They’re slim pickings in terms of food, but these critters save lives. Therein lies the meat of an alumnus’ award-winning paper.

Sami Ghubril, a May graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, has won the Law School’s annual prize for in-depth analysis of an issue relevant to animal law: the dwindling horseshoe crab population.

The Animal Law Program awarded its Bob Barker Prize in Animal Law, Ethics and Rights, which includes $2,500, to Ghubril in September. “Saving the Horseshoe Crab: The Case for the Oft-Forgotten, Critically Important Living Fossil,” was reviewed by a panel of judges with expertise in animal-related legal issues.

Ghubril’s paper looks at the important medical application derived from the prehistoric creature’s blood, the complications that this life-saving breakthrough has created for the species, and options for solving the problem.

Also recognized in the writing competition, third-year student Mary Maerz won an award for her papers “Corporate Cruelty” and “In Defense of Pro-Carceral Animal Law.” The awarding of a runner-up prize is a rare honor, according to law professor Mimi Riley, the program’s director.  

Ghubril, whose paper was published in October in the Virginia Environmental Law Journal, is an associate in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis.

233 UVA Physicians Selected for ‘Best Doctors in America’ List

Two hundred thirty-three UVA Health physicians have been named by their peers to the 2019-20 “Best Doctors in America” list. Approximately 4% of U.S. doctors are named to the list, according to Best Doctors Inc.

“The physicians included in the Best Doctors in America database provide the most advanced medical expertise and knowledge to patients with serious conditions – often saving lives in the process by finding the right diagnosis and right treatment,” according to Best Doctors Inc.

UVA Health is the home to 233 of America’s top physicians, according to Best Doctors Inc. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

To be selected for the list, physicians must be nominated and then voted on by existing members of the Best Doctors in America List.

“Having 233 of our physicians named to this list – our largest group ever honored – highlights the wide array of high-quality, specialized care we provide together with our partners from across UVA Health,” said Dr. David S. Wilkes, dean of the UVA School of Medicine.

For the complete list of honorees, click here.

Hoos Well Receives Two National Awards

The Hoos Well employee wellness program has received two national awards on behalf of the University of Virginia for its work to develop and expand programs that improve employee wellbeing.

Within the past 18 months, Hoos Well initiated the new “Hoos Choice” healthy meal program to provide convenient and nutritious lunch options for UVA employees; expanded emotional wellbeing programming in response to employee needs and interests; hosted a “Field of Play” family event in support of physical activity for all UVA employees; and established the Education Collaborative for Health Promotion and Wellbeing, an applied practice and research opportunity for Master of Public Health students.

In October, the American Heart Association announced the results of its 2019 Workplace Health Achievement Index, using science-based best practices to evaluate the overall quality and comprehensiveness of workplace health programs. The association recognized Hoos Well at the gold level – the highest achievement level – for significant steps taken in implementing best practices to build a culture of health in the workplace.  

In September, Hoos Well, on behalf of UVA, received an award for Excellence in Health and Wellbeing from the National Business Group on Health, an organization of human resources and benefits leaders. The award recognized companies for innovative and comprehensive approaches to employee health and wellbeing. Among the organizations awarded, UVA stands out as the only university.

Frederick Schauer Receives Honorary Doctorate From Austrian University

Professor Frederick Schauer of the School of Law received an honorary doctorate from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration on Oct. 17.

The honorary doctorate is the highest academic award bestowed by Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, or “WU,” as the Austrian university is also known, reflecting exceptional academic achievement.

“Frederick Schauer is one of the most important legal theorists of our time,” WU Rector Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger said at the ceremony marking the honor. “He was and still is a particularly committed mediator between legal worlds of continental European and U.S. legal tradition.”

Schauer is the David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at UVA, and he is among the most prominent and recognizable names in the legal academy. His expertise in the philosophy of law, legal reasoning, constitutional law, jurisprudence and evidence has been demonstrated in hundreds of books, book chapters, articles, essays, classes and personal appearances.

In the 1980s and ’90s, Schauer published groundbreaking work on U.S. constitutional law and legal reasoning. His most famous book, “Free Speech: A Philosophical Enquiry” (1982), was written in Vienna.

Schauer presented the lecture “Second-Best Constitutionalism” at the WU ceremony. The lecture focused on “second order” constitutional rules “that sometimes conflict with even genuinely good policy ideas, but do so in the service of the deeper and longer term values embedded in constitutions,” he noted after the speech. He prefaced his comments with remarks in German, some referencing his own Viennese family roots.

Schauer also participated in a related panel discussion that included Alexander Somek from the University of Vienna, Anna Bettina Kaiser from the Humboldt University in Berlin, and Christoph Grabenwarter, vice president (and acting president) of the Austrian Constitutional Court. Schauer’s academic contributions were described in detail in a “laudatum” at the ceremony delivered by Professor Christoph Bezemek, dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Graz.

UVA Earns Two National Awards for Quality Heart Attack Care

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology have honored UVA Health with two awards for meeting national standards for providing high-quality, prompt care for patients suffering heart attacks.

“Our multidisciplinary team begins preparing to care for heart attack patients even before they arrive to the hospital, then works with patients during their hospital stay and after they head home to assist them in their recovery,” said Dr. Lawrence Gimple, director of clinical cardiology at the UVA Heart and Vascular Center. “I’m proud to be part of a team that is always available to provide the care our patients need.”

Local rescue squads and UVA have developed an alert system that notifies UVA care providers when a patient suffering a particularly severe type of heart attack is en route to the medical center so that care providers are able to begin treatment as soon as a patient arrives. Located inside the Emergency Department, UVA’s Chest Pain Center allows patients who may be suffering a heart attack to receive prompt diagnosis and care from a team that includes cardiologists, emergency medicine physicians and pharmacists.

As part of their follow-up care, patients who suffered a heart attack are scheduled for a follow-up visit one week after they leave the hospital at the UVA Heart Attack Recovery Clinic. A cardiologist, exercise physiologist, pharmacist and dietitian work with patients on a plan for their recovery.

The awards earned by UVA are the Mission: Lifeline Gold NSTEMI award from the American Heart Association and the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology.

UVA Earns National Honor for Enhancing Patient Care Through Technology

The UVA Medical Center has earned a national “Most Wired” award for using technology to better support quality patient care.

The award is based on a national survey of how hospitals use technology conducted by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, or CHIME. Hospitals across the U.S. are surveyed about their use of technology in several areas, including security, quality and safety, infrastructure, analytics and patient engagement.

On a scale of 1-10, UVA was rated a level 8. According to CHIME, organizations at this level are using technologies and strategies “to help them analyze their data and are starting to achieve meaningful clinical and efficiency outcomes.” UVA’s highest ratings came in infrastructure, security and the ability to recover its information technology systems following an unplanned event.

“This survey is a tool for us to see how we compare to other health care organizations and how they leverage technology as a strategy. It really measures what you are doing to move forward and what you are doing to be a rigorous information technology organization,” said Robin Parkin, UVA Health’s interim chief information and technology officer. “This award from CHIME highlights the progress we have made as an organization, as well as the dedication of our Health IT team to support our patients and our health system.”

As one example, UVA has started texting reminders and requests to confirm appointments to patients having surgery or gastrointestinal procedures. Families of surgical patients can also provide cell numbers on the day of the procedure to receive updates, Parkin said.

UVA is also exploring how to expand access to care using telehealth, she said. One possible example: video visits with a care provider through MyChart, UVA’s secure patient portal.

Ophthalmology Fellow Selected to Present

The Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology has selected Dr. Siddharth Narendran, a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Advanced Vision Sciences, to present at its annual Research to Prevent Blindness Resident and Fellow Research Symposium on Jan. 31 in Rancho Mirage, California.

Narendran’s proposal was one of four selected from 21 competitive entries, according to the association’s notification letter. He will speak on the “Role of Mechanotransduction in Age-Related Macular Degeneration.”