June 15, 2004

Vol. 4, No. 7

In this issue:

Click on topic to read announcement or scroll

1.   UPCOMING EVENTS

2.   change in department of internal medicine

3.   DR. MAHENDRA N. GOHIL IS INDUCTED AS AN ACR FELLOW

4.   DR. E. BRAD THOMPSON RECEIVES 2004 DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARD

5.   DR. LINDA G. PHILLIPS APPOINTED TO ACGME INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE

6.   DR. KIRA BACAL SELECTED AS RWJ HEALTH POLICY FELLOW

7.   VISIT OF JANET BICKEL

8.   MEDICAL STUDENT, HEATHER SHIPMAN, WINS NATIONAL OFFICE

9.   RWJ FOUNDATION 2003 ANNUAL REPORT NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

10. APPOINTMENTS TO ENDOWED POSITIONS

11. NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENTS

12. ACTIVE SEARCHES

13. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

14. LINKS TO UTMB WEB SITES

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INTRODUCTION OF SOM e-NEWS

News and information (appointments, searches, events, awards, etc.) pertaining to the School of Medicine are featured in SOM e-NEWS in abstract form and are linked to the web for more detailed information.  SOM e-NEWS is currently published bimonthly.  If you have information you would like published in this newsletter, please contact Denise Gonzalez, in our office via email (djgonzal@utmb.edu) or by fax (29598).  Please let us know your ideas and suggestions for this communication format.  You may send your comments via email to Linda Phillips, M.D. (lphillip@utmb.edu).

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1.         UPCOMING EVENTS 

·COMMON THREADS CELEBRATION & LAUNCH – A Celebration of Diversity at UTMB

July 12 – 16, 2004, Get details

·HONORS AND AWARDS PROGRAM AND WHITE COAT CEREMONY

The Honors and Awards Program recognizes outstanding students and faculty; the White Coat Ceremony is the School of Medicine's formal welcoming and introduction of our incoming medical students to the profession of medicine.  This event will take place on Monday, August 23, 2004 at 4:00 PM in the Levin Hall Main Auditorium.

 

·FACULTY OF MEDICINE MEETINGS

--Tuesday, October 5, 2004 (4:30 PM)

--Tuesday, December 7, 2004 (4:30 PM) 

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2.  CHANGE IN DEPARTMENT OF INTERNAL MEDICINE

Dr. Stanley Lemon, Dean of the School of Medicine, announced on June 28th that Dr. William Mitch will step aside as Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine, a position he has held for two years. Dr. Randall Urban, Professor and Director of the Division of Endocrinology, will assume the position of Chair ad interim effective immediately. A national search for a new department chair will begin as soon as a new dean of medicine is named later this summer.  Read message...

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3.  DR. MAHENDRA N. GOHIL IS INDUCTED AS AN ACR FELLOW

Mahendra N. Gohil, M.D., Professor, Department of Radiology, has been inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Radiology (ACR).  The induction took place at a formal convocation ceremony during the ACR’s recent annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Fellowship is one of the highest honors conferred by the ACR.  While all ACR members are expected to maintain high standards, only about 10 percent of the members are selected for ACR Fellowship.  Nominees are considered based on their service to organized medicine, their significant accomplishments in scientific or clinical research in the fields of radiology, radiation oncology or medical physics, their exemplary performance as a teacher and their outstanding reputation among colleagues and the local community.

The ACR is a national nonprofit association serving more than 32,000 radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians and medical physicists with programs focusing on the practice of radiology and the delivery of comprehensive health care services.

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4.  DR. E. BRAD THOMPSON RECEIVES 2004 DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARD

E. Brad Thompson, M.D., Professor, Departments of Human Biological Chemistry & Genetics and Internal Medicine, and I. H. Kempner Professor in Human Genetics, received the 2004 Distinguished Educator Award at the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, held June 14 - 19, 2004.  This award is presented in recognition of exceptional achievement as an educator in the discipline of endocrinology and metabolism, and includes an honorarium of $3,000.

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5.  DR. LINDA G. PHILLIPS APPOINTED TO ACGME INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW COMMITTEE

Linda G. Phillips, M.D., Truman G. Blocker, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Chief, Division of Plastic Surgery-Department of Surgery, and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, was appointed as a member of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Institutional Review Committee for a three year term (2004-2007).

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6.  DR. KIRA BACAL SELECTED AS RWJ HEALTH POLICY FELLOW

Kira Bacal, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine & Community Health, has been selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow for 2004-2005. Each year, fellows are selected on a competitive basis.  The program, administered by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, is designed to develop the capacities of outstanding mid-career health professionals in academic and community-based settings by providing them with an understanding of the health policy process.  Read more

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7.  VISIT OF JANET BICKEL

Janet Bickel, President of Janet Bickel and Associates, will visit our campus on September 16-18, 2004, as a consultant for professional and leadership development. Ms. Bickel’s visit, co-sponsored by the Core Committee for the Advancement of Women Faculty and Administrators, Faculty Women’s Caucus, School of Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, will include advanced mentoring workshops as well as other programs (information on these activities is forthcoming). Ms. Bickel has worked for over three decades to enhance the career growth and satisfaction of academic health professionals. Prior to becoming President of Janet Bickel and Associates, she was Associate Vice President for Medical School Affairs at the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). During her 25 years at the AAMC, she established an Office of Women in Medicine of national repute and led the faculty affairs and development program.  Further information about Ms. Bickel is available at:  http://www.janetbickel.com/. 

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8.  MEDICAL STUDENT, HEATHER SHIPMAN, WINS NATIONAL OFFICE

Heather Shipman, a fourth-year medical student at UTMB and Texas Medical Association member, was elected Vice Chair of the American Medical Association Medical Student Section during a recent AMA meeting in Chicago. Ms. Shipman is a special appointee to the TMA Board of Trustees, and is Immediate Past Chair of the TMA Medical Student Section Executive Council. She is a member of the Galveston County Medical Society.

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9.  RWJ FOUNDATION 2003 ANNUAL REPORT NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2003 Annual Report is now available online.  This report contains the first President's Message by Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., in which she outlines her vision for the Foundation. There are also goal updates, a list of grants awarded, statistical highlights for the year, financial statements and more.

To read the Annual Report online, please visit www.rwjf.org/publications/annual.jsp.

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10.  APPOINTMENTS TO ENDOWED POSITIONS

The following faculty were appointed to endowed chairs/professorships (pending System approval):

Daniel H. Freeman, Jr., Ph.D., Director, Office of Biostatistics, and Professor, Departments of Preventive Medicine & Community Health and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, be appointed as the inaugural holder of the EDGAR GNITZINGER DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORSHIP IN AGING. 

Jean L. Freeman, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Preventive Medicine & Community Health, be appointed as the inaugural holder of the GRACE BUCKSCH GNITZINGER DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORSHIP IN AGING.

James R. Halpert, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, be appointed to THE MARY GIBBS JONES DISTINGUISHED CHAIR IN ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY.

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11.  NEW FACULTY APPOINTMENTS

The Dean of Medicine welcomes the following new School of Medicine faculty who were appointed from May 1, 2004 through May 31, 2004:

Microbiology & Immunology

            Jian Sha, M.D., Instructor              

Obstetrics & Gynecology

            Jennifer Karner, M.S.N., Maternal/Child Specialist 

Preventive Medicine & Community Health

            Gene Dowell, M.D., Assistant Professor               

            Victor Nelson, M.D., Assistant Professor

Surgery – Division of Plastic Surgery

            Garry Killyon, M.D., Assistant Professor