IN THIS ISSUE

• Upcoming Events & Opportunities
• MaineHealth Office of Faculty Affairs
• Medical Education

• Library & Knowledge Services
• Research
• Innovation

Call for Applications: Clinical Research Scholars Program

The Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research Network (NNE-CTR) application process is open for the Clinical Research Scholars Program. This program will support junior clinicians to enable them to lead rigorous and significant research projects, publish and present their research, and be competitive for research funding.  

Candidates must be NNE-CTR members who are MaineHealth junior faculty (assistant professor or equivalent) with clinically relevant degrees (e.g., MD, DO, PhD, PharmD, ScD, PsyD, NP, RN). Preference will be given to candidates with strong ongoing research programs and active MaineHealth IRB-approved protocols as applicable.  

Please submit letters of intent to Meredith Oestreicher by June 30, 2024, to Meredith.Oestreicher@mainehealth.org 

Direct questions on this program to Dr. Ivette Emery at Ivette.Emery@mainehealth.org 

Learn more 

Medical Education

Advanced Practice Providers Education

MaineHealth Acute Care APP Student Pod Program: Farewell to Class of 2024, Welcoming Class of 2025! 

If you (and your site) are interested in hosting a “pod” APP student, please reach out to APPEducation@mainehealth.org to discuss more. 

Simulation

Staffing Announcement - New Simulation Specialist!

Joe Campbell is a creative technologist, motion designer and XR specialist who began with us on May 28. Joe fills a vacancy left when our own Beth Gray moved into a Program Manager position earlier this year. With extensive experience in immersive technology and AR/VR development, Joe will be a critical and timely addition to our team as we begin to explore how AR and VR can support and enhance our stakeholder’s educational goals. With no formal background in medical simulation, we’ll be working closely with Joe over the next 6 months to orient and onboard him to our industry. Welcome to our team Joe! 

Notable Events 

• 5/24 Visit to Bath Iron Works to Explore Virtual Reality - Erin Siebers, Simulation Systems Analyst and Dina McKelvy, Director Library and Knowledge Services visited BIW to learn how VR technology is being implemented for training and workforce development in other industries within our state. We made good connections that will be useful in the future as we consider how extended reality technology will impact the education and training of future generations. On 6/3, the sim center will be hosting an open house in the afternoon to allow people to try different Virtual Reality simulators. 

• 5/17 Doc 4a Day - Doc4aDay in Maine returned for its second session since the pandemic. High school students from local High Schools identified by their guidance counselors participated. The event involved placing high school students in high-fidelity patient simulations paired with a medical student or simulation staff mentor, a hands-on suturing and vital signs skills session, and a panel discussion with medical students about their pathway to a health career.  (Doc4aDay was founded in 2012 by Dr. Vicki Hayes, Associate Professor of Family Medicine, and Shelly Chipman, RN, Simulation Nurse Educator, and is supported by the efforts of Maine Track student volunteers.)

• 5/18 EMS Week - Prehospital Management of Pediatric Emergencies - In honor of Emergency Medical Services week, the simulation team joined our Emergency Medicine and Pediatric colleagues, with faculty volunteering time to offer a 4-hour workshop on Saturday AM for paramedics and EMT’s from across Maine and New Hampshire. Pediatric Emergencies was identified as a priority by EMS providers throughout Maine, as they are high acuity, low occurrence events. The event was extremely well received by participants and will likely become a recurring event, with a tentative plan to offer a similar workshop on Neonatal and OB emergencies in November. (Pictured on the left below.)

• 5/22 Malone Family Tower Testing - The simulation team worked with NICU and PICU staff to test patient transport systems to and from the Malone Family Tower procedural units to prepare to support cardiac cath and OR services for these patients when the tower opens in June. Nursing, Anesthesia, NICU and PICU team members came together and utilized an HFMEA framework to identify, categorize, prioritize and present solutions for safety threats identified. (Pictured on the right below.)

Interprofessional Team Training Events 

• 5/23 In Situ Interprofessional Team Training for OR Services - We are excited to initiate a semi-annual interprofessional in situ team training event for our colleagues in OR services. This first event took place in the PACU simulating and testing responses to a pediatric laryngospasm event and involved twenty-five team members. 

• 5/2 Quarterly OB Team Training - MMC - 101 interprofessional team members (19 in-person and 82 virtually via Teams) participated in in situ testing for patients with vasa previa on the prenatal care unit. 

• 5/29 MOMSim Waldo - Simulation curricular specialist Dani Bruno, program manager Beth Gray and medical director Leah Mallory traveled to Waldo Hospital with our perinatal colleagues to produce the follow-up simulation testing day as part of our MOMSim program. Our local simulation specialist Michael Grant and nurse educator, Donna Stevens produced this successful event. 

Simulation Scholarship 

Simulation was well represented at one local and one international conference in May. 

International Pediatric Simulation Symposium and Workshops, Denver, CO, May 6-8, 2024 

Oral Presentations:

Bruno, Dani, Zubrow, Michael, Ferguson, Michael, Zink, Jessica, Perry, Marissa, Jara, Claire, Chipman, Shelly. Using Healthcare Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and in-situ simulation to identify latent safety threats in a new pediatric ECMO program

Zanno, Allison, Melendi, Misty, Chipman, Micheline, Mallory, Leah, Holmes, Jeffrey, Seften, Leah, Cutler, Anya, Ottolini, Mary, on behalf of the MOOSE Research Team. Reproducibility of an Ongoing Neonatal Resuscitation Telesimulation Program in Level I Rural Delivery Hospitals

Zanno, Allison, Melendi, Misty, Chipman, Micheline, Mallory, Leah, Holmes, Jeffrey, Seften, Leah, Cutler, Anya, Ottolini, Mary, on behalf of the MOOSE Research Team. A Novel Telesimulation Program, Maine Ongoing Outreach Simulation Education (MOOSE), Evaluates Maintenance of Improvement in NRP Adherence with Quarterly Sessions in a Rural Hospital 

Poster: 

Soghikian, Sierra, Chipman, Shelly, Holmes, Jeffrey, Calhoun, Aaron, Mallory, Leah. Assessing Team Performance in a Longitudinal Neonatal Resuscitation Simulation Training Program - Comparing Validity Evidence to Select the Best Tool

Costas Lambrew Research Retreat, Maine Medical Center, May 1, 2024 

Posters:  

Nelson, Sara; Prast, Brendan; Mallory, Leah; Mallar, Christine; Dornblaster, Emily; Nichols, Stephanie; Cohen Konrad, Shelly; Hayman, Jennifer. An Interprofessional Simulation Exercise to Teach Health Professions Students Advanced Communication and Role Sharing Skills that Address COVID Vaccine Hesitancy 

Prast, Brendan; Nelson, Sara; Mallory, Leah; Mallar, Christine; Dornblaster, Emily; Nichols, Stephanie; Cohen Konrad, Shelly; Hayman, Jennifer. Developing a Novel Interprofessional Education Tool for Addressing Health Misinformation and Decision Making 

Bruno, Dani; Zubrow, Michael; Ferguson, Michael; Zink, Jessica; Perry, Marissa; Jara, Claire; Chipman, Shelly. Using Healthcare Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and In-situ Simulation to Identify Latent Safety Threats in a New Pediatric ECMO Program 

Soghikian, Sierra; Chipman, Shelly; Holmes, Jeffrey; Calhoun, Aaron; Mallory, Leah. Assessing Team Performance in a Longitudinal Neonatal Resuscitation Simulation Training Program - Comparing Validity Evidence to Select the Best Tool 

Ferguson, Michael; Zanno, Allison; Melendi, Misty; Seften, Leah; Zubrow, Michael; Mallory, Leah; Chipman, Shelly; Ottolini, Mary. Rural Birthing Hospital Pilot Using HoloBaby Mixed Reality Simulation for Neonatal Resuscitation Training 

Hunt, Rebecca; Babb, Brittany; McMillan, Tracey; Gray, Beth; Lane, Susie; Ireland, David; Sutherland, Laurie; Klages, Jonathan; Chipman, Micheline. Using Healthcare Failure Modes and Effects Analysis to Identify Latent Safety Threats (LSTs) During an In-situ Simulation of an Operating Room Fire in Labor and Delivery.  

Undergraduate Medical Education

'Tis the season for celebrating the graduating Maine Track Class of 2024!

A Celebration Dinner was held on Friday, May 24th with students, families, faculty and staff. The Maine Track Program Teaching Awards were given by the students who nominated the winners. Congratulations to the following award winners:

The Robert S. Hillman, MD Urban Teaching Award:   

Matthew Clark, DO, Maine Medical Partners 

Given in honor of Dr. Hillman’s many years as Chief of Medicine at Maine Medical Center and his inspirational and lifelong commitment to medical education.

The Roger A. Renfrew, MD Rural Teaching Award: 

Michael Clark, MD Lifespan Family Healthcare 

Given in honor of Dr. Renfrew’s strong support and exceptional leadership in educating medical students and residents in Maine’s rural communities. 

Lucy Soule, M24, gives the Roger A Renfrew, MD Rural Teaching Award to her Family Medicine preceptor, Dr. Michael Clark.  Dr. Clark is an LIC preceptor in Damariscotta.  

The Robert G. Bing-You, MD Resident Teaching Award

Louisa Bauer, MD Maine Medical Center Internal Medicine

Given in honor of Dr. Bing-You’s exemplary leadership and passion for innovation in medical education as a resident and faculty member at Maine Medical Center. 

The Peter W. Bates, MD Fellow Teaching Award

Jake Snowdin, MD Maine Medical Center Infectious Disease

Given in honor of Dr. Bates’ unwavering commitment to education and community as a fellow, faculty member, and Maine Medical Center’s first Chief Academic Officer. 

The Advanced Practice Provider Teaching Award

Tayla Hewins, NP Maine Behavioral Healthcare

Dedicated to the tireless efforts of advanced practice providers and their important role in medical education.

The Robert Trowbridge, MD Innovation and Clinical Reasoning Award

Monica Thim, DO Maine Medical Center

Given in honor of Dr. Trowbridge’s commitment to teaching and modeling clinical reasoning in medicine, as well as his role in the establishment and expansion of the TUSM-MMC Maine Track program. 

The Inclusive Culture Award

Mackenzie O’Connor

Presented to a student, resident, fellow, faculty member, staff member or group who has demonstrated a consistent commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice, and has had a significant impact on the TSUM-MMC Maine Track community, individual students, curriculum, or pipeline. 

The Jo E. Linder, MD Health Justice Student Award

Zachary Duperry, M24

Given in honor of Dr. Linder’s distinguished career and lifelong commitment to medicine, health equity and medical education. 

The festivities continued the following morning at University of Southern Maine with the Maine Track Celebration of Graduation. The keynote address was given by Dr. Greg Hardy, Western Maine Obstetrics and Gynecology at Stephens Memorial Hospital. Dr. Hardy was involved in the inception of the Maine Track and was the site director of one of the four original Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) sites. The student address was given by Caitlin Farrrington, M24.  

On May 15^th, Tufts University School of Medicine held their Class of 2024 Awards Night in Boston. 

Congratulations to the following Maine Track student award winners:

• George L. Howland Award in Anatomy: Thomas J. LaJoie
• Sydney S. Gellis Award in Pediatrics: Rayne Whitten
• Dr. Toby Wesselhoeft Family Medicine Award for Clinical Excellence, Compassion and Service: Shivani D. Patel
• Dr. John T. Batal Prize: Thomas Samson Farrar
• William Dameshek Award in Undergraduate Research: Kathleen L. Grene
• Martin J. Loeb Memorial Prize in Medicine: MacKenzie Clark MacRae
• Martin J. Loeb Memorial Prize in Surgery: Melanie Brooke Mait
• Worth F. Floom, M25, Prize: Ranjana Lingutla
• American Medical Women’s Association Glasgow-Rubin Academic Achievement Certificates:
• Caitlin Rose Farrington, MacKenzie Clark MacRae
• Massachusetts Medical Society Scholars Finalists: Olivia Caroline Pearson

Congratulations to the following Faculty and Housestaff Award winners:

• Leanord Tow Humanism in Medicine Awards Presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation:
• Caleb Swanberg, MD, M15—LIC faculty in Caribou, Maine
• A.O.A. Faculty Induction: Monical Thim, DO Maine Medical Center
• Faculty Awards for Excellence in Teaching: Matthew Clark, MD, Maine Medical Center; Sanjeev Francis, MD, Maine Medical Center; Nadav Kastle, DO, Maine Medical Center
• Housestaff/Fellow Awards for Excellence in Teaching: Louisa Bauer, MD, M21

Commencement was held on Sunday, May 19^th. Members of Maine Track leadership were in attendance and helped to hood and offer diplomas to the graduates. Several coaches were in attendance as well. 

We wish our Maine Track students well as they begin their training as physicians!

Graduate Medical Education

Kalli Varaklis, MD, MSEd - Designated Institutional Official

Click here for a detailed Graduate Medical Education (GME) update.

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Please click here for the most recent publication of the Winter 2024 issue of JMMC.

The 1^st author is one of our Maine Track students!

The Awards Go To...Click to find out who are the awardees!

Save the Date!

Health Professions Educators Conference:

How to Make Learning Stick?

Friday, September 20, 2024

8:00 am - 2:00 pm

Dana Center & Virtual

Our focus for the conference this year is to highlight effective strategies to help learning stick and become long-lasting through the use of newer techniques such as AI and Social Media as well as seemingly traditional techniques such as chalk talks and effective engagement strategies.

We have many useful online resources, check out MITE’s newest pages:

• Diversity Equity and Inclusion Toolkit
• Canvas Public Course Index
• Curriculum Development Guide
• Mentoring Guide

 Check out the Department of Medical Education SharePoint Site!

MaineHealth Library

Society for Scholarly Publishing Conference:  Dina McKelvy, MLS attended the Society for Scholarly Publishing conference in Boston along with Dr Bob Bing-You, Editor in Chief and Managing Editor of the Journal of Maine Medical Center. The conference emphasized the changing landscape of scholarly publishing, open access, generative AI for authors and editors and the research lifecycle. Dina joined the many other librarians in attendance to network and take a photo. Which begs the question – "What is the word for a gathering of librarians?"

MaineHealth Library

Farewell! We say a fond farewell to Faith McNeil, who retired from the Dana Center on May 2. Faith was with the Dana Center for 2 years but worked with Dr Irwin Brodsky and his team for several years at MMCRI (now MHIR). Congratulations to her and best wishes for a fun summer – and beyond! 

Notables

Lambrew Recap 

This day long hybrid event had over 300 registrants from across MaineHealth. The retreat included: oral presentations by trainees and faculty of award-winning abstracts, a cancer research panel session, small interest groups, two poster sessions (total of 90 abstracts), and many opportunities to connect and network with colleagues. The research retreat was named in 2017 to honor the legacy of Costas T. Lambrew, MD, and the numerous contributions he made to the academic mission and culture at Maine Medical Center over his decades of service. 

ICYMI: Check out some highlights below! 

• Photo and video highlights on SharePoint 
• Compilation of accepted abstracts on the MaineHealth Knowledge Connection 
• List of Awards & Recipients 

Vector Biology Boot Camp 

This month our Vector Borne Disease Lab hosted a Vector Biology Boot Camp, in cooperation with Cornell University. We had visitors from the east coast on-site to learn about vector biology and epidemiology practices for the mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions of the US. 

New Resources are Available for Clinicians 

TriNetX is a self-service web-based data exploration tool which helps clinicians to define a patient cohort using inclusion and exclusion criteria and to explore cohort attributes. TriNetX has partnered with health care organizations (HCOs) spanning 24 countries, thousands of sites to deploy a linked and continually updated global health research network representing over 300 million patients. It has been used to analyze over 20,000 protocols and presented over 5,800 clinical trial opportunities to its HCO members. 

• Free 
• Secure (HIPAA compliant) 
• Easy to build queries (cohorts) using Epic data (MaineHealth & Other Health Care Organizations) 
• Perform basic analytics within the TriNetX platform 

 TriNetX is available to MaineHealth personnel (has an @mainehealth.org email). For more information, please visit the TriNetX SharePoint page

MHIR Research Training and Education: Celebrating PhD graduates 

MaineHealth Institute for Research recently celebrated four PhD students successfully defending their thesis in the space of one week! Students who are enrolled in the PhD program at the University of Maine Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering have the option to select MHIR labs as the site where they spend 4-5 years completing their PhD thesis work. The thesis defense is a major milestone, and with only a dozen or so PhD students at MHIR it’s unprecedented to have four successful thesis defenses in a week! It was a cause for much celebration! Drs. Chenhao Yang, Katie Ellis, and Marissa McGilvrey did their thesis work in the lab of Dr. Lucy Liaw, and Dr. Connor Murphy completed his thesis work in the lab of Dr. Michaela Reagan.

Congratulations to all of the graduates! 

In the News

Grants

NIH-Funded Clinical Trial for Dietary Management of Age-Related Bone Loss – Cliff Rosen 

Cliff Rosen, Faculty Scientist III and Associate Director of the MaineHealth Institute for Research (MHIR) Center for Clinical and Translational Science, will collaborate with the prime research team at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research on a clinical trial of a probiotic/prebiotic supplement for the dietary management of age-related bone loss. Dr. Rosen will work with the investigators in experimental design, analysis, and outcome on the trial evaluating the use of the supplement. 

Please contact the Research Grants Office for all Research Grant Inquiries  

If you are interested in applying for a research grant or have been contacted to participate in a grant-funded clinical trial, please email our office at researchgrants@mainehealth.org 6-8 weeks prior to the deadline, or as soon thereafter as possible. You can also contact us at any time with questions about the grants process or if you would like to set up a meeting to learn more about research grants at MaineHealth. 

Check out MaineHealth Institute for Research's SharePoint Site!

the connective tissue between research, education, and care

Final Session of the BioStartup Blueprint Webinar Series

Missed the first two sessions of the BioStartup Blueprint Webinar Series? No worries, there’s still one more session to dive into! Join us on June 18 for Session 3, where we’ll tackle the topic: "Demystifying Shark Tank" 

In this session, we’ll explore what it’s like to deal with venture firms and how is it different from other funding avenues. What criteria must a venture firm consider before committing to investment? How do they make these decisions? What transformations does your company undergo when you take on venture funds? Our panel of experts, including Brady Bohrmann from Bold Ocean Ventures, Nina Scheepers from Maine Venture Fund, and Jeff Chu from Features Ventures, will share best practices for preparing and approaching funding sources.  

MaineHealth Innovation and Maine Center for Entrepreneurs have partnered to develop this 3-part BioStartup Blueprint webinar series. Todd Keiller, Director of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at MaineHealth and BioInnovate Program Manager at Maine Center for Entrepreneurs, and Brady Bohrmann, Managing General Partner at Bold Ocean Ventures and MaineHealth Intellectual Property and Business Development Committee member, will guide us through the journey of launching a bioscience, life science, or healthcare venture—from ideation to securing funding. 

You won’t want to miss it — Register now to secure your spot! 

Congratulations to Peter Brooks, PhD! 

Congratulations to Peter Brooks, PhD on receiving his 7th patent, which is issuing on June 4, 2024. The patent, titled “Enhancing the Therapeutic Activity of an Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor,” is a significant achievement in the field of immunotherapy. Kudos to Peter for his continued innovation and contribution to healthcare advancements. 

Congratulations to the Spring 2024 Innovation Cohort! 

We are thrilled to congratulate and extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants of the Spring 2024 MaineHealth Innovation Cohort. This dynamic group, comprising eight diverse projects and teams from various locations and specialties, has completed the 8-week program designed to advance their innovative ideas. 

Throughout the program, it was inspiring to see colleagues share their expertise and collaborate on a wide array of projects, from  MaineHealth Educational Programming Application (MEPA) to the Living Kidney Donor Mobile Device App for Follow-Up Tracking. The variety of initiatives, including Bug Bite Stickers and a Neck Saver Laptop Holder, showcased the ingenuity and dedication of our care team members. 

Your collective efforts and innovative spirit are what drive us forward! We look forward to seeing the continued process and impact of these exciting projects. 

Fall 2024 Opportunities: Innovation Cohort and

Ignite Fund 

Join our 8-week Innovation Cohort, designed specifically for care team members with ideas to address unmet care needs. Gain innovation and creative problem-solving skills, expert guidance, and opportunities for networking and collaboration. Whether you’re improving patient care, designing a medical device, or optimizing healthcare processes, our program equips you with the tools and knowledge to accelerate your novel solution. Don’t miss this opportunity to bring your healthcare innovation to life! 

The Cohort will meet on the following dates from 8-9:30am: 10/17, 10/31, 11/14, and 11/28. 

Applications are due October 3 at 10:00 am. Learn More and Apply. 

The Innovation Ignite Fund is a $20,000 investment funding opportunity designed to help you bring your innovative idea to life. With funding that can be used for prototyping, pilot testing, or testing assumptions, you’ll have the resources and expert connections needed to accelerate your innovation and transform care! 

Applications are due October 3 at 10:00 am. Learn More and Apply. 

To learn more, join us for an Innovation Cohort & Ignite Fund info session using the links below: 

August 27, 8-8:30am 

September 4, 1-1:30pm 

September 12, 4-4:40pm 

Future of Healthcare Founder Residency Site Visit 

Last week marked the seventh week of the 2024 Future of Healthcare Founder Residency Cohort. This program, a collaboration between MaineHealth, Northern Light Health, Maine Venture Fund, and The Roux Institute, aims to accelerate the development of innovative early-stage startups to collaboratively design solutions for our patients and communities. 

On May 23, the Future of Healthcare Founder Residency companies met with MaineHealth leadership at the Free Street building. The site visit provided founders the opportunity to learn more about MaineHealth and develop connections within the system. Likewise, it allowed MaineHealth members to learn about this year’s companies. The visit concluded with a lunch networking session, and we are eager to see the connections made to support our mission of working together to make Maine communities the healthiest in America.  

A giant thank you to Lizzy Mulcahy, DNP, FNP-C and the telehealth team for coordinating this year’s visit! It was a huge success. We also extend our gratitude to the MaineHealth colleagues who attended and helped foster these valuable connections. 

Join Us for the Innovation Coffee Corner!

The Innovation Coffee Corner is held on the first Tuesday of every month from 8:30-9:30am over Teams. This is a fun, informal hour of networking and conversation that brings together care team members from across the system.

The next Coffee Corner occurs on June 4th. Join us here!

Keep up with MaineHealth Innovation by signing up for our monthly newsletter. 



MaineHealth Innovation builds connections to drive diversity of thought, educates to produce creative problem-solvers, and funds to accelerate ideas. By leveraging the ideas, insights and expertise of all care team members to develop novel solutions to our unmet care needs, we are working together so our communities are the healthiest in America. 

To learn more about these or other innovation opportunities at MaineHealth, visit the MaineHealth Innovation website or email innovation_center@mainehealth.org. 

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