August
Welcome students! It is great to have our M2 students back on campus, and it is always exciting to have a new class of first-year students arrive on campus to begin their medical training.
Our Silver Celebration to honor the Charter Class of 1981 was a great success! It was a wonderful weekend, and all the activities were very well-attended. We had 26 of the 30 remaining class members attend the weekend of activities which is fantastic. It was great to get to know more of our alums and celebrate their successes. The charter class truly is a remarkable group of individuals, and it was a great honor to finally get to meet all of them and celebrate their accomplishments and contributions to the college.
In addition, this year's White Coat Ceremony was another wonderful event during the weekend. The ceremony officially marked the beginning of our new students' medical training, and it was an honor to have the charter Class of 1981 in attendance. Dr. Jay Franklin from the charter class delivered the keynote address and did a superb job!
We received notice from the LCME that they will be visiting our campus September 17-19, 2006. This will be to provide consultation and to evaluate the financial, facilities, and faculty resources required to proceed with the dual campus expansion plans. We are currently moving ahead with our plans for two campuses beginning fall 2007. Those involved in the site visit will receive an itinerary and information regarding the visit in the next couple of weeks.
Our website will be getting a new look by the end of the summer. The Health Science Center Communications group has been working with a consulting company to design a new website which will be used by all the components as well. My office will be working with them to make certain all of our information is adequately displayed.
COM Students Recognized for Martha's Health Clinic Work
Students from the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine were recently recognized by Texas State Representative Dianne Delisi, District 55, for their humanitarian efforts at Martha's Health Clinic in Temple, Texas.Martha's Health Clinic is a student-run, free clinic that was founded in 1994 by two Texas A&M medical students who saw a need for better health care for the homeless population in Temple. Within a year, Martha's Health Clinic expanded from one room to an entire wing. For the past 12 years, medical students have continued to provide quality health care to the homeless and indigent residents of Temple and Bell County.
Faculty Research Colloquium Slated for August 16
Sponsored by the Faculty Advisory Committee, the College of Medicine is hosting a Faculty Research Colloquium August 16 from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Mayborn Auditorium in the Education Center in Temple. The colloquium will be simulcast to Lecture Hall 1 of the Reynolds Medical Building in College Station.Featured speakers Thomas J. Kuehl, Ph.D. and Patricia J. Sulak, M.D. will be presenting "Elimination of Monthly Menstruation and Associated PMS, Pain and Headaches". Receptions will follow in Room 110 (Temple) and the Reynolds lobby (College Station).
For more information, contact Mary Ann Wolff at 979-862-4013 or mawolff@medicine.tamhsc.edu.
Ninth Annual Black-Zandveld Lecture in the History of Medicine
The ninth annual Black-Zandveld Lecture will be held August 17 in Lecture Hall II in the Reynolds Medical Building at 1:00 p.m. This year the speaker will be Paul A. Parrish, Ph.D., a Regents Professor of the Department of English at Texas A&M University, where he has taught since 1974. The title of the lecture will be "Healing Arts: Intersections of Literature and Medicine".Sam H. Black, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Humanities in Medicine and of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, 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. It is Dr. Black's hope that this lecture series will serve both as fitting tribute to his beloved wife and as a way of enriching the academic environment of the College of Medicine. Dr. Black was greatly honored to deliver the inaugural lecture in this series in 1998.
Wilkinson Wins 3rd Place at "Ideas Challenge"
Ben Wilkinson, member of the Class of 2008, entered the "Ideas Challenge" hosted by the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship at A&M's Mays Business School this spring. In its sixth year, the competition is open to all students studying on the College Station campus. Ideas Challenge extended over three months from Spring Break to the final presentation and awards on May 3. The process included a written proposal and two presentations in front of judging panels, made up of business community leaders from Dallas, Houston and Austin. Over the course of the competition, there were 181 participants, 40 finalists and 10 winning entries.All submissions were required to be new concepts for business products or services. Wilkinson's entry was called WellnessWing, which focused on increasing the level of service offered to hospital patients from a medical student's perspective.
"The judges must have liked the idea and my presentation," Wilkinson says. "WellnessWing was named a winner of a 3rd place prize of $1,000. I think I stood out a little because I was the only presenter dressed in a white coat and stethoscope!"
The mission of the Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship emphasizes fostering an entrepreneurial mindset. The Ideas Challenge helps students develop an ability to think in an entrepreneurial way, and help to develop the competencies needed to identify and successfully implement new business ideas throughout their careers.
College of Medicine Hosts National Youth Leadership Forum Students
Each year, the College of Medicine hosts a one-day symposium for the National Youth Leadership Forum Medicine group from the Houston/Galveston Forum. This year, we had approximately 88 students at the college on July 11 from as far away as Alaska and New York. Dr. Gary McCord, Dr. Tom Peterson, Dr. Mary Elizabeth Herring, Dr. David Zawieja, Dr. Wei-Jung Chen, Dr. Nancy Dickey and several medical students participated to make the day a success.The College of Medicine offers up to three need-based scholarships each year for students who attend Bryan or College Station high schools. The two recipients this year were Letitia Bledsoe and Kanyinsola Ojo from A&M Consolidated High School.
The National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine introduces outstanding high school students to the world of medicine. This ten-day program introduces students to professionals from some of the nation's top medical centers and faculty from renowned institutions of learning.
With close cooperation from many prestigious and technologically advanced hospitals, research facilities and medical schools, the forum challenges students to learn about a broad range of topics, including educational requirements, career options, clinical practice, and complex ethical and legal issues facing the medical profession today. Students discuss global epidemics, cures for life-threatening disease, life as a resident, medical specialties, and primary care with current physicians and patients
Each program culminates in a simulation that challenges students to consider a specific issue in medical ethics and to present pertinent recommendations for approaching resolution and/or treatment for each case.
Tonn-Bessent Retires After 27 Years of Service
Jane Tonn-Bessent recently retired as Coordinator of the Learning Resources Center on the Temple campus. She held this position beginning with the first class of the College of Medicine when they arrived on the Temple campus in 1979. Jane was immensely popular with the students and received numerous class awards over the years. Her last day of work was July 6.Thank you for your many years of wonderful service and happy retirement, Jane!
White Joins Learning Resources Center
Bobbie Ann White is the new Learning Resources Coordinator on the Temple campus. She has a master's degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of New Haven. She recently was the Student Development Coordinator at the University of North Texas Health Science Center and has extensive experience working with students and faculty.The UNT Medical Student Government Association gave her their Thomas Moorman Unsung Hero Award in 2005. She has developed and taught workshops and created training materials on conflict management, personal statement writing, curriculum vitae writing and interviewing skills. Please welcome Bobbie Ann to the College of Medicine!
Tammen Receives Certificate of Appreciation
Learning Resources Unit Coordinator Darcy Tammen received a certificate of appreciation at the annual meeting of the Health Sciences Communications Association (HeSCA) in Washington, DC last month. It reads: "This certificate is awarded to Darcy Tammen in recognition of a valuable contribution to the administration and programs of the Association."HeSCA is an association of communications professionals committed to sharing knowledge and resources in the health and science arenas, and Darcy has been an active member for several years.
FACULTY
Humanities in Medicine
Barbara Gastel, M.D., M.P.H., attended the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) 50th Anniversary Invitational Conference, held July 21-22 in Philadelphia. The conference, titled "Impact of International Medical Graduates on U.S. and Global Health Care," brought together participants from more than 25 countries and included presentations by national and international leaders in relevant fields. Dr. Gastel is editing the conference proceedings, which are to appear as a supplement to the journal Academic Medicine.Gül A. Russell, Ph.D. attended the XIth annual meeting of the International Society for the History of Neurosciences (ISHN) in Pavia Italy, June 20-25, 2006. She served on the Board of Program Directors for the conference (she is also on the Executive Board of the Society), and chaired the poster presentations on the history of the neurosciences. The Conference had special commemorative sessions on the centenary of the shared Nobel Prize of Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramon y Cajal (in recognition of their "work on the structure of the nervous system" in 1906).
Dr. Russell also gave a presentation at a second special workshop (June 26-30) on Galileo's Walks: Art, Science and Vision at the Villa di Corliano, an eighteenth-century villa near Pisa, with beautiful trompe l'oeil frescoes which provided a perfect setting.
Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis
Graduate student Sang-Yun Lee was awarded matching travel grants from the Texas A&M HSC Office of the Vice President for Research and the American Society for Microbiology to attend the 106th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Orlando, Florida. Mr. Lee, with Dr. Rama Cherla and Dr. Vernon Tesh, presented a poster entitled "Simultaneous induction of apoptotic and cell survival signaling pathways in macrophage-like THP-1 cells by Shiga toxin-1".Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Dr. Siegfried Musser, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, gave a talk entitled "Nuclear Import Time and Transport Efficiency Depend on Nuclear Pore Occupancy" at the inaugural Single Molecule Approaches to Biology Gordon Conference, held June 18-23 at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire. He gave a seminar on the same topic at the University of Chicago June 7.Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
Dr. David Earnest chaired a session and presented two research abstracts at the tenth annual meeting of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms in Sandestin, Florida. The abstracts were: "Neonatal alcohol exposure alters anatomical components of the photoentrainment pathway in adult rats" and "Potentiation of dioxin responses when the clock's not ticking".Dr. Earnest also attended and presented a research abstract entitled "Neonatal alcohol exposure alters the distribution of retinohypothalamic tract (RHT) fibers innervating the adult rat suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)" at the 28th annual meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism in Baltimore.
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Jose Pliego will be attending the annual Association of Standardized Patient Educators (ASPE) meeting in Tucson Aug 21, 2006. He will be presenting a workshop entitled "How to develop complex and realistic scenarios using Clinical Simulation and Standardized Patients" and an oral presentation "Why Should Clinical Simulation be an Integral Component of Your SP Program?"OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Tom Peterson and Dr. Doug Dohrman presented "Experience with an Integrated Course in Histology and Physiology: Emphasis on Integrated Organization, Delivery of Content and Student Assessment" at the International Association of Medical Science Educators Annual Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico in July.Dr. Jose Pliego was invited as a visiting professor to give the Akron General Medical Center Department of OB/GYN 12th Annual William Cook Lectureship. His presentations titles were "The Shifting Paradigm: How Simulation is Transforming Medical Education", "Employing Simulation Modeling to Improve Patient Outcomes" and "Tool Box for a Surgical Curriculum".
RESEARCH
Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis
Dr. Vernon Tesh received a notice of award for competitive renewal of his NIH research grant entitled Pathogenic Mechanisms of Shiga Toxins (RO1 AI34530-11). The grant is funded through June 2011, with a total budget of $1.45 million.Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
Dr. Paul Brandt has been awarded a grant entitled "Nitric Oxide-Mediated Lacrimal Gland Damage in Sjögren's Syndrome" from the National Eye Institute. Sjögren's Syndrome is an autoimmune disorder of poorly understood etiology and affects over 4,000,000 Americans every year. One of its hallmark symptoms is lacrimal gland dysfunction leading to dry eye. Dr. Brandt's research will study the underlying biochemical changes in Sjögren's Syndrome that causes damage to the lacrimal gland and will test the ability of several compounds to prevent that damage.Dr. David Earnest is a project leader on the Program Project grant P01 NS39546-06 entitled "Coordination of Circadian Physiology of Diverse Species" Vincent Cassone, PI , 07/06 - 06/11, $7,000,000. Project 2, "Intercellular Integration of SCN Output Signals" Dr. Earnest (PI/Project Leader), annual Direct costs for Project 2 approximately $165,000.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Humanities in Medicine
Self, DJ, Ellison, EM, Saatkamp, HJ and Wild, JR. Teaching ethical issues in genetics: Assessment of the development of moral reasoning skills. The Annals of Behavioral Science and Medical Education, (2006).Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
Grau, JW, Crown, ED, Ferguson, AR, Washburn, SN, Hook, MA, and Miranda, RC. Instrumental Learning Within the Spinal Cord: Underlying Mechanisms and Implications for Recovery After Injury. Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews, Volume 5(4), 1-48 (2006).Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Lysketsos, CG, Colenda, CC, et al. Position statement of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry regarding principles of care for patients with dementia resulting from Alzheimer disease. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 14(7): 561-572 (2006).DATES TO REMEMBER
Aug. 16: Faculty Research Colloquium; Mayborn Auditorium (Temple) and LH1 (CS); 5-6 p.m.
Aug. 17: Black-Zandveld Lecture in the History of Medicine; Sam Black Lecture Hall 2; 1 p.m.
Sept. 17-19: LCME site visit
Oct. 5: George C.Y. Chiou Lectureship in Pharmacology; Sam Black Lecture Hall 2; 11 a.m.
Christopher C. Colenda, M.D., M.P.H.
Dean, College of Medicine
The Texas A&M 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
