This month there have been a couple of key personnel changes in the Office of the Dean. Please join me in welcoming Summer Hicks Morgan and Kathy Warren to the College of Medicine. Summer is the new Communications Specialist and will be responsible for all communications functions of the College. Kathy Warren began her duties on October 1st as the new Assistant to the Dean, replacing Diana Foster who left in September. We are very excited to have both of them join us, and we look forward to working with them.

College of Medicine Alumnus Killed in Bicycle Accident

Dr. Sydney Jaffe, a 1984 College of Medicine graduate, was killed Thursday, Sept. 30 while riding her bicycle in Yuma, Ariz.

Jaffe, 46, was a staff neurologist at Yuma Regional Medical Center. She was struck from behind by a car at approximately 6 a.m. and was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver claims to not have seen her. No charges were filed and the accident is under investigation by local authorities.

Jaffe was the daughter of Audrey Jaffe and the late Richard, sister of Deborah Jaffe and granddaughter of Rose Lipman. Graveside services were held Sunday, Oct. 3 at the Adath Jeshurun Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Strategic Planning

I recently presented the Strategic Plan to faculty, staff, and students during Town Hall Meetings on both campuses. I want to thank everyone for their comments. I will thoughtfully consider each and every comment to determine how to make our Strategic Plan more effective. While the overall theme and vision of the Strategic Plan will remain consistent, there are certainly components of the plan that will need minor adjustments. My view is that the Strategic Plan should be a "working document" that we will modify as necessary throughout the implementation process.

Dr. Johnson to speak at Nobel Symposium

The College of Medicine's own Dr. Arthur E. Johnson has been invited to speak at the Nobel Symposium in Sweden, Oct. 10-14. Johnson, a Wehner-Welch Chair and Distinguished Professor, is one of only 20-25 speakers to be honored with an invitation to the symposium. He is being recognized for his research with proteins and the development of a process to incorporate fluorescent dye into the proteins. This technique is now used by scientists in labs all over the world.

Started in 1965, more than 100 symposia have been held by the Nobel Foundation. The meetings focus on scientific breakthroughs or other topics related to current cultural or social importance, and a winner for the Nobel Prize is selected from the speakers. The Symposium Committee is composed of representatives of the Nobel Committees in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace; the Prize Committee for Economics; the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation; and the Wallenberg Foundation.Johnson will be presenting the future possibilities for the protein-dyeing technique to the Committee, after more than 35 years of research in the field. Congratulations to Dr. Johnson and good luck!

Marketing Committee

The Marketing Committee is currently accepting ideas for the title of a new COM newsletter to serve as both an internal and external publication for the COM. Potential newsletter titles are to be emailed to Dr. Annette Tommerdahl (artommerdahl@medicine.tamhsc.edu) by Friday, October 15th, and will be voted upon by the Marketing Committee. A $50 gift certificate to the Post Oak Mall will be awarded to the person/group submitting the winning title.

Medical Education

Dr. Ben Green, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Co-Director, Office of Education Development Kudos to Dr. Kathleen Jones, Department of Pathology, who has been accepted into the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Physician and Health Science Educators. Dr. Jones will attend sessions at Harvard in January and May of 2005. Her proposed project for the Harvard Macy Program is "Developing a Renal Theme Team to Support Curricular Reform."

Humanities in Medicine

Dr. Charles Sanders, Interim Department Head The Black-Zandveld Lectureship Dr. S.H. Black, Professor Emeritus of Humanities in Medicine and of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in the College of Medicine, established the Black-Zandveld Lectureship in the History of Medicine in 1997 as a memorial to his wife of 36 years, Elisabeth Martha Black-Zandveld. The endowment is intended to support the Department of Humanities in Medicine in bringing to the College eminent scholars to speak on various topics related to the history of medicine.

The 2004 Black-Zandveld Lecture was on September 14th in the Lecture Hall at the Reynolds Medical Building.

John L. Montgomery, M.D. spoke to the medical students on the subject of "War and Medicine." Dr. Montgomery has been with the Scott & White staff for over 30 years, where he was named chairman of the department of radiology and served on the clinic board for nearly 20 years. Dr. Montgomery has been actively involved in nearly every aspect of the College of Medicine since its original inception. He, among others, was responsible for creating and initiating the first curriculum for the medical school as well as serving on the school's first admissions committee. He has won the distinguished teaching award at TAMU on numerous occasions and has continuously taught in the school's radiology course for the past 25 years. He has been recognized professionally for his accomplishments in radiology and has been a former board examiner and is a fellow in the American College of Radiology. His wisdom makes him one of the most sought out professors in the College, by current and former students, for words of wisdom and advice.

Medicine and Humanities Consultations

The Medicine and Humanities Consultations are faculty development conferences sponsored by the Department of Humanities in Medicine and the Scott & White Hospital Ethics Committee. Consultations engage clinicians of medicine and academic humanists in in-depth exposure to ethical issues. These informal discussions are led by an invited guest facilitator and are held in Salado, Texas from l:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. several times per year. The first Consultation of the academic year was Monday, September 20, 2004 and the guest was Dr. Thomas McCormick, Ph.D. from the University of Washington, School of Medicine, Department of Medical History and Ethics. Dr. McCormick spoke on "The Contribution of Religion to Bioethics."

The following chart describes the remaining Consultations for this academic year.·
November 1, 2004: Eric Cassell, M.D. -- Suffering and the Nature of Medicine
December 6, 2004: E. Haavi Morreim, Ph.D. -- Influence of Economics on Medical Decisions
February 14, 2005: Alan Cross, M.D. -- Ethical Issues in Adolescent Medicine
April 4, 2005: Josie Williams, M.D. -- Ethical Issues in Patient Safety
May 9, 2005: John Moskop, Ph.D. -- Ethical Issues in Emergency Medicine

Medical Ethics Grand Rounds, Temple and College Station - Grant Received

Don Self, Ph.D. Professor, Humanities in Medicine, recently received a grant from the Texas Medical Foundation to host Grand Rounds Medical Ethics Lectures at the College of Medicine, in Temple and College Station. These lectures will coincide with the Humanities Consultations in Salado and the same guests will be giving the lectures on Mondays at noon in Temple and Tuesdays at noon in College Station. These lectures will provide some unique learning opportunities for clinicians, faculty and students.

CENTRAL TEXAS VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Dr. Valerie Van Wormer, Associate Dean for Veterans Affairs

New Director
Bruce A. Gordon, MSHA, was selected as Director, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS), effective September 19, 2004. Prior to this he was Director, Northampton VA Medical Center and Clinics in Massachusetts, and Director, VA Connecticut Health Care System.

As Director of VAMC Northampton, Mr. Gordon oversaw the operation of a 197-bed facility that provides general medicine, intermediate, psychiatric long-term care and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) services to the veteran population of Western Massachusetts. Extended care services include a 65-bed Nursing Home Care Unit, Respite Program and Hospice Program. Comprehensive Outpatient Care services and Veterans' Community Care Centers are located in Northampton, Springfield, Pittsfield and Greenfield, MA.

During his tenure as Director, VAMC Northampton, he also served for two years as Director of the VA Connecticut Health Care System (CHCS), which is comprised of the VA Medical Center in West Haven, an ambulatory care center in Newington, and six Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Danbury, New London, Stamford, Waterbury, Windham, and Winsted, CT. CHCS offers a full range of comprehensive services to include specialized services for mentally ill, geriatrics, rehabilitation, long term care, women's health care, hospice and respite care, podiatry, and prosthetics. The VA Connecticut HCS has been designated and recognized by the VA as a Clinical Program of Excellence for mentally ill veterans. The West Haven VA is a major teaching hospital with a renowned research program. It is affiliated with the Yale University School of Medicine. CHCS trains more than 675 physicians and dentists each year and more than 600 students in other allied health fields.

Prior to Northampton and Connecticut, Gordon served as Associate Director at the VA Medical Center in Albuquerque, NM, and as Acting Director at the VA Medical Center in Cheyenne, WY and Spokane, WA. He is a 1990 graduate of the Leadership VA Program. He joined the VA system in 1974 at the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah and has also held positions at VA Medical Centers in San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, Prescott, AZ, and St. Louis, MO.

A Navy veteran, Gordon received a direct commission into the Navy Reserves in 1983 where he still serves as a Lieutenant Commander, USNR. Mr. Gordon has a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Arizona University and received his Master's Degree in Health Care Administration in 1974 from the University of Colorado.

RESEARCH

Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Van Wilson, Ph.D.: A proposal entitled "The Keratinocyte SUMOeome: Characterizations by Proteomics" was funded for $15,000 by the TAMUSHSC Research Development and Enhancement Award Program for the period 8/1/04 - 7/31/05.

Richard Sinden, Ph.D., and Van Wilson, Ph.D.: A proposal entitled "Program Modulation of Mammalian DNA Replication by Disease-associated DNA Repeats" was funded for $15,000 by the TAMUSHSC Research Development and Enhancement Award Program for the period 8/1/04 - 7/31/05.

FACULTY

Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Dr. Renee Tsolis attended the Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Toxins and Pathogenicity from 7/18 - 7/24/04 and presented a poster there entitled "The Brucella abortus Type IV secretion system mediates evasion of adaptive immunity."

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Lyons, M.J., Yoshimura, T., McMurray, D.N. (2004) Interleukin (IL)-8 (CXCL8) induces cytokine expression and superoxide formation by guinea pig neutrophils infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis, 84: 283-292.

Switzer, K.C., Fan, Y-Y, Wang, N., McMurray, D.N., Chapkin, R.S. (2004) Dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids promote activation-induced cell death in Th1-polarized murine CD4+ T cells. J Lipid Res, 45: 1482-1492.

Cram, N., Shipman, N., and Quarles, J.M. (April/June 2004) Reducing airborne microbes in the surgical operating theater and other clinical settings. J of Clinical Engineering, 79-88.

Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Dubois, D.W., Parrish, A.R., Trzeciakowski, J.P., Frye, G.D. (2004) Binge ethanol exposure delays development of GABAergic miniature postsynaptic currents in septal neurons. Brain Research: Development Brain Research, 152: 199-212.

Dates to Remember

• October 14 - The George C.Y. Chiou Lectureship in Pharmacology, 11:00 am

• December 17 - HSC Holiday Open House, 10:00 am

Christopher C. Colenda, M.D., M.P.H.
Dean, College of Medicine
The Texas A&M University Health Science Center
147 Joe H. Reynolds Medical Building College Station, TX 77843-1114
Phone:979-845-3431
Fax:979-847-8663
Email: Colenda@medicine.tamhsc.edu