Dr. Joey Granger, Billy S. Guyton Distinguished Professor of physiology and biophysics, is the 2016 Southeastern Conference Faculty Achievement Award winner for the University of Mississippi.

“I am deeply honored to have received this recognition and am humbled to be in such a distinguished group of faculty scholars,” Granger said. “I also appreciate the SEC for their recognition of scholarly activity as an integral part of SEC universities.”

To be eligible for the SEC Faculty Achievement Award, an individual must be a teacher or scholar at an SEC university, have achieved the rank of full professor, have a record of extraordinary teaching and have a record of scholarship that is recognized nationally and/or internationally.

A graduate of the UM School of Graduate Studies in the Health Sciences, Granger joined the faculty in 1990. His research focus has been on preeclampsia, a dangerous but poorly understood complication of pregnancy. His interests include the mechanisms linking placental ischemia and cardiovascular dysfunction in preeclampsia and identifying potential drug targets for preeclampsia treatments. Granger's research has been continuously funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute since 1985.

New technology incorporated into UMMC's Breast Imaging Services will give many women a better chance of earlier cancer detection.

The new three-dimensional software from Hologic will enable doctors to better see smaller areas of cancer in dense breast tissue.

“This is a new tool that is crucial for women with dense breasts,” said Dr. Harpreet Talwar, an assistant professor of radiology and chief of UMMC's breast imaging division. “Because of the volume of breast tissue, cancer can hide from two-dimensional images. It has less chance of hiding on the 3-D images.”

Currently most women receive 2-D imaging.

“When a 2-D image isn't clear enough for a radiologist to say with certainty that it depicts no cancer, the woman may be recalled to have additional imaging or sonogram,” Talwar said. “In dense breast tissue, 3-D can detect cancer with more clarity and confidence. With 2-D images, the same cancer may be harder to detect and can be missed.”

Willie Smith was among the first to try it at UMMC. A colon cancer and sickle cell survivor, the Clinton resident said she believes in getting the best screening possible.

“They said you could see more with 3-D,” she said of Talwar and the breast imaging staff. “I said I want to go for it.”

Recently, she sat with Talwar and listened as the radiologist explained her images.

“Think of it like a book,” Talwar said. “Before we could see the front and back cover. The pages in the middle were projected on top of each other. Now we can flip through and see the pages of the book.”

“You really can see more,” Smith said, watching as Talwar compared Smith's 2-D and 3-D images.

“As long as you are in school, your job is to make good grades.” This is a phrase heard from the mouth of many a parent. A kid's occupation is to learn, play and grow.

That's why when a child is experiencing difficulty learning one of the basic building blocks of a good education - handwriting - an occupational therapist is called.

According to the American Occupational Therapy Association, handwriting is “a complex process of managing written language by coordinating the eyes, arms, hands, pencil grip, letter formation and body posture.” Difficulty with handwriting can clue a teacher in to underlying developmental problems that can affect learning, according to AOTA.

Dr. Peter Giroux, professor of occupational therapy in the School of Health Related Professions, has been assisting children with special and exceptional needs for more than 20 years.

“The most frequent reason for an occupational therapy referral in the school system is difficulty with handwriting and related fine motor problems,” said Giroux. “Handwriting is the student's primary way to demonstrate knowledge and understanding to the teacher.”

The Medical Center is proud to announce the following additions to its faculty and leadership staff:

The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine has selected not one, but two Medical Center faculty for prestigious national awards that highlight their contributions and commitment to emergency medicine.