Year in Review 2021
Welcome to the Year in Review issue of “The Scope,” the newsletter of the ECU Division of Health Sciences.
Happy New Year, colleagues!
Dr. Ron Mitchelson, Interim Vice Chancellor, Division of Health Sciences
As we think about 2022 and what it might present, I can’t help but take a deep breath and consider what we accomplished in 2021. In many ways, 2021 was no less than a whirlwind. It was certainly not a year for the faint of heart. We navigated our ongoing battle with COVID-19, new COVID-19 vaccinations, a new chancellor, dramatic change in divisional leadership, two new deans for the Brody School of Medicine, the foundation for our clinical integration with Vidant Health to be called ECU Health and a state budget process that finally yielded funding for a new medical education building, as well as continued discussion of university-wide reorganization. We endured all of that amidst the normal daily challenges to ensure that our students and our region would see success. In November, Newsweek named us the best online college in North Carolina and No. 6 in the nation. Some our divisional programs are major reasons for those distinctions.
Despite all of the turbulence, we stayed the course. During this calendar year, we enrolled (over 5,100) and graduated (over 1,100) more new health professionals than any school in the UNC system. We’re hitting some very high-water marks with new externally sponsored programs of nearly $40 million in support of exciting research and service programs. And perhaps hidden in those numbers, we are home to some of the best servant leaders on the planet. Our motto, Servire, is alive and well. For example, this year, Dr. Nancy Dias received ECU’s Award for International Service. Dr. Tom Irons received the Bernstein Community Health Career Achievement Award. Dr. Robin Tutor Marcum received a national award for her work in pesticide safety. We all know that most of our servanthood is quiet, often confidential, work that goes largely unrecognized. It is of immeasurable impact, and it was all accomplished despite the uncertainty of 2021.
You all are exceptional Pirates. You have stayed the course and remained mission-driven despite the past year’s distractions and challenges. It is time to look forward. We have a new ECU Health brand to promote. We have a new $215 million medical education building to design. We have advances in telehealth and interprofessional education to secure. We have a new provost to welcome. We have a revitalized comprehensive campaign to energize. And most importantly, we have new opportunities to assist with the success of our students and our region. We will do that with our superior teaching, our mission-driven research, and our service within and outside this great university.
Thank you in advance for navigating our course and for honoring our mission.
Proudly,
RonM
Interim Vice Chancellor,
Division of Health Sciences
Mission
This year, the division combined its talents, expertise, compassion and motivation to meet our collective mission in new and creative ways.
Pandemic and emergency response: The College of Nursing rolled out emergency preparedness courses and a certificate program in Disaster Management was recently approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Meanwhile, students and faculty from the college helped administer COVID-19 vaccinations. The College of Allied Health Sciences’ biofeedback lab helped patients recovering from COVID-19, and a collaboration across ECU provided insight into the distribution of COVID-19-related resources.
The Brody School of Medicine traveled to communities and locations in the East, including Rebuild Christian Center Church in Winterville, using a mobile unit to provide health screenings and COVID-19 vaccinations. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
Diversity across the division: The Division of Health Sciences continued to increase its emphasis on promoting diversity and inclusion across our campus this year. These efforts included the Brody School of Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony honoring its most diverse class ever, and the dental school hosting a Day of Unity honoring cultural diversity in the school while raising funds for the Community Crossroads Center.
Serving special populations: The School of Dental Medicine built on its rich tradition of caring for special populations, including providing free dental care to military veterans during ECU Smiles for Veterans events in Brunswick and Jackson counties and hosting the inaugural Sonríe Clinic for migrant farmworkers continued the school’s mission to serve special populations in rural communities.
Increasing access for rural patients: Division projects were designed to open doors for rural patients. The Brody School of Medicine led efforts to take health care on the road, following last year’s successful efforts to provide care to children via mobile unit. The new Rural Family Medicine Residency program equips residents with specialized training, and the MOTHeRS Project increases access to care for expectant mothers. Laupus Health Sciences Library featured a webinar focused on migrant farmworkers and digital inclusion.
Interprofessional and community care: Collaborative projects across the division brought together the best in our colleges and schools to benefit patients and communities. Nursing and physical therapy students study the benefits of interprofessional care, while medical and physician assistant studies students experienced a mass casualty simulation. Medical and dental North Carolina Schweitzer Fellows worked to address health challenges in the community, and occupational therapy students provided pediatric therapy screenings. Division faculty are bringing better telehealth access, and medical students honed their Spanish skills. Medical and physical therapy students provided foot care to homeless patients.
Visit this video on YouTube for the closed-captioned version.
In the News
Experts in the Division of Health Sciences represented ECU and the Division of Health Sciences in hundreds of state, national and international news outlets this year.
Dr. Hanan Elgendy works with first-year dental student Dan’Tayia Marable in Ross Hall’s Preclinical Technique Lab. (Photo by Rhett Butler)
Reducing dental student debt: ECU School of Dental Medicine Dean Dr. Greg Chadwick was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal about the cost of dental school in the United States and why the lower debt helps graduates to serve in rural and underserved areas. “It didn’t happen by accident,” he said. “They have to have debt that’s manageable to go out to those areas.”
Vaccines and COVID-19: Dozens of ECU faculty members continued to share their expertise on the latest COVID-19 developments. For example, Dr. Rachel Roper provided SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 expertise for regional, statewide, national and international media outlets, such as New York Magazine and The Scientist. And Dr. Paul Cook and Dr. Paul Bolin continued to provide context on breaking virus news and its impact on patients in eastern North Carolina, regularly being featured in state and local media on promising new treatments for the disease and the clinical efforts underway to better understand its effects.
Safe drinking water: Toxicologist Dr. Jamie DeWitt continued to provide insight on per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) including GEN-X — the “forever chemicals” that have been the subject of environmental and water quality concerns and legislative regulation disputes. Research instructor Tracey Woodlief made the cover of the journal Toxics for her work with the DeWitt Lab, researching the effects PFAS in the Cape Fear River.
Nationwide nursing shortage: ECU’s College of Nursing graduates more newly licensed nurses than any other four-year institution in the state, which is crucial for health care in state of North Carolina and beyond. Dean Dr. Sylvia Brown spoke with WITN about the nationwide nursing shortage and how the pandemic and the retirements of older nurses is impacting it.
Interprofessional disaster training: Local media highlighted the annual Interprofessional Trauma Emergency Assessment & Management (I-TEAM) event that paired students from the Brody School of Medicine and the College of Allied Health Sciences to learn how to triage patients and begin treating injuries in a disaster scenario.
Research
Students and faculty across the division made strides this year in research aimed at bringing better health care solutions to people in eastern North Carolina.
Dr. Kelsey-Fisher Wellman is leading a team of researchers to investigate differences in leukemia cell mitochondria that could be targeted with cancer therapies. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)
Pandemic research: CARES Act funding continued to fund COVID-19 research led by division experts. Projects included survey projects to track trends in virus spread and a collaborative effort in on-campus wastewater virus detection. Faculty are studying the effects of long COVID and made discoveries in airborne virus detection.
Research and scholarship: Medical and dental students showcased their research during the 24th Annual Medical Student Scholarship Forum. The dental school’s Summer Research Scholars started their dental school journeys strong, and the school celebrated its vibrant research enterprise with its annual Celebration of Research and Scholarship. Health sciences authors were honored for publications across disciplines, many of which contributed to a growing international field of COVID-19-related research and discovery.
Targeting cancer: A new clinical trials partnership was awarded membership in the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. A compound developed by an associate professor in Brody could lead to more effective skin cancer treatments.
Leukemia breakthroughs: Brody researchers are exploring cell behavior in pursuit of better treatments for acute myeloid leukemia. Other researchers are part of a National Cancer Institute Program Project Grant focused on exploring therapeutics for leukemia.
Health behavior research: Brody’s associate chief of research earned a research grant to study opioid use as part of ECU’s health behavior research cluster. A team of researchers including researchers from the College of Allied Health Sciences also studied how teachers’ personal views on healthy behaviors impact their students and examined the link in the Public Health Nutrition journal published by the Cambridge University Press. One of those researchers also studied how emphasis on science exploration early on influenced dietary preferences.
Visit this video on YouTube for the closed-captioned version.
Milestones
The Division of Health Sciences reached a variety of milestones during 2021, including the expansion of clinical services and spaces, an anniversary of a national model for education and outreach as well as achievement and celebration of leaders and providers.
Dr. Tom Irons, associate vice chancellor for health sciences, was awarded the 2021 Jim Bernstein Community Health Career Achievement Award in October.
A decade of dentistry: The dental school marked 10 years of education and care, setting a standard with a unique model of education and patient care, with fourth-year students completing three nine-week rotations at the school’s eight community service learning centers (CSLCs) across North Carolina communities.
Landmark moment: The state’s decision to fund a new medical education building for ECU highlights the difference that the Brody School of Medicine makes for North Carolina. Funding allocated for programs like rural medical residencies and NC-STeP will train providers to serve in rural settings while delivering much-needed health care in underserved areas.
Career achievement: A faculty member and administrator earned the 2021 Jim Bernstein Community Health Career Achievement Award by the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation. A Brody faculty physician earned the state’s Dogwood Award for service, and a Brody cardiologist earned a national award from the American College of Physicians.
International election: The dean of the School of Dental Medicine was elected president-elect of FDI World Dental Federation, the leading international professional organization for the dental profession.
Professional student honors: A senior resident physician is a recipient of the David C. Leach Award, which honors achievement in graduate medical education. A dental student was the first ever recipient of the National Dental Association Foundation’s 2021 Audacity to Dream Scholarship for Community Service.
Visit this video on YouTube for the closed-captioned version.
Philanthropy
Community support for ECU’s Division of Health Sciences – its students, its faculty and its mission – was remarkable throughout 2021 and we have many of you to thank.
Brody Scholars at white coat ceremony. Photo by Cliff Hollis
Here are some of the highlights provided by the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation:
$8,000,000 – Amount raised in 2021
$1,172,520 – Scholarship funding awarded by the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation
1,541 – Total donors
331 – Scholarship recipients
35 – New funds created that will support a variety of priorities across the division, including scholarships, faculty support, professorships, research and patient care.
Learn more about how you can support the mission of ECU’s Division of Health Sciences through the ECU Medical & Health Sciences Foundation, Inc.