From the Dean

It’s hard to believe we are halfway through another semester already, but here we are, already two months into 2009! I have a few items to note this month:

• The Sydney and J.L. Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance will be presenting the first annual J.L. Huffines Distinguished Lecture on Wednesday, April 15 here at the Reynolds Medical Building. Our very own Dr. Jim Rohack, the 2009 president-elect of the American Medical Association (and College of Medicine faculty member) will be the guest speaker. A reception will be held at 6 p.m. in the lobby, followed by Dr. Rohack’s presentation at 6:30 p.m.


Mini-Medical School 2009

• Our 5th Annual Mini-Medical School wrapped up on Thursday, February 26 after six weeks of fantastic presentations by our faculty and alumni. We had more than 110 attendees at each session, making this the most well-attended program in its history. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Mark Barhorst, Dr. Jeffrey Cirillo, Dr. Charles Smith, Dr. Julie Patel, Dr. Dawn Sears and Dr. Van Wilson for taking the time to help us reach out to the community. I would also like to thank Brenda Long for all her hard work in putting together such a great event this year.
• In light of the budget forecast, we will matriculate 150 students next year and 170 students in academic year 2010. This decision is keeping in step with the national trend, as most medical schools that submitted expansion requests to the LCME have rescinded those requests due to the economic downturn. I will keep everyone posted on our plans for expansion as we move forward.

I hope everyone has a great month and the students have a safe and relaxing Spring Break. Faculty and staff have the Friday of Spring Break off this year as well, so enjoy it!

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

Dates to Remember

• March 19: Class of 2009 Match Day – Cultural Activities Center at Strasburger Hall; 10 a.m. (class photo) and 11 a.m. (envelope distribution)
• March 27: BCS Campus Cadaver Ball: A Night on the Town – College Station Hilton; 7-12 p.m.
• March 28: Temple Campus Cadaver Ball – Hilton Garden Inn; 7-12 p.m.
• March 30: Physician Heal Thyself – TAMU Memorial Student Center (MSC)
• April 15: J.L. Huffines Distinguished Lecture with speaker Dr. Jim Rohack; Lecture Hall 1 RMB – 6 p.m.
• April 29: Magnolia Tea 2009 with speaker Dr. Farida Sohrabji; Reed House (Chancellor’s Home) – 2 p.m.

College News

Governor Announces Emerging Technology Fund Investment in Stem Cell Research at IRM

Governor Rick Perry announced a $5 million investment through the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (ETF) to recruit leading scientists focused on regenerative medicine technologies on February 12 to the recently created Texas A&M Health Science Center (HSC) College of Medicine Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Scott & White.

“Commercialization of adult stem cell research will provide much needed solutions for Texans suffering from various tissue and organ disorders while protecting the unborn from exploitation,” Gov. Perry said. “This investment will promote innovation and commercialization in this evolving biotechnology sector and attract top researchers and outside investment to the Institute of Regenerative Medicine.”

The institute, established in August 2008 through combined support from the HSC-College of Medicine and Scott & White, will use adult stem cells to develop new therapies to combat human diseases such as osteoarthritis, diabetes, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injury, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cardiac diseases, kidney diseases and pulmonary diseases.

For the full story, visit: http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/institutional-advancement/communications/news/12february2009.html

College of Medicine Creates Facebook Fan Page

The Office of Institutional Advancement is excited to announce the creation of a College of Medicine page on Facebook^®, a powerful social networking utility with over 150 million users. The College will leverage the page to better reach prospective students, current students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members.

A combination of multimedia content will provide important on-demand information to friends of the college. Photos, videos, and important news will be regularly posted to deliver targeted content to key constituencies. A moderated discussion board will allow community members to pose questions and interact with others connected with the College of Medicine.

Key page features include:

• Photos
• Videos
• Discussion Board
• News
• Events

Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-AM-Health-Science-Center-College-of-Medicine/64257055967 and join as a fan to stay connected with the latest happenings at the College of Medicine!

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc.

Faculty

Alaniz to Receive Distinguished Alumnus Award from UTSA

Robert C. Alaniz, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Microbial and Molecular Pathogenesis and Director of the Cell Analysis Facility at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, has been elected to receive a "Distinguished Alumnus Award" from the PREP engineering program at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).

Dr. Alaniz was selected based on his academic scholarly activities, his research program in the field of Infectious Disease Immunology, and his longstanding commitment to mentoring high school, undergraduate, and graduate students interested in pursuing advanced degrees in science.

Dr. Alaniz is one of four Distinguished Alumni chosen out of a field of over 20,000 PREP program alumni and he will receive the award during the PREP 30th Anniversary Gala ceremony on Saturday, March 7th, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

The PREP program began at UTSA in 1979 and provides a rigorous mathematics-based curriculum for middle and high school students in preparation for advanced studies leading to careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. Dr. Alaniz completed the program in 1983.

Dr. James Heida Receives Epilepsy Foundation Award

The Epilepsy Foundation of America (EFA) has awarded a 2009 Postdoctoral Research Training Fellowship to Dr. James Heida of the Neuroscience Institute at Scott & White Hospital and Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. This prestigious award is given annually to support the scientific development of promising academic physicians and scientists who are committed to research related to epilepsy. Dr. Heida’s project entitled, “The Role of Cytokines in the Pathophysiology of Hypoxia-induced Seizures” aims to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which transient oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) to the neonatal brain can lead to epilepsy in later life.

Cerebral hypoxia is the most common cause of seizures in newborns, and the long-term consequences include epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and mental retardation. Currently, physicians have no effective means to prevent these adverse outcomes due to the need for better understanding of the biochemical and physiological cascades that promote their evolution.

Dr. Heida’s research aims to determine how molecules called “cytokines”, which are released in the brain in response to an episode of asphyxia or seizure, promote immediate and long-lasting changes to the structure and function of a highly seizure-prone area of the brain called the hippocampus. The results are expected to guide the development of new therapies to treat seizures and hypoxic encephalopathy in newborns to prevent or minimize the risk of epilepsy and other adverse outcomes in later life.

Dr. Heida, a native of Canada, earned his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Calgary in Alberta. He held a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY prior to joining the Scott & White Neuroscience Institute in August 2008. His EFA research project will be conducted in the laboratory and under the preceptorship of Dr. Russell Sanchez, Assistant Professor in the Departments of Surgery (Neurosurgery Division) and Neuroscience & Experimental Therapeutics (NEXT), Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, and Director of Translational Neuroscience Research for the Scott & White Neuroscience Institute.

Students

Monthly Report from Student Affairs

• The College Station Cadaver Ball is Friday, March 27 from 7 p.m.–midnight at the Hilton Garden Inn with the theme “Night on the Town.” Heavy Hors D’oeuvres will be served, followed by a program with awards being awarded to faculty and students as well as skits being performed. After the program a DJ will be playing music for everyone to dance to.
• Temple Cadaver Ball is Saturday, March 28, 7p-midnight at the Hilton Garden Inn. We have a Speak Easy theme. Buffet dinner and dancing.
• The CMA’s Spring Break Mission Trip has been cancelled due to the instability in that area of Mexico.

Class of 2009 Match Day Slated for March 19

Members of the Class of 2009 will participate in the National Resident Match Program (NRMP) Match Day to find out where they will be doing their residencies on Thursday, March 19. This year’s Match Day will be held in Strasburger Hall at the Cultural Activities Center, located at 3011 N. Third Street in Temple.

The class photo will be taken at 10 a.m., and envelopes will be handed out at 11 a.m. For more information, contact Donna Shipp in Student Affairs at dshipp@medicine.tamhsc.edu.

The NRMP Residency Match provides an impartial venue for matching applicants' preferences for residency positions with program directors' preferences for applicants. Each year approximately 16,000 U.S. allopathic medical school seniors and 15,000 graduates of osteopathic, Canadian or foreign medical schools compete for approximately 24,000 residency positions.

Perry Selected for Summer Institute in Geriatric Medicine at Boston Univ. Medical Center

College of Medicine M.D./M.B.A. student Ben Perry was recently notified of his selection to attend the Summer Institute in Geriatric Medicine (SIGM) at Boston University Medical Center, slated for June 1-5, 2009.

The SIGM is a week-long conference designed for medical students who are interested in pursuing careers in academic geriatric medicine and geriatric research. Activities of the institute include clinical and research seminars on key geriatrics and aging topics, site visits to research and clinical programs and small group development of a research proposal. Faculty members include nationally recognized academic geriatricians and Boston University faculty conducting aging research.

Only 20 medical students from across the country are selected to attend each year. Attendees receive financial support for airfare, housing, meals and transportation.

The SIGM was established in 1986 as a means to address the shortage of academic geriatricians available to train health care professionals in the principles of geriatrics. The institute is sponsored by the American Geriatrics Society and the Boston University School of Medicine, with additional funding from the National Institute of Aging.

Q&A with Ben:

Why does geriatric medicine have a special interest for you?

Admittedly, geriatric medicine would not be a candidate for a list of the most glamorous medical specialties; however, there are two reasons that I have a great interest in this area of health care: the patients themselves and the field's potential for further progress. Seeing elderly patients in their homes, in long term care facilities, and in the clinic has taught me that their unique perspectives and wealth of life experience are invaluable assets to communities and society. These experiences have also shown me the intricacies of the relationship between aging organ systems, chronic disease, and quality of life issues. I am excited for the opportunity to serve as a physician, advocate, and friend to my future patients.

What do you see as the benefit in attending the institute?

I will have the opportunity to be exposed to the most current developments in clinical and research aspects of geriatric medicine. Additionally, attending the institute will provide important opportunities to meet and network with clinicians, researchers, and other medical students who share my interests and passion for geriatric medicine.

What do you hope to gain from attending?

I certainly hope that I will learn new information that I can apply directly in my personal efforts to become a better physician. That being said, my biggest hope is to represent the College of Medicine in establishing relationships with other individuals that can result in collaborative efforts to improve the understanding and practice of geriatric medicine

3rd Annual Physician Health Thyself Project Set for March 30

The John L. Montgomery M.D. Chapter Gold Humanism Honor Society presents the College of Medicine’s 3rd Annual Physician Heal Thyself Conference on March 30. Physician Heal Thyself (PHT) is an innovative, school-wide physician wellness program designed to help medical students understand the importance of mental and physical health necessary for healthy matriculation through medical school and lifelong careers in medicine. PHT is a one day conference that consists of a keynote address and array of workshops related to health awareness, financial stability, and coping with stress.

The conference will be held at the Texas A&M University Memorial Student Center. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Christian Cable, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and Assistant Director, Medical Oncology Fellowship, Scott & White Temple, Assistant Professor, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center. Approximately 15 workshops will be held giving students a variety of choices.

Members of the Gold Humanism Honor Society this year, Jessica Barnes, Salil Bhandari, Patty Bilhartz, Grace Brown, Adrian Cuellar, David Galloway, Tamara Grab, Laura Hattox, Tyson Jordan, Karina Parr, Lekeisha Whitaker, and Lori Wick are doing an outstanding job organizing this event. Faculty advisors supporting the students are Dr. Craig Borchardt and Dr. Lori Wick. The Department of Humanities in Medicine provides faculty and administrative support for the honor society. The students and the department wish to thank the College of Medicine and Dean for the financial support of this endeavor.

Administration

OFFICE OF FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

Upcoming IAMSE Webcast Audio Seminars

The International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) is presenting a series of webcast audio seminars on “Defining the Path of Professionalism in the Curriculum". The following is a description of the series: “Professionalism is a standard of conduct that unites our personal, professional and healthcare values in student learning. Medical science educators are responsible for high quality student performance often demonstrated by their respect, compassion and integrity. They prepare students for professional practice by promoting appropriate behaviors that link pedagogy to medical practice. This series will guide participants in the essential attitudes and skills essential for modeling, assessing and creating ethical standards in medical education. A specific set of requisite skills will be presented, along with suggestions about practical ways in which this skill set can be developed.”

All College of Medicine faculty are invited and encouraged to attend. The IAMSE seminars are an excellent means of increasing faculty awareness of important issues and developments in healthcare education. This particular series consists of one-hour presentations on the following specific topics and dates (view detailed webcast descriptions at http://iamse.org/development/2009/was_2009_spring.htm):

 

Definition/Creating a Culture of Humanistic Medicine
Wednesday, 03/04/09
12:00 p.m. Central Time
College Station-Reynolds Medical Building Dean’s Board Room;Bryan-St. Joseph COM Conference Room;
Temple-S&W/Medical Education Center R207
Presenter: Dr. Blake Sypher, Ph.D.

Scientific Integrity and Professionalism Instruction Using Problem-Based Learning
Wednesday, 03/11/09
12:00 p.m. Central Time
College Station-Reynolds Medical Building 163;Bryan-St. Joseph COM Conference Room;
Temple-S&W/Medical Education Center 407C
Presenter: J. Charles Eldridge, Ph.D.

Assessment of Professional Behavior
Wednesday, 03/18/09
12:00 p.m. Central Time
College Station-Reynolds Medical Building 163; Bryan-St. Joseph COM Conference Room;
Temple-S&W/Medical Education Center 407C
Presenter: Dr. Peter Katsufrakis and Dr. Matt Holtman

The Teacher-Student Relationship Boundaries: Professionalism Applied
Wednesday, 04/08/09
12:00 p.m. Central Time
College Station-Reynolds Medical Building 163; Bryan-St. Joseph COM Conference Room;
Temple-S&W/Medical Education Center 407C
Presenter: Dr. S. Michael Plaut, Ph.D.

Professionalism: Hidden Curriculum
Wednesday, 04/15/09
12:00 p.m. Central Time
College Station-Reynolds Medical Building 163; Bryan-St. Joseph COM Conference Room;
Temple-S&W/Medical Education Center 407C
Presenter: Fred Hafferty, Ph.D.

The Peer's Role in Creating a Culture of Professionalism
Wednesday, 04/22/09
12:00 p.m. Central Time
College Station-Reynolds Medical Building 163; Bryan-St. Joseph COM Conference Room;
Temple-S&W/Medical Education Center 407C
Presenter: David Stern, M.D., Ph.D.

The Office of Faculty Development will be subscribing to this series as an institutional group meeting therefore any interested faculty may have access to attend any of these programs. Please contact Dr. Kelly Hester at hester@medicine.tamhsc.edu for more information.

OFFICE OF RESEARCH & GRADUATE STUDIES

Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society Hosts “Stem Cells in Medicine” Spring Symposium

The Texas A&M University chapter of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society, is hosting a spring symposium March 25 with the topic “Stem Cells in Medicine.” The college’s own Dr. Van Wilson is currently president-elect of the group, and is helping to pull the event together. Additionally, many faculty members from across the Health Science Center will be presenting at the symposium.

For more information, visit: http://sigmaxi.tamu.edu/news-and-events/2009-sigma-xi-spring-symposium.ics

 

Basic Science

HUMANITIES IN MEDICINE

Medical Ethics Grand Rounds and Medicine and Humanities Consultation

On Monday, March 30, 2009, 12:00 p.m., the Department of Humanities in Medicine and Internal Medicine will present Medical Ethics Grand Rounds in the Sid Richardson Auditorium, Temple, Texas. Wayne B. Jonas, M.D., president and chief executive officer of the Samueli Institute, Alexandria, Virginia, will present the topic “Placebo Research: The Evidence for Healing Practice”. Lunch will be provided.

Beginning at 1:00 p.m., that same day, the Department of Humanities in Medicine and the Scott & White Hospital Ethics Committee invites you to participate in the Medicine and Humanities Consultation at the Stagecoach Inn Conference Center, in Salado, Tx. Dr. Jonas will facilitate the discussion which engages clinicians of medicine, nurses, social workers, clergy, and academic humanists in an in depth exposure to “Placebo Research: The Evidence for Healing Practice”.

The afternoon will conclude with a wrap-up dinner at the Stagecoach Inn. For reservations and additional information, please contact Tina Price at price@medicine.tamhsc.edu or 979-845-0755.

MICROBIAL & MOLECULAR PATHOGENESIS

Faculty

Dr. David McMurray attended the quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation in Rockville, MD, from 9-10 February. Aeras is a not-for-profit, product development partnership (PDP) funded principally by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to take a portfolio of promising new TB vaccines through pre-clinical development and into human trials.

Dr. McMurray hosted a visitor to his laboratory, Dr. Ruchi Jain, a TB scientist working in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Delhi, New Delhi, India, from 4-7 February. The purpose of her visit was to learn about our guinea pig model of tuberculosis, including immunological assays and aerosol infection procedures.

Grants Received

Dr. David McMurray received the Award Notice from NIH for the 27th year of funding on his R01 grant (AI-15495) entitled “Dietary deficiencies and tuberculosis vaccine efficacy”. The total award for the next fiscal year (2/1/09 to 1/31/10) is $243,611.

Dr. Jim Samuel received notice of Award on U54 AI057156 NIH/NAIAD SOUTHWEST RCE (Walker, D.H., PI): Vaccine Development Against Q Fever (J.E. Samuel, Major Project) 3/1/2009-2/27/2014. Total $1,633,858

Recent Publications

Converse PJ, Karakousis PC, Klinkenberg LG, Kesavan AK, Ly LH, Allen SS, Grosset JH, Jain SK, Lamichane G, Manabe YC, McMurray DN, Nuermberger EL, Bishai WR. Role of the dosR-dosS two-component regulatory system in Mycobacteriumtuberculosis virulence in three animal models. Infect Immun 77:1230-1237 (2009).

“Signalling of the BCR is regulated by a lipid rafts-localised transcription factor, Bright” by Christian Schmidt, Dongkyoon Kim, Gregory C Ippolito, Hassan R Naqvi, Loren Probst, Shawn Mathur, German Rosas-Acosta, Van G Wilson, Athenia L Oldham, Martin Poenie, Carol F Webb & Philip W Tucker was published in EMBO J (doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.20).

Beare, PA, Chen, C, Bouman, T, Pablo, J, Unal, B, Cockrell, DC, Brown, WC, Barbian, KD, Porcella, SF, Samuel, JE, Felgner, PL and Heinzen, RA. Candidate Q fever serodiagnostic antigens revealed by immunoscreening a Coxiella burnetii protein microarray. Clin. Vac. Immunol.15:1771-1779 (2009). PMID18845831.

Beare, PA, Unsworth, N, Andoh, M, Voth, DE, Omsland, A, Gilk, SD, Williams, KP, Sobral, BW, Kupko, JJ, Porcella, Samuel, JE and Heinzen, RA. Comparative genomics reveal extensive transposon-mediated genomic plasticity and diversity among potential effector proteins within the genus Coxiella. Infect. Immun. 77:642-656 (2009). PMID19047403.

Scientific Presentations

Dr. David McMurray was invited to present a talk at the 13th Annual Conference of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease –North America (IUATLD-NA) in Vancouver, BC, Canada, from 26 Feb-1 March. The title of his presentation was “The role of re-infection in TB pathogenesis”.

Dr. Amminikutty Jeevan presented a talk on “Factors affecting cellular immune responses in the lungs of tuberculous guinea pigs” at the Texas Tuberculosis Researcher Symposium (TTRS), UT Health Sciences Center, Houston on February 7, 2009. Diana Bonilla-Escobar, graduate student in Dr. McMurray’s lab, also attended and presented a poster based upon their research results.

Dr. Samuel presented an invited seminar at the University of South Alabama, College of Medicine: February 12, 2009; “Coxiella burnetii: a stealth pathogen as revealed by in vivo, in vitro and comparative genomic studies”.

MOLECULAR & CELLULAR MEDICINE

Faculty

Dr. Greg Bix attended the American Heart Association 2009 International Stroke Conference on February 17-20, 2009 in San Diego, CA.

Dr. Siegfried Musser participated in grant reviews for the NIH Special Emphasis Panel for 'Assay Development for High Throughput Molecular Screening' Program, part of NIH's Roadmap Initiative on February 19-20, 2009.

Recent Publications

Donti, TR, Datta, S, Sandoval, PY and Kapler, GM. Differential targeting of Tetrahymena ORC to ribosomal DNA and non-rDNA replication origins. EMBO Journal. 28: 223-233 (2009).

Lee, PF, Yeh, AT and Bayless, KJ. Nonlinear optical microscopy reveals invading endothelial cells anisotropically alter three-dimensional collagen matrices..Exp Cell Res. 315:396-341 (2009).

Arenas-Gamboa, AM, Ficht ,TA, Davis, DS, Elzer, PH, Wong-Gonzalez, A, Rice-Ficht, AC. Enhanced immune response of red deer (cervus elaphus) to live rb51 vaccine strain using composite microspheres. J Wildl Dis. 45:165-173 (2009).

Arenas-Gamboa, AM, Ficht, TA, Kahl-McDonagh, MM, Gomez, G, Rice-Ficht, AC. The Brucella abortus S19 {Delta}vjbR Live Vaccine Candidate Is Safer than S19 and Confers protection against wild-type challenge in BALB/c mice when delivered in a sustained-release vehicle. Infect. Immun. 77:877-884 (2009).

Pace, CN, Razvi, A and Scholtz, JM. Fine Tuning Protein Stability, In: WATER AND LIFE: The Unique Properties of Water, ed. Ruth M. Lynden-Bell, Simon Conway Morris, John D. Barrow, John L. Finney, and Charles L. Harper, Jr. Published by CRC press (2009).

Scientific Presentations

Dr. Sarah Bondos presented a seminar: entitled “Using a Drosophila transcription factor to generate, functionalize, and pattern extensible protein-based materials” on February 23, 2009 for the Department of Biomedical Engineering, at Texas A&M University.

NEUROSCIENCE & EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS

Faculty

Dr. Ian Murray attended the 21st ASMS Sanibel conference “Lipidomics and Mass spectrometry” on January 23-26 in St Petersberg, Florida.

Dr. Murray also organized, in conjunction with Dr. Gumienny, the Junior/New Faculty Group lunch career seminar, to be held February 4. Drs. Miranda and Hester will discuss how to manage personal life and academic life.

Dr. Murray is serving on the Summer Research Program (SRP) Committee as a member and the COM College Station coordinator. He also met with Prairie View students on February 27 about the program.

Dr. Samba Reddy attended the 2009 HSC Faculty Development Workshop on Pedagogy: Teaching and Learning Strategies for Today’s Students on February 21.

Recent Publications

Matthews RP, Lorent K, Mañoral-Mobias R, Huang Y, Gong W, Murray IV, Blair IA, Pack M. TNFα-dependent hepatic steatosis and liver degeneration caused by mutation of zebrafish s-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase. Development. 136(5):865-75 (2009).

Garza A, Huang LZ, Son JH, Winzer-Serhan UH. “Expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and subunit messenger RNAs in the enteric nervous system of the neonatal rat”. Neuroscience. Feb 18;158(4):1521-9 (2009). Epub 2008 Nov 21.

SYSTEMS BIOLOGY & TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE

Faculty

Dr. Xin Wu served as a grant reviewer on an American Medical Association Seed Grant Awards Conference Call in Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Diseases Panel, February 2009.

Recent Publications

Davis MJ, Davis AM, Ku CW, Gashev AA. Myogenic constriction and dilation of isolated lymphatic vessels. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2009 Feb;296(2):H293-302. Epub 2008 Nov 21. PMID: 19028793

Scientific Presentations

Dr. Mariappan Muthuchamy presented “Lymphatic vessel development – focusing on lymphatic muscle cell investiture” at LifeCell, Inc., Chennai, India, November 2008. Dr. Muthuchamy presented “Regulatory mechanisms in cardiac muscle dynamics” at the School of Biological Sciences, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India, December 2008. He also presented “Mechanotransduction and myofilament activation processes – targets for pharmacological approaches in cardiomyopathies” at the International Conference on Translational Pharmacology and the 41st Annual Conference of the Indian Pharmacological Society, December 2008.

Dr. Andreea Trache presented “Real time mechanotransduction in live cells” at the Gordon Conference – Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules held in Ventura, California, February 2009.

Dr. Vincent VanBuren presented “New computational tools for investigating the systems biology of heart development” as the Keynote Speaker at the Annual Rocky Mountain Bioinformatics Conference, December 2008. http://www.iscb.org/cms_addon/conferences/rocky08/keynote-vanburen.php

Clinical Science

CLINICAL SIMULATION

Clinical Simulation Program Receives Accreditation from American College of Surgeons

Dr. Jose Pliego, Medical Director for Clinical Simulation, was recently notified that our program has met the American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) criteria to be accredited for three years as an ACS Education Institute (Level 1).

From Dr. Pliego:

“I would like to thank our team for their hard work and dedication, particularly to Dr. Mohsen Shabahang, whose leadership was crucial for this accreditation. There are currently only 38 centers, only three of which are in Texas, with the designation of Accredited Education Institutes by the ACS Division of Education, so it is an honor for us to be included in this elite group. This is a great opportunity for us to continue expanding our programs.”

Faculty

Dr. Jose Pliego was recently invited to serve on the Expert Panel Committee for the 2010 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH). As part of his role on the committee, Dr. Pliego’s responsibilities will be to work with the meeting’s co-chairs to select content areas for 20 expert panels, help select and invite moderators for the sessions, help select and invite faculty experts for each themed panel and attend IMSH 2010.

Dr. Pliego participated in the 2009 HSC Faculty Development Workshop on Pedagogy, Teaching and Learning Strategies for Today's Students, February 20-21 and presented a workshop entitled, "Opportunities for Learning Through Patient Simulation."

At the Greater Houston Society for Healthcare Risk Management on February 27 in Houston, Lisa Havens, JD, Director of Risk Management, and Dr. Jose Pliego, Medical Director for Clinical Simulation, presented “Simulating Your Worst Nightmare: The Evolution of Medical Team Training.”

INTERNAL MEDICINE

The departmental report is available for download online. (PDF)

Faculty

Dr. Gianfranco Alpini served as an ad hoc reviewer and attended a NIH Hepatobiliary Pathophysiology Study Section February 2-3, 2009.

Scientific Publications

S Glaser, E Gaudio, T Miller, D Alvaro, and G Alpini. Cholangiocyte proliferation and liver fibrosis. Expert Rev Mol Med, Feb 25;11:e7 (2009).

A Mancino, MG Mancino, S Glaser, G Alpini, Bolognese A, Izzo L, H Francis, P Onori, A Franchitto, Ginanni-Corradini S, E Gaudio, and D Alvaro. Estrogens stimulate the proliferation of human cholangiocarcinoma by inducing the expression and secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor. Dig Liver Dis 41:156-63 (2009).

M Marzioni, G Fava, D Alvaro, G Alpini, and A Benedetti. Regulation of cholangiocyte adaptive responses by visceral hormones and neuropeptides. Clin Rev Allergy Immunol 36:13-22 (2009).

S DeMorrow. Cholangiocarcinoma: Estrogen-induced autocrine effects of VEGF on cell proliferation. Digestive and Liver Disease. 41, pp. 164-165 (2009).

Houston Campus News

The TAMHSC COM Immunology Allergy and Rheumatology Clinic in Houston implemented electronic medical record (e-MD) system.

Faculty

Sapandeep K. Singh, M.D. received rheumatology subspecialty board certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine.

David P. Huston, M.D. was a reviewer for the NIH Hypersensitivity, Autoimmune and Autoimmune Diseases Study Section in San Francisco. Dr. Huston also participated in the winter retreat of the American Board of Internal Medicine Board of Directors and Foundation Trustees in Miami. Dr. Huston was also a member of the Residency Review Committee for Allergy and Immunology for the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education Meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Dr. Huston and Julie Y. Patel, M.D. attended the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Program Director’s Winter Meeting in San Antonio.

Dr. Patel presented Session 4 entitled “Arthritis 101” at the Mini-Medical School lecture on the College Station campus.

Grants Received

Dr. David Houston received a $218,274 NIH NIAID grant for “Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center” for the period 7/1/08 to 6/30/09.

Dr. Margarita Martinez-Moczygemba received a $206,000 NIH NIAID grant for “Proteasome Regulation of Interleukin-5 Receptor Endocytosis” for the period 2/1/09 to 2/28/10.

Academic Medicine

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