We are moving ahead with the basic science department realignment. There are five task forces that have been charged with development of an implementation plan for this process. My expectation is that these task forces will have a final document by August 1. As the task forces begin their work, I am certain that questions and clarifications may be required. The Steering Committee will meet regularly to help clarify and coordinate task force activities.

This page may also be accessed from the College of Medicine homepage by clicking on the Dean’s Office link, and selecting Strategic Plan. This page is being established to keep faculty and staff up-to-date on the realignment process. A log-in and password to access the site will be emailed out as soon as it is available.

I have been on the road again speaking to A&M Clubs in the area. I was in San Antonio at the beginning of April, and was in Austin during the last week of the month. It is great to meet with these groups and educate them on what the College of Medicine is all about.

Looking ahead, Commencement weekend is full of activities as usual. I hope to see all of you at the Senior Banquet and Commencement ceremony. This is an important time in the lives of our students, and I encourage you to show your support for them.

Nanavati Receives AMA Foundation 2005 Leadership Award

College of Medicine student Amit Nanavati recently received the prestigious 2005 Leadership Award from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation. Nanavati, a second-year student from Houston, accepted the award at a ceremony in Washington D.C. last month. Nanavati applied for the award in January and was notified of his selection in February. Following the Leadership Award ceremony and training program, Nanavati attended the AMA’s National Advocacy Conference.

“It was a great pleasure to be one of 20 medical students nationwide to receive the 2005 AMA Foundation Leadership Award,” Nanavati said. “When I found out I was selected, I felt honored. I was also excited to take part in the leadership activities, lobbying for issues important to medical students at Capitol Hill and the National Advocacy Conference.”

The AMA Foundation Leadership Awards are presented to medical students, residents/fellows, young physicians and international medical graduate physicians every year. The honor recognizes the contributions of up-and-coming individuals who show strong non-clinical leadership skills in advocacy, community service and education. The goal of the awards is to encourage leadership development and involvement in organized medicine.

COM Relay For Life Goes Above and Beyond

College of Medicine staff and students participated in the Relay for Life Friday, April 22 and Saturday, April 23. Relay for Life is the national signature fundraiser of the American Cancer Society that aims to raise cancer awareness in the community and raise money for education, research, patient services, advocacy and scholarships.

The College of Medicine team, “Operation: Cure," consisted of team leaders Brenda Long and Kim Manry, Tom Pool, Monica Krenz, Joey Dale, Rebecca Gay, Lansa Stevens, Josephine Hernandez, Terri Musia, Michelle Jeter, Billy Swaim, Amy Keally, Joyce Busic, and Candace Mancil. The team had at least one team member walking on the track from 7:00 p.m. Friday, April 22 until 7:00 a.m. Saturday, April 23. College of Medicine students also participated by playing a game of Operation with children at the event and doing routine blood pressure monitoring for adults. The students who participated were: Mitra Jafari, Matt Brown, Jessica Baker, Clint Allen and Ashwin Gaitonde.

The team raised $1,392.09 through several fun and innovative fundraising events such as Road Kill Ricky, a catered luncheon, baby photo contest, luminaria sales, as well as individual donations.

Congratulations to this year’s team on a job well done!

GSO Symposium a Success!

The organizers of this year’s Graduate Student Organization (GSO) Symposium believe the event was a tremendous success. There were more than three times as many participants this year than last (74 poster and oral presentations), which was the previous record. For the first time in the symposium’s 10-year history, the participants came from every component in the Health Science Center. Additionally, a large number of the residents from the Brazos Valley Family Medicine Residency program also participated, which was another first.

Keynote speaker Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, who is a world renowned clinical neurovirologist and epidemiologist from Columbia University, repeatedly expressed how impressed he was with the level of research on display in the poster and oral presentations. His talk was extremely well received by the administration, faculty and students in attendance from across the HSC.

We are hopeful that next year’s GSO Symposium will build upon the strong showing put forth this year, making it even stronger and more far reaching. The GSO Symposium winners were:

Oral Category
1. Suraj Saksena
2. Brian Saunders
3. Cia Yi

Professional Student Category
1. Kelly Wright
2. Rebecca Levy
3. Nella Mupier

Junior Graduate Student Category
1. Jinsheng Weng
2. Kevin Fisher
3. Saul Trevino

Senior Graduate Student Category
1. Marisa Covington
2. Jiyeun Kate Kim
3. Adeline Deyrieux

College of Medicine Students Visit Capitol for TMA “First Tuesdays”

Five second year and 65 first-year students from the A&M College of Medicine traveled to Austin last week for the Texas Medical Association’s (TMA) “First Tuesdays.” First Tuesdays is a TMA program designed to take medicine’s message to state legislators. The April event was geared toward giving Texas medical students a look inside medical lobbying and allowing them to meet with legislators. According to second-year student Lam Le, who helped organize the trip, involving current medical students in First Tuesdays helps teach them the ropes of medicine in politics before they even become doctors.

“This event was a training day for us,” Le said. “We had a two-hour orientation in the morning that gave us an overview of healthcare in Texas, funding issues and key talking points. Then we spent the rest of the day visiting with senators and representatives.”

With 70 students in attendance, the A&M College of Medicine brought the largest delegation to the Medical Student Lobby Day, which TMA organizers plan to make an annual event.

2005 Cadaver Ball

First and second-year students had a chance to relax and spend time with each other, faculty and staff the evening of Friday, April 1 at the annual spring formal, Cadaver Ball. One of the highlights of the evening was the announcement of the 2005 Cadaver Ball awards. Potential recipients are nominated and voted on by the students, and it is considered a great honor to be selected.

This year’s winners were:

Class of 2007 Best Department: Family/Community Medicine

Best Block: Endocrinology/Reproduction

Best Lecturer - Dr. Van Wilson

Most Missed M1 Professor: Dr. Gary McCord

Class Friend: Mr. John Nettum



Class of 2008 Best Course: Gross Anatomy

Best Lecturer: Dr. Gary McCord

Class Friend: Dr. Wei-Jung A. Chen

Recognition Gift: Jennifer Morgan

To view and/or order photos from the Cadaver Ball, visit: www.texaspartypics.com/Q/Proofs.aspx?GroupID=7280.

CENTRAL TEXAS VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS) is pleased to announce that Peter Eaton, D.O., has been selected as Chief, Community Medicine Section, and Deputy Chief, Medical Service. As part of his position, Dr. Eaton will hold the title of Assistant Professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Dr. Eaton is board certified by the American Board of Family Physicians. He received his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, MO. Dr. Eaton completed an internal medicine internship at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center located in Dayton, OH. He comes to CTVHCS from the Naval Reserves Forces Command in New Orleans, LA, where he was a Special Assistant for Force Medical and Force Flight Surgeon, Captain, Medical Corps, United States Navy. Dr. Eaton is a member of the American Osteopathic Association and the Association of Military Osteopathic Physicians.

OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Faculty Development Conference Reminder

REMINDER: Dr. Dee Silverthorn from the University of Texas at Austin will be leading a Faculty Development Conference on “Building an Integrated Course” and “Use of non-traditional Classroom Techniques” Monday, May 23 from 1-5 p.m.

More than 30 faculty have already registered and the conference is now scheduled to be held in either Lecture Hall 1 or 2.

There is no registration fee and lunch will be provided. Please contact Rebecca Baker in College Station or Pam Wilson in Temple if you would like to attend.

Dr. Terry Recognized at AAMC-GRA Meeting

Dr. E. Eugene Terry, DIO for GME was recognized at the AAMC-GRA as a member of the first graduating class of the GME Leadership Development Course. The GME Leadership Development Course is designed to provide professional development for institutional graduate medical education leaders.

The primary audience comprises GME leaders in AAMC member schools and hospitals who recently have been named as their institutions’ ACGME Designated Institutional Officials (DIO), as well as other senior institutional GME staff. The three part course has been developed by the leadership of the Group on Resident Affairs (GRA) to strengthen essential competencies of institutional GME leaders and develop networks among participants. The course was jointly sponsored by AAMC and Harvard Medical School.

RESEARCH

Medical Biochemistry and Genetics

Dr. Siegfried Musser received a new grant from the Robert A. Welch Foundation, “Visualization of nuclear import complex disassembly by single molecule fluorescence microscopy,” June 1, 2005-May 31, 2008, $150,000.

Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Dr. Ursula Winzer-Serhan received funding for an exploratory grant “Effects of low level methylmercury exposure on brain development” in the amount of $10,000.

Pathology and Medical Physiology

Dr. George E. Davis and Dr. Michael J. Davis received a $1,164,000 National Institutes of Health grant entitled “Pericyte proteinase inhibitors and EC tube stabilization” for the period 02/01/05-01/31/09.

Medical Physiology

Dr. Luis A. Martinez-Lemus received a $260,000 American Heart Association, National Scientist Development grant entitled “Remodeling of the resistance microvasculature: early mechanisms” for the period 01/01/05-12/31/08.

Dr. Mariappan Muthuchamy, Dr. Anatoliy A. Gashev and Dr. David C. Zawieja received a $1,433,615 National Institutes of Health grant entitled “Molecular mechanisms of lymphatic muscle contraction” for the period 02/08/05-01/31/09.

FACULTY

OFFICE OF EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT

Dr. Gene Terry and Dr. Sandra Oliver presented “A Commitment to Patient Safety: Assessing Core Competencies of PGY1 Residents” at the AAMC-Group on Resident Affairs meeting in New Orleans in April.

STAFF

Dean’s Office

Marie Parmer attended the 11th annual spring meeting of the Deans’ Assistants Group (DAG) in New York City. The meeting was held at the Westin Hotel at Times Square from Sunday, April 24th through Tuesday, April 26th. Marie is secretary for the DAG and serves on the Membership Committee. Speakers for the meeting were Richard I. Levin, M. D., Vice Dean for Education, Faculty and Academic Affairs, Andrew Brotman, M. D., Vice Dean for Clinical and Hospital Affairs and Kate Henry, M. D., Senior Associate Dean for Affiliations, all from NYU.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Human Anatomy and Medical Neurobiology

Earnest, DJ and Cassone, VM. (2005) Cell culture models for oscillator and pacemaker function: Recipes for dishes with circadian clocks Methods Enzymology. 393: 556-576.

Allen, GC and Earnest, DJ. (2005) Localization of TrkB immunoreactivity in the retinohypothalamic tract and suprachiasmatic nucleus of the rat. Neuroscience Letters. 376: 200-204.

Allen, GC and Earnest, DJ. (2005) TrkB-deficient mice show diminished phase shifts of the circadian activity rhythm in response to light. Neuroscience Letters. 378: 150-155.

Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Cho H, Lasco TM, Allen SS, Yoshimura T, McMurray DN. (2005) Recombinant guinea pig tumor necrosis factor alpha stimulates the  expression of Interleukin-12 and the inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis growth in macrophages. Infection and Immunity. 73: 1367-1376.

Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology

Zou, XH and Chiou, GCY. Pharmacological therapy of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) International Journal of Ophthalmology. 5:8-18 (2005)

Takamoto, N, You, LR, Moses, K, Chiang, C, Zimmer, WE, Schwartz, RJ, DeMayo, FJ, Tsai, MJ, and Tsai, SY. COUP-TFII is essential for radial and anteroposterior patterning of the stomach. Development. 132:2179-2189, 2005.

Medical Physiology

Forough R, Weylie B, Patel C, Ambrus S, Singh US, Zhu J. Role of AKT/PKB signaling in fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1)-induced angiogenesis in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). J Cell Biochem 94(1): 109-116, 2005.

Fu WJ, Haynes TE, Kohli R, Hu J, Shi W, Spencer TE, Carroll RJ, Meininger CJ, Wu G. Dietary L-arginine supplementation reduces fat mass in Zucker diabetic Fatty rats. J Nutr 135(4):714-21, 2005.

Guo M, Wu MH, Granger HJ, Yuan SY. Focal adhesion kinase in neutrophil-induced microvascular hyperpermeability. Microcirculation Mar;12(2):223-232, 2005.

Martinez-Lemus LA, Crow T, Davis MJ, Meininger GA. avb3 and a5b1 integrin blockade inhibit myogenic constriction of skeletal Muscle resistance arterioles. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, Feb 18; [Epub ahead of print], 2005.

Martinez-Lemus LA, Sun Z, Trache A, Trzeciakowski JP, Meininger GA. Integrins and regulation of the microcirculation: from arterioles to molecular studies using atomic force microscopy. Microcirculation 12: 99-112, 2005.

Neiger JD, Crow TY, Partridge CR, Williams ES, Chao JT, Ramos KS, Meininger GA, Wilson E. Modulation of alpha4 integrin mRNA levels is coupled to deficits in vasomotor function in rat arterioles by allylamine. Life Sci 76(16):1895-905, 2005.

Qamirani E, Ren Y, Kuo L, Hein TW. C-reactive protein inhibits endothelium-dependent NO-mediated dilation in coronary arterioles by activating p38 kinase and NAD(P)H oxidase. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol, Feb 17; [Epub ahead of print], 2005.

Sarin V, Gaffin RD, Meininger GA, Muthuchamy M. “RGD” containing peptides inhibit the force production of mouse papillary muscle bundles via a5b1 integrin. J Physiol 564:603-617, 2005.

Steinle JJ, Zamora DO, Rosenbaum JT, Granger HJ. Beta 3-adrenergic receptors mediate choroidal endothelial cell invasion, proliferation, and cell elongation. Exp Eye Res 80(1):83-91, 2005.

Wu MH, Yuan SY, Granger HJ. The protein kinase MEK1/2 mediate vascular endothelial growth factor- and histamine-induced hyperpermeability in porcine coronary venules. J Physiol 563(Pt 1):95-104, 2005.

Zajdel RW, Denz CR, McLean MD, Dube S, Muthuchamy M, Poiesz BJ, Wieczorek DF, Dube DK. Diminished myofibril organization in mutant axolotl hearts transfected with site-directed mutants of sarcomeric tropomyosins. Cardiovasc Toxicol 5(1):75-90, 2005.

Zawieja D. Lymphatic biology and the microcirculation: past, present and future. Microcirculation 12: 141-150, 2005.

Zhang C, Knudson JD, Setty S, Araiza A, Dincer UD, Kuo L, Tune JD. Coronary arteriolar vasoconstriction to angiotensin II is augmented in the prediabetic metabolic syndrome via activation of AT1 receptors. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, Jan 14; [Epub ahead of print], 2005.

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Murman, DL and Colenda, CC. (2005) The Economic Impact of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimers’ Disease: Can Drugs Ease the Burden? Pharmacoeconomics. 23 (3): 227-242.

Dates to Remember

• May 11 - Magnolia Tea, Astin Mansion, 2 p.m.

• May 14 - First Annual Dean’s Golf Tournament, Texas A&M University Golf Course, 7 a.m.

• May 18 - Research Commercialization Workshop, Reynolds Medical Building, 1 - 5 p.m.

• May 20 - Senior Banquet, Reed Arena, 6 p.m.

• May 21 - College of Medicine Commencement, Rudder Auditorium, 2:30 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 F
Fax:979-847-8663
Email: Colenda@medicine.tamhsc.edu