Department of Medicine 2020 Annual Report

Our Broad Reach

Over the course of an academic year we have many opportunities to learn what our colleagues are accomplishing: rounds at the division or department level, news items on department and division websites, award ceremonies, and our annual state of the department conference, among others. Once a year, we publish our annual report, which contains articles about the clinical, educational, research, and outside activities of individuals and groups throughout the department.

Every annual report has a theme. This year’s report focuses on how we’re extending our reach, whether through recent advances in treating a variety of diseases, or different approaches to the practice of medicine, or the diverse faces of medicine at Stanford. In these pages any one of us might find a nugget of information that could move our own research forward after a conversation with the colleagues an article describes.

Each individual article is like a pebble tossed in the water, its ripples widening over time to an unknowable extent, not unlike a lab discovery that turns into a drug development project and thereafter becomes a therapy that is successful in clinical trials until ultimately it becomes a treatment that heals patients worldwide.

Here are a few examples of how we’re making an impact beyond our department: Our colleagues are transforming care for patients with sarcoidosis by treating them within a hub of all the subspecialists involved in their care so they can see everyone they need to see on a single day. Several faculty members are applying artificial intelligence to underpin new approaches to caring for patients with pulmonary and other diseases. You can learn about the work that nocturnists do when they assume the overnight care of patients in our recently-opened hospital. With an emphasis on diversity, we are making it possible for sexual and gender minority populations here and elsewhere to receive better treatment through the creation of a database by The PRIDE Study. For women in medicine there is a new seminar series tailored for them with space devoted to connect and to share wisdom.

These and the other articles in this annual report are but a snapshot of the larger picture of what we in the Department of Medicine do every day. I hope you will spend some time here learning about the work of our colleagues and take pride in the accomplishments we all achieve through a variety of amazing talents and activities.

Sincerely,
Robert Harrington, MD
Chair, Department of Medicine

Extending our Reach in Diverse Ways

Diverse Faces of Medicine

Taking PRIDE in Their Work

Taking Veteran Care on the Road

The Power of Connection

A Helping Hand

Practitioner Liability

A Patient’s Last Wish

Recent Advances in Treatment

Leading the Way in Esophageal Diseases

Immunotherapy Gives Hope to Multiple Myeloma Patients

Novel Cancer Treatment Shows Promise

Making a Place for Cancer Survivors

The Down-to-Earth Goals of Two Nephrology Fellows

Immunology and Rheumatology

CREDENCE Brings Together Multiple Groups

New Approaches to Tobacco Control

Regulatory T Cells Join the Mainstream

Different Approaches to Medical Practice

Diagnosing Lung Disease with Help from Computers

The Medical Promise of Artificial Intelligence

Marina Basina’s Masterful Teaching and Patient Care

The Enormous Reach of the Stanford Medicine 25

Why Aren’t There More Female Cardiologists?

All in a Night’s Work

Off Hours

Department of Medicine in Numbers

15 Divisions

32 Endowed Professors

495 Trainees
(137 Residents, 154 MD Fellows, 204 Post-docs)

375 Active Grants—End of FY19
(4 Program Projects, 74 R-01s, 30 Ks, 22 Us, 10 Training, 41 Federal Awards, 194 Non-Federal)

625 Faculty
(109 University Tenure and Nontenure Line, 117 Medical Center Line, 359 Clinician Educators, 40 Instructors)

813 Staff and Research Associates
(570 Staff, 97 Research Associates, 146 Contingent Staff)

$135M Sponsored Research—FY19
($79 million in federal grants, $33 million in non-federal grants, $23 million in clinical grants)

Diverse Faces of Medicine

Taking Veteran Care on the Road

Taking Veteran Care on the Road

From left: Danny Molina, Doral Gonzales, Jean Lighthall, MD, and Anna Coulter.From left: Danny Molina, Doral Gonzales, Jean Lighthall, MD, and Anna Coulter.THE WOMEN IN MEDICINE GROUP IS CREATING COMMUNITY AND AMPLIFYING RESIDENTS’ VOICES. They...

A Patient’s Last Wish

A Patient’s Last Wish

Minh-Chi Tran, MD (left) and Betts Cravotto are granting wishes to bring comfort to the dying.Minh-Chi Tran, MD (left) and Betts Cravotto are granting wishes to bring comfort to the dying.A BOWL OF ICE CREAM. A MARIACHI BAND. A WORD CLOUD. When...

Taking PRIDE in Their Work

Taking PRIDE in Their Work

Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS (left), and Mitchell R. Lunn, MD, MAS, want to understand how identifying as a sexual and gender minority person affects one’s health—physically, mentally, and socially.Juno Obedin-Maliver, MD, MPH, MAS (left),...

Practitioner Liability

Practitioner Liability

"Whatever lies behind these shifts, it is problematic. From a patient safety standpoint, this is the study’s most troubling finding." — David Studdert, LLB, ScD, MPH"Whatever lies behind these shifts, it is problematic. From a patient safety...

The Power of Connection

The Power of Connection

Residents stretch during a Women in Medicine-sponsored yoga classResidents stretch during a Women in Medicine-sponsored yoga classTHE WOMEN IN MEDICINE GROUP IS CREATING COMMUNITY AND AMPLIFYING RESIDENTS’ VOICES. In 2010, Cybele Renault, MD, a...

A Helping Hand

A Helping Hand

From left: Baldeep Singh, MD, Jonathan Glazer Shaw, MD, MS, and Kirsti Weng, MD, MPH.From left: Baldeep Singh, MD, Jonathan Glazer Shaw, MD, MS, and Kirsti Weng, MD, MPH.NEW INITIATIVES ARE SUPPORTING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IN NEARBY COMMUNITIES. A...

Recent Advances in Treatment

Leading the Way in Esophageal Diseases

Leading the Way in Esophageal Diseases

Joo Ha Hwang, MD, PhD, uses the endoscope to treat cancers and other gastrointestinal diseases.Joo Ha Hwang, MD, PhD, uses the endoscope to treat cancers and other gastrointestinal diseases.GASTROENTEROLOGIST JOO HA HWANG IS ONE OF JUST A FEW...

Immunotherapy Gives Hope to Multiple Myeloma Patients

Immunotherapy Gives Hope to Multiple Myeloma Patients

Michaela Liedtke, MDMichaela Liedtke, MDFor most of us, a common cold or a stomach bug is a nuisance, but usually in a matter of days the body’s immune system will fight off the invading disease-causing agents and we’ll get back to normal. In more...

Novel Cancer Treatment Shows Promise

Novel Cancer Treatment Shows Promise

Ranjana Advani, MDRanjana Advani, MDA novel immunotherapy combination appears safe for use in patients with a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Not only that, but half of the 22 people enrolled in an early clinical trial of the...

Making a Place for Cancer Survivors

Making a Place for Cancer Survivors

Jennifer Kim, MD, is helping bridge the gap between oncology and primary care.Jennifer Kim, MD, is helping bridge the gap between oncology and primary care.PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN JENNIFER KIM IS HELPING PATIENTS BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN CANCER...

The Down-to-Earth Goals of Two Nephrology Fellows

The Down-to-Earth Goals of Two Nephrology Fellows

From left: Nephrology fellows Dimitri Augustin, MD, MS, and Daniel Watford, MD, MPH, look over data from a patient with kidney disease.From left: Nephrology fellows Dimitri Augustin, MD, MS, and Daniel Watford, MD, MPH, look over data from a...

CREDENCE Brings Together Multiple Groups in Successful Trial

CREDENCE Brings Together Multiple Groups in Successful Trial

Sun Kim, MD, MS, a principal investigator for CREDENCE, examines a patient with Type 2 diabetes.Sun Kim, MD, MS, a principal investigator for CREDENCE, examines a patient with Type 2 diabetes.Sun Kim, MD, MS, associate professor of endocrinology,...

New Approaches to Tobacco Control

New Approaches to Tobacco Control

Jodi Prochaska, PhD, MPHJodi Prochaska, PhD, MPHThe tobacco products of today are not just your grandfather’s unfiltered Lucky Strikes or Camels, but rather natural and organic cigarettes, confectionary-flavored e-cigarettes and vapes, and emerging...

Regulatory T Cells Join the Mainstream

Regulatory T Cells Join the Mainstream

Everett Meyer, MD, PhD, leads a team that replaces immunosuppressive agents with T regulatory cells for patients with specific cancers.Everett Meyer, MD, PhD, leads a team that replaces immunosuppressive agents with T regulatory cells for patients...

Different Approaches to Medical Practice

Diagnosing Lung Disease with Help from Computers

Diagnosing Lung Disease with Help from Computers

Joe Hsu, MD (left) and Husham Sharifi, MD, discuss diagnostic techniques using machine learning.Joe Hsu, MD (left) and Husham Sharifi, MD, discuss diagnostic techniques using machine learning.APPLYING MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS TO PATIENT DATA IS...

The Medical Promise of Artificial Intelligence

The Medical Promise of Artificial Intelligence

Olivier Gevaert, PhDOlivier Gevaert, PhDNow that computers can be taught to process large amounts of data and to recognize patterns in them, their usefulness in medicine is greatly enhanced. In the hands of Olivier Gevaert, PhD, assistant professor...

Marina Basina’s Masterful Teaching and Patient Care

Marina Basina’s Masterful Teaching and Patient Care

Marina Basina, MDMarina Basina, MDClinical associate professor of endocrinology Marina Basina, MD, has been caring for patients with Type 1 diabetes since she completed her fellowship and joined the Stanford faculty in 2003. She heads the inpatient...

The Enormous Reach of the Stanford Medicine 25

The Enormous Reach of the Stanford Medicine 25

Errol Ozdalga, MD (far right), and Abraham Verghese, MD (holding iPhone), demonstrate one of the Stanford 25 physical diagnosis skills to a group of attentive residents.Errol Ozdalga, MD (far right), and Abraham Verghese, MD (holding iPhone),...

Why Aren’t There More Female Cardiologists?

Why Aren’t There More Female Cardiologists?

Bongeka Zuma (left), a medical student interested in cardiology, meeting with Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH.Bongeka Zuma (left), a medical student interested in cardiology, meeting with Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH.We know that slightly more than half of...

All in a Night’s Work

All in a Night’s Work

Nocturnist Rita Pandya, MD, cares for hospital patients overnight.Nocturnist Rita Pandya, MD, cares for hospital patients overnight.WHEN DOCTORS LEAVE THE HOSPITAL FOR THE DAY, ANOTHER TEAM OF DOCTORS—NOCTURNISTS—STEP IN. They begin their shifts...

Off Hours

Off Hours

In their off hours, Stanford staff have a variety of exciting hobbies.In their off hours, Stanford staff have a variety of exciting hobbies.EACH TUESDAY AT NOON, HEIDI ELMORE MAKES HER WAY ACROSS CAMPUS TO STANFORD HOSPITAL, WHERE SHE SPENDS THE...

“They’re leaving a legacy—they want things to be better for the women who come after them.”
 Cybele Renault, MD

“I like taking a single thread, combining it with other things, and making an entirely different product. That is also a lot like life—whether you’re at work or at home. We take all the little pieces and stitch them together to make something new and wonderful.”
 Heidi Elmore

“You can imagine that if you treat each data source in isolation, you will have some predictive value. But what happens if we put them together?”
 Olivier Gevaert, PhD

“If we can show that people who have had many traumatic experiences on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation have certain health outcomes, then that can provide some evidence to actually change policy and laws.”
 Mitchell R. Lunn, MD, MAS

“It means we really detected a hidden system for classifying patients that is highly relevant to underlying disease biology and clinical outcomes.”
 Andrew Sweatt, MD

“We’re bringing in leaders in gastric cancer from all over the world to talk about how we can establish screening guidelines for high-risk populations.”
 Joo Ha Hwang, MD, PhD