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For a printable PDF version of SOM e-NEWS, click here.
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. If you have information you would like published in this newsletter, please contact Denise Gonzalez, in the Dean of Medicine 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 Jackie Genovese, Director of Communications, School of Medicine, jmgenove@utmb.edu.
March 2007
Click on topic to read announcement or scroll 2. appointment of dr. gary d.v. hankins 3. DR. JASON GLENN attends nida workshop
4.
DR. TAYLOR S. RIALL RECEIVES
Award FROM AGS 6. SPECIAL ELECTION TO SOM COMMITTEES 9. UTMB'S BILLING OPERATION RANKED #6 IN PERFORMANCE 10. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: WILLIAM OSLER SCHOLAR
11. SCHOOL
OF MEDICINE IN THE NEWS
_____________________________________________________________
FACULTY OF MEDICINE MEETING & NEW FACULTY
RECEPTION
RESEARCH IN PROGRESS
Distinguished Guest Lecture Series RECEPTION HONORING DR. BERNARD KARNATH
A reception honoring Bernard Karnath, M.D.,
nominee for the 2006 Association of American Medical Colleges Humanism in
Medicine Award, will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2007, 5:00 – 7:00 PM,
Caduceus Room, 6th Floor of the Administration Building. Please RSVP to Lucy
Vasquez, lvasquez@utmb.edu, 21069. The Core Committee for the Advancement of Women Faculty and the Faculty Women's Caucus will host a luncheon presentation on Friday, April 13, 2007, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM, Caduceus Room, 6th Floor of the Administration Building. The featured speaker will be Luanne E. Thorndyke, M.D., FACP, associate dean for professional development at Penn State University College of Medicine. Thorndyke facilitates initiatives in women's leadership development and mentoring at the Penn State College of Medicine. Please RSVP to Denise Morris Galletti, drmorris@utmb.edu, Tel 73770; seating limited to first 70 persons.
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE COMMENCEMENT
Click
here for more details _____________________________________________________________
2.
appointment of dr. gary d.v.
hankins
_____________________________________________________________
3. DR. JASON GLENN attends nida workshop
_____________________________________________________________
4. DR. TAYLOR S. RIALL RECEIVES Award FROM AGS
_____________________________________________________________
5. NEW FACULTY HONORED AT RECEPTION
New members of the Faculty of Medicine, appointed between December
1,
2006 and January 31, 2007, were introduced at a reception on February
13, 2007. These receptions are held as an opportunity for new faculty
members to meet the UTMB community.
See
additional photos of new faculty.
Pictured from the Department of Family Medicine are new faculty member, Dr. Anika Bell-Gray, assistant professor; Dr. Barbara Thompson, chair; and new faculty member, Dr. Huelen Smith, assistant professor.
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6. SPECIAL ELECTION TO SOM COMMITTEES Web-based balloting will be utilized for a special election to fill the terms vacated by several elected members of SOM Committees. Eligible faculty may access a ballot at the URL address http://intranet.utmb.edu/SOMBallot which will allow them to vote for their choice of candidates on the following committees: Academic Progress, Curriculum, and Faculty Performance Evaluation Committee. The regular election will be held after this special election. To login, use your e-mail username without the “@utmb.edu” portion and your email password. The polls are now open and will close at 12 Noon on Friday, April 6, 2007.The Bylaws of the Faculty of Medicine provide that full members (faculty appointed at the ranks of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor or Instructor) are entitled to participate in the deliberations of the Faculty of Medicine and to vote upon all business brought before the Faculty of Medicine. These rights and privileges extend to tenured, tenure track and non-tenure track appointees. Faculty are encouraged to exercise their right to vote. _____________________________________________________________
It is time to move forward with implementation of the School
of Medicine’s Education Strategic Plan. The main emphasis of the plan
is the integration of cohesive longitudinal themes into existing courses and
clerkships in all four years of the curriculum. These themes relate to
topics that have historically been under-emphasized in medical education,
but will be critical to our graduates’ success in 21st century medical
practice:
We look forward to your contributions as we prepare our students for medical
practice in the 21st century! _____________________________________________________________
A happy John Bahadorani gives a thumbs up when he finds out where he was matched.
_____________________________________________________________
9. UTMB'S BILLING OPERATION RANKED #6 IN PERFORMANCE UTMB’s Faculty Group Practice (FGP) billing operation recently took part in a national survey that benchmarked billing office performance. Over 71 groups participated in the survey. Performance of the billing offices were evaluated and ranked. UTMB was ranked #6 out of the group. This is an accomplishment for everyone involved in the revenue cycle for the School of Medicine– including the coding staff in the departments as well as the billing staff in FGP.
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10. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: WILLIAM OSLER SCHOLAR
President Jack Stobo
has issued a call for nominations for a new William Osler Scholar in
the John P. McGovern Academy of Oslerian Medicine. Funded by a
generous gift from Houston physician-philanthropist John P.
McGovern, a $1,000,000 endowment will support this Scholar’s
activities related to patient care and teaching. _____________________________________________________________
11.
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE IN THE NEWS
Houston Chronicle, Feb. 28, Study: More than 1 in 4 women has HPV. More than a quarter of U.S. women are infected with a sexually transmitted virus that sometimes can cause cervical cancer, health researchers say. The study, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, provides the most comprehensive assessment of human papillomavirus prevalence among American women. The overall prevalence was slightly higher than previous estimates. Some scientists say they hope the new study can diffuse some of the tension surrounding the vaccine issue in Texas. "Clearly, this has become a very controversial vaccine," said Dr. Lawrence Stanberry, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. "It's regrettable when that happens, and it's a shame that we can't focus on educating people about the benefits of this vaccine instead of just getting embroiled in the political intrigue." Stanberry said the significance of the new study for Texas is that the data on prevalence of HPV in the United States are similar to the estimates made in cost-effectiveness studies of the vaccine, suggesting that earlier research is valid. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/health/4588270.html Galveston County Daily News, Feb. 28, Research could lead to artificial retinas; and Nanotechnology News, March 5, Nanoparticle Films May Lead to Artificial Retina. The world’s first direct electrical link between nerve cells and photovoltaic nanoparticle films has been achieved by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and the University of Michigan. The development opens the door to applying the unique properties of nanoparticles to a wide variety of light-stimulated nerve-signaling devices — including the possible development of a nanoparticle-based artificial retina. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=6c4c17d75f471912; http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=3810 United Press International, Newstrack – Science, Feb. 28, Study: Artificial retina may be possible. U.S. scientists say they have achieved the world's first direct electrical link between nerve cells and photovoltaic nanoparticle films. Researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston say the development opens the door to applying the unique properties of nanoparticles to a wide variety of light-stimulated nerve-signaling devices -- including the possible development of a nanoparticle-based artificial retina. Nanoparticles are artificially created bits of matter not much bigger than individual atoms. The researchers, using a process devised by Professor Nicholas Kotov of the University Michigan, created nanoparticles with characteristics such as compatibility with living cells and the ability to turn light into tiny electrical currents that can produce responses in nerves. Other authors of the research include University of Michigan graduate students W.M. Shan Wickramanayake and Edward Jan, as well as UTMB professor Malcolm Brodwick, Ph.D.. http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Science/Jesus_tomb_may_be_opened_to_public/20070228-110923-8634r/ (This story has run widely in U.S. and international media.) Online Ledger, March 1, 1 In 4 Women Carries Cervical Cancer Virus. The first survey of a broad age range of U.S. women finds that more than 25 percent are infected with the human papillomavirus (HPV), thought to be the cause of most cases of cervical cancer. Experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the study, say the numbers support the vaccination of young girls and college-age women with the newly approved HPV vaccine. In the meantime, another expert says it remains important that women of all ages get a regular Pap smear to check for the early signs of cervical cancer. "Women who are vaccinated for HPV would still need to get Pap smears according to regular clinical guidelines, since there are still some types of HPV not covered by the vaccine that are oncogenic," explains Dr. Susan Weller, co-author of a related editorial in The Journal of the American Medical Association and a professor of Family Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. http://health.theledger.com/article/20070301/TOPSTORY/3803/-1/RSS2&source=RSS Dallas (FV Newswire), March 1, University of Texas Medical Branch Electronic Health Network to pilot GoCodeFinanceVisor. The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Electronic Health Network (EHN) is a leader in e-health and telemedicine. GoCode from LingoLogix takes free text encounter notes and uses the next generation of Natural Language Processing to structure and codify the notes. GoCode applies SNOMED, ICD9 and E&M codes to the notes and stores the results for further analysis. GoCode is easily integrated into an institution's work flow and existing systems to fully automate coding and billing. UTMB EHN will be using GoCode to take encounter notes dictated by clinicians and automatically apply billing codes. http://www.financevisor.com/market/news_detail.aspx?rid=54311 Houston Chronicle, March 1, Clinic moves to new location, serves twice as many people. A month after moving to a new location in Katy and extending its office hours, Christ Clinic is serving twice as many patients than at the previous site. Before Christ Clinic opened, Walker said many uninsured patients were traveling to Galveston to receive medical treatment. Patients are often referred to local social services organizations like Katy Christian Ministries, Pregnancy Help Center of West Houston, Breath of Life Children's Clinic and University of Texas Medical Branch Regional Maternal and Child Health Program for other needs. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/katy/news/4593275.html Medical News Today, March 1, Development Could Lead To Creation Of An Artificial Retina. The world's first direct electrical link between nerve cells and photovoltaic nanoparticle films has been achieved by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and the University of Michigan. The development opens the door to applying the unique properties of nanoparticles to a wide variety of light-stimulated nerve-signaling devices - including the possible development of a nanoparticle-based artificial retina. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=64125 Houston Community News, Bay Area News Citizen, March 2, League City resident Cheryl L. Kaplan, M.F.A. will perform her one-woman play, My Mother's Medicine: XXXXOOOO at Main Street Theater in Rice Village Thursday, March 1, through Sunday, March 4. The theater is located at 2540 Times Blvd. in Houston. Show times are Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. For tickets, visit the box office or purchase by phone at 713-524-6706 or online at mainstreetheater.com. Kaplan, who moved with her Jewish family from Brooklyn to Iowa as a child, uses her personal diary entries and letters from her mother to tell the story of her childhood in the Midwest. Kaplan is the director of theater outreach and education at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where she writes, directs and produces plays and educational modules, using theater to teach about health science for the university and the community. http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18024625&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532546&rfi=6 Dallas Morning News, March 2, FDA to study kids' use of cold medicine. In response to serious new questions about remedies parents have relied on for decades, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it would study the safety and effectiveness of over-the-counter cold medicines marketed for young children. The agency's move came in reaction to a petition by leading pediatricians and public health officials who on Thursday urged the FDA to restrict companies from marketing certain cold and cough medicines to children age 6 and younger, citing reports of deaths, heart arrhythmias and other dangerous events. "This is one of those things where the evidence accumulates to the point where then finally the general community of physicians and scientists says this needs another look," said Dr. Wayne Snodgrass, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on drugs and signed the petition as part of his role as professor of pediatrics and pharmacology at University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. "It's like a lot of things. It would have been nice to have done this earlier." http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/healthscience/stories/030307dnnatfda.3d3cdaa.html Valley Morning Star, March 3, Impatient patients overloaded ERs have sick waiting for hours. When Felicia Abrego rushed her son to the emergency room Monday evening, she had no idea they'd still be waiting for a doctor 12 hours later. Abrego's son Marco Fuerte had twisted his ankle while playing football, and his ankle and foot had swollen and turned colors. Abrego knew it wasn't a life-threatening condition, but as the clock ticked on, she found herself becoming impatient. The triage nurse had examined him and he'd had an X-ray, but the doctor hadn't yet seen him, she said. The wait became unbearable to Abrego, and she and her son left the next morning without seeing a doctor. A shortage of hospital beds, a high number of insured and uninsured residents who use the ER for primary care, a growing population and an ongoing nursing shortage all are contributing to longer waits in the Valley's emergency departments, hospital officials said. Many of those elements are also at play nationwide, according to Dr. Angela Gardner, associate professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and a representative for the American College of Emergency Physicians. http://www.valleymorningstar.com/onset?id=639&template=article.html Galveston County Daily News, March 5, Annual San Luis Salute dazzled 800 guests. The 11th annual San Luis Salute recognized the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at UTMB. Honorees were Drs. Ronald Lindsay, E. Burke Evans (with Lise Darst) and Steven and Mary Viegas. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?wcd=97704 Galveston County Daily News, March 8, High hopes for burn scar laser treatment. Dr. Erica Kelly, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, has a personal interest in a study she hopes to begin soon. She is waiting for funding and approval to do research on using Fraxel laser treatments for burn scars. Kelly’s brother was burned extensively when an oxygen pipeline exploded in 1994 in an industrial accident. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=76c0995ddb1e32a0 KingwoodNow, March 8, Kingwood Medical Center announces Chik-Fong Wei as chief of medical staff. Kingwood Medical Center, an HCA Affiliated Hospital, recently announced Chik-Fong Wei, MD as chief of medical staff. As chief of staff, Dr. Wei will preside over Medical Staff meetings, serve as chair of the Medical Executive Committee and serve as chief administrative officer for the Medical Staff. A cardiologist, he earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and his PhD in Biophysical Sciences at the University of Houston. He completed an internal medicine residency and a cardiovascular diseases fellowship at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. http://www.kingwoodnow.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1235 Psychiatry News, March 2007, Telepsychiatry Gets Good Reception with Texas High School Students. Telepsychiatry can improve access to mental health care for students and hard-to-reach and underserved populations. It can also be used as a tool to train medical and mental health care professionals. Christopher Thomas, M.D., is using state-of-the-art videoconferencing facilities to provide psychiatric services to students at Ball High School in Galveston from his office at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/5/22-a Tyler Paper.com, March 11, Professional Development. Dr. J. Gregory Stovall, an internal medicine physician and vice president and medical director of Trinity Clinic, addressed 75 internal medicine interns and residents attending The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Trinity Mother Frances Health System announced. http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/BUSINESS01/703100349 KUHT Public Radio Houston, March 12, Doctors and Drug Companies: Conflict of Interest? If you wait around long enough at nearly any doctor's office or hospital, there's a good chance you'll see a pharmaceutical rep hauling in a case of drug samples along with a couple of pizzas for lunch. It's a fact of life for both doctors and drug reps, an understanding that freebies sometimes equal a few minutes of face time with doctors. It's an uneasy relationship that critics say is ripe for conflict of interest, where doctors prescribe drugs from companies they have relationships with. Dr. Howard Brody of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston says some doctors are blinded by what he calls "self-deceit," believing they're not influenced by drug company gifts. He says one solution to the conflict of interest problem would be to funnel research money through a neutral agency instead of having it come directly from the drug company to research physicians. "You could still have new research. You could still have new drugs. The companies could still make a very nice profit but we wouldn't have this problem that we of the control of the information flow being so vested in the hands of the industry." http://www.kuhf.org/site/News2?JServSessionIdr003=8aq9b599m3.app1b&page=NewsArticle&id=19641&news_iv_ctrl=1521 Galveston County Daily News, March 13, Addiction is not personal weakness or moral failing. Guest viewpoint by Dr. Kathryn Cunningham and Eliza Quigley. Why does one person use drugs and become addicted while another doesn’t? Why do addicts have trouble stopping drug use and staying clean and sober? The answers to these questions are lodged in the brain. The brain sets the stage for an individual’s sensitivity to the euphoric first effects of an abused drug and then it adapts with repeated exposure to the drug. The chronic, relapsing nature of addiction is caused by the brain changes that occur during this disease process. The challenge of science and medicine – and a focus for the Center for Addiction Research at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston – is to identify these brain changes and use this information to create treatment options to enhance recovery and absence. While addiction research soars ahead, public awareness of this disease remains mired in misperceptions of the past century. The facts are that addiction is a chronic, relapsing disease of the brain and that treatment can overcome it. Just as diabetes and cardiovascular disease are chronic, relapsing disorders with multiple treatment options, so too is substance abuse and addiction. http://galvestondailynews.com/guestcolumns.lasso (not yet posted) Galveston County Daily News, March 13, Avoiding children's sports-related injuries. By Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly. A cry jolts the air from across the field. You rise from the bleachers, heart in your throat as you realize … your child has been injured. More than 3.5 million children ages 15 and younger are treated for sports-related injuries each year. Children are more susceptible to sports injuries because they are still developing and growing, and most of these injuries occur during practice rather than during the actual game. Many elements contribute to sports injuries in children. Some of those elements include equipment that is ill-fitting or too large for the child; the child not stretching and warming up the muscles properly, and the lack of strength in the muscles surrounding the joints. American Academy of Pediatrics section on sports medicine and fitness suggests these tips on how your child can avoid sports injuries. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=980146f423f76675 Health Day News, March 13, Sleeping Pill Wakes Woman After 2 Years in Coma. A dose of the prescription sleep aid had the opposite effect on one French woman, awakening her from a two-year coma. The 48-year-old woman suffered from akinetic mutism -- a sort of persistent coma in which the patient is alert but can neither speak nor move. She had lain in this state after sustaining damage to the frontal lobe of her brain. But one day she was given zolpidem (Ambien) to treat ongoing insomnia. "Twenty minutes later, her family noticed surprising signs of enhanced arousal," the study authors wrote. "She became able to communicate to her family, to eat without swallowing troubles, and to move alone in her bed. These effects started 20 minutes after drug administration and lasted for two to three hours." Dr. Tetsuo Ashizawa, professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, called the report "interesting." But he cautioned against using such a single-patient study as a basis for treating other, seemingly similar cases. "I understand the desire of the family member to give Ambien to patients" as a result of this study, he said, "but I would not tell them that they should expect improvement. As a physician, I would say this worked in this lady but it may not work in your father or mother, so they should not have unreal expectations. If it works, okay, but if it doesn't, don't be disappointed." http://www.healthcentral.com/sleep-disorders/news-32772-31.html Galveston County Daily News, March 18, Money, not science, drives drugs research. Guest viewpoint by Dr. Howard Brody. ABC World News headlined one March 8 story “Hospital Health Threat to Children.” It reported that the vast majority of drugs used on hospitalized kids had never been properly tested in children. Pediatricians had to use drugs and doses shown to work in adults and pretty much guess how to apply those drugs to their patients’ care. The news story suggested that Congress give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to demand that drug companies properly test their drugs in the pediatric age group. ABC happens to be wrong about this. The FDA already has that authority. But it won’t use it. One reason the FDA won’t face down the companies is that the FDA now relies on industry user fees for more than half its budget for new drug approvals. What Congress ought to do is fully fund the FDA so that the FDA is not financially beholden to the industry it is supposed to regulate. Un-child tested drugs for hospitalized kids is a sliver of a much bigger problem. The reason most drugs used in children aren’t tested in children is that drug research is about marketing and sales, not about medical science. The drug companies fund about 90 percent of all drug research in the United States. They operate on the so-called “blockbuster model.” Either a drug sells $1 billion worth a year, or as far as the industry (and Wall Street) is concerned, it’s chopped liver. Few drugs aimed at hospitalized kids are blockbusters. So the industry simply does not do the research. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=1f147bf17ff590c9 Los Angles Times, March 19, Dolphins washing ashore baffle experts in Texas. An unusually large number of dead bottlenose dolphins have washed ashore near this Gulf of Mexico coastal city in the past month, and investigators are looking at laboratory slides, satellite photos and anything else they can think of in their search for clues. About 180 dolphins are stranded in Texas each year, many from January through March -- calving season for dolphins, when infants might die during birth or become separated from their mothers and unable to survive alone. The 47 bodies found recently included many newborns with umbilical cords still attached. The figure represents three times the number found during the same period last year. "Right now we don't know what's going on, but it is definitely significant," said Dr. Daniel Cowan, a pathologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. "Nowhere else in Texas is having this kind of problem. They're coming in multiples." http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-dolphins19mar19,1,1726128.story?coll=la-headlines-nation (This story has appeared widely in national news.)
Galveston County Daily
News, March 19, ER’ shows accurate pace of emergency rooms. The funny thing
about medical students and doctors is that they don’t have a lot of time to
watch all those TV shows about medical students and doctors. Still, Dr.
Angela K. Gardner has seen enough episodes of NBC’s drama series “ER” to
make a diagnosis about how true a portrayal it is of the real-life business
of saving lives. While ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” is the fresh-faced medical
show making the rounds, “ER,” in its 13th season, is still one of the
highest-rated dramas on television. Michael Crichton, who received his
medical degree at Harvard Medical School, created the show, which follows
the medical personnel and patients in the emergency room of Chicago’s
fictional County General Hospital. The show is pretty good at capturing how
hectic an emergency room can be, Gardner said. “The pace feels right,” said
Gardner, assistant professor in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the
University of Texas Medical Branch. “But they get their scripts out and say
all these things and they have no idea what they mean.” But at the island
emergency room, there’s a lot more trauma and a lot less drama, Gardner
said.
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=473fe63344b86ffe&page=all
Galveston County Daily News, March 19, Grey’s Anatomy’ misses mark on romances. Is there a Dr. McDreamy working on the island? Residents at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston say it’s possible. There are a few faculty members who catch the attention of young residents, fresh out of med school, just like Dr. Derek Shepherd does on television. Dr. James Dowling, a first-year resident at UTMB, saw several female co-workers swooning over an older UTMB employee recently. But for the most part, the melodrama and oversexed lives of the surgical interns at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” is pure fiction. Dr. Grace Huang, a third-year anesthesiologist resident at UTMB, said the show often treats surgery as the only specialty needed to run a hospital. “It seems like the surgeons on the show run the entire hospital,” she said. “There’s no internal medicine, no emergency doctors. In real life, there are other physicians that you really consult with every day.” Huang said she stopped watching the show because she got offended when it twice depicted anesthesiologists poorly. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=5cc36f7a314a8777 Houston Chronicle, March 20, Building a better mosquito. Scientists have taken a significant step toward creating genetically modified mosquitoes that could one day wipe malaria from the planet. Tinkering with the genes in mosquitoes, the researchers have created new breeds of the insect that are resistant to malaria, the fourth-leading cause of death in young children worldwide. And for the first time, in a lab at least, they have shown this new type of mosquito can breed and compete more efficiently than natural mosquitoes, suggesting the modified, or transgenic, type could spread in the wild. The scientists, based at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, aren't yet ready to unleash their mosquitoes. But the new study, published in today's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may ease doubts about whether transgenic mosquitoes can survive. Scientists and public health officials have looked toward genetically modified mosquitoes because, with a ban on the pesticide DDT, they have few other options in the developing world for controlling mosquitoes and the diseases they spread. But he acknowledged that a monumental debate awaits. Genetically modified foods, such as tomatoes and potatoes, are controversial enough. Breeding a new type of mosquito for release probably would ratchet up the debate, said Dr. Scott Weaver, director for Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Texas Medical Branch's Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases. "It's very hard to imagine that any government would accept the release of transgenic mosquitoes in their backyard," he said. "The tendency of people is to want to kill mosquitoes, not help them propagate." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/tech/news/4644963.html WebWire, March 23, Scientists discover zinc link to a leading cause of blindness. An international research team including scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) and the Galveston-based spinoff Neurobiotex, Inc. has found high levels of zinc in deposits in the eye that are an indication of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) — the leading cause of blindness in the elderly in the developed world. The finding, published this month in the journal Experimental Eye Research, contributes to a better understanding of AMD and could facilitate the development of effective treatments, said UTMB ophthalmologist, Erik van Kuijk, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study. http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=30460 Houston Chronicle, March 23, Rice contest pairs students with investors to launch technology companies, products. Their pitch was simple — a straight smile in half the time. And that catchy line helped students from the University of Illinois at Chicago sell their idea to start a business to a Houston investor during the annual Rice University business plan competition last year. Chris Wasden, a former investment banker who judged the competition, licensed the technology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and paid students an undisclosed amount for their plan. Since then Wasden has started a venture to develop that product, which he hopes to have on the market by 2009. Selling an idea is the dream of dozens of competitors from across the world who are in Houston this week for the 2007 Rice University Business Plan Competition. This year, the competition features many plans based on biotechnology and the life sciences. The team from UCLA, for example, wants to develop a minimally invasive surgical procedure to treat glaucoma. Students from the University of Illinois at Chicago are promoting an imaging technology that can predict cardiovascular diseases. And the Rice University team's plan is built around medical tests used to tell if a woman is at risk for a premature delivery. The technology was developed by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4654447.html Galveston County Daily News, March 24, UTMB names obstetrics, gynecology chairman. The University of Texas Medical Branch has appointed Dr. Gary D. V. Hankins as its new chairman of obstetrics and gynecology. Hankins was vice chairman for 11 years before being named interim chairman when Dr. Garland Anderson was appointed UTMB dean of medicine in October. As chairman, Hankins will lead the renovation and expansion of the university’s labor and delivery areas and nurseries. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=81a196eee0735c63 McAllen Monitor, March 24, Valley suffering from psychiatrist shortage. Margal M. Vicars sits at his work desk with his fingers entwined. He tries not to cry, bows his head and remembers all the tears he’s shed because he’s unable to help his beloved wife, “Sarita.” “I don’t know what else to do,” the 81-year-old Vicars said at his Brownsville office. “I don’t know how many times I’ve sat here and cried my eyes out.” Sarah Vicars, 79, suffers from severe depression. With no psychiatrist working in this city and only one in private practice in Cameron County, Margal Vicars fears she won’t get the help she needs. Margal Vicars was once a Brownsville mayor. Sarah was the city’s first lady. He remembers her as a vibrant woman who was greatly involved in the community, serving on boards and active in the annual Charro Days festivities. She changed when the couple’s only daughter died seven years ago. One option is having patients meet with psychiatrists electronically, communicating through a computer. The trend, more commonly known as telemedicine, would link a patient with a doctor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, said Maribel Martinez, with UTMB-Galveston. http://www.themonitor.com/onset?id=1117&template=article.html Galveston County Daily News, March 25, The scare of my life. By Debra Danburg. It started with some bad clams I ate during a visit to Maryland — or so we assumed. In fact, my diagnosis was far more serious than the hepatitis A that my husband, Bob, and I erroneously suspected I’d contracted. Still, with luck, I may end up owing my survival to early diagnosis and a highly skilled surgeon. And I owe that to having decided a year ago to get my health care at a world-class academic medical center where well-trained and highly experienced physicians and surgeons diagnose and treat some of the most complex and terrifying medical problems human beings can face: UTMB in my new hometown of Galveston. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=bf8e0ba1d775f25e Galveston County Daily News, March 25, Forum focuses on doctors' links to drug makers. Should pharmaceutical companies be allowed to continue to advertise new and powerful drugs on TV? Should your doctor be permitted to accept free samples of these drugs and pass them along to you? Should physicians and academic researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, in addition to their regular salaries, also be allowed to receive drug company retainers? Should they accept free meals, free trips or even free ball-point pens from drug companies? A panel including Dr. Howard Brody, UTMB professor and author of “Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession and the Pharmaceutical Industry,” and John Swen, vice president for science policy and public affairs for Pfizer Global Research and Development, will present their perspectives on these and other issues at a community forum Tuesday. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8a75a970725ab555 Galveston County Daily News, March 25, UTMB forum features national expert on stress. Stress and what to do about it is the focus of a roundtable discussion featuring researcher Janice Kiecolt-Glaser. The event is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at Levin Hall North, 10th and Market streets, on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The event is the fourth installment of the Nicholson Integrative Medicine Roundtable series. The forum is free and open to the public. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=0dba4c5b87a61c1d
Galveston County Daily News, March 27, Doctors learn about wilderness medicine. When Benjamin Hughes heard about the Wilderness Medicine Society, he thought about hiking and backpacking, activities he enjoys. Hughes, co-director of the society’s chapter at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, founded in October 2006, learned that wilderness medicine includes much more than afternoons spent in the great outdoors. Wilderness medicine refers to medical care where access to emergency medical services and hospitals is unavailable. This could include “a car stranded in the middle of nowhere, on a plane, scuba diving” or even outer space, Hughes said. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=eac5606153e10196 Galveston County Daily News, March 28, Dealing with bullying. By Drs. Sally Robinson and Keith Bly. Bullying is not new in public and private schools. Arriving students have always suffered a temporary pariah status upon entering a different school. Big kids have long insulted, abused and in other ways lorded it over the smallest students. The clique that runs the school uses various forms of verbal abuse to ridicule those who are different. Recent studies, though — one in Maine and another by the Department of Health and Human Services — found that there is a strong association between bullying or being bullied and four violence-related behaviors — carrying a weapon, carrying a weapon in school, frequent fighting and being injured in a fight. http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=0bb2cd40caa2e5d3 Baytown Sun, March 28, Dr. Rick to be honored by Baytown Texas Exes. Retired ophthalmologist Dr. Richard Thomson didn’t graduate from the University of Texas, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t one of Baytown’s proudest Longhorns. He left Austin in 1954 for the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he ultimately earned his medical degree in 1959. He interned at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston and was a resident at Louisiana State University School of Medicine. http://stories.baytownsun.com/story.lasso?ewcd=326295df42351808 The Galveston County Daily News, March 29, Just how do you define a conflict? By Heber Taylor. Who is responsible when a drug that has been approved for medical treatment later proves to cause cancer? Is it the drug industry? The scientists who do the research? Federal regulators? Or the doctor who prescribed the medicine to a patient, based on information from a variety of sources, including a pitch from a sales representative of the drug companies? That was one of the interesting questions that came up at a public forum Tuesday on the influence of the drug industry. The industry spends billions marketing its products to doctors. It spends vast sums to fund research at medical schools, such as The University of Texas Medical Branch.
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12. leadership development for division chiefs in Academic Health centers
The
Leadership Development for Physicians in Academic Health Centers Program will be
conducted in Boston at the Harvard School of Public Health, October 14-16,
3007. The Program aims to bring together physicians who are in
administrative positions in academic health centers but are not chairs of
clinical departments, and an interdisciplinary faculty, for two weeks of
intensive and systematic study of some of the critical leadership and
management issues which face physicians in administrative positions at academic health centers. _____________________________________________________________
Faculty and administrators are encouraged to submit their
department's news for inclusion in SOM e-NEWS. This information may be
submitted via email to
djgonzal@utmb.edu.
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Submit your information for SOM e-NEWS: · Via email to djgonzal@utmb.edu · On the phone to ext. 23967 · Via fax at 29598 SOM e-NEWS is an initiative of the Office of the Dean of Medicine, to improve communication with faculty and staff in the school. The editor of the newsletter is Jackie Genovese. An archive of the newsletter is available on the SOM web site: http://www.som.utmb.edu/e-NEWS/eNEWS-TOC.htm. Thank you for your interest and time. Copyright 2001, The University of Texas Medical Branch
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Jason
E. Glenn, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Preventive Medicine
& Community Health and member, Institute for the Medical Humanities and
the Center for Addiction Research (CAR), attended a workshop entitled,
“Substance Abuse, Criminal Justice and HIV in African Americans” in
Silver Spring, Maryland on December 11-12, 2006. This workshop is a part
of a NIDA initiative to encourage researchers to apply for targeted NIDA
and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
funding to address the disproportionate occurrence of criminal justice
involvement and HIV/AIDS among African Americans as a consequence of
substance abuse. Glenn, in collaboration with Dr. David Paar,
associate professor, Department of Internal Medicine and director, HIV
Care/TDCJ Correctional Managed Care, Dr. Jacques Baillargeon,
epidemiologist and associate professor, Department of Preventive
Medicine & Community Health, and the Galveston Island Community Research
Advisory Committee are developing a transition/re-entry project for
African American and Latino male former inmates with a history of
substance abuse. The project will also be comprised of a historical
cohort study to assess the extent to which having the re-entry services
(parole, education, job-training, HIV screening and management, and
substance abuse and psychiatric treatment) provided at a central,
community location improves regular participation in the program and
further reduces high-risk behavior and recidivism rates. 
Taylor
S. Riall, M.D., assistant professor, Department of Surgery, has been
awarded the American Geriatrics Society’s Dennis W. Jahnigen Career
Development Scholar Award for her research on "Pancreatic Cancer in the
Elderly: Population Based Outcomes Following Surgical Resection." This
is a two year career development award ($75,000 salary support each
year) to support junior faculty with research interests in “the
geriatric aspects of their discipline.” Only 10 awards are given
annually – one in each of the following disciplines: anesthesiology,
emergency medicine, general surgery, gynecology, ophthalmology,
orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, physical medicine and
rehabilitation, thoracic surgery and urology. Taylor was the single
recipient of the general surgery award.
