HJAR Sep/Oct 2025

32 SEP / OCT 2025  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS   Healthcare Briefs Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, res- idents experiencing food insecurity documented their lives through photography and narrative, providing a visual testimony of their challenges and resilience. Conducted as part of the institute’s Food Inse- curity Community of Practice, participants shared stories around four central themes: community giving and receiving, the high cost of healthy food, time burdens associated with food assis- tance, and navigating scarce resources. The second study, “Process Evaluation of Cul- turally Preferred Food Pilot,” published in the Journal of Trauma-Informed Community Health, Nutrition, and Physical Activity, focused on increasing access to foods that reflect the cul- tural preferences of Arkansas’s growing Hispanic and Marshallese populations. Six partners, includ- ing farms and food pantries, were funded to grow and distribute culturally relevant foods, such as sweet potatoes, Masa flour, and fresh vegetables. The pilot, also led by the institute’s Food Inse- curity Community of Practice team, showed posi- tive results, including increased client satisfaction, improved pantry offerings, and the formation of new community partnerships. Partners reported greater awareness of cultural food needs and expressed a strong commitment to sustaining these efforts, despite concerns about long-term funding and supply chain challenges. UAMS Names Andy Davis Its Chief Transformation Officer The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) named Andy Davis, MSCE, PE, as its chief transformation officer (CTO). “As a former business owner and state legis- lator, Andy has a great deal of experience lead- ing strategic initiatives and collaborating with people and groups on a variety of issues,” said interim Chancellor C. Lowry Barnes, MD, in a press release. As CTO, Davis will lead the establishment and execution of a 100-day plan that will serve as a road map to drive university-wide changes that will enable financial growth, operational effi- ciency, and culture change. He will collaborate with senior leadership, students, and employees to assess change readiness and identify transfor- mation opportunities. He will also ensure that the 100-day plan is aligned with the goals and objec- tives in UAMS’ Vision 2029 strategic plan. Davis assumes the role in addition to his current position as vice chancellor of Institutional Rela- tions, a job he began in May 2022. Prior to join- ing UAMS, he served as general manager of Peri- scope Holdings’ ARBuy, the eProcurement system for the state of Arkansas. Before that, he led New Water Systems, a company he founded in 2003. Sravani Gundarlapalli, MD, Joins UAMS Division of Hematology Oncology Sravani Gundarlapalli, MD, has joined the Uni- versity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as a hematologist oncologist and assistant pro- fessor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Divi- sion of Hematology Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine, and is also the director of UAMS’ adult sickle cell program. Board-certified in internal medicine, Gundar- lapalli completed a three-year fellowship in hematology oncology at UAMS in 2025, where she held the position of chief fellow. In 2022, she served as a lead hospitalist in the UAMS Hema- tology Oncology Division’s myeloma section and as an assistant professor UAMS College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine. She has contributed to numerous scientific publica- tions focused on multiple myeloma and stem cell transplantation. Before joining UAMS, Gundarlapalli served as an attending physician in internal medicine at Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, Georgia, from 2017 to 2020. She completed her residency in internal medicine at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan, and received her medical degree from Kurnool Medical College in Kurnool, India. She sees patients at the UAMS Health Medical Oncology Clinic, located in the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, and is accepting new patients. David Catlin, MD, Joins UAMS Department of Psychiatry David Catlin, MD, is joining the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Department of Psychiatry as an assistant professor. Catlin graduated from Arkansas Tech University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Bachelor of Science in economics and finance. He also received a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. He graduated from the UAMS College of Medicine in 2020 and served as chief fellow in the Depart- ment of Psychiatry’s Child and Adolescent Psy- chiatry program this year. Andy Davis, MSCE, PE Sravani Gundarlapalli, MD David Catlin, MD