Illinois Medicine

SPRAWKA APPOINTED ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, MATERNAL-FETAL MEDICINE Nicole Sprawka Nicole Sprawka, MD, has been named assistant professor of ob- stetrics and gynecology specializing in maternal-fetal medicine. Sprawka practices at the Center for Women's Health, where she sees high-risk obstetrical patients, consults on com- plex obstetrical patients and staffs the OB ultrasound clinic. She focuses on prenatal diagnosis, preconception counseling and maternal medical disorders such as diabetes or seizure disorders. Sprawka received her MD from Uni- versity of Texas Southwestern Medical School and did her residency at Baylor College of Medicine and fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine at Brown University. ASEM JOINS FACULTY Humera Mohammed Asem, MD, became an assistant professor in clinical obstetrics in December upon completing her residency. Asem leads the Gynecologic QI (Quality Improvement) Committee, a group of physicians who review cases with the goal of improving patient safety and FINN NAMED HEAD, DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE Patricia W. Finn, MD, became head of the department of medicine and Earl M. Bane Professor of Medicine at the College of Medicine effective Jan. 1. Previ- ously Finn had been Kenneth M. Moser Professor of Medicine and the director of the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at University of California, San Diego, and earlier she served as associate professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Finn's clinical and research focus is on immune mediated pulmonary diseases, including transplantation, lung injury and asthma. She has a long history of NIH funding, currently serving as principal investigator on two R01s and a T32 training grant. Awards and honors include the Physician Scientist Award from NIH, a Career Investigator Award from the American Lung Association, the Milton Fund and Forces of Change Awards from Harvard University and induction into the Association of American Physicians. Finn's professional activities include service on several journal editorial boards and a pending term as president of the American Thoracic Society in 2013-14. She also has published more than 90 peer- reviewed articles and chapters. Finn graduated medical school and did her residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Patricia W. Finn satisfaction. A clini- cal focus for Asem is providing gyneco- logic care to women with physical and mental disabilities and limitations, and she's currently collaborating with other researchers on campus and around Chicago to explore how to improve care for this population. RUSCH RECEIVES PEORIA CHAMBER'S Humera Mohammed Asem ATHENA AWARD Sara L. Rusch, MD, regional dean of the College of Medicine in Peoria, Sara L. Rusch has received the Athena Award from the Peoria Area Chamber of Com- merce, which recognizes a woman in the region who shows outstanding achievement in her profession and works tirelessly to make her community a better place. Sponsored by Morgan Stanley/Smith Barney, the award rec- ognized Rusch's leadership, including her long tenure as chair of the college's department of medicine from 1993-2008, as well as community ser- vice that includes membership on multiple boards and executive committees along with numerous awards for her work as a physician, teacher and community NEW TRANSLATIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLE FOR DEAN AZAR Dimitri Azar, MD, MBA, dean of the College of Medicine, has been appointed director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, an intercollegiate center focused on novel and collaborative clinical translational research. Azar has become principal investigator of the NIH-funded Clinical and Trans- lational Science Award and is leading the effort to renew this grant, with help from co-directors Larry Tobacman, MD, and Robin Mermelstein, MD. Tobacman is senior associate dean for research, director of the NIH-funded Robin Mermelstein Larry Tobacman Medical Scientist Training Program and professor of medicine and of physiology & biophysics. His research focuses on the thin filament regulatory system of cardiac and skeletal muscle contraction, and on inherited cardiomyopathies. Mermelstein, who serves as director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy as well as professor of psychology and clinical professor of community health sciences, is a nationally recognized expert in youth smoking, employing novel approaches to studying nicotine dependence and intervening clinically. Azar, B.A. Field Chair of Ophthalmologic Research and professor of ophthalmology, pharmacology and bioengineering, conducts research on matrix-metalloproteinases in corneal wound healing and angiogenesis. volunteer. "I chose medicine because I like to learn, to solve problems and to take care of people. I wanted to make a difference in people's lives," Rusch said. "As regional dean, I strive to make a broader impact. … Ultimately, my job is still learning, problem solving and caring for patients, just on a different scale. I'm blessed to have an opportunity to do what I love." ORGAIN ELECTED VICE SPEAKER, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS Javette Orgain, MD, MPH, FAAFP, interim medical director at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System's Mile Square Health Center, has been Javette Orgain elected vice speaker of the Congress of Delegates, the governing body of the American Academy of Family Physi- cians. As board member for AAFP, which represents more than 100,000 physicians and medical students na- tionwide, Orgain will advocate on behalf of family physicians and patients. She joined the department of family medicine in 1991 and served as assistant dean of the Urban Health Program at the Col- lege of Medicine from 2006 to 2011. ILLINOIS MEDICINE | 11

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