to enter the annual art competi tion of the American Medical Association, Bassue’s self-por trait, titled “The Duality of the URM” (underrepresented minority), was selected for the December 2021 cover of the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics

By definition, Bassue might be a rookie at painting, but his works reflect that of a seasoned artist. In each medium, he has put down depths of colors, captured his visions of shadows and light, and shared his point of view as an artist. And his work has not gone unrecognized.

he is full steam ahead in his medical career, he’s still a little hesitant to show his art, most of which is portraits with some cityscapes mixed in. However, that is changing. “I need to be more comfortable with opening up myself to critique,” he said. “But I think I’m heading in the right direction.”

Neurology was his first clinical rotation this year. He knew immediately neurology was not for him, but like any other medical student, he began to worry about not finding his niche specialty, one that really spoke to him. Then came a rotation in dermatology and Bassue knew he had found his calling.

Right now, Bassue has discovered a unique way to share his art less formally. Periodically, he leaves canvasses around Oklahoma City with a note saying “free to a good home.” He provides clues to the locations on his social media accounts. He can be found on Facebook, and his Instagram handle is @thingsbyjamaljé.

MEDICAL EDUCATION

Jamaljé Rohnquist Bassue’s watercolor painting, “The Duality of the URM,” was featured on the December cover of the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics.

Bassue hopes to do his dermatology residency and continue to share his gift of caring at OU Health Science Center. “In dermatology you get to know the patient. I want to be able to hold their hands and tell them things are going to work out,” he Althoughsaid.

Bassue said he was drawn to medicine because his family faced several health conditions, namely hypertension and diabetes. “I spent a lot of time in the hospital because my grandma was getting treated all the time,” he said. “I saw how nurses interacted with the patients and I saw how the doctors treated the patients, and I liked it.”

Bassue sees a direct correlation between his love of

“Dermatology was it. Within the first day I knew this is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” he said. “It clicked. I talked non-stop about it to my friend. He was annoyed because I just kept talking about dermatology.”

[ Summer 2022 ]30

He is now experimenting with the Zorn Palette, attributed to Swedish artist Anders Zorn, which consists of just four colors: yellow ochre, ivory black, vermilion and titanium white. In vary ing combinations, they can create every skin tone.

dermatology and art. “I’ve always had an appreciation of how light interacts with different objects. I think about how light interacts with the skin, how light interacts with tone, how it changes, how you look different under certain conditions. I re alize now there’s a little bit of dermatology in what I am doing with my art.”

“I’d sort of tune out for a couple hours … just lose time and not think about things I had seen in the hospital that day,” he said. He has now moved into acrylics and oil paints. “With oil, you put these strokes down and move them around, and you can make it as chaotic as you want. But you still have the ability to go back,” he said. “Each stroke doesn’t have to be perfect or precise. You set the foundation and you just layer on to it and adjust it. That’s what makes oil so good for me.”

“I came up with that title because the duality is that physicians or providers who are from these underrepresented groups were also the same people who belonged to the communities that were impacted by COVID-19 the most,” he said. “It was a visual depiction of some of the things that we were experi encing during the pandemic. I could depict it a lot better than I could write about it, so I painted it.”

Matched!

[ Summer 2022 ] 31 MEDICAL EDUCATION

During Match Day 2022, OU College of Medicine students learned where they would go for their residencies. Students from both the Oklahoma City and Tulsa campuses matched with residency programs around the nation.

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The OU College of Medicine is hitting the road.

This spring, the college acquired a large RV, customized as a health education classroom on wheels, to take health career experiences to students in communities across Oklahoma. Dubbed “The Health Sciences Explorer,” the vehicle was made possible with a $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration. The aim of the grant is to reach out to students from rural, tribal and medically under served areas, and to inspire them to see their future in health care. The formula is simple: If you can see it, you can be it.

With a grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Servcices Administration,

Most counties in Oklahoma have a shortage of primary care physicians, and Oklahoma ranks poorly on many healthcare

“We want to introduce students much earlier in the educa tional continuum to the pathway to medical school and other careers in healthcare. Those students who are considering medical school are further introduced to the idea that there is a need for more primary care physicians in Oklahoma to serve our urban and rural communities,” said Robert C. Sali nas, M.D., the Nancy K. Hall Endowed Chair in Medical Educa tion and Assistant Dean of Diversity, Inclusion and Communi ty Engagement for the OU College of Medicine. “These new efforts will allow us to expand our outreach and recruitment activities for the College of Medicine and do a better job of reaching students who might aspire to become physicians but may not understand the lengthy process. The other hope is to get students and their parents connected with pre-health education advisors and doctors in the community to help provide mentoring.

Students Taking Health Education Across Oklahoma in ‘The Health Sciences Explorer’

“The data shows if you can recruit a student from Oklahoma who goes to college in Oklahoma and then goes to medical school and completes a residency here, there is about a 70-75% chance they’ll stay in Oklahoma and not leave the state,” he added. “So, if we can recruit students from rural communities who want to go back and practice in their communities, there’s a good chance that you may get more doctors that way.”

The Health Sciences Explorer is a 38-foot-long RV that can be customized as either a mobile classroom or a health clinic.

MEDICAL EDUCATION

The brightly colored, 38-foot-long RV can serve as a mobile classroom or a clinic, and it can be customized according to the ages of students who are using it. The mobile outreach ve hicle is outfitted with state-of-the-art science and health learn ing equipment to promote hands-on learning. Middle school students might work with microscopes and similar equipment to get a feel for laboratory sciences and biomedical research. High school and college students can work with mannequins to hear lung and heart sounds, or they can try their hands at suturing. When not serving as a classroom, the mobile out reach vehicle will be used in community health screening and promotion events led by student-run clinics.

During the course of a year, workshops are offered for prehealth advisors and parents who need more information on how best to prepare their students for medical school. In addi tion, many first-generation college students and their parents don’t have resources for college and medical school and often find it a struggle.

The Health Sciences Explorer is booked through fall with more dates pending. On each excursion, the vehicle will be staffed with up to four faculty members and a team of students from not only the College of Medicine, but the other six colleges on campus, as well as the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work on OU’s Norman campus. As the practice of medi cine continues to evolve and become a “team sport,” students will learn how to deliver care as part of interdisciplinary teams. Salinas said the goal is to be on the road twice a week and to go corner to corner in the state. For the first year, they hope to reach a thousand students.

MEDICAL EDUCATION

Students of all ages will take part in hands-on experiences like these when The Health Sciences Explorer visits their communities.

“We want to provide more opportunities and experiences to students throughout Oklahoma,” Salinas said. “We’ll visit colleges, community colleges, high schools, middle schools and elementary schools to share the idea that medical school could really be an option for them, especially in traditionally under-resourced rural and tribal communities. Much like the sower, when we plant the seed and the idea of future possi bilities, we continue our connection with students and their parents to provide guidance through our many established programs. Our commitment continues.”

[ Summer 2022 ] 33

outcomes. Salinas hopes The Health Sciences Explorer will introduce current students to the needs across Oklahoma, and that their outreach will attract more young people to health care professions.

“The other goal of the reaching students much earlier is to connect them to their local healthcare providers,” Salinas added. “If we go to visit Guymon or Duncan, for example, we will partner with the physicians in the area, provide them with medical school readiness tools and resources, and they in turn will be better prepared to mentor students. Like the analogy of planting a seed, mentors can help nurture the growth of aspiring pre-medical students.”

Tulsa Surgeon Provides Medical Relief in Ukraine

“Our main job was to teach and give high-quality care, but we also helped get kids to safety in Kiev, which is about six hours away, or a little more than 300 miles. We helped get groups of orphans to temporary homes because many orphanages were destroyed. There were 30 kids in one group who were in the process of being adopted before the war started. Those pend ing adoptions added to the urgency of the situation. One goal was to help keep in contact with the adoptive families who, of course, were very worried.”

Lim’s two-week trip to Ukraine landed him in Lviv, a city not in the direct path of missiles, but close enough to the combat to hear them. Air raid alarms went off daily. “Non-Ukrainian citi zens could not have weapons. We were glad to have a lot of ex-military supporting our efforts with their logistics,” he said.

Ukraine holds a special place for the Lim family. In 2012, Lim and his wife Lisa adopted their daughter Viktoria from Ukraine, bringing them to a family of six.

Lim served in the military for more than two decades and made six tours of duty through Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. He said his military background and that of the other GSMSG team members made them uniquely prepared to go into an area with combat nearby.

“We taught classes in first aid, trauma and surgical care to those who stayed to fight or stayed to support fighters,” Lim added. “In our classes, we met some amazing people. One was an acrobat who performed with ‘Cirque de Soleil,’ another was a judge. They sat in our classes to learn to give first aid. We also met an OB-GYN physician who used her sewing skills to sew armor for fighters. They were all very inspiring.” The need for aid continues in Ukraine. “We never expected it to go this long. We all expected it to be over soon or that NATO would get involved,” Lim said. “I would like to go back and do my part and do more.”

Soon after the war started, Lim, a surgeon at the OU-TU School of Community Medicine, was recruited by the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG) to join its first aid trip into Ukraine. The GSMSG is dedicated to provid ing medical relief to communities in conflict zones, austere environments and disaster areas around the world. When the Ukraine Ministry of Defense requested the help of the GSMSG, it had a team of doctors, nurses and medics ready to go in one week.

As of May, the GSMSG had sent its fourth team to Ukraine, each serving two- to three-week cycles. More missions are planned and several more of Lim’s surgical colleagues have joined the mission. There has been so much interest that the GSMSG started a visiting surgeon program.

Lim and the team worked extensively through interpreters and closely with the local leaders of Lviv. One of the interpreters was an operating room nurse from New York who was raised in Ukraine and wanted to help. “I can’t say enough nice things about the people we met and who stayed to help their coun try,” Lim said. “Adult men 18 to 65 years of age were required to stay, but so many other people remained in the country to help in any way they could.

TULSA MEDICINE

Lim is helping to recruit more volunteers and is vetting the surgeons who have stepped up. “It was just serendipitous that I was free in my job here in Tulsa. I made a call and put a team together fast. We laid the groundwork for the other teams.” Lim made the first trip with the overwhelming support of his family, and they are ready to support his return. His wife Lisa, an ICU nurse, knew he could be an asset.

— OU-TU SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, many did not expect the conflict to last. But as days went by, the humani tarian and military crisis compounded and Robert Lim, M.D., answered the call to help.

“I think the work they do (GSMSG) is really important,” Lim said. “While other organizations go into conflict areas, this particular group is ex-military. They have served in it. They are combat medics and special forces. They are used to operating with fewer resources and in even worse situations. They are

Robert Lim, M.D., is pictured in Ukraine, where he traveled to provide medical relief.

highly mobile and strategic. I would not have gone with any other group because I have such confidence in this one.”

[ Summer 2022 ]34

In 2001, Oklahoma occupied a low rung on the ladder of na tional health metrics. The financial fallout throughout the post9/11 world was severe, and the city of Tulsa found itself ranked second among cities in the United States in unemployment due to lost jobs per capita. The consequent rise in numbers of uninsured residents spurred action and inspired an innovative partnership to create Bedlam Clinic. Sponsored by the OU-TU School of Community Medicine and supported by generous private donors in the community, Tulsa’s Bedlam Clinic keeps the vision and mission alive, still serving underserved and uninsured patients across the Tulsa metro today.

As valuable as this additional layer of educational experience is, Stiefer’s passion for marginalized patients inspires his work today, and is a key driver as he considers his own future prac tice. With an undergraduate background in Spanish literature and public health, Stiefer had previous experience as a medi cal interpreter, and had completed accredited course work. It’s a skill he’s determined to sharpen as his residency begins.

who have chronic and acute care needs.” He explained that third- and fourth-year medical students and students pursu ing physician associate degrees at the School of Community Medicine regularly provide patient care. Their clinical activ ities are supervised by the same attending physicians and faculty members who oversee residents in family, internal and emergency medicine disciplines. It’s a level of exposure and experience not routinely offered by medical schools across the country.

StieferSpanish.began his second year, going to Bedlam as he was able, to provide Spanish/English translation. “Many patients went to the evening clinic for primary care services. Then, the pandemic happened, and the acute care clinic was essentially shut down. That means a lot of people went 10 months without Whencare.”

Stiefer had applied for the Schweitzer Fellowship as a way to formalize the project he already had in mind for more than a year — what he described as “a glorified quality improvement project.” He knew the Schweitzer Fellowship would offer a bet ter support network with national leadership and mentors with shared objectives. His project, specifically aimed at boosting coronavirus education and vaccination among Spanish-speak ing patients at the Bedlam Clinic, was ultimately selected.

He explained that students who work at Bedlam have their own panel of patients, seen weekly, as well as participation in the evening clinic. The patient population seeking care at the evening clinic has gradually evolved and is now largely made up of non-English-speaking patients, many of whom speak only

the clinic reopened, Stiefer was just beginning his thirdyear rotations. “My priority was to get back to Bedlam to work with patients, many I had met a year ago and had been seeing almost weekly. As third-year students, we would reinvest, going twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday nights.”

Auston Stiefer, M.D.

[ Summer 2022 ] 35 TULSA — OU-TU SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE

Schweitzer Fellow Creates Project to Boost COVID-19 Education, Vaccination Among Patients

Auston Stiefer, M.D., a 2022 graduate of the OU-TU School of Community Medicine and an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, is grateful for the enhanced educational opportunities the clinic makes possible. “As students, we have almost the same experience as first-year residents, learning to care for patients

Bedlam Clinic serves uninsured and underserved patients in Tulsa.

[ Summer 2022 ]36 TULSA — OU-TU SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE

While continuing their graduate studies, Schweitzer Fellows must design, implement, evaluate and plan for sustainable, community-based prevention and intervention projects that address social determinants of health. Chapters are strate gically established in cities and regions with large academic centers and with a history of profound and severe health disparity. Tulsa is a more recently added chapter, selected for many of the same reasons that the School of Community Med icine developed a four-year curriculum, Stiefer said. “In Tulsa, we see disparity between north and south Tulsa, with variable health outcomes based on where you live. It’s an interesting climate in which to learn and practice medicine.

Early in the project, Stiefer expected curiosity, but also resistance. He remembers a particular patient who was very willing to listen to everything he had to say about his pas sions, including vaccine technology. “She just said, ‘If you think I should get the shot, I’m happy to do that. Whatever you recommend I will totally do.’ What was a little disturbing about that is that no one had ever mentioned, suggested or recom mended vaccination to her,” he said.

Stiefer made the point that Spanish isn’t just Spanish, but a language with regional variations and dialects. Patients may speak Mexican-Spanish. Venezuelan, Honduran, Cuban, Puer to Rican and others with Central American origins. “Linguisti cally, they sound a little different, and asking more questions helps clarify language and cultural characteristics. We have incredible patients who are kind and patient with our efforts.”

interactions, in or out of Bedlam. But it can be more confusing when you add in the aspect of another language,” he said.

In the midst of the pandemic, Stiefer faced a familiar challenge — keeping up with the research, seeking ways to make the in formation more accessible and digestible, and explaining what the CDC and FDA are, and what they do. “These organizations have created marginally understandable material, and I tried to follow up with patients on subsequent visits or over phone visits. It’s a constant process of assessing and reassessing and providing information. These are part of our typical clinical

Stiefer uses two validated surveys in his health literacy as sessment process. The first assesses basic, functional health literacy — a list of 18 most commonly used terms in a medical encounter. Essentially, it is a paired word-association tech nique to determine how well these terms are understood. The second survey seeks information about behaviors, related to health themes. “I track our sources of information. I introduce questions and create a space in which they can express other questions or concerns,” he said.

Stiefer said he’s learned much about the nature of trust in this community and gained a deep sense of appreciation as a re sult. He has a firm grasp on the power of language to establish common ground and build bridges, citing the words of Nelson Mandela: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands — that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language — that goes to his heart.”

Although services are available, they are unfortunately un derutilized, Stiefer said, attributing this fact to the fears of a vulnerable population. “As the pandemic arrived, we had the perfect storm of hesitation, political implications and histori cally marginalized populations enduring severe illness. To give the project context, I have been a medical interpreter as our patients waited to be seen. I’ve come to know them, perhaps at a shallow level, but I talk and listen, assessing basic health literacy, to see what their needs are, how we can better serve

“The local infrastructure — how we access info and make sense of the world around us — looks different from place to place. Tulsa was unique, given its recent history as the site of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) de tention center, and it’s a large, racially diverse, Spanish-speak ing population. Fascinatingly complex social issues impact the patients we see. What do you do about it if you don’t even speak the same language?”

the literature and trends, Stiefer said only 30% of Spanish-only speakers were vaccinated for influenza in 2019. “That was pre-COVID. Now it’s much more disparate. Moving into the pandemic, new restrictions added to the existing Public Charge Rule in 2020 had the effect of limiting services to certain immigrants. In other words, what you were deemed to contribute to society during the immigration process might weigh on your ability to receive services.”

Stiefer said he’s deeply grateful for the support of two differ ent yet equal advisors/mentors. Janelle Whitt, D.O., medical director for Bedlam, was also faculty physician for his panel of patients. “She’s the go-to person who can make things happen very quickly at Bedlam,” he said. “It was really fun working with her closely for a year, pitching this idea and her saying ‘OK, let’s figure out a way to make it happen. I’ll abso lutely support you throughout.’” In addition, Stiefer described Brianna Reyes, APRN, as “the mastermind of linking patients to assistance programs that ensure they get their medications. She helps us learn the logistics of patient safety.” Reyes also is fluent in Spanish and is well-acquainted with work among patients throughout the state who speak only Spanish. “I’m relatively well-versed, but some things — cultural contexts — are less-easily learned,” Stiefer said. “She’s been a tremen dous mentor for me with this specific population I care about.”

Recent School of Community Medicine graduate Auston Stiefer, M.D., center, is pictured with faculty mentors Janelle Whitt, D.O., right, and Brianna Reyes, APRN.

Citingthem.”

“As academic mentors, Dr. Wetherill and Dr. Whelan helped shape our project from the beginning, helping us define goals and providing general guidance throughout,” Shadid said.

provides 24 apartments as transitional living space for women and children in the throes of situational homelessness.

School of Community Medicine students provide nutrition and wellness education at Lindsey House in Tulsa.

Established in 2009, Transitional Living Centers of Oklahoma, Inc. opened its first program in February 2010 and acquired the building that became Lindsey House. In 2020, Lindsey House relocated, occupying a new facility north of downtown Tulsa. Through generous community support, Lindsey House

[ Summer 2022 ] 37 TULSA — OU-TU SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE

School of Community Medicine Provides Real-World Experience for Positive Outcomes

With the support of OU-TU faculty members Marianna Wetherill, Ph.D., MPH, and Lori Whelan, M.D., Shadid and Milton are providing nutrition education and general wellness education at Lindsey House, where displaced women discov er life-changing practices and develop skills to nurture and support their families.

Milton and Shadid were awarded Schweitzer Fellowships in spring 2021. The one-year fellowship program seeks to improve health outcomes in Tulsa’s underserved populations through fellow-initiated community projects in collaboration with a community site, in this case, Lindsey House. The focus is on unmet health needs, as well as leadership development that fosters ongoing efforts to address health disparities.

Construction of any kind requires planning, tools, resources and time. Building community at Tulsa’s Lindsey House is happening methodically and with meaningful results. OU-TU School of Community Medicine students and Albert Sch weitzer Fellows Anna Shadid and Austin Milton are part of a significant effort to improve health by introducing simple concepts of behavioral change.

Milton said a number of organizations that help with home lessness were considered for this collaborative project. “The COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing and we knew it had displaced many families. We wanted to help.” Many clients of these organizations tended to be transient, which would ren der the chosen curriculum ineffective. Wetherill recommended Leah’s Pantry and its trauma-informed approach to nutrition education, and Whelan knew the students wanted to work with families — single moms and their children — and suggest ed Lindsey House. As the objectives of the proposed project were discussed, the participants found similarity of mission and vision.

“It’s learning about how food impacts health, how our lives are affected by our choices of food and the preparation methods we use, as well as conversation — community building — around the table.”

• Nourishment in our communities

Shadid said the nutrition curriculum, “Around the Table: Nourishing Families,” is unique and specifically tailored to meet Lindsey House residents where they are. The curriculum upholds principles of trauma-informed engagement and nour ishment. Participants enjoy conversation, reflection, cooking, sharing a meal together, and learning holistic skills to care for their families’ well-being. Designed for groups of 10-14 adults raising children, it is adaptable for use in community spaces with or without a

Shadid said the lessons typically open with a “check-in” where participants talk about the events of the week, followed by a mindfulness moment. A different weekly activity encourages calm, focused engagement in the lesson and the meal. Con versational prompts may range from toxic stress and mood to food prep as a family affair. “After the lessons, we cook a meal together and try to make it as fun as possible, while encour aging participants to try new skills and share tips with each other. We close out by eating together and finishing up any conversations, or other activities. We don’t expect perfect ap plication of nutrition, cooking and coping skills. We’re aiming for small, sustainable improvements here and there.”

• Nutrition and stress

[ Summer 2022 ]38 TULSA — OU-TU SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE

Participation may vary from week to week, as the families man age other appointments or events that may occur. “We consis tently have 10 to 12 participants who regularly make it to meet ings, and while children aren’t directly included in the learning sessions, they make their presence known,” Milton said. “Our classmates help a lot, often just hanging out with kids.”

The children, too, have been affected by trauma in some way, and the transitional housing resources at Lindsey House are designed to help them through obstacles. Milton said the coping skills they teach are well-received and helpful, along with stress management and nutritional exercises. “These tools meet people where they are, and help them make small changes that improve day-to-day health over time.”

• Healthy, budget-friendly shopping

• Family resilience and nourishment

• Connecting with each other

But Milton said Lindsey House is far more than temporary shelter or a safe place to sleep. “There is sleeping space, but also a kitchen facility and important shared community.” A screening process ensures resources are optimized to serve the appropriate population. Families who reside at Lindsey House begin to function as a supportive community, as moth ers help each other, learn from their experiences, and lean on each other for support. Children become friends. In addition to teaching essential life skills, the curriculum also offers tools to help residents overcome traumatic life experiences so they can get back on their feet.

is a still-emerging area of psycholo gy and medicine,” Shadid said. “We know that nutrition affects brain health, and there’s growing consideration for nutrition as therapy for the treatment of trauma and trauma-related illness es.” She explained that trauma-informed nutrition includes elements that explore the “whys” of problems with wellness, nu trition, and the self-care routines most people take for granted. “These concepts encompass more than cooking. It’s learning about how food impacts health, how our lives are affected by our choices of food and the preparation methods we use, as well as conversation — community building — around the table.”

Medical student Austin Milton helps with meal prep at Lindsey House, transitional living space for women and children.

“Trauma-informedkitchen.nutrition

• Toxic stress/family health

While each lesson has valuable, stand-alone content, the segments build upon and reinforce each concept for optimal learning and application. Over the course of six weeks, partici pants are introduced to these topics:

agree that as important as this experience is to their educational process and future as healthcare profes sionals, the work and the relationships are enriching personal ly as well as academically. They said the community has been very welcoming, and building rapport and trust was surpris ingly easy. “The moms and kids were already very friendly with each other, talking and sharing freely, so we just became additional members of the group, and from there, friendships began,” Milton said. “We’ve been very conscious of the need to approach with the right attitude. We are accepting. We’re there to make friends. It is very much a two-way street.”

Shadid cited the stress of the adverse circumstances these women confront, and how stress is amplified by the weight of parental responsibility. “A valuable part of curriculum shows how mealtime can become less of a task to just get through, and more of an event that nourishes not only the body, but also nurtures family relationships.”

“It’s definitely noticeable when an individual becomes obviously engaged, offering appreciative comments about certain activities. It’s a way we can assess each activity for improvement. Elements may be both measurable and intangible, but they all count. They all have value.”

“It’s a huge thing to be able to actually promote behavior change in people. I come from a big family and our relation ships are influenced by food. We know that food influences people and behavior, but it’s harder to quantify until you begin to see effects. There may be great moments of change, but usually smaller steps — cutting down on caffeine, eating more vegetables, getting more rest. The importance of these chang es can’t be underestimated,” she said. “Working with and get ting to know these women and families is an experience that will be very helpful. You don’t just tell people to do this or that. We encourage them to think about their environment and talk about the underlying barriers to change. It’s easy to say, ‘You shouldn’t eat fast food.’ We have to understand that people don’t choose fast food because they want to eat poorly. More often, it’s that they face limited options with finances or time. It isn’t not caring, but a choice born of necessity in the moment.”

Shadidpractice.”andMilton

• How often do you incorporate vegetables into family meals?

Milton also cited the impact that personal history and back ground have on health, and how that impact can be grossly underestimated. “Before coming to the School of Community Medicine, I had the opportunity to shadow providers work ing in the Bedlam Clinic, a community outreach clinic for the uninsured. The experience motivated me to find a population that needed help, people who would really benefit from an informed understanding of their needs and background before being asked to change. I also like kids and enjoy working with them. Kids need an adult presence in their lives, and studies suggest that the absence of a male presence can be develop mentally adverse. It’s nice to be in that environment and it’s really a cool thing for other med students to have chances to be engaged in the process down the road.”

Shadid was drawn to Lindsey House because of its focus on families. She is taking School of Community Medicine courses in Lifestyle Medicine, learning the many ways lifestyle directly influences overall health. This is the most significant take-away for Shadid as she envisions her future practice.

“We have reason to feel good about the opportunities we create for interaction and the lessons,” Milton said.

• How useful/beneficial is the on-site food pantry?

The work the students are doing at Lindsey House includes a component of data collection, also mentored by Wetherill and Whelan, which helps gauge programming effectiveness. These data-collection devices include surveys, given at the beginning and end of the six-week At the Table course. Partic ipants respond to questions such as:

[ Summer 2022 ] 39 TULSA — OU-TU SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY MEDICINE

• How prepared do you feel to provide food for your family?

Milton expects his medical practice to be in the ENT specialty — conditions of the ears, nose and throat. Although ENT isn’t strictly tied to nutritional science, the experience at Lindsey House has great value. “I think definitely building listening skills, especially with trauma background, that ability is super important. That’s how I see this project being a direct benefit in my

As an Albert Schweitzer Fellow, Anna Shadid supported women and children staying at Lindsey House.

campus, Aesculapians honorees were:

On the Tulsa campus, Kristina Kline, M.D., Department of Family and Community Medicine, received the Community Medicine Leader Award.

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the preclini cal sciences: Chris Brasel, Ph.D., Department of Family and Community Medicine

The 2022 Edgar W. Young Lifetime Achievement Award was presented on the Oklahoma City campus to Frederick C. Mill er, Ph.D., of the Department of Cell Biology.

Class of 2023:

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the clinical sciences: Ryan Yarnall, M.D., Department of Internal Medi cine

Aesculapian Awards presented by each class on the Oklaho ma City campus were:

Cody Thomas, M.D.

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the preclinical sciences: Eva Garringer, Ph.D., Department of Family and Preventive Medicine

Class of 2024:

Class of 2025:

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the preclinical sciences: Cody Thomas, M.D., Department of Pathology

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the third-year clerkship by housestaff: Morgan McDougal, M.D., Depart ment of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the clinical sciences: Mark Pogemiller, M.D., Department of Pediatrics

Each spring, OU College of Medicine students on the Oklaho ma City campus and at the OU-TU School of Community Med icine in Tulsa honor faculty members with a variety of awards in recognition of their excellence in teaching.

[ Summer 2022 ]40 FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the preclinical sciences: Robert Jackson, Ph.D., Department of Family and Community Medicine

Class of 2022:

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the clinical sciences: John Carment, M.D., Department of Internal Med icine

Students Honor Faculty for Excellence in Teaching

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the clinical sciences: Kamran Riaz, M.D., Department of Ophthalmology

Kristina Kline, M.D.

Class of 2025:

Aesculapian Award for excellence in teaching the clinical sciences as volunteer faculty: Wade McCoy, M.D., family

In addition, the Crimson Apple Volunteer Faculty Award was presented to Jane Purser, M.D., allergy and immunology.

The Crimson Apple Resident Award was presented to Bradley Cox, D.O., Department of Surgery, and Jillian Lundie, M.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Class of 2023:

Class of 2024:

OnmedicinetheTulsa

Each year, the OU College of Medicine recognizes excellence among faculty and residents with the presentation of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and the Lloyd Rader Award.

The Lloyd Rader Award, named for the man who served as director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services from 1951-1982, recognizes outstanding achievements in residency,

Lloyd Rader Award recipient Daljit Mann, M.D., is pictured with Elisa Crouse, M.D., Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education.

Phebe Tucker, M.D., receives the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award from Executive Dean John Zubialde, M.D.

FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

College Presents Rader, Tow Humanism Awards

The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award is given to a faculty member who demonstrates excellence in promoting scholarship, encouraging high standards of care, and integrity and commitment to compassionate care of patients and to the art and science of medical practice.

[ Summer 2022 ] 41

He has been accepted into a thyroid, parathyroid and thyroid cancer fellowship at Stanford University.

in both clinical care and medical research. This year, the Lloyd Rader Award was presented to Daljit Singh Mann, M.D., a resi dent in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

This year’s recipient is Phebe Tucker, M.D, professor and vice chair for education in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. In a letter of support for the award, the writer said: “Dr. Tucker’s outstanding motivation to inspire medical students and future psychiatrists, while demonstrat ing compassionate care to her patients and providing commu nity outreach services, exemplifies her career.”

Mann has been active in research, serving as an author on five publications, writing two book chapters and giving numerous presentations. His research projects include “Assessment of the difficult airway patient,” Assessment of sleep disorder breathing,” and “Assessment of the human papilloma virus and oropharyngeal squamous carcinoma.” He also has been active in quality improvement projects, including “Post-op erative pain management and opioid disposal for patients following head and neck cancer.”

Mann’s peers laud his efforts during residency, noting that he “exemplifies the virtues of compassion, scholarship and teach ing,” is a “consummate professional committed to the pursuit of excellence,” and “is held in the highest regard by faculty, trainees and students.”

Provost’s Teaching Award-Seasoned Faculty Peter Nelson, M.D., Department of Surgery, Tulsa campus

Sherri Baker, M.D., Department of Pediatrics

[ Summer 2022 ]42 FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

President’s Awards:

Provost’s Awards:

Provost’s Research Award-Junior Faculty Matthew Walters, Ph.D., Department of Medicine

Regents’ Professorship

Presidential Professorship: Beau Hawkins, M.D., Department of Medicine

Regents’ Award for Superior Professional and University Service and Public Outreach

Regents’ Award for Superior Research and Creative Activity

George Lynn Cross Research Professorship Jimmy Ballard, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Im CourtneymunologyHouchen, M.D., Department of Medicine

At the spring 2021 OU Health Sciences Center Faculty Awards Ceremony, OU College of Medicine faculty members were honored with a variety of awards for their excellence in aca demic medicine:

Regents’ Awards:

Faculty Honored With Campus Awards

Peter Nelson, M.D.

Amanda Bogie, M.D.

Provost’s Research Award-Senior Faculty David Fields, Ph.D., Department of Pediatrics

Mary Beth Humphrey, M.D. Ph.D., Department of Medicine

Regents’ Award for Superior Teaching T. Karl Hoskison, M.D., Department of Internal Medicine, Tulsa campus

Amanda Bogie, M.D., Department of Pediatrics

Steven Chernausek, M.D.

Barrett Named Fellow of American Medical Society for Sports Medicine

Barrett has a long history as a sports medicine physician with the OU College of Medicine and around the nation and world. He began the sports medicine fellowship program on the Oklahoma City campus soon after his arrival in 1991 and served as director until 2005, when he took over as director of the family medicine residency program.

He is the lead physician for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and in 2020 he was named NBA Physician of the Year by the Nation al Basketball Athletic Trainer’s Association.

FACULTY ACHIEVEMENTS

Chernausek Honored by Human Growth Foundation

[ Summer 2022 ] 43

James Barrett, M.D., chair of the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, has been named to the 2022 Class of Fellows for the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine

The(AMSSM).designation

He has served on the editorial boards of Endocrinology and the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism and was chair and medical editor of the sub-board of endocrinol ogy of the American Board of Pediatrics. He is a member of the American Pediatric Society, served on the Council for the Society for Pediatric Research and is a past president of the Pediatric Endocrine Society.

of Fellow of AMSSM recognizes sports med icine physicians who have demonstrated an ongoing commit ment to lifelong learning, the advancement of the profession, service to AMSSM and leadership in their communities.

Growth Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide research, education, patient support and advocacy for children and adults with rare growth and bone Chernausekconditions.joinedthe faculty at the OU College of Medicine in 2007 and became the first director of the Pediatric Met abolic Research Program. He held the Children’s Hospital Foundation Edith Kinney Gaylord Endowed Research Chair in Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes. His research interests include the hormonal control of growth and the metabolic effect of fetal growth retardation.

He has been an author on more than 150 research publica tions, including the first description of insulin-like growth fac tor (IGF) resistance due to IGF receptor gene defects, along with the results of clinical trials of rhIGF-1 and rhGH in a variety of growth disorders.

James Barrett, M.D.

He has provided medical coverage for numerous other profes sional sporting events and programs, including Olympic and Paralympic teams, Major League Baseball training camps, the Oklahoma City Blazers hockey team and more.

Steven Chernausek, M.D., who recently retired as professor in the Department of Pediatrics and chief of the Section of Diabetes and Endocrinology, has been honored with the 2022 Dr. Robert Blizzard Founder’s Award by the Human Growth TheFoundation.Human

James L. Brand, M.D., received the Physician of the Year-Ac ademic Medicine award. Brand, an Oklahoman since age 4, grew up immersed in rural communities. He went to school all 12 years at Billings Public Schools in Noble County, and he spent summers experiencing rural America through the windshield of a truck and from the platform of a combine from Texas to Canada. His affinity for rural areas would come to play a major role in his career.

emergency department of then privately owned Columbia Presbyterian Hospital on campus, as well as the emergency department at Midwest City Regional Hospital.

In 1991, he changed course and returned to the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the OU College of Medi cine. His initial academic responsibility as course director for the Rural Preceptorship for senior medical students took him on site visits to rural Oklahoma communities from Beaver to Grove to Ada to Altus, where community physicians volun teered their time and skill to help educate future physicians in a rural setting. Brand led the preceptorship for 27 years.

Brand planned to attend Oklahoma State University to further his education, but an application from the University of Okla homa arrived in the mail first. He completed it and was accept ed to OU, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in zoology, graduating with distinction in 1980. He then entered the OU College of Medicine, graduating in 1984, followed by his residency on campus in family and preventive medicine, finishing in 1987.

Since then, Brand has risen to the faculty rank of clinical pro fessor. He has served in several leadership roles for the Physi cian Associate Program, including his current role as associate program director since 2019. He teaches several courses regularly for medical students and PA students. He is a former physician leader for Unity Clinic, a student-led interprofes sional clinic that provides care to people from underserved populations in Oklahoma City. He maintains his own clinical practice at the Family Medicine Center on campus, where he also teaches medical students and family medicine residents.

A family medicine physician at the OU College of Medicine, an OB-GYN in private practice, and a state legislator were honored at the 2022 Alumni Day Reunion.

After graduation, Brand worked as a staff physician in the

OU College of Medicine Alumni Association Honors Two Physicians, State Legislator During Annual Awards

[ Summer 2022 ]44

James L. Brand, M.D., and Susan L. Chambers, M.D., honorees at this year’s Alumni Day, are pictured with Mary Zoe Baker, M.D., center, president of the OU College of Medicine Alumni Association. Not pictured is Friend of Medicine honoree Rep. Marcus McEntire.

ALUMNI

OB-GYN Susan L. Chambers, M.D., received the Physician of the Year-Private Practice award. Chambers is a founding member and current managing partner of the private practice group Lakeside Doctors Gynecology & Obstetrics. She is also a founding member of Lakeside Women’s Hospital and has served as its board chair and chief of staff.

[ Summer 2022 ] 45

Chambers is a member of several professional groups, including the Oklahoma County Medical Society, Oklahoma State Medical Association and American Medical Association, and she is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and

Chambers began her career as a general OB-GYN at Obstet rics and Gynecology Specialists in Oklahoma City from 1986 to 1987. In 1987, she was a founding member of Oklahoma City Gynecology and Obstetrics, now known as Lakeside Doctors Gynecology & Obstetrics. In 1997, Chambers helped to launch Lakeside Women’s Hospital.

ALUMNI

Members of the Class of 1992 visiting at this year’s Alumni Day dinner are Jonathan Drummond, M.D., Janet Arnold-Clark, M.D., and Sherri Gordon, M.D.

He has been honored with numerous awards, including Family Physician of the Year by the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians, and Physician of the Year from the Oklahoma Academy of Physician Associates.

Chambers earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, then attended the OU College of Medicine, receiving her medical degree in 1982. She stayed on campus for her residency training in obstetrics and gynecology, finishing in 1986.

Brand has been active with the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians for many years, including serving as president from 2005-2006 and now as a board member. He also has been active nationally with the National Commission on Certifica tion of Physician Assistants, the Physician Assistant Education Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. In addition, he is a member of the American College of Physi cians, the Society of Teachers of Medicine, American Board of Family Medicine, Oklahoma County Medical Society, American Medical Association, and Oklahoma State Medical Association.

Chambers’Gynecology.community

service is extensive. She is in her sec ond nine-year term on the board of trustees for World Neigh bors, currently serving as board chair. She is also an active member at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.

She serves as vice chair of the board of directors for the Insti tute for Economic Empowerment of Women in Oklahoma City and, since 2006, has served as a volunteer, host and mentor for the organization’s Peace Through Business program. She is a member of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum board of directors and is currently serving as vice chair through 2024. She is also a member of the Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure & Supervision, having served as board chair in 2019, as well as the OU Honors College Board of Visitors and the Oklahoma City Repertory Theater board of directors.

She and her husband, Kyle Toal, M.D., have three children. Oklahoma State Rep. Marcus McEntire was honored with the Friend of Medicine Award. McEntire is a fourth-generation resident of Stephens County. He attended both Comanche and Duncan Public Schools and, upon graduation from Dun can High School, attended the University of Oklahoma and earned a degree in communication. He then earned a master of divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a master of arts in sociology from the University of Virginia. He received a full fellowship from the University of Virginia, where his main areas of concentration were sociology of law, religion, and the family.

Previously, she served on local and state boards for the March of Dimes, as well as the Lyric Theatre board of directors for 12 years. She served on the board for the Oklahoma Policy Institute from 2017 to 2019 and was a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class 29. She was a member of the OU College of Medicine Admissions Board from 2012 to 2017.

In 2016, McEntire was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives for House District 50 (Stephens and Jefferson counties). He serves as chair of the Appropriations and Bud get Subcommittee on Health and is a member of the House Insurance Committee and the House Public Health Commit tee. He has worked to protect physicians’ scope of practice and to enhance the Physician Manpower Training Commission. He has also worked to improve telemedicine opportunities and develop Oklahoma’s Health Information Exchange. He has advocated for a more efficient and fair appeals process for denied insurance claims, and he has backed efforts to assure pharmaceutical cost savings are passed on to patients.

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She has received numerous honors, including being named the 2002 Woman of the Year by The Journal Record. In 2005, she was honored by the Oklahoma County Medical Society for her charitable work, and in 2010 she received the Namaste Award from World Neighbors. In 2018, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame.

Class of 1972 graduate Karen Reisig Myers, M.D., received her 50-year medal at this year’s Alumni Reunion. She is pictured at the ceremony with her husband, Jim.

Alumni Day 2023 is scheduled for May 5. Graduates of years ending in 3 and 8 will celebrate reunions. Nominations are being accepted for 2023 Alumni Awards. For more information, visit medicine.ouhsc.edu/alumni.

In 2003, McEntire, his wife, Leigh, and their son Ian returned to Duncan to raise their family. The couple’s daughter, Ains ley, was born in 2006. They also worked to expand their business, Distinctive Decor, which was established in 1999. The company, which was launched with a $400 investment, now employs 13 full- and part-time employees and occupies a 17,000-square-foot space in downtown Duncan, along with a thriving online presence. It has been featured in numerous national publications and earned several accolades. In 2018, McEntire and his wife purchased Whitten Insurance, which has been in business in Duncan since 1956.

McEntire serves Duncan in many ways. He is a past president of the Duncan Rotary Club and has served on the Duncan Regional Hospital Foundation board. He has served on the advisory committee for the Business Development Services Program at Red River Technology Center, the Gifted and Tal ented Advisory Board, and STEM Advisory Board for Duncan Public Schools.

McEntire has served as a Boy Scout leader for Troop 4434, where his son earned the Eagle Scout rank. He also worked as a board member to help establish the Christopher Lane Foun dation named in memory of the Australian baseball player who was murdered in Duncan in 2013. The McEntires attend First United Methodist Church in Duncan.

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Gregory L. Skuta, M.D., who served for 12 years as chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and president and chief executive officer of Dean McGee Eye Institute, and G. Rainey Williams Jr., chair of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust and chair of the OU Health Board of Directors, were the 2022 honorees for Evening of Excellence, organized by the OU College of Medicine Alumni Association.

Honorees at the 2022 Evening of Excellence, G. Rainey Williams Jr., second from left, and Gregory L. Skuta, second from right, are pictured with Mary Zoe Baker, M.D., president of the OU College of Medicine Alumni Association, and John Zubialde, M.D., executive dean of the OU College of Medicine.

“As scientists, we believe the answers are there if we take time to ask the questions, and we believe that it’s only by investing in finding answers that we can develop lifesaving therapies.”

ALUMNI

This was the 37th year for the gala, which raises funds for re searchers at the OU College of Medicine. Since the event be gan, the alumni association has awarded $3.7 million in grants to 162 researchers in the college. Each year, an early career researcher from the college speaks about the importance of the grants to build research programs and apply for larger grants. This year’s speaker was Shannon Conley, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology, whose lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms of age-related diseases of the eye and brain.

“These grants from the College of Medicine Alumni Associa tion support our research programs when they are the most promising, but also when they are most vulnerable — when we’re developing new projects in young labs,” Conley said. Conley, who is also active as an educator, spoke about the im portance of basic science research for finding new treatments for disease.

Skuta, Williams Honored at Evening of Excellence

“The majority of the transformative treatments we have for diseases originated not from scientists specifically looking for drugs and treatments, but from scientists doing basic research designed to understand how biological systems work at the core level,” she said. “There is still much we do not understand about the ways our miraculous human bodies work, and then fail to work in disease and aging. As scientists, we believe the answers are there if we take time to ask the questions, and we believe that it’s only by investing in finding answers that we can develop lifesaving therapies.”

ALUMNI

In accepting his award, Skuta spoke of his 30 years at Dean McGee Eye Institute and the OU College of Medicine, as well as his excitement for the future as he passes the reins to Mi chael Siatkowski, M.D., to fill the roles.

“We stand on the great foundation that those before us built, and in 20, 30 or even 40 years, leaders will look back and remember not the difficulties, but instead the perseverance of everyone involved to bring to bear the promise of better health for Oklahomans through education, research and clini cal care,” he said. “Without a doubt, through a concerted effort we are advancing this mission one step at a time.”

“All the people in this room do what we do because, very sim ply, we want to make a difference,” Skuta said. “If this gener ous award signifies that what we together are accomplishing at DMEI and the Department of Ophthalmology is having even a small impact, then I will be forever grateful.”

G. Rainey Williams Jr., left, and Gregory L. Skuta, M.D., were the 2022 honorees at Evening of Excellence.

Researcher Shannon Conley, Ph.D., speaks during the 2022 Evening of Excellence gala.

Williams, noting the hard work and dedication of leaders who came before him, said they would be in awe of the OU Health Sciences Center campus today.

OU President Joe Harroz speaks during the 2022 Evening of Excellence gala.

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1980s

1950s

Ronnie Brownsworth, ’82 M.D., retired in July 2020 after a career in neurology.

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Paul Davis, ’72 M.D., founded Primary Care Associates and HopeNet, a nonprofit organization providing mental health care and services to families in crisis.

Larry Chase, ’82 M.D., is medical director at CoxHealth Hy perbaric Medicine and Wound Care in Springfield, Missouri, and is a national accreditation surveyor for the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.

Ross Hensley, ’72 M.D., practices full time at Hensley Der matology in Lawton, Oklahoma, where he also is on staff at both local hospitals. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

Class Notes from Through the Decades

James Wendelken, ’72 M.D., is clinical associate professor of urology at the OU College of Medicine. Previously, he served as chief of staff and chair of surgery and urology at St. Anthony Hospital. He served as president and treasur er of the south central section of the American Urological Association from 1996-2001.

Zachary Martin, ’82 M.D., is retired from the emergency de partment and family medicine private practice. He now serves as medical director, chief medical officer and chief of medical staff for the Sac and Fox Nation.

Brad Britton, ’87 M.D., is an ophthalmologist at Britton Vision Associates in Edmond, Oklahoma. He has been honored as one of the top 50 refractive surgeons in North America, is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and main tains memberships in the Oklahoma State Medical Associa tion, Oklahoma Academy of Ophthalmology, and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

David Harsha, ’87 M.D., practices at Hendricks Orthopedics & Sports Medicine in Danville, Indiana, and serves as team physician at DePauw University. In 2016, he served as team physician for USA Diving at the Rio Olympics.

Kevin Faris, ’82 M.D., has been in private practice in internal medicine at Noble Family Health Care in Noble, Oklahoma, since 2006.

Ronald Schlabach, ’87 M.D., has worked as a family medi cine physician for the Baptist Health Family Medicine Clinic in Alma, Arkansas, since July 1990. He also serves as the volun teer team physician for the local school system.

1990s

Ronald Zlotoff, ’77 M.D., practices gastroenterology parttime at Trinity Health of New England in Waterbury, Con necticut.

Janet Arnold-Clark, ’92 M.D., is medical director of a DHS fos ter care pediatrics and child abuse evaluation clinic in south Los Angeles and a volunteer clinical associate professor of pediatrics at UCLA, teaching fellows in child abuse pediatrics.

Lamont Cavanagh, ’92 M.D., is in his 33rd year of service with the U.S. Air Force and has been a flight surgeon for an F-16 squadron since 1993. He is chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the OU-TU School of Community Medicine.

1970s

Sherri Gordon, ’92 M.D., is a pediatrician at Pediatric and Adolescent Care in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Bill Watson, ’92 M.D., has been an attending anesthesiologist at Ascension St. John Medical Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for 26 years.

Bryce Bliss, ’57 M.D., served as director of laboratory for Tulane, Oral Roberts University, City of Faith, and St. John Medical Center. He continues to hold laboratory leadership roles for three rural hospitals. He worked in general practice in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, for five years.

1960s

William Downham, ’72 M.D., was in internal medicine/ infectious disease private practice in Oklahoma City from 1977 to 1994, then served in leadership roles at Spring Clinic in Tulsa, Harris Health System in Fort Worth, Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City, and several others across the United States.

Ron Orr, ’62 M.D., is retired after 52 years of providing pedi atric care to families in Chickasha, Oklahoma.

John Tipton, ’72 M.D., served in the U.S. Air Force from 1975 to 1977 and helped start its family medicine residency. He then transitioned to family medicine solo practice in Tul sa for 17 years followed by 23 years on faculty at the OU-TU School of Community Medicine.

Jeffrey Cohen, ’77 M.D., is a neurologist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. Until 2021, he was also professor and chair of neurology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

Joe Leverett, ‘82 M.D., practices internal medicine at the Jackson County Memorial Hospital Medical Clinic in Altus, Oklahoma. He is a fellow of the American College of Physi cians.

Robert Barnes, ’54 M.D., Temple, Texas

Roger Etling, ’76 M.D., Oklahoma City

Robert Hernandez, ’89 M.D., Sherman, Texas

Noah Kimball, ’63 M.D., Sterling, Colorado

Jerry First, ’72 M.D., Tulsa, Oklahoma

Richard Coalson, ’74 M.D., Centerville, OH

Jack Pettett, ’67 M.D., Stonewall, Oklahoma

Laurence Altshuler, ’76 M.D., Tulsa, Oklahoma

Sam Rice, ’65 M.D., Columbus, Georgia

Jay Cannon, ’70 M.D., Nichols Hills, Oklahoma

David Brown, ’49 M.D., Oklahoma City

Kenneth Evans, ’67 M.D., Spring, Texas

Elwood Everett, ’63 M.D., Columbia, Missouri

Don Karns, ’60 M.D., Enid, Oklahoma

Jo Mangone, ’59 M.D., Colorado Springs

John Marks, ’54 M.D., Oklahoma City

Charles Rockwood, ’56 M.D., San Antonio, Texas

Charles Seward, ’67 M.D., Amarillo, Texas Charles Shaw, ’61 M.D., Georgetown, Texas

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Larry Gurkowski, ’84 M.D., Tulsa, Oklahoma

Larry Goss, ’73 M.D., Lawton, Oklahoma

David Sockler, ’56 M.D., Charlotte, North Carolina Luther Strickland, ’61 M.D., Oklahoma City

Harold Dunlap, ’55 M.D., Durham, North Carolina

Donald Laasch, ’70 M.D., Morris, Illinois Billie Lewis, ’59 M.D., Flint, Michigan

Justin Gulledge, ’07 M.D., practices anesthesiology with Mer cy Hospital in Oklahoma City.

Laura Stearman, ’02 M.D., is a urologist with Integris Edmond Women’s Health and serves as medical director of the Tulakes Medical Clinic, a free clinical in northwest Oklahoma City.

Mina Sardashti, ’17 M.D., is a psychiatrist at LifeStance Health in San Diego, California.

Robert Ringrose, ’63 M.D., Oklahoma City

James Hefner, ’63 M.D., Amarillo, Texas

Christina Scifres, ’02 M.D., is director of the Maternal-Fe tal Medicine Division at the Indiana University School of Medicine. She is also the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health-funded multicenter clinical trial evaluating glycemic targets in women with gestational diabetes.

Rebecca Deaton, ’79 M.D., Tulsa, Oklahoma

Clint Chambers, ’59 M.D., Lubbock, Texas

Helen Franklin, ’92 M.D., Wagoner, Oklahoma

Linda Hunt, ’68 M.D., Chickasha, Oklahoma

Edward Esparza, ’59 M.D., Oklahoma City

Stephen Mills, ’70 M.D., Hutchinson, Kansas Blake Palmer, ’05 M.D., Fort Worth, Texas

In Memoriam

William Graham, ’71 M.D., Ponca City, Oklahoma

Nerissa Collins, ’07 M.D., is an assistant professor of medi cine at Mayo Clinic Rochester, where she is also a consultant in the Division of Internal Medicine and emeritus section chief of consultative medicine.

2000s

Jesse Little, ’59 M.D., Oklahoma City

Wendy Pitt, ’02 M.D., was a rural pediatrician in Texas until 2014, when she moved back to Oklahoma. She now practices pediatrics via telemedicine.

Bill Wadell, ’56 M.D., Prairie Village, Kansas

“In today’s climate, there are many medical issues and ethical issues that those in the medical field are encountering — be that as a physician, nurse or other provider,” Capehart said. “The OU College of Medicine did not have a professorship or program directly pointed toward medical/ethical problems, and with the medical school being a training center, I feel that this professorship will stimulate research on the ethics of human research, clinical practice, public health, and medical innovation, in addition to exposing students to these issues early in their training.”

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don’t always flow in the same direction. Those parties are often obtuse to each other. Still, any deci sion has to be in the strictures of what is legal. Then the deci sion comes back to the physician. … What does he/she do?” One of Capehart’s main goals in establishing the professor ship is to simply call attention to an area that he felt was not being adequately addressed. “You need to have a very open discussion in order to come to a conclusion that is correct in a legal fashion, and in a medical fashion and in an ethical fash ion,” he said. “It’s a tough area to be in because there are so many conflicting forces that are pulling in different ways.”

Alumnus Establishes Professorship for Medical Ethics

“You also have strictures within the hospital. The hospital may, in some cases, dictate what can happen in a medical situation. Finally, you have insurance companies, third-party carriers who may say ‘no, we won’t do this or that’ and they work to make a decision go another way because of money,” he

“While making these challenging judgement calls, the physi cian must act within several strictures,” he said. “Number one: the legal stricture, the law, may dictate one way or another. They must decide what is acceptable and appropriate care from a medical viewpoint, and then what is acceptable from the patient’s viewpoint.

Physicians are required to make challenging judgment calls and hold themselves to high medical ethics standards, which minimizes errors and fosters trust, accountability, and respect between physicians and their patients, Capehart said.

“Alladded.thesethings

He also wants to take ethics discussions into the public arena. “I read a story about a physician in another state who said that if his patients did not take the vaccine recommended by the government, he would not see them as a patient any longer,” Capehart said. “Is that ethical? I don’t have an answer and you don’t have an answer, but it’s something we ought to have an answer to, and the only way you’re going to arrive at it is to have a discussion. There just needs to be more discussion and more involvement.”

In his 50-plus years of practicing medicine, Robert Capehart, M.D. made many decisions about patient care. Some were sim ple, like black or white, others more difficult and mired deeper in gray areas. Those gray area questions would often lead him to examine his beliefs, his options and his obligations.

During his long career, Capehart was passionate about ed ucating young physicians and medical students not only in clinical medicine but also in medical ethics and humanities. Now retired, he has had time to reflect on his career and how he approached situations and decisions, comparing and contrasting them to the environment, attitudes and morals that new doctors face today. The result of his introspection is the creation of a $2 million endowed professorship for medical ethics at the OU College of Medicine.

The Capehart Endowed Chair for Medical Ethics will be estab lished as part of the planned legacy of Capehart and his wife, Diana, a former surgical nurse. They live in Tulsa.

Capehart is a 1965 graduate of the OU College of Medicine. During his internship at St. John’s Medical Center in Tulsa, he decided to focus on colorectal surgeries. He was instrumental in building Tulsa Medical College, which became the OU-TU School of Community Medicine. He served as the first chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine and the first program director for the family practice residency.

Robert and Diana Capehart

University of Oklahoma College of Medicine P.O. Box Oklahoma26901City, OK 73126-0901

College of Medicine Magazine Summer 2022

Articles inside

College of Medicine Magazine Summer 2022

Alumni Day Returns

Evening of Excellence

Faculty Awards

Real-World Experience

Diabetes Research Growing

Historic First

AI in Stroke Care

Improving End of Life

Health and Climate Change

OU Health CEO

Art and Medicine