In Kosciusko there was a doctor whose patients came to him, not only because he could make them better, but also because he could make them laugh.

Then, on a Sunday afternoon in May, the kind of day he lived for, soaking up the countryside on his bike, he was gone - just eight years after a traffic accident had taken one of his sons.

There was no one else like Dr. Gary Holdiness. No one could replace him, or try. Then, in the summer of 2015, a new doctor came to town. His name is Holdiness, too.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center is one of 25 hospitals participating in the Sonata™ (Sonography-Guided Transcervical Ablation) study, a clinical device trial to treat uterine fibroids.

“You deliver heat energy directly to the fibroids, which can dry and shrink them,” said Dr. Jay Hudgens, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and lead investigator for the UMMC study site.

Uterine fibroids are clusters of muscle cells that grow faster than their neighbors.  As many as 80 percent of women will develop uterine fibroids by age 50, but most experience no symptoms. However, if the fibroids are large or numerous, they may cause severe menstrual bleeding, abdominal and back pain or pregnancy complications.

Hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) and laparoscopy (using smaller cuts to view and remove fibroids) are the most common treatment options, but both require anesthesia, incisions and an operating room, Hudgens says.

Diversity isn't part of Dr. Juanyce Taylor's title as assistant dean for research and innovation and chair of the Department of Health Services at the University of Mississippi Medical Center's School of Health Related Professions.

“It's part of my fabric,” she said. “It's who I am.”

Taylor's work in incorporating diversity in courses she teaches and promoting diversity through programs such as the Mississippi Rural Allied Health Professionals Scholarship Program and the Health Equity Leadership Initiative led to her nomination for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning 2016 Diversity Award for Excellence.

She and 10 other nominees, one from each of the state's IHL campuses and one each from Mississippi State University's Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine and UMMC, were honored Feb. 18 by the state College Board.

The annual award is based on positive contributions to the campus and state, including advancing campus diversity, community outreach and demonstrating achievements that have benefitted all Mississippians, said Clotee Lewis, IHL coordinator of public affairs. Coinciding with Black History Month in February, the honor's presentation “recognizes accomplishments in diversity among our faculty members,” she said. Among the nominees, Dr. Shirley Hanshaw, an associate professor of English at Mississippi State University, was chosen for the Diversity Educator Award this year.

“It's a prestigious award,” Lewis said, “and one we look forward to each year.”

The Mississippi Rural Allied Health Professionals Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships to students who come to SHRP from rural communities, and the Health Equity Leadership Initiative, which encourages men of color ages 17-25 to become leaders in health-related professions and boosts access to education and training opportunities, “symbolize what we say we stand for at UMMC,” Taylor said.

Taylor secured a grant from the Kellogg Foundation to fund the Health Equity Leadership Initiative, now in its third year at UMMC. She was also instrumental in securing grant funding from the Hearin Foundation for the Mississippi Rural Allied Health Professionals Scholarship Program.

A number of interesting events is scheduled for the upcoming week at the Medical Center.