UC Riverside School of Medicine

On Monday, Associate Dean for Pre-Clerkship Medical Education Scott Pegan, PhD, and Senior Associate Dean, Graduate Medical Education Rajesh "Robby" Gulati, MD, participated in Congresswoman Norma Torres' (35th district) Healthcare Roundtable at Inland Empire Health Plan's Rancho Cucamonga headquarters. The roundtable examined the potential impact of the proposed federal budget cuts to Medicaid providers and the approximately 290,000 low-income individuals and families in her district that rely on Medicaid.

Here’s what you need to know about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. The UCR SOM's Thomas E. Brown, PhD, discusses diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, and medication. ADD/ADHD is not a behavior problem or about how smart someone is, it's about the brain’s management system.

Dr. Brenda Ross-Shelton, an assistant clinical professor at the UCR SOM and an OB/GYN with @UCR Health, was the keynote speaker at last weekends Women's Leadership Conference at UCR. Also participating were Sarah Radi, PhD, and Selene Bobadilla, PhD, from the Department of Biochemistry

Join us on Wednesday, March 12 at the UCR Palm Desert Center Auditorium for the latest Health and Wellness Lecture Series. Professor Seema Tiwari-Woodruff will present on "Multiple Sclerosis: New Diagnostics and Therapeutics." It is free and open to the public. Questions? Email [email protected] RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/dsBP4PwN

Last week, UCR School of Medicine Professor of Biomedical Sciences Scott Pegan, PhD, visited Washington DC to advocate to members of California's delegation to Congress about the importance of federal funding that supports research that benefitting the people of our region, state, and nation. Pegan, a member of the US Army Reserve and a biochemist with the United States Military Academy at West Point, is currently working on a vaccine to prevent the spread of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus (CCHFV), an infection that currently does not have a therapeutic treatment and is often fatal.

Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Sciences David Lo, MD, PhD, of the UC Riverside School of Medicine has been appointed to the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants. The appointment is for a three-year term. The panel meets quarterly and is charged with reviewing proposed toxic air contaminants, risk assessment guidelines, the review of toxic air contaminants that may be more harmful to infants and children, and consulting on CARB’s community air protection program. “I am incredibly honored to be asked to serve on this panel and look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure the health and safety of the people of California,” Lo said. https://lnkd.in/grvUrxMR

The UCR SOM Physician Scientist Interest Group is proud to showcase the research of first-year students and undergraduates who explored health disparities in rare diseases under the mentorship of second-year students, presenting their work in LMSA-West and the CHOC Rare Disease Symposium. Student Presenters & Research Topics: ?? Ashlen Bullock – Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Prevalence of Diabetic Retinopathy in Patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa ?? Ford Lane – Ethnic Disparities in Septo-Optic Dysplasia and Holoprosencephaly Among Patients with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia ?? Javier Mendez – Comparative Analysis of Fontan Procedure Outcomes in Latino and White Patients with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome ?? Thanh Thanh Tran – Propofol Intolerance in MELAS Syndrome vs. MSUD ?? Kimia Rezaei – Introducing the University of California, Irvine Corneal Cystine Score (UCI CCCS): A Novel Tool for Assessing Corneal Cystine Deposition in Cystinosis Patients ?? Areli Rodriguez - Clinical Outcomes in Latino and White Patients With Atrioventricular Septal Defect ?? Maya K.C.-Jordan - Recurrent Kaposi Sarcoma In An HIV-Negative Patient With Multicentric Castleman Syndrome ?? Anh-Tho Nguyen - Analysis of the Effects of Delayed Retinoblastoma Diagnosis on Mental Health and Developmental Outcomes of Adolescent and Young Adult Survivors ?? Sadaf Sadighian - Ribose-5-Phosphate Isomerase Deficiency as a Therapeutic Biomarker in NSCLC Patients Undergoing Platinum-Based Chemotherapy ?? Assal Sadighian - Risk, Prevalence, and Ethnic Disparities of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Among Patients With Short-Telomere Syndrome Related Dyskeratosis Congenita We appreciate the guidance of our Director of Student Scholarly Activities Dr. Daniel Novak for his continued mentorship and dedication to our students, and our Pediatrics Interest Group second-year peer mentors, Ford Lane, Marina Gad El Sayed, Ingrid Channa, Pooja Sheladiya, and Melody Zaki. This collaboration highlights the role of mentorship and scientific inquiry in addressing health disparities. Congratulations to all involved! (Thanks to MS2 Marina Gad El Sayed for this information)

Today is the day! UCR Give Day 2025 is here, and we need your support to make a difference for the future of health care. Join us in supporting the SOM Mission Award Fund, which provides vital scholarships for UCR medical students. A gift of $10 or more helps shape the next generation of doctors and health care leaders. Give now here - https://donate.ucr.edu/som

The UCR School of Medicine welcomed around 700 attendees to the 41st annual Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)-West Regional Conference earlier this month. The conference aims to support Latino medical students and improve healthcare for Latino populations overall. "The conference was an opportunity for undergraduate and medical students alike to hear from guest speakers and gain insight on what it means to be successful in medicine," writes UCR student author Leyla Karatahan. Find out more about the event and its theme, "Cultivando Comunidad" (cultivating community), in her article on the SOM news website. https://lnkd.in/g4R43qDK

Third-year medical student Zayan Musa at UC Riverside has a deep passion for the intersection of medicine and the arts. A painter in her free time, she believes art can be implemented as a creative approach to medical care, especially for vulnerable patients with lifelong illnesses or chronic conditions. No surprise then that Musa is now conducting a clinical trial based on art therapy with currently 12 elderly and hospice patients at The Grove Care and Wellness, a center for short-term rehabilitation and long-term care in downtown Riverside, California. The goal of the trial is to determine what difference art therapy makes in elderly patients’ lives. “In this trial, we introduce an art activity that we suggest participants engage in daily for at least 20 minutes and we track their progress over time,” Musa said. “The benefits are noticeable in several ways. Mentally, they gain focus by dedicating themselves to one task for an extended period. Physically, they develop fine motor skills through repetitive actions, like coloring in adult coloring books sometimes multiple times a day. During follow-ups, we ask participants about their progress and how they feel about the projects, helping us understand the reasons behind their improvements.” Musa (left) discusses the benefits of art therapy with Amalia Reynosa, a patient at The Grove Care and Wellness. (UCR/Stan Lim) https://lnkd.in/g5UDYFWa