July
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and enjoyed the extra time off!I have good news on the Tuition Revenue Bond. Our TRB request has been approved for a new building in College Station. As I reported at the Town Hall meetings, this building will be primarily for the College of Medicine. The Health Science Center is currently evaluating locations for a Health Science Center campus. This is very important for us as our building will be located on the newly selected campus. The HSC presented four options to the Board Regents: 1. George Bush Drive and 2818; 2. Westinghouse location, 3. A&M campus (current location); and 4. Bryan Municipal Golf Course. The decision is now up to the Board of Regents and will probably be decided at their July meeting.
I encourage everyone to attend the 25 th Reunion Silver Celebration in honor of the Charter Class of 1981. The activities are planned for July 28-29 culminating with a dinner on Saturday night in honor of the Charter Class. This is an exciting milestone in the life of the college and I am looking forward to celebrating this class, their accomplishments and their contributions to the college.
We will also be welcoming our newest incoming class, the Class of 2010, for their Orientation Week July 24-28. The White Coat Ceremony will be held Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m. at Rudder Theater. We have also invited the members of the Class of 1981 to attend the ceremony as part of the Silver Celebration weekend of events. This year's speaker will be cardiologist Jay Franklin, M.D., a member of the Charter Class of 1981. Dr. Franklin is a physician with Cardiology Consultants of Texas in Dallas at the Baylor University Medical Center. I encourage all faculty, staff and students to support the incoming class and attend this time-honored ceremony.
We received a letter from the LCME in response to the report we submitted in May. I am very pleased with their response to our report. We will need to submit another letter by May 2008 to address our clerkship evaluation procedures, but that is their only area of concern. In addition, they will be visiting us this fall to evaluate the adequacy of our resources for the planned increase in class size beginning fall 2007.
Correction:
In the June Dean's E-Newsletter, there was a misspelling of the name of the faculty recipient of the 2006 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. The winner of the award, presented by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, was Dr. Paul Bolton from the VA.
Novosad Wins Employee of the Quarter Award
Amanda (Mandy) Novosad, Office Associate in the Department of Humanities in Medicine, has been chosen as the Employee of the Quarter for the second quarter of 2006. Mandy has worked in the Humanities department since May 2004.Below are a few comments from Mandy's co-workers:
"Mandy has a caring and helpful attitude toward department members and guests alike…As the lead support staff for the Leadership in Medicine Program, Mandy is committed to the department and the work assigned to her…She continues to go above and beyond her duties to make the department run smoothly…Mandy has proven to be a valuable asset to the department and we are thankful to have her on staff."
Congratulations, Mandy!
For more information about the Employee of the Quarter Award or to fill out the nomination form for the third quarter, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/communications/employee.htm .
Medical Students Receive 2006 Caring for Community Grant
Third and fourth-year medical students submitted a proposal this spring entitled "Project SEED" for funding to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative (PMHI). Project SEED, which stands for "Screening, Education and Empowerment for Diabetics", was selected as one of eight nationwide proposals to be funded for the 2006 Caring for Community award.According to third-year student Anthony James, Project SEED has two aims. "Our first goal is to improve diabetes education, counseling, prevention and outpatient treatment for Martha's clinic patients," James says. "More specifically, we intend to provide additional clinic time specifically dedicated to diabetes education."
Patel Becomes First Student to Tackle M.D./MBA Program
Whether Delip Patel is a sucker for punishment is still up for debate, but there's no denying his status as a trailblazer. Patel, who just finished his second-year of medical school, is taking a path never before traveled at the College of Medicine. Rather than moving to Temple during the summer to begin his third-year clinical clerkships, he is staying behind in College Station to earn his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.In previous years, a student with multiple interests was forced to make a difficult choice when it came to selecting a post-baccalaureate degree – would it be medical or business school? With the details of the M.D./MBA dual degree program finalized in late 2004, Patel's class was the first to be offered such an opportunity.
"I have no business background whatsoever," Patel admits. "But when we were told about this program during our first year, I was immediately interested."
Four Students Awarded Scott & White Scholarships
Four students were awarded the 2006 Scott & White scholarships at a ceremony Tuesday, June 20. The Scott & White scholarships are given annually to deserving students who are chosen by a selection committee. Each recipient receives $2,000 during both their third and fourth years of medical school.
Third-year students Matt Brown and Kris Crawford were the newly selected students to receive the scholarship, while M4s Kara Cizdziel and Josh Kilpatrick received the scholarship for their second year.
Parr Attends Patch Adams Gesundheit! Institute
Karina Parr, member of the Class of 2009, attended the Gesundheit! (to wish you good health) Institute this summer. Founded by renowned funny doctor Patch Adams, the institute accepted 20 medical students from around the country to attend the week-long event.Stand Tall Against Tobacco Program Receives Tobacco Settlement Funds
Three local anti-smoking groups will be spreading their message for another year with the help of Brazos County's tobacco settlement funds. Family Practice Foundation of the Brazos Valley, Hospice Brazos Valley and Stand Tall Against Tobacco (STAT) will receive a combined $130,000 for their efforts. The funding year for each program will begin in October.The groups were recommended by a review committee charged with overseeing the county's multimillion-dollar Community Healthcare Endowment Fund, which was created in 1998. Each year commissioners dole out interest from the fund to support anti-smoking projects.
The largest recipient this year was Family Practice Foundation of the Brazos Valley, whose Tar Wars prevention program (aimed at fifth, sixth and ninth-graders) received $60,000. Hospice Brazos Valley, which cares for residents dying of tobacco-related illnesses, will receive $55,900.
In addition, STAT will receive $14,100. The group was started in 2000 by medical students at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine who sought to teach seventh-graders about the dangers of smoking.
For more information about STAT, visit: http://www.tobaccostat.org/index.html
AAMC Issues New Guidelines to Attract and Support Physician-Scientists
Medical schools and teaching hospitals must take a leading role to increase the number of U.S. physician-scientists available to follow up on recent scientific advances, according to a new report from the AAMC. "Promoting Translational and Clinical Science: The Critical Role of Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals," makes recommendations on how academic medical institutions can attract, nurture, and support more translational and clinical researchers. The guidelines were developed by the AAMC Task Force II on Clinical Research.The report offers ways in which medical schools and teaching hospitals can make the fields of translational and clinical research more attractive, viable and valued career options, to stimulate the translation of biomedical research advances into patient benefits. Among the task force's key recommendations:
Require medical schools and residency programs to educate all students and residents in the fundamental principles of translational and clinical science.
Accelerate the preparation of physician scientists by revising the structure of research training in undergraduate, graduate, and fellowship education.
Implement institutional changes to ensure that translational and clinical research and training is a cornerstone of the core mission of academic medicine.
For more information, go to http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/pressrel/2006/060607.htm .
HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE
The Department of Humanities in Medicine and the Department of Internal Medicine present Herbert L. Fred, M.D., M.A.C.P. as guest speaker of the 2006 Osler Birthday Celebration Lecture. The lecture will take place Wednesday, July 12 from 12-1:00 p.m. in the Mayborn Auditorium at Scott & White in Temple and will be video-conferenced to Room 163 of the Reynolds Medical Building in College Station.The Osler Birthday Celebration is to celebrate Sir William Osler's birthday (July 12, 1949-December 29, 1919). Sir William Osler, M.D. was the best-known physician in the English-speaking world at the turn of the century, called the "most influential physician in history". Dr. Osler helped create the system of postgraduate training for physicians that is followed to this day. He emphasized the need for medical students to spend time with patients. He published extensively and built international reputation as an astute and humane clinician.
Guest speaker Dr. Herbert L. Fred is a professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School. His lecture is titled "Images of Memorable Cases: 50 Years at the Bedside". Physicians who attend the lecture will receive 1 hour of CME credit. Lunch will be provided. If you are interested in attending the lecture please RSVP to Evelyn Francis at efrancis@medicine.tamhsc.edu or at 979-845-0755.
Continuing Nurses Education Course at the College of Medicine
The Department of Humanities in Medicine at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, along with The Law Institute for Medical Studies, South Texas College of Law in Houston, and Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple will host a continuing education course for nurses titled "Child Abuse Nurse Examiner Course". The course will take place at the Reynolds Medical Building in College Station on July 21-22.This program is designed for Registered Nurses and Licensed Vocational Nurses in community, school, and pediatric settings. Concerning their role in the identification and reporting of child abuse, dramatizations and presentations by representatives from medicine, nursing, and law will provide insight on the child abuse awareness, and the relevant legal ramifications. Particular attention will be given to instances of child abuse in the areas of physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglectful situations, and long-term effects.
In addition to various issues and questions, information and dramatization will develop some aspects of discovery and courtroom procedures. The course will provide 10.4 CNE units at a nominal cost.
If anyone should want more information about the course, please contact Mary Elizabeth Herring, J.D. at herring@medicine.tamhsc.edu or at 979-845-0459.
SYSTEMS BIOLOGY AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
Graduate student Eric Bridenbaugh was awarded a Career Development Grant award from the Texas A&M HSC Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to offset travel expenses associated with attendance of 2006 Molecular Mechanisms in Lymphatic Function & Disease Gordon Research Conference. Eric was awarded the grant June 1 to attend the conference, scheduled for September 3-8, 2006 in Les Diablerets, Switzerland.FACULTY
Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis
Drs. Jonathan Skare, Vernon Tesh and John Quarles participated in the 11 th AMSMIC Microbiology and Immunology Educational Strategies Workshop and co-authored a poster presentation "Perspectives on Teaching Microbiology and Immunology in a Continually Evolving Medical Curriculum."Pathology
Dr. Alexzander Asea, the Effie and Wofford Cain Centennial Endowed Chair in Clinical Pathology, served as the conference co-chairman for the Third International Symposium on Heat Shock Proteins in Biology and Medicine. The symposium was held May 23-25 at the Charite University Campus Virchow in Berlin, Germany.According to Dr. Asea, "Due to bold and innovative research from numerous labs around the world, it is now clear that heat shock protein levels underlie many human diseases, most notably cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular diseases and auto immune diseases, to name a few. The purpose of the conference was to highlight new advances in heat shock protein research, as well as to inspire cross-pollination and multi-disciplinary collaboration between participants."
Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
Dr. George Chiou presented a lecture entitled "Future Treatment of Glaucoma and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)" at Hokuriku University in Japan May 9 and the College of Medicine at Taipei Medical University in Taiwan May 19.Dr. Rajesh Miranda was i nvited to present "Identifying candidate ethanol-sensitive neuronal stem cell regulatory master switches" at the annual 2006 Research Society on Alcoholism in late June in Baltimore.
RESEARCH
Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
Dr. Paul Brandt was recently awarded a National Institutes of Health grant EY018012 for the project "Nitric Oxide in Autoimmune Lacrimal Gland Damage in Sjögren's Syndrome." The two year grant includes $275,000 in direct costs and $400,125 in total costs.
Dr. Farida Sohrabji is serving as the primary investigator, along with co-investigators Dr. William Rayburn and Dr. Christopher Colenda, on a grant entitled "Impact of Endocrine Aging on Brain and Immune Response", which recently received an NIA/NIH grant for the period May-June 2006 through May-June 2011. Total direct costs for the current year are $143,500.
Dr. Ursula Winzer-Serhan received current year funding from NIDA for non-competing renewal awarded at continuation funding of $122,063 direct and $55,539 indirect for a total of $177,602.
Systems Biology and Translational Medicine
Dr. Warren Zimmer is serving as co-investigator with Cuihua Zhang, Assistant Professor of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine, on a project entitled "Mechanisms of reperfusion-induced endothelial injury". Drs. Zimmer and Zhang were recently awarded a $1,808,540 National Institutes of Health grant for the period 06/01/06-05/31/11 for this project.Dr. Cindy Meininger received a $130,000 American Heart Association, Texas Affiliate Grant-in-Aid entitled "Endogenous antioxidants and endothelial cell dysfunction in diabetes" for the period 07/01/06-06/30/08.
Dr. Wayne Sampson, Dr. Warren Zimmer, Dr. Robert Probe, Dr. Christopher Chaput and Dr. H. Hogan r eceived a $50,000 AIOD (Association Internationale pour l'Ostéosynthèse Dynamique) grant entitled "Alcohol consumption and fracture healing" for the period 09/01/06-08/31/07.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Razvi, A and Scholtz, JM. "A thermodynamic comparison of HPr proteins from extremophilic organisms." Biochemistry. 45(13):4084-92 (2006).Huyghues-Despointes, BM, Qu, X, Tsai, J and Scholtz, JM. "Terminal ion pairs stabilize the second beta-hairpin of the B1 domain of protein G." Proteins. 63(4):1005-17 (2006). PMID: 16470585 [PubMed - in process]
Schell, D, Tsai, J, Scholtz, JM and Pace, CN. "Hydrogen bonding increases packing density in the protein interior." Proteins. 63(2):278-82 (2006).
Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics
DuBois, DW, Trzeciakowski, JP, Parrish, AR and Frye, GD. GABAergic miniature postsynaptic currents in septal neurons show differential allosteric sensitivity after binge-like ethanol exposure. Brain Research. 1089:101-115 (2006).Griffith, WH, Han, S-H, McCool, BA and Murchison, D. Molecules and membrane activity: single-cell RT-PCR and patch-clamp recording from central neurons. Neuroanatomical Tract Tracing 3: Molecules-neurons-Systems. 142-174 (2006).
Johnson, AB, Bake, S, Lewis, DK, Sohrabji, F. Temporal expression of IL-1beta protein and mRNA in the brain after systemic LPS injection is affected by age and estrogen. Journal of Neuroimmunology. 174: 82-91 (2006).
Sohrabji, F, Bake, S. Age-Related Changes in Neuroprotection: Is Estrogen Pro-inflammatory for the reproductive senescent Brain? Endocrine. 29:191-198 (2006).
Systems Biology and Translational Medicine
Chen, GJ and Forough, R. Fibroblast growth factors, fibroblast growth factor receptors, Diseases, and Drugs. Recent Patents on Cardiovascular Drug Discovery. 1(2): (2006).Davis, MJ, Zawieja, DC and Gashev, AA. Automated measurement of diameter and contraction waves of cannulated lymphatic microvessels. Lymphatic Research and Biology. Spring;4(1):3-10 (2006).
Dawson, NS, Zawieja, DC, Wu, MH and Granger, HJ. Signaling pathways mediating VEGF165-induced calcium transients and membrane depolarization in human endothelial cells. FASEB J 20: 991 – 993, 2006.
Forough, R, Weylie, B, Collins, C, Parker, JL, Zhu, J, Barhoumi, R and Watson, DK. Transcription factor Ets-1 regulates fibroblast growth factor-1 (FGF-1) mediated angiogenesis in vivo: Role of ETs-1 in regulation of PI3K/AKT/MMP-1 pathway. Journal of Vascular Research 43:327-337 (2006).
Gashev, AA, Delp, MD and Zawieja, DC. Inhibition of active lymph pump by simulated microgravity in rats. American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 290(6):H2295-308 (2006).
Nagaoka, T, Takahashi, A, Sato, E, Izumi, N, Hein, TW, Kuo, L and Yoshida, A. Effect of systemic administration of statin on retinal circulation. Arch Ophthalmol124:665-670, 2006.
Slade, A. Combined optical and atomic force microscopy: advancing biological research. Review article of the work done by Andreea Trache and Gerald Meininger, featured in Biophotonics Intl May 2006 pp 46-47 (2006). Images featured on front cover.
Stewart, RH, Quick, CM, Zawieja, DC, Cox, CS, Allen, SJ and Laine, GA. Pulmonary air embolization inhibits lung lymph flow by increasing lymphatic outflow pressure. Lymphat Res Biol, 4(1): 18-22, 2006.
Trache, A and Meininger, GA. An atomic Force – multi optical imaging integrated microscope for monitoring molecular dynamics in live cells. Journal of Biomedical Optics 10: 064023 (2005).
Zhang, C, Wang, W, Kuo, L, Michael, L, Bagby, G, and Chilian, WM. TNF-alpha contributes to endothelial dysfunction in ischemia/reperfusion injury. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 26:475-480, 2006.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DATES TO REMEMBER
July 24: Second-year students (M2s) begin classes
July 24-28: Orientation Week for Class of 2010
July 28-29: 25 th Reunion Weekend for the Charter Class of 1981
July 29: White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2010 - Rudder Theater; 10 a.m.
July 29: Wine & Cheese Reception – Bush Library Rotunda; 6 p.m.
July 29: Silver Celebration Dinner – Annenberg Conference Center; 7 p.m.
July 31: First-year students (M1s) begin classes
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
