Remembering the Tulane Unit and its service during World War II -
May 27, 2022
The 24th General Hospital, commonly known as the “Tulane Unit” was made up of personnel from Tulane University School of Medicine, and was activated in July 1942. Colonel Walter C. Royals (M 1917) was the commanding officer of the Unit. Thirty Tulane medical graduates and ten Tulane faculty members were included in the complement of forty-two medical doctors. The unit served at Fort Benning (July 15, 1942 to August 8, 1943); Bizerte, Tunisia (...
Expert view: A Tulane trauma surgeon on gun violence -
May 26, 2022
My career has been filled with delivering bad news. I trained at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, and I’m now a trauma surgeon at Tulane University School of Medicine. Dealing with gun violence is part of my job. While I’ve seen the carnage of gun violence throughout the entirety of my training and career, when I became a father, the issue began to hit closer to home. I’ve delivered the news that no parent should have...
Study examines why kidneys can’t regenerate after birth -
May 26, 2022
Tulane University researchers discovered a new mechanism that may explain why human kidneys, which are comprised of almost a million filter units, stop creating new filter cells after birth.
The findings were published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.
Understanding this process could help scientists design new therapies to treat children with chronic kidney disease who were born prematurely with underdeveloped organs. Birth...
Tulane offers minimally invasive skin cancer treatments that can save lives -
May 25, 2022
Basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are the most common types of skin cancer. Both are curable when caught early, which makes a routine skin check by a dermatologist an important part of staying healthy. Tulane University School of Medicine offers highly effective ways to treat both types of skin cancer, including both conventional excision and Mohs micrographic surgery. Jeffrey Lackey, MD, is a fellowship-trained Mohs micrographic...
Ivy Day Award Winners for 2022 -
May 24, 2022
Ivy Day traces its origin to 1909 when the eminent dermatologist and internationally acknowledged authority on Hansen’s Disease, Isadore Dyer, M.D., became Dean of the School of Medicine. He served as Dean until 1920. At the laying of the cornerstone of the Richardson building on the university campus that year, a sprig of ivy was brought from the School of Medicine building on Canal Street as a symbol of the transplanted and continuing part of...
Faculty Recognition Awards for 2022 -
May 20, 2022
The School of Medicine established the following awards to recognize the faculty's achievements in the areas of clinical care, professionalism, research, mentorship, humanitarianism, and diversity and inclusion. Congratulations to this year’s winners!
Research Award, Basic Sciences
Stacy Drury, MD, PhD
Early Career Award, Clinical Sciences
Sharven Taghavi, MD
Early Career Award, Basic Sciences
James Jackson, PhD
Women in Medicine
Mary Killackey...
2022 Owl Award Winners -
May 20, 2022
The Owl Club at Tulane University School of Medicine is a service organization committed to fostering improved relationships between the medical student body and the faculty to achieve continual improvement of medical education. The club hosts an annual banquet where outstanding teaching awards are given to selected faculty members and departments. Congratulations to this year’s winners!
T1 Best Integrated Module
Cardiovascular, Dr. T...
From security guard to doctor, Class of 2022 student speaker proves that ‘anything is possible’ -
May 18, 2022
Russell J. Ledet faced and conquered many challenges on his journey to become a doctor.
As a boy growing up in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he never imagined that he would one day be where he is today, graduating from medical school and serving as the Class of 2022 student speaker at the Unified Commencement Ceremony on May 21.
“Being selected as a student speaker means so much because I never imagined that I would accomplish all that I have,” Ledet...
Clinical Translational Unit growing to support developing research at Tulane -
May 17, 2022
A new bus will be rolling to area senior living facilities soon to study the effectiveness of an RSV vaccine for seniors. The vaccine developed by Janssen is in Phase 3 clinical trials, and Tulane University School of Medicine is one of the sites testing its efficacy, safety and immunogenicity. The Tulane Clinical Translational Unit (CTU) is the local lead on the study dubbed “EVERGREEN,” which is only one of several innovative studies being...
Experienced biotech CEO and investor is Tulane Medicine’s first Executive in Residence -
May 12, 2022
Breakthroughs in medical research need specialized expertise to move from the bench to the marketplace, and that’s exactly what Elaine Hamm, PhD has done throughout her career. Hamm is now bringing her expertise to Tulane University School of Medicine, where she’ll serve as an Executive in Residence to elevate the connectivity between Tulane researchers and the corporate and investor communities.
“It’s vital to have someone who’s boots on the...
Radiation oncologist selected for Leadership in Health Care fellowship -
May 11, 2022
Kendra Harris, MD, Chair of Radiation Oncology at Tulane University School of Medicine, is one of 15 women nationwide selected for a prestigious fellowship in academic medicine. Harris will be in the inaugural cohort of the Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) program, a year-long, part-time fellowship for women interested in leadership at their health care organizations.
Harris was recruited to lead Tulane’s Department of Radiation...
Researcher awarded $2 million grant to study biology of “jumping genes” -
May 09, 2022
Transposons – also known as “jumping genes” – are pieces of movable DNA that can jump around in the genome. Through a cut-and-paste or copy-and-paste mechanism, they can move copies of themselves to a different chromosome or to a different area of the same chromosome. This process – called transposition – can result in mutations and DNA damage.
Long Interspersed Nuclear Element-1 (LINE-1 or L1) is a family of transposons that continually mutate...
Tulane physicians and medical students help community learn about diabetes -
May 06, 2022
A group of Tulane University School of Medicine students volunteered with the New Orleans Diabetes Project and helped 25 elderly people better manage their health. The project is an eight-week education program during which participants monitor their A1C levels throughout the course of the class and learn more about how to control their diabetes.
The students volunteered under the direction of Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, the Gerald S. Berenson...
Sports medicine physician opens one of world’s first Ehlers-Danlos syndrome clinics at Tulane -
Apr 28, 2022
The patients came to him with a wide range of symptoms, everything from low blood pressure to dental issues paired with non-operative musculoskeletal injuries. Jacques Courseault, MD, sports medicine physician at Tulane University School of Medicine, noticed a pattern. All the symptoms closely resembled the ones he was seeing in patients diagnosed with Hypermobility type Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a group of inherited genetic conditions that affect...
Skin cancer screenings save lives, including mine -
Apr 27, 2022
I love sunny days. Growing up in the South, sunshine often meant being poolside or at the beach. I was on the swim team for a few summers. Marching band practice in high school and college had me outdoors for hours every day. I went to tanning beds in the winter, so I’d be ready for Spring Break. My job as a news reporter often left me with a sunburn because I’d forget sunscreen during the daily rush.
A skin check by a dermatologist saved me a...
