Summer passed by in a flurry of nationwide recognition for

Pittsburgh and the University as a whole.

News headlines included an updated “36 hours in Pittsburgh”

article by the NY Times. A video by TIME magazine, featuring Dr.

Art Levine and Dr. Steve Shapiro, detailed Pittsburgh’s Comeback.

USA Today has also ranked Pitt as the #1 place to study health

professions, which is not a secret to our PACCM family.

Here in our division, we have also been busy. Our second issue of

the PACCM Insider aims to highlight many of our accomplishments

and celebratory moments from June through August.

As we welcome the new academic year, please remember to keep

sending details, pictures, announcements, etc to be included in our

future issues!

A New Academic Year

2015 Robert M. Rogers Lectureship

Each year during the Robert M. Rogers

Lectureship, our fellows have the unique

opportunity to interact with a world renowned

leader in Pulmonology.

This year, the PACCM fellows spent the morn-

ing with Dr. Talmadge E. King, Jr., chair of the

Department of Medicine and newly appointed

Dean at the University of California, San Fran-

cisco.

Dr. King's research interests include pathogen-

esis, diagnosis and management of inflamma-

tory and immunologic lung disease. In 2007,

he won the Trudeau Medal, the highest honor of

the American Lung Association and American

Thoracic Society.

After meeting with the fellows and discussing

their individual research goals, Dr. King shared

some personal career experiences.

September 14, 2015

Volume 1, Issue 2

PACCM Insider

USA Today ranks Pitt #1 place to study

health professions

Special points of interest:

Annual Robert Rogers Lecture-

ship and Fellows Graduation

Annual PACCM Awards

Welcome to Our New Hires

New HHT Center of Excellence

Violet Rippy 5K

Annual Simmons Center Golf

Outing

Upcoming Events

Inside this issue:

Simmons Center Golf Outing 2

New Hires 2

In the News 3

Flu Vaccine/PPD Session 3

Research Retreat Save the Date 3

Promotions 3

PACCM Awards 4

Grants, Awards, &

Notable Mentions

4

HHT Center of Excellence 5

Patient & Family Fundraising 5

Violet Rippy 5K 5

Publications 6

Fellows 7

Celebrations 8

Below: PACCM Fellows with Dr. King; Right top: Michael Donahoe opens

Rogers Lectureship; Right bottom: Dr. King with Rama Mallampalli, Mrs.

Sandy Rogers and her son David Rogers

This year, the 11th Annual Fran Magister “FORE

IPF” Charity Golf Outing was held at Wildwood Golf

Club on Monday, August 24th. The weather was

perfect! This year’s event had the most attendees

to date; with 102 golfers, including 16 IPF pa-

tients. For those patients that didn’t golf, there

was afternoon bingo run by 2 granddaughters of

former IPF patients. Once golf concluded, there

were 175 attendees at the dinner and auction,

including a total of 26 patients and their caregiv-

ers. The profits raised from this event fund the

support and education efforts of the Simmons

Center. This day is supported by a wonderful

team of faculty, fellows, and staff, and volunteers,

complete with oxygen for our patients donated by

Medcare. We are also happy that many of our

patients and family members participate to make

this a success.

Save the date for next year; Monday, August 22,

2016!

Welcome to our newest PACCM members:

Shannon McKenzie

Emily Stilwell

Lauren Tomsic

Sreejata Raychaudhuri

Kelsey Elliott

Justin Dutta

Rachel Hannum

Kaitlin Fiedler

Vickie Petraglia

Renee Wunderley

Byron Chuan

Mariam Lawani

Roe Catley

11th Annual Fran Magister “FORE IPF” Charity Golf Outing

New Hires

Page 2 PACCM Insider

- written by Kathy Lindell

- Photo courtesy of Kathy Lindell

Keep up with all weekly divisional conferences by visiting the PACCM web calendar!

Clicking on an event will expand to show speaker information!

Diana Perciavalle, who was

battling brain cancer for three

years, had been admitted to

UPMC McKeesport a day before

her son, Anthony, was due to

graduate high school.

Dr. Shikha Gupta worked with

the clinician on the unit, social

worker, and McKeesport Ambu-

lance Rescue Services to en-

sure that Diana would be pre-

sent for her son’s graduation

ceremony.

Read more HERE

Alison Morris, MD, MS

has been appointed as

Vice-Chair for Clinical Research

in the Department of Medicine

In the News

Upcoming Events

Page 3 PACCM Insider

Promotions

“I’m proud we were able

to accomplish this for her

in such a short period of

time. A lot of people

really stepped up and

arranged for this to

happen.”

- Shikha Gupta, MD

For the second year, Team PHe-

nomenal Hope participated in

the Race Across America, which

began in Oceanside, CA and

ended in Annapolis, MD.

Over 50 percent of the riders in

this sporting event represent

charities and causes.

Patty George, MD, captain of

Team PHenomenal Hope, has

garnered national attention to

raise awareness for the Pulmo-

nary Hypertnesion Association

Read more HERE

UPMC Above & Beyond Nomination - Shikha Gupta, MD Team PHenomenal Hope in Race Across America

- Photo courtesy of UPMC

Elena Goncharova, PhD

has been promoted to

Associate Professor of Medicine

John Tedrow, MD

has been promoted to

Assistant Professor of Medicine

The Fourth Annual PACCM Awards were

held on Friday, June 12, immediately

following the 2015 Robert M. Rogers

Lectureship.

The presentation of these awards recog-

nizes excellence among our colleagues

in five different categories.

Each spring, all colleagues of PACCM is

asked to nominate any individual de-

serving of recognition.

The Awards committee has the daunt-

ing task of selecting from that large pool

of outstanding nominees in order to

select the winners.

The luncheon and awards ceremony are

the final highlight to the annual Rogers

Lectureship.

We congratulate all of this years win-

ners!

A U01 grant entitled, “Building Multi-levels Models of Therapeutic

Response in the Lungs” has been granted to Tim Corcoran, PhD,

Joseph Pilewski, MD, Mike Myerburg, MD, Robert Parker (Chem

Engr) and Carol Bertrand (Cell Bio).

Janet Lee, MD was appointed as a standing member of NIH CSR

study section Innate Immunity and Inflammation for the term Oct

2015-June 2019 and Vice Chair of the ATS Membership Commit-

tee for 2015-2016.

The competing renewal for Anuradha Ray, PhD R01 grant, enti-

tled, “Mechanisms of Antigen-induced Tolerance in the Lung”

scored in the 7th percentile at the first submission. This will be

the fourth cycle for this grant.

Matt Gingo, MD received an R56 award; “Adiposity and Airway

Inflammation in HIV-Associated Airway Disease.”

Mauricio Rojas, MD is the recipient of R01 grant, entitled “Aging

of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Missing Link in IPF”.

Sarita Kumari, MD facilitated two days of ultrasound scanning

workshops while fulfilling her clinical duties.

Shikha Gupta, MD coordinated an Airway Management Training

Program for the residents at UPMC McKeesport.

Sally Wenzel, MD is the 2016 recipient of the ATS Foundation

Breathing for Life Award. The award will be given at the Eighth

Annual ATS Foundation Research Program Benefit on Saturday,

May 14, 2016 in San Francisco.

Michelle MacPherson, research coordinator in the Simmons

Center, was chosen as one of the winners for the UPMC Platinum

STAR Award.

Frank Sciurba, MD is the recipient of a U01 grant: “NEMO –

Network Management Core for the Pulmonary Trials Cooperative.”

Frank Sciurba, MD and Yingze Zhang, PhD, have been awarded an

R21 grant “Biomarkers Predictive of Lung Function Decline in

Physiologically Normal Smokers”.

Jing Zhao, MD, PhD recently received an ALA Biomedical Research

Grant.

Yutong Zhao, MD, PhD has been invited to DOD PRMRP Pre-Acute

Lung Injury Panel as a reviewer.

Chunbin Zou, MD, PhD has been awarded and R01 grant: Epige-

netic Regulation in Acute Lung Injury.

Jessica Bon Field, MD, received the 2015 PACCM Junior Transla-

tional Scholar Award (JTSA).

2015 PACCM Awards

Grants, Awards, and Notable Mentions

Page 4 Volume 1, Issue 2

2015 PACCM Award Winners

Outstanding Service Award—

Nydia Chien, MSN, RN, CCRC

Robert M. Rogers Award for Outstanding

Research or Clinical Mentorship—

Janet Lee, MD

John W. Kreit Outstanding Educator

Award—

Khaled Fernainy, MD

Robert M. Rogers Award for Outstanding

Scholarly Achievement—

Jared Chiarchiaro, MD

Outstanding Young Investigator Award—

Jessica Bon Field, MD

Photos L to R:

Doug White presents award; Janet Lee, award winner (photo by Dorothy Voith);

Fernando Holguin with Nydia Chien, award winner (photo by Dorothy Voith)

Dr. Christopher Faber (Clinical Direc-

tor) and Beth Roman, PhD (Research

Director) announce the new HHT Cen-

ter of Excellence in this YouTube vid-

eo , via UPMC.

“UPMC and University of Pittsburgh

Schools of the Health Sciences clinical

and academic partnership has earned

international recognition as a premier

center for treatment of and research

into hereditary hemorrhagic telangiec-

tasia (HHT), a rare genetic disorder

that can cause sudden, catastrophic

internal bleeding and stroke.

Cure HHT, previously known as The HHT

Foundation International, has designated

the UPMC-Pitt partnership an HHT Center of

Excellence.

This designation means that UPMC and Pitt

meet the rigorous criteria that Cure HHT –

the only worldwide advocacy and support

group for the condition – requires in order

to refer patients for care.”

- article courtesy of UPMC

-written by Kathy Lindell

The Violet Rippy 5K Walk/Run for Pulmonary Fibrosis was held on Saturday, August 15th on the

North Shore Riverfront in Pittsburgh, PA.

Over 500 participants walked or ran to raise awareness and funds for the Coalition for Pulmonary

Fibrosis in hopes of finding a cure for PF.

Over $34,000 was raised from this event, and donations are still coming in for the cause. Many

families and friends came to honor and support their loved ones affected by the disease.

Participants shared their stories and experiences, and we all gained insight into new treatments,

research, advocacy and support groups. The Simmons Center was well represented at this event.

Designation of HHT Center of Excellence

Violet Rippy 5K Walk/Run for Pulmonary Fibrosis

Yingze Zhang with the Pirate Parrot

- Photo credit, Kathy Lindell

(clinical services) and the School of Med-

icine (research and endowments). They

do this:

· To express appreciation for the care

they or their loved ones have received

from physicians, nurses, care coordina-

tors, social workers, therapists, aides

and others;

· To remedy medical conditions affecting

them or their family and friends.

Yes, patients and families frequently

want to make a contribution – some-

times a large contribution – to express

gratitude for what they have received.

This is known as “Grateful Patient and

Family Fundraising” and it is a direct

Grateful Patient and Family Fundraising

Philanthropic funding – from individu-

als, corporations, private foundations

– is more important than ever for sus-

taining the research and clinical pro-

grams of the Division of Pulmonary,

Allergy and Critical Care Medicine.

Philanthropy may provide badly need-

ed start-up funds for innovative re-

search, “gap” funding between NIH

grants, the funding for patient sup-

port/educational programs, support

for professional training and continu-

ing education. Large philanthropic

gifts can literally transform a program.

You may be surprised to learn that

patients and families are among the

most important donors to UPMC

“The integration of the Pitt HHT research center with the

UPMC clinical center will advance therapies as we strive

for a cure.”

- Marianne Clancy, executive director of Cure HHT

Page 5 Volume 1, Issue 2

- Photo courtesy of UPMC

result of the care they receive from

PACCM staff.

You make these gifts happen by helping

patients and families to manage and

cope with serious illness and by providing

compassionate care even when there is

no hope for recovery.

I am the fundraising liaison for PACCM

and I look forward to sharing more infor-

mation on Grateful Patient and Family

Fundraising in coming issues of The

PACCM Insider.

I can be reached at 412-647-2434 or by

email at ianne@pmhsf.org.

- written by Anne Immekus

Moller DR, Koth LL, Maier LA,

Morris A, Drake W, Rossman M,

Leader JK, Collman RG, Ham-

zeh N, Sweiss NJ, Zhang Y,

O'Neal S, Senior RM, Becich M,

Hochheiser HS, Kaminski N,

Wisniewski SR, Gibson KF;

GRADS Sarcoidosis Study

Group. Rationale and Design of

the Genomic Research in Alpha

-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and

Sarcoidosis Study (GRADS):

Sarcoidosis Protocol. Ann Am

Thorac Soc. 2015 Jul 20. [Epub

ahead of print]

Rosenberger EM, DiMartini AF,

DeVito Dabbs AJ, Bermudez CA,

Pilewski JM, Toyoda Y, Dew MA.

Psychiatric Predictors of Long-

Term Transplant-Related Out-

comes in Lung Transplant Re-

cipients. Transplantation. 2015

Jul 14. [Epub ahead of print]

Klooster K, Ten Hacken NH,

Hartman JE, Sciurba FC,

Kerstjens HA, Slebos DJ. Deter-

mining the Role of Dynamic

Hyperinflation in Patients with

Chiarchiaro J, Buddadhumaruk

P, Arnold RM, White DB. Prior

Advance Care Planning is Asso-

ciated with Less Decisional

Conflict in Surrogates for the

Critically Ill. Ann Am Thorac Soc.

2015 Aug 4. [Epub ahead of

print]

Ray M, Horne W, McAleer JP,

Ricks DM, Kreindler JL, Fitzsi-

mons MS, Chan PP, Trevejo-

Nunez G, Chen K, Fajt M, Chen

W, Ray A, Wenzel S, Kolls JK.

RNA-seq in Pulmonary Medi-

cine: How Much Is Enough? Am

J Respir Crit Care Med. 2015

Aug 1;192(3):389-91

Gingo MR, Morris A. HIV Infec-

tion and Severe Sepsis: A Bitter

Pill to Swallow. Crit Care Med.

2015 Aug;43(8):1779-81

Lundberg JO, Gladwin MT,

Weitzberg E. Strategies to in-

crease nitric oxide signalling in

cardiovascular disease. Nat Rev

Drug Discov. 2015 Aug 7. [Epub

ahead of print]

Severe Chronic Obstructive

Pulmonary Disease. Respira-

tion. 2015 Sep 10. [Epub

ahead of print]

Brehm JM, Man Tse S, Croteau-

Chonka DC, Forno E, Litonjua

AA, Raby BA, Chen W, Yan Q,

Boutaoui N, Acosta-Pérez E,

Avila L, Weiss ST, Soto-Quiros

M, Cloutier MM5, Hu D, Pino-

Yanes M, Wenzel SE, Spear ML,

Kolls JK, Burchard EG, Canino

G, Celedón JC. A Genome-Wide

Association Study of Post-

bronchodilator Lung Function in

Children with Asthma. Am J

Respir Crit Care Med. 2015 Sep

1;192(5):634-7

Weissfeld JL, Lin Y, Lin HM,

Kurland BF, Wilson DO, Fuhr-

man CR, Pennathur A, Romkes

M, Nukui T, Yuan JM, Siegfried

JM, Diergaarde B. Lung cancer

risk prediction using common

SNPs located in GWAS-

identified susceptibility regions.

J Thorac Oncol. 2015 Sep 8

Page 6 PACCM Insider

Publications

Courtesy of

KeepCalmandCarryOn.com

Annual Around-the-world Holiday Luncheon & Misfit Gift Exchange

Thursday, December 17, 2015

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Montefiore Conference Room, NW628

Around-the-world Holiday Luncheon:

Our PACCM Family is rich in cultural backgrounds that extend around the world!

Share your ethnic history and holiday traditions by bringing a traditional covered dish or dessert if you would like to

participate in our Annual Potluck Around-the-World Holiday Luncheon.

Misfit Gift Exchange:

The fun way to “REGIFT”…

Did you receive 2 copies of the same DVD movie last year? Or would you like to conveniently “lose” last year’s gift from

your in-laws?

Rewrap it in pretty paper (without a gift tag) and see who will bargain for your mystery gift in this playfully competitive

tradition.

Fellows

Roger Alvarez, DO-

Received the Breathe PA grant, “Alpha Globin

Expression in Pulmonary Artery Endothelial

Cells Modulates; Nitric Oxide Signaling in

Chronic Hypoxia and Pulmonary Hypertension.

SeungHye Han, MD-

“Cigarette Smoke Decreases NALP3 Protein

Levels” abstract has been accepted for

presentation at the Eleventh Annual Respira-

tory Disease Young Investigators’ Forum that

will take place on October 8-11, 2015 in At-

lanta, GA.

Ian Barbash, MD-

Has received a two year NIH Extramural Clini-

cal Research Loan Repayment Award.

Page 7 Volume 1, Issue 2

Fellowship Summer Party

Congratulations to our recent graduates!

- Photos courtesy of Dorothy Voith

- Photos (and fun) courtesy of Bryan McVerry

Back Page Story Headline

Celebrations

Be sure to notify us of all newsworthy items!

New Grants

Honors & Awards

Promotions & New Appointments

Special Presentations/Seminars

Engagements/Marriages/Births

Share photos of your colleagues!

Send info to: dobranskyta@upmc.edu

Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and

Critical Care Medicine-PACCM

Like us on Facebook!

BIRTHS

Congratulations to all of the

growing PACCM families!

Yanyan Qu (Research Associ-

ate) welcomed a son, Ruilin, on

June 3.

Mindy (Seagriff) Kleson

(Simmons Center) welcomed a

son, Grant, on June 24.

Christina Kutzavitch (ECRC)

welcomed a daughter, Milena,

on July 22.

Christine Sanserino (PTRC)

welcomed twins, Mathew and

Deborah, on August 26.

Celebrations

www.dept-med.pitt.edu/PACCM

@PACCM

Follow us on Twitter!

Random Fun

THROWBACK PHOTO TIME!

Our Halloween/United Way bake sale in 2008!

Do you recognize anyone here?

Editor-in-Chief: Rama Mallampalli, MD

Senior Editor: Terri Dobransky

Grant Joseph Klesen,

with big sister Addison

Mathew and Deborah Sanserino

Milena Rosa Kutzavitch

Ruilin

Chen