FROM THE DEAN

I hope everyone is doing well as we wind down the semester. It doesn’t seem possible that another year is almost complete. Here are the news items of note for this month:

• As a reminder, Dr. Dickey is presenting a Programmatic Review for the HSC on Thursday, May 8 from 9–10:30 a.m. in SRPH Room 109. This presentation is open to all faculty, so I encourage you to attend as she discusses new programs and campuses for the HSC.
• I have extended an offer to Dr. Robert Hash from Mercer to become our Sr. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. We hope to have him on board sometime in June. I am very excited to have him here at the College as I believe he brings a wealth of experience in academic affairs and excellent leadership qualities.
• There will be a retreat in The Woodlands in June to discuss campus organization. Representatives from all three campuses will be involved in the planning. The primary focus will be to determine the most effective organizational structure for each campus as we move forward with class expansion.
• The Round Rock Campus is official! The first student, Ian Whitney, started a Psychiatry rotation in Round Rock this week.
• We just completed our LCME Report on class size expansion. We made a formal request to increase to 200 students per year by AY2010. We will receive their response sometime this summer.
• Commencement is on Saturday, May 17th at 2 pm in Rudder Auditorium. This year’s speaker is Dr. Tadataka (Tachi) Yamada, president of the Global Health Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the chairman of research and development and a member of the Board of Directors at GlaxoSmithKline. Please make an effort to attend and support the Class of 2008.
• The Senior Banquet will be held Friday, May 16th at 6 pm in Reed Arena. I hope to see many of you there as we honor students and faculty for their outstanding accomplishments.
• Don’t forget that all Performance Reviews must be completed by May 15th.
• Effective April 27, Kevin Carlin, M.D., joined the Temple VA as the new Associate Chief of Staff for Education. Dr. Carlin is replacing Dr. Stephen Holt, who is transferring to the Dallas VA as Deputy Chief of Staff. Welcome, Dr. Carlin!
• On a final note, the Summer Research Program looks like it will be a great success this year, as 21 students have chosen to participate in the program between their first and second years. Eight students will be working with researcher-mentors in Temple and 13 will be in Bryan-College Station.

Have a great month and good luck to our newest class of Aggie Docs!

COLLEGE NEWS

Annual Preceptor Appreciation Dinner Wrap-Up

The Family & Community Medicine Department put on another great Preceptor Appreciation Dinner to recognize the many “unsung heroes” that contribute so much to the education of our students. Held Tuesday, April 15 at 7F Lodge, department staff, physicians and their spouses had the opportunity to relax outside the normal routine of schedules and teaching.

Dr. Robert Wiprud and Dr. Rachel Bramson served as the event’s emcees, and attendees heard from Dr. Colenda and Associate Dean for the BCS campus, Dr. Jonathan Friedman. Local physicians Dr. Tom Meade, Dr. Pollachi Selvakumarraj and Dr. Richard Smith received the Preceptor of the Year Awards.

Thank you to all the local physicians who make this program what it is – our students will become better doctors themselves for having worked with all of you.

Pam Baker Receives Employee of the Quarter Award

Pam Baker, Administrative Assistant for Learning Resources, has received the Employee of the Quarter Award for the first quarter of 2008. Pam’s co-workers had the following to say about her:

• “Pam is an all around service star. She consistently assists faculty, staff and students with everything from navigating educational technology to locating the right person to solve problems.”
• “She is a person of many talents and works effectively with everyone. On any particular day, Pam might reconcile LR accounts, show students how to use the SmartBoard for group learning and work with faculty interested in using Camtasia to record a lecture.”
• “Pam’s commitment to the COM and her “can do” attitude have created an outstanding work environment for our staff, the students and faculty.”
• “Co-workers look to Pam to get things done, organize activities and contribute good ideas.”

Congratulations, Pam!

Admissions Report (as of 4/21/08)

The following information is representative of the current incoming class, the Class of 2012:

• Number of Accepted M.D. Students = 133
• Number of Accepted M.D./Ph.D. Students = 5
• Number of Females = 64
• Number of Males = 74
• Average GPA = 3.67
• Average MCAT = 30-Q
• Percentage of underrepresented minorities: 21% (28 students)
  • Black/African Americans: 11
  • Hispanics: 3
  • Mexican Americans: 13
  • Puerto Ricans: 1

STUDENT NEWS

GHHS Students Host “i2y Stupid Cancer” Fundraiser

Fourth-year student members of the College of Medicine’s Gold Humanism Honor Society have organized the “I'm Too Young For This (i2y) Stupid Cancer Happy Hour” Tuesday, May 6 at 6 p.m. at BJ’s Brewhouse in Temple.

The event benefits i2y, a national cancer organization that promotes awareness and support for young adults with cancer. The $15 cover charge includes one drink and appetizers, and the proceeds will go to support i2y. Visit i2y’s website at http://www.imtooyoungforthis.org.

BJ’s Brewhouse is located at 3550 S. General Bruce Drive near Target. To RSVP or for more information, contact Ben Wilkinson at j.ben@wilkinson.org or http://events.i2y.com/schh/2008/brewhouse/.

GSO Symposium Wrap-Up

Hosted by the Graduate Student Organization, the 13th Annual Student Research Symposium was held Thursday April 17. The event provides a platform for the young investigators of College of Medicine and affiliated components to share their research among themselves, as well as present to our faculty and visiting participants.

Dr. Bryan Cullen, the James B. Duke Professor and the Director of Center for Virology in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Duke University School of Medicine, served as the keynote speaker. Dr Cullen is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and an internationally known expert in the field of HIV-1 and many human herpes viruses.

Congratulations to the following award winners:

Desai Receives Grant for Summer Fellowship

Second-year student Sohum Desai recently received the Congress of Neurological Surgeons/Council of State Neurological Surgeons Medical Student Summer Fellowship in Socioeconomic Research. The fellowship, mentored by COM faculty member Dr. Jonathan Friedman, includes a $2,500 grant to study certain changes in the socioeconomic climate in Texas as it relates to neurosurgical practice.

FACULTY NEWS

Baker Receives AHA Award of Meritorious Achievement

Kenneth M. Baker, M.D., F.A.H.A., Professor and Vice Chair of Internal Medicine at Scott & White, Director of the Division of Molecular Cardiology and Mayborn Chair in Cardiovascular Research at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, received the American Heart Association's Award of Meritorious Achievement during ceremonies in Washington, D.C. on April 28.

The American Heart Association confers the Award of Meritorious Achievement, one of its highest honors, upon individuals selected primarily for a significant accomplishment at the American Heart Association nationally. Dr. Baker was chosen as a recipient of the award for his successful leadership of the American Heart Association Research Strategic Plan. He moved this process forward during his tenure as Chair of the National AHA Research Committee and as a member of the Science and Advisory Coordinating Committee and the National Board of Directors.

For the full story, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/communications/news/25april2008.html

Bondos Hired as Assistant Professor

The Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine is pleased to announce that Sarah E. Bondos has been hired as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Bondos joined the department in April 2008.

Dr. Bondos received her B.S. in Chemistry with honors and distinction from the University of North Carolina in 1993, and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois in 1998 working with Dr. Stephen Sligar and Dr. Jiri Jonas. She trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University, working with Dr. Kathleen Matthews. She was subsequently a faculty fellow from 2004-2008 at Rice University, where she will remain an adjunct assistant professor.

For the full story, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/communications/news/7april2008.html

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE NEWS

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

At the 2008 Laerdal SUN Conference, hosted at the Clinical Simulation Center in Temple, Dr. Jose Pliego presented “Human Error: Theory and Prevention Techniques The Role of Clinical Simulation” and co-presented “Blended Simulations: Combining Standardized Participants and Simulators” with Neil Coker. Dr. Pliego, Mr. Coker, Dr. Lauren Cobbs and Martha Howell presented “Putting it all Together” and participated in a panel discussion.

Dr. Pliego also presented “Simulating Your Worst Nightmare: Developing Clinical Simulation Scenarios as a Component of your Risk Management and Patient Safety Programs” at a Veteran’s Health Administration meeting in Dallas, April 4-5, 2008.

The Clinical Simulation Center at Temple College was awarded the Laerdal Center of Educational Excellence. The Center of Educational Excellence (CoEE) designation is awarded to centers that have consistently demonstrated excellence in educational philosophy and programs for the purpose of "helping save lives".

BASIC SCIENCE DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE

Berry Receives Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence Award

Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Humanities in Medicine faculty member Leonard L. Berry has been named the 2007 American Marketing Association/Irwin/McGraw-Hill Distinguished Marketing Educator, joining a who’s who in the history of marketing researchers. The award is considered the highest honor bestowed in the discipline, and recognizes Dr. Berry for his exemplary and sustained research, teaching and service.

Dr. Berry has devoted his career to services marketing and approaching business from the customers' perspective. His current research focuses on the healthcare industry and service innovation. In 2001 and 2002, he immersed himself in a six-month research sabbatical at the Mayo Clinic to study healthcare service hands on. He continues research to uncover how to improve the kinds of services that are marketed, along with their quality, to enhance business performance and quality of life.

Dr. Berry has a cross appointment in the Humanities Department. His role here is teaching and mentoring. Dr. Berry has shown an extraordinary ability to communicate with our students with passion and enthusiasm. Medical students are a tough audience at times because of their time restraints. He continues to “pack the house” whether it is a lecture hall or a small group elective because of his gift of teaching. When you watch him teach you notice that he is enjoying himself and is passionate about what he says. Lately we are using Dr. Berry to educate other faculty on improving their teaching skills because of his advanced and natural way to teach.

M3 students Karina Parr and Kushal Patel said the following:

We had the privilege to work with Dr. Berry during our second year of medical school as part of a leadership elective. We selected Dr. Berry simply based on a description of elective objectives and Dr. Berry's current research in medical service. Little did we know that a simple interest with no expectations would lead to a life changing and amazing mentorship. He encouraged and inspired us to not only be efficient and hard-working physicians, but to also be compassionate and respectful human beings.

Dr. Berry has an unspoken personal objective that was clearly apparent to us. He wanted to develop a friendship with us. Dr. Berry became much more than a teacher and a mentor to us. He became our friend who sincerely cares about us. He regularly takes time out of his busy schedule to email us and meet with us. He contacts physicians in our fields of interest on our behalf and helps us with career choices. He keeps us updated on the events in the field of medical economics by sending us interesting articles. He treated us as fellow colleagues. Even to this day and removed from our mentorship for close to one year, we still have a very close relationship. It was honor to have Dr. Berry as a mentor and now it is as honor to call him a friend.

Recent Publications

Bramson, R, Sadoski, M, Sanders, CW, van Walsum, K and Wiprud, R. A reliable and valid instrument to assess competency in basic surgical skills in second year medical students. Southern Medical Journal, 100, 987-992 (2007).

Sanders, CW, Sadoski, M, Wasserman, RW, Wiprud, R, English, M and Bramson, R. Comparing the effects of physical practice and mental imagery rehearsal on learning basic venipuncture by medical students. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 27, 117-127 (2008).

Tai-Seale, M, McGuire, T, Colenda, C, Rosen, D and Cook, MA. Two-Minute Mental Health Care for Elderly Patients: Inside Primary Care Visits. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 55:1903-1911 (2007).

MICROBIAL & MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS

Grants Received

Dr. McMurray received an Award Notice for a contract to Sequella, Inc., to evaluate a novel skin test reagent in guinea pigs infected by the respiratory route with virulent M. tuberculosis. The project, entitled “Evaluation of MPT-64 as a skin test antigen in experimental tuberculosis”, has a budget of $13,095.

Recent Publications

Attila, C, Ueda, A, Cirillo, SLG, Cirillo, JD, Chen, W and Wood, TK. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 virulence factors and poplar tree response in the rhizosphere. Microb. Biotech. 1:17-29 (2008).

Bartzatt, R, Cirillo, SLG and Cirillo, JD. Determination of the molecular properties effectuating the growth inhibition of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by various small molecule hydrazides. Lett. Drug Des. Disc. 5:162-168 (2008).

Bryk, R, Gold, B, Venugopal, A, Singh, J, Samy, R, Pupek, K, Cao, H, Popescu, C, Gurney, M, Hotha, S, Cherian, J, Rhee, K, Ly, L, Converse, PJ, Ehrt, S, Vandal, O, Jiang, X, Schneider, J, Lin, G and Nathan, C. Selective killing of nonreplicating mycobacteria. Cell Host & Microbe 3: 137-145 (2008).

Park, B, Subbian, S, El-Etr, SH, Cirillo, SLG and Cirillo, JD. Use of gene dosage effects for a whole-genome screen to identify Mycobacterium marinum macrophage infection loci. Infect. Immun. published ahead of print on 28 April 2008, doi:10.1128/IAI.00015-08 (2008).

Rosas-Acosta, G and Wilson, VG. Identification of a Nuclear Export Signal Sequence for Bovine Papillomavirus E1 Protein. Virology 373:149-162 (2008).

MOLECULAR & CELLULAR MEDICINE

Faculty

Dr. Tina Gumienny attended the 35th Texas Genetics Society Annual Meeting on March 28-28 in College Station. Her lab presented a poster entitled “Analysis of Environment Sensing in C. elegans TGF-Regulated Normal Body Size Determination”.

Dr. Greg Bix presented a seminar entitled “The Matrix Reloaded: Perlecan Domain V in Angiogenesis and Stroke” as part of the Texas A&M Faculty for Neuroscience Seminar Series on April 11.

Dr. Gregg Wells was a poster judge at the Graduate Student Organization 13th Annual Research Symposium on April 17, 2008.

Grants Received

Dr. Siegfried Musser received a $150,000 Welch Foundation Grant entitled “Visualizing Nuclear Import of a Large Cargo by Single Molecule Fluorescence Microscopy” for the period 6/1/08-9/31/11.

Recent Publications

Arenas-Gamboa, AM, Ficht, TA, Kahl-McDonagh, MM and Rice-Ficht, AC. Immunization with a Single Dose of a Microencapsulated Brucella melitensis Mutant Enhances Protection Against Wild-type Challenge. Infect Immun. 2008 Mar 24; [Epub ahead of print] (2008).

Bix, G and Iozzo, RV. Novel interactions of perlecan: Unraveling perlecan's role in angiogenesis. Microsc Res Tech. 2008 Feb 25;71(5):339-348 [Epub ahead of print] (2008).

NEUROSCIENCE & EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS

Grants Received

Dr. Farida Sohrabji was awarded $15,000 by VPR Office (Research Grant Development) to gather preliminary data for the 4 projects of the PPG.

Recent Publications

Farnell, YZ, Allen, GC, Nahm, S-S, Neuendorff, N, West, JR, Chen, W-J and Earnest, DJ. Neonatal alcohol exposure differentially alters clock gene oscillations within the suprachiasmatic nucleus, cerebellum and liver of adult rats. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 32: 544-552 (2008).

Dr. Gary McCord published a book review of Gray’s Atlas of Anatomy in American Association of Anatomists News Vol 17, Number 1, March 2008, pp 16-17.

Scientific Presentations

Dr. Farida Sohrabji presented "The aging blood brain barrier: Implications for stroke injury and repair in acyclic females" at the Reynolds Center for Aging Research in Oklahoma City on April 16.

SYSTEMS BIOLOGY & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE

Grants Received

Dr. David Zawieja (and Dr. George Davis) received a $1,488,160 NIH-NHLBI R01 grant entitled “Molecular Control Of EC Lumen Formation By MT1-MMP” for the period 1/1/08-12/31/11.

Recent Publications

Bohlen, HG, Gasheva, OY, Gashev, AA and Zawieja, DC. Nitric oxide production by contracting rat mesenteric lymphatic vessels Is primarily within valvular regions. FASEB J (2008).

Muthuchamy, M, Foskett, AM, Gashev, AA, Greiner, S and Zawieja, DC. Differential muscle cell recruitments and functions in mouse lymphatic tissue beds. FASEB J (2008).

Rahbar, E, Moore Jr, JE, Zawieja, DC, Gashev, AA and Coté GL. Measuring lymphatic flow with hi-speed video microscopy and developing new computational fluid dynamic models for the lymphatic vasculature. HSEMB (2008).

Scientific Presentations

Daniel Jupiter presented “StarNet: a simple computational approach to gene regulatory networks” at the Texas A&M Program for Integrated Undergraduate Research Experiences in Biological and Mathematical Sciences senior seminar in April.

Marriappan Muthuchamy presented “Differential muscle cell recruitment and functions in mouse lymphatic tissue beds” at the Experimental Biology 2008 meeting held in San Diego in April.

David Zawieja presented “Imaging microvascular function: in vivo and ex vivo approaches” at the Microcirculatory Society Workshop - Bringing it Back to the Whole Animal: In Vivo Techniques for Studying the Microcirculation at the Experimental Biology 2008 meeting held in San Diego in April.

CLINICAL DEPARTMENTAL NEWS

EMERGENCY MEDICINE

The Department of Emergency Medicine will have residents and faculty presenting at the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting on May 29 to June 1 in Washington, D.C.:

• Joseph Heidenreich, M.D. will present “Rescuer Fatigue in the Elderly: Standard versus Continuous Compression CPR.”
• Craig Cowan, D.O. will present “Effect of ED Length of Stay on Patients Admitted for Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock.”
• Cory Kebert, M.D. will present “MDRD calculated GFR Predicts in-Hospital Mortality in ED Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock.”
• Christopher Quitadamo, M.D. will present “Role of BNP for Predicting in-Hospital Mortality in ED Patients With Severe Sepsis or Septic Shock.”

INTERNAL MEDICINE

Internal Medicine Department Head and Division Director of Nephrology/Hypertension Charles Foulks, M.D. is a member of the National Kidney Foundation Work Group that is developing CME/CE program entitled “Diabetes, Nutrition and Chronic Kidney Disease: New Guidelines for a New Clinical Approach”. The program has received accreditation and will be available as a webcast and CD-ROM.

Associate Professor David Dostal, Ph.D. was nominated to be a full-time Reviewer for NIH Cardiovascular Sciences Intrated Review Group for the Cardiac Contractility, Hypertrophy, and Failure (CCHF) Study Section.

PEDIATRICS

Cheryle Draughn, is a research assistant in General Pediatrics, received the Jefferson Award on April 8 at the Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University for her efforts in rape aggression defensive classes.

Dr. LaJuan Chambers has joined the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Section. Dr. Michael Romano will be joining the faculty no later than August 4, 2008 as the new Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Director and Vice Chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

Recent Publications

Brien, J. Inadvertent inoculation as an adverse event following exposure to vaccinia virus: Case definition and guidelines for data collection, analysis, and presentation of immunization safety data. Vaccine, 25:31, 5754-5792 (2007).

Burwinkle,T, Gibson, J, Pliego, J, Wick, L, Coker, N and Pohl, J. Simulation training in a pediatric residency program. Texas Medicine, 104:49-53 (2008).

DeSalvo, D, Pohl, J, Wilson, D, Bryant, W, Easley, D, Greene, J and Santiago, J. Cholestasis Secondary to Panhypopituitarism in an Infant. Journal of the National Medical Association, Vol 100, No. 3, 342:344 (2008).

Easley, D, Custer, D, Pohl, J, Schierling and Snyder. Magnet ingestion. The Journal of Pediatrics, 152:294 (2008).

Dr. James Brien recently contributed to the publication of “Principles and Practice of Pediatric Infectious Diseases”, a third edition textbook.

ACADEMIC MEDICINE NEWS

DATES TO REMEMBER

• May 6: “I’m Too Young for This Stupid Cancer” Happy Hour; 6-7 p.m. – BJ’s Brewhouse in Temple
• May 8: HSC Programmatic Review; 9-10:30 a.m. – SRPH Room 109
• May 16: Senior Banquet; 6 p.m. – Reed Arena
• May 17: Class of 2008 Commencement; 2 p.m. – Rudder Auditorium
• May 26: Memorial Day holiday – COM offices closed

Christopher C. Colenda, M.D., M.P.H.
The Jean and Thomas McMullin Dean
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
147 Joe H. Reynolds Medical Building
College Station, TX 77843-1114
Phone: 979-845-3431
Fax: 979-847-8663
Email: colenda@medicine.tamhsc.edu