It seems that January flew by with all the ice days and special holidays. It certainly has been a challenge to adjust the class schedule and get back in the swing of things. This month we continue to work on some ongoing projects as well as some new projects, so I will try to keep everyone posted as we progress toward our two campuses in the fall. Here are the highlights of what is going on at the college:

Mini Medical School is ongoing through February 22. We have had more than 150 people register, and our attendance has been around 75 per session. I am very excited about this, as our numbers continue to increase in this fantastic community outreach event.

The search is on for a Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in College Station. Dr. Gary McCord is chairing the search committee.

Dr. Emily Wilson has been named the Director of Graduate Studies. She will begin this role immediately and we look forward to the knowledge and energy she will bring to the Graduate Studies office.

Several second-year students will be participating in a pilot program in Temple following Spring Break. Several students will be in a two-week pilot program in Temple, and others will move to Temple following Spring Break for a five-week pilot program. This pilot will serve to provide us with information regarding delivering curriculum on two campuses, which we will use to make any necessary changes before the fall when we have 20 M1 students in Temple.
Also, we are planning to have some volunteer M3 students begin their clinical rotations in Bryan/College Station this June as a pilot program. The students will be rotating in Family Medicine, OB/GYN and Pediatrics. We are currently working out the details of these rotations.

Finally, we are officially in the 30th year of the College of Medicine. We will begin a year-long celebration with a kick-off luncheon for everyone on Monday, February 26. Invitations will be sent via email very soon. Many of you have already noticed the banners in the parking lots around the Reynolds Medical Building with the 30-year logo. In the next few days, the history of the College of Medicine will be on display on a wall in the RMB lobby. Also, we are having lapel pins and notepads made with the 30-year logo for mass distribution. We encourage you to participate in any and all events celebrating the college and our history. We will keep you informed of special events throughout the year as we honor those who went before us.

Dale Wins Employee of the Quarter Award

The winner of the 2006 fourth quarter Employee of the Quarter Award is Joey Dale, Business Coordinator I in the Office of Business Affairs.

Below are just a few comments from Joey’s co-workers:

Joey is an excellent employee and a pleasure to work with. No job is too big or too small and she approaches each task with a can-do attitude. With the recent departure of Lansa Stevens, Joey has stepped in and assumed Lansa’s duties and has done a remarkable job thus far.
Though her new duties have consumed much of her time and are sometimes stressful, Joey has continued to be pleasant, open to change, and ready for anything that comes at her.
Joey is a breath of fresh air in a very busy office. Her positive attitude is contagious.

For more information about the Employee of the Quarter Award or to fill out the nomination form, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/communications/employee.htm.

Musser, Chiou Receive Excellence in Research Awards

The Office of Research at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine hosted the Excellence In Research awards ceremony Wednesday, January 24 at the Reynolds Medical Building. Designed to honor excellence in scientific investigation, the ceremony recognized Dr. Siegfried Musser and Dr. George Chiou as the junior and senior investigators of the year, respectively.

“Dr. Musser and Dr. Chiou are both outstanding scientists in their fields and are deserving of these awards” said Dr. Van Wilson, Associate Dean for Research. “If Dr. Musser’s contributions are any indication, I think it is safe to say that he will continue to be a leader in his field for many years to come. In an era where translational research has become a buzz word, Dr. Chiou has been successfully doing translational research for more than 20 years. He serves as a tremendous role model to the rest of us.”
For the full story, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/communications/latestnews.html#news012507

Childs Appointed Assistant Dean for Faculty Development

Dr. Chris Colenda, M.D., M.P.H., dean of the College of Medicine, has appointed Ed W. Childs, M.D., to the post of Assistant Dean for Faculty Development, effective December 8, 2006.

Dr. Childs is a 1989 graduate of the College of Medicine and serves on the faculty as an associate professor of surgery at Scott & White in Temple. He is also the director of the Division of Trauma and Critical Care at Scott & White.

In his role as Assistant Dean for Faculty Development, Dr. Childs will work in Academic Affairs, including the Office of Educational Development. He will have leadership responsibilities with programs that focus on accountability measures for faculty, curriculum development, and teaching portfolios for all faculty. He will also serve as a liaison to Scott & White, central administration of the HSC, and the college on matters that relate to HSC faculty development. For the full story, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/communications/latestnews.html#news010507

SNMA Participates in MLK Freedom March

The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine chapter of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA) was invited to participate in the 11th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom March, sponsored by the Brazos Valley Area alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority on Monday, January 15.

Each year, hundreds of people from the Brazos Valley come together at this event to celebrate the life and contributions of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The colleges SNMA group was invited to provide health screening services (such as blood pressure checks, diabetes screenings, etc.) and education about different health issues affecting the African American community. The medical students provided blood pressure checks to MLK March participants at Kemp Elementary in Bryan.
For the full story, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/communications/latestnews.html#news012307

OFFICE OF RESEARCH

Funding Opportunities

The Alton Ochsner Award Relating Smoking and Health (view PDF flyer)

The Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry (view PDF flyer)

FACULTY

Humanities in Medicine

Barbara Gastel, M.D., M.P.H., co-edited an article with James A. Hallock, M.D., in the December 2006 Supplement to Academic Medicine, Journal of the Associate of American Medical Colleges. In addition, her book review of “The Great Stink of Paris and the Nineteenth-Century Struggle Against Filth and Germs” was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, November 9, 2006.

Gül A. Russell, Ph.D. was invited to the “Journées Internationales consacrées à Ibn al-Haythem” in Kebili, Tunisia (26-28 December 2006) to give a keynote paper on physiological optics and the oldest extant illustration of the visual system (1038 C.E.). She also chaired a scientific session, and served as a commentator for the roundtable discussion on “Science/Medicine and Society”. She received a Hayes/Fulbright Fellowship for her travel expenses.

Family & Community Medicine

Dr. Rachel Bramson presented a paper entitled “Improving Self-Efficacy of Medical Students’ Communication Skills Using the Common Ground Method” at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine’s 33rd Annual Predoctoral Education Conference, held January 25-28 in Memphis.

Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis

Dr. David McMurray was invited to attend an international conference – “New Frontiers in TB Research” – from December 1-7 in New Delhi, India. The conference was sponsored by the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). He presented “Vaccine-induced cytokine profiles in the lungs of guinea pigs infected with virulent mycobacteria” and “Microdissection of the cytokine milieu of pulmonary granulomas from tuberculous guinea pigs.”

Molecular and Cellular Medicine

On January 19-21, Dr. Allison Ficht co-hosted the Johne's Disease Integrated Program (JDIP), a national interdisciplinary consortium of researchers and others interested in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and control of Johne's Disease. The Friday evening reception and poster session were hosted in the Reynolds Building lobby. Dr. Garry Adams and Dr. Sangeeta Khare co-hosted the national event with additional sessions in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biosciences Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics

Dr. Farida Sohrabji presented an invited talk, “Women’s Health and Hormones: To replace or not to replace?” at the Women’s Club of Bryan/College Station on January 23.

RESEARCH

Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis

Dr. David McMurray received the Notice of Award for the next year of our support under the NIH sub-contract to Colorado State University for the project entitled “TB vaccine testing and research materials”. The total award to his lab for the next fiscal year is $291,604.

Dr. McMurray also received the Notice of Award for the next fiscal year of the NIH sub-contract to Johns Hopkins University for the project entitled “New animal models for tuberculosis”. The total award to his laboratory is $188,595. He also received $12,000 from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo for the continuation of a collaborative project with Dr. Saburo Yamamoto entitled “Pre-clinical evaluation of novel tuberculosis vaccines”.

Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics

Dr. Farida Sohrabji received an instrumentation grant for Bio-Rad Bio-Plex Multianalyte System from the TAMHSC- OVPRGS in the amount of $30,466 (in matching funds).

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Family & Community Medicine

Ory, M, Yuma, P, Jarvis, C, Barron, K, Hurwic, M, Tai-Seale, T, Tai-Seale, M, Patel, D, Hackethorn, D, Bramson, R, Street, R and Cook, M. “Prevalence and Correlates of Doctor-Geriatric Patient Lifestyle Discussions: Analysis of ADEPT Videotapes”. Preventive Medicine, 43(6):494-7 (2006).

Molecular and Cellular Medicine

Berchane, N, Jebrail, FF, Carson, KH, Rice-Ficht, AC and Andrews, MJ. About mean diameter and size distributions of poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) microspheres. Journal of Microencapsulation. 23, 539-552 (2006).

Norimine, J, Ruef, BJ, Palmer, GH, Knowles, DP, Herndon, D, Rice-Ficht, AC, McElwain, TF and Brown, WC. A novel 78-kilodalton fatty acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS1) of Babesia bovis stimulates memory CD4+ T lymphocyte responses in B. bovis-immune cattle. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology. 147, 20-29 (2006).

Lee, S, Carson, K, Rice-Ficht, AC and Good, T. Small heat shock proteins differentially affect Abeta aggregation and toxicity. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 347, 527-33 (2006).

Yakisich, JS, Sandoval, PY, Morrison, TL and Kapler, GM. TIF1 activates the intra-S-phase checkpoint response in the diploid micronucleus and amitotic polyploid macronucleus of Tetrahymena. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 12:5185-97 (2006).

Dates to Remember

• February 1: Mini-Medical School – Session 3; 6 p.m. (Speaker: Dr. Ben Green); Lecture Hall 1 RMB
• February 7: Presentation and Reception for Dr. Art Johnson, the 2006 JoAnn Treat Research Award Winner; 4 p.m.; Lecture Hall 1 and lobby, RMB
• February 8: Mini-Medical School – Session 4; 6 p.m. (Speaker: Dr. Chris Colenda); Lecture Hall 1 RMB
• February 15: Mini-Medical School – Session 5; 6 p.m. (Speaker: Dr. Gary McCord); Lecture Hall 1 RMB
• February 17: Health Circus in Hearne; 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
• February 22: Mini-Medical School – Session 6; 6 p.m. (Speaker: Dr. John Quarles); Lecture Hall 1 RMB
• February 26: College of Medicine 30th Anniversary Kickoff Luncheon; 12 p.m.; RMB lobby

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