Dr. Daniel Bouland Appointed Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine

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Wolfgang H. Dillmann, MD

Wolfgang H. Dillmann, MD

Wolfgang Dillmann, MD, Helen M. Ranney Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine

The Department of Medicine is very pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Daniel Bouland as chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine effective July 1, 2016. Dr. Bouland will work with the Chair of Medicine and the CEO of the Health System to ensure continued growth of the division; additionally, Dr. Bouland will also continue to support the department of medicine in a new role as Vice Chair for Clinical Quality Improvement and Patient Experience.

Dr. Daniel L. Bouland

Daniel L. Bouland, MD, MS, FACP

Dr. Bouland is highly regarded as a clinician and educator as well as being an experienced leader in health care management and administration with vast experience in the field of hospital medicine across various governmental and private sectors.

Dr. Bouland received his medical training at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and completed an internal medicine residency at the same institution, serving an additional year as chief medical resident at affiliated Riverside General Hospital/University Medical Center (RGH/UMC). Commitments with the United States Public Health Service afforded Dan opportunities to work with indigent populations in southern California as well as the Indian Health Service. Upon his subsequent return to RGH/UMC, Dr. Bouland was progressively appointed Assistant, Associate, and then Chair of the Department of Medicine. During this time, additional functions included vice-chair of the Department of Medicine and Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program, Loma Linda University Medical Center; president of hospital-based physicians RGH/UMC; and CEO/President of the Mission Medical Group of the Inland Empire. Of note internationally, in addition to lectures and clinical care, is his establishing and maintaining a US-style medicine residency program at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang Medical University in Hangzhou, China.

In 2000, Dan moved to Hawaii to serve as Associate Chief of Staff for Primary Care and Medicine of the Veterans Affairs Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS), and then as Director of the Office of Referral and Management Services of the VAPIHC.

After joining the UCSD Division of Hospital Medicine in 2006, Dan completed a Master’s program in Health Care Management at Harvard. He has taken on many leadership roles within the University, including serving as Vice Chair for Clinical Operations in the department of medicine and as Director of Evaluation for the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute.

Current research efforts focus primarily on Quality Improvement initiatives, particularly the application of a results-oriented, business management approach to health care.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Bouland in his formal appointment as Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine.

Researchers ID Cancer Gene-Drug Combinations Ripe for Precision Medicine

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Yeast, human cells and bioinformatics help develop one-two punch approach to personalized cancer therapy —

In an effort to expand the number of cancer gene mutations that can be specifically targeted with personalized therapies, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center looked for combinations of mutated genes and drugs that together kill cancer cells. Such combinations are expected to kill cancer cells, which have mutations, but not healthy cells, which do not. The study, published July 21 in Molecular Cell, uncovered 172 new combinations that could form the basis for future cancer therapies.

“Oncologists here at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health and elsewhere can often personalize cancer therapy based on an individual patient’s unique cancer mutations,” said senior author Trey Ideker, PhD, … Read the Full Story by Heather Buschman from the UC San Diego Newsroom

Trey Ideker, PhD

Trey Ideker, PhD

Senior author of the study report in Molecular Cell is Trey Ideker, PhD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Genetics and Professor of Bioengineering at UC San Diego.

Poison Drummer Rikki Rockett Cancer-Free Following Immunotherapy at UC San Diego Health

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Rikki Rockett, drummer for the band Poison, got the best news of his life last week: his cancer is gone. Rockett was diagnosed with oral cancer more than a year ago. Several months ago, he came to Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health, where he underwent experimental cancer immunotherapy, which has now eradicated the tumor.

Rockett says he joined the clinical trial not only out of concern about himself, but also about being around for his three-year-old daughter, Lucy, and his seven-year-old son, Jude. … Read the Full Story by Heather Buschman from the UC San Diego Newsroom

UC San Diego Students Design Low-Cost HIV Viral Load Monitoring System for Tijuana, Mexico

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A group of students from the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego will spend the summer trying to curb the HIV epidemic in Tijuana, Mexico.

Two teams from UC San Diego’s Engineering World Health (EWH) student organization and Global TIES program are combining forces this summer to bring a device they created to monitor viral load in HIV patients to a clinical setting in Tijuana, Mexico for testing. … Read the full story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

UC San Diego Health Department of Medicine physicians Davey Smith and Matt Strain are advising both teams of students.

Dr. Davey Smith

Dr. Davey Smith

Davey Smith, MD, MAS, is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases. He co-directs the UC San Diego Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) and directs the CFAR’s Translational Virology Core.

Matt Strain, MD, is Assistant Professor of Medicine and physician in the Genomics and Sequencing Core at the UC San Diego CFAR.

Gene Mutation “Hotspots” Linked to Better Breast Cancer Outcomes

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Genetic phenomenon associated with low tumor invasiveness and longer patient survival could inform prognosis and help identify patients who would best respond to immunotherapy and other treatments —

Kataegis is a recently discovered phenomenon in which multiple mutations cluster in a few hotspots in a genome. The anomaly was previously found in some cancers, but it has been unclear what role kataegis plays in tumor development and patient outcomes. Using a database of human tumor genomic data, researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have discovered that kataegis is actually a positive marker in breast cancer — patients with these mutation hotspots have less invasive tumors and better prognoses. … Read the Full Story from the UC San Diego News Center

Dr. Jill Mesirov

Dr. Jill Mesirov

The study coauthors included Department of Medicine faculty researchers Pablo Tamayo, PhD, and Jill P. Mesirov, PhD. Both are Professors of Medicine in the Division of Genetics.

Read the Full Text (UC San Diego Only)

Aspirin Versus Blood Thinners in Atrial Fibrillation Patients with Stroke Risk

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Nearly 40 percent of patients treated with aspirin alone despite previous data showing blood thinners more beneficial —

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine report that more than 1 in 3 atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at intermediate to high risk for stroke are treated with aspirin alone, despite previous data showing this therapy to be inferior to blood thinners.

The findings publish online June 20 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. … Read the Full Story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

Dr. Jonathan C. Hsu

Dr. Jonathan Hsu.

The lead author of the study report is Jonathan C. Hsu, MD, MAS, Health Sciences Assistant Clinical Professor in the Cardiac Electrophysiology Section of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.

Read the study abstract

Drs. Brian Clay, Marlene Millen, Amy Sitapati Take New Leadership Roles in Clinical Informatics

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On June 16, 2016, UC San Diego Health Chief Information Officer Dr. Christopher Longhurst announced the formation of a new clinical informatics faculty leadership structure at UC San Diego Health in which three Department of Medicine faculty members are appointed to new roles.

“We recognize these individuals for their past contributions, collaborative skills and vision of health care innovation to benefit our faculty, staff, patients, and families,” Dr. Longhurst said.

Dr. Brian Clay is appointed Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) for Inpatient and Hospital Affiliations. Dr. Clay is Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hospital Medicine.

Dr. Marlene Millen, Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine, is Chief Medical Information Officer for Ambulatory Care.

Dr. Amy Sitapati, Health Sciences Clinical Professor of Medicine, Owen Clinic, is the Chief Medical Information Officer for Population Health.

 

 

Disjointed: Cell Differences May Explain Why Rheumatoid Arthritis Varies By Location

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Findings point to new approaches in targeted therapies so that what works for arthritic hands may not be the same for ailing hips —

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Pennsylvania and China, report that not only are there distinct differences in key cellular processes and molecular signatures between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) but, more surprisingly, there are joint-specific differences in RA. The findings help explain, in part, why drugs treating RA vary in effect – why, for example, a treatment that might work in arthritic knees isn’t effective in an arthritic hip – and provide a potential new template for precisely targeting treatment for each and every ailing joint. … Read the Full Story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

Dr. Gary Firestein

Dr. Gary S. Firestein

Gary S. Firestein, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology, is co-corresponding author of the study report with Wei Wang, PhD, professor in the departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego.

Dr. Firestein is Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Institute (CTRI) and Dean and Associate Vice Chancellor of Translational Medicine for UC San Diego.

A Department of Medicine faculty coauthor of the report is David L. Boyle, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology and Co-Director, Translational Research Technology, CTRI.

Read the study report (UC San Diego Only)

Body’s Own Gene Editing System Generates Leukemia Stem Cells

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Inhibiting the editing enzyme may provide a new therapeutic approach for blood cancers —

Cancer stem cells are like zombies — even after a tumor is destroyed, they can keep coming back. These cells have an unlimited capacity to regenerate themselves, making more cancer stem cells and more tumors. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have now unraveled how pre-leukemic white blood cell precursors become leukemia stem cells. The study, published June 9 in Cell Stem Cell, used human cells to define the RNA editing enzyme ADAR1’s role in leukemia, and find a way to stop it. … Read the Full Story from the UC San Diego Newsroom

Catriona H. M. Jamieson, MD, PhD

Catriona H. M. Jamieson, MD, PhD

The senior author of the study report is Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Jamieson is Deputy Director of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego Health, Director of the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Director of Stem Cell Research at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

UC San Diego Division of Regenerative Medicine coauthors include Sheldon Morris, MD, MPH, Data Management Lead for the UC San Diego CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic; co-first authors Maria Anna Zipeto and Angela C. Court, Anil Sadarangani, Nathaniel P. Delos Santos, Larisa Balaian, Gabriel Pineda, Cayla N. Mason, Ifat Geron, Daniel J. Goff, Russell Wall, Leslie A. Crews and Qingfei Jiang.

Read the study report (UC San Diego only)

Visit the Jamieson Lab Website

Drs. John Chang, William Sandborn and Kim Barrett Honored by American Gastroenterological Association at DDW 2016

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Drs. John T. Chang, William J. Sandborn and Kim E. Barrett have received high honors at Digestive Diseases Week® 2016, the annual joint meeting of the American Gastroenterological Association and other gastroenterology and hepatology societies.

John T. Chang, MD

John T. Chang, MD

John T. Chang, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, was honored with the AGA Young Investigator Award in Basic Science.  |  Read AGA Press Release

The award recognizes Dr. Chang for his originality and innovative insight into basic mechanisms underlying lymphocyte fate specification in systemic and mucosal immune responses.

Dr. Chang is currently exploring whether pharmacologic modulation of proteasome activity might be a useful strategy for improving memory cell generation, highly relevant for mucosal vaccine development.  |  Visit the Chang Laboratory

Dr. William Sandborn

William J. Sandborn, MD

William J. Sandborn, MD, AGAF, received the 2016 AGA Institute Council Immunology, Microbiology & Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IMIBD) Section Research Mentor Award.

Dr. Sandborn is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at UC San Diego.

The AGA Institute Council Intestinal Disorders Section Research Mentor Award went to Kim E. Barrett, PhD, AGAF, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Dean of Graduate Studies at UC San Diego.

Kim E. Barrett, PhD

Kim E. Barrett, PhD

The AGA gave its highest honor, the Julius Friedenwald Award, to C. Richard Boland, MD, AGAF, a past leader of the UC San Diego Division of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Boland was Chief of Gastroenterology at UC San Diego from 1995 to 2003.  |  Read the AGA Press Release

Dr. Boland, now at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX, received the award for his lifelong contributions to the field of gastroenterology and the AGA.

The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) are other sponsoring societies in DDW.