program descriptionThis is the annual educational program for the Thai-American Physicians Foundation. The theme of this year’s conference is an update in personalized medicine and research in medicine and pediatrics. There will also be an oral presentation session in the afternoon where invited trainees will have an opportunity to discuss research projects with course faculty by oral and poster presentations. The learning objectives of this course will be accomplished by didactic lectures, interactions with course faculty and oral presentations of research abstracts on various topics in medicine. A number of sessions focused on the career development of young physicians will be provided on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.

Conference Location and LodgingThe Annual TAPF conference will be held at the Sheraton Atlantic City. http://www.sheratonatlanticcity.com/. The special conference rate for attending the meeting is $189 per night and is available from this link https://www.starwoodmeeting.com/events/start.action?id=1501152435&key=11F247BB. Please reserve your hotel by July 1 to receive this special rate.

SponsorThe Thai American Physicians Foundation

CreditNo CME will be available for this conference. All participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Learning ObjectivesPlease see individual learning objectives listed by each of the guest speaker’s lectures

Course DirectorsPia Pannaraj, MD, MPH Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Southern California and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Vin Tangpricha, MD, PhDAssociate Professor of Medicine, Emory University

Committee MembersCherry Wongtrakool, MDAssistant Professor of Medicine, Emory University

Pisit (Duke) Pitukcheewanont, MDClinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of Southern California,

Kelan Tantisira, MD, MPHAssociate Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Suthat Liangpunsakul, MD, MPHAssociate Professor of Medicine, Indiana University

Attaya Suvannasankha, MDAssistant Professor of Medicine, Indiana University

CreditNo CME will be available for this conference. All participants will receive a certificate of attendance.

Learning ObjectivesPlease see individual learning objectives listed by each of the guest speaker’s lectures

Tuition $175 for physicians and $75 for trainees. Tuition includes Friday night reception, breakfast and lunch on Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. Additional fees will apply for other meals and activities. Written cancellations should be received by TAPF at least 1 month prior to the program and will be refunded less a $25 administrative fee.

Attendees should register by July 1. Late registration will increase to $225. Registration is available online at www.regonline.com/tapf2015.

Friday july 31

5 pm Meet and Greet

6 pm Dinner (Families welcome)

Saturday august 1

7 am Breakfast

8 am Personalized Medicine for Asthma: Fact or Fiction KELAN TANTISIRA, MD, MPH

ObjectivesH Provide an overview of pharmacogenomics and personalized (precision) medicine

H Discuss asthma as an example of a complex disease with varied presentations and treatment responses

H Highlight some research findings supporting the possibility of tailoring therapy in asthma to the individual patient

9 am Early life exposures and food allergy SUPINDA BUNYAVANICH, MD, MPH, MPhil

ObjectivesH Describe food allergy and its rising burden in the US and worldwide

H Discuss early life exposures and their role in food allergy development

H Review guidelines regarding prenatal and childhood interventions for allergy prevention

10 am Break

10:15 am Pediatric Neurology: What We Do and When to Refer BOOSARA RATANAWONGSA, MD

ObjectivesH Provide an overview of common pediatric neurological disorders

H Describe red flags to suggest a consultation is in order

H Review what a pediatric neurological evaluation entails

11:15 am Improve your American Accent I: Consonants ALIF SILPACHAI

12 pm Lunch

1:30 pm Improve your American Accent II: Vowels ALIF SILPACHAI

2:30 pm Poster/Oral Abstracts session

4:30 pm Pearls from a Program Director: Practical Advice on Achieving Your Career Goals BIJAL S. MEHTA, MD, FACP

5:30 pm Dinner on your own

6:30 pm TAPF Board of Directors Meeting LOCATION TBA

Sunday august 2

7:30 am Breakfast

8 am Improve your American Accent III: Intonation ALIF SILPACHAI

8:45 am Different career paths as an MD KELAN TANTISIRA, MD, MPH

9:30 am Getting a grant: a guide for the junior investigator SUPINDA BUNYAVANICH, MD, MPH, MPhil

10:30 am Break

10:45 am Solo Private Practice in Present Day: An Endangered Species? BOOSARA RATANAWONGSA, MD and SHANNON BICKERT

11:30 am How to develop your medical website JOHNNIE KUO, MS Software Developer

12:15 pm Adjourn

Supinda Bunyavanich, MD, MPH, MPhilAssistant Professor, Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale BiologyDepartment of Genetics and Genomic SciencesDepartment of Pediatrics- Allergy/ImmunologyMindich Child Health and Development InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dr. Supinda Bunyavanich, MD, MPH, MPhil is a physician scientist on faculty at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Her research group focuses on the integrative genomics of asthma and allergic disorders. She teaches medical students and fellows in addition to taking care of patients with asthma and allergic disorders. Dr. Bunyavanich earned a BA in environmental science and public policy from Harvard University, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She then studied at Cambridge University, UK as a Herchel Smith Harvard Fellow, earning a master’s degree in environmental design. She returned to Boston to earn her MD at Harvard Medical School. Supinda completed a residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and a fellowship in Allergy & Immunology at Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Concurrent with her fellowship, she earned an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. Supinda served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, where she was a recipient of the Harvard Medical School Shore Award for Scholars in Medicine. She was recruited to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 2012, where she is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences.

Johnnie Kuo, MS Software Developer, Capital GroupFlintridge Solutions

Johnnie Kuo received his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Chicago and Masters Degree in Financial Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. He has worked as a software engineer for BAE Systems and as a software developer for various financial companies including Capital Group. He recently started his own company, Flintridge Solutions, to help clients develop, analyze and maximize the potential of their large data systems. On the side, he developed and currently maintains the website for the Thai-American Physicians Foundation and other similar clients.

Bijal S. Mehta, MD, FACPInternal Medicine Residency DirectorHackensack UMC Mountainside, Montclair, NJ

Dr. Bijal Mehta attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida and graduated from the School of Medicine with Honors in 1994. She went on to complete her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California – San Francisco. Dr. Mehta joined the Division of General Medicine at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital Center as a faculty member of the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1998. She was appointed to be the Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine residency at St. Luke’s/ Roosevelt in 2000, the Senior Associate Program Director in 2003, and Program Director of the Mount Sinai St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Internal Medicine residency program in 2013. She recently moved to New Jersey and is now the Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency at Hackensack UMC Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, NJ. Dr. Mehta has been an active member in the graduate medical education community through her membership and service in the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine. She has successfully counseled over 650 medical students and trainees along their career paths into residencies, fellowships, hospitalist positions, and primary care.

Boosara Ratanawongsa, MD (Dr. Boo)Pediatric Neurology of Lehigh Valley, PC, Allentown, PA

Dr. Boo graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor of science from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She went on to pursue her MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, and a residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland followed. Returning to Columbia University, Dr. Boo completed her fellowship in pediatric neurology at the Neurological Institute of New York and became Board Certified by the American Academy of Psychiatry and Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology. She has gained much respect for her expertise and dedication from her colleagues, medical students she has mentored, and parents of patients she had treated, just to name a few. In 2012, she was honored with the Allen D. Deibler Advocacy Award, presented by the Arc of Lehigh and Northampton Counties to individuals who demonstrate exceptional efforts in improving the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the Lehigh Valley. Currently in solo private practice, she cares for many children with various neurological conditions including headaches, tics disorder/ Tourette syndrome, and seizures/ epilepsy, but has particular expertise in autism, Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other learning and behavioral difficulties.

Alif Silpachai,Doctoral Student of Linguistics, University of Southern California

Alif Silpachai is a Thai-American PhD student in linguistics from the Department of Linguistics at the University of Southern California (USC). He received his bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His research interests primarily lie in phonetics and phonology. His current project is concerned with tonal phenomena in tone languages around the world. In particular, the project primarily attempts to answer two questions: how do tones behave with respect to syllables, and why do they behave in such manner. Silpachai speaks and is interested in several languages. Natively, he speaks Thai and English. In addition to Thai and English, Silpachai is interested in other Thai-related languages such as Lao, Northern Thai, Shan, Tai Dam, and Tai Lue, and as well as Romance languages such as Spanish, French, and Catalan. In helping Thai people who are learning English, Silpachai is able to employ his knowledge in Thai and English combined together with his knowledge in phonology and phonetics to assist them in improving their English pronunciation.

Kelan Tantisira, MD, MPHAssociate Professor of Medicine. Channing Division of Network MedicineBrigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical SchoolAssociate Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School

Dr. Kelan Tantisira is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and received his M.D. at the University of Pittsburgh. He completed his residency in combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at LAC/USC Medical Center and fellowships in Pediatric Pulmonary and adult Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He is currently Associate Physician at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. His main research interest is in the genetic epidemiology of asthma, with a specific focus on the pharmacogenomics of asthma, and he is one of the Principal Investigators within the NIH-sponsored Pharmacogenomics Research Network.