Accolades 

Mohammad Alam, M.D., and Amy Franks, Pharm.D., both received a $10,000 grant from the National Kidney Foundation. The grants were awarded for research in the area of renal related diseases.

Lisa M. Buckmiller, M.D., recently joined the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery as assistant professor and practicing physician at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Her subspecialty is vascular lesion anomalies. Dr. Buckmiller earned her medical degree from the University of California-Irvine and did residency training in general surgery and otolaryngology at the University of California-Davis. She completed a pediatric otolaryngology fellowship at UAMS/ACH.

Mary Cantrell, M.A., director of the Clinical Skills Center and Standardized Patient Program, is the first president of the Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) and will serve for two years. This newly formed association first met in Little Rock in February 2001. ASPE has a nine-member board with officers from medical schools all over the U.S. and Canada. The organization will hold its first international meeting on July 12 in Ottawa, Canada. Cantrell will deliver the keynote address at that meeting.

Jennifer M. Co, M.D., has joined the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics as assistant professor. She will care for patients in the Reynolds Center on Aging’s Senior Health Center and its affiliated nursing homes. Dr. Co earned her medical degree in the Philippines, where she served as a family physician for two years, and completed an internal medicine residency and a geriatrics fellowship at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in New York.

The Reynolds Department of Geriatrics welcomes Robert H. Coker, Ph.D., assistant professor. Dr. Coker will conduct research studies in human metabolism, exercise and nutrition at the Reynolds Center on Aging. He received a doctorate in exercise science from the University of Mississippi and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular physiology and biophysics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.

John Hart Jr., M.D., recently joined the Reynolds Department of Geriatrics and the Department of Neurology as associate professor. He will conduct research at the Reynolds Center on Aging and will treat patients in the UAMS Outpatient Center and at the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital. At the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Dr. Hart earned his medical degree; completed a neurology residency and a cognitive neurology and neuropsychology fellowship; and served as assistant professor of neurology and cognitive science and the deputy director of the Cognitive Neurology and Neuropsychology Division of the Neurology Department.

Ronda S. Henry-Tillman, M.D., breast surgical oncologist and assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, recently became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. As a member of the ACRC Breast Cancer Team, Dr. Henry-Tillman has helped develop and implement various cutting-edge techniques that significantly decrease the invasiveness and increase the accuracy of breast biopsy. She has also played a strong role in promoting breast cancer prevention — including the STAR (Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene) clinical trial — and early-detection screening methods. Being initiated into fellowship of the world’s largest organization of surgeons is an honor that requires demonstration of professional and ethical proficiency on many levels.

The Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery welcomes Emre Vural, M.D., as assistant professor who subspecializes in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. He earned his medical degree and did residency training in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery in Turkey. At UAMS, Dr. Vural completed fellowships in head and neck surgery and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Most recently, he served as staff surgeon at Istanbul Surgery Hospital in Turkey.

UAMS Department of Pathology presentations accepted in the 2002 Annual United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) were recognized for outstanding acceptance numbers. The number of pathological presentations accepted ranked UAMS in the top 15 overall institutions in terms of first-authored scientific abstracts peer-reviewed and accepted by experts. Presentation acceptance is very competitive. More than 3,000 pathologists are expected to attend the 2002 meeting. The department also ranked among the top 10 programs in terms of submission of scientific abstracts for the prestigious Stowell-Orbison Awards Competition for pathologists in training.