RWJ Medicine • Spring 2019
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A PUBLICATION FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS OF RUTGERS ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON MEDICAL SCHOOL SUMMER • 2019 S f f Social Media HIGHLIGHTS FOLLOW US on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for News about the Medical School in Real Time! rwjms RWJMS RWJMedicalschool @vishrajmd RWJMS rwjms @RWJMS doc.meesh Don’t forget to tag #RWJMS when you post! We want to see what you’re up to! LETTER FROM THE DEAN Dear Friends, am delighted to serve as interim dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and have the opportunity to lead the school as we enter the second year of the RWJBarnabas Health–Rutgers IUniversity partnership, offering expanded patient care and educational opportunities. On a personal level, I am working with a distinguished faculty who have been friends and colleagues throughout my 14 years leading Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. This issue of Robert Wood Johnson Medicine highlights people at this school who make academic med- icine so exciting as, together, we pursue continued success in our commitment to providing great care to every patient. Our cover article, “TeamSTEPPS: Student-Led Teamwork Training Focuses on Patient Safety” (page 17), underscores the importance of student-led initiatives. Piloted by two student-veterans, the project is fulfilling our vision of teaching strong teamwork skills to reduce medical risk and improve patient outcomes. We turn to the career of Stephen R. Brant, MD, professor of medicine and chief, division of gastroenterol- ogy and hepatology (“Sails Up,” page 27). Dr. Brant identified key regulators of inflammatory bowel disease and later expanded research into afflicted but unstudied populations. As associate director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Center of New Jersey, he regularly sees patients—his favorite part of the week. As we continue to grow our clinical enterprise to make top-notch care accessi- ble to all patients, andrologist Nikhil Gupta, MD, assistant professor of surgery, helps us achieve that goal by restoring sexual function and hope to men of all ages (page 10). A second andrologist, Aaron Grotas, MD ’02 (page 46), is an assistant profes- sor of urology at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. A cofounder of the Mount Sinai ANDREW HANENBERG Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, he performs gender-affirming sur- gery and reconstructs past procedures that have become problematic. Vera Bennett, MD ’91 (“Advocating for Mothers and Babies in the White Mountains of Arizona,” page 44) is a pioneer in breastfeeding medicine and a fearless champion for her patients. She is pursuing a degree in public health while supporting local efforts to provide shelter, care, and advocacy for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and elder abuse. Dedication flows both ways. Lawrence J. Goldstein and his wife, Barbara, are confident that gastroen- terologist Michel Kahaleh, MD (page 35), saved Mr. Goldstein’s life during an episode of acute pancreatitis. Their $1 million pledge to the medical school will support Dr. Kahaleh’s research on minimally invasive pro- cedures to treat bowel and pancreatic disorders. We could not be more grateful for their generosity. This issue of Robert Wood Johnson Medicine has given me a new level of appreciation for my colleagues’ dedication to patient care. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have. Sincerely, Robert L. Johnson, MD, FAAP Interim Dean Robert Wood Johnson I MEDICINE 1 Contents SUMMER 2019 FEATURES Three Department Chairs Bring 3 Progressive Visions to the Table SATHI: A Medical School-Born 30 Initiative to Improve the Health of South Asians Educating patients in the South Asian community, help- ing physicians recognize problems endemic to those from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, and conducting research into this population’s The three recently appointed department chairs at health issues are why Sunanda Gaur, MD, professor of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School speak TeamSTEPPS: pediatrics, helped create the South Asian Total Health with great conviction about the motivation that drives 17 Student-Led Teamwork Training Initiative in 2007. More than 10 years since its founding, them and the experiences that have inspired them. Focuses on Patient Safety SATHI is improving the health of many of the 200,000 They represent decades of excellence in their specialties Student-veterans proposed and led an education South Asian residents in New Jersey. and are eager to add their knowledge to the highly initiative based on a military teamwork training model By Jacqueline Cutler regarded medical school’s legacy. with safety as its goal. With meticulous research and By Lynda Rudolph extensive preparation, this student-led program has laid the groundwork for system change. DEPARTMENTS Andrology: By Kate O’Neill 10 A New Subspecialty Letter from the Dean 1 Urologist Nikhil Gupta, MD, is the Chancellor’s News 34 medical school’s first andrologist. Challenge 23 Research News 39 In this field, which concerns male Motivates Medical reproductive health, including School Community Letter from the endocrinology, surgery, and as Donors Rally Alumni Association President 41 genetics, Dr. Gupta treats male to the Cause Class Notes 51 infertility, sexual dysfunction, The medical school celebrates the response benign prostatic hyperplasia, and to the 2018 Chancellor’s $1 Million Challenge. Donor erectile dysfunction. gifts are expanding career opportunities for students and By Kate O’Neill decreasing financial anxiety, while individual and dedi- ALUMNIPROFIL ES cated scholarships continue to support gifted students. The Magic of Medicine: MS Nirav Desai, MD ’05: By Kate O’Neill 13 Program Provides Patient- Making an Impact on Centered Care to Pediatric Patients Sails Up! Steven R. Brant, MD, Childhood Obesity 42 It’s estimated that more than 27 Leads Division of By Lynda Rudolph 8,000 American children are Gastroenterology Vera Bennett, MD ’91: currently fighting multiple Physician-scientist Steven R. Advocating for Mothers and Babies sclerosis. The Pediatric MS Brant, MD, professor of medicine in the White Mountains of Arizona 44 Program at Rutgers Health’s and chief, division of gastro- By Jodi McCaffrey Child Health Institute of New enterology and hepatology, is Jersey, the only dedicated devoted to the study and treat- Aaron Grotas, MD ’02: Urologist and Subspecialist in pediatric MS program in the ment of inflammatory bowel Transgender Surgery 46 state, works with pediatric-specific ophthalmology, disease. A five-year renewal of By Kate O’Neill rehabilitation, physical therapy, psychology, urology, 16 years of continuous funding nephrology, and cognitive specialists to provide cutting- will help invigorate the Crohn’s and Colitis Center of Molly Cohen-Osher, MD ’05: edge therapies, patient and family education, and New Jersey, benefiting thousands of patients. Remembering the Vulnerability access to clinical trials. By Kate O’Neill of Students 48 By Jodi McCaffrey By Jacqueline Cutler Interim Dean Writers Alumni Association Officers: Robert Wood Johnson Robert L. Johnson, MD, FAAP Jacqueline Cutler • Jodi McCaffrey President Treasurer Kate O’Neill • Lynda Rudolph Executive Editor Elena Frid, MD ’06 Hank Lubin, MD ’83 Patricia M. Hansen, MA Copy Editor Vice President MEDICINE Chief of Staff and Executive Richard Slovak Deborah Saez-Lacy, MD ’86 Director, Communications and Art Direction/Design A Publication for Alumni and Friends of Public Affairs Barbara Walsh Graphic Design Editorial and Advertising Office: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson MedicalSchool Editor Cover Art Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Jillian Prior, MPA Composite Illustration 317 George Street • Suite 215 • New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Summer 2019 • V o l u m e 19, N u m b e r 1 Manager, Alumni Affairs by Barbara Walsh Tel: 732-235-6307 • Fax: 732-235-9570 • rwjms.rutgers.edu 2 Robert WoodJohnson I MEDICINE Three Department Chairs Bring to the Table he three recently appointed department chairs at Rutgers TRobert Wood Johnson Medical School all speak with great conviction about the motivation that drives them and the experiences that have inspired them. They represent decades of excellence in their own specialties and are eager to add their clinical and research knowledge to the highly regarded medical school faculty’s legacy. BY LYNDA RUDOLPH Top left: Céline Gélinas, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Biochemistry and PHOTOS BY: JOHN EMERSON Molecular Biology • Center left: Keith P. Lewis, RPh, MD, professor and chair, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine • Bottom left: Anil Nanda, MD, MPH, professor and chair, joint Department of Neurosurgery, and senior vice president, neurosurgical services at RWJBarnabas Health. Robert Wood Johnson I MEDICINE 3 Céline Gélinas, PhD éline Gélinas, PhD, professor and chair, Department understand how they contribute to cancer and resistance to of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, remembers therapy.” Other research related to HIV is also ongoing— Chow an internship changed her career direction. finding ways to eliminate latent HIV infection that can “One summer when I was a chemistry major as an under- remain hidden for a long period of time in individuals on grad, a series of experiences in research led me to become antiretroviral drug therapy. more interested in biochemistry, virology, and cancer. These Dr. Gélinas is a member of the Rutgers Biomedical and opened my mind to pursue a new direction,” she says. Since Health Sciences Council of Research Deans and has served then, her own forays into research have gained her an inter- on many institutional and external committees, including as national reputation. Her vision for the department is no less editor and as reviewer for several study sections of the ambitious. National Institutes of Health. She is also the recipient of Dr. Gélinas has been part of the Robert Wood Johnson numerous honors for academic and research excellence, has Medical School faculty since 1988, when she became a resi- received two postdoctoral fellowships, and was presented an dent member of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and award from the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Medicine and assistant professor in the Department of Research.