Faculty, residents, fellows, and community physicians in General Internal Medicine and subspecialties.

Presentations:
“Managing Pain Across the Cancer Continuum: Perspectives from Clinicians, Patients, and Support People”
Hailey Bulls, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
“Mapping the role of DNA damage and cellular senescence in aging”
Aditi Gurkar, PhD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
“Out-of-pocket drug costs, treatment intensification and real-world weight loss among patients with type 2 diabetes: two retrospective cohort studies”
Jing Luo, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Increase knowledge and awareness of out of pocket cost barriers to use of newer glucose lowering medications for patients with type 2 diabetes
  
• Improve patient outcomes by using evidence supported glucose lowering therapies for patients with diabetes
  
• Follow recommended guidelines for the pharmacologic management of type 2 diabetes
  
• Increase awareness of the concept of Geroscience
  
• Provide detailed view about cellular senescence and aging
  
• Promote collaborations/ ideas to detect senescent cells in patients
• Increase positive patient outcomes by improving guideline-concordant, patient-centered cancer pain care.
• Improve patient care by increasing awareness of and shifting stigmatizing language during cancer pain care.
  
• Follow recommended guidelines for opioid pain management for patients with cancer pain.
  
  

Abstract

The Special K Club features our star scientists with K awards. We are very excited to welcome Dr. Hailey Bulls, Dr. Aditi Gurkar, and Dr. Jing Luo for this installment of the Special K Club.

Joint Accreditation Statement
In support of improving patient care, the University of Pittsburgh is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit[s]™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. This educational activity is approved for 1.0 contact hours.

Other health care professionals will receive a certificate of attendance confirming the number of contact hours commensurate with the extent of participation in this activity.

Suggested Additional Reading

1. Luo, Jing, et al. "Coverage, formulary restrictions, and out-of-pocket costs for sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists in the Medicare Part D program." JAMA Network Open 3.10 (2020): e2020969-e2020969.
2. Shao, Hui, et al. "Socioeconomic Factors Play a More Important Role than Clinical Needs in the Use of SGLT2 Inhibitors and GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in People With Type 2 Diabetes." Diabetes Care 45.2 (2022): e32-e33.
3. Draznin, Boris, et al. "9. Pharmacologic Approaches to Glycemic Treatment: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes-2022." Diabetes care 45.Supplement_1 (2022): S125-S143.
4. Hamsanathan S, et. al. Integrated -omics approach reveals persistent DNA damage rewires lipid metabolism and histone hyperacetylation via MYS-1/Tip60. Science Advances 2022 doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abl6083 PMID: 35171671
5. Zhu, Y* et. al. Achilles’ Heels of Senescent Cells: From Transcriptome to Senolytic Drugs. Aging Cell. 2015; doi: 10.1111/acel.12344 PMID: 25754370
6. Niedernhofer LJ, Gurkar AU, et. al. Nuclear genomic instability and aging. Annual Review of Biochemistry; 2018; doi: 10.1146/annurev-biochem-062917-012239 PMID: 29925262
7. Bulls HW, Bell LF, Orris SR, Goodin BR, Liebschutz JM, Wozniak A, Merlin JS, Schenker Y. Exemptions to state laws regulating opioid prescribing for patients with cancer-related pain: A summary. Cancer. 2021 Sep 1;127(17):3137-3144. doi: 10.1002/cncr.33639. Epub 2021 May 27. PMID: 34043811
8. Schenker Y, Hamm M, Bulls HW, Merlin JS, Wasilko R, Dawdani A, Kenkre B, Belin S, Sabik LM. This Is a Different Patient Population: Opioid Prescribing Challenges for Patients With Cancer-Related Pain. JCO Oncol Pract. 2021 Jul;17(7):e1030-e1037. doi: 10.1200/OP.20.01041. Epub 2021 Apr 13. PMID: 33848194; PMCID: PMC8462668.