|
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Research | Education | Innovation
| |
- Upcoming Events & Opportunities
- Medical Education
- Library & Knowledge Services
| |
|
Upcoming Events & Opportunities | |
Regulatory Strategy for Drug Development
June 7, 2023 | 10 am - 11:30 am
Presenter: Karen L. Houseknecht, PhD
Professor Pharmacology, Fulbright Senior Scholar in Pharmacology, UNE
This lecture is open to members of the UAM, UNE and partner communities, including MaineHealth.
| |  |
|
Blue Star Investigator Certificate Program
Applications Due: June 11
This program is designed to train new investigators in clinical research, good clinical practice, and federal and local regulatory practices. It will be held in person, at Tufts, Fridays from 10:00 am - 12 pm from September 15, 2023 through November 17, 2023. Ideal for someone who wants to conduct their first clinical trial.
This program is free to MaineHealth investigators and 1-2 spots are being held for MH Investigators.
| |
Education Opportunities at the Roux Institute
Did you know you can take advantage of MaineHealth’s tuition reimbursement program for any course at the Roux Institute at Northeastern? In addition to Master Degrees, PhDs and Post Doc work, the Roux offers flexible graduate certificate programs designed for working professionals. Grow new skills and advance your career via real-world coursework taught by expert Northeastern University faculty. Convenient hybrid, (in-person or virtual) course formats are accessible no matter your schedule or where you reside in Maine.
| | |
|
Funding Opportunity for
Early-Career Healthcare Providers
Mentored Research Grant Program
Applications Due: July 10
Maine Medical Center promotes and supports clinical and translational research by junior provider staff through the Mentored Research Grant (MRG) Program. This intramural grant program is designed to encourage and support the intellectual curiosity and research capabilities of awardees. MRG grants are administered by MaineHealth Institute for Research and are expected to generate new knowledge that will be disseminated via presentations and publications to the broader medical and/or public health community.
| |
|
New Standardized Patients
This month, our Standardized Patient team is working hard onboarding nine new Standardized patients! These individuals have applied, been screened and hired and now are attending four in-person training modules, after which they will be ready to portray patients for our program.
Operational Updates
Beth Gray, one of our Simulation Specialists, with a background as a midwife and an educator for midwifery will now bring her passion for women’s health to lead our Gynecologic Teaching Associate (GTA) program, which operates within our Standardized Patient Program. And Karissa Hannifan has completed all of our UME and GME AY23-24 scheduling!
Simulation Team Training
This month’s Quarterly OB Team Training at Maine Medical Center focused on emergency response to an OR fire! Seventy-two interprofessional team members from multiple disciplines attended in person and virtually.
Lincoln Healthcare was the sixth MaineHealth hospital to launch the MOMSim training program that brings OB Emergency team training to MaineHealth member hospitals.
| |
Above: The OB team celebrates managing a fire and saving a patient after quarterly team training. | |
|
Stephen’s Memorial in Norway, ME was the 8th and final MaineHealth hospital to participate in Neonatal resuscitation training with our NICU Sim Team. In this program, neonatologists, neonatal nurse educators, and the sim team travel to MaineHealth hospitals so interprofessional delivery room teams can use simulation to remain ready for neonatal resuscitation.
Right: Delivery room teams practice key neonatal resuscitation skills at Stephen's Memorial Hospital.
| |
|
|
Scholarly Activity
Lambrew Research Retreat - May 3
Simulation was well represented at the Costas Lambrew Research Retreat with NINE different abstracts presented, on simulation-related topics ranging from LGBTQ+ inclusive health care, to neonatal resuscitation, to managing behavioral escalation. Simulation projects won faculty awards in Quality Improvement (Jeff Holmes, MD presenting work using HFMEA to improve neonatal resuscitation safety across MaineHealth birthing hospitals) and Health Profession Education Research (Misty Melendi, MD on behalf of the MOOSE team), as well as the Himmelfarb Research Prize for Dr. Emma Millard presenting her work around management of behavioral escalation with our SP team.
| |
Above: Karissa Hannifan, Rachel Kupferman, and Brandy Brown present two abstracts describing development of simulation curriculum to support LGBTQ+ affirming care. | |
|
International Pediatric Simulation Symposium and Workshop - May 15-19
Simulation team members attended this symposium and actively participated. Details below:
Oral Presentation
-
Leah Mallory on behalf of Jeff Holmes, Micheline Chipman, Anya Cutler, Samantha Piro, Anna Gilbert, Sarah Gabrielson, Mary Ottolini, Alexa Craig, Alison Zanno, Misty Melendi. A Simulated Neonatal Resuscitation Program Uses Healthcare Failure Mode and Effects Analysis to Identify and Categorize Latent Safety Threats Across a Rural Health System
Poster Presentations
-
Jamie Fey of behalf of Leah Mallory, Chris Motyl, Micheline Chipman, Justin Michaud. Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork: Making interprofessional simulation work in your clinical setting.
-
Jamie Fey. Using simulation to evaluate pediatric resident synthesis skills in patient handoffs.
-
Michael Ferguson on behalf of Mary Ottolini, Shelly Chipman, Sarah Gabrielson, Mark Griswold, Tyler Johnson, Leah Mallory, Misty Melendi, Mark Sivak, Scott Valcourt, Allison Zanno, Michael Zubrow, Kristin Greenwood. A Pilot Test of Expert Neonatal Resuscitation Teams Perceptions and Experiences of Mixed Reality Simulation.
| |
|
Undergraduate Medical Education
The academic year is coming to a close for our Class of 2023 Maine Track students, which has been cause for many celebrations and awards for both the students and their fantastic teachers!
On Friday, April 28th, the Maine Track held a Celebration Dinner for our Class of 2023, which was extra special this year with the playing of the Maine Track band! Students celebrated some of their outstanding teachers over the course of their time in Maine as below:
Robert S. Hillman, MD Urban Teaching Award: Jennifer Hayman, MD
Roger A. Renfrew, MD Rural Teaching Award: Harold Van Lonkhuyzen, MD
Robert G. Bing-You, MD Resident Teaching Award: Sarah Bunting, MD
Peter W. Bates, MD Fellow Teaching Award: Anna Meader, MD
Advanced Practice Providers Teaching Award: Catherine LaPointe, APRN-ANP
Two new awards were also presented:
-
Jo E. Linder, MD Student Health Equity Award: Katie Stevenson, M23
- Inclusive Culture Award: Maine Track Anti-Racism Coalition of AY ’22-’23, which consisted of:
Isabelle Doan Van, M23, Zachary Duperry, M24, Noah Manning, M23, Alison
Mittelberger, M24, Ali Omsberg, M23, Lucy Soule, M24, and Emma Williams, M23.
Finally, a new award was introduced with plan to have its first recipient in 2024. The Robert Trowbridge, MD Innovation and Clinical Reasoning Award is established to honor Dr. Trowbridge’s commitment to teaching and modeling clinical reasoning in medicine, as well as his role in the establishment and expansion of the Maine Track of Tufts University School of Medicine. This award celebrates teaching faculty who demonstrate a commitment to building innovative medical curricula, establishing new teaching experiences to advance the clinical reasoning skills of students, and who are considered master medical educators by the students.
| The next morning, the Maine Track Class of 2023 had a Celebration of Graduation ceremony held at the University of Southern Maine. An outstanding keynote address was provided by Caleb Swanberg, MD, Maine Track class of 2015. Listen Here. Alison Bryant, MD offered an excellent student address as well. The entire event can be viewed HERE | | |
|
|
Maine Track Class of 2023 | |
Celebrations continued at the Class of 2023 Awards Dinner in Boston on May 17th. Graduation was held on Sunday, May 21st on the Medford Campus. Congratulations, to award winners below and recently graduated Doctors! | |
|
Maine Track student award winners included:
-
Leon Levinson Prize in Physiology: Zachary Cost
-
Dr. Toby Wesselhoeft Family Medicine Award for Clinical Excellence, Compassion and Service: Wendy Goldman
-
Lous B Weinstein Prize: Ritika Abhyankar
-
Martin J. Loeb Memorial Prize in Medicine: Taylor Mezoian
-
Worth F. Bloom, M25, Prize: Olivia Fauver
-
Charles, M24 and Jane Brusch Prize: Emma Williams
-
American Medical Women’s Association Glasgow-Rubin Academic Achievement Certificate: Emma Williams
-
Massachusetts Medical Society Scholars Award: Katherine Stevenson
-
United States Public Service (USPHS) Excellence in Public Health Award: Katherine Stevenson
| | |
|
Maine Track faculty were also awarded at the dinner:
-
A.O.A. Faculty Award: Rebecca Hunt, MD
-
Distinguished Career Award: Jo Ellen Linder, MD
-
Dr. Jack Mitus Special Faculty Recognition Award: Gabriel Civiello, MD
-
Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching: Julia Brock, MD; Eliza Bullis, MD, M11; Sanjeev Francis, MD; Vicki Hayes, MD; Kinna Thakarar, DO, Robert Trowbridge, MD
-
Housestaff/Fellow Awards for Excellence in Teaching: Amanda Gagnon, MD; Ben Guido, MD, M20; Nadi Kaonga, MD, M19
| |
|
|
Graduate Medical Education
Kalli Varaklis, MD, MSEd - Designated Institutional Official
Click here for a Graduate Medical Education (GME) update.
| | | |
Maine Medical Center Institute for Teaching Excellence (MITE) | |
Library & Knowledge Services | |
Congratulations to Heather Kemp, MLIS and Tim Kenny, MLS who presented their poster at Medical Library Association conference this month in Detroit. Their poster, “Improving PubMed for the Novice at the Expense of the Expert” highlighted survey results from medical expert searchers around the country. The poster is available to view in the Library. | |
|
Cancer Moonshot Biobank Community Engagement Project Awarded Phase 3
| | |
|
The overall goal of the Maine Cancer Genetics/Genomics Education Core (ME-CGEC) is to examine in detail the barriers and facilitators to involvement in CMB and related precision oncology research among cancer patients facing healthcare disparities within the MaineHealth Cancer Care Network (MHCCN), which serves ~70% of Maine’s cancer population. A majority of MHCCN patients are from rural and socioeconomically challenged regions of the state, while an increasing number are from a growing population of immigrant and refugee families in more urban areas of southern Maine.
Through two phases of CMB Community Engagement supplemental funding, we are using community-engaged research to develop and implement locally informed interventions to increase enrollment in the Cancer Moonshot Biobank (CMB) among members of these communities. In Phase 1, community engagement funds supported creation of a community advisory group (CAG), composed of cancer survivors from rural regions of the MHCCN. Funding also supported CMB-focused outreach to community partners. In consultation with the CAG, we interviewed patients, oncologists, and research coordinators to understand reasons socioeconomically disadvantaged rural Mainers may not participate in genomic research, including CMB. That study produced a system map of CMB recruitment and identified specific barriers to patient CMB participation, including misconceptions about research and lack of awareness of research opportunities. The CAG and our community partners reviewed our Phase 1 findings and helped to generate solutions to CMB recruitment barriers in the rural setting. These solutions included broader engagement of community organizations as well as identification and promotion of community champions, knowledgeable about CMB and serving as direct liaisons to cancer patients, supporting CMB education, awareness, and recruitment. Read more
| | |
|
New: Research Studios Program!
The Center for Clinical and Translation Science is offering an incredible resource called Research Studios. Investigators at any level in their careers can present research questions or road blocks to a panel of experts to help workshop and guide their research to the step. Research Studios focus on hypothesis generation, study design, grant review, implementation, analysis and interpretation, manuscript review and translation. Learn more about the program
For questions and to submit a request, contact Paige Ahrens
| | |
|
In the News
>Dr. Abby Fleisch, MHIR Faculty Scientist, was interviewed by the Portland Press Herald regarding her research on PFAS chemicals. Learn more
>The start of an exciting collaboration with our Myocardial Biology and Heart Failure research lab and Yokogawa Fluid Imaging Technologies was highlighted recently. Learn more
>Susan Elias, PhD, MHIR Staff Scientist in the Vector Borne Disease lab, on an impressive personal achievement – she is being elected to the Maine Sports Hall of Fame! Bravo! Read more
>Comprehensive treatment and funding for Long COVID over the past few weeks was a central theme for Dr. Cliff Rosen, Senior Scientist at MHIR. Dr. Rosen was at Capitol Hill with Sally Hodder, MD, the Principal Investigator of RECOVER at West Virginia University. Drs. Rosen and Hodder co-lead an ISCORE RECOVER network and were there to advocate for federal funding for Long COVID (both pictured below with Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine).
In addition, Dr. Rosen is co-author on this recent perspective piece on comprehensive care for Long COVID in the New England Journal of Medicine as well as as featured in this Portland Press Herald article on long COVID research.
|  | |
|
Celebrating Clinical Trails Awareness Day
In 2005, International Clinical Trials Day was launched to commemorate the day when James Lind started the first clinical trial on May 20, 1747. In light of Clinical Trials Awareness Day, the Clinical Trials leadership team would like to showcase the great work many of our MaineHealth Institute for Research staff have been involved in over the past 5 years.
Here at MaineHealth, we have enrolled 5,536 study participants in just over 5 years - give a high five to a clinical research colleague (or yourself) the next time you see them!
| |
|
Congratulations
The Office of Research Ethics and Compliance is extremely pleased to share that the FDA audit of our IRB conducted last spring was officially acknowledged and accepted with no issues or findings reported. Many thanks to our research community for their strong work to keep our institution’s Human Research Protection Program in compliance with all federal regulations!
| |
|
|
QRIG Update
The Qualitative Research Interest Group (QRIG) is an inter-professional group united by an interest in qualitative approaches to health research. In May, we heard from Eilish Carpenter, MPH on research she did with the CBO Prosperity Maine on economic impacts of the COVID pandemic among immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Maine.
On June 22, our presenter will be Mike Kohut, PhD who will be presenting “Do NPS Scores Reflect Patient Attitudes about Telehealth?” Mike will present research comparing patient satisfaction ratings on telehealth visits with open-text comments to explore how well those ratings reflect patient attitudes. The study involved transforming open-text comments into categorical data, which were used as predictors of ratings in a logistic regression model. Everyone is welcome!
If you have a qualitative project and would like to present or would like to stay apprised of QRIG meeting topics, please contact Michael Kohut.
| |
the connective tissue between research, education, and care | |
|
Save the Date! June 14 Innovation Blender
Mother of Fact - Bridging the Gap for Equitable Access to Nutrition and Maternal Care
| |
Join MaineHealth Innovation and the Roux Institute on Wednesday, June 14th from 12:00-12:45 pm via Zoom to share your expertise and insights! The event will feature Emily Sylvester, Founder and CEO of Mother of Fact.
For women’s health clinics, Mother of Fact offers a digital health platform that connects patients with critical access to registered dietitians. The mission of Mother of Fact is to save lives by providing equitable access to lifesaving maternal and infant nutrition guidance, health confidence, evidenced-based information, and better maternal care.
| |
Mother of Fact is attempting to disrupt a $250 billion healthcare delivery market with a scalable, wraparound digital health model that can tackle the US maternal care crisis, and unacceptable maternal and infant death rates in the US, using cost-effective preventative nutrition care. The company's evidence-based B2B2C platform strives to provide access to nutrition tracking, preventative monitoring, and daily coaching from credentialed dietitians. Come brainstorm with us and learn more about Mother of Fact. Register Here
|
| |
Intellectual Property Fosters Discovery and Development of Inventions of Care Team Members
| |
Many care team members come to the Innovation Center to learn about intellectual property and to seek guidance on their innovation ideas. Watch our new Innovation video and hear from a few MaineHealth innovators who have been engaged with IP.
Watch the video.
| |
|
Fall 2023 Call for Applications!
Advance Your Innovative Idea through the Innovation Cohort and Innovation Ignite Fund
| |
|
Innovation Cohort
Have an idea for a novel solution, but unsure how to advance it? This 8-week program helps MaineHealth care team members advance an early innovative "back of the envelope" idea that addresses an unmet care need. Collaborate with fellow care team members and discover what you need to make your idea grow.
Applications are due October 1 at 12:00 pm Learn More and Apply
| | |
|
Innovation Ignite Fund
Need help accelerating your idea? This program provides seed investment funding of up to $20,000 to help innovators understand their user pain points, pilot an solution, build a prototype, or test an assumption.
Applications are due October 1 at 12:00 pm Learn More and Apply
| |
|
Easing Anxiety: VR Helps Pediatric Patients through Scary Procedures
When pediatric patients require infusion therapy, the experience can often make them feel anxious or nervous. Dr. Aaron Weiss, Nurse Amanda McGeachey and their colleagues at the new Sam L. Cohen Pediatric Infusion Center at Maine Children’s Cancer Program (MCCP) wanted to alleviate the stress for these kids and thought virtual reality might be the answer.
They brought the idea to MaineHealth Innovation and took part in the 2022 Spring Cohort to develop the concept. With the support and guidance of the Cohort, they’ve created a program to provide patient’s virtual and augmented reality experiences to distract them and create a calming environment during their procedures. Moving forward, more staff will be trained to assist patients with VR, and there’s potential to expand VR access to other locations, such as the emergency room, radiology and radiation therapy, where the ability to remain still during a procedure can be critical for patient care. Read More
| |
|
Keep up with MaineHealth Innovation by signing up for Innovation's monthly newsletter.
MaineHealth Innovation builds connections to drive diversity of thought, educates to produce creative problem-solvers, and funds to accelerate ideas. By leveraging the ideas, insights and expertise of all care team members to develop novel solutions to our unmet care needs, we are working together so our communities are the healthiest in America.
To learn more about these or other innovation opportunities at MaineHealth, visit the MaineHealth Innovation website or email innovation_center@mainehealth.org.
| |
Academic Affairs | academicaffairs@mainehealth.org | | | | |
