Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful, relaxing break with family and friends.

This is going to be an exciting year for the college. We are working on several initiatives, and I am optimistic we will make significant progress toward meeting our goals. To kick off the new year, we are having a Strategic Planning Retreat January 28. The focus of the retreat will be the prioritization of the various elements of the strategic plan. This will give us a roadmap to follow as we enter the implementation stage of the process.

Mini-Med School

We will be initiating a community outreach program this month in the form of a Mini-Med School. Mini-Med School offers current medical and health information to members of the community in a relaxed, educational atmosphere. The program also serves to familiarize “students” with medical terminology, enhance knowledge of medicine and give new insights into medical research. We are planning three Mini-Med School sessions this winter for January 27, February 3 and February 10. All three sessions will be from 6–7:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 1. Drs. Don DiPette, Roy Smythe and Farida Sohrabji will be presenting the lectures in the fields of hypertension and heart disease, cancer and women’s health issues, respectively. More information will be sent out soon.

COM Student Elected OSR National Delegate

College of Medicine student Jim Littlejohn was elected as one of five national delegates to the AAMC’s Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) Administrative Board at the annual meeting in November. Littlejohn was selected as the OSR representative for the class of 2007 last year, but will be taking his involvement in the organization to a much higher level this year. The Administrative Board convenes quarterly in Washington, D.C. and conducts business between meetings by conference call. Littlejohn went to the group’s first meeting at the end of November to set an agenda for the year and initiate an action plan. The Administrative Board’s two main objectives for the year are to evaluate the growing problem of medical student indebtedness and its impact on the profession’s workforce, and the concept of student health and well-being. Congratulations Jim, and keep up the good work!

Research Development After Hours

The Office of Research and Development will be hosting a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) workshop Wednesday, January 12 at 5:30 p.m. in Lecture Hall 1. This innovative workshop will provide participants a general overview of SBIR/STTR grant opportunities and the application process. Jill Dickman, Sr. Business Development Specialist at the University of Texas San Antonio’s Technology Center/SBIR/STTR Program and Oliver Murphy, President and CEO of Lynntech, Inc., will be the guest speakers. Workshop attendance is free, but interested parties are asked to RSVP by Friday, January 7. Contact Brenda Long at bklong@medicine.tamhsc.edu or 862-3993 to RSVP and/or request more information.

Admissions Committee Updates

The Admissions Committee hosted the last group of prospective students Thursday, Dec. 16. Over the course of the last several months, the committee conducted interviews with 696 students interested in attending medical school here at the College of Medicine!

We received a record number of applications this year, with approximately 2,700. More than 2,100 secondary applications were received, which is a 30 percent increase from last year.

It sounds like the word is out – the College of Medicine is the place to be!

Dr. McCord To Speak at AACBNC Annual Meeting

Dr. Gary McCord has been invited to attend the Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Neurobiology Chairpersons Annual Meeting in Maui, Hawaii in January. He will give a clinically oriented presentation on Anatomy Education, which is sponsored by the American Association of Clinical Anatomists.

Dr. James West, Human Anatomy and Medical Neurobiology Department Head, is the current president of the AACBNC.

Dean’s Office Renovation

The renovation of the Dean’s Office should be complete by the end of January, and we should be moved in during the middle of February. The construction phase is almost complete, as we are currently waiting for the carpet and furniture to arrive. The main change has been to add an office to the suite so the development, communications and planning functions will all be located in my office suite. Given the agenda I have for the next year, this was an important move. Several administrative and departmental offices will also be moving in the coming months. We’ll keep everyone posted on the progress of this project.

COM Holiday Reception

We hosted the College of Medicine Holiday Reception and Awards Ceremonies Dec. 7 in Temple and Dec. 20 in College Station. I had the honor of presenting the 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25-year service pins and the staff awards. Sarah Mesa, Administrative Coordinator at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, won the staff award at Scott & White. Kim Manry, Administrative Assistant in the Office of Academic Affairs, and Joey Dale, Lead Office Assistant in Business Affairs, garnered this year’s honors on the College Station campus.

Celebrating service anniversaries were:

5 Years
Richard Allinson - Surgery
Claudia Bachofen - Obstetrics and Gynecology
Kenneth Baker - CVRI
James Bonds - Internal Medicine
George Booz - CVRI
Thomas Brammeier - Surgery
Paul Brandt - Pharmacology & Toxicology
Duane Brieger - Family & Community Medicine
John Carpenter - Internal Medicine
Franklin Chang - Family & Community Medicine
Tracy Crow - Physiology
David Dostal - CVRI
John Erwin - Internal Medicine
Frank Gaffney - Internal Medicine
Anatoly Gashev - Physiology
David Gogulski - Family & Community Medicine
Loyce Graham - Family & Community Medicine
Christopher Grant - Family & Community Medicine
Gerald Grimsley - Biochemistry and Genetics
Kenneth Hackney - Family & Community Medicine
Rodney Hajdik - Radiology
David Haney - Surgery
Karen Harrison - Internal Medicine
Josephine Hernandez - Graduate Studies
Leigh Holcomb - Psychiatry
Mark Holguin - Internal Medicine
Terry Jenkins - Internal Medicine
Yiwei Jiang - Biochemistry and Genetics
Jason Kelley - Family & Community Medicine
Mario Lammoglia - Internal Medicine
Anna Lichorad - Family & Community Medicine
Maria Llana - Psychiatry
Luis Martinez - Physiology
Mildred Mattox - Physiology
Sylvia Michalewicz - Student Affairs & Admissions
Kimberly Micus - Obstetrics and Gynecology
Randall Moore - Surgery
Jennifer Morgan - Student Affairs & Admissions
Frank Mott - Internal Medicine
Sang Nahm - Anatomy & Neurobiology
Janet Parker - Physiology
Alan Parrish - Pharmacology & Toxicology
Parita Patel - Family & Community Medicine
Tushar Patel - Internal Medicine
Rebecca Preston - Anesthesiology
Marcus Purvis - Family & Community Medicine
Kelly Reynolds - Family & Community Medicine
Richard Schultz - Surgery
Kyla Sherrard - Surgery
Ugra Singh - CVRI
Betty-Ann Svendson - Pediatrics
Billy Swaim - Information Technology
Belinda Walker - CVRI
Wei Wang - Physiology
Gregory Wittpenn - Surgery

10 Years                                                                            
Steven Allen - Psychiatry
Michael Attas - Internal Medicine
Kayla Bayless - Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Medhava Beeram - Pediatrics
Bill Bertrand - Business Office
Matthew Bierwirth - Family & Community Medicine
Robert Bowers - Family & Community Medicine
Brian Camazine - Surgery
Jeffrey Clark - Internal Medicine
Tamara Clothier - Student Affairs & Admissions
Dinna Cohen - Family & Community Medicine
Stuart Crane - Psychiatry
Thomas Davis - Obstetrics & Gynecology
Mark Duke - Internal Medicine
Carl Dunn - Internal Medicine
Michael Falcone - Internal Medicine
Norman Fluet - Psychiatry
Joseph Ford - Surgery
Charles Foulks - Internal Medicine
Paul Friedman - Internal Medicine
Jose Garrido - Internal Medicine
David Gloyna - Anesthesiology
Robert Greenberg - Emergency
Rhonda Gudewich - Internal Medicine
Frank Harris - Surgery
Laura Hendrix - Microbiology & Immunology
John Hutka - Radiology
William Kirk - Information Technology
Harry Ko - Radiology
Thomas Lundeen - Internal Medicine
George Martin - Business Office
Michael Middleton - Radiology
Mohanram Narayanan - Internal Medicine
John Neufeld - Surgery
Claude Parker - Psychiatry
David Pinkston - Surgery
Allan Price - Internal Medicine
Richard Odom - Surgery
Mohammad Rajab - Psychiatry
Thomas Reilly - Surgery
James Samuel - Microbiology & Immunology
James Schnitker - Radiology
Charles Shoultz - Internal Medicine
Robert Weber - Surgery
Michael Weir - Pediatrics
Lori Wick - Pediatrics
Lucas Wong - Internal Medicine
Venkata Yeleti - Anesthesiology
Helen Zaphiris - Psychiatry

15 Years
Andrejs Avots-Avotins - Internal Medicine
Timothy Bittenbinder - Anesthesiology
Mark Coffman - Surgery
Stuart Coles - Pediatrics
Richard Dusold - Internal Medicine
Susan Faylin - Biochemistry & Genetics
Don Mackey - Surgery
Joe Martin - Surgery
Richard Moczygemba - Psychiatry
Michael Nipper - Radiology
Andrew Piwonka - Physiology
Patricia Tolciu - Psychiatry
Frank Villamaria - Anesthesiology
David Weldon - Internal Medicine
Robert Wiprud - Family & Community Medicine

20 Years
W. Bartels - Family & Community Medicine
Charles Capen - Obstetrics & Gynecology
Cheryl Cipriani - Pediatrics
Sheila Dobin - Pediatrics
Allison Ficht - Biochemistry & Genetics
William Griffith - Pharmacology & Toxicology
Michael Hagen - Family & Community Medicine
James Madsen - Family & Community Medicine
T. Keller Matthews - Anesthesiology
Cynthia Meininger - Physiology
Michael O'Neal - Family & Community Medicine
Anila Patel - Pediatrics
Francisco Perez-Guerra - Internal Medicine
Jose Pliego - Dean’s Office
Ronald Rodgers - Information Technology
Thomas Wincek - Obstetrics & Gynecology
Dorothy Winkler - LRU

25 Years
Frank Anderson - Humanities
Fred Anderson - Surgery
Robert Brakemeier - Obstetrics & Gynecology
Philip Bourland - Radiology
Phillip Cain - Internal Medicine
Robert Cochran - Surgery
Truman Douty - Pediatrics
Walter Dyck - Dean’s Office
William Frick - Surgery
John Glenn - Surgery
John Hall - Family & Community Medicine
David Havemann - Internal Medicine
R. Kelly Hester - Academic Affairs
Douglas Hurley - Internal Medicine
O. Kitchings - Anesthesiology
Robert Kuhnhein - Radiology
Daniel Ladd - Pathology
Mark Lindsay - Surgery
Jon May - Internal Medicine
J McNew - Family & Community Medicine
Charles Oltorf - Pediatrics
Herschel Sampson - Anatomy & Neurobiology
Nolan Shipman - Surgery
Del Stigler - Family & Community Medicine
E. Terry - Internal Medicine
Raleigh White - Surgery

Congratulations to Sarah, Kim and Joey on their awards, and to the faculty and staff who celebrated service anniversaries. Your hard work and dedication are what make our college great!

Holiday Door Decorating Contest Winners

Many departments around the building showed off their holiday spirit during the Holiday Door Decorating Contest. Margo Steffan and Sherri Payne from the HSC and Sandy Samford from the Medical Sciences Library acted as our illustrious judges this year. The winners were:

First Place: Dr. David McMurray’s lab
Runner-up: Anatomy Department
Honorable Mention: Business Office
Most Creative: Academic Technology

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who helped bring out holiday cheer at the College of Medicine!

Karen Kelly Named COM Employee of the Month

Karen Kelly, Administrative Assistant in the Office of Student Affairs and Admissions, was selected as the Employee of the Month for December. She has been a longtime employee of the College of Medicine and brings a deep understanding of school policies to the Student Affairs and Admissions office.

Karen helps faculty and staff navigate through all sorts of rules and regulations, not only here at the COM, but also when it pertains to interfacing with Texas A&M University. According to her colleagues, she has a wonderful ability to keep up with the details in the Student Affairs and Admissions office and keeps them all on track.

Winners of the Employee of the Month honor receive a congratulatory letter, a reserved parking space for the month and a free portrait package from HSC Communications.

Humanities in Medicine

Humanities Research The Department of Humanities in Medicine is conducting a study entitled “Buffering Genetic Vulnerability to Depression." The purpose of this research is to look for any evidence that positive personality attributes contribute to medical students’ well being and sustaining a positive mental outlook during the stress of the first year of medical school. The study focuses on bugle smears from the students’ mouths and student surveys taken at the beginning of the semester and also at the end of the semester, during a particularly stressful time. Faculty Publishes Journal Article Charles Sanders, MD, Mark Sadoski, Ph.D., Rachel Bramson, MD, Robert Wiprud, MD, and Kim Van Walsum, MS have published an article in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology titled “Comparing the Effects of Physical Practice and Mental Imagery Rehearsal on Learning Basic Surgical Skills by Medical Students” in volume 191, Issue 5. The purpose of the study was to test the effects of varying the amount of physical practice and mental imagery rehearsal on learning basic surgical procedures. Initial physical practice and mental imagery rehearsal may perhaps be a cost effective method of training medical students in learning basic surgical skills.

Fourth-Year Fellowships

Four students from the class of 2005 have been chosen to participate in a fourth-year fellowship sponsored by the Leadership in Medicine Program in the Department of Humanities in Medicine. Sarjita Shukla, Smita Malhotra and Rajesh Daftary will be going to India to study with Swadhyaya Indians. Greg Whaley will be going to Washington, D.C. to work in the Surgeon General’s office.

The students selected for these month-long Leadership Fellowships are selected by application only. The program aims for students to: gain insight and perception into the characteristics and styles of leadership through observation of and participation in the professional lives of preceptors; become more aware of their own leadership skills and styles, strengths, and weaknesses; and learn to seek leadership opportunities in their own professional lives.

Educational Development

Sadoski Joins Educational Development Staff

Dr. Mark Sadoski has joined the College of Medicine on a part-time basis. Dr. Sadoski is a Professor and Distinguished Research Fellow in the TAMU College of Education Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture. He will be working with the Office of Educational Development and various academic departments and programs in the areas of curriculum assessment and educational research.

FACULTY

Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Dr. David McMurray visited the research group of Dr. Alex Apt at the Central Institute for Tuberculosis in Moscow, from 6-12 November. They discussed progress on their collaborative research and plans for future studies. Dr. McMurray consulted on the renovation of their animal facilities and the establishment of a BL-3 facility with aerosol infection capability.

Dr. McMurray visited the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in New Delhi from 12-17 November. He was invited to speak at the International Symposium on Emerging Trends in Tuberculosis Research organized by ICGEB. The title of his talk was "Vaccine-induced cytokine responses in a guinea pig model of pulmonary tuberculosis.”

Dr. McMurray visited the Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases in Agra from 18-19 November. He gave a research seminar at the Institute and consulted with scientists on the development of collaborative research projects to study vaccine-induced resistance in the guinea pig model of tuberculosis.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Fan Y-Y, Ly LH, Barhoumi R, McMurray DN, Chapkin RS. (2004) Dietary docosahexaenoic acid suppresses T cell protein kinase C2 lipid raft recruitment and IL-2 production. J Immunol 173: 6151-6160.

Cole ST, Eisenach KD, McMurray DN, Jacobs WR. (Eds) Tuberculosis and the Tubercle Bacillus. ASM Press, Washington DC, 584 pp.

Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Browning, J.L., Patel, T., Brandt, P.C., Young, K.A., Holcomb, L.A., and Hicks, P.B. Clozapine and the MAP Kinase Signal Transduction Pathway: Implications for Antipsychotic Actions. Biological Psychiatry (2005) in press.

Chiou, G.C.Y. Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics: History and future directions. Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics 20: 373-374 (2004).

Zou, Y.H. and Chiou, G.C.Y. Pharmaceutical Therapy in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) International Journal of Ophthalmology in press (2005).

Griffith, W.H., Han, S.-H., McCool, B.A., and Murchison, D. Molecules and membrane activity: single-cell RT-PCR and patch-clamp recording from central neurons. In: Neuroanatomical Tract Tracing 3: Molecules-Neurons-Systems, Eds., L. Zaborsky, F. Wouterlood and J.L. Lanciego. (In press).

Martinez-Lemus, L.A., Sun, Z., Trache, A., Trzeciakowski, J.P., and Meininger, G.A.: Integrins and regulation of the microcirculation: From arterioles to molecular studies using atomic force microscopy. Microcirculation, 12:1-14, 2005.

Winzer-Serhan, U.H., and Leslie F. M. Expression of alpha5 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit mRNA during hippocampal and cortical development. J. Comp Neurol. 2005 Jan 3; 481 (1): 19-30.

Vlahopoulos, S., Zimmer, W.E., Jenster, G., Belaguli, N.S., Balk, S.P., Brinkmann, A.O., Lanz, R.B., Zoumpourlis, V.C., and Shwartz, R.J. Recruitment of the androgen receptor via serum response factor facilitates expression of a myogenic gene. J. Biol Chem. 2004 Dec 28; [Epub ahead of print].

Dates to Remember

• January 12 – Office of Research and Development SBIR/STTR Workshop, 5:30 p.m.

• January 27 – Mini-Medical School: Session 1 with Dr. Don DiPette, 6 p.m.

• January 28 – Strategic Planning Retreat at Pebble Creek in College Station, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• February 3 – Mini-Medical School: Session 2 with Dr. Roy Smythe, 6 p.m.

• February 10 – Mini-Medical School: Session 3 with Dr. Farida Sohrabji, 6 p.m.

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