Rush 09_online.indd - Rush University Medical Center

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE 

Annual Report 2007 - 2008 

PATIENT CARE TEACHING RESEARCH COMMUNITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Comments from the Chair 2 

History of the Department 3 

Organizational Chart 4 

Medical Education Program 5 

Clinical Activities 10 

Research Activities 11 

Statistical Snapshot 12 

Section of Cardiology 16 

Section of Community Epidemiologic Research 18 

Division of Digestive Disease 20 

Section of Endocrinology 24 

Section of General Internal Medicine 27 

Section of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care 30 

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine 34 

Section of Medical Informatics and Patient Safety Research 37 

Division of Hematology/Oncology/BMT 38 

Section of Infectious Disease 42 

Section of Pharmacy Practice 46 

Section of Rheumatology 48 

Division of Nephrology 54 

Mission 

The mission statement of Rush University Medical 

Center is to provide the very best care for our 

patients. Our education and research endeavors, 

community service programs and relationships with 

other hospitals are dedicated to enhancing excellence 

in patient care for the diverse communities of the 

Chicago area, now and in the future.

COMMENTS FROM THE CHAIR 

2 

Stuart Levin, MD 

Chair, Department of 

Internal Medicine 

Dear Colleagues and Friends, 

I am particularly proud of the accomplishments of the Department of Internal Medicine 

during the fiscal and academic year of 2008. During this period, we continued to provide 

outstanding care, ground breaking research, superb teaching and strong outreach to 

our community. 

Patient Care - The Department implemented a number of programs and initiatives to 

improve the quality of care and increase patient satisfaction. There was a successful 

recruitment of experienced heart failure cardiologists to complement the heart transplant 

program. This has resulted in an increased volume of activities in both the medical and 

surgical aspects of the program. We opened the Coleman Foundation Comprehensive 

Clinic for Gastrointestinal Cancers, which allows patients access to a multidisciplinary 

team of experts to treat their cancer. Additionally, we implemented nocturnists as 

part of our hospitalists program to allow for 24/7 attending coverage for emergencies, 

instantaneous coverage for code situations, and support the cardio-thoracic program 

in surgery. The hospitalist system is matured and highly successful related to education 

and patient care. The Department also reorganized the leadership of the intensive care 

units to allow for implementation of quality improvement initiatives and to improve bed 

control management. Moreover, our Quality Assurance program, led by Dr. Robert Rosen, 

continues to be a success because of the collaboration between Chief Residents, faculty, 

nursing management and risk management. 

Research - The Department of Internal Medicine has continued to develop its research 

program with considerable success. Over the past year, the program, led by Dr. Ali 

Keshavarzian is expanding. The number of mentees has grown by 21% and over 17 

seminars were available for mentees and hospital staff on key topics related to research. 

Education - The medical residency program in the Department of Internal Medicine 

has enhanced its offerings to benefit both residents and faculty. The areas of 

concentration over the past year include evidence-based medicine, physical diagnosis and 

pathophysiology. The Department has an impressive track record of continuing to match 

in all of its residency and fellowships at 100%. The Internal Medicine Residency Program 

and all of the subspecialty fellowship programs received continued full accreditation 

following their RRC/ACGME site visits. Also, during this period, our residency, fellowship 

and clerkship programs implemented an electronic evaluation program. 

Community Outreach - Rush has continued to develop a strong relationship with J.H. 

Stroger Hospital of Cook County. Our partnership allows for physicians at Stroger to share 

great experiences and teach our first and second year medical students. Additionally, as 

partners, we are developing collaborative research programs in a variety of areas, such as 

infectious disease HIV studies. The Department also assisted with providing colonoscopies 

and endoscopies to patients at a time when Stroger hospital provided limited services. 

We hope that you will find this report informative and helpful to you. 

Stuart Levin, MD Chair, Department of Internal Medicine

The story of Department of Internal Medicine began in 1904. During 

its distinguished history, the department has been led by a number of 

renowned figures in American academic medicine among them Frank 

Billings and James Herrick. 

Frank Billings, MD, (1905-1923) played an important role in the 

development of Chicago as a leading medical center. He joined the 

Rush Medical College faculty in 1898 and served there as a professor 

of medicine and head of the Department of Internal Medicine. Under 

his leadership, the hospital rapidly developed as a center of better 

teaching, of better training for practitioners and as a better field of 

investigation. He researched the germ cause of disease, contributing 

the concept of focal infection, which helped explain at that time the 

cause of strange diseases of unknown origin. 

James Bryan Herrick, MD, (1923-1926) was selected to lead the 

department after Dr. Billings. Dr. Herrick discovered sickle cell 

anemia and the relationship between coronary thrombosis and heart 

attacks. He was one of the most important internists of his time. He 

was a graduate of Rush University Medical College, and made all of 

his most important discoveries while working on the campus. He 

was instrumental in establishing Internal Medicine as a specialty in 

Chicago and on an international level. 

OTHER LUMINARIES WHO HAVE LED THE DEPARTMENT INCLUDE: 

Robin T. Woodyatt, MD 1927-32 

George Dick, MD 1932-33 

Ernest E. Irons, MD 1933-42 

Ralph C. Brown, MD 1942-48 

S.Howard Armstrong Jr., MD 1948-52 

Thomas J. Coogan, MD 1952-54, 1956-59 

Howard Wakefield, MD 1954-56 

James A. Campbell, MD 1953-66 

John S. Graettinger, MD 1966-71 

Theodore B. Schwartz, MD 1970-82 

Robert W. Carton, MD 1982-84 

Roger C. Bone, MD 1984-91 

Stuart Levin, MD 1991-Present 

HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT 

Frank Billings, MD 

The First Chairman 

of the Department 

1905 - 1923 

3

INTERNAL MEDICINE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART 

4 

Residency 

Program 

Director 

Sr. Associate 

Residency 

Program 

Director 

Associate 

Residency 

Program 

Directors 

Vice Chairman, 

IM Academics 

Section of 

Nutrition and 

Epidemiology 

Section of 

Bone Marrow 

Transplant 

Student 

Program 

Director 

Vice Chairman, 

IM Research 

Section of 

Cardiology 

Division of 

Digestive 

Disease 

Section of 

Gastroenterology 

Division of 

Hematology/ 

Oncology/BMT 

Section of 

Hematology 

Chairman, Department of 

Internal Medicine Stroger 

Sr. Assist. 

Chairman 

Chief 

Administrative 

Officer 

Section of 

Rheumatology 

Section of 

Hepatology 

Section of 

Oncology 

Section of 

Infectious 

Diseases 

DEAN, RMC 

Chairman, 

Department 

of Internal 

Medicine 

Sr.Associate 

Chariman 

Clinical Affairs 

Chief Medical Officer 

Section of 

Community 

Epidemiologic 

Research 

Section of 

Endocrionology 

Stroger 

Section of 

GIM Stroger 

Assist. 

Chariman 

Chief Financial 

Officer 

Division of 

Endocrinology 

Division of 

General Internal 

Medicine 

Section of 

Geriatric and 

Palliative Care 

Section of 

Endocrinology 

Rush 

Section of 

GIM Rush 

Associate 

Chair, Quality 

and Safety 

Section of 

Pharmacy 

Practice 

Section of 

Critical Care 

Medicine 

Section of 

Transplant 

Nephrology 

Director of 

Compliance 

Section of Medical 

Informatics and 

Patient Safety 

Research 

Division of 

Pulmonary & 

Critical Care 

Division of 

Nephrology 

Section of 

Pulmonary 

Medicine 

Section of 

Nephrology

GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION 

Internal Medicine Residency Training Program 

Rush Medical College, whose initial charter dates back to 1837, was one 

of the first medical schools west of the Allegheny Mountains. As the 

principal teaching hospital for Rush Medical College and Rush University, 

Rush University Medical Center serves as a primary care facility for the 

near west side of Chicago and as a referral center for the Chicago area and 

the entire Midwest. Our trainees benefit from the cultural, ethnic, racial, 

socioeconomic and religious diversity of this wonderful city. 

The Department of Medicine has two primary goals: to provide excellent 

patient care and to offer outstanding education for trainees in internal 

medicine. These goals are inextricably linked; the foundation for this linkage 

is open communication among all members of the health care team. 

Residents in the Department of Internal Medicine participate in a 

program that focuses on carefully balancing the appropriate amount of 

supervision and autonomy based on the level of training. Our program is 

markedly weighted in favor of education over service. To ensure an optimal 

educational experience for each patient they care for, residents obtain their 

own history and physical examination, formulate a differential diagnosis, 

recommend a diagnostic/therapeutic management plan, and review the 

plan with a senior supervisor. In many settings, the house officer, regardless 

of level of training, works directly with the attending in a one-on-one 

relationship, e.g. emergency room and ambulatory experiences. In other 

settings, residents work in teams, such as inpatient medical floors, consult 

services and intensive care units. 

Our curriculum is assessed and refined on a continuous basis. The 

Department of Internal Medicine Curriculum Committee meets regularly to 

review and improve our educational program. There is representation from 

faculty, chief residents, and housestaff on this committee. The core subject 

matter is repetitive on a two to three year basis so that all trainees will 

receive education in those areas deemed essential for the practice of internal 

medicine. Our subspecialty sections provide two types of curricula: a) the 

general information all residents need to learn irrespective of whether they 

rotate on that subspecialty service during the course of their residency; and 

b) a curriculum that is specific to the subspecialty rotation. 

Given the day to day supervisory responsibility of attending staff, we believe 

that substantive evaluation and feedback occurs on a daily basis based on 

interpersonal interaction. Nonetheless, our Department has in place an 

extensive, comprehensive, detailed and organized system of evaluation and 

feedback. In addition to structured evaluations, the Department of Internal 

Medicine leadership has an open door policy and residents are encouraged 

to discuss their concerns and request feedback as they deem necessary. 

MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM 

Richard I. Abrams, MD 

Assistant Chairman, 

Residency Program 

Director 

Clerkship Director 

Elizabeth A. Baker, MD 

Associate Program 

Directors 

Alan A. Harris, MD 

Scott G. Hasler, MD 

Andem Ekpenyong, MD 

Stephanie C. Wang, MD 

Support Staff 

Sr. Residency Coordinators 

Sharon Rosentein 

Emelina Quintana 

Clerkship Coordinator 

Laurel A. Pawlak 

5

Medical Education Program 

6 

L to R row: Amy J. Tucker,MD, Sonali Khandelwal,MD, Carol Burke, MD, Prakash Balan, MD 

Our program has many strengths. The most important of these assets is our outstanding clinical 

training in a board range of clinical settings. Our patient experience occurs at the Medical Center 

and throughout the metropolitan area. In addition to the parent hospital, there are affiliations 

with the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County Hospital and Rush North Shore Medical 

Center. These training affiliations provide unparalleled clinical breadth and depth and outstanding 

relationships between faculty and staff. These relationships lead to a friendly and collegial, yet 

academically challenging environment. The success of the hospital and all the training programs 

at Rush are directly related to our superior house officers. 

GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION POSITIONS 

Medicine Residents 54 

Categorical 34 

Preliminary 14 

Chief Residents 6 

Medicine Fellows 77 

Cardiology 19 

Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology 1 

Endocrinology 4 

Gastroenterology 10 

Geriatric 4 

Hematology/Oncology 6 

Infectious Disease 11 

Interventional Cardiology 2 

Nephorology 6 

Pulmonary/Critical Care 9 

Rheumatology 4 

Sleep Disorders& Research Center 1

UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION 

Internal Medicine Clerkship and Subinternship 

The Internal Medicine Clerkship is a three month 

experience, with each student spending one 

month on an inpatient service at RUMC, one 

month on an inpatient service at the John H. 

Stroger Hospital of Cook County, and one month 

in a general internal medicine outpatient setting. 

Elizabeth Baker, MD directs the clerkship, with 

Jah-Won Koo, MD and Viju John, MD heading 

the ambulatory block and Sandra Frellsen, MD 

and Susan Glick, MD directing the Stroger block. 

Students are given the opportunity to evaluate and 

manage a wide variety of patients in our diverse 

settings, developing history taking, physical 

examination and diagnostic reasoning skills. A 

variety of teaching strategies are utilized including 

case studies, debates and student run conferences. 

Internal medicine clerkship faculty lead the Rush 

Medical College effort to more fully integrate 

the clinical clerkships, leading plans for an 

interdisciplinary curriculum on finding and using 

quality information and for an interdisciplinary 

faculty development program. 

Over 80% of Rush Medical College students 

choose to complete a subinternship in internal 

medicine. Students function at an advanced level, 

completing histories and physical examinations, 

diagnostic evaluations, and initiating appropriate 

therapy under the close supervision of resident and 

attending staff. Michelle Sweet, MD and Viju John, 

MD direct this experience and provide didactic 

and interactive formal educational experiences for 

the students in addition to their clinical work. 

Introduction to Clinical Skills and 

Pathophysiology Courses 


The Department of Internal Medicine is also 

responsible for the following clinical skills 

courses: M1 Introduction to the Patient and M2 

Introduction to Clinical Skills. The co-course 

directors are Andem Ekpenyong, MD and Kuenok 

Lee, MD. These courses provide students with 

basic history taking and physical examination 

skills. Drs. Ekpenyong and Lee also organize 

the M3 Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) during 

which each M3 student participates in a 6-station 

Objective Structured Clinical Examination 

(OSCE). 

Pathophysiology is another important course, 

led by Syed H. Shah, MD, that runs in the 

second year of Rush Medical College. It has been 

designed to introduce the aberrations of Human 

Physiology that lead to a disease state. This 

course uses the patient case as the tool to outline 

Pathophysiological principles and develop 

clinical reasoning. 

The small group sessions are the primary avenue 

for learning in this course. With the guidance 

of a faculty facilitator, the students are expected 

to work through patient case presentations, 

identify questions, and then work collaboratively 

to answer those questions. Each group has 15- 

16 students and is led by facilitators who are 

clinician- educators (in the Department of Internal 

Medicine). There are a total of 29 two hour 

sessions over the course of the year for each group. 

7


Scott G. Hasler, MD 

Senior Associate Residency 

Program Director 

Dr. Hasler, Senior Associate 

Program Director of the Internal 

Medicine Residency and General 

Internist, has been serving the 

Chicago metropolitan community 

for more than 10 years and received 

two “Department of Medicine 

Teaching and Service Award” and 

Rush’s “Intern of the Year.” His 

association with numerous medical 

safety committees has been vital 

to the university medical system. 

He has published his research on 

medical errors, diagnostic mistakes, 

and safety efforts in many journals 

including AHRQ, Lancet, and 

JAMA. 

8 

Alan A. Harris, MD, Senior Assistant 

Chairman, Vice Chairman of 

Academic Affairs, Associate Program 

Director for Subspecialty Programs 

Dr. Harris, professor of medicine and 

preventive medicine has been serving 

the Chicago medical community 

for 35 years. An infectious disease 

physician and epidemiologist, he has 

served as a Vice Chair of the State of 

Illinois Governor’s Panel of Public 

Health Advisors. He is a member of 

the Chicago Department of Health 

Advisory Groups on Communicable 

Disease and Bio-terrorism, the Chicago 

Medical Reserve Corps and a local 

consultant to the CDC. At Rush, he has 

chaired the medical school admissions 

committee, the committee on Medicare 

compliance, the task force on resident 

staffing, the Infectious Disease and 

Sepsis Control Committee, and the 

Antibiotic Review Subcommittee. He 

has the authored numerous journal 

articles, abstracts, and book chapters. 

He is the recipient of the Department of 

Medicine Award for Teaching, the John 

S. Graettinger, MD Award for Clinical 

Bedside Teaching, and the Stuart 

Levin, MD Excellence in Medicine 

Award. He is a member of the Mark 

H. Lepper, MD Society of Teachers. 

In 1999, Dr. Harris was awarded the 

Edwin S. Hamilton Interstate Teaching 

Award as the outstanding postgraduate 

medical educator in the tri-state area of 

Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Prior to 

becoming Vice Chairman of Academic 

Affairs, Dr. Harris was our residency 

program director for 16 years. 

Andem Ekpenyong, MD 

Associate Program 

Director for Curriculum 

Dr. Ekpenyong is an excellent 

educator who has been serving 

the Rush University for more than 

10 years. Raised in Nigeria and a 

native Chicagoan, she pursued the 

field of medicine and, yet, excelled 

in Medical Academia. She was 

one of two faculty who developed 

the Medical Student Clinical 

Skills Assessment (CSA) Program 

and is a Co-Course Director for 

two clinical skills courses for the 

Medical College. Through the 

Department of Internal Medicine, 

she has been recognized via three 

“Teaching and Service Awards”. 

Dr. Ekpenyong is the Chair of the 

Curriculum Committee for our 

residency program. She graduated 

from Stanford Faculty Development 

Clinical Teaching Program and 

currently disseminates this faculty 

development program here at Rush.

Elizabeth A. Baker, MD 

Director of Medical Student 

Programs, Clerkship Director, 

Associate Professor, and General 

Internist in the Department of 


Dr. Baker has been serving Rush 

University for over 20 years. 

She has been awarded with 

two “Department of Medicine 

Teaching and Service Awards” 

and was elected into the Mark H 

Lepper, MD Society of Teachers 

in 2004. She has developed myriad 

programs within the Rush Medical 

College Internal Medicine Core 

Clerkship, Subinternship, and 

CRASH (Clinical Resources and 

Skills for the Hospital) courses. 

Her research interests in medical 

education are wide, with recent 

publications on struggling medical 

students and the relationship 

between medical students and 

the pharmaceutical industry. She 

currently serves as chair of Rush 

Medical College’s Committee on 

Curriculum and Evaluation and 

is a member of Rush University’s 

Faculty Nomination Committee. 

She practices both outpatient 

general internal medicine and 

hospital medicine as part of Rush 

University Internists. 

Stephanie C. Wang, MD 

Associate Program Director of 

Evaluation and Ambulatory Care 

Dr. Wang has been serving the 

Rush University and metropolitan 

Chicago area for more than 

10 years. Her achievement in 

medical academia has been 

outstanding. While serving her 

residency, she received numerous 

awards including Department of 

Medicine teaching and Service, 

Upjohn Achievement, outstanding 

intern, and outstanding resident 

award for RUMC. Not only that, 

she was inducted in 2006 as a 

recipient of the Lepper Award. 

Her involvement in various 

committees has been valuable 

to the university; she has been 

a member of faculty council, 

curriculum, and dean search 

committee for the University. As of 

now, she is instituting a project for 

International Healthcare Program 

relation and sending cross-specialty 

teams in remote area of Peralta, 

Dominican Republic. 


Richard I. Abrams, MD 

Assistant Chairman, Program 

Director of the Internal Medicine 

Residency Training Program, 

Associate Section Head Section of 

General Internal Medicine, and 

Assistant Professor of Medicine 

Dr. Abrams has been serving 

Rush University for more than 

20 years. During this time he 

has received recognition for his 

teaching abilities including three 

Department of Medicine Teaching 

and Service Awards, an American 

College of Physicians Community 

Based Teaching’ Excellence in 

Teaching Award, the Stuart Levin 

Excellence in Medicine Award, and 

election to the Lepper Society of 

Teachers. He has been a member 

of great number institutional 

and departmental committees, 

currently serving on the Graduate 

Medical Education Committee, 

the Department of Medicine’s 

Quality Assurance Committee 

and Patient Safety Committee. 

He has publications in a number 

of prestigious journals including 

JAMA, Lancet, Medical Care, 

and the Journal of General Internal 

Medicine. 

9

CLINICAL ACTIVITIES 

10 

Robert L. Rosen, MD 

Associate Chair 

of Department of 


The Department of Internal Medicine Quality Assurance (QA) is a 

comprehensive effort that focuses on providing high quality, safe care to 

our patients both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. The Chair of 

Department of Internal Medicine provides leadership to the department and 

all section heads are related to the importance of monitoring and improving 

patient care. 

The quality assurance and implementation functions of the Department of 

Internal Medicine center in a weekly forum, the Medical Advisory and Quality 

Implementation Committee, which is routinely attended by all involved in 

the patient care provided by the department. Attendees include the Internal 

Medicine’s administrative leadership, leadership of the residency program, 

chief medical residents, leadership of the Rush University Internist group 

that provides both inpatient care thru the hospitalists and outpatient care, 

leadership of both acute care and critical care nursing, nursing unit directors 

of the medical units, medical leadership of the critical care units, risk 

management, pharmacy, bed management, discharge planning, radiology, and 

laboratory services. This standing meeting provides a framework for discussing 

issues in real time and acting on them quickly since the participants are in 

positions where change can be effected. 

There are a number of ongoing areas of attention. Interactions and 

communication between physicians, nurses, ancillary services, and 

administration are constantly addressed in order to optimize the work 

environment of all. Patient and family concerns are discussed. Review of 

morbidities and unexpected mortalities takes place in this forum. The group 

addresses issues related to electronic applications used in medicine at Rush 

with a special emphasis on new implementations of the electronic medical 

records and medical reconciliation. 

Specific departmental initiatives in patient safety are developed and 

implemented by the Section of Patient Safety Research based on issues raised 

in the Department of Internal Medicine Quality Implementation Committee. 

Current priority issues include safety checklists, pain management, avoidance 

of hypoglycemia, reduction of polypharmacy, medication reconciliation, and 

implementation of electronic applications in medicine. 

Many of the subspecialty sections are actively involved in patient safety efforts. 

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care has coordinated a combined 

morbidity and mortality meeting with the surgical departments in addition to 

a primary overview of quality and safety issues in the Medical Intensive Care 

Unit. Cardiology, Nephrology, and Digestive Diseases also have a systematic 

approach to monitoring procedures and care that they provide.

Over the past year, the Department 

of Internal Medicine has continued to 

develop its research program through the 

continued development of two objectives: 

1) to facilitate Interdepartmental 

Collaborative Research Projects; and 

2) to mentor junior faculty to become 

leading researchers through the 

Research Mentoring Program. 

Interdepartmental Collaborative 

Research Projects 

The Joint MetaBiome Center, a 

partnership with George Mason 

University, is an example of an 

interdepartmental collaborative 

research project within Rush. The 

focus of the center will be clinical 

applications of dysbiosis of the entire 

human microbiome that resides in the 

gut, mouth, urogenital, and respiratory 

tract and characterize the homeostatic 

interactions between the microbiome 

and human genome or homobiome. 

Another collaborative research project 

included the SCOR study or the Study 

of Orthotic Shoe Inserts for Controlling 

Osteoarthritic Knee Pain. This research, 

led by Dr. Joel Block in the Department of 

Rheumatology, included the Departments 

of Biochemistry and Orthopedics to 

evaluate the effectiveness of customized 

shoe insets in controlling and relieving 

the pain of knee osteoarthritis. 

Research Mentoring Program 

The Research Mentoring Program 

is designed to prepare junior faculty 

members in the Department of Medicine 

at Rush University Medical Center and 

Stroger Hospital of Cook County to 

lead funded programs of translational 

research that will have a direct impact 

on the health of the nation. To achieve 

its goal, the program relies on two 

primary mechanisms: good mentoring 

and resources. Mentees are paired with 

experienced and committed mentors 

who work very closely with the mentee 

on her/his research project. The program 

also provides a range of resources to 

mentees, including: data management, 

statistical analysis, professional grant 

writing and manuscript editing, support 

staff, and regular workshops and seminars 

on a variety of research-related and grantwriting 

topics. 

The program currently has 27 mentees 

and more than 30 mentors and consists of 

four translational research tracks: clinical 

(outcomes and behavioral interventions, 

decision-making, communication, and 

safety); population-based; genetic-based; 

and laboratory-based. 

Program Goals 

The Research Mentoring program has 

four program goals for the upcoming 

year: 

1. To improve our marketing of the 

program throughout the University; 

2. To continue to recruit new mentees 

and mentors across colleges; 

3. To hire a master’s level statistician; and 

4. To secure long-term funding for 

the program. 

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES 

Ali Keshavarzian, 

MD, 

- Vice Chairman 

of Medicine for 

Academic and 

Research Affairs 

- Director of Division 

of Digestive Disease 

11

STATISTICAL SNAPHOT OF 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE 

John Rechner, MBA, CMPE 

Executive Administrator 

John Paulsen 

Director of Finance 

Kathryn Larsen 

Sr. Financial Analyst 

12 

60,000 

50,000 

40,000 

30,000 

20,000 

10,000 

0 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE TOTAL WORK RVUs 

9,883 10,275 

51,458 

Inpatient Admissions Inpatient Patient Days 

2007 2008 

51,082 

CLINICAL (FY08) 

Inpatient Admissions 10,275 

Inpatient Patient Days 51,082 

Average Length of Stay 4.97 

Inpatient Discharges 10,384 

Outpatient Visits 

Senior Care 5,463 

Cardiology 15,061 

General Internal Medicine 57,223 

Endocrinology 7,167 

Pulmonary/Critical Care 4,832 

BMT/Hematology 14,455 

Oncology 25,389 

Hepatology 2,103 

Rheumatology 13,026 

Gastroenterology 15,720 

TOTAL 160,439 

WORK RVU 

500,000 

400,000 

300,000 

200,000 

100,000 

0 

355,157 

415,145 

476,831 

FY2007 FY2008 FY2009*

IN MILLIONS 

3.0 

2.5 

2.0 

1.5 

1.0 

0.5 

0.0 

0.9 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE REVENUE PROFILE 

1.8 

1.9 

2.6 

1.8 

2.5 

70% - Other RUMC Patient Days 

2006 2007 2008 

Total Research Revenue Clinical Revenue Other Revenue 

2.1 

2 

Department of Internal Medicine 

30% - Internal Medicine Patient Days 

67% - Other RUMC Admission 

33% - Internal Medicine Admission 

2.2 

13


DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE CLINICAL ACTIVITY 

Total Work RVUs % change Patient Revenues % change 

2007 2008 2007 to 2008 2007 2008 2007 to 2008 

Bone Marrow Transplant 7,691 11,526 50% 925,121 1,002,155 8% 

Endocrinology 14,747 16,930 15% 1,452,469 1,358,459 -6% 

Hematology 23,074 32,885 43% 3,379,472 4,073,420 21% 

Pulmonary/Critical Care 37,711 40,668 8% 1,951,364 2,029,341 4% 

General Internal Med. 119,385 150,437 26% 9,801,879 11,361,947 16% 

Senior Care 21,539 26,167 21% 1,641,487 1,858,264 13% 

Oncology 23,094 28,609 24% 6,414,745 6,936,525 8% 

Cardiology 80,664 79,646 -1% 7,117,324 6,713,885 -6% 

Gastroenterology 51,859 50,162 -3% 6,152,802 6,283,101 2% 

Rheumatology 22,785 20,463 -10% 7,660,157 7,492,084 -2% 

Total 402,549 457,493 14% 46,496,820 49,109,181 6% 

Does not include Hepatology and Private Practices 

14 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE BUDGETED RESEARCH TOTALS- $M 

FY06 FY07 FY08 

NIH & Gov Non-Gov Total NIH & Gov Non-Gov Total NIH & Gov Non-Gov Total 

Cancer 0.0 2.0 2.0 0 1.6 1.6 0.1 2.7 2.8 

Cardiology 0.4 0.5 0.9 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.3 1.3 

Endocrinology 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.2 

Epidemiology & Aging 3.8 0.0 3.8 3.9 0.3 4.2 5.7 0.2 5.9 

Geriatrics 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.2 

GI-DD 1.3 0.0 1.3 1.4 0.1 1.5 0.5 0.1 0.6 

Hepatology 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 

ID 1.3 0.1 1.4 1.1 0.6 1.7 1.0 0.5 1.5 

Nephrology 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.1 

Pulmonary 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1 

Rheumatology 1.0 0.4 1.4 0.3 0.2 0.5 1.0 0.1 1.1 

Total 8.0 3.8 11.8 6.8 4.5 11.3 8.3 5.6 13.9

CHAIR ENDOWMENT PRINCIPAL BALANCES FY08 $M 

FACULTY APPOINTMENTS (FULL TIME) 


Cancer 14.6 

Cardiology 8.5 

Rheumatology 7.0 

Health & Aging 4.0 

Administration 4.3 

Nephrology 4.0 

Infectious Diseases 3.8 

Hepatology 3.7 

Gastroenterology 2.6 

Endocrinology 1.6 

Pulmonary 0.6 

TOTAL $54.7 

Professor 35 

Associate Professor 30 

Assistant Professor 129 

Instructor 35 

Lecturer 4 

TOTAL 233 

MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT IN ANNUAL FY08 $M 

GME $3.4 

RMC $2.3 

MSPs/PBC $49.2 

Funded Research & Clinical Trials $13.9 

Endowed Chair Income $3.4 

TOTAL $72.2 

15

SECTION OF CARDIOLOGY 

1725 W. Harrison Street, 11th Floor 

(312) 563-3801 

16 

James E. Calvin, Jr.,MD, FACC 

Section Director 

James B. Herrick Professor 

of Medicine 

Faculty 

Professors: 

Gary L. Schaer, MD 

Philip R. Liebson, MD 

Richard G. Trohman, MD, FAHA, 

FACC, FHRS 

Steven B. Feinstein, MD, FACC 

Associate Professors: 

Annabelle S. Volgman, MD, 

FACC 

Barbara Pisan, MD 

Clifford J. Kavinsky, MD, PhD 

Lynn Braun, PhD, RN,ARNP 

Jeffrey S. Soble, MD 

R. Jeffrey Snell, MD 

Jose C. Mendez, MD 

Assistant Professors: 

Bosko Margeta, MD (Stroger) 

Carolina Karam-Demori, MD 

(0.2/0.8 Stroger) 

Claudia Gidea, MD 

Donald J. Tanis, MD 

Kousik Krishnan, MD, FACC 

Payman Sattar, MD, FACC 

(0.25/0.75 Stroger) 

Rami Doukky, MD, FACC 

Robert Creek, MD 

The Section of Cardiology at Rush University Medical Center and 

the Rush Heart and Vascular Institute are deeply committed to the 

three pillars of academic medicine: delivering the finest care to our 

patients with cardiovascular disease; educating the very best academic 

physicians who will become leaders in their field; and furthering 

medical knowledge through the pursuit of innovative research in 

cardiovascular disease. 

The Section of Cardiology has had a very successful year in all of its 

missions, education, research and clinical service. We maintain an 

outstanding fellowship program, a growing research program, have 

rebuilt the Heart Failure/Transplant program and have expanded the 

Structural Heart Disease/Adult Congenital Heart Disease program. 

The remainder of this report specifically addresses each mission. 

Education 

The section continues to support one of the largest cardiology 

fellowship programs in the Midwest: 18 general cardiology, two 

interventional and one electrophysiology fellow(s). The section receives 

close to 600 applications for the six first year slots each year and this 

year matched with our first six selections. For the past five years, we 

have conducted an annual in-service exam for all general cardiology 

fellows. Pass rates on the ABIM-cardiovascular medicine exam 

exceeds 85%. 

Post graduate teaching through the critical care unit and consultation 

team rounds is active with approximately 14 housestaff involved each 

week. Undergraduate lectures are organized for the cardiovascular 

block in second year. Fellows are currently engaged in individual 

faculty mentored research studies under the director of Dr. Philip 

Liebson. There are currently 17 projects being performed by cardiology 

fellows. We believe that our fellowship program has evolved into one 

of the finest and most comprehensive training programs available in 

cardiovascular medicine in the country. 

Research 

The Section of Cardiology has an active clinical research and preclinical 

research program. Areas of interest include treatment of 

heart failure and coronary artery disease, medical and non-medical 

management of cardiac arrhythmia, cardiac prevention and cardiac 

imaging. The Section has been awarded seven industry-based grants. 

The Section has authored or co-authored 60 peer review papers 

including 17 papers where the primary author was a cardiology fellow.

Clinical Services 

Cardiac clinical service focus on the evaluation 

and non-surgical treatment of heart failure, 

coronary artery disease (acute and chronic), 

cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac prevention. 

Diagnostic services include echocardiography, 

electocardiography, diagnostic heart catheterization, 

stress testing (including nuclear), Holter monitoring 

and electrophysiology. Therapeutic interventions 

including medical therapy for all cardiac conditions, 

coronary intervention, structural heart disease 

intervention, cardiac arrhythmia ablation and 

pacemaker and defibrillator insertion. The following 

table summarizes the number of cardiac procedures 

and services provided by the Section of Cardiology 

during the past year. 

CLINICAL TRIALS AND INDUSTRY STUDIES 

Services Total Per FY 08 

Left Heart Cath 921 

Coronary Angios 921 

PCIs 257 

Echocardiogram 8,355 

Nuclear Stress 3,477 

Echo Stress 1,095 

Clinic Visits 12,800 

Hospital Patient Days 1,582 

EP Tests 190 

Arrhythmia Ablations 168 

AICDs 156 

Pacemakers 76 

Holter Monitors 706 

Section of Cardiology 

Study Title Principal Investigator Award Amount ($) 

Atherosclerosis Disease Measured by Carotid 

Intima-Media Thickness 

Implant to Reduce Refractory Migraine 

Headache with Aura 

Prevention of Vascular Events for 

Elevated Acute Coronary Syndromes 

Heparin Study for Stable Coronary 

Artery Disease PCI 

Dell Delivery and Retension Helix in an 

Acute Preclinical Setting 

Carotid Revascularization Evolution 

Post Approval Study 

Acunav Peer Training 

Implant of SAPIEN Transcatheter 

Heart Valve in Pulmonic Position 

Heart Failure Adherence 

and Retention Trial 

Feinstein, Steven 99,840 

Kavinsky, Clifford 219,800 

Schaer, Gary 65,000 

Schaer, Gary 41,847 

Schaer, Gary 136,098 

Snell, Jeffrey 112,000 

Hijazi, Ziyad 15,141 

Hijazi, Ziyad 83,535 

Calvin, James 

Powell, Lynda 

550,000 

17

SECTION OF COMMUNITY EPIDEMIOLOGIC RESEARCH 

1645 W. Jackson Blvd, Suite 675 

(312) 942-3350 

18 

Carlos F. Mendes de Leon, PhD 


Faculty 

Professors: 

Denis A. Evans, MD 

Carlos F. Mendes de Leon, PhD 


Liesi Hebert, ScD 

Jeremiah Kelly, MD 


Xinqi Dong, MD 

Kimberly A. Skarupski, PhD 

Jennifer Weuve, ScD 

The primary mission of the Section of Community Epidemiologic 

Research is to conduct community-based epidemiologic research 

on common, aging-related chronic conditions and their functional 

consequences. The Section also participates in educational services 

within the Department of Internal Medicine and the Medical School more 

generally. The Section has historically consisted of faculty that represents 

several academic disciplines, including internal medicine, epidemiology, 

and biostatistics. The Section has developed extensive collaborations 

with other academic and clinical Departments at Rush University Medical 

School, the Rush College of Nursing and Stroger Hospital of Cook 

County, as well as other academic institutions in Chicago and elsewhere 

in the US. 

In July of 2008, the Section underwent a transition in leadership. After 

many years of outstanding service, Dr. Evans has stepped down as Section 

Director and was succeeded by Dr. Mendes de Leon. The Section has 

also added a new faculty member, Dr. Jennifer Weuve, Assistant Professor 

of Internal Medicine (Epidemiology), who has joined the Section after 

completing her doctoral and post-doctoral training at the Harvard School 

of Public Health. 

Education 

The Section plays an active role in the Department of Internal Medicine 

Mentorship Program. Drs. Evans and Mendes de Leon serve on 

the Mentorship Program Steering Committee, and jointly lead the 

Population-Based Translational Track of this Program. They have 

mentored five faculty members of the Departments of Internal Medicine 

at Rush and Cook County. The Section has also offered biostatistical, 

data analysis and data management services to the Mentorship Program. 

Section members further contribute to the core course in epidemiology 

and biostatistics that is part of the 2nd year Medical School curriculum. 

Research 

As part of the core mission, the Section of Community Epidemiologic 

Research conducts several population-based research studies aimed at 

improving our understanding of the determinants and consequences of 

common, aging-related chronic conditions. The primary research study 

is the Chicago Health and Aging Project, which is a population-based, 

longitudinal study aimed at identifying risk factors for Alzheimer’s 

disease. The study takes place in a population of older Blacks and Whites 

who live in three community areas on the south side of Chicago. The 

study started in 1993 and is currently in its 15th year of operations. A 

number of other research projects have been built on this study, including 

studies of the influence of the physical and social environments on agingrelated 

health and disability, genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease,

studies of care giving for patients with Alzheimer’s 

disease, clinical course of disease after diagnosis 

of Alzheimer’s disease, and secular changes in the 

prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease. 

The Section has begun to focus increasingly on 

aging-related health issues in disadvantaged 

populations. An important of this work focuses on 

elder abuse and neglect, which is a geriatric topic 

of substantial clinical importance but which has 

received very little attention in the medical literature. 

Other aspects involve more detailed studies of racial 

disparities in aging-relate health, with a focus on 

the social and biological pathways that lead to these 

disparities in older age. 

GRANTS 

Section of Epidemilogic Research 

The Section has also started to prepare for new 

studies related to aging-related health in diverse 

communities of older adults. One of the projects 

currently in development is a study that will 

investigate the role of health care trust in the health 

in several other populations in the city of Chicago, 

including the Chinese American community and 

the Latino community. Additional plans are being 

development for studies on health-related quality of 

life, end-of-life care, and the role of air pollution and 

other types of environmental exposures in causing 

late-life cognitive impairment and other health 

problems. 

Sponsor Principal Investigator Focus Yearly Funding 

Consequences of Self-Neglect in a 

NIH-K23 XinQi Dong, MD 

Biracial Population of Older People 

$92,559 

Partners in Research Program with 

NIH-R03 XinQi Dong, MD $37,407 

Chinese Community 

Risk Factors for Incident 

NIH-R01 Denis A. Evans, MD $1,829,375 

Alzheimer’s Disease 

Epidemiologic Study of Persons 

NIH-R01 Denis A. Evans, MD $639,424 

with Alzheimer’s Disease 

Genetic Epidemiology of Cognitive 

NIH-R01 Denis A. Evans, MD $611,861 

Decline in an Aging Population Sample 

Secular Changes in Alzheimer’s 

NIH-R03 Liesi E. Hebert, PhD $65,268 

Disease Risk 

NIH-R21 Jeremiah Kelly, MD 

Relationship Between AD 

Clinicopathological Changes and CNS 

Sex Steroid Hormones 

$153,750 

NIH-R01 Carlos Mendes de Leon, PhD Psychosocial Factors and Stroke Risk in $113,500 

Subcontract 

a Biracial Population 

NIH-R01 Carlos Mendes de Leon, PhD SES and Age-Related Disability in a 

Biracial Community 

$576,864 

NIH-R01 Carlos Mendes de Leon, PhD 

Early and Mid-Life Social 

Determinants of Racial Disparities in 

Late-Life Health 

$448,289 

19

DIVISION OF DIGESTIVE DISEASE 

1725 W. Harrison St, Suite 206 

(312) 942-5861 

20 

Ali Keshavarzian, MD 

Division Director 

Stanley M. Cohen, MD 

Director, Section of Hepatology 

Mark T. DeMeo, MD 

Director, Section of 

Gastroenterology & Nutrition 

Martha C. Morris, Sc.D 

Director, Section of Nutrition 

and Nutritional Epidemiology 

Faculty 

Professors: 

Martha C. Morris, Sc.D 

Nutrition and Nutritional 

Epidemiology 

Ali Keshavarzian, MD 


The Division of Digestive Diseases 

consists of three sections: 

Section of Hepatology, Section of 

Gastroenterology & Nutrition, and the Section 

of Nutrition and Nutritional Epidemiology. 

Over the past year, the Division has expanded 

its clinical offerings and launched three 

subspecialty programs and clinics in the areas 

of Adult Celiac Disease, Inflammatory Bowel 

Disease and Gastrointestinal Cancer. 

The new Section of Nutrition and Nutritional 

Epidemiology, led by Martha C. Morris, PhD, 

which will focus on the nutrition related effects 

on chronic conditions and diseases associated 

with aging. 

The Adult Celiac Disease Program, launched 

in November 2007 by Mark DeMeo, MD 

has been a large success. The program offers 

patients access to weekly clinic, linkages to 

subspecialty physicians with celiac disease and 

access to a dietitian with expertise in glutenfree 

diets and a gastrointestinal psychologist. 

Additionally, the program hosts a number of 

Sohrab Mobarhan, MD 


David Van Thiel, MD 

Hepatology 


Michael D. Brown, MD 


Keith Bruninga, MD 


Stanley M. Cohen, MD 

Hepatology 

Mark T. DeMeo, MD 


John Losurdo, MD 


Ece Mutlu, MD 


Carline Quander, MD 


Nikunj Shah, MD 

Hepatology 


Joseph Ahn, MD 

Hepatology 

Ashkan Farhadi, MD 


Garth Swanson, MD 


patient education events throughout the year, 

including a gluten-free cooking seminar. 

The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program, 

led by Ece Mutlu, MD, offers patients with 

ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease access to 

dedicated clinic, a monthly support group led 

by our Section’s gastrointestinal psychologist 

and access to numerous clinical trials. 

The Division also launched the Coleman 

Foundation Comprehensive Clinic for 

Gastrointestinal Cancers, led by Sohrab 

Mobarhan, MD. This multidisciplinary clinic 

consists of gastroenterologists, nutrition 

specialists, medical oncologists, pathologists, 

diagnostic radiologists, radiation oncologists, 

surgeons, nurses and staff who provide 

patients with preventive services and the latest 

diagnostic and treatment services for all types 

of gastrointestinal cancers. 

Education 

The Division of Digestive Disease fellowship at 

Rush University Medical Center is a three-year

program. Three positions are available each 

year. Currently, there are 10 individuals enrolled 

in the fellowship. 

The core curriculum includes rotations in outpatient 

and inpatient gastroenterology, hepatology and 

liver transplant inpatient services, endoscopy and 

interventional endoscopy rotations. Trainees, also 

participate in additional rotations such as pathology, 

radiology and nutrition. In addition to the Rush main 

campus, fellows participate in off-site rotations in 

general gastroenterology at Rush Oak Park and Rush 

North Shore hospitals. Fellows also have access to 

an Immersion endoscopy simulator, which is used 

for training. Six months of the three-year program 

are dedicated to mentored research by Section 

attendings. Fellows are expected to submit and 

present abstracts at national meetings. 

Research 

The Division of Digestive Diseases has a vibrant 

translational medical research program which 

incorporates data from patient clinical studies, 

research using animal models of human diseases, and 

experiments on human cells grown in tissue culture. 

Division of Digestive Disease 

A major overall theme of the Division’s research is 

the role of the intestinal epithelium in health and 

disease, especially permeability of the epithelium 

to products in the intestine during inflammation. 

Abnormal intestinal permeability has been 

implicated in several human diseases including 

inflammatory bowel disease, alcoholic liver disease, 

Parkinson’s disease, and autism. 

The Division has several focus areas of research on 

this theme. One major area involves the effects of 

alcohol on the epithelium and the role of alcoholstimulated 

cell signaling in the intestinal epithelium 

in promoting alcoholic liver disease by making 

the intestine more ‘leaky’. Several independent 

but interrelated lines of investigation are currently 

examining how alcohol promotes abnormal signaling 

in intestinal cells. These include the roles of growth 

factor receptor signaling, especially the epidermal 

growth factor, the role of membrane lipid rafts in cell 

signaling, and the role of intestinal metalloproteases 

in cell signaling. The Division of Digestive Diseases 

Research Laboratory is committed to the Rush vision 

of promoting medical knowledge and excellence 

in patient care through cutting edge translational 

medical research. 

21


GRANTS 

Sponsor Principal Investigator Focus 

NIH-R01 Ali Keshavarzian, MD 

NIH-R21 Ali Keshavarzian, MD 

NIH-R21 Ece Mutlu, MD 

NIH-R21 Ece Mutlu, MD 

Dept of Defense Ece Mutlu, MD 

Gilead Stanley M. Cohen, MD 

Roche Stanley M. Cohen, MD 

Vertex Stanley M. Cohen, MD 

Bristol Myers Squibb Stanley M. Cohen, MD 

Abbott Ece Mutlu, MD 

Centocor Ece Mutlu, MD 


22 

Alcohol, iNos upregulation, leaky gut and liver disease 

Mindfulness, stress and IBD Flare-Up 

Dietary Treatment of Crohn’s Disease 

Dysbiosis in Inflammatory Bowel Disease 

Impact of Colonic Microbiota on Breast Cancer 

Study Comparing Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate, Emtricitabine Plus 

Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate, and Entecavir in the Treatment of 

Chronic Hepatitis B Subjects with Decompensated Liver Disease and 

in the Prevention of Hepatitis B Recurrence Post-Transplantation. 

Study of 360 µcg Induction Dosing of Peg in Combination with 

Higher Copegus Doses in Tx-Naïve Pts w/ CHC Genotype 1 if High 

Viral Titer and Body Wt ≥ 85 kg. 

Study of Stopping Treatment at 24 Weeks or Continuing Treatment 

to 48 Weeks in Treatment-Naïve Subjects with Genotype 1 Chronic 

Hepatitis C who Achieve an Extended Rapid Viral Response (eRVR) 

While Receiving Telaprevir, Peginterferon Alfa2a (Pegasys®) and 

Ribavirin (Copegus®) 

Study of Entecavir to Assess Long-term Outcomes Associated 

with Nucleoside/Nucleotide Monotherapy for Patients with Chronic 

HBV Infection. 

Registry Study of HUMIRA® (Adalimumab) 

Effect of Gastric Electrical Stimulation System in the Treatment 

of Chronic Intractable Nausea and Vomiting Secondary to 

Gastroparesis of Diabetic or Idiopathic Etiology 

Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Golimumab Maintenance 

Therapy with Moderately to Severely Active Ulcerative Colitis 

The Crohn’s Therapy, Resource Evaluation and Assessment 

Tool Registry

Sponsor Principal Investigator Focus 


Bristol Myers Squibb Ece Mutlu, MD 

Bristol Myers Squibb Ece Mutlu, MD 

Protherics Sohrab Mobarhan, MD 

Novartis Nikunj Shah, MD 

GlaxoSmithKline David VanThiel, MD 

GlaxoSmithKline David VanThiel, MD 

Bristol Myers Squibb David VanThiel, MD 


Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Golimumab Induction 

Therapy with Moderately to Severely Active Ulcerative Colitis 

Study to Evaluate the Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Induction 

and Maintenance Therapy with Abatacept in Subjects with Active 

Ulcerative Colitis 

Study to Evaluate the Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Induction 

and Maintenance Therapy with Abatacept in Subjects with Active 

Crohn’s Disease 

Study of the efficacy and safety of OncoGel treatment as an adjunctive 

therapy in subjects with localized or locoregional esophageal cancer 

Study of Tyzeka(telbivudine) in nucleos(t)ide-naïve subjects of Black/ 

African American and/or Hispanic/Latino origin with compensated 

chronic hepatitis B virus infection. 

Study to assess the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag in 

thrombocytopenic subjects with Hepatitis C Virus infection who are 

otherwise eligible to initiate antiviral therapy (pegylated interferon plus 

ribavirin) ENABLE 1 (Eltrombopag to iNitate and Maintain Interferon 

Antiviral Treatment to Benefit Subjects with Hepatitis C related Liver 

DiseasE. 

Study to assess the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag in 

thrombocytopenic subjects with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection 

who are otherwise eligible to initiate antiviral therapy (peginterferon 

alfa-2b plus ribavirin) ENABLE 2 (Eltrombopag to iNitiate and 

Maintain Interferon Antiviral Treatment to Benefit Subjects with 

Hepatitis C Related Liver DiseasE). 

Study to Describe the Antiviral Effect of Entecavir (ETV) in Blacks/ 

African Americans and Hispanics with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus 

(HBV) who are Nucleoside/tide-Naïve. 

23

SECTION OF ENDOCRINOLOGY 

1725 W. Harrison St. Suite 250 

(312) 942-6163 

24 

David Baldwin, MD 


Faculty 

Associate Professor: 

David Baldwin, MD 

Leon Fogelfeld, MD 


Alexander Lurie, MD 

Rema Gupta, MD 

Chung-Kay Koh, MD 

Tiffany K. Hor, MD 

The Section of Endocrinology offers a full range of services in 

endocrinology, including outpatient provocative endocrine testing, 

thyroid biopsy and intensive diabetes management and education. 

Endocrinology focuses on glands that secrete hormones, which are 

chemical messengers that travel throughout the bloodstream to regulate 

different bodily functions. These glands include the thyroid, parathyroid 

pituitary gland, hypothalamus, pancreas, adrenal glands and gonads. 

Outpatient Clinical Activities 

We continue to be very busy in our care of patients with diabetes and 

other endocrine conditions. Each faculty member sees patients in 

our outpatient office for 4 hours each day. We offer expertise in the 

comprehensive management of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. 

In 2007, all 4 faculty in the Section earned recognition from the National 

Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for excellence in diabetes 

care in the Diabetes Physician Recognition Program. Our group is the 

only endocrinologists in the Chicago metropolitan area to have received 

this distinction. We also offer expert assistance to patients with insulin 

pumps and continuous glucose sensors in conjunction with our diabetes 

education program (vide infra). We maintain a close collaboration with 

our colleagues in the Rush Section of Transplantation. Dr. Baldwin is 

the transplant endocrinologist within the kidney-pancreas transplant 

program. Additionally all transplant patients who develop diabetes are 

followed by endocrinology providers both in the hospital and in the 

outpatient clinic. One of our nurse practitioners is bilingual and has a 

busy practice seeing Spanish-speaking patients, including many transplant 

recipients. Twenty to thirty percent of all transplant patients have 

diabetes, many are Spanish speaking, and the section makes important 

contributions to their care and to the success of the transplant programs. 

We also are busy seeing outpatients with thyroid disease. All patients 

receive a clinical evaluation frequently supplemented by our performance 

of thyroid ultrasound examination and ultrasound guided fine needle 

aspiration. Our expertise in this area is complimented by collaboration 

with Rush colleagues in general surgery, ENT surgery, pathology, and 

nuclear medicine.

Inpatient Clinical Activities 

We maintain 4 inpatient consult services: 

1. Diabetes management all transplant/general 

surgery patients, 9N- 1 attending physician 4 

hours per day 

2. Diabetes management orthopedic/general 

surgery/neurology/rehabilitation patients, 9S, 9K, 

3K, 6N, 7S- 1 nurse practitioner 8 hours per day 

3. Diabetes management all cardiovascular surgery, 

vascular surgery, thoracic surgery, neurosurgery 

patients 8N, 8K- 1 attending physician 4 hours 

per day 

4. General endocrine consult service, all patients 

on any medical unit, all patients with diabetic 

ketoacidosis, all patients in the surgical ICU, and 

all non-diabetes consults elsewhere throughout 

the hospital- 1 attending physician supervising an 

endocrine fellow, medical residents, and medical 

students 4 hours per day. 

Education 

The section is involved in educational activities for 

both medical professionals and for patients. 

The section participates in a 2 year fellowship training 

program jointly based at Rush and at the John H. 

Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The fellowship 

director is Dr. Leon Fogelfeld, the director of the 

Division of Endocrinology at Stroger Hospital and 

Rush University. Our total of four fellows spend 

three months per year at Rush on our inpatient 

consult service, three months per year on the Stroger 

inpatient consult service, three months per year in 

ambulatory rotations at Stroger and three months per 

year working on clinical research projects mentored 

by endocrine faculty from either Rush or Stroger. All 

endocrine faculty and fellows participate together in a 

clinical conference weekly, and in a journal club, in a 

Section of Endocrinology 

research conference, and in a basic science conference 

monthly. The fellows also have elective rotations in 

neurosurgery (pituitary) clinic, pediatric endocrine 

clinic, and high-risk obstetrics clinic. 

We have 2-4 medical residents and 0-2 medical 

students rotating on the Rush consult service each 

month. In conjunction with the endocrine attendings 

at Stroger and our fellows, we provide a 1 hour 

teaching session every morning for all of the residents 

and students who are rotating on the endocrine 

teams at Stroger and Rush. Each resident and student 

spends 4 hours per day seeing outpatients in our clinic 

supervised by endocrine faculty, and 4 hours seeing 

inpatient consults on the team with the fellow and 

supervising faculty. Thus all residents and students 

get a chance to work with the entire endocrine faculty 

during their rotation. 

The section faculty also conducts a 1-hour teaching 

session every day during the months of July- 

December aimed at teaching the first year house 

officers the essentials of insulin management. Each 

of the approximately 55 interns receives 4-6 hours of 

instruction in small ward based groups. 

Endocrine faculty continues to teach second year 

medical school pathophysiology and pharmacology 

lectures, as well as lectures for the Rush nurse 

practitioner program. 

In the area of patient education, the section runs 

an active center for the teaching of diabetes selfmanagement 

skills. A dietician-diabetes educator, a 

nurse-diabetes educator, and two nurse practitionerdiabetes 

educators all make important contributions 

to this program. Individual and group classes are 

conducted daily. The Rush Diabetes Center is the 

sole resource for diabetes education at the medical 

center and its staff sees 1,040 new patients and office 

consultations during the fiscal year. In 2008, the 

American Diabetes Association again awarded the 

25

Section of Endocrinology 

26 

Rush Diabetes Center with its three-year Certificate 

of Education Recognition. The Diabetes Center 

maintains a computerized database on all of the 

patients who have gone through self-management 

training as well as all patients with diabetes followed 

by providers in the outpatient endocrinology clinics. 

Records of all important data relevant to the care of 

these patients with diabetes are maintained in this 

patient registry and are used for quality improvement 

and clinical research activities within the section. 

Research 

The Section continues to be involved in a number 

of clinical research activities. Most clinical trials 

have focused on the management of diabetes in 

the hospitalized patient. Many projects have had 

significant contributions from our endocrine fellows 

as well as from medical residents and medical 

students. In 2007-2008, we had 5 medical residents 

who worked on research projects mentored by 

CLINICAL TRIALS AND GRANTS 

endocrine faculty. During the year, we also had 

5 Rush medical students who made important 

contributions through the summer research 

fellowship program that the section funds 

and mentors. 

We completed a 2 year project at Saint Anthony 

Hospital in 2008 in which a nurse, a nurse 

practitioner, and an endocrine attending, all from the 

section, implemented modern protocols for diabetic 

management throughout the hospital. Negotiations 

are ongoing to reach out to another Chicago safetynet 

hospital with a similar project. 

We have completed or have ongoing 3 other 

investigator initiated clinical trials as listed below. 

2 additional trials are currently planned and grant 

applications are in preparation. 0.We have also just 

begun a 5 year clinical trial in collaboration with all 

of the other academic medical centers in Chicago of 

therapy to prevent nephropathy in patients with 

type 1 diabetes. 

Sponsor Investigator Areas of Focus Funding($) 

Fry Foundation D. Baldwin Saint Anthony Hospital 337,000 

NovoNordisk D. Baldwin Inpatient Insulin Trial 127,000 

NovoNordisk D. Baldwin ED- Inpt. Insulin Trial 115,000 

Sanofi-Aventis D. Baldwin Insulin in renal failure 134,000 

JDRF/NIH A. Lurie Nephropathy-type 1 DM 56,000

SECTION OF GENERAL INTERNAL MEDICINE 

The Section of General Internal Medicine is composed of a diverse group 

of dedicated physicians. These salaried and private-practice doctors see 

outpatients in a variety of offices, on and off the campus of the medical center. 

They also provide care to many hospitalized patients. General internists follow 

most patients admitted to the general medical services, and consult on and/or 

co-manage patients on non-medical services. General internists had almost 

6,300 inpatient admissions at Rush in academic year 2007/2008, with nearly 

27,000 inpatient hospital days. 

During the academic year, the Section of General Internal Medicine had 

32 salaried physicians who worked part or full-time in outpatient offices: 

24 physicians worked at Rush University Internists (RUI) on the north 

side of the Eisenhower Expressway in the Triangle Office Building, four 

physicians worked at Rush University Internal Medicine in the Chicago loop, 

two physicians worked in the Associates in Internal Medicine office in the 

Professional Office Building, two physicians worked with private practice 

physicians in the West Loop University Medicine office, and one physician 

worked with private practice physicians in the Palmer – Zavala, SC practice. 

Together these physicians had almost 62,000 outpatient visits during the year. 

The goal in all of the offices is to deliver high-quality, comprehensive, patientcentered 

primary care, with referral to Rush subspecialists when needed. 

In addition to the salaried physicians, over a dozen private internists see 

outpatients at the medical center in the Professional Office Building. An 

even larger group of private practice general internists have offices away from 

the medical center, but hospitalize patients at Rush. One on-campus private 

practice has its own hospitalist. Several on-campus practices have added new 

(salaried) physicians in their offices, as part of a RUMC strategic initiative 

to grow and develop primary care. In addition, two private physicians have 

established a “concierge” practice at the medical center; the practice has 

1,400 patients and a waiting list of patients who would like to join. 

Rush University Internists’ Hospital Medicine Service covers more hospitalized 

patients than any other group of physicians in the Department of Medicine, 

and provides the backbone for inpatient student and resident education in the 

department. RUI hospitalists cover over 80% of the patients on the general 

medical floors, and see 60-75 patients on non-medical services per day. The 

RUI Hospital Medicine Service had over 5,000 admissions in 2007/2008. 

The RUI Hospital Medicine Service is broken down into 8 general medical 

teams, each with an attending hospitalist; there are also has 2 consult 

physicians, 1 “short-stay” team physician, and 1 ICU physician on-service 

at any given time. In 2007/2008, the service was staffed by 11 full-time 

hospitalists, 2 “research hospitalists”, and 11 part-time hospitalists (including 

4 chief residents). Most subspecialty patients were admitted to the RUI 

hospitalist service, with the subspecialty services providing the expertise 

needed to diagnose and manage complex subspecialty problems. The patient 

1653 W Congress Parkway 

(312) -942-6600 

Margaret McLaughlin, 

MD Section Director 

27

Section of General Internal Medicine 

28 

care goals of the hospitalist service include improving 

patient safety, and expediting high-quality care via 

the immediate availability of attending physicians. 

In 2007/2008, the service added three nocturnists, 

thereby providing near 24-hour attending coverage 

for medical emergencies. 

Providing expanded medical coverage to patients on 

surgical services has become an important activity for 

general internists at Rush. Private practice physicians 

see many patients for pre-operative evaluation, and 

then follow these patients when they are admitted 

to the hospital. The RUI hospitalist service screens 

patients on the orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation 

services to ensure that patients needing to be comanaged 

by an internist are being actively followed. 

This screening activity has successfully reduced the 

number of patients needing emergency medical 

evaluations on non-medical services. 

Education 

The faculty from the Section of General Internal 

Medicine provide leadership for the internal 

medicine residency program, for which all four 

program directors (Drs. Richard Abrams, Scott 

Hasler, Andem Ekpenyong, and Stephanie Wang) are 

general internists. Undergraduate medical education 

is also led by general internists. Dr. Elizabeth Baker 

oversees the undergraduate medical education 

courses in the department, with the assistance of 

course directors from the section: Physical Diagnosis 

(Dr. Andem Ekpenyong), Pathophysiology (Dr. Syed 

Shah), the Internal Medicine Core Clerkship (Drs. 

Viju John, Jah-Won Koo, Jill Wener, and Shobha 

Rao), and the Internal Medicine Subinternship 

(Drs. Viju John and Michelle Sweet). 

RUI hospitalists are the principal educators of 

internal medicine residents on the general medical 

inpatient services. In addition, a resident is assigned 

to the General Medicine Consult service each month, 

on which he/she learns the fundamentals of pre 

and peri-operative care. In the outpatient setting, 

the core faculty in the Rush University Internists’ 

outpatient office are responsible for the outpatient 

continuity training of approximately 100 internal 

medicine residents each year. The core faculty, 

under the guidance of Dr. Stephanie Wang, with the 

assistance of Dr. Andem Ekpenyong, oversee the 

resident outpatient continuity clinic. In 2007/2008, 

categorical internal medicine and medicine/ 

psychiatry residents saw just over 11,000 patients 

at RUI. Drs. Wang and Ekpenyong have worked 

tirelessly with the core faculty and non-medical staff 

at RUI to improve residents’ outpatient experience 

and training, with substantial improvement in 

residents’ rating of their continuity experience 

over the past two years. 

Research 

Research in the Section of General Internal 

Medicine is focused in two main areas: patient 

safety (mainly evaluating inpatient care); and 

medical education. Several members of the section 

are on the department’s Patient Safety Committee. 

Two hospitalist members of the committee are 

participating in the department’s faculty mentoring 

program to further enhance their research training. 

In 2007/2008, the section had two one-year 

“research hospitalists,” each of whom worked on 

a research project, in addition to attending on the 

GIM inpatient services. One research hospitalist 

investigated anti-thrombotic therapy in patients 

with atrial fibrillation, and one looked for ways to 

reduce the number alerts firing for drug allergies 

in the electronic provider order entry system. Both 

physicians presented abstracts at the Chicago Patient 

Safety Forum. Dr. Richard Abrams participated in 

the national DEER (Diagnostic Error and Evaluation 

Research) project, and was a co-author on an 

abstract which resulted from this work. 

Medical education research produced publications 

during the year looking at medical students’ opinions 

toward the pharmaceutical industry, policies 

throughout the country for student performance in 

the internal medicine clerkship, medical student selfassessment 

of clinical skills, and simulator training of 

internal medicine residents to manage pain in 

cancer patients.

Rush University Internists’ Hospitalists 

Faculty 

Associates in Internal Medicine 

– Pamela Strauss , MD 

– Vianka Legra-Delgado, MD 

Hyde Park Associates 

– Roberto Ramirez, MD 

– David Scheiner , MD 

– Stephanie Weaver, MD 

– David Wechter, MD 

Kehoe and Djordjevic, SC 

– William Kehoe, MD 

– Dragan Djodjevic, MD 

Oak Park Hospital Physicians 

– Louis Barnes, MD 

Palmer-Zavala, SC 

– Myriame Casimir, MD 

– Albene Kokocinski, MD 

– Scott Palmer, MD 

– Gilberto Zavala, MD 

Private Solo Practices 

– Michael Bice, MD 

– Jeffrey Dugas, MD 

– Rolanda Lara, MD 

– Henry Palmer, MD 

– Patricia Shipley, MD 

– Danny Sugimoto, MD 

– Gayathri Sundaresan, MD 

West Loop University Medicine 

– Michele Bailey, DO 

– David Buyer, MD 

– Joseph Hennessy, MD 

– Frank Kelly, MD 

– Jeffrey Nekomoto, DO 

– Laura Smiricky, MD 

Rush University Internal 

Medicine 

– John Brill, MD 

– Bruce Huck, MD 

– Michele Kannin, MD 

– Daniel Pohlman, MD 

Rush University Internists 

– Richard Abrams, MD 

– Mary Anderson, MD 

– David Ansell, MD 

– Elizabeth Baker, MD 

– Rohini Bhat, MD 

– Bezalel Dantz, MD 

– Suma Dasari, MD 

– Soni Dhanireddy, MD 

– Catherine Dimou, MD 

– Jennifer Earvolino, MD 

– Andem Ekpenyong, MD 

– Laura Fassari, MD 

– Roman Gimpelevich, MD 

– Ann Goh, MD 

– Scott Hasler, MD 

– Richard Huh, MD 

– Josune Iglesias, MD 

– Viju John, MD 

– Jisu Kim, MD 

– Suchita Kishore, MD 

– Jah-Won Koo, MD 

– Vance Lauderdale, MD 

– Jacqueline Leavitt, MD 

– Jeehyun Lee, MD 

– Cynthia Louie, MD 

– Geoffrey Lowrey, MD 

– Bradley Manning, MD 

– Margaret McLaughlin, MD 

– Catherine Park, MD 

– Umesh Patel, MD 

– Andrew Peng, MD 

– Ruby Pouw, MD 

– Jeffrey Rado, MD 

– Shobha Rao, MD 

– Meilyn Reyes, MD 

– Daniel Rosenthal, MD 

– Syed Shah, MD 

– Michelle Sweet, MD 

– Jennifer Towbin, MD 

– Stephanie Wang, MD 

– Jill Wener, MD 

29

SECTION OF GERIATRIC MEDICINE AND PALLIATIVE CARE 

428 Johnston R. Bowman Center 

(312) 942-5321 

30 

Martin J. Gorbien, MD, FACP, AGSF 

- Section Director, 

- Associate Director, The Johnston R. 

Bowman Health Center 

Faculty 


Maria Hansberry, MD 

Associate Section Director 

Xinqi Dong, MD 

Rush Institute for Healthy Aging 

Magda Houlberg, MD 

(Works half-time at Howard Brown 

Health Center) 

Michael Leiding, MD 

Associate Fellowship Program Director 

Daniel Maher, MS, GNP 

Jack Olson, MD 

Fellowship Program Director 

Anthony Perry, MD 

Director, Johnston R. Bowman Center 

Mona Tareen, MD 

Director, Adult Palliative Care Services 

The Section of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care continue 

to expand and modify its clinical services. In the past two years, 

we have assumed responsibility for the medical center’s palliative 

care program. This involves in-patient consultation and daily 

care, out-patient consultation as well as a variety of associated 

educational and administrative activities. Four members of the 

Section participate in Rush CON’s grant which developed an 

elective course in palliative care for medical and nursing students. 

Dr. Tareen, Dr. Hansberry and others participate in institutional 

committee work led by the CMO. These collective activities 

promise serve the medial center through enhanced quality of care, 

improved safety, improved length of stay and decrease mortality 

rates through prompt and appropriate transfer to hospice. Dr. 

Tareen serves a medical director for Heartland Hospice. 

Outpatient activities continue to expand due to enhanced capacity 

for geriatric assessment. Our outpatient clinic, Rush Senior Care, 

continues to be a popular training site for third year medical 

students, residents from Rush and outside hospitals (Stroger and 

others) and our fellows. The Section of General Internal Medicine 

has worked with our Section in order to develop guidelines for 

appropriate geriatric medicine and palliative care consultation. The 

success of this initiative will ideally have clinical and educational 

benefits. Outpatient clinics are being developed with other 

Sections including Geriatric Gastroenterology and Palliative Care. 

Members of our Section have administrative responsibilities 

related to nursing home care. Dr. Gorbien is the corporate medical 

director for Boulevard Healthcare. Dr. Leiding is associate medical 

director for Warren Barr Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Dr. 

Hansberry is associate medical director for Lakeview Nursing 

and Rehabilitation Center. The relationships between the nursing 

facilities and Rush allows our patients to enjoy high-quality posthospital, 

skilled care delivered by Rush doctors. This provides 

continuity and insures that Rush patients return to Rush when in 

need of hospitalization. Dr. Perry continues to direct the Johnston 

R. Bowman Center. Additionally, he spends half of his time 

working with hospital administration on behalf of the Office 

of Transformation. 

Education 

Our fellowship is the oldest in Illinois. Despite the very difficult 

nature of recruitment into primary care and geriatrics, Rush 

continues to do well. We have trained 42 fellows since 1994. We 

enjoy having an internal medicine student each month while they

complete the ambulatory portion of their internal 

medicine core clerkship. Rush internal medicine 

residents spend time in our clinic as well as on our 

two in-patient services while they do their required 

geriatric medicine rotation. We have created a new 

relationship with Stroger Hospital and they typically 

send one resident per month to complete their 

geriatric medicine requirement. We have increasing 

numbers of residents from other hospitals requesting 

to complete rotations at Rush. Dr. Gorbien is in his 

eleventh years as the faculty sponsor of the Rush 

University Geriatric Interest Group (GIG). This 

student organization enjoys community outreach, 

lunchtime presentations, movie night, health fairs 

and academic mentorship. 

Gerontology and Palliative Care Grand Rounds 

are now in their eleventh year. Twice monthly we 

convene to provide education in the field of aging. 

These lectures are intended for an interdisciplinary 

audience. Our lecturers cover a wide range of topics 

including subjects related to palliative care. This 

unique interdisciplinary educational activity has had 

sustained growth and interest over the last ten years. 

Dr. Magda Houlberg splits her time between Rush 

and Howard Brown Health Center. There, she is 

working to develop a comprehensive outreach 

program for older adults in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, 

and transgendered population. Rush is one of three 

partner organizations working with Howard Brown 

to meet the needs of this disenfranchised populations 

of elders. Eventually, Howard Brown will serve as a 

training site for Rush medical students, residents and 

fellow. This is a ground breaking initiative and this 

program will be the first of this kind in the nation. 

Research 

Section of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care 

Although geriatric medicine at Rush has traditionally 

been known for excellence in clinical care, important 

advances have been made in our nascent research 

initiative. Under the mentorship of Dr. Denis Evans, 

Dr. XinQi Dong has been awarded a prestigious 

Beeson Grant. The Beeson is a very competitive 

grant and is a very high honor in the field of geriatric 

medicine. Drs. Gorbien and Dong continue to work 

with students and fellows on academic projects 

(abstracts, review papers etc). 

31


32 

Research in the Section of Geriatric Medicine and 

Palliative Care at Rush University Medical Center are 

carried out by a variety of individuals with diverse 

interests. The major themes of the Section’s research 

are elder abuse and palliative care education. 

The Section Director, Dr. Martin Gorbien, has a 

well-published, ongoing interest in ethical and legal 

issues involved in the care of older adults, with 

particular interest in recognizing and reporting elder 

abuse. This same topic is the foundation of ongoing 

research by Section faculty in collaboration with the 

Rush Institute on Healthy Aging. Special interest 

is directed to studying determination of decisional 

capacity and medical implications of self neglect. 

Since the Section assumed responsibility for the 

medical center’s palliative care program, multiple 

Section members have participated in research 

efforts aimed at improving education of nursing 

and medical trainees in the principles and practice 

of palliative care. Collaborating with faculty of 

PEER REVIEWED GRANTS 

the college of nursing and with staff at off-site 

practice venues, Section faculty are developing 

and testing innovative education tools for trainees 

and practitioners to teach them clinical skills to 

thoughtfully approach the care of older patients, 

chronically ill patients, and patients near the end 

of life. 

Recently, the Section created a partnership with 

Howard Brown Health Center, where Section faculty 

research interest is directed to the study of aging 

in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered 

population. Recognizing the current limits of 

information in this understudied population, an 

education program has been developed to train 

nursing staff in an expanded cultural competency. 

The research endeavors of the Section of Geriatric 

Medicine and Palliative Care reflect a commitment to 

increasing the body of knowledge about the special 

needs of a growing segment of the population as well 

as to trainee education to practice that knowledge. 

Martin Gorbien, MD 

a. Contract #: 1 D31 AH7 0096-02 Morley (PI) 10/1/00 to 9/30/05 

HRSA: Geriatric Education Center, subcontractor to St. Louis University, 

Five year grant, $420,000. 

Role: Senior Co-Investigator, Martin J. Gorbien, MD 

b. Contract # 1239I 9/1/01 to 6/30/04 

Washington Square Health Foundation’s Geriatric Student Interest Group 

Project. 3 year grant*, $90,000. Mentor: Martin J. Gorbien, MD, Role: This 

project involved Dr. Gorbien in the role of the mentor to the Geriatric 

Students Interest Group and reviewer of its research ideas. 

*annual reapplications are required. 

c. Grant Number: 1 R25 CA114084-01 09/29/2005 - 8/31/2006 Project Period: 09/29/2005 - 08/31/2010, 

Project Title: Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Education Program 

PI: Margaret E. Faut-Callahan, PhD, Role: Martin J. Gorbien, MD, Co-Investigator 

d. RRF Grant # 2006-235 Budget Period 4/01/07 – 03/30/09 

Project Title: “Assessment of Capacity in Older Adults: A Growing Challenge 

for Physicians” This project represents a joint effort between Rush and the 

American Barr Association. 

Role: Co-Primary Investigator, Martin J. Gorbien, MD

XinQi Dong, MD 

a. University Research Committee, Rush University Medical Center 7/2007-6/2008 

Pilot Study of Elder Self-Neglect in a Biracial Population. The goal 

of this project is to preliminarily examine characteristics of elder self-neglect 

in a population-based epidemiological study of a biracial community. 

Role: Principle Investigator, XinQi Dong, MD. 

b. Retirement Research Foundation/Gorbien and Eisenstein (Co-PIs) 4/2007-3/2009 

Assessment of Capacity in Older Adults: A Growing Challenge for Physicians. 

The aim of this project is to create an online curriculum for training physicians 

to understand clinical and legal concepts of capacity and to inform the 

healthcare community about capacity training. 

Role: Co-Investigator, XinQi Dong, MD. 

c. OVW-2006-1200 Gallagher (PI) 10/2006-10/2009 

U.S. Department of Justice Elder Abuse Criminal Justice Training Program. 

The goal of this study is to perform multidisciplinary training to the judiciary 

system to improve the criminal justice system response to elder abuse 

victims in Chicago. 

Role: Co-Investigator, XinQi Dong, MD. 

d. Paul Beeson Physician Scholar in Aging Award 8/2008 – 8/2012 

The Medical Implications of Self-Neglect in the Elderly NIH- NIA- Hartford 

Foundation-Atlantic Philanthropies -Starr Foundation. $750,000 

Maria R. Hansberry, MD 

CFDA No. 93.250 10/2007 – 9/2010 

Geriatric Academic Career Award: HRSA-07-GACA, The goal of this project 

is to develop a teaching curriculum in palliative care and long-term care for 

medical students, medical residents and nursing home staff. 

Role: Maria R. Hansberry, MD, Primary Investigator 

Daniel Loiterstein, MD (left RUMC in June 2008) 

Grant #: 1 KO1 HP00167-01 2005 - 2006 

Geriatric Academic Career Award, Health Resources and Services Administration. 

The goal of this project is to improve and establish enhanced educational opportunities 

for trainees at Rush University, including a Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship. 

Role: Daniel Loiterstein, M.D., Primary Investigator. 

Mona Tareen, MD 

Grant Number: 1 R25 CA114084-01 09/29/2005 - 08/31/2010 

Project Title: Interdisciplinary Palliative Care Education Program, 

PI: Margaret E. Faut-Callahan, PhD, Role: Martin J. Gorbien, MD, 

Co-Investigator, Mona Tareen, MD, Co-Investigator 

Magda Houlberg, MD 

Submitted 12/11/08 by Dr. Houlberg at Howard Brown Health Center 

HRSA Comprehensive Geriatric Education Program, “Developing a Nursing 

Curriculum in Cultural Competency for LGBT Elders”, 2009-2012, $160,000, 

Magda Houlberg, Co-Investigator 


33

DIVISION OF PULMONARY AND CRITICAL CARE MEDICINE 

1725 W. Harrison Street, Suite 054 

(312) 942-6744 

34 

Robert A. Balk, MD 


Faculty: 

Professors: 

David Gurka, MD, PhD 

Robert L. Rosen, MD 


Larry Casey, MD, PhD 

Michael Silver, MD 


Omar Lateef, DO 

Richard Lenhardt, MD, MPH 

Rajive Tandon, MD 

Mark Yoder, MD 

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine participates 

in clinical, educational, and research activities at Rush University 

Medical Center. The Division is comprised of the Section of 

Pulmonary Medicine and the Section of Critical Care Medicine. 

Pulmonary medicine provides outpatient and inpatient evaluation and 

management for a wide variety of patients with lung disease at Rush. 

The Section of Critical Care Medicine provides inpatient critical care 

evaluation and management for patients in the medical intensive care 

unit and the surgical intensive care unit at Rush. The Division also 

runs a fellowship training program in pulmonary and critical care 

medicine. As part of the training program and the academic mission, 

the division also participates in basic and clinical research. 

Education 

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine has an 

ACGME approved 3 year fellowship training program that has 

just been accredited for 5 years. There are 3 fellows each year for 

a total of 9 trainees in the program. The program works with the 

John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County to offer combined core 

curriculum and clinical conferences as part of an affiliation agreement. 

The fellowship program has a good relationship with training 

programs in surgery (and the surgical sub-specialties), anesthesia, 

neurology, and sleep medicine to facilitate collaborative training 

experiences. The fellowship program has a full array of educational 

conferences, offers training in the experiences and procedures of 

pulmonary and critical care medicine, and has opportunities 

for research. 

Clinical Programs 

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine provides 

pulmonary consultation and clinical patient management for 

inpatients and outpatients with pulmonary issues at Rush University 

Medical Center. The outpatient program includes a general 

pulmonary clinic for consultation and clinical management. In 

addition, there are several sub-specialty clinics run by the division 

which cater to special populations of patients. These subspecialty 

clinics include an adult cystic fibrosis clinic, difficult to treat asthma 

clinic, interstitial lung disease clinic, pulmonary hypertension clinic, 

and oxygen clinic. The division outpatient office also contains the 

adult pulmonary function laboratory for the hospital. This laboratory 

is under the direction of Dr. Larry Casey and is capable of performing 

basic pulmonary function testing (spirometry, lung volumes, 

and diffusion capacity measurement), arterial blood gas analysis, 

methacholine bronchoprovocational testing, high-altitude simulation

testing, oxygen desaturation testing, oxygen 

prescription determination, impulse oscillometry 

determination of airways resistance, timed walk 

distance, and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. 

The division is also involved in the evaluation and 

management of critically ill patients admitted to the 

medical intensive care unit and the surgical intensive 

care unit. Dr. David Gurka is the director of the 

section of critical care medicine in the division and he 

also directs adult critical care for the institution. Dr. 

Omar Lateef is the medical director of the medical 

intensive care unit. Other administrative positions 

held by members of the division include, Dr. Larry 

Casey – Medical Director of Bronchoscopy and the 

Pulmonary Function Laboratory, Dr. Mark Yoder 

– Medical Director of Respiratory Care Services. 

PEER REVIEWED GRANTS 

Chiron; Michael Silver, MD P.I. 

Sanofi Aventis; David Gurka, MD, PhD P.I. 

Artisan Pharma; Robert Balk, MD P.I. 

Astellas Pharma; Robert Balk, MD P.I. 

Research 

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine 

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care 

Medicine has an active research program. The 

majority of the projects are clinical, however, there 

are some basic investigations and opportunities for 

translational research through relationships with 

the Department of Allergy and Immunology and the 

Department of Pharmacology. Approximately 20 

research projects were conducted this past year or 

are currently in progress. 

A Phase 3, Multicenter, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Doubleblind, 

Three-Arm Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Tifacogin 

(Recombinant Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor) Administration in 

Subjects with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia; 

(CAPTIVATE Study) 

An International, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, doubledummy, 

parallel group, study of 3-month or 6-month treatment with 

SSR126517E (3.0mg s.c. once weekly) versus oral INR-adjusted warfarin 

in the treatment of patients with symptomatic pulmonary embolism, 

with or without symptomatic deep venous thrombosis. 

CASSIOPEA Study) 

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase-2b Study 

to Assess the Safety and Efficacy Effects of ART-123 on Subjects with 

Sepsis and Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation; (Protocol# 2-001 

ART Study) 

A Phase IIIb, Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel Group, Multi- 

Center Study to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of Multiple 30 Minute 

Infusions of Conivaptan in Subjects with Euvolemic or Hypervolemic 

Hyponatremia; (Protocol No: 087-CL-088) 

35

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine 

36 

Agennix: Robert Balk, MD P.I. 

Bristol Myers Squibb; Robert Balk, MD P.I. 

Division funding; Rajive Tandon, MD P.I. 

Division funding; Richard Lenhardt, MD P.I. 

Division funding; Larry Casey, MD, PhD P.I. 

Stroger Rush funding; Rajive Tandon, MD P.I. 

Division funding; Omar Lateef, DO P.I. 

Division funding; Mark Pamer, DO & David 

Gurka, MD PhD Co-P.I.s 

Division funding; Mark Yoder, MD P.I. 

Division funding; Robert Balk, MD P.I. 

2007-2008, renewed 2008-2009 Yoder M 

(PI), Ojielo C, Forsyth C. Rush/Stroger 

Research Affiliation Committee. 

IRB approval 2008. Yoder M (PI) 

IRB approval 2007. Pamer M, Yoder M 

(faculty supervisor) 

IRB approval 2007. Yoder M (PI) 

A Phase 2 Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Study 

of the Safety and Efficacy of Talactoferrin Alfa in Patients with 

Severe Sepsis; 

A Phase 3, Randomized, Double-blind, Parallel-group, Multi-center 

Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Apixaban for Prophylaxis of 

Venous Thromboembolism in Acutely Ill Medical Subjects During 

and Following Hospitalization,Protocol: (CV185-03 Adopt Study) 

28 Day Mortality for patients w/ PAH admitted to MICU 

Survey of sepsis management in Illinois Eds and ICUs 

IOS v Methacholine Bronchoprovocational Study in the Diagnosis 

of Airflow Obstruction 

Pulmonary Hypertension in HIV patients With Dyspnea 

Enteral Nutrition in Critical Illness Outcomes 

Comparison of Upper and Lower Extremity Central Venous 

Oxygenation and Pressures in Critical Illness 

Relationship between physiological decline and mortality 

in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis Database for ILD Patients 

Vasopressor Choice and outcome in Septic Shock 

Relationship between FSP1 and matrix metalloproteinase levels and 

disease severity in collagen vascular disease-associated interstitial 

lung disease. Pilot study aimed at discovering biomarkers of disease 

progression in CVD-ILD. 

Lung cancer screening with low-dose chest computed tomography. 

Clinical trial within the context of the International Early Lung 

Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) with a substudy comparing 

outcomes between healthy subjects and those with lung disease. 

Database for ILD patients. Collecting longitudinal physiologic and 

radiographic data to assess responses of diverse disease subtypes to 

various treatments. 

Mast cell infiltration of airway smooth muscle in asthma and chronic 

obstructive pulmonary disease. Study assessing the relationship 

between mast cells and bronchoconstriction. 

The relationship between physiologic decline and mortality in 

pulmonary sarcoidosis. Study to determine the independent 

association between pulmonary function decline and mortality 

in sarcoidosis.

SECTION OF MEDICAL INFORMATICS AND 

PATIENT SAFETY RESEARCH 

The Section of Medical Informatics and Patient Safety Research is dedicated to 

advancing quality of care and safety supported by information technology. The 

section is a sub-committee under the Department of Internal Medicine’s Quality 

Assurance (QA). The section utilizes our Quality Improvement, Education, and 

Clinical Practice Committees, as well as our Department’s financial staff, to work 

together to improve quality measures. A full time data manager, Richard Odwanzy, 

assists with data collection, project management and statistics. Brian Harting, 

MD is responsible for infection safety issues in the Department and co-director of 

Quality and Safety Research in the Department’s research mentoring program. 

The main purposes of the section are: 

1. Review reports of patients suffering adverse events and develop interventions 

to reduce those adverse events. 

Reports of adverse events are first discussed in QA and further evaluated 

by the Section to determine core problems in the delivery of safe care. 

Intervention ideas are proposed to the QA committee. 

2. Conduct research to prove the value of proposed changes. 

We conduct improvement projects based on our and the Department’s QA 

committee assessments of the root cause of adverse events. We use a “generic” 

project implementation sequence: 

– We present the case of a patient with an adverse event and the literature 

pertinent to the case to our residents during a “safety morbidity and 

mortality review”. 

– We send “email safety alerts” that highlight specific points about how to 

improve decision making or systems of care for the presented case. 

– We distribute to residents - either via “Chairman’s Rounds” or by decision 

alerts using our electronic medical record system - guidelines, constraints, or 

directed care orders aimed to reduce the chance of adverse events occurring. 

Projects have focused on reducing adverse events associated with delays in care, 

excess testing/overuse leading to missed signals of unsafe care, and the use of 

dangerous medications (such as potassium supplements, NSAIDs, PPIs, narcotic 

agents, or sliding scale insulin regimens). 

These projects have resulted in over 30 publications, 4 grants, a safety hospitalist 

program, and a research mentoring track for quality of care and safety research. 

The Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute has awarded the Section a $124,633 

grant to support a first-of-its-kind patient-safety project that will pilot a program 

with Rush’s mediation team to develop interventions to avoid or modify activities 

and procedures that may lead to medical malpractice claims. This innovative 

program has the potential to serve as a model for similar mediation programs. 

Future projects will target adverse events caused by poor communication, excess 

end-of-life care, lack of appropriate informed consent, and use of dangerous 

medication combinations. 

Robert A. McNutt, MD 

- Professor of Medicine 

- Assistant Chairman 

- Chief of the Section of 

Medical Informatics 

and Patient Safety 

Research 

Assistant Proffesor: 

Brian P. Harting, MD 

37

DIVISION OF HEMATOLOGY/ONCOLOGY/BMT 

1725 W. Harrison St, Suite 809 

(312) 942-5904 

38 

Philip Bonomi, MD 


Faculty 

Professors: 

Melody Cobleigh, MD 

Henry C. Fung, MD 

Sefer Gezer, MD 

Stephanie A. Gregory, MD 

Janet Plate, PhD 

Parameswaran Venugopal, MD 

Janet Wolter, MD 


John L. Showel, MD 

Margaret C. Telfer, MD, FACP 


Marta Batus, MD 

Lisa N. Boggio, MD, MS 

Gerry Bohac, MD 

Kent W. Christopherson II, PhD 

Mary Jo Fidler, MD 

Melissa L. Larson, MD 

William T. Leslie, MD 

Sarah T. Lincoln, MD 

John J. Maciejewski, MD, PhD 

Sunita Nathan, MD 

Ruta D. Rao, MD 

Jamile Shammo, MD 

Hande Tuncer, MD 

Lydia Usha, MD 

The Division of Hematology/Oncology at Rush University Medical 

Center consists of three sections: oncology, hematology and bone 

marrow transplant which provide state-of-the-art care for individuals 

with all forms of hematological and oncological diseases. 

Clinical Services 

We offer patients access to seven comprehensive clinics for the following 

cancers: breast, gastrointestinal, head and neck, multiple myeloma, chest 

tumor, pigmented lesion and genitourinary. Funded by the Coleman 

Foundation, these are comprehensive and multidisciplinary clinics which 

offer patients the opportunity to be seen by leading specialists in the 

field, from medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgery, psychosocial 

oncologists and other relevant specialties in a single visit. The medical 

team for the clinic meets with patients and their families to discuss the 

diagnosis and develop personalized treatment plans. 

The Division places an emphasis on cancer screening and prevention, 

genetic counseling and testing and cancer support programs. We 

are committed to helping patients and their families cope with the 

psychological, emotional and spiritual effects of cancer. In partnership 

with the American Cancer Society, Rush offers a patient navigator 

who meets with patients and their family members to assess individual 

needs and provide vital support. Additionally, through the Cancer 

Integrative Medicine Program at Rush, patients have access to therapies 

that complement their medical treatments, such as acupuncture, 

biofeedback, massage, yoga, and nutritional and herbal counseling. 

Over the past 3 years, the Division has seen an increase in the number 

of new patient being seeing which is projected to be 4,500 for FY09. 

This is due to the increase in new faculties that have joined the Division 

over the past several years which has helped further grow each diseasespecific 

program. 

5000 

4000 

3000 

2000 

1000 

0 

NEW PATIENT VISITS (FY2009 Annualized) 

3,903 

4,465 

FY2007 FY2008 

4,500 

FY2009*

Education 

The hematology/oncology fellowship program at 

Rush University Medical Center is a three-year 

program. Two positions are available each year 

for a total of six fellows. The program provides 

advanced clinical and research training under the 

supervision of specialists offering unique educational 

opportunities and diverse training experiences. Ours 

is a balanced program that strives to be outstanding 

in both the clinical and the investigative arenas. 

Fellows participate in rotations in hematology 

service, the bone marrow transplant unit and 

preceptorships with individual medical oncology 

faculty members. Fellows also take required rotations 

in blood banking, coagulation, hematopathology and 

chemotherapy/venous access devices. Additionally, 

fellows take electives in other programs including 

radiation oncology, gynecologic oncology, pathology 

and psychosocial oncology. All fellows participate 

in research during the program. There are weekly 

conferences at which fellows present and/or discuss 

patients currently being followed and two teaching 

conferences. Other weekly conferences include the 

Tumor Board, Rush Cancer Institute Lecture Series 

and Lymphoma Conference. 

The Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Rush 

University Medical Center offers postdoctoral 

training leading to American Board of Internal 

Medicine (ABIM) board eligibility in hematology and 

medical oncology. The overall goal of the fellowship 

is to provide broad training in the disciplines of 

NUMBER OF PATIENTS 

150 

120 

90 

60 

30 

0 

TREATMENT ACCRUALS SINCE JANUARY 2006 CUMULATIVE BY MONTH 

Division of Hematology and Oncology 

hematology and oncology, focusing on the general 

competencies put forth by the American Council for 

Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). 

Research 

The Division of Hematology/Oncology oversees a 

number of clinical trials and works in collaboration 

with other Departments in the Medical Center 

to promote awareness of cancer clinical trials, 

facilitate accrual to active protocols, and participate 

in education and training regarding Good Clinical 

Practices for the execution of trials. Our physicians 

are active investigators in trials utilizing novel 

therapies, both as partners with the pharmaceutical 

industry, and in their own investigator initiated trials. 

The Division is a long standing, productive 

contributor to National Cancer Institute cooperative 

group protocols through the National Surgical 

Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project, Eastern 

Cooperative Oncology Group, Radiation Therapy 

Oncology Group, Gynecological Oncology Group, 

intergroup trials with Cancer and Leukemia Group 

B, Southwestern Oncology Group, and trials available 

through the Clinical Trials Support Unit. 

Currently, the Division has 82 active clinical trials 

and 321 patients have been enrolled to nontreatment 

studies and 194 patients have been 

enrolled to treatment studies since July 2007. The 

below illustrates the number of treatment accruals 

in clinical trials since January 2006. 

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC 

2006 2007 2008 

39


40 

The Division also has two basic science researchers 

in Dr. Janet Plate and Dr. Kent Christopherson. Dr. 

Janet Plate’s research interests are in the regulation 

of immune cell differentiation including the role that 

cell surface molecules play in transmitting signals 

that initiate molecular steps in the differentiation 

pathway. The manner in which alterations in normal 

signaling pathways contribute to disease states are 

being investigated . Dr. Plate’s laboratory investigates 

two main diseases: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia 

(CLL), the most common adult leukemic disease 

of B-lymphocytes, and, pancreatic cancer - the 

fourth leading cause of cancer deaths. A variety of 

molecular and cellular biological approaches are 

being used in these studies. 

ACTIVE FUNDING -KENT W. CHRISTOPHERSON II, PH.D 

Dr. Christopherson joined Rush in September of 

2003 as an Assistant Professor in the Sections of 

Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Division 

of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine 

with a conjoint appointment in the Department 

of Immunology/ Microbiology at Rush University 

Medical Center. Dr. Christopherson’s laboratory 

leads translational research from the laboratory 

bench to the clinical patient bedside for the Sections 

of Hematology and Stem Cell Transplantation. Dr. 

Christopherson’s primary research interests are 

directed at novel methods of increasing stem cell 

transplant efficiency. As one component of this 

project, the lab studies, collection, banking, and 

transplantation of umbilical cord blood stem cells 

for clinical and research purposes. 

07-10-19-CHRI (Kent W. Christopherson II, Ph.D.) 7/1/07-6/30/09 

Agency: American Association for Cancer Research Role: PI 

“Umbilical Cord Wharton’s Jelly Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplant Therapies” 

The major goals are to evaluate the ability of Mesenchymal Stem Cells 

derived from the Wharton’s Jelly of umbilical cord segments to support 

the ex vivo expansion of cord blood Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells. 

6044-08 (Kent W. Christopherson II, Ph.D.) 10/1/07-9/30/11 

Agency: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Role: PI 

“Improvements in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Efficiency 

through Modulation of the Mechanisms Governing Hematopoietic 

Stem Cell Trafficking” 

The major goals are to test the effects of CD26 inhibition on human 

HSC/HPC functions important for transplantation in vitro and homing 

and engraftment in vivo in immunodeficient mice in order to generate 

data needed to propose a Phase I clinical trial.

1R21DK074892-01A2 (Kent W. Christopherson II, Ph.D.) 3/01/08-2/29/10 

Agency: NIH/NIDDK Role: PI 

“Cytokine Induced CD26 Modulation of Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cell Trafficking” 

The major goals are to test the effects of G-CSF, GM-CSF, and SCF 

treatment of umbilical Cord Blood on Hematopoietic Stem Cell 

Transplant efficiency and the involvement of CD26 mechanistically. 

1 T32 AR052272-01A2 (D. Rick Sumner, PhD) 8/1/07-7/31/12 

Sponsor: NIH/NIAMSD Role: NIH Training Grant Mentor 

The purpose of this program is to provide education, training and 

research opportunities to doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows and 

medical students interested in academic careers in skeletal biology 

Kent W. Christopherson II, Ph.D. (PI) 1/1/08-12/31/08 

Industry Sponsor: America Stem Cell Inc. Role: PI 

“America Stem Cell Pre-Clinical Dosing Study – 01” 

Kent W. Christopherson II, Ph.D. (PI) 2/7/08-12/31/08 

Industry Sponsor: Baxter Healthcare Inc. Role: PI 

“ISOLEX CD34+ Stem Cell Study - 01” 

Kent W. Christopherson II, Ph.D. (PI) 1/1/07-12/31/09 

Agency: private philanthropy Role: PI 

“Hematologic Malignancy Research Fund” 

Stephanie A. Gregory, MD (PI) 1/1/07-12/31/09 

Agency: private philanthropy Role: co-PI 

“Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Fund” 

The major goals are to develop an understanding of the mechanisms 

governing defects in hematopoiesis and innate immunity that exist in 

CLL patients and test novel therapeutic strategies with minimal toxicity. 

Stephanie A. Gregory, MD (PI) 7/1/06-6/30/09 

Agency: private philanthropy Role: co-PI 

“Second Chance Fund” 

The major goals are to develop novel therapeutic strategies 

for Multiple Myeloma. 


41

SECTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE 

600 S. Paulina St., Ste. 140-143 

(312) 942-5865 

42 

Gordon M. Trenholme, MD 

Section Director and Fellowship 

Program Director 

Faculty 

Professors: 

Gordon M. Trenholme, MD 

Harold Kessler, MD 

John Segreti. MD 

Alan A. Harris, MD 


Mary Hayden, MD 

Laurie Proia, MD 

David M. Simon, MD, PhD 

Beverly Sha, MD 

Kamaljit Singh, MD 

Kimberly Smith, MD, MPH 


Allan Tenorio, MD 

Michael Lin, MD 

Brian P. Harting, MD 

On Thursday, September 11th, 2008, Gordon M. Trenholme, MD 

was honored as the inaugural recipient of the INSIDER Award (IN 

Support of Infectious Disease Education and OutReach) given in 

partnership by The Metro Foundation and Rush University Medical 

Center. The newly created award will be given annually to honor an 

individual affiliated with the infectious disease community for their 

lifetime professional and personal accomplishments. 

Travel Medicine 

The Section of Infectious Diseases has expanded its Travel Medicine 

and Immunization Clinic in the past year. Travel patients are seen 2 

days a week by appointment. The clinic offers comprehensive services 

for travelers, from immunizations and counseling before the trip to 

follow-up and after care. The Travel Medicine and Immunization 

Clinic staff includes two nurses who administer immunizations and 

medications and are directed by Kamaljit Singh, MD, an infectious 

diseases specialist who has extensive experience in travel medicine. 

In addition, the staff offers their unique expertise to the traveler with 

special needs, such as travelers who are pregnant or who have special 

concerns because of a pre-existing condition or complication, like 

HIV or transplant patients. Other members of the travel medicine 

team include Gordon Trenholme, MD, and James McAuley, MD, 

who specializes in pediatric infectious diseases. 

Education 

The infectious disease fellowship program is a joint program between 

Rush University Medical Center and Stroger Hospital of Cook County. 

Rush/Stroger Hospital Infectious Diseases (ID) Fellowship Training 

Program utilizes the resources of Rush University Medical Center, the 

CORE Center and Stroger Hospital of Cook County to provide a wellrounded 

and diverse educational experience in the clinical, didactic, 

and research training of ID fellows. Five positions are available each 

year. At present, the program requires a mandatory two year training 

period with an option to complete a third year for those fellows who 

wish more extensive training in research activities in preparation for 

an academic career in infectious diseases. We currently have 1 3rd 

year fellow, 5 second year fellows, and 5 first year fellows. 

Both inpatient and outpatient clinical experiences and didactic 

training (lectures, conferences) for fellows are equally divided between 

the two hospitals and clinical and laboratory research projects may be 

undertaken at either institution. Performance of research is expected 

of all fellows, regardless of background or career interests, unless 

the fellowship is a purely clinical, one-year position. Participation in 

at least one “major’ project requiring one year or more to complete

is encouraged. Over the past few years, many of 

our fellows participated in research which led to 

publications and presentations at major conferences 

during the past academic year, including five journal 

articles, nine abstracts, 1 book chapter and one 

manuscript. 

Research 

The Rush University Medical Center Section of 

Infectious Diseases is doing federally supported 

research in a number of areas: HIV therapy, 

women with HIV, HIV immunology, HIV solid 

organ transplant, and Healthcare Epidemiology. 

Infectious diseases attending physicians are currently 

the principal investigators on 45 active research 

protocols. 

The Section of Infectious Diseases’ AIDS Clinical 

Trials Unit (ACTU) performs research in 

conjunction with a variety of sponsors. The Rush 

ACTU is a site for the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, 

the largest and oldest HIV/AIDS research group, and 

for the Women’s HIV Interagency Study consortium. 

Dr. Beverly Sha is the site’s principal investigator for 

both the ACTG and WIHS. 

GRANTS 

Sponsor Focus 

Beverly Sha, MD - Principal Investigator 

NIH 

NIH 

Schering-Plough 

Abbott 

Sections of Infectious Disease 

Kimberly Smith, MD, MPH was appointed to the 

Executive Committee of the ACTG as of June 1, 

2008. She is also Chair of the Underrepresented 

Populations Committee of the ACTG. Over the 

past year, Dr. Smith was instrumental in setting up 

and mentoring an additional clinical research site to 

expand the research opportunities to communities 

of color. 

David Simon, MD, PhD is the principal 

investigator at Rush for the multi-site Solid Organ 

Transplantation in HIV protocol, studying the 

effects of kidney and liver transplants in patients 

with HIV/AIDS. 

All of the ID physicians who are active in HIV 

research meet periodically with the Chicago area 

Community Advisory Board (CAB) to provide 

educational updates to the community and to discuss 

the community members’ concerns related to HIV 

treatment and research with them. 

AIDS Clinical Trials Group; under this consortium Dr. Sha is PI of 8 HIV treatment protocols: 

A5241: A study of optimized treatment that includes or omits NRTIs using the cPSS to select 

effective regimen A5223: A comparison of PK in women and minority HIV+ patients. A5240:A study 

to evaluate the immugenicity of the HPV vaccine in HIV+ females. A5197: A treatment interruption 

trial of the antiretroviral effect of the MRK Ad5 HIV-1 GAG vaccine in HIV+ patients. A5244: An 

HIV treatment intensification trial using Raltegravir. A5247: Varicella vaccine trial in HIV+ patients. 

A5220: Improving Immune Response to Hepatitis B Vaccine in HIV+ patients using GM-CSF as a 

vaccine adjuvant. A5211: An HIV treatment study using Vicriviroc for patients failing therapy, now in 

long term follow up. 

Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS): A long term study focused on the natural history of 

HIV in women. 

PO4100: Long term follow-up of A5211 patients 

M06-802 Comparing once daily vs. twie daily dosing of Kaletra in treatment experienced HIV patients. 

43


GRANTS 

Sponsor Focus 

John Segreti, MD - Principal Investigator 

Cubist 

David Simon, MD, PhD - Principal Investigator 

NIH 

Roche 

Roche 

Merck 

Harold Kessler, MD - Principal Investigator 

Merck 

Thera 

Gilead 

Kimberly Smith, MD, MPH - Principal Investigator 

Tibotec 

Tibotec 

Tibotec 

Chiron 

ACTG 

Merck 

Allan Tenorio, MD - Principal Investigator 

Abbott 

Gilead 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

44 

A comparison of Daptomycin at 2 doses vs.Vancomycin or Teicoplanin in the Treatment of Subjects 

Undergoing Surgical SOC for Osteomyelitis 

Solid Organ Transplantation in HIV: A multi-site study 

NV20234: A trial to evaluate the use of oseltamivir I(Tamiflu) n the treatment of 

immunocompromised patients. 

NV20235: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial of oseltamivir for the 

seasonal prophylaxis of influenza in immunocompromised subjects. 

Antibiotic Utilization in Critical Care; Merck substudy of Candidemia associated Septic Shock 

Merck-004: A probe study to evaluate the HIV-1 GAG DNA vaccine in HIV-1 infected individuals. 

A study of a designer growth hormone releasing factor analogue to reduce HIV related lipodystrophy. 

SPHERE Grant to run Rapid HIV Testing in ER 

TMC125-C216: A study of 2 experimental antiretroviral drugs given simultaneously for patients with 

limited treatment options. 

TMC114HIV3004 GRACE:An open-label, multi-center trial to compare the efficacy, safety, and 

tolerability of Prezizta/r by gender and race. 

TMC125-C217: A follow up protocol for TMC125-C216 patients 

SILCAAT: A study o f the efficacy of subcutaneous recombinant human IL-2 in HIV patients with low 

CD4+ counts under active ART. 

A5202: An open- label treatment trial powered to identify racial differences in treatment-naïve 

HIV+ patients 

Merck-023-00: Integrase (MK-0518) An Expanded Access Trial 

ICE-001: Investigator initiated study comparing 2 HAART regimens in ART naïve subjects with 

advanced HIV disease. 

Effect of Tenofovir on Innate Immunity. 

A5176: Dermavir. A Phase I/II Randomized, Double-Blind Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, 

and Immunogenicity of LC002, a Dermavir (transdermal)Vaccine in HIV-1 Infected Subjects Currently 

receiving HAART. 

A5217:A randomized study of the effect of immediate treatment with potent ART vs. observation with 

treatment as indicated in newly HIV-1 infected subjects: Does early therapy alter the virologic setpoint? 

A5229: A phase II/III randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trial of uridine supplementation in 

HIV Lipoatrophy

Sponsor Focus 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

ACTG 

Stephanie Black, MD - Principal Investigator 

ACTG 

ACTG 

HRSA 

Laurie Proia, MD - Principal Investigator 

HRSA 

HRSA 

HRSA 

HRSA 

HRSA 

Kamaljit Singh, MD - Principal Investigator 

HRSA 

HRSA 

HRSA 

HRSA 

A5214: Phase I, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study evaluating the safety of subcutaneous 

single dose Interleukin-7 in HIV-1 infected subjects who are receiving ART. 

5209: A pilot study of the safety, efficacy and tolerability of Ezetimibe (Zetia) in combination with statin 

therapy for the treatment of elevated LDL cholesterol in HIV-1 infected subjects. 

A5212: A double-blind, phase II study of multiple doses of palmifermin (rHuKGF) for the treatment of 

inadequate CD4+lymphocyte recovery in subjects on potent antiretroviral therapy with plasma HIV-1 

RNA levels less than or equal to 200 . 

A study of the effect of HIV on natural killer cell function. 

Changes in mucosal lymphocyte and innate immune cell populations in HIV-1 infected compared to 

uninfected patients. 

The role of T-regulatory cells in the response to influenza vaccination in HIV-1 infected individuals. 

Changes in lymph node lymphocyte and innate immune cell populations in HIV-1 infected patients 

The phenotype and function of hepatic natural killer cells 

Mucosal immunology of HIV infected patients with inflammatory bowel disease-a prospective study 

Risk Mucosal immunology of HIV infected patients with inflammatory bowel disease-a retrospective study 

Factors for Ventilator Associated 

Pneumonia in the PICU 

Rush Center of Excellence (COE) in Bioterrorism Preparedness 

Bioterrorism Training & Curriculum Preparedness 

Blastomycosis pyomyositis case series 

Linezolid Lock Retrospective Chart Review 

Vertebral Coccidiodomycosis: A case Series and Liturature Review 

A review of central nervous system Blastomycosis 

Histoplasmosis and blastomycosis following solid organ transplantation 

Use of Luminex multiplex RT-PCR for the detection of respiratory viruses 

Rapid identification of Staphylococcus spp. Directly from blood cultures using BBL CHROMager. 

Use of piperacillin/tazobactam for treatment of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa infection. 

Environmental contamination and body colonization with MRSA and the epidemic of 

community- acquired MRSA. 


45

SECTION OF PHARMACY PRACTICE 

1653 W. Congress Parkway 0036 SB Atrium 

(312) 942-2108 

46 

Nora Flint, Pharm.D, 

FASHP, BCPS Section Head 

Faculty 

Instructors: 

Peggy Choye, Pharm.D. 

Chris Crank, Pharm.D., BCPS 

Nora Flint, Pharm.D., FASHP, BCPS 

Amy Green, Pharm.D., BCPS 

Ann Jankiewicz, Pharm.D, BCPS 

Julie Jun, Pharm.D. 

Mimi Lo, Pharm.D. 

Mira Loh-Trivedi, Pharm.D. 

Gourang Patel, Pharm.D.,MSc., BCPS 

Jeri Rothman, RPh, MBA 

Gail Ruderman, RPh. 

Beth Shields, Pharm.D., 

Nina Sivanawin, Pharm.D. 

New Faculty 

(yet to be given 

academic appointments) 

Nicole Alvey, Pharm.D. 

Brian McBride, Pharm.D. 

Shane Scott, Pharm.D., BCOP 

The section of Pharmacy Practice expanded this past year with 

the addition of four members. Mira Loh-Trivedi, Pharm.D.was 

an employee of the Department of Anesthesia and transferred 

to the Department of Pharmacy. She rounds in the Surgical 

ICU. Nicole Alvey, Pharm.D., filled a long vacant position in the 

Department of Pharmacy in solid organ transplant, starting in 

August of this year. 

Two visiting faculty from Midwestern University’s Chicago 

College of Pharmacy began providing the service component 

of their positions at Rush this past year. Shane Scott, Pharm. 

D., BCOP is rounding with Dr. Showel in Oncology and Brian 

McBride, Pharm.D., is rounding in the Coronary Care Unit. 

Education 

The Department of Pharmacy continues to recruit 4 talented 

individuals into our Post Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) Pharmacy 

Residency Program each year. This residency program has been 

in existence at Rush for over 25 years. In addition, July 2008 is 

the beginning of our second year of providing a Post Graduate 

Year 2 (PGY2) Pharmacy Residency Program in Infectious 

Disease. This PGY2 residency program is funded through 

Midwestern University, but the primary service site is Rush. 

Dr. Chris Crank is the Residency Director of this program. 

In addition to the PGY2 in Infectious Disease, Midwestern 

University initiated a Pharmacy Fellowship in Infectious Disease 

through Midwestern University. The fellow started in July of 

this year and will complete the 2 year program with academic 

responsibilities at Chicago College of Pharmacy and service 

responsibilities both at Rush and at Northwestern 

Memorial Hospital. 

Accomplishments in 2007-2008 

Gourang Patel, Pharm.D. completed his Masters in Clinical 

Research from Rush University. His thesis was addressed the 

Efficacy and Safety of Dopamine versus Norepinephrine in the 

Management of Septic Shock. 

Chris Crank, Pharm.D. continues his curriculum in Rush’s 

Health Systems Management (HSM) program. He is due to 

complete this in summer of 2009.

Through her responsibilities in rounding with the 

NSICU, Amy Green, Pharm.D. contributed in a 

significant way to the development of a stroke 

program at Rush so that the medical center could 

be certified by The Joint Commission as a primary 

stroke center. 

Julie Jun, Pharm.D., and Peggy Choye, Pharm.D. 

have initiated a pilot program with RUI attending 

physicians to assess anticoagulation therapy and 

counsel patients prior to discharge. This is done on a 

consultation basis, whenever Drs. Jun or Choye are 

paged by a RUI attending. 

Nicole Alvey has contributed in a major way to 

the successful meeting of CMS requirements for a 

pharmacist to be part of the team that care for solid 

organ transplantation patients. She will be rounding 

with the liver, kidney and heart transplant teams 

and performing discharge consultations on this 

patient population, as part of the CMS accreditation 

requirements. 

Nina Sivanawin, Pharm.D., whose responsibility is to 

oversee the anticoagulation therapy for orthopedic 

Sections of Pharmacy Practice 

surgery on 9S Atrium has expanded her service from 

two orthopedic physicians to three. In addition, she 

has successfully developed a Home Health Care 

(HHC) protocol so that HHC nurses are able to 

manage the monitoring and dosing of warfarin on 

outpatients to complete the required three weeks 

of anticoagulant therapy for post-joint replacement 

patients. 

Beth Shields, Pharm.D. continues to work in the 

area of pediatrics to improve medication safety. 

She successfully worked with pediatric oncologists 

and nursing staff this past year to develop a process 

to have pediatric chemotherapy orders written 

and reviewed thoroughly prior to preparation and 

dispensing to patients. This project was required 

after the departure of two nurse practitioners in 

oncology from Rush. 

Nora Flint, Pharm.D. initiated a pilot project to place 

pharmacists on nursing units approving medication 

orders instead of from inside a pharmacy satellite. 

This was piloted on 9N, 9S and 9K. There is hope of 

expansion to other nursing units in the coming year. 

47

SECTION OF RHEUMATOLOGY 

1725 W Harrison Street, Suite 1017 

(312)-942-8268 

48 

Joel A. Block, MD 

The Willard L. Wood, MD 

- Professor of Rheumatology 

- Professor of Medicine and 

Biochemistry 

- Director, Section of 

Rheumatology 

Faculty 

Professors: 

Alison Finnegan, PhD 

Lawrence Layfer, MD 

Anna Plaas, PhD 

Winston Sequeira, MD 


Paul B. Glickman, MD 

Charlotte A. Harris, MD 

Najia Shakoor, MD 


Sarah Everakes, MD 

Meenakshi Jolly, MD 

David Mael, MD 

Augustine M. Manadan, MD 

Carla R. Scanzello, MD, PhD 

Con-joint Faculty: 

Susan Chubinskaya, PhD 

Tibor Glant, MD, PhD 

Hee-Jeong Im-Sampen, PhD 

Eugene Thonar, PhD 

Laura Thorp, PhD 

Markus Wimmer, PhD 

James Williams, PhD 

The Section of Rheumatology is a dynamic and growing enterprise 

of approximately twenty five including faculty, co-joint faculty and 

fellows who are committed to providing outstanding state-of-the-art 

patient care and training the next generation of physicians. 

Patient care services are provided by physicians in two 

private practices, Rheumatology Associates and University 

Rheumatologists. Services include: 

– Consultative care for patients with complex autoimmune 

connective tissue diseases, including lupus and rheumatoid 

arthritis 

– Primary management of musculoskeletal disorders, such as 

osteoarthritis, bursitis and tendonitis 

– Evaluation and treatment for osteoporosis 

In addition to providing comprehensive, compassionate patient 

care, section faculty members are involved in a number of research 

projects searching for the causes of arthritis and other rheumatic 

diseases. 

Rheumatologists at Rush provide treatment for arthritis, Lyme 

disease, lupus and other rheumatic diseases. The section also 

supports a center for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. 

In addition to its patient care services and research activities, the 

Section of Rheumatology also offers outstanding training in both 

the clinical and research aspects of rheumatic diseases. 

The Osteoporosis Treatment Center at Rush is dedicated to 

osteoporosis treatment, education and research. Our physicians 

specialize in osteoporosis, bone metabolism and other disorders of 

the musculoskeletal system. Through medical evaluations and bone 

mineral density testing, our skilled physicians and staff can help 

determine patients risk for developing osteoporosis. In addition, 

we use dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) to measure bone 

mineral density. This is a painless, noninvasive procedure similar to 

an x-ray: A moveable arm is passed over the area to be tested. The 

test is completed in a matter of minutes and radiation exposure 

is minimal.

Education 

The mission of the rheumatology fellowship training 

program is to produce physicians that 

1) are clinically superb in the field of rheumatology, 

2) are capable of working in a variety of settings, 

3) possess habits of life-long learning to build upon 

their knowledge, skills and professionalism, and 

4) contribute to the community by expanding 

knowledge and awareness of rheumatic diseases. 

The specific goals of our training program are 

derived from the Mission Statement: 

1) clinical competence, 

2) capable of working in a variety of settings, 

3) a life-long learner, and 

4) a contributor to the knowledge and awareness of 

rheumatic diseases. 

Our Section offers outstanding training in both 

the clinical and research aspects of rheumatic 

diseases. Our faculty members provide fellows 

with a broad range of expertise in basic sciences 

and clinical rheumatology. The Rheumatology 

Fellowship is a two-year program, with an optional 

third year available. It is offered to physicians who 

have completed two to three years of postgraduate 

training in Internal Medicine. 

Fellows work under the supervision of faculty 

members in a clinically oriented program at the 

office-based private rheumatology practice at 

Rush, developing assessment skills of patients with 

musculoskeletal and connective tissue diseases, 

and formulating diagnoses and care plans. In 

addition, fellows provide consultation to other 

inpatient services at Rush and at John H. Stroger, Jr., 

Hospital of Cook County; fellows provide outpatient 

consultation services at Rush, John H. Stroger, Jr., 

Hospital of Cook County and other outpatient 

clinics in the community. 

Research 

Section of Rheumatology 

The faculty in Rheumatology includes clinical 

investigators with primary interests in osteoarthritis, 

the role of biomechanics in the rheumatic diseases, 

systemic lupus, and scleroderma. Basic science 

interests include animal models of inflammatory 

arthritis, mechanisms of degeneration of articular 

cartilage, biomarkers, and basic cartilage biology. In 

addition, the Section of Rheumatology maintains 

strong research affiliations with the Departments of 

Biochemistry, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Orthopedic 

Surgery, and Immunology. 

Finally, we are researching causes and treatments for 

osteoporosis. Our physicians conduct clinical trials 

of the newest osteoporosis medications, and our own 

departmental studies evaluate the effects of certain 

medications on bone density. The result of these 

studies may provide future treatment options for 

patients and others. 

49


CLINICAL TRIALS, INDUSTRY STUDIES AND GRANTS 

Sponsor Title 

Joel A. Block, MD 

NIH/NIAMS 

Knoll Pharmaceutical Company 

Centocor, Inc. 

Forest Research Institute 

Abbott Laboratories 

Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 

Wyeth Consumer Healthcare 

Anika Therapeutics, Inc. 

Abbott Laboratories 

Wyeth Research 

Novartis 

Novartis 

Anesiva, Inc. 

Eli Lilly and Company 

Hoffmann-LaRoche AG 

Hoffman-LaRoche AG 


50 

“Clinical effects of altered biomechanics in knee OA.” 

“Specialized Center of Research in Osteoarthritis” (SCOR–OA), Administrative Core (co-P.I.). A Multi- 

Center Continuation Study of the Human Anti-TNF Antibody D2E7 Administered as a Subcutaneous 

Injection in Patients with Rheumatoid, Knoll Pharmaceutical Company. 

A Multi-Center Continuation Study of the Human Anti-TNF Antibody D2E7 Administered as a 

Subcutaneous Injection in Patients with Rheumatoid. 

A Multicenter International Observational Study of the Long-Term Safety of Infliximab (Remicade) 

Results: Remicade Safety Under Long-Term Study. 

A Phase III, Multicenter, Open-Label, Flexible-Dosing Study of Milnacipran for the Treatment of 

Fibromyalgia. 

A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Period, Double-Blind Study to Determine the Optimal Protocol for 

Treatment Initiation with Methotrexate and Adalimumab Combination Therapy in Patients with Early 

Rheumatoid Arthritis 

A Long-Term, Open-Label Safety and Efficacy Study of Xyrem® (sodium oxybate) in Subjects with 

Fibromyalgia. 

The Efficacy and Safety of TDS-943 in the Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Pivotal Study 1 (with 

PK Assessments). 

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo Controlled, Multi-Center Study of a Single Injection Cross- 

Linked Sodium Hyaluronate (HA) to Provide Symptomatic Relief of Osteoarthritis of the Knee. 

A Multi-Center, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study Comparing 780 mg of 

Adalimumab with Placebo and Demonstrating the Non-Inferiority of Monthly 80 mg Adalimumab 

Dosing Compared with 40 mg Adalimumab Every Other Week Dosing. 

A Randomized, Parallel, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Dose Regimen Finding Study to Evaluate the 

Safety and Efficacy of TRU-015 in Subjects With Active Seropositive Rheumatoid Arthritis on a Stable 

Background of Methotrexate. 

3 Part Multicenter Study with a Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo Controlled, Withdrawal Design in 

Part II to Assess Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of ACZ885 in Patients with Muckle-Wells Syndrome. 

An Open-Label, Long-Term Safety and Efficacy Study of ACZ885 for at least 6 Months in Patients with 

the Following Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes. 

A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group Study to Evaluate the 

Duration of Analgesic Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability of a Regimen of Intraarticular Injections of 4975 in 

Patients with Chronic Moderate to Severe Pain of the Knee Associated with Osteoarthritis. 

A Phase 2 Study of Multiple Intravenous Doses of LY2127399, an Anti-BAFF Human Antibody, in 

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis on Concomitant Methotrexate and an Inadequate Response to TNFa 

Inhibitor Therapy. 

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel Group Study of the Safety and Prevention of Structural Joint 

Damage During Treatment with MRA Versus Placebo, in Combination with Methotrexate, in Patients 

with Moderate to Severe Active Rheumatoid Arthritis. 

Roche Sample Repository Research Project

Sponsor Title 


Genentech 

ACR/REF 

Arthritis Foundation 

Rush/Cook County Consortium 

NIH/NIAMS 

NIH/NIAMS 

Susan Chubinskaya, PhD 

NIH/NIAMS 

NIH/NIAMS 

NIH/NIAMS 

Project One 

Core B 

NIH/NIAD 

Alternatives Grant 

Research programs 

Arthrex 

Zimmer, Inc 

Anesiva, Inc. 

Fundacion Mapfre 

Anesiva, Inc. 

Regentis, Inc 

Joint Restoration Foundation 

Alternatives Research & 

Development Foundation 

A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group, Adaptive-Design, 

Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability Study of 4 Fixed Oral Doses of DVS SR in Adult Outpatients with 

Fibromyalgia Syndrome. 

A 6-Month Open-Label Extension Study of the Long-Term Safety of DVS SR in Outpatients with 

Fibromyalgia Syndrome. 

A Long-Term Study of the Safety of Rituxan® in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis After an Inadequate 

Response to Previous Anti-TNF Therapy 

American College of Rheumatology Research and Education Foundation Health Professional New 

Investigator Award: “An Analysis of the Effects of Exercise on a Biomechanical Risk Factor for Knee OA.” 

P.I.: L Thorp, PhD. Mentor. 

Arthritis Foundation Chicago Chapter Young Investigator Award 2008-2010 

“A Biomechanical Approach to Modify Risk Factors for Knee OA.” P.I.: L. Thorp, PhD. Role: Co-I, 5% 

Investigation of Genetic Variability at the Aggrecan Locus in African American Osteoarthritis Patients. “ 

P.I.: D.M. Franks, PhD. Role: Co-I 3% Effort 

K23 AR049748 “Factors influencing the evolution of knee osteoarthritis.” P.I.: N. Shakoor, M.D. Role: 

Mentor 5% Effort. 

“Proprioception and strength in lower extremity osteoarthritis.” P.I.: N. Shakoor, M.D. Role: Supervisor. 

RO1 grant “Mineral Matrix Relations in Calcifying Tissues”, Collaborator (10%); W. Landis, Ph.D. – P.I. 

(Neoucom, Rootstown, OH) 

RO1 “Hyaluronan-Cell interactions in cartilage”, Co-investigator (5%); C Knudson, Ph.D. – P.I. 

SCOR grant “Osteoarthritis: A continuum (SCOR)”. K. Kuettner: Program Dir. 

“Mechanisms Involved in the Formation of a Cartilage Tissue by Osteoarthritic Cells” E. Thonar, P.I.; S. 

Chubinskaya, Collaborator, 3% 

“Biological Research Core”; C. Knudson, P.I., Co-Investigator, 3%. 

“Protein targets of ovarian and oocyte autoantibodies” J Luborsky PI (Consult). 

“Damaged Human Cartilage Proposal”. M. Wimmer (P.I.),Co-Investigator, 5%. 

Study “Differences in supraspinatus tendon biomechanics, histology, and ultrastructure that may 

affect the quality of single vs double row rotator cuff repair” B. Cole, MD, Principal Investigator. 

Co-Investigator (3% effort /.36 mo) 

M.Wimmer, PhD, Prinicipal Investigator; Co-Investigator (10%) 

“Rabbit GH Chondrolysis/Rotator Cuff Healing”. B. Cole, MD, PI; Co-Investigator (10%). 

Cartilage degradation in acute trauma model” PI; Cecilia Pascual, MD, postdoctoral fellow Becas 

Larramendi 2007, Spain. 

“Rabbit GH Chondrolysis/Rotator Cuff Healing”. B Cole, MD, PI; Co-Investigator (10%) 


“Biochemical, histological, and structural analysis of newly formed cartilage in the model of 

osteochondral defects in goats” Principal Investigator (20%). 

51


Sponsor Title 

Alison Finnegan, PhD 

NIH-NIAMS 

NIH-NIAMS 

NIH/NIAMS 

Tibor Glant, MD, PhD 

NIH/NIAMS 

Zimmer Research Foundation 

Grainger Foundation 

Hee-Jeong Im-Sampen, PhD 

NIH/NIAMS 

Arthritis Foundation 

Chicago Chapter 

Arthritis National 

Research Foundation 

Samsung Biomedical 

Research Institute Grant 

Zimmer Spine Research 

NIH/NIAMS 

NIH/NIAMS 

NIH/NIAMS 

Meenakshi Jolly, MD 

Cook County and Rush 

Anna Plaas, PhD 

Seikagaku Inc. 

Glycosciences Inc 

52 

“Effect of catabolic mediators and biomechanical load on osteochondral allograft cartilage”. Principal 

Investigator (25%). 

“Response of Damaged Human Cartilage to Articular Motion – A Study Utilizing an Acute Trauma Model 

on Human Ankles”. M. Wimmer, PhD, Principal Investigator; S. Chubinskaya, Co-Investigator (5%). 

“Autoimmune Arthritis: Genetics and Cellular Regulation” Project #2 “Cytokine Regulation in 

Experimental Arthritis” 

“B cell Function in Autoimmune Arthritis” 

“Systemic Implication of Total Joint Replacement” 

“Autoimmune Arthritis: Genetics and Cellular regulation” (Program director Tibor Glant, M.D., Ph.D.) 

(PI: of Project 1 and Administrative Core B). Project 1: “Mapping of Arthritis Susceptible Gene” (PI) 

“Study of Autoimmune Progressive Polyarthritis”PI. Mechanisms of Arthritis Suppression by TSG-6 

(Tnfip6)” Mechanisms of Arthritis Suppression by TSG-6 (Tnfip6)” “B-cell Function in Autoimmune 

Arthritis”. PI: Finnegan, Co-investigator: Glant) Aggrecan-hG1 and LP Transgenic Mice as Models of OA 

PI: TT Glant. 

“Periprosthetic Osteolysis and Bone Remodeling” Funded at Rush University Medical Center, (PI: Glant) 

Project 1 Year 4 

Novel Diagnostic Tools for Rheumatoid Arthritis and Myeloid Leukemia” PIs: TT. Glant and K. Mikecz, 

“Pathological Role of bFGF in Human Adult Articular Cartilage” Role: PI 

“Molecular Mechanisms of Anti-Smad Pathway by bFGF in Cartilage” Role: PI 

“IL-1_-altered SUMO pathway in the pathogenesis of Osteoarthritis” Role: PI 

“Inhibitory Effect of Resveratrol on Intervertebral Disc Degeneration in Rabbit Model” Role: Co-PI 

PI: Dr. Howard S. An Role: Co-Investigator 

(Program Project Director: Dr. T. Oegema) “Osteoarthritis: A Continuum (SCOR) (multi-project 

program) Project One: “Mechanism Involved in the Formation of a Cartilage Tissue by Osteoarthritic 

Cells” Role: Co-Investigator 

Percentile: 9.4 “An Interdisciplinary and Integrative Study of Tendinopathy” Role: Consultant 

“Molecular mechanisms of exercise-modulated anti-inflammation in tendons” Cook County and Rush 

University Collaborative grant. Serum markers for detecting lupus flares. Co-PI 

University Collaborative Grant

Sponsor Title 

Smith & Nephew Inc 

Pfizer Inc. 

Najia Shakoor, MD 

NIH 

Eugene Thonar, PhD 

NIH/ NIAMS 

Serum markers for detecting lupus flares. Co-PI. 

“Nanoparticle targeted treatment of Synovial Joint lining” PI 

“Effect of High Molecular Weight Hyaluronan on Synovial Inflammation in Osteoarthritis” PI 

“Oral HA oligosaccharides and Chondroprotection in Murine OsteoArthritis” PI 


Strategic Alliance Support Grant “Effect of DMOADs of Tissue Degradative and Reparative Pathways in 

a Murine Model of OA” 

(PENDING) Altering biomechanics in knee osteoarthritis, PI: U01 (PENDING) PI: M Nevitt, 

University of California, Consultant. Factors influencing the evolution of knee osteoarthritis PI: 

70% Effort 

Spine Program Project Grant Project 3 Masuda (PI): Autocrine and Paracrine Control of Homeostasis 

of the Intervertebral Disc Role. 

53

DIVISION OF NEPHROLOGY 

1426 W. Washington Blvd. 

(312)850-8434 

54 

Stephen M. Korbet, MD 

Division Chief, Nephrology 

Edmund J. Lewis, MD 

Section Director, Nephrology 

Samuel N. Saltzberg, MD 

Section Director, Transplant 

Nephrology 

Faculty: 

Professors: 

Stephen M. Korbet, MD 

Edmund J. Lewis, MD 

Associate Professor: 

Roger A. Rodby, MD 


Samuel N. Saltzberg, MD 

Marvin V. Sinsakul, MD 

William L. Whittier, MD 

Instructor: 

Casey N. Gashti, MD 

The Division of Nephrology, comprised of the Section of Nephrology 

and Section of Transplant Nephrology, is an internationally recognized 

nephrology practice. The Division has been ranked as one of the top 25 

Kidney Disease Programs in the United States by U.S.News & World 

Report for the past several years. For over two decades, our physicians 

have been committed to the prevention and treatment of kidney disease 

and kidney failure. 

The nephrologists in our division are responsible for cutting-edge 

investigations which have changed the standards of medical practice 

worldwide. For over 30 years, Dr. Lewis has headed up the Collaborative 

Study Group (CSG), a research group representing 200 clinics in 20 

different countries. Studies conducted by the CSG demonstrated the 

use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors in patients with Type 

1 diabetic nephropathy and the use of angiotensin receptor blockers 

in patients with Type 2 diabetic nephropathy slowed the progression 

of renal disease. These findings lead to changes in the management of 

diabetic nephropathy which have benefited millions of patients with 

diabetic renal disease. 

Other major advances pioneered within the practice include the 

classification and therapy of lupus nephritis and focal segmental 

glomerulonephritis. They have also been involved in studies which 

helped define the use of recombinant human erythropoietin in chronic 

dialysis patients, and we have been very involved in providing insight 

into the use of innovated forms of chronic dialysis such as peritoneal 

dialysis and daily home hemodialysis to patients with end-stage renal 

disease. In the area of acute dialysis, the Section of Nephrology was one 

of the first to provide continuous dialysis therapy using an innovative 

machine designed by NxStage which works on the principle of clearance 

by ultrafiltration. 

Education 

The nephrology faculty is actively involved in teaching medical students, 

resident and fellows. Additionally, many of our faculty members serve 

on editorial boards of peer reviewed journals and are actively involved 

with nephrology societies such as the American Society of Nephrology 

(ASN), International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the National 

Kidney Foundation (NKF). The involvement in these societies includes 

serving on the program committees for annual meetings as well as 

moderating and lecturing at the annual meetings. 

The nephrology fellowship program at Rush University Medical Center 

is committed to providing the finest subspecialty training in Nephrology 

available anywhere in the country. Our comprehensive program focuses 

on clinical nephrology and clinical research and prepares the trainee for 

all aspects of a career in clinical nephrology. The fellowship is a two-

year program, with three fellows at each level. The 

primary teaching institution for the subspecialty 

program is Rush University Medical Center, a 

1,000-bed tertiary care teaching hospital where the 

subspecialty fellows participate in rotations on the 

in-patient nephrology consult service, in-patient 

nephrology transplant service, renal pathology 

rotation, and pediatric nephrology. Fellows also 

rotate through the out-patient hemodialysis unit, 

outpatient peritoneal dialysis clinics and outpatient 

nephrology continuity clinics located about one 

quarter mile from the medical center at 1426 W. 

Washington Blvd. 

Research 

Division of Nephrology 

The Section of Nephrology at Rush University 

Medical Center has a long tradition of research 

in glomerular pathology and treatment. The 

Nephrology Section Head is Dr. Edmund Lewis, 

the Principal Investigator of the Collaborative 

Study Group. Studies done by the Collaborative 

Study Group have defined the standard of care for 

lupus nephritis and both type 1 and type 2 diabetic 

nephropathy. 

55

56 

Ongoing Research 

E. J. Lewis, M.D. and M. Sinsakul, MD: A Randomized, Double-Blind, 

Placebo-Controlled, Multi-Center, Phase 2b Study to Evaluate the 

Safety and Efficacy of Pyridorin (pyridoxamine dihydrochloride) in 

Patients with Nephropathy Due to Type 2 Diabetes. 

S. M. Korbet, M.D. and M. Sinsakul, MD: A Safety and Tolerability 

Study of Zerenex (ferric citrate) in Patients with End-Stage Renal 

Disease (ESRD). 

M. Sinsakul, MD: Following Rehabilitation, Economics and Everyday 

Dialysis Outcome Measurements Study (FREEDOM). 

M. Sinsakul, MD and W. Whittier, MD: Comparison of Nocturnal 

Hemodialysis (NHD) and Short Daily Hemodialysis (DHD) with the 

NxStage System One. 

S. Saltzberg, MD: An open-label, concentration-controlled, 

randomized, 12-month study of prograf + rapamune + corticosteroids 

compared to cyclosporine USP (modified) + rapamune + 

corticosteroids in high risk renal allograft recipients (incorporating 

protocol amendment 2) 

S. Saltzberg, MD: A one-year, multicenter, partially blinded, doubledummy, 

randomized study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 

FTY720 combined with reduced-dose or full-dose Neoral® and 

corticosteroids versus mycophenolate mofetil (MMF, CellCept) 

combined with full-dose Neoral® and corticosteroids, in de novo adult 

renal transplant recipients. 

S. Saltzberg, MD: A phase III, open-label, comparative, multi-center 

study to assess the safety and efficacy of prograf (tacrolimus)/MMF, 

modified release (MR) tacrolimus/MMF and Neoral (cyclosporine)/ 

MMF in de novo kidney transplant recipients re: Protocol 02-0-158 

S. Saltzberg, MD: A randomized, open-label study to compare the 

safety and efficacy of two different sirolimus regimens to a tacrolimus + 

mycophenolate mofetil regimen in de novo renal allograft recipients. 

S. Saltzberg, MD: A prospective, randomized, open label, twenty-six 

week study of the efficacy and safety of converting kidney and liver 

transplant recipients with tacrolimus-associated abnormal glucose 

metabolism to Neoral® with C2 . 

W. Whittier, MD: Rapid Assessment of Vascular Graft Patency. NIH 

funded grant to noninvasively evaluate permanent dialysis accesses in 

patients with chronic renal failure. 

Sponsor 

NephroGenex Inc. Protocol Number 

PYR-210 

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. 

Protocol KRX-0502 

NxStage Medical CP0009 

NxStage Medical CP0010. 

Wyeth-Ayerst-164 

Novartis CFTY720 0125, Protocol 

Amendment 4 

Fujisawa MR/Prograf/Neoral 

Wyeth-Ayerst (Orion) 497, Protocol 

No. 0468H1-101497 

Novartis (US06), Protocol No: 

COLO400A US06 

NIH No: R44 DK059685

The Department of Internal Medicine 

gratefully acknowledges Tulay Nalbant, 

project manager, for her superb work to 

create this Annual Report.

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