U.S. News & World Report Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report ranked UChicago Medicine’s diabetes and endocrinology program as No.17 in its 2022-2023 “Best Hospitals” survey.
•  Lou Philipson, MD, PhD, is actively recruiting for GLADIATOR, a phase 3 multi-site clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of ladarixin in preserving beta-cell function and delaying the progression of recent-onset type 1 diabetes.
• Celeste Thomas, MD, and Katie O’Sullivan, MD, launched the program “Diabetes INSIDE 2.0” to improve the quality of care provided to youth and young adults with type 2 diabetes. The program is in partnership with the American Diabetes Association and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
• Amy Hess-Fischl, MS, RDN, LDN, BC-ADM, CDCES, received the 2022 Outstanding Educator in Diabetes Award from the American Diabetes Association. The award recognizes a healthcare professional who has made outstanding efforts in diabetes education. On June 4, 2022, Hess-Fischl delivered the award lecture “We Are the Champions, My Friends: Adventures in Diabetes Care and Education.”
• Celeste Thomas, MD, is the incoming president for the Illinois Community Leadership Board of the American Diabetes Association. 
• Alexandra M. Dumitrescu MD, PhD, was a plenary speaker at the 91^st annual American Thyroid Association meeting in October 2022. In this session, Dumitrescu highlighted recent developments in basic science research in thyroidology during the past year.
• Marilyn Arosemena, MD, was named a 2022 Physician Scientist Fellow by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. This program provides outstanding subspecialty fellows with $220,000 over two years to conduct additional research and enhance their skills and knowledge as clinician investigators.
• Raghavendra Mirmira, MD, PhD, successfully renewed his NIH R01 “Transcriptional and Translational Mechanisms Governing Beta Cell Function,” which is entering its third decade of continuous funding.
• Rochelle Naylor, MD, was awarded an American Diabetes Association grant for the project “Patient-centered adaptive clinical decision support for implementing precision medicine for maturity-onset diabetes of the young.” The goal of the project is to develop tools that will help patients with monogenic diabetes find their best treatment strategies.
• Raghavendra Mirmira, MD, PhD, was awarded NIH funding as part of a multiple PI, multi-institutional grant studying the implications of changes in islet exosomal cargo in type 1 diabetes.
• Antonio Bianco, MD, PhD, wrote the book Rethinking Hypothyroidism, published by the University of Chicago Press. A leading expert on hypothyroidism, Bianco explains why standard treatments are failing many patients and calls for alternatives that will improve lives.

• Many UChicago Medicine team members received national recognition and honors, including:
  • Eugene Chang, MD, and Bana Jabri, MD, PhD, were elected as members of the Association of American Physicians
  • Eugene Chang, MD, was elected as member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation
  • Janice Colwell, APN, MS, received the National Magnet Nurse of the Year Award
  • Neil H. Hyman, MD, recently completed his term as President of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons
  • David T. Rubin, MD, was named the Chair of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation National Scientific Advisory Committee through 2024
  • Carol E. Semrad, MD, received the Master Endoscopist Award from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE).
  • Uzma Siddiqui, MD, was announced to receive the Master Endoscopist Award from the ASGE in 2023
  • Helen S. The, MD, received the American Society of Transplantation’s Physician of Distinction Award during the Annual Transplant Congress.
  • Patricia Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, received the 2022 Dr. Nina Starr Braun Wald Award in recognition of her contributions to the advancement of women in surgery. Dr. Turner also serves as the current Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons
  • Yakini Vigneswaran, MD, MS, was named to the Association of Women Surgeons “40-under-40” list this year

• Federal Programmatic and High Impact Federal Awards include:
  • Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Inflammatory Intestinal Disorders (P30) – Bana Jabri, MD, PhD
  • Host and microbial basis of human ulcerative colitis and pouchitis: Identification, role, mechanisms, and resource development of host susceptibility and pathobiont factors and pouchitis – Eugene Chang, MD
  • ACCISIS-Chicago – Karen Kim, MD

• Faculty members continued publications of their research and clinical scholarship:
  • AASLD Practice Guidance on the Clinical Assessment and Management of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
  • High-fat diet disrupts REG3g and gut microbial rhythms promoting metabolic dysfunction
  • Outcomes of Ileoanal Pouch Anastomosis in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Are Worse in the Modern Era: A Time Trend Analysis Outcomes Following Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis
  • High-Fat Diet Alters the Retinal Pigment Epithelium and Choroidal Transcriptome in the Absence of Gut Microbiota
  • What Does Disease Progression Look Like in Ulcerative Colitis, and How Might It Be Prevented?
  • A Summary of the BRIDGe Summit on Damage-Related Progression of Ulcerative Colitis: Establishing Research Priorities
  • Relatively Poor Long-term Outcomes Following Liver Transplantation for NASH in the United States
  • Broadening our Understanding of the Immune Landscape in Lynch Syndrome
  • American Gastroenterological Association Institute and College of American Pathologists Quality Measure Development for Detection of Mismatch Repair Deficiency and Lynch Syndrome Management
  • Restarting Warfarin vs Direct Oral Anticoagulants After Major Gastrointestinal Bleeding and Associated Outcomes in Atrial Fibrillation: A Cohort Study
  • Digestive Health in Sexual and Gender Minority Populations
  • The Development and Initial Findings of a Study of a Prospective Adult Research Cohort with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (SPARC IBD)
  • Coagulopathy and hemostasis management in patients undergoing liver transplantation: Defining a dynamic spectrum across phases of care
  • Association between Sustained Virologic Response and Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Hepatitis C Infection and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
  • Quality Indicators for Capsule Endoscopy and Deep Enteroscopy
  • Safety and efficacy of a novel resection system for direct endoscopic necrosectomy of walled-off pancreas necrosis: A prospective, international, multicenter trial
  • Dysphagia in Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia
  • Overcoming disparities for sexual and gender minority patients and providers in gastroenterology and hepatology: introduction to Rainbows in Gastro
  • Study in twins identifies fecal microbiome differences in food allergies
  • Endoscopic Phenotype of the J Pouch in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A New Classification for Pouch Outcomes         
  • Expression of obesity-associated genes correlate with metabolic and behavioral changes linked to obesity
  • Restoring gut microbes missing in early life dysbiosis can reduce the risk of colitis in genetically prone mice

• Initiated a randomized controlled trial using voice-activated technology to improve mobility and reduce health disparities in older adults.
• Created an interprofessional longitudinal curriculum for pre-clinical medical students.
• Established a perioperative surgical and anesthesia aging and frailty research collaborative.
• Awarded a Choosing Wisely campaign challenge on post-acute care handoffs for oncology patients.
• Published on care transition issues in older adults with opioid use disorders. 

UChicago Medicine’s Heart Transplant Program is the best in the country. We achieved the best one-year survival and the shortest time-to-transplant for patients waiting to receive a new heart. (Source: SRTR, July 2021, January 2022).

We have the most comprehensive and innovative Robotic Heart Surgery Program in the world, offering multi-vessel totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass (TECAB) surgery, valve repair and replacement, surgery to correct atrial fibrillation and pericardiectomy.

We have the largest Bloodless Cardiac Surgery Program in the country, providing heart transplants, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), complex valve cases and reoperative sternotomies.

The Heart and Vascular Center was ranked as the 21st best cardiology hospital in the world and the best in Illinois, according to the independent 2022 ranking of the World’s Best Specialized Hospitals, conducted by Newsweek/Statista.

UChicago Medicine's cardiology & heart surgery specialties were ranked as high-performing in U.S. News & World Report's 2021-22 Best Hospitals survey results.

Francis Almeda, MD, Michael H. Davidson, MD, Jeanne DeCara, MD, Roberto M. Lang, MD, James K Liao, Atman P. Shah, MD, Matthew Sorrentino, MD, R. Parker Ward, MD, John E. Blair, MD, Jonathan D. Paul, MD, Husam H. Balkhy, MD, Valluvan Jeevanandam, MD, Ross Milner, MD and Christopher Skelly, MD, were named “Top Doctors” in the Chicago area based on a selective annual list published by Chicago magazine.

• Our neurology/neurosurgery specialties ranked 45th nationally on the U.S. News & World Report 2022-23 “Best Hospitals” list.
• James Brorson, MD, Adil Javed, MD, PhD, Thomas J. Kelly, MD, Richard Kraig, MD, PhD, James A. Mastrianni, MD, PhD, Deric M. Park, MD, Shyam Prabhakaran, MD, MS, Anthony Reder, MD, and Raymond Roos, MD, were named “Top Brain Doctors” in the Chicago area, based on a selective annual list published by Chicago magazine.
• Peter Warnke, MD, and his team successfully completed the first vagus nerve stimulation implantation procedure in the Midwest. Paired with rehabilitation, this implant can help patients who have suffered from a stroke regain hand and arm movements.
• The University of Chicago received a $10 million gift from the Lohengrin Foundation to help establish a center of excellence in research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The gift will establish the Center for Motor Neuron Disease (CMND), led by Raymond Roos, MD, to support biological research on the cellular processes and genetic causes of these conditions, as well as clinical studies into potential treatments.
• We are one of the leading centers to offer MRI-guided laser ablation to treat various forms of epilepsy and brain tumors in adults and children, and we recently added a directional laser system allowing us to shape the laser ablations to the patient’s tumor contour.
• The UChicago Medicine Telestroke Network, which launched last year, enables on-site and remote stroke experts to work collaboratively in real time to diagnose and treat stroke patients as quickly as possible, reducing stroke-related disabilities. We are the Regional Coordinator Center for the National Institutes of Health Stroke Trials Network that oversees the conduct of leading-edge trials in acute stroke, stroke prevention and recovery. The Comprehensive Stroke Center at UChicago Medicine also received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Achievement Award. The hospital has been named as well to the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite and to the Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.
• Our Cerebral Cavernous Malformation (CCM) program is the first Center of Excellence to have been accredited by the Alliance to Cure Cavernous Malformation, and one of only 12 such centers in the U.S. The Center and its integrated clinical and translational research teams are developing the first blood tests that are aimed to predict bleeding in lesions, based on NIH funded and patented research discoveries. Patients also participated in the first clinical trial of atorvastatin versus placebo aimed at decreasing hemorrhage in CCM lesions, funded by the NIH, and other federally funded research on imaging biomarkers and trial readiness projects. Recently, the CCM team received a Department of Defense grant to develop the disease’s first gene replacement therapy and biomarkers of gene restoration.
• The Neurovascular Surgery Program, including Issam Awad, MD, Bakhtiar Yamini, MD, and Sean Polster, MD, complements the growing neuroendovascular and stroke neurology teams in protocolized multidisciplinary care. The integrated program has recorded a 230% increase in clinical activity in the past two years. The team’s publications have achieved more than 84,490 peer reviewed citations, which is more than any other program in the country (Google Scholar, Scopus). The faculty oversee an annual federal research portfolio of more than $2 million, funded through 2025. Research includes CCM projects, cerebral microbleeds in the aged, novel surgeries for hemorrhagic stroke (CLEAR and MISTIE) and hemorrhagic brain changes after radiation therapy.
• We have been designated a Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) Center of Excellence by the CURE HTT Foundation. We are one of 31 HHT Centers in North America.
• Our Ataxia Center is home to internationally renowned experts in neurogenetic disorders who collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of specialists, including physiologists, neuroimagers and geneticists, to care for patients with neurogenetic disorders, gait and balance disorders and ataxias.
• Our deep brain stimulation (DBS) program continues to lead the way in using the procedure to treat patients who have movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, dystonia or essential tremor. We were also the first hospital in Chicago to implant a directional DBS electrode in combination with a recording impulse generator, allowing to uniquely fine-tune deep brain stimulation to the individual patient’s symptoms (Percept PC combined with SenSight electrodes).
• We are a designated Information and Referral Center by the American Parkinson Disease Association for our excellence in state-of-the-art patient care and our quest to find improved therapies through high-level research. Tao Xie, MD, PhD, leads aresearch team for Parkinson’s patients treated at UChicago Medicine and is also part the Racial Disparities in Parkinson Disease study, a multi-site, an NIH-sponsored project looking at the clinical phenotype, management and genetics.
• The Centers for Multiple Sclerosis, Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) and Autoimmune Brain Disease provide patients across the country with comprehensive and coordinated care for MS and demyelinating diseases using the latest advanced treatments.
• Our neurotrauma program, now in its fifth year following the opening of the UChicago Medicine Level 1 trauma center, continues to treat hundreds of patients with blunt and penetrating brain and spine injuries. Due to our unique experience as a high-volume trauma center serving the South Side of Chicago, the neurotrauma program has published several high-impact manuscripts and recently was awarded two Department of Defense grants on this topic.
• The Margaret Hackett Family Program (MHFP) at UChicago Medicine is one of the few entities in the country dedicated to providing comprehensive care for children and adults with central nervous system (CNS) congenital anomalies. The program seeks to create a centralized source of information regarding CNS congenital anomalies so patients and families can find resources to better understand their diagnoses and options. The MHFP is driving research focused on advancing the understanding of CNS congenital anomalies with the hope of developing improved treatments. In addition, we are home to nationally known programs for adults and children with neurofibromatosis and tuberous sclerosis.
• UChicago Medicine collaborates with Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, Illinois, to bring nationally ranked experts and a full range of technologies and treatments to Will County so patients can have high-level neurological cancer care, stroke care and neurosurgery access. The two hospitals already collaborate in cancer care and other areas.
• Our neurosciences team was awarded $3.1 million from the National Institute of Mental Health. This project will investigate the dynamics of human hippocampal activity that support memory for life events in unprecedented detail, by combining intracranial/neurosurgical recordings of brain activity, time-resolved, eye-tracking assays of memory, and electrical stimulation designed to selectively enhance or inhibit hippocampal-dependent memory. Joel Voss, PhD, is leading the study.
• New this year, we received funding from the NIH for a program called Dynamic Experiences in Neuroscience to Diversify Research Internship Training Exposures for Students (DENDRITES), which aims at encouraging and supporting the research and career development of underrepresented in medicine (URM) undergraduate students interested in basic, clinical, and translational neuroscience. The program hosts eight visiting students each year to participate in an intensive research program under the direction of faculty mentors, introducing them to cutting-edge research methods and solidifying their commitment to pursuing research careers in neurology and neurosurgery.

• The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center and its Foundation have awarded John Carpten, PhD, the 2022 Simon M. Shubitz Cancer Prize and Lectureship for pioneering investigations into biological disparities in cancer outcomes among underserved populations.
• Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of American Cancer Institutes.
• Wendy Stock, MD, and Peter H. O’Donnell, MD, were chosen to lead committees for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. Stock will co-chair the Leukemia Committee and O’Donnell will head the Pharmacogenomics and Population Pharmacology Committee. The Alliance network promotes collaboration among 10,000 cancer specialists in North America.
• Akash Patnaik, MD, PhD, MMSc, received a $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study new immunotherapeutic strategies for aggressive prostate cancer.
• Shannon Elf, PhD, received a three-year, $225,000 Medical Research Award from the Gabrielle's Angel Foundation. The Foundation awards grants to top junior oncology investigators.
• Russell Szmulewitz, MD, was awarded a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to establish The University of Chicago Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Program.
• Chuan He, PhD,was appointed as editor-in-chief for the American Chemical Society journal ACS Chemical Biology.
• The Center for International Bone and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) has recognized UChicago Medicine for having the highest one-year survival rate in Illinois – 80% for adult patients in the past three years.
• We recently launched a theranostics program, an emerging field of medicine that simultaneously or sequentially diagnoses and treats select cancers like neuroendocrine and prostate.
• Zhen Tian, PhD, received a $1.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop an artificial intelligence-driven treatment planning system of stereotactic radiosurgery for the management of multiple brain metastases.
• Akash Patnaik, MD, PhD, MMSc, received a $2.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study new immunotherapeutic strategies for aggressive prostate cancer while Russell Szmulewitz, MD, was awarded a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to establish the University of Chicago Prostate Cancer Clinical Research Program.
• Led by Marina Chiara Garassino, MD, and Alexander Pearson, MD, PhD, UChicago Medicine has joined the I3LUNG project, a research initiative funded by a five-year, €10M grant from the European Union to develop a decision-making tool for creating individually tailored lung cancer treatment plans. The project will use artificial intelligence software and machine learning to analyze a wide range of information from clinical data, radiology images and biological characteristics of tumors.
• Our physician-scientists continue to be leaders in multidisciplinary clinical research, bringing together experts from different fields to conduct phase 1 and 2 trials that explore the efficacy of different treatments. Recent examples include A Phase 1 Trial of Concurrent or Sequential Ipilimumab, Nivolumab, Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Patients with Stage IV NSCLC Study and OPTIMA: a phase II dose and volume de-escalation trial for human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal cancer.
• Ralph Weichselbaum, MD, Wenbin Lin, PhD, and colleagues in the Ludwig Center for Metastasis advanced a novel therapeutic approach involving nanomaterials for drug delivery in their 2022 Nature Nanotechnology paper (Yang et al.). Robust antitumor activity was successfully delivered to peripheral tumor tissues to reprogram tumor-associated cells and significantly improve treatment response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) or ionizing radiation (IR) in multiple cancer models.
• Xavier Keutgen, MD, FACS, won the 2023 Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF) Investigator Award for his basic science project entitled: “Radiosensitizing NET

 

 

• We published over 50 peer-reviewed publications, textbook chapters and meeting presentations.
• We continue to serve our patients with our expanded hours of 3 clinical sessions of 4 hours (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.) Monday through Thursday.
• We expanded Oculoplastics care for our patients by hiring Megan Silas, MD, a recent graduate and Chief Resident of our own Ophthalmology Program.
• We expanded Glaucoma care for our patients with the addition of C. Maxwell Medert, MD, who completed his Glaucoma fellowship at the Washington University in St. Louis.
• Using Big Data and Computational Analysis, Dimitra Skondra, MD, PhD and her research team found that the drug, Metformin, is protective for Age Related Macular Degeneration, identifying it as a novel preventive and therapeutic strategy for one of the most common causes of blindness.

• In our fourth year as a Level 1 adult trauma center, we remain the busiest trauma center in Chicago and cared for over 5,000 Level I trauma patients in the past year. The large (40%) mix of ballistic injuries provides a unique opportunity for us to make an important clinical and scholarly impact on the care of these injuries. Among the myriad of scholarly activities in the current year, Jason Strelzow MD, and Jennifer Wolf, MD organized and convened a worldwide conference on the burden of ballistic musculoskeletal trauma; this conference, in its second year, is rapidly becoming the global source of innovation and scholarship in this important area. We expanded our trauma faculty this year, adding Adam Lee, MD, Mary Kate Erdman, MD, and Anthony Christiano, MD; each is adding substantial clinical and educational expertise. Our team is a finalist for a Department of Defense grant application related to ballistic trauma, and is preparing numerous other grant submissions.
• Our region-leading programs in robotic-assisted orthopaedic surgery continue to expand and gain recognition. Hue Luu, MD, Tessa Balach, MD, Sara Shippee Wallace, MD, MPH, and Aravind Athiviraham, MD, provide patients total joint replacement care using this leading-edge technique. Michael J. Lee, MD, and Mostafa El Dafrawy, MBBch, have extensive expertise in robotic spinal instrumentation, which shortens surgical and recovery times while enhancing the quality and safety of major spinal surgery. Sherwin Ho, MD, is now an expert in using computer-assisted technology in hip arthroscopy to guide bone resection for more precise surgery. Lewis Shi, MD, and Nick Maassen, MD, use computer-assisted technology in complex shoulder replacement surgery, leading to more accurate positioning of implants. Clarabelle DeVries, MD, is bringing image guidance and navigation technology to children undergoing surgical correction of scoliosis.
• We have made excellent progress in making the collection of patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments part of our routine patient care. Jeffrey G. Stepan, MD, MSc, the faculty member leading this effort, was the recipient this year of a multi-year research grant to study disparities in patient-reported outcomes among socially and economically disadvantaged populations. Kelly Hynes, MD, Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, MD and Jason A. Strelzow, MD, continue to do excellent work in expanding this technology offering to all of our providers and locations.
• Kelly Hynes, MD is utilizing computer-based learning processor technology to develop models to better allocate clinical space; this endeavor will improve patient satisfaction through visit efficiency, will optimize space utilization, and will permit hospitals and practices to optimize workflows and improve quality of patient care. This endeavor will be implemented in orthopaedics in the coming year, and will be then quickly expanded to all of UChicago Medicine.

• OHNS faculty members Nishant Agrawal, MD, Elizabeth Blair, MD, Michael Gluth, MD, Jayant Pinto, MD, Louis de Guzman Portugal, MD, and Andrea Shogan, MD, were named to Chicago magazine’s “Top Doctors” 2022 list. Fuad Baroody, MD, and Dana Suskind, MD, were named to Chicago magazine’s “Top Doctors for Kids” 2021 list.
• Dana Suskind, MD, published her second book, “Parent Nation: Unlocking Every Child’s Potential, Fulfilling Society’s Promise,” which became an instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller. In her new book, Dr. Suskind makes the case for how America can – and should – improve societal support for parents during the early childhood period. Through her work as Director of the Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program and Co-Director of the Thirty Million Words Initiative, Dr. Suskind has observed why the first three years of a child’s life are the most crucial for brain development. Read more here.
• Startup OrisDX has developed a novel saliva-based molecular test to detect and diagnose oral cancer earlier with the goal of improving patient outcomes. The Chicago-based company was founded on a decade of research in the field of liquid biopsy and cancer genomics at the University of Chicago and John Hopkins by top physicians and scientists, including co-founders Nishant Agrawal, MD, Rifat Hasina, PhD, and Evgeny Izumchenko, PhD. The startup company won first place in the Polsky Center’s New Venture Challenge, the signature venture competition for MBA students at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. OrisDX was also awarded an investment from the George Shultz Innovation Fund.
• Jayant Pinto, MD, had his research, “Olfactory Dysfunction Predicts 5-Year Mortality in Older Adults,” featured in The Washington Post in an article titled, “Covid led to smell problems for many. Seniors are especially vulnerable.” His study found that older adults with olfactory dysfunction were nearly three times as likely to die over a period of five years as seniors whose sense of smell remained intact.
• Three new faculty joined the section, including Joseph B. Meleca, MD, William Gao, MD, and Phillip LoSavio, MD, MS. Dr. Meleca is leading the Section’s efforts in facial plastics and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Gao is the Director of the Voice and Swallowing Center at Orland Park. Dr. LoSavio will be the Surgical Director of the UChicago Sleep Center.
  
  

Neurology and Neurosurgery
For children with intractable epilepsy, laser functional hemispherectomy ends seizures with minimal invasiveness. Instead of surgically removing all the abnormal tissue, laser interstitial thermal therapy disconnects the pathways from the epileptogenic tissue to prevent spread to the contralateral hemisphere. “The concept is radical; the outcomes, amazing,” said Douglas R. Nordli, Jr., MD, co-director of the Level IV Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. Read more about Peter Warnke, MD, and this surgical advancement.

Cancer Treatment in Otolaryngology
After 32 surgeries, a first grader continued to be plagued with fast-growing papillomas in her larynx caused by HPV-associated recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. Pediatric otolaryngologist Fuad Baroody, MD, and pediatric hematologist/oncologist Mark Applebaum, MD, treated the child with a novel agent for this condition, the immunotherapeutic bevacizumab. The 7-year-old, now tumor-free, had her voice and a normal life restored. Read more.

Urology
Mohan S. Gundeti, MD, was one of the first pediatric urologic surgeons in the country to perform robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery — a pyeloplasty — in an infant. Today, the internationally recognized leader in the field routinely performs robotic-assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty in infants, which allows for finer reconstruction, less pain medication, and a shorter hospital stay compared with open surgery.

Hepatology
Long Covid-19 had targeted a two-year-old’s liver, causing massive necrosis that would have killed her within a week without a liver transplant. Two days later, the toddler was the recipient of a split-liver transplant, one of only 200 such transplants done in the US each year. “Only a few institutions have a combined adult and pediatric transplant program and enough experienced transplant surgeons to perform a split-liver transplant,” said John Fung, MD, PhD, Chief of Transplant Surgery.

Endocrinology
Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is often undiagnosed or mistreated in kids. Our Monogenic Diabetes Registry has enrolled the largest number of individuals with MODY in the U.S., enabling research on precision therapeutics for children with MODY. Pediatric endocrinology fellow Maria Salguero Bermonth, MD, MSc, working under the mentorship of Louis Philipson, MD, PhD, is conducting a trial to evaluate whether antihyperglycemic agent SGLT2 inhibitors may be a better option than insulin to improve glycemic control and provide cardioprotective benefits to some people with MODY.

Neonatology
Erika Claud, MD, Director of Neonatology Research, launched the Center for the Science of Early Trajectories to leverage the research of the entire University of Chicago community — data scientists, lab and bench scientists, molecular materials engineers, and specialists in adult medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics and economics — to optimize the early-life care of infants and revolutionize outcomes for preterm infants. These collaborations are now creating practical and personalized interventions for vulnerable infants to improve their odds of better health throughout life.

Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Comer Children’s Hospital treats more children injured by a gun or stabbing — about 20% of all our trauma patients — than most pediatric trauma centers. The extensive expertise of the trauma team from the only level 1 pediatric trauma center on the South Side of Chicago saved the life of a six-year-old with a large bullet hole in the worst possible place — the left atrium on the back wall of the heart, very close to the coronary artery. Monthly simulations with the entire emergency team meant that split-second responses in real life were perfectly orchestrated — and the 6-year-old walked out of the hospital eight days later with intact neurological, lung, and cardiac function.

Pediatric Intensive Care
A 15-year-old was deteriorating rapidly with acute respiratory failure and pneumonia, severe arrhythmia and myocarditis. Intubating him was high risk because of his poor heart function and likelihood of cardiac arrest. The teen had a cardiac arrest while he was intubated. But the ECMO team was at the ready to resuscitate him with continuous chest compressions while pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon Narutoshi Hibino, MD, PhD, simultaneously cannulated him on ECMO support. For several consecutive years, Comer has received the highest award in pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation from the American Heart Association. The teen recovered fully and was discharged from the hospital after 14 days.

Chicagoland Children’s Health Alliance (CCHA)
The CCHA is a collaboration between UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s, Advocate Children’s, and the NorthShore University HealthSystem. The CCHA now provides fully integrated services for five service lines: cancer and blood diseases, cardiology and cardiac surgery, gastroenterology, general surgical care and neurosciences. The network is aligned to ensure all kids through Chicagoland receive exceptional care close to home.

• In collaboration with Neurosurgery, we published our data regarding a new surgical intervention for OCD using MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT). We have become one of the largest centers in the world now doing neurosurgery for treatment-refractory OCD cases.
  • Satzer D, Mahavadi A, Lacy M, Grant JE, Warnke P. Interstitial laser anterior capsulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: lesion size and tractography correlate with outcome. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2022 Mar;93(3):317-323. doi: 10.1136/jnnp-2021-327730. Epub 2021 Oct 29. PMID: 34716192.
• Candice Norcott, MD, was appointed co-chair for the APA president’s workgroup on Belonging and Engagement.  

• Our Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program expanded clinical services by recruiting outstanding new faculty and providers. University of Chicago is pleased to welcome four new providers to our family: Yangfeifei Gao, MD a pediatric neuropsychologist with expertise in autism and developmental disorders; Claudio Rivera, MD a clinical child psychologist with expertise in adolescent mental health, substance use disorders and community-based intervention; Dena Oaklander, MD, a child and adolescent psychiatrist with expertise in anxiety and learning disorders; and Lorelei Dumaplin, APN with expertise in ADHD and disruptive disorders. We’re proud that our section continues to attract exceptional providers who share our commitment to providing compassionate and outstanding mental health care for our patients and their families.
• Our Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) program offers innovative and evidenced-based treatment for young children with disruptive and externalizing disorders. The program serves as a training site and offers 40 hours of accredited CEs for psychologists and social workers interested in PCIT training
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry successfully completed a groundbreaking study examining the role of social play in early childhood and its interactions with cognitive and emotional flexibility measuring possible biological markers. The research can be used in early interventions and preventions.

• Our Interventional Pulmonary (IP) program continues to be the largest in the Chicago area. Septimiu Murgu, MD, D. Kyle Hogarth, MD, and Ajay Wagh, MD, MS, provide state-of-the-art diagnostic approaches and treatments to our patients.
  • We are the leading center for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (endobronchial valves), robotic bronchoscopy, photodynamic therapy and ablative technologies.
  • We initiated the Complex Airway Center to manage tracheal stenosis and other large airway diseases.
  • Dr. Murgu became President of the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology and received the World Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology Dumon Award in recognition of his accomplishments and commitment to IP.
  • Given our referral and network expansion, we plan to heighten our physician presence within the next two years.
• Our Sleep Center, directed by, Esra Tasali, MD, expanded home sleep-testing capabilities at our Ingalls and Flossmoor sites as well as patient education (in person and by phone) in our CPAP clinic.
  • Phillip LoSavio, MD, is providing state-of-the-art surgical treatment options to patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
  • Alejandra Lastra, MD, was appointed director of the Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program and associate medical director of the Sleep Laboratory.
• Our Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) program, directed by Mary E. Strek, MD, is among one of three Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation Care Centers in Illinois. The program includes our post-COVID pulmonary clinic led by Ayodeji Adegunsoye, MD. Other ILD specialists include Renea Jablonski, MD, and Cathryn Lee, MD.
• Our COPD program led by Lucas Kimmig, MD, provides inpatient and outpatient care through a dedicated team of advanced practice providers. We have successfully reduced readmission rates via this comprehensive program.

 

• The University of Chicago Medicine provides expert clinical care in all rheumatic diseases. The Section continues to build on robust and integrated programs in lupus (Kichul Ko, MD, and Kimberly Trotter, MD), polymyositis and interstitial lung diseases (Iazsmin Bauer Ventura, MD, and James J. Curran, MD), and inflammatory arthritis including a musculoskeletal ultrasound center (Reem Jan, MBBS, and Andrea Ramirez-Gomez, MD). Our physicians have national memberships in academic societies and are at the forefront of care for these disorders.
• Over the years, strong working relationships have been forged across different specialties. Patients seen at UChicago Medicine work with a multidisciplinary team to ensure there is a unified plan to address all disease manifestations. This is exemplified by our Lupus Program, where there is direct collaboration with Dermatology and Nephrology, and the Myositis Center, an effort led by Dr. Ventura which includes physicians from Pulmonary Medicine, Dermatology, Neurology and Pathology.
• Our team is highly qualified to address emerging diseases. We have active research initiatives to improve knowledge, such as management of complicated immune processes triggered by the new generation of cancer therapies. With leadership from Pankti Reid, MD, MPH, the Section continues to work closely with physicians from the Section of Hematology/Oncology to improve the diagnosis and treatment of the broad spectrum of autoimmune and inflammatory complications that arise from immunotherapy for cancer and immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Another focus is to develop opportunities for physicians to treat irAEs as part of the MERITS program.
• The Section’s clinical efforts are complemented by ongoing translational studies in the Gwen Knapp Center for Lupus and Immunology Research that includes the NIH-sponsored Center of Excellence focused on understanding the pathogenesis of human lupus nephritis. In collaboration with Surgery, and funded by the NIH, the Section is using similar approaches to understand and treat renal allograft rejection.
• We have clinicians based in Hyde Park, River East and Orland Park, with plans for continued expansion into the suburbs. There are on-site and off-site infusion centers, as well as specialized pharmacy teams to expedite drug approvals and deliveries. These services ensure that patients receive smooth and efficient execution of the treatment plan and close monitoring for side effects and complications of treatment.
• Also notable are two programs within our Section. The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) is one of the oldest NIH supported physician-scientists training programs in the United States and one of the most diverse in the country with 27% underrepresented or disadvantaged students and approximately 50% women. The Rheumatology Fellowship Program also continues to be recognized and supported by the American College of Rheumatology Fellowship Training Award.

Research Accomplishments

• Our Rheumatology Section continues to be a highly productive research enterprise with over 6.1 million in extramural funding for 2022 and several high-impact publications in Nature, Nature Communications, JAMA and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Notable awards this year include a K99 to Jenna Guthmiller, PhD, to investigate the development and clonal dynamics of broadly neutralizing B cells against influenza viruses.
• Marisa Alegre, MD, PhD was appointed to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. In FY22, Dr. Alegre, in collaboration with Melody Swartz, PhD, established a new NIH supported Immunoengineering Postdoctoral Training Program to leverage the resources of Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering to train investigators to use novel and innovative approaches to study and treat a broad range of immune-mediated diseases.

Publications

• Abraham R, Durkee MS, Ai J, Veselits M, Casella G, Asano Y, Chang A, Ko K, Oshinsky C, Peninger E, Giger ML, Clark MR. 2022. Specific in situ inflammatory states associate with progression to renal failure in lupus nephritis. J. Clin. Invest., 2022, 132(17).
• Dugan HL, Stamper CT, Li L, Changrob S, Asby NW, Halfmann PJ, Zheng NY, Huang M, Shaw DG, Cobb MS, Erickson SA, Guthmiller JJ, Stovicek O, Wang J, Winkler ES, Madariaga ML, Shanmugarajah K, Jansen MO, Amanat F, Stewart I, Utset HA, Huang J, Nelson CA, Dai YN, Hall PD, Jedrzejczak RP, Joachimiak A, Krammer F, Diamond MS, Fremont DH, Kawaoka Y, Wilson PC. Profiling B cell immunodominance after SARS-CoV-2 infection reveals antibody evolution to non-neutralizing viral targets. Immunity. 2021, 54(6):1290-1303.
• Okoreeh M*, Kennedy DE, Emmanuel AO, Veselits M, Moshin A, Ladd RH, Erickson S, McLean KC, Madrigal B, Nemazee D, Maienschein-Cline M, Mandal M, Clark MR. Asymmetrical forward and reverse developmental trajectories determine molecular programs of B cell antigen receptor editing. Science Immunology, 2022, 7(74)
• Pirozzolo I, Sepulveda M, Chen L, Wang Y, Lei YM, Li Z, Li R, Sattar H, Theriault B, Belkaid Y, Chong AS, Alegre ML. Host-versus-commensal immune responses participate in the rejection of colonized solid organ transplants. J. Clin. Invest., 2022, 132(17).
• Strohbehn GW, Heiss BL, Rouhani SJ, Trujillo JA, Yu J, Kacew AJ, Higgs EF, Bloodworth JC, Cabanov A, Wright RC, Koziol A, Weiss A, Danahey K, Karrison TG, Edens CC, Ventura IB, Pettit NN, Patel B, Pisano J, Strek ME, Gajewski TF, Ratain MJ, Reid PD. COVIDOSE: Low-dose tocilizumab in the treatment of Covid-19. 2020, medRxiv [Preprint]. Update in: Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2020 Nov 18.
• Quandt J., Arnovitz S., Haghi L., Woehlk J., Mohsin A., Okoreeh M., Mathur P.S., Emmanuel A.O., Osman A., Krishnan M., Morin S.B., Pearson A.T., Sweis R., Pekow J., Weber C.R., Khazaie K., Gounari F. Wnt-β-catenin activation epigenetically reprograms T reg cells in inflammatory bowel disease and dysplastic progression. Nature Immunology. 2021, 22:471-484.
  
• Suah AN, Dong-Kha T, Khiew S, Andrade M, Pollard J, Young JS, Yin D, Chalasani G, Alegre ML*, Chong AS*. Pregnancy-induced humoral sensitization overrides fetal-specific T cell tolerance. J. Clin. Invest., 2021, 131(1):e140715. *co-senior authors.

• Our Partial Gland Ablation (PGA) therapy for our prostate cancer program, led by Greg Zagaja, MD and Arieh Shalhav, MD, is expanding. We now own both the Focal One® HIFU and the TULSA-Pro® (transurethral ultrasound ablation) systems offering real-time MRI guidance in tissue temperature mapping. We can treat both posterior and anterior tumors as indicated for appropriate patients.
• We have increased our UroNav® transperineal fusion prostate procedures, providing biopsies in clinic under local anesthesia or in the OR with sedation by four providers.
• We developed a Gender-Affirming Surgical Program led by Ervin Kocjancic, MD, a nationally recognized expert in transgender surgery who is developing our LGBTQ-friendly clinic at River East and our Urologic reconstruction program.
• Our Robotic Cystectomy Program led by Piyush Agarwal, MD and Parth Modi, MD, is growing, with 41 cases completed in 2022.
• We launched our Men’s Wellness Program at our River East location, which is led by Omer Raheem, MD, a national thought leader in men’s health. The urology-led multidisciplinary program includes, cardiology, pulmonary, endocrine, internal medicine, orthopaedics and other specialties.
• Under the leadership of Mohan Gundeti, MD, a national leader in pediatric robotic and reconstructive surgery, our Pediatric Urology Program Ranked in the Top 50 in U.S. News & World Report (#31) and continues to serve the most complex pediatric urologic cases.
• Led by Scott Eggener, MD, our multidisciplinary High-Risk and Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinic continues to offer resources for referred patients. Nearly 130 patients were served by the program in 2022.
• Our continuous expansion has made urology care more accessible in the Chicagoland region with our new clinics opening in the South Loop, River East, Orland Park and Hyde Park communities.

• Katherine Rivlin, MD, MSc, a fierce advocate of reproductive healthcare and access, joined us as the new Section Chief of Complex Family Planning and Contraceptive Research. As an academic health system in Illinois, where abortion remains legal, and the only hospital-based abortion provider on Chicago’s South Side, our department is committed to providing high-quality reproductive care.
• Expert geneticist Ryan Longman, MD, Director of the Fetal Neonatal Care Center, provides patients with the full range of prenatal screening, genetic testing and counseling, care coordination, and treatment for complex fetal disorders and anomalies – ensuring comprehensive physician-patient communication and support during complicated pregnancies.
• In addition to our Diabetes in Pregnancy and Adult Congenital Heart Disease in Pregnancy programs, we established two new multidisciplinary programs to improve care for individuals with hypertension during and after pregnancy. Sarosh Rana, MD, MPH, leads the Systematic Treatment and Management of Postpartum Hypertension (STAMPP-HTN) and Postpartum Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) programs. The efforts of the STAMPP-HTN and RPM quality improvement initiatives eliminated health disparities at our institution and are now a standard of care at UChicago Medicine.
• In July, we established the Center for the Advanced Treatment and Research (CATeR) of Uterine Fibroids, led by Sandra Laveaux, MD, MPH. The center provides high-level, customized care for women with fibroids. Using the latest clinical techniques, including myomectomy, hysterectomy, uterine fibroid embolization and radiofrequency ablation (Acessa), Dr. Laveaux’s team enables patients to achieve their lifestyle and family-building goals. Ayman Al-Hendy, MD, PhD, also leads advancements in nonsurgical treatment modalities to offer patients a less invasive approach to treating fibroids. In 2021, we published a groundbreaking study in the New England Journal of Medicine on the “Treatment of Uterine Fibroid Symptoms with Relugolix Combination Therapy.”
• Our new Transgender CARE (Clinic for Affirmation and Reproductive Equity) team, directed by obstetrician-gynecologists Andrew Fisher, MD, MBE, and Iris Romero, MD, MS, provides high-quality care for transgender and gender non-conforming individuals in the Chicagoland area and beyond.

• Our Gynecologic Oncology group is one of the largest in the Midwest region. With services provided from Northwest Indiana to Downtown Chicago, we have decades of experience in diagnosing and treating ovarian, uterine, cervical, endometrial, vulvar and vaginal cancers. We offer patients the latest therapies and surgical treatments, including hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) and advanced minimally invasive surgery. Our clinical trials program, directed by John Moroney, MD, hosts a vast portfolio of open trials – giving patients their best shot at battling some of the most unrelenting gynecologic cancers. Our Comprehensive Cancer Center, directed by Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, – an internationally renowned expert in immunotherapy research – is also the only center in the area with leading-edge immunotherapy trials, including adoptive cellular therapy, open for gynecologic cancer. Our faculty are leaders in advancing research, education and policies to improve women’s cancer care: Division Director S. Diane Yamada, MD, is Past-President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology; and Nita Karnik Lee, MD, MPH, leads our patient advocacy and survivorship care, enabling us to care for patients throughout the entire cancer journey.

"I chose to work at UChicago Medicine because of its clinical and research environments. Not only am I able to be a part of a collaborative team that provides patients with care that meets all of their reproductive health needs, but I also get to work with an academic community focused on improving standards of care and advancing all facets of research and sexual health advocacy in OB/GYN.”

Neha Bhardwaj, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Complex Family Planning and Contraceptive Research