ANNUAL REPORTDepartment2021-2022 of Medicine
This application of science to medicine is enhanced by interdisciplinary collaboration, fiscal responsibility, advancement of social and intellectual diversity, commitment to selflearning, and a professionalism dedicated to teamwork and collegiality. These values promote the best interests of internal medicine at Vanderbilt and further strengthen our social contract with the community we serve.
The mission of the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is to inspire interest in the prevention of disease and the promotion of human health, to cultivate biomedical discovery, and educate tomorrow’s leaders for internal medicine. We especially seek those physicians who provide compassionate care while translating new knowledge into meaningful improvements in health outcome.
OUR MISSION
Chair Message
Diversity and Inclusion Clinical Affairs .................................................................................. EducationResearchVeteransAffairsProfessionalDevelopment Division Updates Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care CardiovascularMedicine Medicine ....................................................... Clinical Pharmacology .............................................................. Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism Gastroenterology,Epidemiology Hepatology and Nutrition Genetic Medicine .......................................................................... Geriatric InfectiousHematologyMedicineandOncologyDiseasesInternalMedicineandPublic Health Nephrology and Hypertension ......................................... Rheumatology and Immunology Our PhilanthropyPeople Remembering George Wallace McLean, MD Paying it HighlightsForward Table of Contents | 02 TABLE OF CONTENTS 50454329251915134357921273135373941475153553367
By the Numbers
Department Leadership
Vice Chair Updates
Epidemiology
Nephrology and Hypertension
Jane Freedman, MD
Nancy Cox, PhD FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Tom Elasy, MD
David G. Harrison, MD
Infectious Diseases
Vice Chair for Education
Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism
Walter Clair, MD, MPH
Vice Chair for Clinical Research
Brian Christman, MD
Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD
03 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion
W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD
Alvin Powers, MD
Jordan Berlin, MD (Interim)
Jill Gilbert, MD
Chief of Finance and Administration
David Aronoff, MD
John McPherson, MD
Genetic Medicine
T. Alp Ikizler, MD
Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, VA Hospital
Leslie Crofford, MD
Richard M Peek Jr., MD
Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Timothy Blackwell, MD
Associate Vice Chair for Research
Rheumatology and Immunology
DIVISION DIRECTORS
Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, MPH
Cecelia Theobald, MD, MPH
Cardiovascular Medicine
Roy Zent, MD, PhD
Clinical Pharmacology
Hematology and Oncology
Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP
Karen Bloch, MD, MPH (Interim)
David Haas, MD (Interim)
Derek Miller, MBA, MHA
Harvey Murff, MD, MPH
Internal Medicine and Public Health
Henrique Serezani, PhD
T. Alp Ikizler, MD
Geriatric Medicine
VICE CHAIRS
Vice Chair for Professional Development
CHAIR
Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs
Vice Chair for Research
Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH (Incoming 2022-2023)
The 2021-2022 year may mark a time when we recognized the real opportunity offered by the pandemic experience. Our faculty of deep subject matter experts have mobilized to connect our units in order to provide an unparalleled level of customer service, as communicated to us by our patients. These efforts are coordinated by a highly skilled and compassionate administrative team, whose number one priority is to advance human health. I could not be more proud to be a part of this incredible group of people, and look forward to the many anticipated accomplishments in the next year.W.Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD
It is inspiring to see the ongoing transformation. Our challenges have changed from three years ago, and we are now facing a record number of patients seeking our care. We are well positioned to meet this challenge by using innovative models of care, embracing digital strategies, and thinking at a population level to create health solutions that facilitate people being functional and in their homes, with their families, and with the confidence that Vanderbilt’s Department of Medicine is there to keep them healthy. This is one part of our definition of making health care personal.
Our drive to advance human health has surged across the 13 divisions that make up this incredible Department of Medicine. We are cultivating major centers of excellence that provide a personalized, team-based approach to care for all manner of illnesses that affect the human body. Our researchers lead discoveries and are uncovering new insights that impact our ability to live healthier lives. At our core, we are committed to training the next generation of clinicians and researchers, providing opportunities to expand and focus curiosity, and equip our trainees with tools that will allow them to have meaningful careers at the intersection of medical science and human health.
Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Physician-in-Chief, Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital and Clinics
Chair Message | 04
CHAIR MESSAGE
05 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report 13 DIVISIONS #19 IN U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT BEST HOSPITALS HONOR ROLL #4 RANKED IN NIH FUNDING BY THE BLUE RIDGE INSTITUTE $192M IN NIH FUNDING
By the Numbers | 06 576 FELLOWS, RESIDENTS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS 497 ADVANCEDPROVIDERSPRACTICE 984 FACULTY 53% WOMEN, 47% MEN $347M OPERATIONAL BUDGET
DIVERSITYUPDATE&INCLUSION
Walter Clair, MD, MPH
Key partners in the department’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have been the dedicated and engaged members of our Diversity Liaison Committee. Comprised of more than 25 representatives from each of the department’s 13 divisions, members of this committee identified and hosted a health equity grand rounds speaker, invited community activists and scholars to their monthly meetings, and began the process of sharing best practices and ongoing challenges gleaned from the projects within their respective divisions. Diversity liaisons assisted in the racial climate survey pilot and are now prepared to participate in newly developed anti-racism training sessions, and several have taken on leadership roles in the department’s Anti-racism Book Club. One-on-one sessions were also held with most of the division leaders to emphasize the importance of working with their diversity liaisons to place our diversity and inclusion efforts on par with the Medical Center’s Pillar Goals, and to explore the links to our VUMC Credo values.
VICE CHAIR
Video: Walter Clair, MD, MPH, Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion, discusses the department’s diversity and inclusion efforts
The Department of Medicine exemplifies its commitment to diversity and inclusion through the development of targeted initiatives aimed at promoting these ideals, and recruiting and retaining diverse faculty and trainees. The most notable among those initiatives was the unveiling of a $1 million endowment dedicated to the department’s diversity and inclusion efforts. This endowment will support several pre-med and medical student pipeline projects at VUMC and Meharry Medical College, and will supplement funding for visiting medical student rotations, resident social medicine activities, honoraria for speakers, and conference attendance and training fees.
As a source for future faculty, training programs are mission critical pipelines to a more diverse faculty. Therefore, the primary focus of our diversity and inclusion efforts in the 2021-2022 year was on the department’s clinical fellowship programs. Fellowship program directors met with department leadership to review the last five years of their program’s demographics, screening and interview strategies, and match list ranking processes and priorities. With an eye towards developing strategies for enhanced diversity, literature and recommendations for a holistic and diversity-focused approach to recruiting and ranking were discussed with the program directors. Additionally, a variety of house staff initiatives related to diversity and health equity were supported with both mentoring and funding.
As we continue to align our efforts with those of the Medical Center, we will focus the coming year’s effort on consolidating past successes, expanding divisional activities, and encouraging anti-racism training. Crescere Aude!
07 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
This past academic year, the department hired eight faculty who self-identify as underrepresented in medicine (URiM). Just as we have been successful in attaching a diverse cohort of internal medicine residency trainees, we are confident that the number of URiM trainees in our fellowship programs will increase over the next few years. The competition for these outstanding recruits will be great, but our commitment is greater.
John Sergent, MD
RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS
• Clair WK, Wan EY, Wang PJ. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cardiac Electrophysiology: It Is Imperative Now and for Our Future. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 2022 Jun;15(6):e010763. doi: 10.1161/ CIRCEP.121.010763. Epub 2022 May 26. PMID: 35617344.
• André Churchwell, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine), was awarded Chief Diversity Officer of the Year by Nashville Business Journal’s 2021 Health Care Innovation Awards
• Maie El-Sourady, MD, and Ana Nobis, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health), were awarded the 2022 Vice Chair Award for Outstanding Contributions to Diversity and Inclusion
• John Sergent, MD (Rheumatology and Immunology), was honored in a portrait unveiling for contributions to diversity and inclusion of the Internal Medicine residency program
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
Vice Chair Updates | 08
• Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI (Geriatric Medicine), was awarded Diversity Champion of the Year by Nashville Business Journal’s 2021 Health Care Innovation Awards
467 Men 517 Women 47% 53% 82 URiM 902 Non-URiM 8% 92% 122 Women 140 Men 53% 47% 39 URiM 233 Non-URiM 85% 14% 70 Women 74 Men51% 49% 34 URiM 110 Non-URiM 76% 24% FACULTY FELLOWS RESIDENTS
This year, the Department of Medicine made great strides in regional expansion, recognizing that the patients we seek to serve live far beyond the borders of Nashville. To be able to provide the highest quality care to patients in their local communities, new clinics were added in Davidson and surrounding counties. This included new primary care and rheumatology clinics in Hendersonville; gastroenterology, cancer and allergy clinics in Lebanon; infectious diseases, medical weight loss and renal transplant in Clarksville; and cardiology in Crossville. The Medical Center also debuted a new Hospital at Home program, which enables eligible patients who need inpatient hospitalization to receive safe, hospital-level care in the comfort of their own homes. Finally, as an alternative to transferring patients to Vanderbilt University Hospital, the department collaborated with regional partners to offer e-Consults for select patients admitted to smaller regional hospitals.
Cecelia Theobald, MD, MPH
CLINICALUPDATEAFFAIRS
As Vanderbilt University Hospital prepares for a major expansion in the coming years, the Department of Medicine will be better equipped to lead the care of additional patients and further ensure that all patients receive only the highest quality of care.
VICE CHAIR
The patient care VUMC provides is second to none. The Department of Medicine seeks to deliver compassionate care that gives patients access to high-quality, cutting-edge diagnosis and treatment while recognizing, respecting and meeting their personal needs.
09 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
As a result of the hard work and dedication of our clinicians, VUMC ranked highly in the U.S. News & World Report, ranking No. 19 overall in the Best Hospitals Honor Roll. Additionally, the Department of Medicine had six high performing specialties, including Cardiology (12), Pulmonology (18), Diabetes and Endocrinology (20), Geriatrics (28), Cancer (38) and Gastroenterology (47).
As the COVID-19 pandemic carried on into its third year, our teams worked hard to bring novel therapeutics to patients. Several of the Vanderbilt Walk-In Clinics quickly implemented “Test-to -Treat” protocols, offering immediate access to antivirals in the clinic to patients who test positive for COVID-19. Beginning in December 2021, VUMC began administering Evusheld, an antibody combination discovered at the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, to high-risk patients as a prevention strategy for COVID.
Video: Tara Horr, MD (Geriatric Medicine), talks about the Hospital at Home program
Vice Chair Updates | 10 CLINICAL CARE BY THE NUMBERS 21,908 INPATIENT DISCHARGES 2,887 HOSPITALIZATIONSCOVID-RELATED 991,054 OUTPATIENT VISITS 56,108 TELEHEALTHVISITS 243,243 WALK-INCOVID-RELATEDCLINICVISITS 611 TOTAL TRANSPLANTSADULT 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910 12 13 14 15 1716 18 19 20 11 12 Maury County 13 Montgomery County 14 Putnam County 15 Robertson County 17 Sumner County 18 Wayne County 19 Williamson County 20 Wilson County Davidson County 3 Cheatham County 45 Cumberland County 2 Bedford County 6 Hamilton County 7 Knox County 8 Lawrence County 9 Lewis County 10 Madison County 16 Rutherford County11 Marshall County New in FY22 Coming Soon
• Allison Schwall, MD (Internal Medicine and Public Health) – Chief of Staff, Medical Segment, VUH
• Tara Horr, MD (Geriatric Medicine) – Hospital to Home Program
• Kelly Sponsler, MD (Internal Medicine and Public Health) – Executive Medical Director, Hospital Medicine Clinical Service Center
• Nancy Davis, MD (Hematology and Oncology) – Vice President, VUMC Cancer Care Network and Strategy
• VUMC’s August 2021 Elevate Team Award was presented to the COVID Mass Vaccination Team
• Jennifer Green, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health)
• Ed Gould, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Director, Quality and Patient Safety, Department of Medicine
• VUMC’s May 2022 Elevate Team Award was presented to the COVID-19 Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Clinic
• David Morgan, MD (Hematology and Oncology)
Award
• Sara Horst, MD, MPH (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) – Ambulatory Telehealth and Vanderbilt Specialty Pharmacy
May 2022 Elevate Team Award recipients
• Robert Piana, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine)
• VUMC Excellence in Patient Experience awards were awarded to 199 faculty across nine divisions in October 2021 for the 2020-2021 academic year
• David Erasmus, MD (Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine) – Vanderbilt Lung Transplant Program
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Jennifer Green, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health) – Co-executive Medical Director, Patient Safety, Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH) and Clinics
• Sandip Zalawadiya, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine) – Ambulatory Heart Failure Monitoring Devices
• Jonathan Menachem, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine) – Heart and Transplant: ACHD/Heart-Liver Program
• Heidi Schaefer, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Transplant Services
• Anna Persons, MD (Infectious Diseases)
• Craig Sussman, MD (Internal Medicine and Public Health)
• Beatrice Concepcion, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Vanderbilt Kidney and Pancreas Transplant Program
• Christopher Lind, MD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition)
11 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report August
In recognition of their contributions to the clinical mission at Vanderbilt, the following Department of Medicine faculty were inducted into the inaugural Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine class:
NEW MEDICAL DIRECTORS AND CLINICAL LEADERS
• Kimberly Beiting, MD (Geriatric Medicine) – Inpatient Geriatrics Consult Service
• Kathleene Wooldridge, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health) 2021 Elevate Team recipients
• Claude Shackelford, MD (Internal Medicine and Public Health), was awarded the 2022 Vice Chair Award for Outstanding Contributions in Clinical Affairs
13 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Based on the success of the residency’s 2021 cancer screening metrics competition, the residents’ outpatient quality dashboard was expanded to include diabetes metrics, and new tools and prompts in the electronic
The Department of Medicine provides exceptional postgraduate training to residents and fellows in every subspecialty within internal medicine. In addition to residency programs in internal medicine and medicinepediatrics, the department has 16 ACGME-accredited fellowships and several non-accredited fellowships in disciplines ranging from obesity medicine to cardiooncology that trained more than 170 residents and 260 fellows at VUMC and the Nashville VA Medical Center in the 2021-2022 academic year.
The residency program’s overarching mission is to train a diverse group of future leaders in academic medicine who will improve the human condition through the practice of medicine, education, research and service. Embedded in our efforts is the desire to provide academic rigor to trainees in a supportive environment. The 2021-2022 resident recruitment season was highly successful.
The Resident Selection Committee was expanded to include a diverse group of 55 faculty who were trained in holistic review of the applicants in order to mitigate
John McPherson, MD
potential sources of bias, focusing on applicants’ personal strengths and compelling challenges, in addition to traditional metrics such as United States Medical Licensing Examination scores and medical school rankings. Consistent with previous years, the program remained highly competitive with the top internal medicine programs in the country. The 2022 Match resulted in an intern class that is 53% female and 26% self-identified as URiM, from an applicant pool that was 45% female and 15% URiM. It also included four MD/ PhDs and three international medical graduates. Overall, the current group of 135 residents is the most diverse in our program’s history. In addition, nearly 70% of the program’s residents have been elected in to either the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society or the Gold Humanism Honor Society.
Video: Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program
VICE CHAIR EDUCATIONUPDATE
Our multidisciplinary Health Equity Elective continues to grow, with high participation rates from the residency program. The department’s Social Medicine Committee, dedicated to increasing residents’ knowledge and understanding of social determinants of health, strengthened its relationship with community organizations, including Open Table Nashville, The Nashville Food Project and The Purple Foundation, and led several community food and school supply drives.
in 67 labs, training students in 10 graduate programs
of their contributions to the educational mission at Vanderbilt, the following Department of Medicine faculty were inducted into 2022 class of the VUSM Academy for Excellence in Education:
health record were implemented to assist all clinicians. Plans to include vaccination data are in progress. In addition, nearly one-third of residents see patients in local community health centers during their training. The program established new electives in anesthesia (chronic pain and high-risk surgical evaluation), obstetrics and gynecology, trauma-informed care, and procedural observation (bronchoscopy, endoscopy and dialysis).
teaching, science, and a physiology-based approach to medicine in an environment that promotes diversity and collaboration.
• Lynn Punnoose, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine)
• Katherine Walsh, MD (Hematology and Oncology)
• Keith Obstein, MD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition)
262
Nearly all residents engage in significant research during residency, and the program recently added additional research liaisons to facilitate earlier connections of residents with faculty. The program provides residents with subscriptions to advanced statistical software, as well as a “research toolbox” containing short, practical videos on common elements of research.
• Brian Lindman, MD, MSCI (Cardiovascular Medicine), was awarded the 2022 Vice Chair Award for Outstanding Contributions in Resident Research
GRADUATE STUDENTS
CLINICAL AND POSTDOC FELLOWS in Department of Medicine fellowship programs
RESIDENTS
576 Trainees24%31% 45%
• Chase Hendrickson, MD, MPH (Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism)
Vice Chair Updates | 14
Through the department’s numerous training programs, residents and fellows continue to be provided with a broad range of experiences that emphasize bedside
• Christina Fiske, MD, MPH (Infectious Diseases)
• Mohana Karlekar, MD (Internal Medicine and Public Health)
• Rachel Apple, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health)
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
137
InMentorshiprecognition
177
including Internal Medicine and chief residents, and first-year Medicine-Pediatrics, Neurology, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation residents
15 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
VICE CHAIR RESEARCHUPDATE
T. Alp Ikizler, MD | Roy Zent, MD, PhD | Henrique Serezani, PhD
Video: Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, and his team discovered over 10% of adults over 70 have CHIP
The Department of Medicine’s research enterprise is a cornerstone of our success. We operate a highly integrated basic and translational research program designed to equip our faculty and trainees to be unlimited in the boundaries they are able to explore. Ultimately, our goal is to make impactful discoveries that change the arc of human health. Given the growth in research portfolio and activities, we recognized a need to have focused attention on the clinical research operations. As a result, T. Alp Ikizler, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension) was appointed Vice Chair for Clinical Research, and Henrique Serezani, PhD (Infectious Diseases), was appointed Associate Vice Chair of Research. Both Ikizler and Serezani bring substantial expertise to the department’s leadership team, which continues to expand into broader research areas.
As the department looks to the coming year, it is making investments in numerous research projects and infrastructure, including considerable construction of new and existing laboratory space. As part of the growth, significant investment is also being made to the clinical research infrastructure, including the development of new clinical research center space that will allow for the running of large- and mid-scale clinical trials. There is focused development of how computational methodologies are used to enhance the study of medicine, and the department is creating an excellent environment to enhance translation research of its evergrowing solid organ transplant patient population. These initiatives will help to sustain and stimulate the groundbreaking research done in the department that is changing the way medicine is practiced, and ultimately improving the quality and length of our patients’ lives.
The research portfolio of the department remained robust this year with more than $192 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Ranked No. 4 by the Blue Ridge Institute in total NIH funding among peer institutions, we are exceedingly well positioned to continue to lead discovery science on into the future. Our funding stream is well diversified with a number of new and renewed training, individual and collaborative grants. This year, the department had over 20 NIH-funded training grants that fund undergraduate to faculty career development awards. There was also continued success in obtaining large grants to sustain and commence major interdisciplinary projects and cohorts, as well as funding of individual projects for independent investigators. Consistent with the continued excellent funding, our faculty continued to publish in some of the industry’s most prestigious journals, including Cell, Nature Cell Biology and The New England Journal of Medicine. They have also obtained numerous awards and distinctions from the various subspecialty societies and associations.
• Jeeyeon Cha, MD, PhD (Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism), received a Young Physician-Scientist Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation
• Alexander Bick, MD, PhD (Genetic Medicine), was named a 2022 Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research
• Garret Kass, PhD (Genetic Medicine), received a Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Grant
Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI (Geriatric Medicine), and Nancy Cox, PhD (Genetic Medicine) – Southeast Collaborative for Innovative and Equitable Solutions to Chronic Disease Disparities, NIMHD
$2.5M
TOP NEW NIH AWARDS
Matthew Freiberg, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine) –Microbiome, Metabolites, and Alcohol in HIV to Reduce CVD (META HIV CVD), NIAAA
Tuya Pal, MD, Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD (Hematology and Oncology), and Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, MPH (Epidemiology) – CASUAL: Cohort to Augment the Understanding of Sarcoma Survivorship Across the Lifespan, NCI
Early-career Investigator Awards
• Kim Dahlman, PhD (Hematology and Oncology), received an Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching and Innovation from the International Association of Medical Science Educators
• Stokes Peebles Jr., MD (Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine), and Ambra Pozzi, PhD (Nephrology and Hypertension), were awarded the 2022 Vice Chair Award for Outstanding Contributions in Research
• Eman Gohar, PhD (Nephrology and Hypertension), received a 2022 Renal Section New Investigator Award from the American Physiological Society
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, MPH, and Martha Shrubsole, PhD, MS (Epidemiology) – Southern Environmental Health Study, NCI
Vice Chair Updates | 16 NIH FY20NIH FY19NIH FY18NIH FY17 NIH FY21 $244M $175M$162M$168M $192M #2#2#2 #2 #4 RESEARCH BY THE NUMBERS
$1.2M
$1.5M
$1.1M
• JP Arroyo, MD, PhD and Andrew Terker, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension), received 2022 Emerging Generation awards from the American Society for Clinical Investigation
• QiPing Feng, PhD (Clinical Pharmacology) – Genetics and Triglycerides: opportunities for new approaches to identify therapies, NHLBI
• Sonya Reid, MD, MPH (Hematology and Oncology), received an NRG Oncology Early-stage Investigator Award
• Vineet Agrawal, MD, PhD (Cardiovascular Medicine) – A Pathogenic Role for Natriuretic Peptide Receptor-C in Pulmonary Hypertension and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction, NHLBI
• John Koethe, MD, MSCI (Infectious Diseases), Sheila Collins, PhD (Cardiovascular Medicine), and Heidi Silver, PhD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) – Pathophysiology of Metabolically Detrimental Changes in Adipose Distribution, Adipocyte Function, and Adipose Immune Environment on Antiretroviral Therapy, NIDDK
Department of Medicine PIs and Co-PIs were awarded 33 new R01s in the 2021-2022 academic year. Top awards include:•
T32 Awards
• Benjamin Shoemaker, MD, MSCI (Cardiovascular Medicine) – Probing Phenotype-Genotype Relations After Whole Genome Sequencing in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation, NHLBI
Department of Medicine PIs and Co-PIs had 12 active NIH T32 training grant awards that support our graduate students and fellows.
Department of Medicine PIs and Co-PIs had four active K12 awards sponsored by the NIH to support the training and career development of our talented faculty.
• Allison Norlander, PhD (Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine) – PGI2 restrains immunopathogenesis in hypertension, NHLBI
• Celestine Wanjalla, MD, PhD (Infectious Diseases) – Anti-cytomegalovirus Immune Responses in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Persons Living with HIV, NHLBI
• Esther Kim, MD, MPH (Cardiovascular Medicine), received a Luminary Award from the American Society on Echocardiography Council on Circulation & Vascular
• Matthew Semler, MD, MSCI (Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine), received a Young Physician-Scientist Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation
• Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH, and Russell Rothman, MD, MPP (Internal Medicine and Public Health) – Learning Health System Scholar Program at Vanderbilt, AHRQ
New NIH K Awards
Andrew DeFilippis, MD, MSc (Cardiovascular Medicine) – Contemporary Classification of Myocardial Injury Events in MESA: Defining Distinct Risk Factor Associations with Myocardial Infarction Type 1-5 and Acute Non-Ischemic Myocardial Injury, NHLBI
New NIH R01 Awards
• Raymond Harris, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Renal Biology and Disease Training Program, NIDDK
• David Harrison, MD (Clinical Pharmacology) – Vanderbilt Hypertension and Blood Pressure Regulation Program, NHLBI
• Timothy Blackwell, MD (Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine) – Interdisciplinary Training Program in Lung Research, NHLBI
• Matthew Freiberg, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine), and John Koethe, MD, MSCI (Infectious Diseases) – Vanderbilt SCHolars in HIV and Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep ReSearch (V-SCHoLARS, K12), NHLBI
17 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
K12 Awards
• Jin Chen, MD, PhD (Rheumatology and Immunology) – Microenvironmental Influences in Cancer, NCI
Department of Medicine PIs and Co-PIs had 17 total active K awards, including three new awards, in the 2021-2022 academic year.
• Yingchang Lu, MD, PhD (Genetic Medicine) – Genome-wide association study of coronary artery disease in individuals of African ancestry, NHLBI
• Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, and Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health) – Vanderbilt Scholars in T4 Translational Research (V-STTaR) Program, NHLBI
• Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD (Hematology and Oncology) – Vanderbilt Clinical Oncology Research Career Development Award, VUMC, NCI
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
• Pan Y, Cao S, Tang J, Arroyo JP, Terker AS, Wang Y, Niu A, Fan X, Wang S, Zhang Y, Jiang M, Wasserman DH, Zhang MZ, Harris RC. Cyclooxygenase-2 in adipose tissue macrophages limits adipose tissue dysfunction in obese mice. J Clin Invest. 2022 May 2;132(9):e152391. doi: 10.1172/JCI152391. PMID: 35499079; PMCID: PMC9057601.
Vice Chair Updates | 18
• Kevin Niswender, MD, PhD (Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism) – Research Training in Diabetes and Endocrinology, NIDDK
• Gandhi VD, Cephus JY, Norlander AE, Chowdhury NU, Zhang J, Ceneviva ZJ, Tannous E, Polosukhin VV, Putz ND, Wickersham N, Singh A, Ware LB, Bastarache JA, Shaver CM, Chu HW, Peebles RS Jr, Newcomb DC. Androgen receptor signaling promotes Treg suppressive function during allergic airway inflammation. J Clin Invest. 2022 Feb 15;132(4):e153397. doi: 10.1172/JCI153397. PMID: 35025767; PMCID: PMC8843736.
• Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, MPH (Epidemiology) – Vanderbilt Training Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer, NCI
• Jonasch E, Donskov F, Iliopoulos O, Rathmell WK, Narayan VK, Maughan BL, Oudard S, Else T, Maranchie JK, Welsh SJ, Thamake S, Park EK, Perini RF, Linehan WM, Srinivasan R; MK-6482-004 Investigators. Belzutifan for Renal Cell Carcinoma in von Hippel-Lindau Disease. N Engl J Med. 2021 Nov 25;385(22):2036-2046. doi: 10.1056/ NEJMoa2103425. PMID: 34818478; PMCID: PMC9275515.
• Nancy Cox, PhD (Genetic Medicine), and Dan Roden, MD (Clinical Pharmacology) – VGM: Vanderbilt Genomic Medicine Training Program, NHGRI
• Richard Peek, MD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) – Training in Gastroenterology, NIDDK
• Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health) – Learning Health System training program: PROgRESS--Patient/pRactice Outcomes and Research in Effectiveness and Systems Science, AHRQ
• Noto JM, Piazuelo MB, Shah SC, Romero-Gallo J, Hart JL, Di C, Carmichael JD, Delgado AG, Halvorson AE, Greevy RA, Wroblewski LE, Sharma A, Newton AB, Allaman MM, Wilson KT, Washington MK, Calcutt MW, Schey KL, Cummings BP, Flynn CR, Zackular JP, Peek RM Jr. Iron deficiency linked to altered bile acid metabolism promotes Helicobacter pylori-induced inflammation-driven gastric carcinogenesis. J Clin Invest. 2022 May 16;132(10):e147822. doi: 10.1172/JCI147822. PMID: 35316215; PMCID: PMC9106351.
• Bjorn Knollmann, MD, PhD (Clinical Pharmacology) – Clinical Pharmacology Training Program, NIGMS
• Zhang Q, Jeppesen DK, Higginbotham JN, Graves-Deal R, Trinh VQ, Ramirez MA, Sohn Y, Neininger AC, Taneja N, McKinley ET, Niitsu H, Cao Z, Evans R, Glass SE, Ray KC, Fissell WH, Hill S, Rose KL, Huh WJ, Washington MK, Ayers GD, Burnette DT, Sharma S, Rome LH, Franklin JL, Lee YA, Liu Q, Coffey RJ. Supermeres are functional extracellular nanoparticles replete with disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets. Nat Cell Biol. 2021 Dec;23(12):1240-1254. doi: 10.1038/s41556-021-00805-8. Epub 2021 Dec 9. PMID: 34887515; PMCID: PMC8656144.
• Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD (Hematology and Oncology) – VIMORTP (Vanderbilt Integrated Molecular Oncology Research Training Program), NCI
• Russell DW, Casey JD, Gibbs KW, Ghamande S, Dargin JM, Vonderhaar DJ, Joffe AM, Khan A, Prekker ME, Brewer JM, Dutta S, Landsperger JS, White HD, Robison SW, Wozniak JM, Stempek S, Barnes CR, Krol OF, Arroliga AC, Lat T, Gandotra S, Gulati S, Bentov I, Walters AM, Dischert KM, Nonas S, Driver BE, Wang L, Lindsell CJ, Self WH, Rice TW, Janz DR, Semler MW; PREPARE II Investigators and the Pragmatic Critical Care Research Group. Effect of Fluid Bolus Administration on Cardiovascular Collapse Among Critically Ill Patients Undergoing Tracheal Intubation: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2022 Jul 19;328(3):270-279. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.9792. PMID: 35707974; PMCID: PMC9204618.
• Lorraine Ware, MD (Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine) – Clinical and Translational Training Program in Pulmonary Medicine, NHLBI
• Marconi VC, Ramanan AV, de Bono S, Kartman CE, Krishnan V, Liao R, Piruzeli MLB, Goldman JD, Alatorre-Alexander J, de Cassia Pellegrini R, Estrada V, Som M, Cardoso A, Chakladar S, Crowe B, Reis P, Zhang X, Adams DH, Ely EW; COV-BARRIER Study Group. Efficacy and safety of baricitinib for the treatment of hospitalised adults with COVID-19 (COV-BARRIER): a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. Lancet Respir Med. 2021 Dec;9(12):1407-1418. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00331-3. Epub 2021 Sep 1. Erratum in: Lancet Respir Med. 2021 Oct;9(10):e102. PMID: 34480861; PMCID: PMC8409066.
• Spyros Kalams, MD (Infectious Diseases) – Vanderbilt Infection Pathogenesis and Epidemiology Research Training Program, NIAID
19 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
This year, 148 Department of Medicine faculty with clinical effort at the TVHS provided care to some of the most deserving patients, those who have served in the United States military. TVHS has expanded its commitment to the “Whole Health” approach, an integrated system focused on improving both health and wellness, augmenting relationships between patients and their health care team, and developing personalized plans that meet each veteran’s goals and values. This program, in addition to the specialized care faculty provide, incorporates mindfulness, yoga and tai chi. The program has resulted in a significant reduction in opiate use with an increase in patient safety. The department’s Primary Care group has worked closely with physicians in Infectious Diseases and Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition to treat most patients with hepatitis C in our region. They are now following up with expansion of screening for liver cancer, a known complication of chronic hepatitis.
VICE CHAIR VETERANSUPDATEAFFAIRS
The TVHS is one of the only VA facilities in the U.S. with stem cell transplant expertise. Last year, over 115 stem cell transplants were performed, which resulted in TVHS becoming one of only six programs in the country with survival above the 95% upper confidence interval for each of the last four years. Additionally, TVHS is the only stem cell transplant center in the VA that provides CAR-T cell treatment for refractory malignancies. The team is expanding CAR-T cell options, and will soon begin treating patients with multiple myeloma.
The robust partnership between VUMC and the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) in patient care, medical education and research remains active and productive, and the Department of Medicine’s world-class faculty continue to provide superb, cutting-edge and compassionate care.
The Medical Specialty areas in TVHS also expanded care for patients in 2022. Plans are underway in Cardiology for transaortic valve replacement, atrial exclusion procedures, and expanded integrated clinics for management of metabolic syndromes. Endocrinology has increased its clinical presence in obesity with new medications and new expertise in management of patients after bariatric surgery.
Nashville VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System
Brian Christman, MD
New and ongoing research by Department of Medicine faculty has a tremendous impact on the research efforts of TVHS. In the fall 2021 and spring 2022 funding cycles, Department of Medicine faculty were awarded more than $9.2 million in funding, including two career development awards to Drs. Vineet Agrawal (Cardiovascular Medicine) and Jordan Wright (Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism).*
TVHS this year was also successful in obtaining grant funding for two new chief residents in Quality and Patient Safety, who will join the department in the 2023-2024 academic year. This combined initiative, shared between Hospital and
• Jordan Wright, MD, PhD (Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism) – In vivo mechanisms of amyloid-induced pancreatic islet dysfunction in type 2 diabetes*
• Vineet Agrawal, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine) – A Pathogenic Role for the Natriuretic Peptide Clearance Receptor in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction*
2022-2023 VA Chief Resident Joseph Quintana, MD (left), meets the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Honorable Denis McDonough
• Roy Zent, MD, PhD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – lntegrin binding proteins and the kidney
• Matthew Wilson, MD, PhD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Genome engineering therapeutics for cystinuria and its metabolic consequences
NEWLY FUNDED PROJECTS
• Todd Hulgan, MD, MPH (Infectious Diseases), was awarded the 2022 Vice Chair Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Nashville VA Department of Medicine
• Kelly Sopko, MD (Internal Medicine and Public Health), was awarded two Chief Resident of Quality and Safety positions for VA TVHS as Site Co-director
• Jin Chen, MD, PhD (Rheumatology and Immunology) – Targeting mTORC2 in lung squamous cancer
• Keith Wilson, MD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition) – BCCMA: Targeting Gut-Microbiome in Veterans Deployment Related Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases: Dysbiosis, PTSD, and Epithelial and Immune Biology in Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Veterans
• Vokler Haase, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Renal Anemia
Emergency Medicine, will complement the very successful VA Quality Scholars Program led by Robert Dittus, MD, MPH (Internal Medicine and Public Health), who also oversees one of the most productive research centers in the VA, the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center.
• Ambra Pozzi, PhD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Molecular Mechanisms of Kidney Fibrosis
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Volker Haase, MD, and Mathew Wilson, MD, PhD (Nephrology and Hypertension), received the Veterans Affairs Senior Clinician Scientists Award
Many of the department’s best clinical teachers also work within the VA site. The department has increased the presence of Vanderbilt teaching faculty. Drs. Derek Pae, Peter Paik and Kelly Sopko (Internal Medicine and Public Health) developed projects aimed at improving the quality of interhospital transfers, and started a new research/ quality improvement project using the “diagnostic timeout” method to improve clinical care. To reflect the rich history TVHS patients provide, Chase Webber, DO (Internal Medicine and Public Health), also initiated the “My Life/My Story” project to significantly augment the social and military histories that will be available for each patient to better personalize their care.
In summary, the VA TVHS remains a vibrant and exciting environment where Department of Medicine faculty use their skills in research, teaching and clinical care to better serve its veteran patients. With enhanced funding due to recent legislation, the future for VUMC faculty at TVHS is bright.
• Raymond Harris, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension) – Mechanisms of Adaptive and Maladaptive Response of Renal Epithelium to Injury
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• Todd Hulgan, MD, MPH (Infectious Diseases) – Defining the Contribution of Mitochondrial DNA to Viral Infectious Diseases, Type 2 Diabetes, and their Interactions
• Lisa Mendes, MD (Cardiovascular Medicine), was appointed Director of the Schaffner Society. Mendes brings a wealth of experience as a long-time program director for the cardiology fellowship program, and a clear and compassionate style to career mentoring. Her transition into this role has re-energized the society and redefined the roles of liaisons to best serve clinician educators within their respective divisions.
Video: Jill Gilbert, MD, talks about the department’sdevelopmentprofessionalinitiatives
Academic promotiton serves as an internally and externally recognized milestone of accomplishment in one’s academic career. Given this, we have continued to create programs to help our faculty navigate the promotion process. To support that, the department’s Office of Professional Development has also appointed two new society directors:
and staff to achieve specific goals. Given the outstanding reviews from participants in this service, we are committed to continuing to offer professional coaching through the Department of Medicine.
• The newly formed Miller Society is now under the leadership of Ryan Buckley, MD (Internal Medicine and Public Health). He has created key programming for full-time clinician educators and APPs, including podcasts featuring live interviews with key thought leaders, and its first Miller Society Grand Rounds focused on the creation of Vanderbilt’s Adult Post Acute Covid Clinic and APP Practice within Ambulatory Care Models.
The Department of Medicine’s Professional Development office takes on initiatives related to career advancement, mentorship, and lifelong learning to best support our tremendous team of faculty and staff. This office coordinates professional development societies to foster the careers of scientists and physician-scientists (Nielson Society), clinician educators (Schaffner Society), and full-time clinicians and advanced practice providers (APP) (Miller Society); facilitates promotions and equitable compensation; and supports retreats and strategic planning. Ultimately, our job is to help everyone be as satisfied and successful as possible in their careers.
Notably, the support and advancement of APPs were
Jill Gilbert, MD
In response to suggestions from our faculty, we have engaged a professional coaching service designed to help faculty define and achieve career goals. The service was also rolled out this year with more than 30 faculty accepted into its first cohort. This kind of personalized career development work is designed to allow faculty
VICE CHAIR PROFESSIONALUPDATE DEVELOPMENT
21 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
This year, we built on our progress from last year in several key areas. The Women in Medicine Initiative (WIMI), led by Alexandra Shingina, MD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition), was officially launched, connecting over 200 women within our department through professional development mentor-mentee pairs, professional development pods, and all-women networking activities with a goal of enhancing networking, sponsorship and connection. Through WIMI, the department is addressing the remaining disparities for women in medicine by elevating women throughout the department.
In the 2021-2022 academic year, 58 Department of Medicine faculty were promoted, including six to the rank of
• Keith Obstein, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition)
• Jozef Zienkiewicz, PhD, Research Professor of Medicine (Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine)
Soo Hyun (Esther) Kim, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)
among the key focus areas identified at a clinical leadership retreat, which was hosted in person this year for the first time since the pandemic. Comprised of department leaders and key administrative personnel, the retreat focused on overcoming resistance to change and how to create a rewarding and supportive environment for not only our faculty, but for all those in the Department of
• Robert Coffey Jr., MD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition), received the Stanley Cohen Award for Research Bridging Diverse Disciplines, such as Chemistry or Physics, to Solve Biology’s Most Important Fundamental Questions
•Professor:
Reflections on the Miller Society
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Alexandra Shingina, MD (Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition), was awarded the 2022 Vice Chair Award for Outstanding Contributions in Professional Development
• Wanqing Wen, MD, MPH, Research Professor of Medicine (Epidemiology)
Academic Enterprise Faculty Awards
• Thomas Golper, MD (Nephrology and Hypertension), received the W. Anderson Spickard Jr., MD, Award for Clinical Excellence in Cognitive Discipline
By Ryan Buckley, MD, Miller Society Director
AsMedicine.thedepartment
PROMOTIONS
Vice Chair Updates | 22
• Jordan Berlin, MD (Hematology and Oncology), received the Grant W. Liddle, MD, Award for Outstanding Contributions in Clinical Research
• Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD (Hematology and Oncology), received the Charles R. Park Award for Basic Research Revealing Insights into Physiology and Pathophysiology
• Kathryn Dahir, MD (Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism), received the Mildred T. Stahlman Award for Innovation in Clinical Care
The launch of the Miller Society speaks volumes from Department of Medicine leadership in terms of their support of our evergrowing body of faculty on the Clinical Practice track and our advanced practice providers. This intentional effort to recognize the value and career development needs of our clinical faculty means the world to me and so many of our faculty, and the work is only just beginning. It can go without saying that the last two to three years have been a tremendous challenge for those of us on the front lines of clinical care. We have seen now, more than ever, that investment in career development is a proven approach to combatting burnout. We got off to a great start this year with a lot of positive feedback on the content we’re producing, but passive content delivery isn’t enough. We look forward to collaborating with the other societies and department leadership to take a more active role in promoting and retaining our faculty and APPs by designing tools and systems, including the development of individualized curricula using existing CME opportunities, that will foster active professional development for our clinical faculty and staff.
• Craig Sussman, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine (Internal Medicine and Public Health)
• Fiona Harrison, PhD (Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism), received the Elaine Sanders-Bush Award for Mentoring Graduate and/or Medical Students in the Research Setting
• Jirong Long, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Epidemiology)
transitions into the next academic year, plans are underway to initiate new programs that will foster a world-class professional development program that supports, engages, excites and helps retain our most valuable asset, people.
The Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine thrived this year under the leadership of Division Director, Timothy Blackwell, MD. Faculty and trainees provided exceptional clinical care and their research contributions helped improve the health of patients at, and beyond, Vanderbilt.
25 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
The division experienced another year of robust sponsored research, with nearly $26 million in funding from the NIH, and publications in high impact journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation and Nature Medicine. Faculty were
Video: E. Wesley Ely, MD, designed a clinical trial that found baricitinib reduces death in patients with severe COVID-19
The Critical Care team continued to weather the storm of severe COVID-19, which has evolved to become just another ailment treated in our Medical Intensive Care Unit. We take pride in the researchers who pioneered efforts to improve outcomes of patients with COVID-19 illness by leading studies of new therapeutic strategies and treatments, including examining the utility of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in this condition (Jonathan Casey, MD, and Whitney Gannon, MSN), and identifying baricitinib as an effective treatment for patients with severe COVID-19 (E. Wesley Ely, MD).
The Vanderbilt Lung Institute (VLI), led by Joao de Andrade, MD, had a remarkable first full year, expanding and developing new ways to care for patients with chronic and debilitating lung disease. The VLI established a new clinical program in COPD and expanded its clinical and research programs in interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and asthma. Outpatient visit volume increased 7.8%, and new patient visits increased by 19.8%. The transplant team performed a record 63 lung transplants, and the Advanced Lung Disease Service is now well established, adding to the division’s many services that provide exceptional patient care. Interventional pulmonologists sustained their commitment to developing cutting-edge technology by implementing robotic bronchoscopy, and the work of our Pulmonology faculty was reflected by the No. 18 ranking in this year’s U.S. News and World Report rankings. In
Allergy and Immunology, faculty provided high-quality care across a wide spectrum of diseases, and developed several unique initiatives, including expanded drug allergy testing and “de-labeling” of penicillin allergy.
ANDALLERGY,UPDATEPULMONARYCRITICALCAREMEDICINE
DIVISION
• Lorraine Ware, MD, was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science
awarded several new grants, including a K99/R00, a K24, a U19, two Department of Defense (DOD) grants, and several foundation and industry sponsored projects. Numerous projects received continued funding, including two Program Projects Grants, two T32s, several large U awards, as well as other NIH, DOD and National Science Foundation grants. The division’s T32 training program, “Clinical and Translational Training Program in Pulmonary Medicine,” led by Lorraine Ware, MD, was renewed this year. Additionally, the division’s clinical research infrastructure grew substantially. Only in its second year, the Pulmonary Research Infrastructure for Shared resources and Mentorship (PRISM) program, led by Anna Hemnes, MD, has grown to support 27 funded clinical trials. With 10 junior faculty funded by career development awards, our faculty pipeline remains strong.
New Pofessional Society Elections
New Senior Editorship Positions
• Anna Hemnes, MD, was named Co-Editor-in-Chief for Pulmonary Circulation
• Fabien Maldonado, MD, was Associate Editor for CHEST
• Otis Rickman, DO, received the Carol Odess Discovery Grant in Interventional Pulmonology
The contributions of each faculty member, trainee and staff member have propelled the division towards its goal of being the national leader in research, training and clinical care in Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and we look forward to another year of continued success.
New External Leadership Positions
• Katherine Cahill, MD, was elected to editorial board for Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
• Lisa Lancaster, MD, won the NHLBI Air You Wear Challenge for a patent-pending medical oxygen device
• Tina Hartert, MD, MPH, served as Co-chair for the American Thoracic Society Vaccines and Immunization International Working Group and as a Council Member for the NHLBI
• Basil Kahwash, MD, was named a Rising Star by Castle Connolly Top Doctors
• Lisa Lancaster, MD, served as a steering committee member for the American College of Chest Physicians Diffuse Lung Disease Network and for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Registry
James (Jim) Jackson, PsyD
• Otis Rickman, DO, was Vice Chair for the CHEST Live Learning subcommittee, and served on the Tennessee Board of Osteopathic Examiners
• James (Jim) Jackson, PsyD, received VUMC’s Credo Award
• Tina Hartert, MD, MPH; Dawn Newcomb, PhD; and Stokes Peebles, MD, received an NIH Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center Award
Division Director Updates | 26
The Pulmonary and Critical Care, Interventional Pulmonary, and Allergy and Immunology clinical fellowship programs play an integral role in helping the division meet its clinical, research and educational goals. The outstanding program directors, Drs. Meredith Pugh, Fabien Maldonado and Yasmin Khan, work diligently to attract the highest caliber applicants from across the country, and are focused on providing personalized training for each fellow to meet their diverse career goals.
• E. Wesley Ely, MD, received a Master of Critical Care Medicine Award from the Council of Society of Critical Care Membership, and received a Distinguished Investigator Award from the ACCM
• Fabien Maldonado, MD, and Otis Rickman, DO, received Distinguished Educator awards from CHEST
• Stokes Peebles, MD, was elected to the Association of American Physicians
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
The past academic year has been busy for division leadership. On Aug. 1, 2021, Freedman assumed her position as Division Director, joining the leadership
27 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
DIVISION CARDIOVASCULARUPDATE MEDICINE
of Dan Munoz, MD, who serves as Executive Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer for Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. Other leadership changes have included the appointment of Kelly Schlendorf, MD, as Director of the Section of Heart Failure and Transplant, and Joann Lindenfeld, MD, stepping into the role of the section’s Research Director. In research, Deepak Gupta, MD, became the Director of the Vanderbilt Translational and Clinical Cardiovascular Research Center (VTRACC), and Ravi Shah, MD, was named Director of Clinical and Translational Research. Cardiovascular Medicine faculty have also been extensively involved in a broad range of professional leadership and national service.
Lynne Stevenson, MD, is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Heart Association
Comprised of a leading group of health care providers and researchers, our division is among the strongest in the nation when it comes to understanding and treating a broad range of cardiovascular disease, including electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, pulmonary disease, inherited heart disease and imaging. Among our most notable achievements this year is VUMC’s heart
The Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at VUMC promotes human health through clinical excellence, compassionate care, pioneering research and outstanding education. Through inquiry and innovation, the division advances biomedical knowledge and develops cardiovascular careers and physician leaders in a culture that supports diversity, inclusion, critical thinking and creativity. Led by Jane Freedman, MD, the division’s overarching goals are to facilitate this progress, as well as build bridges and accelerate interactions between basic and clinical disciplines, and the Vanderbilt community at large. This has resulted in sustained growth of the clinical operations, enrichment and broadening of the division’s research portfolio, and passionate advocacy for the division, its mission, and commitment to equity and inclusion. The success of the division is reflected by the rise from No. 17 to No. 12 in this year’s U.S. News and World Report rankings, as well as by the division’s growing clinical and basic research portfolio.
• JoAnn Lindenfeld, MD, received a Pioneer Award from the Heart Failure Society of America
During the past year, the division’s eight fellowship programs trained 45 fellows in multiple areas of cardiovascular disease, including general cardiology, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology and imaging. Of the nine general cardiology fellows who completed their fellowship, all have entered into additional clinical training, academic or research positions, and many have received prestigious career development awards.
• Debra Dixon, MD, MS, received an American College of Cardiology and Association of Black Cardiologists 2022 Bristol Myers Squibb Research Fellowship award
New External Leadership Positions
addition is the upcoming launch of the Women’s Heart Center, which will be led by incoming faculty Kathryn Lindley, MD. We expect this to develop into a leading center for the multidisciplinary care, investigation, and training for the unique aspects of heart health that apply to women, including comprehensive care for high-risk patients around the time of pregnancy and childbirth, as well as heart health interventions specifically geared toward women’s physiology.
• Lynn Punnoose, MD, was named Director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Fellowship Program
In summary, the past year has seen exciting growth for the Division of Cardiology with the expansion of several programs, hiring of new clinical and research faculty, and enlargement of the divisional space. Most notable are the successes of the cardiovascular fellows and the broad and impactful contributions of the division’s faculty in training, research and broad clinical stewardship.
• Katherine Anderson, MSc, was named President of the Tennessee Genetic Counselors Association
• Jane Ferguson, PhD, was Senior Advisor for the AHA Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine Early Career Committee
• Wenliang Song, MD, was Co-chair of the National Lipid Association Early Career Development Committee
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Lee Richardson, MD, was named ED Consultant of the Year Award by VUMC’s Emergency Medicine Residency Program
• John McPherson, MD, was Associate Editor of the ACC Certification Management Program
• Lynne Stevenson, MD, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Heart Failure Society of America
New Senior Editorship Positions
• Amanda Doran, MD, PhD, is a Section Editor of Circulation Research
• Jane Freedman, MD, was elected to the Association of American Physicians
New Professional Society Elections Awards
• Aaron Aday, MD, MSc, was named to the Board of Directors for the Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation, and served as Chair for the Society for Vascular Medicine Next Generation Committee
There has also been significantly increased research in population and clinical studies. Within the fundamental sciences, there is a broad range of cutting edge and innovative research being conducted in the fields of pharmacology, hypertension, arrythmias, genetics, metabolic and renal disease, lipid and vascular biology. The division publishes an average of 30 papers each month across a broad range of clinical and basic cardiovascular diseases. Funding has significantly increased this past year to a total of over $35 million, an increase of 23%. NIH funding has increased 7% to nearly $18 million. Multiple exciting new grants were awarded, including “HOME RUN HITTER,” to study mobile health exercise after heart valve interventions (Brian Lindman, MD, MSCI) and a study to characterize vesicles from Type 1 Diabetics (Ravi Shah, MD).
Division Director Updates | 28
AnAccreditation.excitingnew
• Jane Ferguson, PhD, was named Associate Editor of Circulation
• Wenliang Song, MD, was named Associate Editor of Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, Section of Cardiovascular Therapeutics, and Frontiers in Pharmacology, Section of Inflammation Pharmacology
failure and transplant services, which performed the most cardiac transplants in the world in 2021. Vanderbilt was also named a Center of Excellence for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, and received reaccreditation as a Chest Pain Center with Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention and Resuscitation by the American College of Cardiology. The Vanderbilt cardiology biorepository also received a College of American Pathologists Biorepository
• Victoria Thomas, MD, received an American College of Cardiology and Association of Black Cardiologists 2022 Merck Research Fellowship award
• Evan Brittain, MD, MSCI, served as Chair for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association 2022 Scientific Sessions
The Division of Clinical Pharmacology at VUMC aims to understand the mechanisms of drug action in humans to improve therapeutics through research that bridges basic and clinical science. The division, led by David Harrison, MD, experienced robust growth this year. We added two new faculty specializing in pharmacogenomics and autonomic function. Our faculty were awarded more than $14.1 million in direct funds by the NIH, and published over 100 articles in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals such as Circulation, Nature, Hypertension, the New England Journal of Medicine, PLoS and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In addition to conducting state-of-the-art research, faculty also lead many institutional and national efforts to train clinical and translational investigators, and to support infrastructure for translational research.
29 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
DIVISION CLINICALUPDATEPHARMACOLOGY
The Division of Clinical Pharmacology contributes to achieving several of the goals of the Vanderbilt Research Enterprise Strategic Plan, including those related to personalized health, health care and therapeutic discovery, and translation. In this mission, our division collaborates with the Oates Institute, the Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology, the Toxicology Center and the Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology, as well as with many individual investigators throughout Vanderbilt. Notably, in recognition of our commitment to following
The division’s dynamic Clinical Pharmacology Fellowship Program rigorously trains individuals interested in pursuing a career in clinical pharmacology and translational research. Registered with the American Board of Clinical Pharmacology, and with more than 23 fellows in the program, VUMC is a leader in the training of clinical pharmacologists for academia, industry and regulatory agencies. Since the division’s founding in 1963, it has trained more than 350 fellows, more than any other division of its kind in the world. Bjorn C. Knollmann, MD, PhD, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Arrhythmia Research and Therapeutics (VanCART), serves as director of the program and has developed significant resources for the training of its fellows. This program, supported by a T32 training grant, has been continuously funded by the NIH for 48 years.
The Clinical Fellowship in Autonomic Disorders, established in July 2020, remains one of only a few
Video: Annet Kirabo, DVM, PhD, studies the effects of salt intake on blood pressure
research-based treatment guidelines to care for patients with hypertension, VUMC was renewed as a certified Comprehensive Hypertension Center by the American Heart Association. Harrison, along with Matthew Luther, MD, who serves as the center’s director, were integral in helping attain this recognition.
• Biaggioni I, Shibao CA, Jordan J. Evaluation and Diagnosis of Afferent Baroreflex Failure. Hypertension 2022 Jan;79(1):57-59. doi: HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.18372.10.1161/Epub 2021 Dec 8.
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
Dan Roden, MD (left), and Clinical Pharmacology fellow Yuko Wada, MD, PhD
• van Opbergen CJM, Bagwan N, Maurya SR, Kim JC, Smith AN, Blackwell DJ, Johnston JN, Knollmann BC, Cerrone M, Lundby A, Delmar M. Exercise Causes Arrhythmogenic Remodeling of Intracellular Calcium Dynamics in Plakophilin-2-Deficient Hearts. Circulation 2022 May 10;145(19):1480-1496. doi: 10.1161/ CIRCULATIONAHA.121.057757. Epub 2022 May 1. PMID: 35491884; PMCID: PMC9086182.
New Professional Society Elections
Commun. 2022 Jun 7;13(1):3273. doi: 10.1038/s41467022-30936-x. PMID: 35672414; PMCID: PMC9174330.
Division Director Updates | 30
• Dan Roden, MD, and C. Michael Stein, MD, were among the most highly-cited researchers
• Annet Kirabo, DVM, PhD, is an Associate Editor of Circulation Research
PMID: 34878899; PMCID: PMC8761245.
• Jonathan Mosley, MD, published a JAMA Internal Medicine paper that was selected among genomic medicine’s Top 10
Our faculty and trainees are committed to the advancement of clinical care, therapeutic discovery and the education of future leaders in science and health care, as seen through their many achievements this year, and look forward to the many more advancements anticipated in the coming years.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
accredited fellowship programs of its kind in the United States. The program, directed by Cyndya Shibao, MD, MSCI, specializes in training the treatment of orthostatic hypotension and other debilitating neurological and neurodegenerative conditions that disrupt vital autonomic (involuntary) functions, including blood pressure and heart rate. It is in the process of adding an additional training spot so that two fellows rotate through the program per year. Training for this program is provided through the nationally recognized Vanderbilt Autonomic Dysfunction Center, the first in the country to be devoted exclusively to the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of autonomic blood pressure regulation.
• Italo Biaggioni, MD, received a Distinguished Scientist award from the American Heart Association
From left, Drs. Italo Biaggioni, Cyndya Shibao, Meena Madhur and Luis Okaoto
New Senior Editorship Positions
• Li B, Roden DM, Capra JA. The 3D mutational constraint on amino acid sites in the human proteome. Nat
• Bjorn Knollmann, MD, PhD, was elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Maureen Gannon, PhD
31 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
care to patients with pituitary tumors or masses from throughout the Southeast. The integrated medical and surgical programs for weight management expanded its services in Middle Tennessee with new services and providers in Lebanon and Clarksville. Bundling weight management services at Vanderbilt to provide comprehensive, integrated approaches has been met with enthusiasm from patients, providers and health systems. The division’s excellence in clinical care was recognized as one of the top programs in Diabetes and Endocrinology, ranking No. 20 in the 2022 U.S. News and World Report.
Investigators in the division conducted biomedical research ranging from laboratory-based to clinical research, and these efforts were supported by new grants from the NIH, the VA, private foundations and pharmaceutical partners. Direct funds from the NIH this year totaled more than $5.4 million. Our faculty led interdisciplinary research teams, engaged in team science and collaborated with scientists from around the world. Our faculty made discoveries that improved the
The Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism has a rich tradition of clinical care, investigative research, and training excellence. Under the direction of Alvin Powers, MD, the division this year devised new clinical paradigms and discovered new ways to provide highquality endocrinology, diabetes and obesity patient care at VUMC and the Nashville VA TVHS. Physicians and advanced practice providers expanded the use of technologies to measure blood glucose in real time and to automate insulin delivery to better control blood glucose, and ultimately reduce the complications of diabetes.
DIVISION DIABETES,UPDATEENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM
The division has also become a major site for the evaluation and treatment of rare metabolic bone disorders such as X-linked hypophosphatemia and hypophosphatasia, and leads in developing treatment guidelines for these disorders. The division expanded its delivery of innovative, multidisciplinary care of thyroid and adrenal nodules and cancer by establishing the Vanderbilt Thyroid and Adrenal Center, led by Lindsay Bischoff, MD. Using a similar paradigm, the Vanderbilt Pituitary Center, under the direction of Andrea Utz, MD, PhD, provides specialized medical and surgical
Division Director Updates | 32
Training the next generation of physicians and scientists is a major part of the division’s mission. Our Endocrinology and Obesity Medicine training programs train a combined four fellows per year, and our faculty provide rigorous research training to graduate students, MD/PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and medical students. These training efforts were enhanced by two NIH training grants that have supported trainees for more than 30
• Andrea Ramirez, MD, MSCI, was named Chief Data Officer for the All of Us Research Program
• Gitanjali Srivastava, MD, was named Vice Chair for the Obesity Medicine Fellowship Council
• Dahir K, Dhaliwal R, Simmons J, Imel EA, Gottesman GS, Mahan JD, Prakasam G, Hoch AI, Ramesan P, Díaz-González de Ferris M. Health Care Transition From Pediatric- to Adult-Focused Care in X-linked Hypophosphatemia: Expert Consensus. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Feb 17;107(3):599-613. doi: 10.1210/ clinem/dgab796. PMID: 34741521; PMCID: PMC8852209.
Together, with the contributions of our faculty and trainees, the future of our division at VUMC is promising.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Howard Baum, MD, and Maureen Gannon, PhD, were named co-leaders of VUSM’s Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine
New External Leadership Positions
New Senior Editorship Positions
Ouryears.commitment
to providing outstanding clinical care, performing transformative research, and training clinical and postdoctoral fellows has positioned us among the top divisions of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism.
understanding of how human islets secrete insulin and glucagon, provided insight into the pathogenesis of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in humans, and led to new ways to augment the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Research in the division also led to new insight into how lipid molecules interact with nuclear receptors to signal within cells, the role of oxidative stress and diet in neurologic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and sexual dimorphism in dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease. Our faculty provided leadership in the research enterprise by directing the Vanderbilt Clinical Research Center and the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Human Islet Phenotyping Program. The division led renewal efforts for Vanderbilt’s NIHfunded Diabetes Research and Training Center, a grant that is entering its 49th continuous year of funding. Members in the division were recognized with honors, including the Lois Jovanovic Transformative Woman in Diabetes Award, presented by the American Diabetes Association to Maureen Gannon, PhD, as well as other awards for mentoring in the research setting and clinical excellence in endocrinology.
• John Stafford, MD, PhD, was co-organizer of the Kern Lipid Conference
• Jeeyeon Cha, MD, PhD, served as Councilor for the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences
• Zhu L, An J, Chinnarasu S, Luu T, Pettway YD, Fahey K Litts B, Kim HH, Flynn CR, Linton MF, Stafford JM Expressing the Human Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein Minigene Improves Diet-Induced Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance in Female Mice. Front Physiol. 2022 Jan 10;12:799096. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.799096. PMID: 35082691; PMCID: PMC8784660.
• Katie Coate, PhD, co-chaired the NIH Human Islet Research Network 2022 Annual Investigator Meeting
From left, Drs. Kevin Niswender and Fiona Harrison with VUMC President and CEO Jeff Balser, MD, PhD
• Maureen Gannon, PhD, was named Senior Associate Editor of Diabetes
• Shrestha S, Saunders DC, Walker JT, Camunas-Soler J, Dai XQ, Haliyur R, Aramandla R, Poffenberger G, Prasad N, Bottino R, Stein R, Cartailler JP, Parker SC, MacDonald PE, Levy SE, Powers AC, Brissova M. Combinatorial transcription factor profiles predict mature and functional human islet ą and ß cells. JCI Insight. 2021 Sep 22;6(18):e151621. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.151621. PMID: 34428183; PMCID: PMC8492318.
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
“Dr.Metabolism.McLean
As he was finishing medical school at Duke, McLean aspired to train at Vanderbilt and work with Grant Liddle, MD, one of the world’s leading endocrinologists. McLean thrived as a resident in internal medicine and greatly valued his Vanderbilt training, especially as it fostered his decision-making skills and his ability to care for seriously ill patients, including those at Nashville General Hospital. After his residency, McLean entered the Vanderbilt endocrinology fellowship program.
George Wallace McLean, MD
33 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
career, he was recognized as an internist who could figure out complex cases. McLean was even known to be asked to review a non-endocrine patient to help with an elusive McLeandiagnosis.was
McLean’s family members and friends note that his bequest reflects his great appreciation for the gifts of knowledge and professional training he received, always giving back by his performance of excellence for his patients. It was not a foregone conclusion that the young boy from the small town of Clinton, North Carolina, would have such a productive medical career.
PHILANTHROPY
For those who knew and loved him, that love of discovery and learning McLean cultivated at Vanderbilt never waned. Even in the days shortly before his death, at age 74, he was enrolled in a linear calculus class, yet again intent on challenging his ever-curious mind.
RememberingHIGHLIGHTGeorge Wallace McLean, MD
McLean often referred to his training at VUMC as a formative time in his life. Though he passed away in March 2022, McLean’s legacy for “practicing the art of medicine” and curiosity lives on: He included a gift in his estate to support fellowship training and research at VUMC in the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and
It was not uncommon for George Wallace McLean, MD, to deconstruct vintage audio equipment and fashion it into a homemade audio system. Nor was it surprising when he wrote a 49-page analysis of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 as a college student. Or when he bought his own Formula One car during his days as an internist in Chattanooga, Tenn. The tinkering, the exploration and the challenge fed a mind of insatiable curiosity. McLean approached medicine in much the same way.
A grateful trainee supports fellowships through a bequest gift
credited his years as a fellow here for learning a deeper level of medical questioning and logical thought process,” said Alvin Powers, MD, Professor of Medicine and director of the division. “His generosity will provide our fellows with this same type of research and clinical experiences that seed new lines of inquiry and prepare our fellows to become outstanding endocrinologists. He is part of the legacy of more than 200 fellows who have trained in endocrinology here.”
always quick to credit his mentors at VUMC with instilling this methodical and in-depth review of the patient. As an endocrinology fellow, McLean trained clinically with Liddle and the Co-Directors of Endocrinology, Drs. David Rabin and David Orth. As a research fellow in endocrinology, McLean learned a deeper method of thinking from Rabin that would prove effective time and again throughout his career. In addition to his mentors, McLean had a lifelong respect for Drs. Craig Sussman, George Moore, and others who learned alongside him as residents and fellows.
After Vanderbilt, McLean joined faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga before a 35-year career in the private practice of endocrinology. Throughout his
DIVISION EPIDEMIOLOGYUPDATE
Despite ongoing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, our faculty were successful in obtaining funding from the NIH for seven new research projects, many of which involved multi-institutional collaboration, that totaled over $11 million in new funding. Notably, the Southern Environmental Health Study (SEHS), co-led by Zheng and Martha Shrubsole, PhD, MS, was funded to establish a large prospective cohort study designed to examine environmental exposures in relation to risks for cancer and other diseases. The SEHS aims to address previous research gaps by using an exposome approach to comprehensively assess thousands of chemical and other exposures, and by including populations vulnerable to health and other disparities.
Theresearch.division
35 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
training programs, including three large population-based prospective cohort studies with more than 225,000 study participants. Ongoing collaborative research with investigators from other divisions and departments at Vanderbilt enables us to address significant questions related to health and clinical outcomes.
The Division of Epidemiology at VUMC is committed to conducting research that enhances the understanding of determinants of disease and health inequities in diverse populations; promotes collaboration aimed at the translation of research into strategies of disease prevention and health care delivery; and mentors and trains independent investigators in epidemiology research and disease prevention. The division, led by Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, MPH, exemplifies a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through its hiring, training and mentoring, and to reducing health disparities through its
In partnership with the University of Zambia and the Zambia Cancer Diseases Hospital, the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, the Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center and the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center also received a five-
Video: Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, MPH, describes the Southern Environmental Health Study
has strong population-based cohort resources for research, considerable strengths in international epidemiologic research and training, and close ties with multiple domestic and international institutions that further its mission to improve human health. Our faculty share a broad interest in the research of genetics, biomarkers, nutrition, lifestyle, social and behavioral determinants of health, and environmental exposures. This year, the scope of our research was broad, focusing on epidemiology of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, and infectious diseases, as well as clinical outcomes. Division investigators directed approximately 50 externally funded research projects and
• Andreana Holowatyj, PhD MSCI, was named to the editorial board of Gastroenterology
• Danxia Yu, PhD, served on the Executive Committee for the Consortium of Metabolomics Studies
Andreana Holowatyj, PhD, MSCI
• Loren Lipworth, ScD, was appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s PFAS Review Panel Scientific Advisory Board for EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Rulemaking for PFAS
Thecancer.division
• Danxia Yu, PhD, was named Associate Editor of The Nutrition Journal
• John Boice, ScD, was named an Honorary Fellow and the John Dunster Lecturer of the UK Society for Radiological Protection
• Andreana Holowatyj, PhD, MSCI, was named the inaugural Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Appendix Cancer Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (ACPMP) Research Foundation
New External Leadership Positions
New Senior Editorship Positions
• Staci Sudenga, PhD, MPH, was a steering committee
Division Director Updates | 36
is committed to translational research and training of next generation scientists to understand how lifestyle factors, environmental exposures, and their interactions with genetic characteristics contribute to the development of common diseases such as cancer, stroke, diabetes and coronary heart diseases, and to provide valuable information for disease prevention. We look forward to continued growth and advancements in each of these areas in the year ahead.
The division this year contributed significantly to the educational mission of the institution, with faculty leading Vanderbilt University’s Doctoral Program in Epidemiology and VUMC’s Training Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology of Cancer (MAGEC). The Doctoral Program in Epidemiology, directed by Peter Rebeiro, PhD, trains independent scientists by advancing students’ knowledge of and proficiency in using epidemiologic methods to produce valid inferences and inform public health practice. Graduates of this program are prepared to make fundamental advances using rigorous methods and cutting-edge analytic approaches all while developing an independent research portfolio in academia, public health agencies or industry. Led by Shu, MAGEC equips postdoctoral fellows from a variety of disciplines and diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds with the methodological tools, practical laboratory and survey research knowledge, and hands-on research and grant writing experience necessary to launch an independent career in the molecular and genetic epidemiology of
year, $1.3 million NIH grant to establish the VanderbiltZambia Cancer Research Training Program (VZCARE). Co-led by Drs. Xiao-Ou Shu and Douglas Heimburger, the goal of VZCARE is to develop a cadre of researchers and educators equipped with expertise to lead cancer epidemiology research and training in Zambia, and to encourage U.S.-based researchers to engage in cancer research in low- and middle-income countries.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
member for the Early Career Professionals Working Group and Social Media Task Force for the International Papillomavirus Society; Vice Chair of the Public Health Workshop for 35th International Papillomavirus Society Meeting; Chair of the Epidemiology Session, 2022 EUROGIN International Multidisciplinary HPV Congress Conference; and Co-chair of the “New evidence on the effectiveness of HPV vaccination against invasive cervical cancer: a global view” Session at the 2022 EUROGIN International Multidisciplinary HPV Congress Conference
integrity testing, and oversaw more than 10 new clinical trials. The Vanderbilt Pancreaticobiliary Center, under the direction of Patrick Yachimski, MD, MPH, successfully launched new service lines for endoscopic ultrasoundguided direct portal pressure measurements and fiducial placement, and cryoablation for Barrett’s esophagus. This center also procured philanthropic support to develop novel biomarkers for cholangiocarcinoma, and became a member of the North American Alliance for the Study of Digestive Manifestations of COVID-19. The Center for Human Nutrition, led by Dawn Wiese Adams, MD, received a $1 million philanthropic gift to broaden its work on celiac disease and oversaw more than 10 active clinical trials, including an NIH study to develop new gluten detection technologies. The expertise of our faculty was showcased at several national and international meetings, including Digestive Diseases Week, American College of Gastroenterology, ASPEN and the Society for the Study of Celiac Disease. Additionally, the Hepatology Section
37 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
David Schwartz, MD (left)
DIVISION GASTROENTEROLOGY,UPDATE HEPATOLOGY AND NUTRITION
The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at VUMC has a long and rich history that spans the last 75 years. This year, the division was comprised of nearly 80 physician-scientists, clinician-educators, medical center clinicians, advanced practice providers and research-track investigators who made great strides in clinical care, research and education.
The division, under the direction of Richard Peek Jr., MD, added several new service lines and resources this year that better enable us to provide compassionate and outstanding clinical care to our patients. Seeking to provide high-value consultative care for all patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related complications in the hospital, the Vanderbilt IBD Center developed a dedicated consult service and created a state-of-the-art website focused on patient education. The Functional Medicine Program, led by Dawn Beaulieu, MD, expanded to serve patients with irritable bowel syndrome and amyloidosis. The Vanderbilt GI Motility Center, under the direction of Michael Vaezi, MD, PhD, developed mucosal
Division Director Updates | 38
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
New Senior Editorship Positions
these achievements underscore the division’s ability to serve as a beacon to attract world-class clinicians, investigators and trainees to VUMC with the
It was a milestone year for our GI Fellowship Program, which celebrated its 50th year since its inception. Having received over 430 applications for five available positions, this program remains in the top tier of gastroenterology fellowship training programs in the country. Cumulatively, there were 18 postdoctoral fellow positions in specialty training programs sponsored by the division, including Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Liver Transplantation, IBD and Advanced Endoscopy. These fellows represent the future leaders of gastrointestinal medicine, with over 80% of graduates going on to careers in academic
• Sara Horst, MD, MPH, received an eStar Physician Builder Award from VUMC
Collectively,medicine.
New External Leadership Positions
Members of the Robert Coffey, MD (right), Research Lab
ultimate goal of providing exceptional patient care and performing innovative, discovery-driven research.
and the VUMC liver transplant program performed 141 transplants, initiated evaluation of living donor liver candidates – both recipients and donors - and expanded the evaluation of heart-liver transplantation candidates. This is a remarkable achievement for our division.
Keith Wilson, MD (left)
Our biomedical investigative program also flourished this year. We successfully renewed our signature research hub, the Vanderbilt Digestive Diseases Research Center, which coalesces all GI research at Vanderbilt, provides pilot funding for junior investigators, supports cuttingedge core facilities that serve as beacons for investigators across the research enterprise, and supports an Academy of Educators program. We also renewed several large multidisciplinary grants, including a Program Project Grant on Helicobacter pylori, NIH GI SPORE grant, National Cancer Institute Moonshot grant and Helmsley Charitable Trust Atlas grant. In addition to receiving $13.4 million in federal and foundation funds, the division hosted the Editorship of Gastroenterology which achieved a record high impact factor of 33.9.
• Heidi Silver, RDN, MS, PhD, Member, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy
• Dan Patel, MD, served on the Editorial Board of Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
DIVISION GENETICUPDATEMEDICINE
Substantial research in health inequity has resulted from the intrinsic and long-standing interests of our faculty, and includes pioneering studies in diverse genetic ancestries. Faculty lead national efforts in electronic health records (EHR) diagnosis for neuropsychiatric disease and international consortia on suicide, genetic studies of diabetes and related traits in populations of recent African ancestries, genetic studies of lipids and cardiometabolic traits in Hispanic populations, lung cancer health disparities research, breast cancer health disparities research, and addressing health inequities created by clinical lab reference ranges inappropriate
Video: Jennifer Below, PhD, and her team conducted a study that determined genetic factors influence stuttering
of promotions within the division over the last several years, the faculty is now ideally proportioned in terms of the number of senior, mid-level and junior faculty, to compete more effectively for large center grants and to engage with a diverse set of industry partners. A greater volume and more fluid flow of scientists between academic and industry research activities requires development of an educational environment that introduces industry opportunities for professional growth and showcases to industry the advantages of investing in the academic mission to ensure a robust and welleducated pool of scientists who strive to remain at the cutting edge of technology and innovation.
39 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
The Division of Genetic Medicine is a robust and dynamic division, closely tied to the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute, that leads the nation in revealing the complex interactions between our genome and human health. This division epitomizes VUMC’s mission of making health care personal. The essence of this division is the ingenuity of faculty and trainees, and the unique in-house resources available at Vanderbilt. The division, led by Nancy Cox, PhD, innovated across its research and clinical missions to integrate genome variation with genome function to better define biological mechanisms of human disease. Among the newest initiatives at the division level this year were an annual survey on the diversity, equity and inclusion quality of life within the division, and an ongoing series of meetings engaging faculty in strategically rethinking the intellectual environment of the division. Supporting this research, the division garnered $22 million in direct costs for grant activity this year.
In the Strategic Planning Listening Sessions series, division faculty developed a strategic vision to create a new kind of academic environment that is more entrepreneurial, and that will facilitate both unique investigations of difficult questions in human health and allow recruitment and retention of the very best faculty members and trainees. Because of the substantial number
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
Alexander Bick, MD, PhD
Nancy Cox, PhD
New Senior Editorship Positions
Finally, we have seen tremendous growth in the demand for genetic evaluation in the clinical domain. Once confined to an esoteric corner of the medical landscape, genetic medicine today permeates daily practice. We have seen massive increases in the need for genetic evaluation in our cancer clinic, and have met that need with a revitalized clinical genetic counseling program, telehealth consultation, and a unique partnership with the Hematology and Oncology division to provide pointof-care testing. To meet this demand, we have worked
• Tuya Pal, MD, received a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Grant
Division Director Updates | 40
• Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, was named a 2022 PewStewart Scholar for Cancer Research
closely with partners in laboratory medicine to ensure rapid and accurate testing is available for all disorders. We have expanded our Masters of Genetic Counseling program, and are graduating classes of well-equipped genetic counselors ready to meet the challenge of a rapidly changing paradigm of health care, one that integrates genetic features in health decisions ranging from health risk assessment and screening for adverse drug reactions, to planning cancer treatments and making fertility decisions. Exemplifying our team’s role in making health care personal, we have partnered with physicians and scientists from across Vanderbilt to massively expand the Undiagnosed Disease clinic offerings, recognizing the potential to facilitate patients with previously intractable illnesses to find health.
• Jennifer Below, PhD, and Eric Gamazon, PhD, are Section Editors of Circulation Research
Innovations by the faculty have formed the basis for predictive modeling of the transcriptome using genome variation; accelerated research in the dynamics of the somatic genome including Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential (CHIP); improved our understanding of the genetic basis for immune disease; identified subclinical presentations of known congenital anomalies in the EHR; led to new kinds of phenomic analyses that increase our understanding of health and disease; and developed novel approaches for drug repurposing studies, including Mendelian randomization studies in the context of gene-based drug targets. New research opportunities offered by BioVU in the cloud with more sequence data are exciting, as is the continuation of the constructive collaborations enjoyed by this division with colleagues in the Department of Medicine and across Vanderbilt University and the Medical Center.
• Eric Gamazon, PhD, received a Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Investigator Award
for diverse populations. Publications over the past year include papers in Nature, Science, Nature Medicine, Nature Genetics, Nature Human Behavior, Cell Genomics, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Genomics, Genomic Medicine, JAMA Surgery, JAMA Psychiatry, American Journal of Human Genetics, Annals of Internal Medicine, Brain, and a wide variety of specialty journals. Trainees have also given plenary presentations and developed symposia for national and international meetings.
• A JAMA Internal Medicine paper by Nancy Cox, PhD, was selected among genomic medicine’s Top 10
• A Nature Medicine paper by Douglas Ruderfer, PhD, was selected among genomic medicine’s Top 10
Respondingportfolio.
APRN, that is designed to facilitate the safe transfer of hospitalized patients to community-based skilled nursing facilities. Our faculty successfully established partnerships with skilled care facilities throughout Middle Tennessee, and this year began to provide care for VUMC patients admitted to NHC Place in the Trace, a 90-bed skilled nursing facility in Nashville.
Mariu Duggan, MD (left), poses with Larry Goldberg and Lynn Ferguson during a celebration of the new Age-Friendly certification
The Division of Geriatric Medicine promotes healthy aging through patient care, medical education and research. Over the past year, the division, under the direction of Harvey Murff, MD, MPH, has dramatically expanded its clinical operations, maintained a strong educational commitment, and grown its research
DIVISION GERIATRICUPDATEMEDICINE
to the clear and present need to provide high quality services to elderly patients in our region, the division increased its outpatient capacity, recruiting seven new clinicians, and expanding services for patients with Alzheimer’s and related dementias with the opening of the Vanderbilt Cognitive Medicine and Dementia Care Center. Mariu Duggan, MD, MPH, Medical Director of the Acute Care for Elders Unit, was integral in helping VUMC achieve Age-Friendly Certification from the Institute of Healthcare Improvement. As a result, VUMC is now the only hospital in Tennessee with this distinction. An Inpatient Geriatric Consult Service, led by Kimberly Beiting, MD, was also launched, resulting in nearly 650 visits in its first year. Also this year, the division developed a Transitions of Care consult service, led by Shelley Ross,
41 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Our division maintains an active and robust research portfolio supported through the NIH, VA, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, among others. Our research spanned basic and translational research, ranging from investigating how best to provide care to hospitalized older adults, to determining the cellular mechanisms of neuronal injury in the brain. One notable achievement for the division was a $12 million award presented to Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, by the NIH to create the Southeast Collaboration for Innovation and Equitable Solutions to Chronic Disease Disparities. Over the past year, our faculty published 39 manuscripts in
leading peer-reviewed journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
• Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• James Powers, MD, was elected to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care
Division Director Updates | 42
Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, is a member of the National Academy of Medicine
• Murff HJ, Shrubsole MJ, Cai Q, Su T, Dooley JH, Cai SS, Zheng W, Dai Q. N-3 Long Chain Fatty Acids Supplementation, Fatty Acids Desaturase Activity, and Colorectal Cancer Risk: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutr Cancer. 2022;74(4):1388-1398. doi: 10.1080/01635581.2021.1955286. Epub 2021 Jul 22. PMID: 34291724; PMCID: PMC8782932.
• Shah AS, Hollingsworth EK, Shotwell MS, Mixon AS, Simmons SF, Vasilevskis EE. Sources of medication omissions among hospitalized older adults with
The division looks forward to growth in its clinical, educational and research programs as it strives to deliver the highest quality care for older adults in years to come.
New External Leadership Positions
In an effort to advance our educational mission, the division successfully recruited four new fellows into its Geriatric Medicine Fellowship Program. This was our third consecutive year to recruit four fellows into the program. Through the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration and led by James (Jim) Powers, MD, the division established partnerships across Middle Tennessee to teach dementia care and safe medication practices for older adults. As a result of the program’s success, it now leads virtual didactic sessions for other fellowship programs across the country.
• Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, received the Marion Spencer Fay Award from Drexel University College of Medicine
New Professional Society Elections
polypharmacy. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2022 Apr;70(4):11801189. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17629. Epub 2021 Dec 30. PMID: 34967444; PMCID: PMC8986578.
Victor Legner, MD, MSc
• Duggan MC, Crook TW, Hartman LM, Davidson M, Niehoff KM, Dewey CM. Flipping the Acute Care for Elders Teaching Sessions (FACETS): A competencybased curriculum for internal medicine residents. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2022 Jun;70(6):E15-E18. doi: 10.1111/ jgs.17823. Epub 2022 Apr 30. PMID: 35488856.
• Harvey Murff, MD, MPH, served as Co-chair of the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention, Screening and Health Promotion Peer Review Committee
Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, has been appointed Director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
43 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
DIVISION HEMATOLOGYUPDATE AND ONCOLOGY
The Division of Hematology and Oncology had another successful year marked by continued achievements in its clinical, research and educational missions. Among the most newsworthy updates is the appointment of Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, as Director of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC). Park served as Division Director since 2020, and is succeeded by Jordan Berlin, MD, Interim Director, while the national search for a new division director is underway. Berlin has dedicated 23 years to VUMC, the division and VICC, and is well suited for the interim director role.
The division is substantially expanding its footprint to reach and treat more cancer patients throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi, as well as nationally. This year marked a record number of new patient referrals for cancer services, and outpatient visits at Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Breast Center at One Hundred Oaks, with total outpatient visits exceeding 170,000. Bringing VUMC-level care to Middle Tennessee is a top priority and has resulted in expanded hematology and oncology services at the Villages at Vanderbilt, and in Belle Meade, Cool Springs and Spring Hill. In addition, a new clinic is now open at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital, which offers a full range of comprehensive services, including an innovative telehealth component
to fully expand the campus expertise in our expanding regional sites. The division also partnered to launch a VUMC practice at Erlanger Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tenn., to provide expert professional hematology and oncology care to patients in our southern regions. New and growing programs include the VICC Young Adults Cancers program, led by Cathy Eng, MD; the genetic risk prostate cancer program, led by Kerry Schaffer, MD, MSCI; and the Geriatric Leukemia Assessment clinic, led by Reena Jayani, MD.
The division prides itself in leading research that ranges from basic biology discovery to translational studies and first in human clinical trials. The division is comprised of several nationally and internationally recognized investigators, and was awarded several new grants in the past year to further these studies. Our investigators lead national efforts regarding cell free DNA and genomic technologies, tumor microenvironment and immune function, and the discovery of novel risk features for leukemia, all supporting a roadmap to making health care personal. Notable awards include Brent Ferrell, MD, who received a highly competitive Mark Foundation for Cancer Research award for his work on clonal hematopoiesis, an age-associated genetic disease that predisposes to leukemia and heart disease; and Scott Haake, MD, PhD,
• Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, was named Senior Editor of eLife
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
who received funding from the Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Program for three projects ranging from early detection to robust risk assignment for kidney cancers. We are especially proud of Eng, who completed a yearlong Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program fellowship; Sonya Reid, MD, MPH, who was awarded an NRG Oncology early-stage investigator Underserved Minority Scholars Award; and Eden Biltibo, MD, MSCI, one of our fellows who will join the faculty in in the 2023-2024 academic year, who received the American Society for Hematology Minority Hematology Fellow Award. Notably, Park and Tuya Pal, MD, along with colleagues in the Division of Epidemiology and the Department of Pediatrics, received more than $1 million in funding for their UG3, “CASUAL: Cohort to Augment the Understanding of Sarcoma Survivorship Across the Lifespan,” by the NIH’s National Cancer Institute (NCI).
• Cathy Eng, MD, was selected for the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program
• Jordan Berlin, MD; Dana Cardin, MD, MSCI; Elizabeth Davis, MD; Cathy Eng, MD; Jill Gilbert, MD; Vicki Keedy, MD; David Morgan, MD; Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD; and Bipin Savani, MD, PhD, were selected as 2022 Castle Connolly Top Doctors
• Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, was appointed Director of VICC, and received a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Grant
• Kim Dahlman, PhD, was named President-elect of the Association of Biochemistry Educators
• Cathy Eng, MD, was named Co-chair of the NCI Gastrointestinal Steering Committee
• Patrick Hu, MD, PhD, was named Assistant Dean for Physician-Researcher Training and Director of the Office of Medical Student Research for VUSM
• Sonya Reid, MD, MPH, was selected to participate in the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation Clinical Trial Diversity Career Development Program
• Jordan Berlin, MD; Dana Cardin, MD, MSCI; Elizabeth Davis, MD; Cathy Eng, MD; Jill Gilbert, MD; Vicki Keedy, MD; David Morgan, MD; and Bipin Savani, MD, PhD, were selected by Nashville Lifestyles as 2022 Best Doctors
The Division of Hematology and Oncology looks forward to further expansion of its clinical enterprise, increasing availability of care for rare and common cancers, and offering cutting-edge therapeutics on multiple phase one, two and three trials. Additional plans are underway to expand the division’s laboratory presence with intentional growth of translational research, and to establishing new relationships with key pharmaceutical partners to advance research that will lead to further improvements in the treatments for patients with benign and malignant diseases.
Division Director Updates | 44
• Whitney Chase, MSN, was named President of Oncology Nursing Society’s Middle Tennessee chapter
• Brent Ferrell, MD, received the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research 2022 Endeavor Award
• Douglas Johnson, MD, MSCI, was named among the year’s most highly-cited researchers
• Kristin Ciombor, MD, MSCI, was selected to be a member of the NCI Rectal Anal Task Force
• Bipin Savani, MD, PhD, was named Editor-in-Chief of Bone Marrow Transplantation
Faculty are committed to the educational mission of the institution through the training and mentorship of fellows, and through participation in national and international meetings. The Hematology and Oncology fellowship program, led by Jennifer Green, MD, MPH, remained a top-level program, with its five graduates matriculating into faculty positions at Vanderbilt and other leading institutions. Incoming fellows were successfully recruited from among the best residency programs in the country, with seven new fellows expected in the 2022-2023 academic year. These programs are supported by collaborations with training programs across VUMC, as we pride ourselves in trainees participating in training grants and programs ranging from the VA Quality Scholars Program to basic science programs administered at Vanderbilt University. The division supports its own T32 and K12 educational programs sponsored by the NCI, driving a continuum of training that ensures retention of high-level clinical skills, but with guaranteed protected time to accomplish their academic objectives. Additionally, Kim Dahlman, PhD, was awarded an Early Career Award for Excellence in Teaching and Innovation from the International Association of Medical Educators.
New External Leadership Positions
• Kristin Ciombor, MD, MSCI, received the NCI 2021 Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award
• Jordan Berlin, MD, was named Chair of the ECOGACRIN GI Committee
New Senior Editorship Positions
Comprised of some of the nation’s top infectious disease experts, the VUMC Division of Infectious Diseases delivers exceptional patient care, performs groundbreaking research, and trains future leaders in the prevention and treatment of a broad spectrum of infectious diseases.
DIVISION INFECTIOUSUPDATE DISEASES
In January 2022, after nine years as division director, David Aronoff, MD, departed VUMC to become Chair of Medicine at Indiana University. Drs. Karen Bloch and David Haas served as interim co-directors following his departure. Following a national search, Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH, was selected to lead the division starting in September 2022. Recruited from John Hopkins, Dooley is an authority on tuberculosis and HIV clinical and translational research, with a focus on studies that change global guidelines. She will be the first woman to lead VUMC’s Infectious Diseases division. In another transition, Sean Kelly, MD, succeeded Stephen Raffanti, MD, MPH, as Medical Director of VUMC’s Comprehensive Care Clinic/Center (CCC). Raffanti, who established and led the CCC since its inception in 1994, retired in 2022, leaving behind an indelible legacy of his
For the third year, our faculty continued to play major roles in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in both research and clinical care areas. Keipp Talbot, MD, MPH, expanded her role on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to chair the ACIP’s COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group. Elizabeth Phillips, MD, led an NIH-funded trial to study mRNA vaccine safety. Spyros Kalams, MD, served as the Vanderbilt site Principal Investigator for the Coronavirus Vaccine Prevention Network Moderna phase three SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trial. Thomas Talbot, MD, MPH, was elected incoming President of the Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America, where he will have the ability to impact national policy. The division has also been vital in Vanderbilt’s local response to COVID-19, which included the creation of a COVID-19 Consultative Service for hospitalized patients. In recognition of our faculty’s contributions, an Elevate Team Award was presented to Bloch and the
The division has been designated as an Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence by the IDSA
45 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
care and advocacy for people living with HIV.
Katie White, MD, PhD, also initiated a new fellowship program in Addiction Medicine that will welcome its first fellow in the 2022-2023 academic year.
• Wonder Drake, MD, was named Associate Editor for the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
• Wonder Drake, MD, was elected to the Association of American Physicians
New External Leadership Positions
remarkable strides in its research footprint this year. Henrique Serezani, PhD, was named Associate Vice Chair for Research for the Department of Medicine. Total funding awarded by the NIH exceeded $28 million, a $7 million increase from the previous year. Our faculty published in numerous high impact journals, including Clinical Infectious Diseases, the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Frontiers in Immunology and AIDS, and received new and renewed U, K, and T grant awards. Among the new awards was a K23 awarded to Celestine Wanjalla, MD, PhD, from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for her project, “Anti-cytomegalovirus Immune Responses in Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Persons Living with HIV.” Kalams’ T32, “Vanderbilt Infection Pathogenesis and Epidemiology Research Training Program,” was also renewed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and will continue to be a star training program for growing our cadre of infectious disease investigators.
Division Director Updates | 46
• Katie White, MD, PhD, was appointed Program Director for the new Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
COVID Infusion Clinic staff for their work administering therapeutic monoclonal antibodies to prevent
The Division of Infectious Diseases had a tremendous year, marked by achievements in clinical care, research and education, as well as national recognition such as Vanderbilt’s designation as an Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which was made possible by Drs. George Nelson, Milner Staub and Kelly Byrge. We look forward to continued growth and success in the coming year.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Jennifer Gaddy, PhD, received a Visions Program Pair of the Year Award from VUSM
• Celestine Wanjalla, MD, PhD, received a Doris Duke Charitable Foundation 2021 Clinical Scientist Development Award
New Professional Society Elections
Thehospitalizations.divisionmade
• John Koethe, MD, MSCI, received a CFAR Award for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Karen Bloch, MD, MPH, was named Editor of the American College of Physicians MKSAP Infectious Diseases Section
Our division prides itself in providing the highest quality of training to the 12 combined fellows in our Infectious Diseases and Transplant Infectious Diseases fellowship programs. This year, the Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program, led by Drs. Christina Fiske and Jamison Norwood, was selected by the CDC to receive a joint Infectious Diseases/Epidemiologic Investigation Services (EIS) fellowship grant to allow interested fellows to complete a fourth year of training as a CDC EIS officer.
• ID Fellowship Training Program selected by Infectious Diseases Society of America to be one of 11 sites nationwide for new CDC initiative, Joint Infectious Diseases/EIS Fellowship Program
• Wonder Drake, MD, was named to the Board of Scientific Counselors for Intramural Research for the NIAID
Members of the Wonder Drake, MD (center), Research Lab
New Senior Editorship Positions
• Henrique Serezani, PhD, was elected to the Editorial Board of Diabetes
• Tom Talbot, MD, MPH, was appointed Vice President of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Hospital medicine is a rapidly growing section, accounting for the vast majority of nearly 80,000 inpatient Otherencounters.notable
ANDINTERNALUPDATEMEDICINEPUBLICHEALTH
DIVISION
growing programs that are a part of the division include our world-class palliative care service. This group, led by Mohana Karlekar, MD, operates one of the premier inpatient palliative care units, in addition to having a strong outpatient presence with embedded practitioners in high-volume areas such as oncology. Our Concierge Medicine program, led by Emily Kurtz, MD, has also become recognized as a highly integrated program that provides exceptional customer service, and we have a strong team of physicians who are dually trained in medicine and pediatrics providing services across developmental transitions through outstanding collaborations with the Department of Pediatrics. We also serve our Vanderbilt community by providing occupational health services to the entire organization, as well as operating the Zerfross Student Health Center, which provides healthcare to all Vanderbilt students. We are proud that each and every one of the sections contributed exceptionally to lead our efforts to weather this generational health event. Together, these units
Video: Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc, is Co-Principal Investigator on the STRATIFY study
47 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Comprised of nearly 250 faculty, the Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health is the most forward facing of the Department of Medicine’s 13 divisions, and we see our mission as being on the front lines for improving the health of our community. Under the direction of Tom Elasy, MD, MPH, the division supports a creative, diverse and highly productive faculty in achieving the Medical Center’s tripartite mission in clinical care, research and education.
The division has seen remarkable growth over the past decade. Meeting the demands of the growing Nashville community, the division has led a massive expansion in primary care services. The cornerstone of modern health care, our commitment to serve the health of greater Nashville and Middle Tennessee areas, is ideally captured by the focused growth of the primary care clinics. We additionally serve the community through a network of well organized walk-in clinics and our joint venture with Walgreens to operate clinical services where patients need it. Together, our team accounted for nearly 370,000 outpatient and 14,000 telehealth visits in the 2021-2022 year. Our care does not stop in the outpatient arena.
• Parul Goyal, MD, was awarded Physician of the Year by the Tennessee chapter of the American College of Physicians
Faculty in the division have demonstrated capacity for incredible creativity, and they have developed several innovative services to better meet the needs of an evergrowing patient population. Andrew Wooldridge, MD, introduced a new music therapy program, befitting our geography in Music City, within Palliative Care. This program utilizes a variety of musical interventions to provide palliative care service across a broad spectrum of illnesses. The program received such wonderful feedback that plans are now underway to scale the program to other divisions and departments throughout the adult hospital. Services are also delivered at the Nashville VA Medical Center, where faculty provide the same level of exceptional care to our nation’s most deserving citizens. Responding to the demand for hospital services, we collaborated with units across the institution to transition the COVID-to-Home program to a fully functional Hospital at Home service. This service provides in home, hospital-level care to patients in the Davidson County who are best served in their homes during an acute illness. Opportunities for continuous patient monitoring, on-demand telemedicine, and a nimble nursing workforce have made this a reality.
support related to our connection with the Nashville VA TVHS, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and more. Select highlights from this past year include Michelle Izmaylov, MD, publishing over 20 narrative medicine reports, including her Annals of Internal Medicine essay, “Lifting the Illusion,” which garnered national and international attention. Sunil Kripalani, MD, with support from colleagues in the departments of Biostatistics and Emergency Medicine, implemented STRATIFY, a risk prediction model to assess a patient’s risk of experiencing a cardiac event in the emergency department. The work of William Martinez, MD, MSc, in the areas of professionalism, patient safety culture and use of health information technology to improve health care quality, is one example of how NIH-funded researchers in the division make a difference in the lives of patients at Vanderbilt and around the world.
Engagement in the educational mission at VUMC and within VUSM is extensive. The division operates two highly competitive training programs, a MedicinePediatrics residency, led by Sandra Moutsios, MD, and a Palliative Medicine fellowship, led by Sumi Misra, MD, MPH, in addition to NIH-funded T32 and K12 programs that advance training in health services research for fellows and junior faculty. As an example, recognizing the contributions of our faculty to the educational mission of Vanderbilt, Drs. Karlekar and Rachel Apple were inducted into VUSM’s Academy for Excellence in Education.
Most importantly, throughout the pandemic our faculty have remained resilient and focused on advancing knowledge, training the next generation of health care leaders, and caring for the patients and families who entrust Vanderbilt with their care.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Neeraja Peterson, MD, received a Distinguished Teacher/Mentor Award from the Tennessee chapter of the American College of Physicians
We learn to provide the best possible care by conducting health services research. The division’s annual NIH award expenditures exceeded $5.2 million, with additional
Division Director Updates | 48
Not surprisingly, our faculty are widely hailed for their clinical skills in the patient care arena. In recognition for their contributions to the clinical mission, three of our faculty, Drs. Jennifer Green, Craig Sussman and Kathleene Wooldridge, were inducted into VUSM’s inaugural Academy for Excellence in Clinical Medicine class.
ensure the health and wellness of our faculty, staff and greater community, recognizing that health is the cornerstone of life.
• Ryan Buckley, MD, was appointed Director of the VUSM’s Medical Innovators Development Program
• Francis Balucan, MD, received a Vanderbilt Center for Health Services Research Health Equity Research Grant
Mohana Karlekar, MD
In the midst of a tragedy, the Ness family found comfort in the most unexpected of places.
Terry and Judi Ness
They chose to move Christopher to the Inpatient Palliative Care Unit, where he would stay until his death on Feb. 29, 2020. He was 53 years old.
“Wereceived.liketo
“Heoptions.said
For Terry and Judi, their experience inspired them to make a gift in their will to support the Palliative Care Program in the future. Their gift will provide resources to expand palliative care knowledge throughout other specialties in the medical community.
Eventually, his condition took a turn for the worse. Andy Wooldridge, MD, a physician in the Palliative Care Program, visited the Nesses and laid out Christopher’s
that things could still go either way, but that it wasn’t looking good,” Terry recalled. “You can imagine how emotional we were, yet the physician was so gentle and compassionate during this conversation that no one ever wants to have.”
moment, it was the perfect intervention,” Terry said. “Each person we interacted with – from the physicians and nurses to the techs and other staff members – was so professional, warm and kind.”
“The Ness family’s ideas and hopes for this gift line up so perfectly with our vision for palliative care here at VUMC and beyond,” said Mohana Karlekar, MD, section chief of palliative care. “We are immensely grateful for their
Terry and Judi also hope their bequest will provide other families the same level of excellent care that Christopher
came in and she said, ‘You know, I think he has left the room,’” Terry said. It was that little touch of humanity in such a traumatic moment that perhaps made all the difference.
think of it as ‘paying it forward,’ so that others might be blessed just as we have been,” Terry said. “If our experience is able to bring comfort to someone else going through the same thing, then that is certainly something good to invest in.”
PHILANTHROPY HIGHLIGHT Paying it Forward
“Thegone.nurse
Patient’s family supports Palliative Care Program through bequest gift
In February 2020, Terry and Judi Ness were at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) with their son Christopher who was being treated in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. Christopher, who was immunocompromised due to liver disease, had suffered a serious fall with injuries that kept him at the Medical Center for several weeks.
While the Ness’ experience is one they wouldn’t wish upon anyone else, they are incredibly appreciative of the expertise and skill the palliative care team brought to their
“Atfamily.that
Division Director Updates | 50
generous bequest, which will help us educate the wider medical community about integrating palliative care and train the next generation of leaders.”
Terry recalled one of the most impactful moments of Christopher’s time in palliative care. Christopher was very close to his rescue cat, Max, so when Terry asked if Max could come to the hospital to say goodbye, the staff said yes. Terry walked in, cat carrier in hand, and noticed someone had written “Welcome, Max!” on the white board. Christopher was alert enough for them to let Max out of his carrier to be held. The whole family was there talking – Terry and Judi, along with their older son, Reid Ness, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine, and his wife, Michelle. Then Christopher fell asleep, and he was
TheResearch.division’s
The Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, under the direction of T. Alp Ikizler, MD, accomplished significant growth and achievements in its clinical, research and educational programs this year. Most notable among these accomplishments are the more than 290 kidney transplants that were performed, which placed Vanderbilt’s transplant program at No. 12 in the country. Outpatient Dialysis Unit operations lead the nation in home dialysis with over 60% of new patients initiating in-home therapies. While over 8,600 acute treatments for various conditions requiring extracorporeal therapies were performed, these various strategies to care for patients with kidney failure bring life and independence in the spirit of making health care personal.
DIVISION NEPHROLOGYUPDATE AND HYPERTENSION
create artificial kidney solutions, the Kidney Project team, led by William Fissell, MD, made significant gains toward developing a functional bioreactor. As a result of his contributions, Fissell received the prestigious American Association of Kidney Patients 2022 Medal of Excellence award. Recognizing the talent this division brings to clinically-focused research, the Department of Medicine appointed Ikizler as the inaugural Vice Chair for Clinical
The division’s basic and clinical research program excels in multiple areas. This year, the division received more than $9.3 milllion in NIH awards and the Kidney Disease Research Alliance with Bayer, a premier partnership that bridges the top-tier discovery science that this division exemplifies, with an industry partner to translate discoveries into treatment options, was renewed after a successful first five years. In a longstanding effort to
From left, Drs. Raymond Harris, Shirong Cao and Ming-Zhi Zhang
training and education program leads nationally, admitting nine new clinical fellows – seven in general nephrology and two in transplant nephrology – each year. With a total of 16 clinical trainees, this represents one of the largest and most successful programs in the country. In the past academic year, our program started a new specialized fellowship program dedicated to end-stage kidney disease training, specifically focused on home and in-center dialysis modalities. The research fellowship program, sponsored by an NIH-supported training grant, also thrives with
51 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
New External Leadership Positions
• Volker Haase, MD, and Mathew Wilson, MD, PhD, received the Veterans Affairs Senior Clinician Scientists Award
• Guan N, Kobayashi H, Ishii K, Davidoff O, Sha F, Ikizler TA, Hao CM, Chandel NS, Haase VH. Disruption of mitochondrial complex III in cap mesenchyme but not in ureteric progenitors results in defective nephrogenesis associated with amino acid deficiency. Kidney Int. 2022 Jul;102(1):108-120. doi: 10.1016/j. kint.2022.02.030. Epub 2022 Mar 24. PMID: 35341793; PMCID: PMC9232975.
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Ambra Pozzi, PhD, was named President of the Society for Matrix Biology
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
• JP Arroyo, MD, PhD, and Andrew Terker, MD, PhD, received the inaugural 2022 Emerging Generation Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation
New Senior Editorship Positions
• Roy Zent, MD, PhD, was named Editor-in-Chief of Matrix Biology
Drs. Corina Borza (left) and Ambra Pozzi
Our achievements in providing innovative patient care models and researching groundbreaking scientific discoveries exemplify a true commitment to VUMC’s clinical care, research and educational missions. Together, with the ongoing contributions of our faculty and trainees, this year, we define what makes health care personal.
Gautam Bhave, MD, PhD
• Hung AM, Shah SC, Bick AG, Yu Z, Chen HC, Hunt CM, Wendt F, Wilson O, Greevy RA, Chung CP, Suzuki A, Ho YL, Akwo E, Polimanti R, Zhou J, Reaven P, Tsao PS, Gaziano JM, Huffman JE, Joseph J, Luoh SW, Iyengar S, Chang KM, Casas JP, Matheny ME, O’Donnell CJ, Cho K, Tao R, Susztak K, Robinson-Cohen C, Tuteja S, Siew ED; VA Million Veteran Program COVID-19 Science Initiative. APOL1 Risk Variants, Acute Kidney Injury, and Death in Participants With African Ancestry Hospitalized With COVID-19 From the Million Veteran Program. JAMA Intern Med. 2022 Apr 1;182(4):386395. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8538. PMID: 35089317; PMCID: PMC8980930.
more than 10 postdoctoral research fellows training with various faculty within and outside of the division.
• Thomas Golper, MD, received the W. Anderson Spickard Jr., MD, Award for Clinical Excellence in Cognitive Discipline
Division Director Updates | 52
• Eman Gohar, PhD, received the American Society of Nephrology and Kidney Cure Carl W. Gottschalk Research Scholar Award, as well as the 2022 American Physiological Society Renal Section New Investigator Award
Drs. Jason Springer (left) and Kevin Byram (center), and Pam Krueger
Under the direction of Leslie Crofford, MD, the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology at VUMC saw remarkable growth in its clinical, research and educational missions in the 2021-2022 academic year. This dynamic and vibrant division remains focused on providing the highest quality of specialized care to complex patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases and musculoskeletal disorders. To achieve this goal, the division has implemented new specialized programs in vasculitis, scleroderma, myositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriatic arthritis and osteoporosis. The five new faculty welcomed to the division this year provided specialized care in scleroderma, psoriatic arthritis and myositis. New faculty Tracy Frech, MD, worked extensively with the Scleroderma Research Foundation, and helped spearhead a national registry of patients with scleroderma. Adding to Vanderbilt’s national reputation in vasculitis, Kevin Byram, MD, was elected president-elect of the Vasculitis Foundation, and Jason Springer, MD, MS, was appointed to the foundation’s Board of Directors. Together, Drs. Byram and Springer were part of a national team of experts that published new treatment guidelines for vasculitis. Ongoing significant demand for rheumatology clinical services resulted in the opening of a new clinic in Hendersonville, Tenn., with two new providers and on-
53 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
RHEUMATOLOGYUPDATE AND IMMUNOLOGY
DIVISION
site infusion capability for patients requiring advanced biologic treatment.
The division’s research mission builds on its clinical practice, capitalizing on VUMC’s diverse patient population and the innovative work of exceptional basic and translational scientists. The new clinical program in scleroderma supports research efforts and collaborations across several of Vanderbilt’s divisions and departments. The division’s research faculty consisted of five PhD, two MD/PhD, and seven MD scientists. An additional four clinical faculty hold master’s degrees and are engaged in substantive research. Supported by $2.8 million in NIH funding, as well as by significant funding through VA and foundation grants, faculty published over 60 manuscripts and high-profile articles. Cecilia Chung, MD, MPH, and her team published important papers on pharmacogenomic influences of commonly used antirheumatic drugs in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Drs. Deanna Edwards and Jin Chen published novel work on the importance of metabolic changes for antitumor T lymphocyte activity in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Drs. Erin Wilfong and Rachel Bonami were part of a large team of scientists at Vanderbilt that detailed antigenspecific responses to COVID vaccination in Nature Communications. In collaboration with colleagues in
Overall, the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology has a very strong, positive trajectory of growth in each of its core missions. The division looks forward to welcoming additional faculty in the upcoming year, and further growth in its scholarly pursuits and clinical programs.
• Jason Springer, MD, MS, was elected as a board member of the Vasculitis Foundation
The division’s education leaders played significant roles in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), with Narender Annapureddy, MD, MSCI, chairing the State-of-the-Art Program at ACR’s Education Exchange Conference. The educational programs of the division were significantly advanced by the expansion of the clinical fellowship training program with the first class of three fellows joining in July 2021. The division also successfully recruited an MD/PhD Harrison Society trainee, a Medicine-Pediatrics trainee who will be jointly boarded in rheumatology, and a fellow who will complete a geriatric medicine fellowship in the 2022-2023 academic year. Diverse training sites include a unique specialty clinic at Nashville General Hospital that includes the opportunity for medicine residents and students from Meharry Medical College to learn rheumatology. The division’s research training is supported by a T32 grant to train scientists in rheumatic disease research that has resulted in multiple career development awards with three of the T32 graduates, Drs. Rachel Bonami, Michelle Ormseth and April Barnado, obtaining their first independent grant awards in the past year.
New External Leadership Positions
• Kramer KJ, Wilfong EM, Voss K, Barone SM, Shiakolas AR, Raju N, Roe CE, Suryadevara N, Walker LM, Wall SC, Paulo A, Schaefer S, Dahunsi D, Westlake CS, Crowe JE Jr, Carnahan RH, Rathmell JC, Bonami RH, Georgiev IS, Irish JM. Single-cell profiling of the antigen-specific response to BNT162b2 SARS-CoV-2 RNA vaccine. Nat Commun. 2022 Jun 16;13(1):3466. doi: 10.1038/s41467022-31142-5. PMID: 35710908; PMCID: PMC9201272.
• Tracy Frech, MD, was elected as Chair of the Scleroderma Foundation Patient Education Committee; served as a Medical Advisory Board member of the Scleroderma Foundation; and co-chaired the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting Clinical Abstract Selection Committee
• Aune TM, Tossberg JT, Heinrich RM, Porter KP, Crooke PS 3rd. Alu RNA Structural Features Modulate Immune Cell Activation and A-to-I Editing of Alu RNAs Is Diminished in Human Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Front Immunol. 2022 Jan 20;13:818023. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.818023. PMID: 35126398; PMCID: PMC8813004.
• Kevin Byram, MD, was named President-elect of the Vasculitis Foundation
New Senior Editorship Positions
Division Director Updates | 54
• Amy Major, PhD, was named Director of the Vanderbilt University Undergraduate Immersion course
• Cecelia Chung, MD, MPH, was named Associate Editor of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
NOTABLE AWARDS AND HONORS
• Narender Annapureddy, MD, MSCI, served as Chair of the American College of Rheumatology’s State-of-theArt Clinical Symposium Planning Committee
• Patrick DM, de la Visitación N, Krishnan J, Chen W, Ormseth MJ, Stein CM, Davies SS, Amarnath V, Crofford LJ, Williams JM, Zhao S, Smart CD, Dikalov S, Dikalova A, Xiao L, Van Beusecum JP, Ao M, Fogo AB, Kirabo A, Harrison DG. Isolevuglandins disrupt PU.1mediated C1q expression and promote autoimmunity andhypertension in systemic lupus erythematosus. JCI Insight. 2022 Jul 8;7(13):e136678. doi: 10.1172/jci. insight.136678. PMID: 35608913; PMCID: PMC9310530.
• Cecilia Chung, MD, MPH, received the ASCPT Leon Goldberg Award
Drs. Rachel Bonami (front center) and Erin Wilfong (front right) are coauthors on a Nature Communications paper detailing antigen-specific responses to COVID-19 vaccinations
Vanderbilt University’s College of Engineering, Crofford published a manuscript on a novel nanoparticle that reduced post traumatic osteoarthritis in Nature Biomedical Engineering
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS
Kenneth Babe, MD
Assistant Professors
2021-2022
ALLERGY, PULMONARY AND CRITICAL CARE ProfessorsMEDICINE
John Newman, MD
James West, PhD
Christine Allocco, RN, MSN Leslie Armistead, MSN Brooke Bailey, DNP, MSN Jeffrey Barton, MS Sarah Bloom, MSN Jesse Michael Byram, RN, MSN Lynn Clement, RN, MSN Susan Eastman, MSN Shannon Ellrich, DNP, MSN Lisa Flemmons, RN, MSN Daniel Ford, MSN Whitney Gannon, MSN Candi Hicks, DNP, MSN Michelle Irwin, MSN Olivia Kirkpatrick, MSN Karen McCarty, RN, MSN Christy Cleveland Noblit, RN, MSN
Erica Carrier, PhD
ProfessorsMEDICINECARDIOVASCULAR
Jacek (Jack) Hawiger, MD, PhD‡
Jozef Zienkiewicz, PhD‡**
Jessica Blackburn, PhD Jason Gokey, PhD Edward Iglesia, MD, MPH* See Wei Low, MBBS* Matthew Mart, MD, MSCI‡* Allison Norlander, PhD* Huan Qiao, MD, PhD Ujjal Singha, MS, PhD* Brittney Snyder, PhD*
Assistants in Medicine
Advanced Practice Providers
Associate Professors
55 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Julie Bastarache, MD‡ Ryszard Dworski, MD, PhD Anna Hemnes, MD
Jonathan Casey, MD, MSCI
Ivan Robbins, MD
Janna Landsperger, RN, MSN**
Ray Stokes Peebles, MD‡ Vasiliy Polosukhin, MD, PhD
Otis Rickman, DO Carla Sevin, MD
Mollie Anderson, APRN Amelia Bivens, APRN Sarah Bloom, APRN Jesse Byram, APRN Kaitlyn Chapin, APRN Susan Clendenen, NP Ashley Cleveland, DNP Brian Dixon, APRN Emily Dugre, APRN Michelle Favulli, APRN Samantha Green, APRN Ann Marie Harrington, PA Kathryn Hughes, APRN Erica Ludtke, APRN Hannah Maloney, APRN Madison Miller, APRN Christina Pichiarello, PA-C Megan Quintana, APRN Kendall Royal, APRN Michelle Tough, APRN
Adrienne Conger, MD* Rosemarie Beckford Dudenhofer, MD David Erasmus, MD* John Fahrenholz, MD‡ David Hagaman, MD Justin Hewlett, MD Basil Kahwash, MD Eric Kerchberger, MD** Blake LeMaster, MD* Robert Lentz, MD‡ Michael Lester, MD* Yang Liu, PhD* Maria Malabanan, PhD* Katie McPherson, MD
Tina Hartert, MD, MPH
Pingsheng Wu, PhD
Alison Miller, MD‡ Stephanie Norfolk, MD Jamshedur Rahman, PhD Anand Rathinasabapathy, PhD** Bradley Richmond, MD, PhD‡ Margaret Salisbury, MD Matthew Semler, MD, MSCI Ana Serezani, PhD Ciara Shaver, MD, PhD Cosby Stone, MD, MPH** Megha Talati, PhD Shinji Toki, PhD Anil Trindade, MD Kedir Turi, PhD Melissa Warren, MD Paula Watson, MD
Katherine Cahill, MD
Wren Sherrill, MSN Christy Sparkman, MSN Charla Walston, MSN Cynthia Wasden, RN, MSN Dana Wirth, RN, MSN
Jonathan Kropski, MD‡ William Lawson, MD‡ Yan Liu, MD** Dawn Newcomb, PhD** Meredith Pugh, MD, MSCI Todd Rice, MD, MSc
Joshua Beckman, MD Benjamin Byrd, MD W. Barton Campbell, MD‡ André Churchwell, MD Walter Clair, MD
James Jackson, PsyD‡ Lisa Lancaster, MD
Lorraine Ware, MD
Timothy Blackwell, MD‡ Brian Christman, MD‡ Joao de Andrade, MD‡ E. Wesley Ely, MD‡
Gordon Bernard, MD
Fabien Maldonado, MD
Weisong Zhou, PhD
James Tolle, MD
FACULTY AND ADVANCED PRACTICE PROVIDERS
Jill Pulley, MBA
Sr. Associates in Medicine
Instructors
Gregory Michaud, MD
Kelly Schlendorf, MD
Marvin Kronenberg, MD‡
JoAnn Lindenfeld, MD
Sheila Collins, PhD
Vineet Agrawal, MD, PhD**
Brent Anderson, MD
Assistants in Medicine
Benjamin Frischhertz, MD Mark Glazer, MD Kashish Goel, MD
David Hansen, MD
Matthew Freiberg, MD‡
MacRae Linton, MD
Assistant Professors
* New faculty | ** Promoted faculty | ‡ Faculty with VA appointments
Christopher Ellis, MD
Colin Barker, MD
Ahmad Abu-Halimah, MD
Jane Freedman, MD*
Pete Fong, MD
Kasey Vickers, PhD
Robert Piana, MD
Holly Gonzales, MD
Susan Bell, MBBS**
Jere Segrest, MD, PhD
Sean Hughes, MD**
Jay Montgomery, MD‡**
Quinn Wells, MD, PharmD, MSCI Sandip Zalawadiya, MD**
Eiman Jahangir, MD, MPH‡
Associate Professors
Andrew DeFilippis, MD, MSc
Henry Okafor, MD
Henry Jennings, MD Arvindh Kanagasundram, MD Kathleen Kearney-Gray, MD Suman Kundu, PhD
Lynne Stevenson, MD
Jonathan Brown, MD**
William Stevenson, MD
Brian Long, MD Angela Lowenstern, MD* Ravinder Reddy Manda, MD Kevin Maquiling, MD
Benjamin Shoemaker, MD, MSCI‡ Hasan Siddiqi, MD* David Slosky, MD Wenliang Song, MD Hyun Song, PhD* Huan Tao, MD, PhD Janice Vinson, MD Angela Weingarten, MD, MSCI Mark Wigger, MD‡ Patricia Yancey, PhD Lin Zhong, MD, PhD
Rob Reid Hood, MD Xiangke Huang, MBBS, MS* Steven Humphrey, MD* Rebecca Hung, MD, PhD Waleed Irani, MD
Jonathan Menachem, MD David Meoli, MD, PhD‡ Ken Monahan, MD James Muldowney, MD‡ Young-Jae Nam, MD, PhD Jared O’Leary, MD‡ Dawn Pedrotty, MD, PhD‡ Joel Phares, MD Mamatha Pinninti, MBBS Adam Prudoff, MD Lynn Punnoose, MD Aniket Rali, MD* Nagendra Ramanna, MD Travis Richardson, MD Thomas Richardson, MD Pablo Saavedra, MD‡ Suzanne Brown Sacks, MD Joseph Salloum, MD‡ Raphael See, MD Sharon Shen, MD
Julie Damp, MD
Brian Lindman, MD, MSCI
Our People | 56
Robert Abraham, MD
Ravi Shah, MD, MS*
Lisa Mendes, MD
Henry Ooi, MD‡
Antonis Hatzopoulos, PhD
Yan Ru Su, MD
Jeffrey Dendy, MD Temujin Dinaram, MD Amanda Doran, MD, PhD Christopher Scott English, MD Juan Carlos Estrada, MD, MPH
Shawn Gregory, MD‡ Deepak Gupta, MD**
Soo Hyun (Esther) Kim, MD, MPH**
George Crossley, MD
Evan Brittain, MD, MSCI
Rachel Allison, RN, MSN Katherine Anderson, MSc Amanda Baker, MSN Alyssa Bartok, MSN Ashley Blye, RN, MSN Whitney Bratcher, MSN Teresa Carroll, MSN Margaret Chotard, DNP, MSN Layla Cochran, RN, MSN Madeline Crego, MSN Cindy DeSio, MSN April Edwards, MSN Ryan Gant, MSN Donnalita Harmon, RN, MSN Deborah Harrington, MSN Amy Howard, MSN Linda Howerton, MSN Jennifer Koonce, MSN Christi Locklear, RN, MSN Melissa Long, MSN Ashley Lord, RN, MSN Jamie Lowe McCord, MSN Beth Meador, RN, MSN Alexandra Moran, DNP Deborah Payne, RN, MSN Jennifer Pendergrast, RN, MSN Holly Pierce, RN, MSN Ashlee Piercey, MSN Rachel Schreier, RN, MSN John Schuerlein, MS Angelique Shapman, RN, MSN Barbara Simpson, MSN Douglas West, RN, MSN Alexandria Wilson, MSN Meghann Wilson, MSN Molly Woods, MSN
John McPherson, MD
Ahmad Arham, MD* Justin Bachmann, MD, MPH‡ Michael Baker, MD Sharmin Basher, MD Marshall Brinkley, MD Matthews Chacko, MD Geoffrey Chidsey, MD David Dantzler, MD
Jane Ferguson, PhD
Kahraman Tanriverdi, PhD*
Aaron Aday, MD, MSc
Jayant Bagai, MD‡
Allen Naftilan, MD
Daniel Munoz, MD
Murali Kolli, MD**
Fernando Elijovich, MD David Harrison, MD Bjorn Knollmann, MD, PhD Cheryl Laffer, MD, PhD
Lan Jiang, MS
Fiona Harrison, PhD
Daniel Blackwell, PhD* Kyungsoo Kim, PhD Amr Tarek Wahba, MBBCH* Lili Wang, PhD
Jennifer Bradley, MSN Brannan Cole, MSN
Ryan Allen, PhD
Associate Professors
David Patrick, MD, PhD‡ Sun Peck, PhD Dungeng Peng, PhD Elizabeth Rendina-Ruedy, PhD Zhenjiang Yang, MD, PhD
Assistants in Medicine
Morgan Johnson, APRN Seph Kestner, APRN
Advanced Practice Providers Morgane Giesecke, NP Dustin Mayfield, NP
Shichun Bao, MD, PhD
Katherine Bachmann, MD, MSCI‡ Raymond Blind, PhD
Anna Beth Bradley, MD‡ Danielle Dean, PhD Paul Epstein, MD
Chase Hendrickson, MD, MPH Leslee Matheny, MD
Katherine Murray, MD
Associate Professors
Kirstin Agent, APRN Samina Ahmad, APRN Alexandra Bucheli, APRN William Cameron, APRN Natalie Castillo, APRN Arden Clark, APRN Elizabeth Criman, APRN Theresa Davies, APRN Emma Dorand, APRN Randi Dossey, PA
Giovanni Davogustto, MD
Assistants in Medicine
R. Leigh Mansfield, APRN Susan Mason-Parker, APRN Andrea McFarlane, APRN Lorna Morris, APRN Melissa Murphy, APRN Rashundra Oggs, NP Sabina Palmeri, APRN Anna Peek, APRN Carol Scott, APRN Ashley Sears, APRN Carra Smith, PA Jaclyn Sojda, APRN Loriann Wahl, PA Catherine Walsh, APRN Hollie Williams, APRN Jody Winters, APRN
Kathryn Dahir, MD Maureen Gannon, PhD‡ James May, MD‡ Alvin Powers, MD‡
Howard Baum, MD Lindsay Bischoff, MD Gisella Carranza Leon, MD Chunhua Dai, MD Michael Fowler, MD
57 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
ProfessorsPHARMACOLOGYCLINICAL
Rachelle Johnson, PhD Vivian Kawai, MD, MPH Brett Kroncke, PhD Dmytro Kryshtal, PhD Luis Okamoto, MD
Michael May, MD, PhD‡ Richard Printz, PhD
Instructors
Jose Gomez, PhD
Norma Edwards, MSN Ann Hackett, MSN Janie Lipps Hagan, MSN Regina Hamlet, MSN Brett Kinzig, RN, MSN Tiffanie Marksbury, DNP James Mills, RN, MSN Blake Salmony, RN, MSN
John Stafford, MD, PhD‡ Melissa Wellons, MD
Barbara Kiasatpour, APRN Kristi Knight, APRN Althea Leitch-Edwards, PA
Ashley Lord, APRN
Italo Biaggioni, MD Andre Diedrich, MD, PhD
C. Michael Stein, MD Tao Yang, PhD
Venkataraman Amarnath, PhD Wei Chen, MD, PhD Sergey Dikalov, PhD Anna Dikalova, PhD** Alfredo Gamboa, MD, MSCI Annet Kirabo, DVM, PhD** James Luther, MD, MSCI Meenakshi Madhur, MD, PhD Ginger Milne, PhD
Jonathan Mosley, MD, PhD** Julie Sterling Rhoades, PhD‡ Cyndya Shibao, MD, MSCI
Assistant Professors
Dan Mark Roden, MD
QiPing Feng, PhD Jorge Gamboa, MD, PhD** Andrew Glazer, PhD
Instructors
ENDOCRINOLOGYDIABETES, AND ProfessorsMETABOLISM
Courtney Foulk, APRN Tiffani Gray, APRN K. Melissa Hayes, DNP Susan Hellervik, APRN Cara Hill, APRN
Marcela Brissova, PhD
Advanced Practice Providers
Kevin Niswender, MD, PhD‡ Gitanjali Srivastava, MD
Assistant Professors
Matt Alexander, MD, PhD Rebecca Bruccoleri, MD Swati Dey, PhD
Andrea Ramirez, MD, MSCI Chanhaeng Rhee, MD Diane Saunders, PhD** Andrea Utz, MD, PhD Syeda Zaidi, MD Lin Zhu, MD, PhD
Timothy (Yinghao) Su, MD, PhD, MS
Coadylynn Ostrowski, NP
Kristin Jean, NP
Shabnam Sarker, MD
Isabela Kuroyama, NP
Christopher Williams, MD, PhD‡ Keith Wilson, MD‡
Douglas Heimburger, MD, MS
Wei Zheng, MD, PhD, MPH
Debra Greenspan, NP
Dawn Wiese Adams, MD‡**
Michael Fowler, MD Associate Professor of Medicine Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism IN MEMORY
Patrick Yachimski, MD, MPH
Jordan Wright, MD, PhD
Instructors
Yash Choksi, MD‡
Andrew Scanga, MD
Reid Ness, MD, MPH‡ Maria Blanca Piazuelo, MD
Robin Ligler Dalal, MD
Dhyanesh Patel, MD
William Fiske, MD, MPH‡
Roman Perri, MD
John Boice, ScD
Jeeyeon Cha, MD, PhD
Neil Price, MD
Xingyi Guo, PhD
Rishi Naik, MD, MSCI Jennifer Noto, PhD
Assistant Professors
Gong Yang, MD, MPH
Advanced Practice Providers
Thomas Finn, MD
Anthony Gamboa, MD Jeremy Goettel, PhD Manhal Izzy, MD
Dennis Jeppesen, PhD** Hannah Kim, MD* Brad Maltz, MD Nicholas Markham, MD, PhD‡** Stephanie McAbee, MD‡ Mark Miller, MD
Erica Dillon Garner, MD, MSCI*
Katie Coate, PhD
Qin Zhang, PhD**
Hui Cai, MD, PhD
Mallory Newton, PA
Qi Dai, MD, PhD
Instructors
Todd Edwards, PhD, MS
ProfessorsNUTRITIONHEPATOLOGYGASTROENTEROLOGY,AND
Staci Sudenga, PhD, MPH
Heidi Silver, PhD‡
ProfessorsEPIDEMIOLOGY
Andreana Holowatyj, PhD, MSCI
Our People | 58
Macy Ball, NP
Qiuyin Cai, MD, PhD
Kelsie Full, PhD, MPH*
Yaohua Yang, PhD
Muhammad Aslam, MBBS
Yacob Tedla, PhD, MS Danxia Yu, PhD
Loren Lipworth, ScD
Christopher Lind, MD Keith Obstein, MD, MPH‡** Richard Peek, MD‡ David Schwartz, MD
Alain Gobert, PhD
Miles Basil, MD‡
Wanqing Wen, MD, MPH**
Sahar Takkouche, MD
Baldeep Pabla, MD
Connie Root, APRN
Dawn Israel, PhD
Zheng Cao, MD, PhD
Martha Shrubsole, PhD, MS
Sara Horst, MD, MPH
Joseph Awad, MD‡ Robert Coffey, MD
Sara Brown, MD
LaToya Hannah, NP
Jirong Long, PhD**
Xiangzhu Zhu, MD, MPH
Associate Professors
Lori Coburn, MD‡
Walter Smalley, MD‡ Michael Vaezi, MD, PhD
Mona Mashayekhi, MD, PhD
Jeffrey Franklin, PhD
Associate Professors
Xiao-Ou Shu, MD, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professors
Dawn Beaulieu, MD
Assistants in Medicine
Nancy Cox, PhD
Lea Davis, PhD
Professors
Instructors
Associate Professors
Advanced Practice Providers
Katie Lang, MS Kelly Taylor, MS
Kimberly Beiting, MD Mariu Carlo Duggan, MD, MPH‡
Assistant Professors
Associate Professors
Vivian Siegel, PhD E. Michelle Southard-Smith, PhD Georgia Wiesner, MD
Jibril Hirbo, PhD
Heather Herrmann, MS Lucas Richter, MS
Justin Balko, PhD
Instructors
Kimberly Akinyele, MSN Kristi Albergo, MPAS Kim Annis, MS
Alexandra Shingina, MD
Meredith Gerhart, MS
GERIATRIC MEDICINE
Jennifer Pollice-Meservy, RN, MSN
Jennifer Below, PhD
Chelsea Rick, DO*
Matthew Bechard, PhD
Laura Craddock, MSN Maria Ramirez Cruz, MSN
Tammy Loyd, PA
Kimberly Currier, RN, MSN, ACNP Caroline Duley, RN, MSN
Ela Knapik, MD
Melinda Aldrich, PhD, MPH
Emily Smith, PA-C Emily Spring, PA-C
Associate Professors
Nicole Swindle, NP
Bhuminder Singh, PhD
Sara Hedrich, RN, MSN
Elizabeth Scoville, MD, MSCI
Patrick Evans, PhD
Ashley Singleton, MSN
Juliana Yang, MD
Assistants in Medicine
Professors
Harvey Murff, MD, MPH‡
Instructors
Sandra Simmons, PhD‡ Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI
Deana Beard, APRN Barbara Grimm, APRN Kanah Lewallen, NP Alice Lowe, APRN Kanah May, APRN Abigail Parish, NP Shelley Ross, NP Casey Schwartz, NP Hannah Stephens, NP Carole Bartoo Vaden, APRN Alexis Wohner, APRN
Tuya Pal, MD
Assistants in Medicine
Advanced Practice Providers
Victor Legner, MD, MSc
Vandana Gupta Abramson, MD Jordan Berlin, MD Cathy Eng, MD Jill Gilbert, MD
Adetola Kassim, MD, MS Barbara Murphy, MD Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD Nishitha M Reddy, MBBS Brian Rini, MD Bipin Savani, MD‡ Michael Savona, MD
Joohyun Kim, PhD
Daniel Gustavson, PhD** Jacklyn Hellwege, PhD Garrett Kaas, PhD Nikhil Khankari, PhD Yingchang (Kevin) Lu, MD, PhD Sarah Stallings, PhD Xue Zhong, PhD
Tyne Miller-Fleming, PhD* Maria Niarchou, PhD
Thomas Engle, PA
Sr. Associates in Medicine
Daniel Maselli, MD* Maliha Naseer, MBBS* Sarah Short, PhD
Anne Gifford, MD, MPH* Ralf Habermann, MD‡ Kristin Hines, MD‡ Tara Horr, MD Kiffany Peggs, MD, MBA Hannah Stewart, DO* Monica Stout, MD
Valerie Shields, MS
HEMATOLOGY AND ProfessorsONCOLOGY
Sarah Campbell, MS
59 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Julianne Wagnon, MSN Sherry Wright, RN, MSN
GENETIC MEDICINE
Curtis Gabriel, MD, PhD
Eric Gamazon, PhD
Associate Professors
Muhamed Baljević, MD
Alecia Fair, PhD
Associates in Medicine
Joanne Bledsoe-Frazee, ACNP
Alexander Bick, MD, PhD
Ankita Munjal Sisselman, MD* Terrence Smith, MD
Chor Yin (Maggie) Ng, PhD Douglas Ruderfer, PhD
Jeffrey Smith, MD, PhD‡
Laura Dugan, MD‡ James Powers, MD‡ John Schnelle, PhD
Lydia Wroblewski, PhD
James Higginbotham, PhD
Ruben Barricarte, PhD
Brittany Mathews, PA
Mattie Godfrey Brady, MSN Elizabeth Coughlin, MSN Alison Davis, MSN Julia McDaniel, MSN Victoria Taylor, MSN
Professors
Simon Mallal, MBBS Elizabeth Phillips, MD Stephen Raffanti, MD, MPH Timothy Sterling, MD
Kathryn Beckermann, MD, PhD
David Morgan, MD
Colleen Morton, MD, MBBCH Olalekan Oluwole, MD, MPH‡ Sandeep Rajan, MD, MBBS*
Virginia Quinn, MSN Sherlyn Umayam, MSN Deborah Wallace, MSN Karina Wilkerson, MSN
Christine Micheel, PhD Sanjay Mohan, MD, MSCI Sara Nunnery, MD*
Rajiv Agarwal, MD
Mary Philip, MD, PhD
Instuctors
Haley Ramsey, PhD
Ashley Allington, NP Anne Austin, APRN Alexandria Barton, NP Jennifer Brown, NP Carey Clifton, APRN Elizabeth Compton, NP Bethany Cones, NP Lauren Coppens, NP Shemeka Davis, NP David Eisner, APRN Kathryn Estopinal, NP Bridget Fitzgerald, APRN Jennifer Flake, APRN Casey Fletcher, PA Paige Follett, PA Anne Galloway, NP Leslie Goebel, NP Karen Hande, DNP Shelton Harrell, NP Meghan Hoffman, NP Deanna Hopkins, NP Hayley House-McPhedran, PA-C Heather Jackson, PhD, APRN Kathleen Kaye, APRN
Holly Algood, PhD‡ Ban Mishu Allos, MD
Melissa Fischer, MS, PhD Lindsey Goodman, MD
Elizabeth Davis, MD**
Karen Bloch, MD, MPH Timothy Cover, MD‡ Wonder Drake, MD‡ David Haas, MD
Associate Professors
Our People | 60
Brian Lehmann, PhD** Christine Lovly, MD, PhD
Advanced Practice Providers
Waleed Khalaf, MD, PhD
C. William Wester, MD, MPH Patty Wright, MD
Brian Engelhardt, MD, MSCI‡ Michael Gibson, MD, PhD
Douglas Johnson, MD, MSCI Vicki Keedy, MD
Jennifer R Green, MD, MPH
Michael Byrne, DO Michelle Chi, MD Wichai Chinratanalab, MD‡ Jennifer Choe, MD, PhD*
Satya Das, MD, MSCI Bhagirathbhai Dholaria, MBBS Megan Dupuis, MD, PhD* Brent Ferrell, MD‡
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Thomas Talbot, MD, MPH
Sarah Croessmann, PhD
Titus Daniels, MD, MPH
Sonya Reid, MD, MPH Brent Rexer, MD, PhD Kerry Schaffer, MD, MSCI Shannon Serie, MD Natalie Spradlin, MD Stephen Strickland, MD Benjamin Tillman, MD‡ Hong Yuen Wong, PhD Kenneth Wyman, MD‡ Sally York, MD, PhD‡
Suman Das, PhD
Joshua Donaldson, MD, PhD Jonathan Lehman, MD, PhD‡ Pooja Shah, MD
Scott Haake, MD, PhD‡ Wade Iams, MD Reena Jayani, MD
Dana Cardin, MD, MSCI
Jennifer Whisenant Amundson, PhD
Assistant Professors
Laura Kennedy, MD, PhD
Robert Ramirez, DO Salyka Sengsayadeth, MD‡** Katherine Walsh, MD
Frank Mason, PhD
Laura Ramirez, MD
Sandra Zinkel, MD, PhD‡
Matthew Bumbalough, RN, MSN Whitney Chase, MSN Deborah Hawkins, MSN Anna Hux, MMSc
Tae Kon Kim, MD, PhD‡ Ashwin Kishtagari, MD, MBBS
Kristen Ancell, MD‡
Kristen Ciombor, MD, MSCI Kimberly Dahlman, PhD
Nancy Davis, MD
Assistants in Medicine
Jennifer Lewis, MD‡
Laura Ann Goff, MD, MSCI Patrick Hu, MD, PhD‡ Paula Hurley, PhD
Kathryn Kennedy, NP Krista Kuhnert-Gainer, APRN Catherine Largent, PA Melissa Logue, APRN Katherine Long, APRN Nancy Long, APRN Mary McDowell, NP Hayley McPhedran, PA Stephanie Mehr, NP Amy Messimore, APRN Sarah Murawski, PA-C Danielle Murphy, NP Samantha Osborne, PA Ranjanben Patel, APRN Erin Pearson, APRN Chloe Perate, PA Adrianne Rasche, APRN Austin Rockenhaus, NP Elizabeth Ryan, NP Michelle Ryan, NP Tina Sasso, NP Lisa Scholl, NP Jennifer Seitz, NP Sharon Sims, APRN Emily Skotte, DNP Allie Smallwood, NP Hannah Tunks, NP Leigh Vaughan, APRN Lauren Verity, APRN Allison Walker, NP Olivia West, NP Elizabeth Winkler, NP Xiaoxiao Zhang, APRN
Helen Keipp Talbot, MD, MPH
John Koethe, MD, MSCI‡ Robert Latham, MD
Rodney Adams, RN, MSN
Courtney Pitts, DNP Jamie Schwartz, APRN Carleigh Smith, DNP, APRN, FNP
Assistant Professors
Sharon Onguti, MD, MPH* Seesandra Rajagopala, PhD
Instuctors
Richard LaRue Jr., MD‡ John Loh, PhD
Advanced Practice Providers
Scott Smith, MD‡
Katie White, MD, PhD
Professors
Rebecca Berhanu, MD* Kelly Byrge, MD
61 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Kevin Dee, MD‡
Mark McClain, PhD
Michelle Martin-Pozo, PhD* Leslie Meenderink, MD, PhD‡ Jamison Norwood, MD
Milner Staub, MD, MPH‡** Yuri van der Heijden, MD, MPH Celestine Wanjalla, MD, PhD**
Beverly Byram, MSN K. Amen Eguakun, RN, MSN Dana Hughes, MSN
Donald Brady, MD Robert Dittus, MD, MPH
Todd Hulgan, MD, MPH‡ Spyros Kalams, MD
Catherine Crumbo, MSN, FNP Alexandria Harvick, MSN, APRN Heather Holm, APRN Paula Monte, PA
Catherine McGowan, MD
Neesha Choma, MD, MPH** Joseph Fanning, PhD Katherine Hanson, MD Mohana Karlekar, MD** Emily Kurtz, MD Lindsay Mayberry, PhD Sumathi Misra, MD, MPH‡ Amanda Salanitro Mixon, MD, MPH‡ Karin Moolman, MD Sandra Moutsios, MD** Neeraja Peterson, MD Tony Ross, MD Kelly Sponsler, MD Cecelia Theobald, MD, MPH Hilary Tindle, MD, MPH‡ Eduard Vasilevskis, MD, MPH‡ Thomas Whitfield, MD Elizabeth (Sastre) Yakes, MD Mary Yarbrough, MD, MPH
Assistant Professors Matthew Abbate, MD Allison Lott Adams, MD Steven Allon, MD* Julia Anderson, MD* Rebecca Anderson, MD Federica Angel, MD Rachel Apple, MD Katelyn Atwater, MD
Jessica Castilho, MD, MPH Cristian Chandler, PhD, MPH* Cody Chastain, MD
Crystal Cornett, APRN
Jennifer Gaddy, PhD‡**
April Pettit, MD, MPH
Associates in Medicine
Peter Rebeiro, PhD
Ryan Doster, MD, PhD
Christina Fiske, MD, MPH
Samuel Bailin, MD
Tom Elasy, MD, MPH‡ Sunil Kripalani, MD, MSc Robert Miller, MD Russell Rothman, MD, MPP Christianne Roumie, MD, MPH‡ Craig Sussman, MD**
Associate Professors
Gowri Satyanarayana, MD‡ C. Henrique Serezani, PhD
Bryan Harris, MD, MPH
George Nelson, MD** Anna Person, MD
Paul Jacob, MD, MPH‡ Sean Kelly, MD
INTERNAL MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Francis Balucan, MD Emily Barker, MD Corey Batson, MD** Jennifer Poole Blazier, MD John Boone, MD Sadiqa Boura, MD** John Bowers, MD* Eve Bowers, MD Emily Brown, MD Ryan Buckley, MD Jessica Burke, MD Laura Burkhart, MD Ian Campbell, MD‡ Daniel Carmody, MD* Jonazary Cervone, DO** Mark Chambers, MD Chayla Chasten, MD Patricia Checinski, MD* Michael Chin, MD, MPH Amos Clark, MD Billy Copeland, MD Daniel Cottrell, MD Kaylin Smith Craig, MD Jan DeLozier, MD Nanette Dendy, MD Irina Didier, MD Nidhi Dole, MD Maie El-Sourady, MD Shelley Ellis, MD, MPH Sabrina Finney, MD Kevin Flemmons, MD‡ Jacob Franco, MD‡ James Gainer, MD‡ Morli Gandhi, DO Muteeb Ghaffar, MD Fiona Gispen, MD Joan Gorden, MD Parul Mani Goyal, MD Sharon Green, MD Jennifer Green, MD, MPH Megan Gunn, MD* Zinah Hadidi, MD Kevin Hageman, DO‡ Philip Harrelson, MD Jacob Hathaway, MD McKinley Heflin, MD Lawrence Heller, MD Michael Herring, MD* Kyrie Herring, MD* Paula Herrmann, MD Tiffany Hines, MD Timothy Hinton, MD Melissa Hixson, MD* Richard Hock, MD
Ozioma Chioma, PhD
Silvana Gaudieri, PhD
Assistants in Medicine
Aimalohi Ahonkhai, MD, MPH
William Rasberry, MD Elise Reid, MD* Elizabeth Rice, MD Heather Ridinger, MD
Nejla Zeynep Kubilay, MD*
Matthew Miller, MD
Jill Jones, MD
Allison (Smith) Schwall, MD
James MacDonald, MD Bhavish Manwani, MD
Daniel Ontenient, MD
Taylor Jensen, MD*
Ryan White, MD, MSc* Bobby White, MD
Garren Montgomery, MD*
Ben Rowan, MD
Kevin Mitchell, MD, PharmD
Catherine Linn, MD
Kelly Sopko, MD‡
Kristin Rutterer, MD* Bethany Scanlan, MD‡
Kristine Tatosyan-Jones, MD** Shayne Taylor, MD
Gwendolyn Howard, MD
Lynn Holliday, MD
Helen Lin, MD‡
Alexander Nourse, DO Harley Odom, MD Amanda Olson, MD
Stacey Tillman, MD
Krista Suojanen, MD‡ Matthew Sweeney, MD* Emily Tarvin, MD
Anderson Spickard Jr., MD Professor of Medicine, Emeritus Division of Internal Medicine and Public Health IN MEMORY
Caroline Cone, MSN Lindsey Dalton, MSN Melissa Doyle, MSN Sandra Ermini, MSN
Michael McCann, MD Debra McCroskey, MD
Catherine Stober, MD
Sapna Kripalani, MD, MSC
Lukas Laws, MD*
Jonna Whitman, MD Jessica Willis, MD Rachel Wolf, MD
Michelle Izmaylov, MD
Michelle Lewis, MD
Lori Rolando, MD, MPH
William Serafin, MD* Claude Shackelford, MD Donna Shell, MD* Martha Shepherd, DO Melanie Skelton, MD‡*
Samuel Perry, MD** Lorina Poe, MD, MPH
Emmanuel Johnson, MD
Peter Liu, MD
James Mosley, MD
John Peach, MD Matthew Peachey, MD
Christy Claiborne, MS
Matthew Potter, MD‡ Martha Presley, MD
Sara Martin, MD
Cecily Montgomery-Imani, MD**
Angela Qian, MD
Angela Horton, MD, MPH
Merranda Holmes, MD
Kevin Liu, MD‡
Richa Misra, MD‡
Russell Ledford, MD
William Martinez, MD, MSc
Derek Pae, MD‡
Benjamin Womack, MD Andrew Wooldridge, MD
Maureen Seitz, MD
Kathleene Wooldridge, MD, MPH
Peter Paik, MD‡ Scott Parker, MD Ilaben Patel, MD**
Robin Lapre, MD
Jan Price, MD
Martha Leonard, MD‡
John Scott, MD Sarah See, MD‡
Kendall Waddey, MD* Eleanor Weaver, MD Chase Webber, DO‡ Jule West, MD
Teresa Zoffuto, MD, MPH
Ashley Karpinos, MD, MPH
Scott Lee, MD, PhD
Michael K Smith, MD, PhD
Assistants in Medicine
William Sullivan, MD Kathleen Sullivan, MD
Lyndsay Nelson, PhD
Nathan Krishnan, MD‡ Derek Kruse, MD‡
Cooper Lloyd, MD, MPH
Ana Nobis, MD, MPH
Katelyn Smelser, MD**
Deborah Baker, MPAS Jane Case, DNP
Ruth Stewart, MD
Robert McKnight, MD
Carmen Tuchman, MD
Our People | 62
Margaret Moore Laxton, MPH
Jeanne Madden, MS
Jennifer Nohrden, MD*
Amanda Allen, MD* Ashlee Arteaga, MD* Raigan Burkall-Lewis, MD
Jennifer Montague, MD
Laurie Omohundro, DNP, MSN Taina Ovchinnikov, RN, MSN
Laura Heller, MD Brook Helmer, MD
Advanced Practice Providers
Cody Lebeck Lee, MD* Concepcion Martinez, MD
Merritt Hambrick, MS
Sarah Garrand, MSN
Christopher Parker, MS
Hayden Shafer, MD
Lori Beth Russell, APRN Seyum Beyene, APRN Amanda Blassl, APRN Aisha Bond, APRN Carol Bowling, APRN LaRica Brady, APRN Junyang Brand, APRN Sarah Bridge, APRN Lori Brister, APRN Mwaka Butungane-Sexton, APRN Keith Caldwell, APRN Nicole Campbell, PA Ariel Campbell, APRN Candice Campbell, APRN Elizabeth Card, APRN Jill Cash, APRN Rodney Chenault, DNP Anita Chew, NP Courtney Clardy, APRN Shanita Coleman-Dockery, APRN Jorge Colquicocha-Celedonio, APRN Sarah Connor, APRN Gabrielle Cook, APRN Kate Corbin, PA Lori Crews, APRN Kristina Crocker, NP Lacey Cross, APRN Dorothy Crowder, APRN Amy Cutsinger, APRN Carine D’Angelo, APRN Tina Darks, NP Kelvisha Davis, APRN Velinda DeForge, APRN
Melissa Lehmann, MPAS Candice Lewis, MSN
Amanda Phelps, MHS Mohammad Rassekhi, MSN Samuel Robbins, DNP Rone Russell, MS
Michael Diatte, MD* Aleksandra Frye, MD
Catherine Deffendall, MD*
Ashley Hoadley, MSN Candace Humes, RN, MSN Linda Johnson, MSN Fatmata Kamara, MSN Kristin Kight, MSN
63 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Elizabeth Maxwell, MD* Brian McMurray, MD
Instuctors
Robert Kenneth McKenzie, MS Gordon Melton, MSN Emily Nardone, MSN
Jill Nelson, MSN
Denaya Conley, DO* Jon Cumberledge, MD
Sharon Katuin, DO* Mirza Khan, MD
Hodan Abdi, APRN Redor Abdullah, APRN Christina Agee, APRN Rachel Aholt, APRN Negest Alemu, APRN Candance Alexander, APRN Sarah Allen, PA-C Louisa Altman, NP Robert Anderson, DNP Kristen Anton, NP Amber Archer, APRN Amy Armstrong, APRN Laurel Austin, APRN Ramy Aziz, PA-C John Baltz, APRN Saira Bana, PA Tamara Batson, APRN Aleshia Beene, APRN Megan Beggs, PA Sara Best, APRN
Barbara Grimm, MSN
Morgan Stine, MPAS Retha Thomas, MSN Jason Tillman, MSN Megan Vickers, MS Bethany Wagner, MSN Elisa Walker, MSN Gamini Wiyathunge, MSN
Nitara Carswell, MD
Christina DeLeo, PA Diana Dillehay, APRN Jeffrey Dinizio, PA Katherine Dowdall, APRN Christina Dozier, APRN Donna Dubois, APRN John Dunlap, APRN Japeth Durham, APRN Patience Echem, APRN Cassidee Eddings, APRN Catherine Evans, APRN Shaina Farfel, APRN Amy Fortner, APRN Sheana Fox, APRN Katherine Furmanski, APRN Anna Gallion, NP Christine Galluzzi, APRN Jennifer Gartman, PA Jared Geesaman, NP Monique George, APRN Katherine Gilliland, NP Jesi Girton, APRN Melissa Glassford, DNP Tracey Goddard, NP Vallaree Goodwin, APRN Karen Gordon, APRN Spencer Goudeau, PA Jennifer Green, APRN Alexandra Grissim, APRN Elisabeth Groves, APRN Caleb Hancock, APRN April Hanlotxomphou, APRN Megan Hatley, PA Casea Hayes, APRN Julia Hedger, PA Mary Henderson, APRN Alexandra Hendrickson, PA-C Rhonda Hollins-Dortch, APRN Andrea Honeycutt, APRN Leslie Hopkins, APRN Kyli Hoskins, PA Kristy Hynes, APRN Twila Iten, APRN Janell Jayamohan, APRN Jason Jean, APRN Nora Jewell, APRN Melinda Johnson, APRN Nequila Johnson, APRN Susan Johnson, APRN Karyn Jones, APRN Stephanie Kaelin, DNP, APRN Leslie King, APRN Brie LaJeret, APRN Ashlee Lecorps, APRN
Lori Liggin, APRN Giles Lippard, NP Kristen Maida, NP Aureata Majors, APRN Julie Malkowski, PA-C Bethany Malone, APRN Dana Manning, APRN Stephanie Marrow, APRN Kristen Massey, APRN Rebekah Mattox, NP Catherine McCarty, PA Stacey Mcclain, APRN Jennifer McCord, APRN Jacqueline McFadden, APRN Mary McLaughlin, APRN Jennifer McNaught, NP Mary McRedmond, APRN Nakeisha Micheaux, APRN Alyssa Miller, APRN Jennifer Mitchell, APRN Audrey Morgan-Cline, APRN Celia Morse, NP
Hannah Scheitel, APRN Ashley Schmidt, APRN Aaron Scott, APRN Jessica Searcy, APRN Shanna Sharpe, APRN Tanya Smith, NP Grahm Smith, PA Evan Smith, APRN Kennedy Smith, APRN Randall Smith, APRN Deborah Snedegar, NP Caroline Solomon, APRN Charlotte Stephenson, APRN Kate Stewart, PA Allison Sullivan, APRN Martha Sutherland, APRN Sherin Tahmasbi, APRN Jannyse Tapp, DNP Joseph Teal, PA-C Amy Thien, PA-C Chanel Thomas, APRN Latasha Todd, APRN Ashley Tomlinson, APRN Brittany Traylor, APRN Maria Troche-Perez, APRN Erica Truka, APRN Thy Truong, APRN Amy Tyson, APRN Candice Vaden, APRN Gina Vaughn, APRN Megan Vickers, PA-C Kathryn Voigt, APRN Mary Walden, APRN Kathryn Waller, APRN Amy Walters, APRN Sara Warren, APRN Tanicia Washington, APRN Katie Watson, APRN Robert Weber, APRN Catherine Weiss, APRN Gwyn Welch, APRN Angela Wells, APRN Neressa White, APRN Angela Wiggins, APRN Barbara Wolff, APRN Jeannie Wood, APRN Michael Woods, APRN Haylee Young, APRN Jessica Zehring, APRN Kristen Zeigler, APRN Angela Zuill, APRN
Sherry Murray, APRN Nicole Nde, APRN Lori Netti, APRN Amanda Noblett, APRN Allison O’Leary, PA Thomasa Padilla, APRN Adrienne Pennington, APRN Sierra Pickney, APRN Michele Pruett, APRN Keqin Qian, APRN Katherine Rainey, APRN Daniel Rasbach, APRN Jillian Ratton, NP Kathryn Reese, APRN Katie Reiff, APRN Danielle Riddle, PA-C Shelza Rivas, APRN Heather Robbins, APRN Stacy Robertson, APRN David Rockwood, NP Susanna Rudy, APRN Akaninyene Ruffin, APRN Karen Runyon-Delice, APRN Angela Rushing, APRN Kesha Rushing, APRN Rone’ Russell, PA-C Brittany San Miguel, APRN Deborah Sanders, NP Sharon-Lee Santos, APRN Sandra Savage, APRN Jennifer Scanlon, APRN
Kristin Leonard, APRN
NEPHROLOGY ProfessorsHYPERTENSIONAND
Associate Professors
Richard Breyer, PhD Mark de Caestecker, MBBS, PhD Thomas Golper, MD Volker Haase, MD‡ Raymond Hakim, MD, PhD Raymond Harris, MD‡ J. Harold Helderman, MD Billy Hudson, PhD Talat Alp Ikizler, MD‡ Julia Breyer Lewis, MD John Nadeau, MD Ambra Pozzi, PhD‡ Heidi Schaefer, MD‡ Mohammed Sika, PhD Matthew Wilson, MD, PhD‡ Roy Zent, MD, PhD‡
Khaled Abdel-Kader, MD‡ Gautam Bhave, MD, PhD‡ Corina Borza, PhD Craig Brooks, PhD Kyle Brown, PhD Sergey Budko, PhD Nada Bulus, MD Anna Burgner, MD Manuel Chiusa, PhD Osama El Shamy, MD‡ Bertha Elias, PhD Rachel Fissell, MD Eman Gohar, PhD Edward Gould, MD Ming Jiang, MD, PhD Hanako Kobayashi, PhD Wentian Luo, MD, PhD Marika Manolopoulou,
Assistant Professors
MD*OurPeople | 64
Kelly Birdwell, MD, MSCI‡ Kerri Cavanaugh, MD, MHS‡ Jianchun Chen, MD Beatrice Concepcion, MD William Fissell, MD Adriana Hung, MD, MPH‡ Anthony Langone, MD‡ Edward Siew, MD‡ Takamune Takahashi, MD, PhD Roberto Vanacore, PhD Ming-Zhi Zhang, MD, MSc
Erin Wilfong, MD, PhD
Cecilia Chung, MD, MPH‡
Ebele Umeukeje, MD, MPH
Thomas Aune, PhD
Cassianne Robinson-Cohen, PhD
Advanced Practice Providers
Jennifer Young-Glazer, MD, MSCI*
Paras Karmacharya, MBBS, MS*
Neil Sanghani, MD‡
Hibo Abdi, NP
Mary Rogers Sorey, MSN
Megha Salani, MD
Assistants in Medicine
Amy Major, PhD‡
Instuctors
Hillary Kaplan, MD
Chidiebube Egwim, MD, MPH‡*
Kevin Myers, MD
Elena Pokidysheva, PhD
Bonnie Sarrell, MD** Saed Shawar, MBBS
Kevin Byram, MD
Lauren Woodard, PhD‡
S. Bobo Tanner, MD
Michelle Ormseth, MD, MSCI‡ Sujana Reddy, MD**
James Thomas, MD
Jin Chen, MD, PhD‡
Tanaya (Niki) Summers, MSN
Associate Professors
Eli Steigelfest, MD
Joseph Huston, MD
Glenn Douglas, MD**
Natalie McCall, MD
Susan Kroop, MD
Assistants in Medicine
65 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
Nicole Bonzano, APRN
Sarah Homann, MD‡
Jason Springer, MD, MS
Deanna Edwards, PhD**
Instuctors
Zhijian Wang, RN, MSN
Tracy Frech, MD, MSCI‡*
Assistant Professors
RHEUMATOLOGY AND ProfessorsIMMUNOLOGY
Tetyana Pedchenko, PhD
Sallaya Chinratanalab, MD
Advanced Practice Providers
James Gore, MD
Narender Annapureddy, MD, MSCI
Samantha Minkin, MD*
Yinqiu Wang, PhD
John Sergent, MD
Julie Barnes, MSN
Rachel Bonami, PhD
Devika Nair, MD, MSCI‡
Toddra Liddell, MSN
Shirong Cao, MD, PhD
Leslie Crofford, MD
Juan Arroyo Ornelas, MD, PhD‡ Fabian Bock, MD, PhD*
April Barnado, MD, MSCI Erica Benvenutti, MD*
Ruth Ann Veach, BS
6
IN TOTAL GIFTS DIRECTORSHIPS
Gifts from our generous donors support our mission to advance scientific discovery, elevate patient care and train future leaders in health care. For more information and to give, visit medicine.vumc.org/dom-giving.
INDIVIDUAL DONORS $5.4M
67 | VUMC Department of Medicine FY22 Annual Report
HIGHLIGHTSTheVanderbilt
Comprehensive Care Clinic, directed by Sean Kelly, MD (Infectious Diseases), hosted the first annual Ruby Gala at Marathon Music Works on Dec. 4, 2021. The gala featured live performances by DOZZI and Kalie Shorr, as well as a high-energy live auction. The event raised $150,000 to support those living with HIV in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
RUBY GALA
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Clip In 4 the Cure is a high-energy, team cycling event that raises funds to defeat cancer. In its first year, the event brought 324 riders to First Horizon Park, as they fundraised to support cancer research and enjoyed spin sessions led by Nashville’s top instructors and DJs.
The second annual Clip In 4 the Cure will take place on Saturday, March 25, 2023, from 8 a.m. until noon. To register or learn more, visit ClipIn4TheCure.org
CLIP IN 4 THE CURE
PHILANTHROPY
Thank you to Department of Medicine faculty and the following colleagues for their contributions to the 2021-2022 Annual Report: Contributing Writers Sarah Wolf, VUMC Office of Development Sydnie Hochstein, VUMC Office of Development Copyediting and Design Krystyna Barnard, Communications Manager, Department of Medicine Theresa Laurence, Web Content Producer, Department of Medicine Photography VUMC News and Communications Vanderbilt University Medical Center is committed to principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. EOE/AA/Women/Minority/Vets/ ©Disabled.Copyright 2022 Vanderbilt University Medical Center
NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. NASHVILLE,POSTAGETN 1161 21st Ave. S, Nashville, TN 37232 | (615) 322-5000 STAY CONNECTED WITH VUMC’S DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE For more information, scan the QR code or visit medicine.vumc.org @VUMC_Medicine
