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CIVIC Publishes a newsletter multiple times a year that features news, summaries of recent and high impact publications from investigators, advertises upcoming center events, as well as other CIVIC highlights.
Research Newsletter
September 2023
Introduction
Fall is upon us! With that transition in season, we share the latest Research Newsletter from CIVIC. As always, what we present here is just a sampling of the important and meaningful work being done by the CIVIC community. In this issue, we share highlights from Dr. Belle Zaccari and her team, Dr. Don Sullivan, Katie McDonald, and others. Personally, I have been using this time of seasonal transition to write up several manuscripts of my own. As the lead on these papers, I am reminded that the process of preparing and disseminating research findings is lengthy. Just orchestrating all the elements needed to write up a data-driven manuscript—particularly on complex projects with many team members and multiple sites—can be quite a job! Given that, let’s take a moment to read about and celebrate the work of CIVIC!
Alan Teo, MD, MS Director of Education, CIVIC
CIVIC Perspectives: Dr. Belle Zaccari's Research Team
Psychology research may not seem like a sport but for Dr. Belle Zaccari it just might be. "I love the competition of it; I compete mostly against myself and that inspires and motivates me," explains Dr. Zaccari. Not surprisingly, Dr. Zaccari enjoys practicing yoga and strength training. Staying humble and embracing the learning process keeps Dr. Zaccari moving in the gym, on the yoga mat, and in the lab.
What began as a personal interest in yoga 25 years ago became a focal point of Dr. Zaccari's research. After a successful pilot trial and fellowship, Dr. Zaccari took an interest in serving rural Veterans and their unique needs. As a clinician in the rural telemental health clinic, she gained invaluable experience in telehealth long before its widespread implementation post-pandemic, an avenue she continues to explore.
We interviewed Dr. Zaccari's team members Tiona Wu and Miles Evanisko about their research experience, what they enjoy about working with the team, and their future career goals. You can read the full interview here.
Research Highlights
Workforce Shortages and Palliative Care: Doing What's Best for Patients
by Alison Eckhardt, MAOM, LAc
All of us will, at some point, require end-of-life care. However, workforce shortages both within and outside VA mean that many patients who live with serious or terminal illness don’t have access to the care they need. When started early, palliative care is associated with longer survival and improved patient-reported mood, symptom severity, and treatment side-effects. “There is a critical supply-demand mismatch between the workforce of palliative care specialists and the multitude of people living with serious illnesses,” says Dr. Don Sullivan, a pulmonologist who recently concluded a retrospective cohort study of 23,142 patients with advanced lung cancer. “In lay terms, this study helps to discern what is in the ‘palliative care syringe’ or what may be the important components of palliative care that clinicians that are not trained in this specialty should consider.”
Several of CIVIC’s DEI workgroups and CIVIC leadership have developed a new way of recognizing staff contributions to CIVIC: The CIVIC Community Member Recognition Program. The purpose of this program is to recognize CIVIC community members’ unique contributions to CIVIC and its missions. We are interested in awarding members of the CIVIC community whose contributions might not be visible or recognized through traditional productivity measures (e.g., publications). Nominations will be solicited once a quarter from all members of the CIVIC community. There were 7 total nominees for the spring quarter! In June, Kate McDonald was randomly selected out of the 7 nominees to receive an Amazon giftcard as a bonus prize! Congrats to all nominees!
The full list of nominees includes:
Avery Laliberte
Becca Teichman
Natassja Pal
Kate McDonald
Annabelle Rynerson
Will Baker-Robinson
Tiara Freeman
Media Mentions and Accolades
Don Sullivan was interviewed by OHSU's Cancer Translated on his latest work. You can read the interview here!
Liz Hulen is now the Co-Site Lead for the VAPORHCS VA Women's Health Research Network Consortium! In this role she will serve as a resource for those who are conducting QI or research with women's health and to broadly promote women Veterans research.
Several CIVIC investigators received Academic Faculty Promotions at OHSU this summer. Congratulations to Jason Chen, Kathleen Carlson, Travis Lovejoy, Kelly Vranas, Jennifer Barton, and Bob Folmer!
Congratulations to Taylor Levine for winning Best Student Poster at AcademyHealth's Annual Research Meeting in June!
