Endocrinology News Updates

Helmy Siragy, MD, FACP, FAHA, who holds the Harrison Distinguished Chair for Excellence in Medical Education, was congratulated by division chief Zhenqi Liu for “his second successful R01 this spring. His NIH R01 grant application ‘(Pro)renin receptor regulates autophagy in diabetic kidney disease’ was recently reviewed and ranked in the top 2 percentile. I fully expect it to be funded.”Dr. Siragy was a visiting professor at Alexandria University in Alexandria , Egypt, from November 28 to December 28, 2016, where he gave two plenary-session presentations at a meeting organized by the Egyptian Association of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Atherosclerosis, and co-sponsored by the International Endocrine Congress in the Middle East and Africa, the European Endocrine Society, and the Japanese Endocrine Society. Dr. Siragy lectured on “Recent Advances in Diabetic Nephropathy, From Pathophysiology to Treatment” and “Managing Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetic Patients.”

Zhuo Fu, PhD (known as “April” to colleagues) is a former Endocrinology postdoc who joined the Endocrinology faculty in September 2016 as an assistant professor. April was awarded a four-year KO1 grant from the National Institutes of Health, entitled “Microvascular and Metabolic Effect of Angiotensin (1-7),” starting last September. The K01 is a highly prestigious career development award for junior faculty and researchers. Congratulations April!

Susan Kirk, MD, an associate professor of medicine and SOM’s associate dean for graduate medical education, chairs the Institutional Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. She was an invited speaker at the ACGME Annual Educational Conference, held in Orlando March 8-12, 2017.

Richard J. Santen, MD, professor of medicine and associate director for clinical research in the Division, was a visiting lecturer at the Texas Tech School of Medicine in Amarillo, Texas, for the School’s annual research day on April 12. Dr. Santen spent the entire day meeting with students and residents, and gave a community-wide grand rounds presentation at noon.

Staff news

Brandon Kemp, a lab assistant in the Robert Carey Lab who received a Leonard W. Sandridge Outstanding Contribution award in 2016, organized another, very successful poster competition for Charlottesville High School students on January 13. Students got an inside look at careers in medicine and science after spending the last four months on research projects.  Here is a link to the poster competition & 2017 winners: https://med.virginia.edu/diversity/community/youth-community-programs/youth-program-events/.

Thank you, Brandon, for serving the UVA and Charlottesville community through this good work — along with all the other UVA staff and faculty members who volunteer and participate each year.