Institutes

May 21, 2019

Summit Focuses on Treatment Concerns for Opioid Abusers

Tim Taylor

Group of addiction experts talking

Representatives from a number of health-care organizations, academic facilities and governmental agencies attended a meeting May 17 at Little Rock’s Robinson Center designed to bring attention to treatment options for those dealing with opioid use disorder. The Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Summit, sponsored by the Partnership for a Healthy Arkansas, featured…

May 20, 2019

Thoracic Surgeon Steliga Honored by UAMS Cancer Institute Auxiliary

Susan Van Dusen

Matthew Steliga, M.D., (left) is joined by UAMS Cancer Institute Interim Director Laura Hutchins, M.D., following his introduction as the UAMS Cancer Institute Auxiliary Distinguished Honoree.

When Matthew Steliga, M.D., arrived at UAMS 10 years ago, he faced an uphill battle. Lung cancer rates in the state were skyrocketing, with an estimated 2,160 Arkansans losing their lives to the disease in 2009 alone. As UAMS’ only surgeon dedicated to the treatment of lung cancer, Steliga jumped in headfirst and began building…

May 15, 2019

UAMS Cancer Institute Bone Marrow Transplant Program Receives Internationally Recognized Accreditation

Susan Van Dusen

The Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has received an internationally recognized accreditation by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT). 

May 8, 2019

Community Scientist Academy Graduates First High School Class

David Robinson

Students in the Little Rock School District's Excel Program were the first high school students to graduate from the Community Scientist Academy.

Shanell Young, a senior at Little Rock Parkview, wasn’t sure what to expect during the spring 2019 UAMS Translational Research Institute Community Scientist Academy. After receiving her graduation certificate at a UAMS ceremony, she went to the lectern to share her takeaways. “What people actually refer to as research nowadays is really just googling,” she…

Cancer Researchers Form Collaborations, Share Insight at Inaugural Retreat

Susan Van Dusen

UAMS cancer researchers gathered May 2 for the inaugural Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Research Retreat.

With about 125 cancer researchers and clinical scientists gathered in one spot, new ideas and collaborations are bound to develop.

May 7, 2019

Johann Granted $1.47 Million to Continue Cutting-Edge Lung Cancer Clinical Trials

News Staff

Dr. Johann at desk

What will lung cancer diagnosis and treatment look like in the future? Look no further than the research happening today at UAMS. “We’re coming into the long-promised ‘future’ of cancer treatment,” said physician-scientist Donald J. Johann Jr., M.D. “For the last 50 years, the holy grail of cancer research has been being able to detect…

May 6, 2019

Florida-based Friendship Transcends, Through Sickness and Health

Linda Haymes

Myeloma Center patient Gail Naimo of Port St. Lucie, Fla., (right) encouraged fellow myeloma patient Sergio Pinango and his wife Blanca Nieto (left) to seek treatment at UAMS. He did and today is in remission with no evidence of the disease.

A Facebook friendship that formed over an illness in common proved lifesaving for a Florida man who found what he needed at the UAMS Myeloma Center. Myeloma Center patient Gail Naimo of Port St. Lucie, Fla. met fellow Floridians Sergio Pinango, 56, and his wife, Blanca Nieto, 50, on a myeloma Facebook page five years…

May 3, 2019

FCC Commissioner Impressed by UAMS Digital Health Initiatives

Ben Boulden

May 3, 2019 | UAMS’ pioneering work in bringing health care to those who need it through digital health applications has drawn the attention of a top federal official who traveled from Washington D.C. to UAMS recently to see for herself. Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, visited April 29 with UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA; guests of the university; and leaders of UAMS’ new Institute for Digital Health & Innovation, including institute director Curtis Lowery, M.D. “We are 46th out of 50 states in health outcomes,” Patterson said. “UAMS needs to change that for the better, and we won’t do it just by staying in Pulaski County.” Telemedicine allows health professionals to diagnose and treat patients not physically present by using telecommunications technology, such as live video. It allows UAMS to extend its presence beyond its main campus and regional campuses. The creation of the institute, under the leadership of Patterson and Lowery, was announced in February and builds upon several telemedicine programs already in place, including ANGELS for high-risk pregnancy, AR SAVES for stroke, STAR for rural School-Based Health Centers and more. The institute connects the majority of hospitals and clinics across the state with telemedicine through interactive video and other digital services. Lowery gave a brief presentation to Rosenworcel about the history of digital health and telemedicine at UAMS. Lowery, Tina Benton, B.S.N., and a small team of clinicians and staff in 2003 founded ANGELS to bring maternal-fetal medicine to women with high-risk pregnancies who did not live near such a specialist. ANGELS (the Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System) is an innovative consultative service for a wide range of physicians including family practitioners, obstetricians, neonatologists and pediatricians in Arkansas. An ANGELS obstetrician can talk to a pregnant mother via a live video connection and watch an ultrasound image of her baby from a local hospital so she can avoid traveling to Little Rock hours away. Lowery said the institute is doing a pilot study to see if ANGELS’ live video consultations can help during an emergency labor-and-delivery. “That’s the only way you’re going to do anything about it,” Lowery said. “By the time you transfer a mother from that smaller hospital, we might lose her because of excessive bleeding. I think in the next year we’re going to explore the idea of delivering blood by using drones. It could make a real difference when a hospital doesn’t have the blood for a massive loss.” Rosenworcel said she was intrigued by the idea of using drones to facilitate the transportation of blood and transplant organs. During her visit, she observed a live ANGELS consultation with a pregnant mother in another Arkansas town and toured the 24-hour call center that routes calls for ANGELS and other telemedicine programs like Arkansas Stroke Assistance through Virtual Emergency Support (AR SAVES). Renee Joiner, B.S.N., AR SAVES director, briefed Rosenworcel about the stroke telemedicine program. UAMS started AR SAVES in 2008 to provide telemedicine consultations with stroke neurologists at any time via live video. Through this service, almost 2,000 patients have received a clot-busting drug that often restores complete function to the patient. Arkansas recently fell to seventh in the nation in the number of stroke deaths per capita after many years in first place, a huge improvement credited in part to the efforts of AR SAVES. “I went down to Crossett on Friday and met a 27-year-old gentleman who had a stroke and went to the Ashley County Medical Center,” Patterson said. “He was treated through AR SAVES. Without this, he probably would have been a paraplegic and unable to work.” Rosenworcel learned about the trauma telemedicine program and the School Telemedicine in Arkansas (STAR) program, the first-ever effort to bring telemedicine care to Arkansas’ rural School-Based Health Centers. STAR two years ago rolled out the Healthy Now initiative for obesity reduction and prevention. Graduate students from the University of Central Arkansas and a UAMS nutritionist engage the students in one-on-one telemedicine encounters. “We piloted the program in the Magazine School District,” said Alan Faulkner, a program manager for the institute. “With two groups of participating students, 51% in one group reduced their weight, and 66% in another group reduced their weight.” Rosenworcel said she found those numbers to be very impressive. She was also given an overview of the Arkansas e-Link network by network director Roy Kitchen. The network was created from a $102 million grant awarded in August 2010 to UAMS and partner institutions through the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program Comprehensive Community Infrastructure grant. Led by UAMS, e-Link uses high-speed data transmission lines to connect about 400 community institutions for videoconferencing between medical professionals, patients and doctors and others along with the real-time exchange of patient data and readings. “Your approach has been great,” Rosenworcel said. “Instead of building a network and then finding problems to solve with it, you identified many real problems in public health and specific ways a digital health network can be used to solve them.” Rosenworcel especially enjoyed being able to meet an ANGELS patient via live video and observe the patient’s telemedicine consultation. “We are becoming one of the most connected states in the nation, and we believe with that we can use digital health to improve the health and quality of life of Arkansans,” Lowery said.

UAMS’ pioneering work in bringing health care to those who need it through digital health applications has drawn the attention of a top federal official who traveled from Washington D.C. to UAMS recently to see for herself. Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, visited April 29 with UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D.,…

May 2, 2019

Study May Bring Options for Children with Tourette Syndrome

News Staff

McAlister posing for photo with family

Barrett McAlister hopes an ongoing clinical trial at UAMS can help establish a new treatment for Tourette syndrome in children so they can focus on being kids, playing and learning, without worrying about being “different.” “If they’ve got a chance at a normal life, I say take it,” McAlister said. “Take it with both hands.”…

April 29, 2019

Woman Relaxed for First Time in Years After Complex Spine Surgery

Katrina Dupins

Denise Frerichs visits Kazemi in his clinic at UAMS.

Last fall, just getting out of a chair and walking from one room to the next was a labored and painful experience for Denise Frerichs. The pain was excruciating and it ran down from her back to her legs. “The pain started about two years ago. At first I thought it would get better. I…


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