LSU Medical Alumni Association

Please join us for the 16th Annual Medical Alumni Association's Purple and Gold Gala! Hard copies of the invitation were sent in the mail.

LSU School of Medicine Faculty and Staff:

The March issue of the Pulse is now available at this link:
https://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/pulse/ . It can also be accessed from the School of Medicine homepage.

Please take a moment to learn about many exciting developments and events in the school, and the outstanding achievements of our faculty, fellows, residents and students.

This issue highlights two novel therapeutic agents developed or invented by faculty members. Jeffrey Carter, MD, spent a decade building upon a previously discovered technology to develop spray-on skin for burn patients. The product is now FDA-approved and commercially available as ReCell. Ed Grabczyk, PhD, invented a therapeutic technology to treat patients with neurologic DNA expansion diseases, such as Huntington’s disease and Friedreich’s Ataxia. LSU Health New Orleans entered into an exclusive option and license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited to continue development of this technology.

There is much to read about in this edition, and our thanks go to Denise Flock-Williams (editor) and the team of Judy Crabtree and Todd LaGrange for another excellent issue. If you have a story for the next edition, please email Denise at [email protected].

Best to all and keep up the great work!!
Dr. Taylor

The Pulse LSU Health New Orleans Health Sciences Center

The December issue of The Pulse is now available from the School of Medicine website. It can also be accessed from this link:
https://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/pulse/

This issue celebrates many of the residents, faculty and staff who stepped up to care for our patients, restore the campus, and resume teaching, research and clinical care in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida (Dean’s Corner). We could not mention everyone, of course, but we are grateful to the entire School of Medicine community for their dedication to our core missions. You can also read about many significant honors and awards received by our faculty and learners, the Baton Rouge regional campus, and other significant events on our campus.

As always, thanks go to Denise Flock-Williams (editor), Dr. Judy Crabtree, and Todd LaGrange for another great issue. If you have ideas or stories for the next edition, please send them to Denise Flock-Williams ([email protected]).

The Pulse LSU Health New Orleans Health Sciences Center

LSU Health Dean of Medicine Dr. Steve Nelson Appointed Interim Chancellor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2021
BATON ROUGE – Dr. Steve Nelson, Dean of Medicine and John H. Seabury Professor of Medicine, has been appointed as Interim Chancellor of LSU Health New Orleans.

“I am honored to have this opportunity and look forward to working with my colleagues here at the Health Sciences Center, the City of New Orleans, the State of Louisiana and the entire LSU family of campuses to make sure our institution performs at its very best,” said Nelson. “When we are at our best, we are best positioned to help the people of Louisiana and beyond.”
He will hold the role for a minimum of 12-18 months to stabilize the institution while focusing on modernizing the university’s financials, reinvigorating its clinical partnerships and refocusing its research portfolio. At that point, a national search for a permanent candidate will take place.
“We look forward to Dr. Nelson’s leadership and know that great strides will be made under his direction,” said President William F. Tate IV. “His experience, expertise and dedication will help LSU Health New Orleans leverage its exceptional strengths.”
After graduating from the State University of New York at Stony Brook with honors, Dr. Steve Nelson earned his medical degree at McGill University where he was a University Scholar. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital as well as a Clinical and Research Fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine. He also completed a Fellowship in Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Hygiene and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins University.

In 1984, Dr. Nelson joined the faculty of the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans where he rapidly rose through the ranks being named Professor of Medicine in 1994, John H. Seabury Professor of Medicine in 1995, and Director of a NIH awarded Comprehensive Alcohol Research Center in 2000. His research has been continuously funded since 1981 and he has been awarded more than $40 million in research grants during his career. He served as Vice Chair of Research in the department of Medicine and was named Chief of the Section of Pulmonary Medicine in 2005. He was appointed Dean of the Medical School in 2007, and in 2009 he became the President of the LSU Healthcare Network. In 2019, he was awarded the Spirit of Charity Award. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center.

Dr. Nelson has authored or co-authored over 250 journal papers, 7 books/monographs, 30 book chapters, 15 audio-visual scientific presentations and 250 abstracts. He is a Diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Internal Medicine, as well as the American Board of Internal Medicine in Pulmonary Disease.

Contact Ernie Ballard
LSU Media Relations
225-978-8277
[email protected]

Colleagues:
The September issue of The Pulse is now available from the School of Medicine website. It can also be accessed from this link: https://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/pulse/

This issue was composed prior to Hurricane Ida’s devastation of the region. We are in awe of the residents, faculty and staff who stepped up to care for our patients, restore the campus, and resume teaching, research and clinical care. We will dedicate much of the next issue to your stories of how we quickly resumed these critical missions. If you have photos documenting your work in the hospitals or the school in the immediate aftermath of Ida that you would like us to consider for the next edition, please send them to me or Denise Flock-Williams ([email protected]).

As always, thanks go to Denise Flock-Williams (editor), Dr. Judy Crabtree, and Todd LaGrange for another great issue.
Best,
Richard

Richard DiCarlo, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Institutional Affairs
LSUHSC School of Medicine at New Orleans
2020 Gravier Street, 5th floor
New Orleans, LA 70112
504 568-4007 (phone)
504 568-4008 (fax)

The Pulse LSU Health New Orleans Health Sciences Center

Dear Alumni and Friends,

Isidore Cohn, Jr., MD – Mentor of Surgeons, has just been released. Written by Alvin M. Cotlar, Colonel, USAF MC (retired), MD (LSU Class of ’57), who spent research and clinical time with Dr. Cohn, the book is a compelling biography of the renowned Chair of the LSU Department of Surgery (1962-1989) and includes profiles of many of his colleagues.

Dr. Cotlar tells the story of the transformation of the department from its founding in 1931 into a program of national and academic distinction.

Illustrated in color, 290 pages, hardbound with the seal of LSUHSC embossed in the cover.

Unsigned copy is $39.95, signed and numbered copy is $44.95.

To place orders, [email protected] or call the Alumni Office at: (504) 568-4029.

Dear LSU Health New Orleans Community,

With deep sadness, I share the news that Dr. Joseph Moerschbaecher passed away early this morning.

Joseph M. Moerschbaecher, III, PhD, recently retired as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies after almost four decades of leadership and academic excellence at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans.

He joined our faculty in 1983 as an assistant professor of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics. He rose through the ranks to lead the department, and in 1991, he was also appointed Co-Director of our Alcohol and Drug Abuse Center of Excellence.

In 1998, Chancellor Merv Trail, MD, appointed Dr. Moerschbaecher as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at LSU Health Sciences Center. He led Academic Affairs and the Graduate School on both the New Orleans and Shreveport campuses. Shreveport was still under our administration at that time.

Dr. Moerschbaecher’s publications were extensive. The NIH awarded him multiple grants. He was an award-winning teacher, continuous NIH study section participant, and a member of almost 40 different LSU Health New Orleans committees. He has served on the boards of the NOBIC and LCRC, as well as the Chair of the Board of Regents Support Fund Planning Committee. He has served in multiple capacities for NIDA, ASPET, and from 2010-2012, was the President of the Behavioral Pharmacology Society.

Dr. Moerschbaecher was instrumental in our response to and recovery from the devastating flooding after Hurricane Katrina, relocating our campus to Baton Rouge and successfully returning to New Orleans to rebuild both the academic and research enterprises.

In all of his roles, Dr. Moerschbaecher was fully engaged in support of students; the expansion of the research enterprise, including multiple centers of excellence; the support of innovation; and the nurturing of relationships with governing bodies and other institutions in the LSU System, as well as across the state, nation, and globe.

We owe Dr. Joseph Moerschbaecher a tremendous debt of gratitude. He left an indelible mark on our university, and his contributions to science and health were enormous. His legacy will live on through the thousands of graduates whose careers he helped shape. The goal for most of us is to make a difference. Joe Moerschbaecher more than achieved that goal. Integrity, commitment, excellence, and service defined his life.

A celebration of his life and contributions to the Health Sciences Center will soon be displayed in the I***e Library.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time.

Please keep his family and colleagues in your thoughts and prayers.

Sincerely.

Larry Hollier, MD
Chancellor

Dr. Katherine Lindley Spaht Dodson
LSU Health School of Medicine Alumnae
June 30, 1977 - January 26, 2021

We were heartbroken to hear of the passing of Dr. Katherine Lindley Spaht Dodson. A Louisiana native, Lindley dedicated her life to helping children. She was a 2003 graduate of the LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine and completed her residency in pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She later served as an instructor at Harvard Medical School and as an urgent care physician at Boston Children’s Hospital. Lindley married her husband Drew and moved to Austin in 2007 where she was a pediatric hospitalist at Dell Children’s Medical Center and a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics at Dell Medical School. She was named Dell Children’s Medical Center’s top pediatric doctor in both 2012 and 2017. She joined Children’s Medical Group in 2017 and was honored to become the practice owner in 2020. The mark she leaves as a trusted pediatrician to countless families and as a treasured colleague and mentor will endure, and her generosity and gifts of her time, talent and kind heart will be greatly missed.

While her professional career was remarkable, her family always came first. She taught her children to love, laugh and pray every day and be thankful for their many blessings. She also taught them about all things Louisiana. She loved festivals and any excuse to wear a costume. She was a diehard LSU Tiger fan and a lifelong ambassador for Mardi Gras. Lindley was a shining light of compassion, warmth and dedication. She was committed to leading a life of caring for others as evidenced by the way she loved and cared for her family, friends and patients. Accessible, funny, caring, determined, brilliant, and selfless, Lindley had an impact on everyone she met. She was the epitome of beauty, both inside and out.
________________________
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you contribute to the Lindley Spaht Dodson Memorial Scholarship in her memory.

To contribute by check, make your check payable to the:
LSU Health Foundation New Orleans

Reference:
Spaht Dodson Memorial

Mail to:
LSU Health Foundation New Orleans
2000 Tulane Avenue, 4th Floor, New Orleans, LA 70112

By credit card, visit:
https://give.lsuhealthfoundation.org/spahtdodson

Please keep her family, friends, and patients in your thoughts and prayers as they cope with this inestimable loss.
__________________________