Physician researchers were recognized as Leaders in Health Care and 40 Under 40 Award winners.

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES, November 2, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Three University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) physician researchers were recognized when the Baltimore Business Journal announced its Leaders in Health Care and 40 Under 40 Award winners.

Sarah Kattakuzhy, MD, and Elana Rosenthal, MD, of UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV), received Leaders in Health Care awards for their roles in spearheading a community outreach program for marginalized members of society. Drs. Kattakuzhy and Rosenthal also were dual honorees in the Health Care Outcomes category, which recognizes contributions made by those leading a coordinated effort to improve patient outcomes and community wellness.

Adrianne Hammershaimb, MD, MS, of UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) and the Department of Pediatrics, was selected as a 40 Under 40 recipient after playing a key role in the Moderna and Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trials in Maryland and leading a study that informed the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) messaging on administering the vaccine to children.

Drs. Kattakuzhy and Rosenthal were honored at the Baltimore Business Journal’s Leaders in Health Care event on Thursday, October 6, at Martin’s Valley Mansion in Cockeysville, MD, while Dr. Hammershaimb will be recognized at the 40 Under 40 event on Thursday, November 17 at the Marriott Owings Mills Metro Center in Owings Mills, MD.

“These awards reflect the breadth of UMSOM’s reach from patient care in our local community to our research influencing nationwide policy guidelines for an international pandemic,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, Vice President for Medical Affairs at University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean at UMSOM. “I could not be prouder of the work performed by our own clinician researchers in their quest to address several of the greatest generational challenges of our time.”

Drs. Kattakuzhy and Rosenthal hold leadership roles with the Research Initiative on Infectious Diseases and Substance Abuse (RIIS) program within UMSOM’s IHV. This program serves members of the community who typically slip through the healthcare cracks, including people who inject drugs, sex workers, transgender individuals, and people experiencing homelessness. RIIS’ primary purpose is to explore the intersection of infections and substance abuse in marginalized populations.

Dr. Kattakuzhy, an Associate Professor of Medicine and the Baltimore RIIS Director, and Dr. Rosenthal, an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Washington, D.C. RIIS Director, have been involved with the program since 2014.

“My colleagues and I at UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology are proud of Drs. Kattakuzhy and Rosenthal and their commitment to advance public health in our local communities,” said Robert C. Gallo, MD, the Homer & Martha Gudelsky Distinguished Professor in Medicine, Co-Founder and Director of the UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology, and Co-Founder and Chair of the Scientific Leadership Board of the Global Virus Network (GVN). “Their success extends beyond our region and impacts the field of clinical research broadly.”

Led by Drs. Kattakuzhy and Rosenthal, the RIIS team provides on-site treatment for infectious diseases such as hepatitis C, HIV treatment and prevention, medications for opioid use disorder, and gender-affirming hormone therapy. Patients also can receive harm reduction services such as needle and syringe exchange, while engaging with providers who are non-judgmental and sympathetic. In addition to providing care in Greater Baltimore and Washington D.C., RIIS serves at-risk populations on the Eastern Shore via a mobile van.

While providing clinical care is a primary goal of the RIIS program, research is also an integral aspect of the initiative. Through clinical research, RIIS aims to understand and improve how care is delivered to marginalized populations. The team determines gaps in care, and then plans, implements, and evaluates delivery methods.

RIIS also has made a positive impact through the program’s ability to adapt to the changing needs of the community. When many people lost access to their physicians at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the program assisted those individuals in receiving routine care, including HIV medication, and gender-affirming hormone therapy for transgender individuals.

“Drs. Kattakuzhy and Rosenthal well deserve this award. The business of health care is taking good care of patients, especially those who are marginalized. In this regard, they both have inspired us all through their leadership, compassion, and dedication to the most needed communities in Maryland,” said Shyam Kottilil, MBBS, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the UMSOM and Director of UMSOM’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV) Division of Clinical Care and Research.

Dr. Hammershaimb began her fellowship training at UMSOM shortly before the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Maryland. Dr. Hammershaimb diagnosed and reported some of the state’s earliest cases of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) – a disease in children related to COVID-19 – and quickly became a highly sought-after resource for the latest developments in prevention, testing, and treatment for COVID-19 in children and MIS-C. She helped implement hospital policies, while also educating medical students and pediatricians across the University of Maryland Medical System and in the community on the topics of COVID-19 in children and MIS-C.

Additionally, Dr. Hammershaimb helped lead the Moderna and Novavax vaccine trials at UMSOM’s satellite site at CASA de Maryland in Prince George’s County, providing outreach to the Latinx community and ensuring that the trial was inclusive of Latinx Marylanders. This work was significant as the Hispanic community in Maryland has traditionally not been involved in clinical research and was disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

While providing key support to the vaccine trials, Dr. Hammershaimb simultaneously dove into research related to COVID-19 vaccine acceptance, work that caught the attention of the nation’s policymakers and public health leaders and was used in discussions of how to appropriately message the public on the topic. Earlier this year, Dr. Hammershaimb presented her work to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices COVID-19 Working Group, which influenced how the organization disseminated information and recommendations to the public on the COVID-19 vaccine in children.

Vanessa McMains
Institute of Human Virology
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