HJAR Jul/Aug 2019

Healthcare Journal of ARKANSAS I  JUL / AUG 2019 41 For weekly eNews updates and to read the journal online, visit HealthcareJournalAR.com test a tumor to identify the best course of treat- ment for that individual patient. Liquid biopsies are important because the aver- age diagnosis for lung cancer patients is about age 70. Patients are often in poor health in addi- tion to battling cancer, and traditional invasive biopsies can lead to complications or death. Patients in Johann’s clinical trial are giving blood samples at multiple stages of treatment. The research team is determining whether the cellular material shed by tumors into blood can help doctors detect cancer earlier and monitor patients during cancer treatments to improve outcomes. Again, compiling big datasets plays a role. The liquid biopsy part of Johann’s lung cancer work is also being supported by the Blood Profil- ing Atlas in Cancer (BloodPAC), a nonprofit con- sortium for data sharing between stakeholders in industry, academia, and regulatory agencies with the goal of making liquid biopsies a reality. BloodPAC is also supporting liquid biopsy clin- ical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for prostate cancer, University of South- ern California for breast cancer, and University of Pennsylvania for pediatric cancers. “The collaborative element to this is very impor- tant. We are working with three very prestigious, NCI-comprehensive cancer centers to acceler- ate the development of liquid biopsies for can- cer treatment guidance and less invasive clinical care,” Johann said. “We want to catch disease early and operate on it for cure, be able to mon- itor it effectively, develop model systems effec- tively and then look at potential therapies to see what would be the best treatment for each patient, instead of just giving everyone the stan- dard treatment. “The practice of clinical oncology is rapidly changing, and we need to be part of that and contribute. When I came to UAMS, I believed we should be able to do state-of-the-art cancer research and treatment here. I’m proud to be part of this science, the teamwork, and potential for our patients.” Johann’s work on lung cancer has been under- way for three years. During previous phases, his team developed the advanced bioinformat- ics and infrastructure at UAMS that are neces- sary to handle the large datasets involved in this research, and he brought firsthand knowledge of the latest molecular technologies to UAMS. Johann completed fellowships in hematology oncology and clinical proteomics, both at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Mary- land. Johann earned a medical degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He became a physician as a second career, prior to attending medical school he was an engineer- ing group leader for the Unisys Corp. and worked on advanced avionics projects. Northwest Health Launches ThinkFirst Injury- prevention Program Northwest Health has just launched the state’s first activities connected to Northwest Arkansas’ ThinkFirst Chapter, an initiative by the National Injury Prevention Foundation designed to help prevent brain and spinal cord injuries, among other traumatic injuries. Traumatic injury is a lead- ing cause of death and disability among children, teens, and adults. Brendi Gale, RN, trauma coordinator for North- west Medical Center-Bentonville, is the NWA ThinkFirst Chapter Chairman. “Among the steps that can reduce injury are wearing bike and sports helmets,” she said. “We’re excited to have a team of Northwest Health staff serving at this weekend’s Square 2 Square biking event, pro- viding education and distributing free bike hel- mets, thanks to a donation of 100 helmets by Bell Helmets.” Gale has long been an advocate for injury pre- vention and is Injury Prevention Chair for the Trauma Regional Advisory Council. She was recently recognized as one of Arkansas’ 100 Great Nurses, in part for her work in conducting a major initiative last year to educate high school students on distracted driving. She partnered with Benton- ville High School Ignite students, the Emergency Nurses Association, Northwest Health, and the Bentonville and Centerton Fire Departments to develop a “wake-up call,” which included a docu- drama featuring a “fatal car crash” resulting in the death of two students and a family member. This garnered both local and national visibility with a feature article in the Emergency Nurses Associa- tion (ENA) magazine. “We want to help prevent traumatic injury, not just treat it,” said Dr. Joe Olivi, medical director for Trauma Services for Northwest Health. He is also serving as medical director for the ThinkFirst Chapter. “The most frequent causes are vehicle crashes, violence, falls, and sports, but we know that simple actions can greatly reduce the risk of injury. Through our ThinkFirst programming, we are focusing on creating awareness and provid- ing education to help people use their minds to protect their bodies.” Maddie Gale, Northwest Health Trauma regis- trar, also plays a major role in Northwest Health’s ThinkFirst programming, giving insight from hos- pital data as to types of trauma that provide the greatest opportunities for education and training. Other actions that can help prevent traumatic injuries include wearing seat belts and driving safe, sober and without distractions. Shuk-Mei Ho, PhD, Named UAMS Vice Chancellor for Research Internationally renowned scientist Shuk-Mei Ho, PhD, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) College of Medicine as its vice chancellor for research. “We could not be more fortunate to have a leader of Dr. Ho’s caliber joining our team,” said UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, MD, MBA. “Her close to four decades of leadership experi- ence in academic medicine will be an invaluable asset to our institution as we explore new frontiers in science to improve the health of all Arkansans.” Since 2005, Ho was the Jacob G. Schmidlapp Professor and chairwoman of the Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincin- nati College of Medicine. She recruited over two dozen faculty members, and successfully renewed three times an Environmental Health Sciences Center grant named Center for Environmental Genetics (P30), funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She built a Council on Education for Public Health-accredited Public Health Program, ush- ered in next-generation sequencing and big data science, and brought in close to $40-million extramural funding for research and infrastructure advancement to the university. In 2011, she was appointed as director of Cincin- nati Cancer Center and later named the Hayden Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research. She