UTMB Dermatology Department Chair Receives Award

Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Raimer, UTMB Dermatology Department Chair, for receiving the 2015 Ashbel Smith Distinguished Alumnus Award. She graduated from UTMB in 1972, joined the UTMB Department of Dermatology in 1976 (after completing dermatology residency at Baylor), and has served as the dermatology chair since 1999. She was presented with the award on Friday, May 29, 2015. It is considered to be the highest honor made to UTMB alumni by our institution. Please congratulate Dr. Raimer for this great career achievement the next time you see her!

UTMB Department of Dermatology Announces 2015 Medical Student Awards

History of Dermatology Award: Susan V. Stafford (“The Face Beneath The Mask: The Deadly Quest For Beauty”)

Skin Disease in Cinema Award: Ha Nguyen (“Unmasked: A Dermatologic and Cinematic Evaluation of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera”)

Edgar B. Smith Scholarship: Zachary Jones

Thomas Freese Award: Kyle Kaltwasser

Congratulations to all!
 

Photo caption: (left to right): Kyle Kaltwasser, Ha Nguyen, and Zach Jones. Susan Stafford was unable to attend the award ceremony.

AIM for the Cure Melanoma 5K Walk and Fun Run 2015

The UTMB Dermatology Interest Group is hosting the annual AIM for the Cure Melanoma 5K Walk and Fun Run to take place on Saturday June 6 at 8AM at the UTMB Alumni Field House. To register to run/walk or to donate, visit http://galveston2015.aimatmelanoma.org/Static/Event-Info. If you would like to register with the DIG team, choose the “UTMB Dermatology Interest Group” team when prompted.

If you would like to participate as a volunteer at this event, email Julie Amthor Croley at jaamthor@utmb.edu. Don't miss out on this opportunity to help raise funds for the AIM at Melanoma Foundation, which aims to lead the battle against melanoma through research, education, and caregiver support!

If you have any additional questions, contact Julie Amthor Croley (jaamthor@utmb.edu), Neil Jackson (ndjackso@utmb.edu), or Jasmine Stephens (jcstephe@utmb.edu) with any questions.

Internationally Recognized Rickettsia Expert Lectures UTMB Dermatology Department

Dr. David Walker, UTMB Chair Emeritus (Pathology) and internationally recognized expert and investigator on Rickettsial diseases, lectured to the UTMB Department of Dermatology about  Rickettsia diagnosis and management on Friday morning, May 22, 2015. Thank you Dr. Walker for giving us such an informative lecture! 

Too Few Dermatology Abstracts Submitted to 2015 National Student Research Forum!

Dermatology has a long and storied history of award winning presentations at the annual National Student Research Forum (NSRF) that is sponsored by UTMB. Many of these presentations have gone on to peer-reviewed publication, and many awardees have gone on to notable careers and leadership roles in dermatology. Imagine the NSRF’s surprise this year when there were not enough dermatology abstracts for poster or podium presentation to make any awards in the dermatology category! The UTMB DIG encourages all of its members to consider submitting abstracts about their current dermatology research to the 2016 NSRF.

Local Dermatologist Named as UTMB AOA Visiting Professor for 2015

Dr. Robert S. Tausend (Will’s dad) provide the UTMB Department of Dermatology with a guest lecture at 10 am (“Tales from the Dark Side”) and share Kodachromes with us at 11 am in the Research Building conference room (1.206) on Friday, May 29, 2015. During his Kodachrome presentation he plans on asking medical students their differential diagnosis and dermatology residents about treatment options. His visit  to our dermatology department will begin at 9 am with Grand Dermatology Rounds in the UHC dermatology clinic. Dr. Tausend practices in the Bay Shore Dermatology Center in Pasadena, Texas.

Dermatology Night at St. Vincent’s Clinic on June 4, 2015

Join UTMB Dermatology residents and faculty for the upcoming dermatology night at St. Vincent’s Clinic. Please see the calendar link below to reserve your volunteering spot:

When: Thursday, June 4th, 5:30-9PM
Where: St. Vincent's House, 2817 Post Office Street, Galveston, Texas 77550
Volunteer link: http://www.stvsc.org/index.php/students/

UTMB Presents 10 Posters at the 2015 Texas Dermatological Society Annual Spring Meeting

Congratulations to all of the UTMB Poster Presenters at the 2015 Annual Spring Meeting of the Texas Dermatological Society that was held on May 1st and 2nd in Austin, Texas. The UTMB poster titles and medical student, dermatology resident and dermatology faculty authors were as follows:

1, Pancreatic Panniculitis Mimicking Necrotizing Fasciitis (C. Helen Malone MD)

2. Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis in the Setting of an Acute Hepatitis A Viral Infection in a Child (Tara Akunna BS, Lindsey Hunter-Ellul MD, Bernard Gibson MD)

3. Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans mimicking an Odontogenic Abscess (Brandon Goodwin MD, Kristyna Gleghorn MS, Emily Grimshaw MD, Erica Kelly MD)

4. Nicastrin in Skin Pathology (Audra Clos MD and Brent Kelly MD)

5. An Unusual Bullous Eruption (Rebecca Philips MD, Skylar White BS, Brent Kelly MD)

6. A case of drug-induced pemphigus caused by enalapril. (Gleghorn KL, Wilson J, Wilkerson MG, Kelly BC)

7. Cutaneous follicle center lymphoma mimicking folliculitis (Savina Aneja MD, Ramya Chockalingam BA, Anisha B. Patel MD)

8. Allergic contact dermatitis from a Zoll wearable defibrillator vest (Hubert Chodkiewicz MD, Alison Garner BS, Savina Aneja MD, Richard Jahan-Tigh MD)

9. Sclerodermoid Changes and Dystrophic Calcification: A Unique Presentation of Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (Erica Grilletta BS, Lindsey Hunter-Ellul MD, Alison Lowe MD, Conner Chan MD)

10. Management of exuberant growths in Goltz syndrome (Anna Buteau BA, Andrew DeCrescenzo BS, Helen Malone MD, Michael Wilkerson, MD)

UTMB School of Medicine Adopts New Pass/PC/Fail System for MS1s and MS2s

UTMB has always been a progressive leader in medical education in Texas and the rest of the world. It may not surprise readers of this blog that last month our School of Medicine Curriculum Committee unanimously adopted a new Pass/PC/Fail system for the first two years of medical school at UTMB starting with the incoming MS1 class this summer (The Informant: A newsletter for students from the Educational Affairs Office--School of Medicine, April 2015, Volume 3, Issue 1). By making this grading policy change for the first two years of medical school, UTMB is joining a growing national movement in medical education, since nationally about 52% of US medical schools use this type of grading system sometime during the first two years of medical school. Other changes for the first two years of our medical school will now include the use of standardized NBME exams. No grading system change is currently planned for UTMB MS3s and MS4s who currently use an Honors/High Pass/Pass grading system except for electives and Selectives, that are strictly graded Pass/Fail.

Upcoming AIM for the Cure Melanoma Walk and 5K Fun Run

The UTMB DIG will be hosting the annual AIM for the Cure Melanoma Walk and 5K Fun Run to take place on Saturday June 6, 2015 at the UTMB Alumni Field House. Registration and sign-in begin at 8AM. The opening ceremony and fun run/walk begin at 9AM. There is no fee, but each participant is encouraged to raise $50. 

Register at http://galveston2015.aimatmelanoma.org/Static/Event-Info by May 22nd to receive a FREE t-shirt! See the attached flyer for more information: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1X_P-TTWEkib05UM0R2cGFKaFk/view?usp=sharing
Contact Julie Ann Amthor (jaamthor@utmb.edu), Neil Jackson (ndjackso@utmb.edu), or Jasmine Stephens (jcstephe@utmb.edu) with any questions. If you would like to volunteer at the event on June 6, please email Julie Ann Amthor (jaamthor@utmb.edu).

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to raise funds for the AIM at Melanoma Foundation, which uses funds to increase support for melanoma research, to promote prevention and education among the general public and medical professionals, and to provide comprehensive and easily accessible melanoma resources for patients, survivors, and caregivers!

DIG Meeting Recap from 4/27/2015

Advices from MS4s for preparing for residency

1.     Meet with Dr. Raimer and/or Dr. Wagner when you decided on dermatology to see what advices they have for you. Also meet with them before letter writing time (August).

2.     When on a dermatology rotation, use AAD.org medical student education powerpoints (https://www.aad.org/education/basic-dermatology-curriculum/teaching-and-learning-guides/learner-s-guide) to help prepare for the rotation.

3.     Away rotations- keep in mind west coast schools might not give you interviews. It’s also not a good idea to have too many UTMB students (>3-4) doing aways at the same school. The school may not offer interviews to all of the students.

4.     You could get interviewed during your derm rotations (UT Houston does a panel interview for away students), so always be prepared.

5.     You can use your dermatology personal statement for your prelim/transitional year personal statement.

6.     The decision to select a prelim or transition program is important!

a.     If the applicant would be happy in another specialty as a backup then a preliminary PGY1 year in that specialty is good (internal medicine, pediatrics, etc).

b.     However, if the MS4 does not match into an advanced PGY2 dermatology position as a MS4, matching into a PGY1 position in medicine or pediatrics will preclude Medicare funding of residency for the PGY4 year of dermatology if they decide to try again for dermatology and successfully match. This could be a major competitive disadvantage for dermatology reapplicants.

c.      If the MS4 plans on reapplying to dermatology should they fail to initially match into dermatology, it would be better to match into a PGY1 position in general surgery (5 years of funding) or a transitional PGY1 year (funding to be determined by PGY2 specialty selection).

7.     Interview questions: Most interviewers ask about your personal statement so be sure to know your personal statement well and have a fluent story ready. Also you may be asked questions about conflicting experiences you’ve had a faculty or colleague on a project and how you handled the situation.

8.     Money saving tips: Use AriBnB.com for rooming

How to Prepare an Honors Thesis

1.     This is a complicated process that can take more than 6 months to process for approval (expect multiple revisions)

2.     See attached document for more specifics information https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1X_P-TTWEkiWlM3SXBWNmZpSW8/view?usp=sharing

Upcoming DIG volunteering events

1.     Stay Shady Presentation- at Crenshaw Elementary School on Thursday, 5/7/2015, 2:45-3:45PM. Contact Kristyna to volunteer (klglegho@utmb.edu)  

2.     AIM Melanoma Walk- Saturday 6/6/2015, registration starts at 8AM, location at UTMB Alumni Field House. For more information and to register online, visit http://galveston2015.aimatmelanoma.org/Static/Event-Info

a.     Fee: None- Each participant encouraged to raise $50

b.     Register by May 22nd to ensure FREE T-Shirt

c.      Contacts: Julie Ann Amthor (jaamthor@utmb.edu), Neil Jackson (ndjackso@utmb.edu), and Jasmine Stephens (jcstephe@utmb.edu)

DIG Officers for 2015-2016

DIG recently had an officers election for the 2015-2016 school year. Congratulations to the following officers:

Galveston Base

President: Dung Mac

Vice President: Kristyna Gleghorn

Fundraising/AIM Melanoma Walk Chairs: Neil Jackson, Julie Amthor

Sun Protection Chairs: Timothy  Allen, Skyler White, Tara Akunna, Karyn Korsah

Contact Dermatitis Chairs: Alfreda Batts, Drew Decrescenzo

Psoriasis Awareness Chairs: Ngoc Uyen Mui, Katherine Tinkey

Austin Base

President: Hunter Neely

Vice President: Anna Buteau

*Hight-lighted in bold are the newly elected officers