Academic Affairs Monthly Update from Doug Sawyer - December 2020
*sent on behalf of Doug Sawyer, MD, PhD – Chief Academic Officer, Maine Medical Center & MaineHealth*
Hello all,
Over the past 2 decades, many organizations have looked to 2020 as they set goals. I remember the American Heart Association setting a goal for a healthier America by 2020; Horizons2020 was a long-term project in the European Union to revamp how science was organized and conducted to improve the health and wellness of society; lots of organizations made the phrase "2020 Vision" a planning cliché. Who would have guessed how 2020 would go down in the history books so differently than envisioned?
As I reflect on 2020, I am thankful for the dedication of our care team members to care for our patients and communities like never before. I am thankful for the opportunities we have had to hone our virtual communication skills. We have also become better researchers and educators this year, pivoting at a moment’s notice to accelerate urgent COVID-19 studies and transition to fully virtual learning.
The MaineHealth commitment to the Innovation Center was formalized this year and it has seen tremendous success in just nine short months, including the launch of the TUSM Innovation Elective, the Innovation Ignite Fund and a host of other programs for our MaineHealth innovators.
Our inaugural MaineHealth Academic Affairs Strategic Plan was created and approved and we are well on our way to implementation, encouraging interdisciplinary, system-wide collaboration to fuse education, research, and innovation with clinical care, and to transform MaineHealth into a premier learning healthcare system.
We have welcomed new leaders to our growing Academic Affairs division – Susan Ahern and Liz Jacobs – and will soon be welcoming VP of Operations Kneka Smith and our next VP of Medical Education in 2021, as Bob Bing-You “semi-retires” after over 25 years in his role.
I feel very fortunate to be on this team with you, and look forward to our continued work together in 2021 and the years to come. Happy New Year!
RESEARCH – Elizabeth Jacobs, MD, MPP, VP of Research
The Office of Research Ethics and Compliance and the IRB has been busy reviewing COVID-19 related research projects across our system, as you will see in the attached report.
Our team has had much to celebrate this year. Congratulations to the following research team members for receiving promotions, awards and service milestones!
· MMCRI Promotions:
o Eric Anderson to Faculty Scientist 1 at CORE
o Ilka Pinz to Faculty Scientist 2 at CMM
o Michaela Reagan to Faculty Scientist 2 at CMM
o Sergey Ryzhov to Faculty Scientist 2 at CMM
o Arturo Hernandez to Faculty Scientist 3 at CMM
· The two Career Development Association (CDA) awards for Researcher of the Year:
o Larisa Ryzhova (CMM)
o Brianna Taylor (CPR)
· MaineHealth Service Milestones:
o 30 Years - Cal Vary
o 25 Years - Volkhard Lindner, Sue Mortensen
o 20 Years - Joe Fish, Phuong Le, Claire Stull
o 15 Years - Ilka Pinz
o 10 Years - Liz Bergst, Lori Brodsky, Amy Caron, Vicki DeMambro, Ivette Emery, Tom Gridley, Anyonya Guntur, Karen Holbrook, Michele Locker, Katie Motyl
o 5 Years - Heather Campbell, Cole Ferm, Carolyne Falank, Rob Hammond, Rebecca Lamb, Michaela Reagan, Larisa Ryzhova, Sergey Ryzhov, Rebecca Robich
CALLING ON ALL RESEARCH MENTORS! Tufts Medical Students will be looking for faculty mentors to support the new scholarly project requirement that begins with the Class of 2024. If you know faculty who are interested and capable of mentoring a Tufts Med Student please get them in touch with our team who can help them add their names and projects to the database at Tufts School of Medicine. Dr. Kinna Thakarar is the local Director of this program (kthakarar@mmc.org).
GRANTS
The Atenolol to Prevent Osteoporosis (APO) project has officially been funded by the NIH, National Institute on Aging. This 5-year grant, led by investigator Dr. Cliff Rosenand co-investigator Dr. Irwin Brodsky at MMCRI, Dr. Sundeep Khosla at the Mayo Clinic and Dr. Elizabeth Shane at Columbia University will support a first of its kind randomized-placebo controlled trial to assess the efficacy of beta1-selective adrenergic receptor blockade in the prevention of bone loss. If successful this will offer postmenopausal women an opportunity to use a low cost, safe and well tolerated agent to reduce their long term risk of developing the devastating consequences of osteoporosis. The grant was a result of major collaborative efforts that included translational research at MMCRI, from the laboratory of Drs. Katherine Motyl and Christine Lary (you can check out their very cool analysis of the Framingham Heart Study population that supports this hypothesis here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32995691/), and translational efforts at the Mayo Clinic including a small pilot trial conducted by Dr. Khosla.
COVID-19 RELATED RESEARCH
Our clinical research teams in Adult Medicine and Critical Care continue to enroll COVID-19 patients into several ongoing clinical trials working to find effective therapies against this virus. The team of Dave Seder, Joanne DeKay and Sergey Ryzhov have completed enrollment into their translational study looking for novel immune therapeutic targets for treatment of COVID-19, and are analyzing their results. This work was one several projects supported by the NNE-CTR.
MMCRI 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
Thanks to the efforts of Julianna Meyers, we look forward to seeing the new report come off the press in early 2021.
SIMULATION CENTER – Leah Mallory, MD, Director
Like so many aspects of life- personal and professional- the winter surge of COVID has affected simulation activities. Our annual simulation instructor course, which brings approximately 20 participants to the Simulation Center for 2.5 days and does not easily translate to a virtual format, has been postponed until May 2021.
As for on-going activity, we have tried to balance the educational and patient safety benefits of the work we do, with risks of transmitting infection or overloading clinical staff as inpatient volumes rise. We have continued to offer team training events (with careful attention to maximum allowed room capacity, and distancing) at the Bramhall campus, with temporary cancelations for on-going outbreaks or surges. Events at the simulation center are conducted virtually when possible (much of our standardized patient curriculum) and in-person at the discretion of sponsoring faculty. Like all of you, the Simulation Team looks forward to 2021, where vaccination efforts prevail and COVID-19 recedes and we return to more normal operations.
MMC LIBRARY – Dina McKelvy, Director of Library & Knowledge Services
Our library team continues to curate the COVID-19 related literature to advance our education on this topic. You can check out today's posting at: https://mainehealth.libguides.com/coronavirus/dailyupdate/December-31-2020. At that site you can also subscribe to receive the daily posting.
Congratulations and thank you to Amy Moore for dedicating 15 years of service to the MMC Library!
MEDICAL EDUCATION
Undergraduate Medical Education – Jo Linder, MD, Assistant Dean for Students - Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Track Program
We are pleased to announce that Dr. Jen Hayman will be the new Director of UME Curriculum as of March 1st. Dr. Hayman has been a medical educator for close to 15 years, and is a member of the Pediatric Hospitalist group. She has had the roles of Assistant Clerkship Director and Director of the Advanced Clerkship. She is also one of the inaugural group of coaches for the Maine Track. We recognize Dr. Bob Trowbridge, with gratitude for his leadership, most recently as the first Director of UME Curriculum. Bob will continue as Co-Director of the TUSM Introduction to Clinical Reasoning course, and Portland LIC Site Director, Immersion, and Intersessions curricula in the Maine Track. Many thanks again to Bob for guiding us through the initiation of M2 courses in Maine this year!
All of our medical students return from their well-deserved winter break on January 4th. Our M21 students are busy completing residency interviews, preparing rank lists, and anticipating Match Day, set for March 19th, 2021, as they return to advanced clerkships and electives. Some of our M22 students (third year/core clerkship) will be returning from break to finish their 8-week clerkships in Medicine and Surgery, or continue in the LIC model, while the rest of the M22s will be starting their new, 5-week core clerkships in OBGYN, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, or Family Medicine.
All courses for the M23 class, will be conducted virtually through January 21st, including the Dermatology and Infectious Disease courses. They also finish up Introduction to Clinical Reasoning. Students will continue to use the Katahdin Learning Space during their dedicated study time preparing to take their Step 1 exam by April 2nd. All the M23 students will be back to complete CAP in April. The M24 students continue with their organ-based course work in Boston, and are beginning to consider research opportunities in Maine this summer. They continue to build relationships with their Maine-based coaches.
While medical students have been busy with their pre-clerkship course work and clerkships, amid this pandemic, they are also volunteering for COVID-related causes and social justice projects.
Tufts School of Medicine Class of 2024 has a scholarly activity requirement! Tufts Medical Students will be looking for faculty mentors to support the new scholarly project requirement that begins with the Class of 2024. If you know faculty who are interested and capable of mentoring a Tufts Med Student please get them in touch with our team who can help them add their names and projects to the database at Tufts School of Medicine. Kinna Thakarar is the local Director of this program (kthakarar@mmc.org).
Graduate Medical Education
Thanks again to our Designated Institutional Official (DIO) Kalli Varaklis, MD for sending out the attached December 2020 GME update!
Continuing Professional Development (CIPD)
We are excited to announce MMC has been successfully awarded Joint AccreditationProvider status! We will now be able to offer continuing education credits to physicians, nurses, pharmacists, PAs, psychologists, and social workers. Be on the lookout for more communication about the new accreditation status.
The CIPD Team will be hosting a monthly series of webinars on planning Interprofessional Education (IPE), see the attached flyer. Don’t miss Bob Bing-You’s presentation on “Completing a Gap Analysis and Writing Learning Objectives” on January 6, 2021.
MMC Institute for Teaching Excellence:
· New MITE Calendar - MMC Institution for Teaching Excellence (MITE) is excited to announce the new MITE/ Academic Affairs Education calendar. This calendar will be accessible to everyone and is now filterable based on the type of educational activity and includes a Grand Rounds calendar! If you are interested in having your activity posted on the calendar reach out to Sue Rose-Norfleet.
· MITE is now accepting applications for the Academy at MITE Scholars Program. The Academy Scholars Program is a two-year program intended for faculty who wish to enhance their teaching, education research, and administrative skills. Applications will be accepted through March 15, 2021.
· Save the Date - 10th Annual Faculty Development Conference will be held September 22, 2021. Details and agenda to follow.
INNOVATION CENTER – Susan Ahern, VP of Innovation
The connective tissue of research, education and care
Have an idea, suggestion or solution to a problem? Submit your thoughts to the Innovation Idea Box!
Building the Foundation for Innovation: Program Updates
· Our 6 Innovation Ignite Fund project teams are hard at work advancing and implementing their innovations across the MaineHealth system. The first round of progress meetings showed an unwavering enthusiasm for innovation and the improvement of patient care, and we look forward to seeing these novel ideas come to life in the coming months.
o Dr. Mary Ottolini and Dr. Michael Ferguson have signed an MOU with partner Case Western Reserve University to develop software for their Augmented Reality for Neonatal Resuscitation Simulation Innovation Ignite fund project.
· The revised MaineHealth Intellectual Property Policy was approved by the Board of Trustees on Dec. 3. If you are interested in learning more about how to protect your innovations, join us for an Info Session on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 12pm via Zoom. RSVP here.
o We are forming the new MaineHealth Intellectual Property Committeewith internal leaders and external entrepreneurial and industry experts. The group will convene in February 2021 and will advise on all MaineHealth IP opportunities.
· We wrapped up the last 2020 Roux Institute/MaineHealth Innovation Blender Series event “Cancelling Cancer” on Dec. 17 with Dr. Peter Brooks and Dr. Michaela Reagan who shared their latest research on cancer therapeutics and prompted important discussion around advancing clinical Phase I trials in Maine. Stay tuned for an update on our next Innovation Blender event in February 2021.
o We need Innovation Blender speakers for 2021! Let us know if you or someone you know has an innovative idea or model that could use an infusion of Roux Institute and industry expertise from across the region. Email us at innovation_center@mainehealth.org.
· Our bi-weekly Innovation Center Coffee Corner: Brewing Ideas is held the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month via Zoom from 8:30-9:30am. This is an open forum to ideate and collaborate and see what the Innovation Center is all about. RSVP here.
· Stay tuned for an opportunity to join our new Innovation Clinical Lead Panel which will consist of healthcare professionals and providers who will provide clinical expertise and insight to Innovation Center projects. Reach out to us anytime if you are interested!
· The Innovation Center is excited to announce it will soon be launching a new website for all MaineHealth innovators (and the innovation curious!) to access information about our programs and initiatives. The site will also profile current innovation success stories across our healthcare system.
Building Relationships: Collisions
· Presentation to the Steering Committee for Clinical Informatics
· Update to MH Education & Research Committee (MHERC)
· Represented MaineHealth in the Maine Bioscience Cluster Initiative Kick-Off Meeting
· Update to Academic Leaders Forum
· December Innovation Cabinet meeting featuring a roundtable discussion on understanding the value and opportunity of innovation at MaineHealth at the State and Federal level with Katie Harris, Chief Government Affairs Officer.
Be well,
Doug
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