Photos by UAMS Cancer Patients, Employees on Display

By todd

LITTLE ROCK – A display of black-and-white photos taken by cancer patients being treated at the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy (MIRT) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and UAMS employees was unveiled today in the patient clinic.


 


“World Class Photos,” can be viewed on the seventh floor of UAMS’ Arkansas Cancer Research Center, which houses the Myeloma Institute under the direction of Bart Barlogie, M.D., Ph.D. It is the first event of its kind at UAMS involving patients and employees.


 


“This came about because of Dr. Barlogie. He wanted to directly involve the patients in this, since they spend a lot of time in the clinic. The photos bring a whole new perspective to the area,” said Janet Aronson of MIRT, who oversaw the project.


 


Twenty photographs, by both professional and amateur photographers, are displayed. They include works by Ralph Doty, an information technology research assistant with MIRT, UAMS surgical nurse Angela Dawson and Jose Diaz, M.D., a vascular surgeon volunteering at the Department of Surgery Research program at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. A native of Argentina, Diaz is the husband of Marisa Miceli, M.D., a researcher at MIRT.


 


Myeloma Institute patients who contributed works and attended the event included Tony Ranze of Lakeland, Fla., director of photography for The Ledger newspaper and


photo coordinator of The New York Times Regional Newspaper Group, and Kathy Kupka of Leesburg, Va., a professional studio photographer.


 


Other UAMS faculty and staff members who contributed to the display and attended the unveiling include Berit Bjork, a UAMS occupational therapist, MIRT nurses Paula Duke and Lori Tarpley, and Tracie Goodworth, a UAMS radiology technologist.


 


UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, five centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has more than 2,200 students and 660 residents and is the state’s largest public employer with almost 9,000 employees. UAMS and its affiliates have an economic impact in Arkansas of $4.1 billion a year.


 


UAMS centers of excellence are the Arkansas Cancer Research Center, Harvey and Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy and Jackson T. Stephens Spine and Neurosciences Institute.