UAMS News


December 7, 2020

UAMS Physician Establishes Second International Guidelines for Treating Castleman Disease

Linda Haymes

“Castleman disease is rare so people don’t know how to treat it and until recently there has not been any systematic approach to unicentric Castleman disease,” said Frits van Rhee M.D., Ph.D., an international expert on Castleman disease. “These guidelines are meant to give treating physicians a framework for the diagnosis and treatment of UCD.”

LITTLE ROCK — Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D., a myeloma researcher and clinician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was lead author on a recently published paper that establishes consensus diagnosis and treatment guidelines for a form of Castleman disease, a rare disorder of the lymph nodes and related tissues. The recommendations…


November 30, 2020

Fellowship-Trained Surgical Oncologist Michail Mavros, M.D., Joins UAMS

Susan Van Dusen

Michail Mavros, M.D.

Michail Mavros, M.D., a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist who specializes in gastrointestinal cancers, has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He sees patients in the Surgical Oncology Clinic at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.


Chancellor’s Circle Spotlight: Graduate Medical Education

Benjamin Waldrum

Chancellor Patterson presents Molly Gathright, M.D. with the $30,000 grant for the UAMS College of Medicine Office of Graduate Medical Education. UAMS has set a goal to increase residency positions in Arkansas by 200 slots over the next 10 years, with at least 50% of those spots in primary care.

The Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME) in the UAMS College of Medicine has an important task: educating and training hundreds of residents and fellows so they can take up needed positions across the state as physicians and specialists. As the state continues to adjust to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s clear that quality physicians are…


November 24, 2020

National Caregivers Month: Early onset dementia

Vanessa Lee

Rodney Smith shares a photo of himself with wife Danielle Smith and reflects on his memories of her.

When two people get married, vows often include through sickness and health, for better or worse. Like most things, these words are often easier when simply spoken. Rodney Smith never expected he’d become his wife’s caregiver, especially not so soon in their lives. He met Danielle when he was 19 while stopping to fill his…


November 23, 2020

Chancellor’s Circle Spotlight: Stocked & Reddie

Benjamin Waldrum

Chancellor Patterson presents Tonya Johnson with the $30,000 grant for Stocked & Reddie. Since opening on July 15, 2019, Stocked & Reddie has provided more than 68,000 meals to more than 1,100 active members.

A little over one year ago, UAMS made good on a promise to build a food pantry for employees and students. Today, Stocked & Reddie has expanded far beyond its humble beginnings, providing welcome relief for thousands during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, a $50,000 grant, awarded by UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, and…


November 17, 2020

Chancellor’s Circle 2020 Spotlight: Wellness Program

Benjamin Waldrum

Chancellor Patterson, at right, presents the wellness team with the $40,000 grant. From right to left are Natalie Cannady, M.Ed., chief wellness officer; Trenda Ray, Ph.D., RN, chief nursing officer; Diane Jarrett, Ed.D., assistant program director for the College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education enterprise; Elizabeth Schmit, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Family & Preventive Medicine; and Shashank Kraleti, M.D., residency program director for the Department of Family & Preventive Medicine.

When UAMS developed a new wellness program in 2019, the goal was to transition from statistical measurements to individualized support for employees and students to help improve their health and life balance. Just one year later, it has become indispensable for UAMS during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UAMS Wellness Program got a boost in 2019…


November 9, 2020

Professional Figure Skater Enjoys Freedom of Movement with New Hip

Katrina Dupins

Billie on Ice

Billie O’Neel has been skating most of her life. Her first pair of roller skates were steel and they clamped onto her shoes. She wore them down to a nub. She spent a lot of time in the roller rink as a child, but when she discovered ice skating, she never looked back. Today the…


November 3, 2020

UAMS Lung Cancer Screening Program Teams up with MammoVan

Susan Van Dusen

Chaunacy McRae

For more than 10 years, women across Arkansas have relied on the UAMS MammoVan for their annual screening mammograms. Now, as the mobile mammography unit rolls across the state, it also will offer patients in designated counties the chance to schedule another important screening — lung cancer.


October 27, 2020

UAMS Lincoln Project Aims to Reduce Prevalence of Heart Disease through Grassroots

News Staff

“Heart disease is about lifestyle – habits are more impactful than heredity,” said Irion “Chip” Pursell, M.P.H., RN, B.S.N., and director of Cardiology Research in the Department of Internal Medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine. Laura Bourdie is research operations manager for the UAMS Lincoln Project.

A million people in Arkansas are living with heart disease – that’s a third of the population – and it puts them at risk for health complications and early death. Exactly why this is the case and how it can be addressed in a holistic way long before these Arkansans end up in an emergency…


October 26, 2020

Second Opinion Leads to Life-Saving Vascular Surgery

Katrina Dupins

Sandra Harvey & DJ Greenlee

Sandra Harvey of Watts, Oklahoma, loves to cook for her husband and their seven grandchildren. She also loves to magnet fish, which is using a strong magnet to try and grab metal objects that are hidden or lost underwater. After a grim diagnosis in August from a Northwest Arkansas physician, she wasn’t sure whether she…



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