Long-acting opioids are associated with a significantly increased risk of death when compared with alternative medications for moderate-to-severe chronic pain, according to a Vanderbilt study released today in the Journal of the American Medical Assocation (JAMA).

The Society for Urodynamics and Female Urology (SUFU), the premier specialty society for female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, is awarding Vanderbilt’s Roger Dmochowski, M.D., professor of Urologic Surgery, with its SUFU Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Nashville Health Care Council is naming Vanderbilt’s Sam Chang, M.D., MBA, professor of Urologic Surgery and Oncology, and Neal Patel, M.D., professor of Clinical Pediatrics, to its 2016 Council Fellows class, selected by the Council Fellows Advisory Committee led by former U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D.

The Houston Academy of Medicine and Harris County Medical Society awarded William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine, with the 2016 John P. McGovern Compleat Physician Award last week.

The Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) is recognizing Joseph Smith Jr., M.D., professor of Urologic Surgery, with the Huggins Medal, its highest honor, for his lifetime contributions to the progress in treatment for patients with genitourinary neoplasms, which are tumors or cancer of the reproductive organs and the urinary system.

William Schaffner, M.D., professor of Preventive Medicine, is this year’s recipient of the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) 2015 John Snow Award, a longstanding award given in recognition of “enduring contributions to public health through epidemiologic methods and practice.”