Year 3. December 23. The Best Gift for the Holiday Season – Giving Back and Paying Forward.
This note will land in your inbox hours before Christmas Day and Hannukah and for many of you it is a busy time as you gear up and plan for celebrating the holiday with family, friends and loved ones. Gift giving is a part of the holiday tradition and what better way to acknowledge the season by highlighting examples of gifts that members of our department have given back to their communities. One of the pillars of our strategic plan is Community Engagement & Investment, where our members as representatives of a public university seek to advance health and improve outcomes for our diverse communities. I believe that the examples highlighted in this week’s post tell a beautiful story of this pillar in progress.
Three Cheers for DoM Research Administration Volunteers
Service is one of the key pillars that upholds our mission in the DoM. Team members in the DoM Office of Research Administration (ORA) have spent the past year exemplifying this value through their quarterly volunteer events, days where they come together to donate their time to an organization or people in need.
This year, the research administration team packed food boxes for low-income seniors at the Orange County Food Bank; sorted and packed produce for families dealing with food insecurity at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; cared for trees in one of our Los Angeles neighborhoods with Tree People; and harvested and donated 2,960 pounds of fruit through Food Forward.
Prior to taking part in the team’s volunteer events, Clinical Trial Program Manager Leslie Cortez did not know that there were so many ways to give back to the community. For her, the best part of the experience was making new friends — and having lots of laughs — while helping others.
“Volunteering in the community is rewarding and makes me feel that I’m having a positive difference in someone’s life,” she said.
Yolanda Melgoza, a fund manager in the UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases, particularly enjoyed contributing to shade and green spaces for local communities through her work with Tree People. She was especially happy to have been able to share the experience with her daughter Selena, who is passionate about climate justice.
“It was a great experience,” Melgoza said. “I would love more volunteering opportunities regarding the environment and helping the community.”
For Kat Hirayanagi, a project coordinator in the ORA, the most enjoyable volunteer event was harvesting persimmons with Food Forward. She got the chance to use a fruit picker pole for the first time and was happy that the fruits of her labor would benefit unhoused folks. She also felt a sense of pride that she works with people who were willing to wake up early on the weekends to come together and help others.
“I think a lot of us tend to prioritize ourselves, our friends, and our families in our daily lives,” Hirayanagi said. “It’s nice to be reminded that there are other folks who could benefit from just a few hours of our time on a Saturday morning. It also creates a sense of community and is a great reminder that we’re all human and we’re all just doing our best.”
Pre-Award and Fund Manager Bridget Rios loved the Food Forward event as well. The experience led her to reflect on what a community the size of Los Angeles needs to thrive.
“Things like access to fresh fruit, in this case, is one of those ways to contribute back into this community that I grew up and have lived in my whole life. I believe that, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a fog over general society of uncertainty and hopelessness; volunteering provides a win-win scenario that relieves some of that tension,” Rios said. “By assisting those who are less fortunate and having a physical, direct way to help with others, together, I feel a sense of pride in the world around me that feels rare nowadays. With the future ahead of us, I hope to not only continue to participate in these events but also urge my fellow DOM coworkers to do the same. It’s never a late time to start giving back!”
The events not only bring volunteers closer to their community, but also to each other. For Cathy Rujanuruks, director of research administration and organizer of the team’s volunteer projects, they are a chance to spread positivity between colleagues and out to the greater community.
“It is rewarding feeling for me to know I’m helping those in need and beneficial to those receiving the much-needed assistance. Win-win!” Rujanuruks said. “I hope by organizing these community engagement opportunities, I can help spread a little positivity and joy to my Department of Medicine work family, as well as spend some time getting to know each other on a more personal level!”
Kudos to all of our DoM Research Administration LEADERS for your commitment to service! Keep up the great work.
UCLA Teen Heart Health Program Brings Nutrition Education to Neighborhood Youth Association
Heart disease is often considered a malady impacting middle-aged and older adults, but the processes that ultimately lead to conditions like atherosclerosis may begin as early as childhood. Furthermore, the lifestyle and health habits one forms in their youth often persist into adulthood, especially when it comes to nutrition and food choices. Yet nutrition education is sorely lacking in U.S. schools, especially those that serve under-resourced families.
Thanks to the LEADERShip of third-year internal medicine resident Amier Haidar, MD, MPH, more kids will grow up with the nutrition knowledge they need to keep their hearts healthy. This fall, Dr. Haidar led a new initiative within the UCLA Teen Heart Health Program that brought a nutrition education curriculum to middle school students in the Neighborhood Youth Association (NYA), an after-school program based in Venice that provides tutoring and mentorship to under-resourced youth in West L.A. For 10 weeks beginning in September, Dr. Haidar and a group of DGSOM medical students and UCLA undergraduates held weekly nutrition classes, complete with healthy snacks that matched the theme of each lesson.
“By educating the youth on the importance of heart health through nutrition and physical activity we are addressing an unmet need in our community while also working to prevent cardiovascular disease in future generations,” Dr. Haidar said.
Dr. Haidar and his team were invited to continue the program at NYA into 2025 and to expand it to serve high school students as well. He hopes to recruit more members who are interested in preventive medicine and to partner with UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind, a provider of youth health and wellness resources throughout L.A.
Our trainees’ community engagement efforts are unparalleled. Please join me in thanking Dr. Haidar for leading such an important initiative! I also want to congratulate Dr. Haidar for successfully matching into the cardiology fellowship at the University of Texas – Houston, in his hometown. We will miss you here in LA, Amier. Say hello to your mentor and dear friend to many of us, Dr. HT, who you get back to UT Houston!
Yuqing Gao, MD Receives PACE Award for Cystic Fibrosis Clinical Research
I am pleased to share that Yuqing Gao, MD has received a Program for Adult Care Excellence (PACE) Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This grant is designed to amplify the work of early-career physicians who treat adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) — a genetic condition that affects the lungs — by providing salary support and a travel grant to the annual CFF conference.
“Encouraged by my mentors to apply for the PACE program, I am eager to learn and enhance the lives of individuals living with CF through this opportunity,” Dr. Gao said. “I am deeply committed to advancing CF care and research, and I look forward to the professional growth and impact this award will help facilitate.”
Cystic fibrosis was once considered a pediatric disease, as patients rarely lived past childhood. But the advent of drugs called CFTR modulators has dramatically increased their lifespan, and as a result, there are more adults living with CF than children, according to CFF.
“Despite these advances, CF remains a rare, complex and progressive disease without a cure, which creates a growing need for physicians with the specialized expertise required to care for the aging CF population,” Dr. Gao explained. She joined UCLA’s accredited CF care center in 2023 and has since worked under the leadership of Patricia Eshaghian, MDand Grant Turner, MD. In an excellent example of the quality of meds-peds care at UCLA, Dr. Gao noted that her team collaborates closely with pediatric pulmonologists Douglas Li, MD and Daniella Safatian, MD to provide outstanding care to people with CF across the lifespan.
In addition to the annual CFF conference, the PACE award will enable Dr. Gao to travel to other meetings and to take part in training and mentorship opportunities at CF care centers across the country. These will help her learn how to manage not only lung issues but also the many other complications of CF, from sinus disease to gastrointestinal and nutritional issues to infertility, and to gain the skills needed to provide care to aging CF patients.
“For example, I will gain expertise in managing CFTR modulators and their side effects, treating chronic infections in the lungs and sinuses, addressing distal intestinal bowel obstructions, advising adults with CF who wish to start a family, and determining the appropriate timing for lung transplantation,” Dr. Gao explained.
Here at UCLA, the award will support Dr. Gao’s continued work on quality improvement projects focused on the transition from pediatric to adult CF care. It will also give her the bandwidth to expand her involvement in clinical research within our CF center. Congratulations Dr. Gao!
Grant Turner, MD Honored as One of “SoCal’s Finest” by Local Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Chapter
As is evident from Dr. Gao’s PACE award, the pulmonary division — and indeed, all of the DoM — is home to the finest physicians in Southern California. So, it is no surprise to me when one of them is recognized for being just that. Grant Turner, MD, associate medical director of the UCLA Cystic Fibrosis Program, was named one of “Southern California’s Finest” young professionals at a special event held Nov. 10 by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Southern California Chapter. The event aims to share the achievements of individuals who demonstrate leadership, community engagement and professional excellence and are committed to improving the lives of people with CF.
In accepting his nomination, Dr. Turner also agreed to raise funds for CFF. He raised more than $4,000.
“I’m so honored to continue to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s mission, not just in my work but outside of work through philanthropy,” he said.
As a lung transplant and cystic fibrosis specialist, Dr. Turner impacts the lives of individuals with CF directly every day. As a researcher, he is working on studies with the potential to impact people with the condition more broadly, such as serving as a lead investigator of a multi-center clinical trial on colorectal cancer screenings for patients with CF. Dr. Turner also is helping to facilitate another multi-center trial that will assess whether a new treatment called bacteriophage therapy can treat serious antibiotic resistant infections in the lungs of CF patients. That work, which is led by Paul Allyn III, MD, is currently in phase 2b.
“We’ll have to move forward with other trials before we get approval, but this study is a huge step forward,” Dr. Turner said.
I would like to note that, like Dr. Gao, Dr. Turner is also a past recipient of a PACE award. In fact, it was Grant who inspired Yuqing to apply for the award as well, a beautiful example of paying it forward. Dr. Turner’s dedication to improving the lives of people with CF sets a wonderful example for us all. Please join me in congratulating him on this recognition!
John Belperio, MD Wins Younes Nazarian Humanitarian Prize for Groundbreaking Lung Research
UCLA pulmonologist John Belperio, MD has spent the past 24 years trying to understand and prevent lung transplant rejection, a common complication that affects about half of all lung transplant recipients within five years of the procedure. At a special Grand Rounds on Dec. 19, his tremendous progress was honored with the third annual Younes Nazarian Medical Humanitarian Prize, a $25,000 award that recognizes a DoM clinician whose research, clinical care or technological innovation is advancing humanity.
“It’s a huge honor and privilege to get a humanitarian award, especially here at UCLA where there are so many great faculty,” Dr. Belperio said. “I’m very humbled.”
Dr. Belperio’s Grand Rounds presentation described the many causes of lung transplant rejection and his team’s efforts to learn how to prevent it. They have pinpointed three immune responses that underlie what’s known as secondary transplant rejection, defined as rejection that does not result from initial acute injury. The first is known as a type 1 immune response, which is driven by white blood cells attacking the transplanted lung. The second, a type 2 immune response, leads to lung fibrosis. The third is called a type 17 immune response; it stimulates blood vessel formation that perpetuates both the type 1 and type 2 immune responses.
“Over the years, we have found that type 1, type 2 and type 17 immune responses seem to be causal of this rejection process, and if actually you inhibit each one separately, you can reduce the rejection process a bit with each one,” Dr. Belperio explained.
More recently, his lab has found a way knock down the type 1, 2 and 17 responses within the donor lung all at once, which has had a “profound effect on reducing rejection” in mouse models of lung transplant, he said. By using inhalable forms of novel drugs from a class of agents called JAK-STAT inhibitors, the Belperio lab was able to directly inhibit these immune pathways in the lungs and prevent transplant rejection without systemic side effects.
“We think it will save patients from developing infections like CMV infection and cancers like post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease,” Dr. Belperio said. “Since it's targeted, it will allow us to decrease other immunosuppressive drugs that cause renal failure and should help patients long term.”
The Belperio lab is currently undertaking animal studies to produce the data they need to study this approach in humans. Meanwhile, Dr. Belperio plans to put his Younes Nazarian Humanitarian Prize toward supporting a research program focused on establishing tolerance for transplanted lungs in recipients, meaning that their immune systems are primed for the donor lung before they receive it, so they are less likely to reject it. Tolerance protocols already exist for kidney transplants, but these are easier to do because the donor is “matched” to the recipient and there is usually sufficient time to carry out a three-month drug regimen prior to the procedure. Lung transplants are unmatched and happen too quickly to use the same type of protocol, Dr. Belperio explained. For that reason, the research could have benefits beyond the lungs too.
“If we can establish tolerance in the lungs, with a total mismatch, we know it will work in kidneys, livers, hearts, bone marrow transplants — across the board,” Dr. Belperio said.
Dr. Belperio views the UCLA Department of Medicine as a “hidden gem” of innovation. The collegial environment fosters cross-division collaborations that lead to better science, he said.
“It really is the best in the country,” Dr. Belperio said. “The department of medicine is incredibly supportive. They push us to do high risk, high reward type experiments, and they really try to get us to think out of the box and generate new ways to save patients’ lives.”
Dr. Belperio’s scholarship and patient care has already dramatically expanded our knowledge of lung transplant rejection, and there is much to look forward to as his work continues to advance medicine. Congratulations, John!
A Hand-Painted Note of Gratitude
To round out the wonderful examples of service in this week’s newsletter, I share with you a token of appreciation addressed to our colleagues at the Greater Los Angeles VA. A Veteran patient underwent a heart procedure called TEE/cardioversion to address atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common heart arrhythmia, and was so grateful for his care that he painted and sent the card below.
David Madnick, MD one of our cardiology fellow who treated the patient. As a cardiologist in training, he is no stranger to TEE/cardioversion, a relatively minor procedure for patients with AFib. The card “was an important reminder to me that even seemingly small, routine interventions can have a profound effect on someone’s quality of life,” Dr. Madnick reflected.
“I was very moved to receive this feedback and beautiful artwork,” he said.
Dr. Madnick noted that this particular case also exemplified the VA Division of Cardiology’s commitment to making every accommodation possible for its patients. When the patient ran into issues with transportation that threatened to postpone his care, the VA Division of Cardiology put its ethos of accommodating patients into action by working with the VA’s social workers and case managers to come up with a solution.
“It is very gratifying to know that our efforts were appreciated and made a difference for this patient,” he said.
I am very proud of all members of this patient’s care team and, indeed, all our exceptional faculty and staff at the VA. You all go above and beyond to serve our Veteran, and as you can see, your work is enormously impactful. Thank you for all that you do!
So, as you enjoy time this season with friends and family, remember the impact that we have on others when we give the best gift, namely service and compassion.
Dale
P.S.
Last week I mentioned how our Chief Residents were celebrating the holidays with the inaugural administrative office decoration contest. I also shared with you the decorative installation that I was voting for. The votes are now in and the “Holiday Office Decoration Spectacular Competition” champion has been identified. Watch the video below to see who won the contest!
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