University News

Pictured with the award, left to right: Erika Petersen, M.D., neurosurgeon; John Day, M.D., chair of the Department of Neurosurgery; Viktoras Palys, M.D., neurosurgeon; and Ebonye Green, APRN, Department of Neurosurgery. Not pictured: Analiz Rodriguez, M.D., neurosurgeon.

Healthgrades Ranks UAMS in Top 10% of Nation for Brain Surgery; Also Applauds Stroke Program

Jan. 14, 2022 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) ranks among the top 10% of hospitals nationwide for cranial neurosurgery, according to a new analysis by Healthgrades, a leading resource that connects consumers, physicians and health systems. Healthgrades awarded UAMS a 2022 Cranial Neurosurgery Excellence Award, which recognizes hospitals with superior clinical outcomes in cranial neurosurgery,...

UAMS Occupational Therapy Students Break Ground, Complete Mental Health Fieldwork

Jan. 11, 2022 | This story was written by Meeghan Gotcher, a senior Public Health major at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Students at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) became the first Occupational Therapy (OT) students in Arkansas to participate in mental health fieldwork in locations across the state. People who are experiencing mental...

Patricia Cowan, Ph.D., RN, the dean of the UAMS College of Nursing

Patricia Cowan, Ph.D., RN, Selected as Evaluator for Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education

Jan. 10, 2022 | Patricia Cowan, Ph.D., RN, the dean of the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) College of Nursing, was selected as an on-site evaluator for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), an accrediting agency for baccalaureate, graduate and residency programs in nursing.

Kirk West, Ph.D., UAMS' first recipient of the American Cancer Society's Postdoctoral Fellowship

Kirk West, Ph.D., Receives American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship

Jan. 6, 2022 | Kirk West, Ph.D., a Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute researcher, is the first UAMS scientist to be awarded the prestigious American Cancer Society (ACS) Postdoctoral Fellowship. Only 14% of ACS fellowships are funded from a nationwide pool of applicants. The three-year fellowship will help fund West’s research on the role of LC8-TLK1/2 axis in the...

Gov. Asa Hutchinson talks with National Guard soldiers who have been deployed to UAMS to help with COVID-19 testing.

Governor Welcomes 12 National Guard Soldiers to UAMS COVID Testing Facility

Jan. 5, 2022 | Gov. Asa Hutchinson visited the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Tuesday to welcome 12 Arkansas National Guard soldiers who were assisting with COVID-19 testing.

UAMS e-Link Bridging the Gap Between Parents, NICU

Jan. 4, 2022 | New mom Jaclyn Becker of Bryant said the experience of having her first child hasn’t been what she imagined. Ridley Becker was born Oct. 26 at 25 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 4 ounces. He’s been in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) since that time. “Being separated from him has been really hard,” she said....

"One of the best lessons this pandemic has taught us is there are lots of ways to do things right," Graduate School Dean Robert McGehee Jr., Ph.D. told a crowd of about 50 students, faculty and staff at a recent Annual Winter Awards reception.

Graduate School Celebrates Students, Faculty and Staff at Annual Winter Awards Reception

Jan. 3, 2022 | Students, faculty and staff from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Graduate School celebrated recent achievements with a reception and awards presentation on Dec. 9. A crowd of about 50 students, faculty and staff gathered in the atrium of the Biomedical II building for an afternoon reception before departing for winter break. Graduate...

Erika Santos Horta, M.D., a neuro-oncologist and neuro-immunologist

National Multiple Sclerosis Society Names UAMS a Center for Comprehensive MS Care

Dec. 30, 2021 | The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has been designated a Center for Comprehensive MS Care by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

MaryBeth Curtis, RN, of the UAMS Department of Family and Preventive Medicine (second from left), holds a card alerting patients that 45 is the new baseline age for colorectal screening. Curtis, PICS AR program manager, is surrounded at 1st Choice Healthcare’s Ash Flat clinic by clinic employees (from left) Deborah King, APRN; Starla Smith, APRN; and Denise Boyer, RN and nurse navigator. The card says “45 is the new FIT-ty” and will be sent to patients as they turn 45, along with a kit they can use for their at-home test.

Department of Family & Preventive Medicine’s Colorectal Screening Project Sees Progress in First Year

Dec. 28, 2021 | Colorectal cancer screening rates jumped by almost 8% in northeast Arkansas clinics that partnered with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) during the first year of a five-year project to increase screening in the state.

The Little Rock campus of UAMS in early fall 2020, as viewed through the branches of a tree along Hooper Drive, was home to many positive developments in 2021.

UAMS Stays on Course despite New Challenges from COVID-19 Pandemic

Dec. 27, 2021 | As UAMS did everything it could to fight COVID-19, it maintained its commitment to excellence and its core values during the public health crisis — a commitment that was noticed by multiple national organizations and publications.