Monthly Momentos: April 2024
This ongoing blog series celebrates people, milestones, and achievements from across our health system. Content is adapted from monthly updates shared with the University of Utah Board of Trustees.
From opening a school-based clinic at West High to celebrating Match Day to a PSA with Elmo, there was no shortage of good news this month at University of Utah Health.
Kudos
- Becker’s Hospital Review named Mary Beckerle, PhD, CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah and Associate Vice President of Cancer Affairs, one of 196+ women hospital presidents and CEOs to know in 2024.
- Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, PhD, was named a Top Female Scientist in the U.S. for 2023 for the second year in a row. She is a professor of psychiatry and associate director of the Mental Research, Education, and Clinical Centers for the Salt Lake City VA Health Care System.
- Wendy Hobson-Rohrer, MD, MSPH, Associate Vice President for Health Sciences Education, was selected as Program Chair-elect for the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, the largest international academic gathering for pediatrics.
- Krystal L. Moorman-Bishir, PharmD, associate professor of pharmacotherapy, is one of 28 pharmacists nationwide to be named a 2024 American Society of Health System Pharmacists Fellow.
- Liz Sloss, PhD, MBA, RN, research assistant professor of nursing, was selected for the competitive two-year Alliance of Nursing Informatics (ANI) Emerging Leaders program.
- “Winding Path,” a U of U Health-produced documentary featuring a U medical student, and “Between Earth and Sky,” a documentary featuring U biologist Nalini Nadkarni, played at the Martha’s Vinyard Film Festival. “Winding Path” also played at the Sonoma Film Festival and Maoriland Film Festival in New Zealand.
Achievements in Education
- Graduating medical students at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine participated in nationwide Match Day. Students learned which specialties, hospitals, and care centers they have matched to for their residency training. The University of Utah had a 97.3% match rate with 106 students matching to 89 programs, in 24 specialties, across 34 states. Additionally, 37 students matched into primary care specialties and 38 matched into Utah residencies
- The School of Dentistry continues providing care for more of Utah’s underserved communities while offering top-notch clinical experience for its students and residents. In 2023, the school had 34,216 visits from underserved patients (self-pay and Medicaid), up from 29,026 visits in 2022.
Achievements in Clinical Care
- Utah ranks fourth among the top 15 best states for physicians to practice in the U.S., according to Wallethub’s 2024 ranking. The annual ranking is based on opportunity, competition, and medical environment.
Achievements in Research
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In a two-year study led by Madeleine French, MS, RDN, an instructor in nutrition and integrative physiology, Spanish language interpreters and nutrition graduate students taught more than 100 classes in Salt Lake County to introduce participants to healthy, economical, culturally relevant cooking. As participants transitioned to eating more fruit and drinking less sugar-sweetened beverages, they saw significant improvements in blood pressure, BMI, and triglycerides. The research intervention findings were published in Nutrients in February 2024.
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Under the direction of Sean Flynn, PhD, director of research training programs, a new Biomedical Research Education Office (BREO) was formed to prepare trainees to be leaders in the modern biomedical workforce. As a hub for research and education, BREO will serve graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the five health sciences schools and colleges.
Achievements in Community Collaboration
- The Department of Pediatrics partnered with the Salt Lake City School District and Salt Lake Education Foundation to open the state’s first high-school-based clinic at West High School. The clinic provides integrated physical, mental, and behavioral care for all high schoolers in the SLC School District. It’s also a adolescent medicine training site for U of U Health primary care physicians.
- Sesame Workshop, the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street, launched a new public service announcement video with the Ad Council for their “Love, Your Mind” campaign developed with Huntsman Mental Health Institute. The video features Elmo and his friends highlighting the benefits of humming for people’s overall emotional well-being.
