HJAR Sep/Oct 2023

40 SEP / OCT 2023  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs UAMS, Arkansas Crime Laboratory Offer Forensic Pathology Fellowship The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has partnered with the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory to offer a one-year fellowship in forensic pathology, starting July 1, 2024. The fully accredited fellowship program, recently approved by the Accreditation Coun- cil for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), is open to physicians who have completed a res- idency program in anatomic or anatomic/clini- cal pathology and who are board-certified or board-eligible. Theodore Brown, MD, an associate professor of pathology at UAMS and the state’s chief medical examiner, said the partnership offers an oppor- tunity to complete autopsies at a high volume by collaborating with coroners in all of the state’s 75 counties. “Fellows will work alongside seven forensic pathologists, including a board-certified neuro- pathologist,” said Brown, who is also the direc- tor of the fellowship program. “The medical examiner section of the Crime Lab is equipped with five autopsy stations, along with in-house full body radiology, histology services, and access to anthropology and forensic odontology consultants.” “We offer the whole spectrum of forensic sci- ences in one building,” Brown said, referring to criminalists and ballistics experts, as well as foren- sic toxicology services and subspecialty sections, which include CODIS (Combined DNA Index Sys- tem used by the FBI), digital evidence, forensic chemistry, forensic DNA, latent prints, and physi- cal evidence, all of which are housed at 3 Natural Resources Drive in Little Rock. The lab is expected to triple in size and relo- cate to Camp Robinson in North Little Rock by 2027, thanks to the Arkansas General Assembly’s approval in April of a revenue stabilization act that authorizes up to $200 million for the con- struction of a new headquarters. The new facility will occupy about 200,000 square feet, providing space for more experts in the field and cutting- edge technology. “Our office continues to become more involved with other agencies across the state that are working to best understand deaths that occur in Arkansas and how we can work with our commu- nity partners to prevent future deaths in Arkan- sas,” Brown said. “We have a very important role to play.” To that end, Brown said, he is looking for fellow- ship candidates who not only have top pathology skills but will also become “an asset to the com- munity they will serve.” Teddi Tubre, MD, an adjunct professor of pathology at UAMS, associate director of the fel- lowship program, and associate medical exam- iner and neuropathologist at the crime lab, said one way the crime lab hopes to prevent deaths in the community is by staying on top of trends in the use of novel illicit substances, including fen- tanyl and its analogues. Being able to document current information about the types of drugs and their use in our communities is just one example of increasing communication among first responders, medical personnel, and community stakeholders to better serve Arkansans as a whole, she said. Christen Johnson, MD, Joins Baptist Health Heart Institute/Arkansas Cardiology Clinic-North Little Rock Baptist Health Heart Institute/Arkansas Cardi- ology Clinic-North Little Rock recently welcomed Christen Johnson, MD. Johnson received a medical education from Louisiana State University School of Medicine, where she also completed residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in car- diovascular diseases. Baptist Health Heart Institute/Arkansas Car- diology Clinic-North Little Rock, a service of Baptist Health Medical Center-North Little Rock, is located at 3343 Springhill Drive, Suite 1035, inside the medical center. Cardiologist Mohammad Al-Sarie, MD, Joins CHI St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas - North Little Rock CHI St. Vincent announced that cardiologist Mohammad Al-Sarie, MD, has joined the team of specialists at the CHI St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas - North Little Rock. Al-Sarie is now see- ing patients at the clinic, located at 4000 Rich- ards Road, Suite A. Al-Sarie most recently completed an interven- tional cardiology fellowship through the Ein- stein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia. After attending medical school at the University of Jor- dan College of Medicine in Amman, Jordan, he completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Toledo in Ohio and served as chief cardiology fellow during his final year in the car- diology fellowship training program through the Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia. Al- Sarie is a member of the American Heart Asso- ciation, the American College of Cardiology, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, as well as the American Medical Association. UAMS’ Michael Birrer, MD, PhD, Contributes to Ovarian Cancer Discovery The Birrer laboratory at the University of Arkan- sas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute helped discover a proteogenomic signature in ovarian cancer Christen Johnson, MD Mohammad Al-Sarie, MD