News Capsules - 1/23/08
January 23 , 2008
NEWS CAPSULES
is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Jacob Portnoy at port0179@umn.edu.
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Headlines of breakthrough research by our colleagues have resonated with policymakers and business leaders. This is exactly what Minnesota expects from its public research University. In quieter venues, we’re responding to concerns about the growing gap in access to primary care for many across our state. The University is responsible for preparing the next generation of health professionals in our state so we must be part of a solution to this problem. We’ve completed a significant update of our workforce report and a more focused report on the issue of primary care delivery. We are already working in creative ways with community partners to begin to address the workforce challenges facing Minnesota. I’ll discuss more on both of these issues at next week’s State of the Academic Health Center.
Tomorrow we continue to make the case for state investment in our research infrastructure when we meet with the House Capital Investment Committee on campus.
Next week I’ll be in Washington, D.C., to brief our Minnesota delegation on issues important to our mission – fully funding our biomedical research enterprise and support for graduate health professional education.
– Frank B. Cerra, M.D.
Sr. Vice President for Health Sciences
University of Minnesota researchers create a beating heart in the laboratory
Through a process called whole organ decellularization, scientists from theCenter for Cardiovascular Repair grew a functioning heart by taking dead rat and pig hearts and reseeding them with a mixture of live cells.
"The idea would be to develop transplantable blood vessels or whole organs that are made from your own cells," said Doris Taylor, Ph.D., director of the Center for Cardiovascular Repair, Medtronic Bakken professor of medicine and physiology, and principal investigator of the research.
Taylor and her team received local, national, and international media coverage for their work.
Research finds meat, fried food, diet soda increase a healthy adult's risk of developing metabolic syndrome
Researchers found that otherwise-healthy adults who eat two or more servings of meat a day — the equivalent of two burger patties — increase their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by 25 percent compared with those who eat meat twice a week, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors. For more information, go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/metabolic012208/home.html.
Neil Wasserman, M.D. (Medical School), will be presented with this year’s lifetime achievement award from the Society of Uroradiology at the Abdominal Radiology 2008 Meeting and Continuation Course in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Dick Bianco (Experimental Surgery Services) will give a keynote address on integrated research compliance in March at the INDO-US Symposium on Good Laboratory Practice in Thiruvananthapuram, India.
Kathleen Call, Michael Davern, and Lynn Blewett (School of Public Health) were recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) for writing "Estimates of Health Insurance Coverage: Comparing State Surveys with the Current Population Survey," one of its top 10 articles of 2007. The RWJF top 10 list highlights research that has had an impact in the policy arena or has helped shape the foundation's work.
Lisa Peterson. Ph.D. (School of Public Health), has been elected chair-elect of the American Chemical Society's Division of Chemical Toxicology. Peterson is the first woman elected to head the more than 1,000-member national society of chemists and biochemists.
SPH guidelines for healthy meeting menus touted
American Medical Assocation (AMA) President Ronald M. Davis, M.D., wrote about the need to set a good example with healthy diet and exercise choices in a recent AMA publication. Davis offered the menu guidelines developed by the School of Public Health as an example other organizations should implement at their meetings and conferences. See the guidelines at: http://www.sph.umn.edu/about/news/pubs/nutritionguide.html.
Medical School to establish surgical simulation fellowship
The Medical School has received an $180,000 grant from Gyrus ACMI to establish the nation’s first Surgical Simulation Fellowship. The fellowship will provide a foundation for creating international leaders in the development, evaluation, and delivery of techniques enhanced by surgical simulation instruments. The grant will provide funding for three one-year fellowships.
http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/surgicalsim010908/home.html.
MMF annual report honored
The Minnesota Medical Foundation's 2006 annual report has received an Award of Distinction from the Association of American Medical Colleges' Group on Institutional Advancement. The publication builds on the concept “Great Stories Start Here" to capture the passion, conviction, and sense of promise and hope evoked by personal giving stories. Read the report at: http://www.mmf.umn.edu/about/story.cfm?id=106.
University subscribes to TRANSFAC database
The Computational Genetics Laboratory at Supercomputing Institute has subscribed the access to TRANSFAC database from BIOBASE Corp. TRANSFAC is an online database contains data on transcription factors, their experimentally proven binding sites, and regulated genes. If you want access to the database, send an email to help@msi.umn.edu.
"Fulfilling the Vision: Breaking New Ground"
The annual State of the Academic Health Center address by Senior Vice President for Health Sciences Frank B. Cerra is Jan. 31. The speech will be preceded by the AHC Faculty Assembly. The presentations will originate from the Mayo Memorial Auditorium with live broadcasts to the St. Paul campus (Room 280 VDL), Duluth campus (Room 165), and Rochester campus (Room 338 University Square).
- 2:00-2:45 p.m. - AHC Faculty Assembly
- 3:00-4:00 p.m. - State of the AHC Address
Meet your representatives – support the University
District meetings, where constituents meet with their senator and representative, are being hosted by Medical School faculty and staff in districts 65 (Jan. 29), 35 (Jan. 31) and 44 (Feb. 11). For more information or to register, go to: http://www.supporttheu.umn.edu.
“The Aging Game” – Mini Medical School Spring 2008
Topics for this five-week series will include: What happens as we age; your aging skin; oral health; sexuality and aging; heart health; and what you should know about prescription drugs and medications. Mondays, 6-8:30 p.m., March 24-April 21, Coffman Union Theatre. For more information, go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/outreach/minimed.
“Conflict Resolution: Building a Bridge Over Troubled Waters”
Learn how to use conflict and ‘cognitive diversity’ to enhance your team’s functioning and effectiveness at this Office of Interdisciplinary Initiative workshop, Feb. 4-5. Whether you are directly involved, or trying to help others through a challenging situation, having some skills can make a difference. Keynote address by Howard Gadlin, ombudsman and director of the Center for Cooperative Resolution at The National Institutes of Health.
For more information, go to: http://www.grad.umn.edu/oii/workshops/.
“Non-Transplantable Tissues: Changing Regulations”
This LifeScience Alley event is 8 a.m. – noon, Feb. 7, at the University’s Continuing Education and Conference Center. With recent medical advances, the demand for donated human tissue has risen greatly. Responding to this increase, a new industry has formed, non-transplantable tissue banking. Unfortunately, this industry operates with little to no oversight. Minnesota has taken steps to become the first state to address these issues. This event will focus on the ethical issues, existing state regulations, and proposed changes and the effects of changes on the industry. For more information, go to: http://www.lifesciencealley.org/programs_events/detail.aspx?id=193.
IEM Symposium
The Institute for Engineering in Medicine will present a symposium 7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Feb. 15, at McNamara Alumni Center. Topics covered include multimodal biomedical imaging, medical device design, and thermal therapies. To register, go to http://register.cce.umn.edu/Course.pl?sect_key=181085.
Lions Children's Hearing Center Conference
The Lions Children's Hearing Center, housed in the Department of Otolaryngology, will host an educational conference on childhood hearing loss, 4-6 p.m., Feb. 15, in PWB 8-335. Presentations will be given in the areas of genetics, infectious disease, neurotology and aural rehabilitation. Please call Alyssa Anderson at 612-625-7753 to register and for information on CME credit.
Add your input on the 2008-2009 University Symposium
The Institute for Advanced Studies, organizer of the University Symposium, wants help developing the next topic, “Body and Knowing.” Planners are looking for people in all disciplines who are interested in discussing possible themes for development and programming for the Symposium. To get involved, read the Symposium Wiki https://wiki.umn.edu/view/IAS_Body_Knowing/WebHome.
Go for the discussion. Stay for the (delicious) free bread
Jeff Hertzberg M.D., M.S. (Medical School), and pastry chef Zoe Francios will discuss their book, “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking” 4 p.m., Feb. 6, at the University bookstore in Coffman Memorial Union. Bread samples will be available for tasting.
CALENDAR
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Jan. 24 (Thu)
6:00p to 9:00p
From Eugenics to Deadly Medicine and Back
Homo Sapiens 1900 (film by Peter Cohen)
Commentator: Kirk Allison, PhD, MS
Location: Law Building - 25
Jan. 29 (Tue)
12:00p to 1:00p
Cancer Center Seminar
My Dog -- Your Cancer: One More Reason Dog is Man's Best Friend
Jaime F. Modiano, VMD, PhD
Location: Cancer Center Research Building - 450
Jan. 31 (Thu)
4:00p to 5:50p
Nursing Grand Rounds
Community Forum: A Nursing Perspective on Health Care Reform
Location: Off Campus - Town & Country Club, 300 Mississippi River Blvd N, St. Paul
Feb. 1 (Fri)
7:00p to 8:00p
Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections of Mortality
Pauline Chen
Location: Coffman Memorial Union - Bookstore
More events like these can be found on the AHC calendar, http://www.ahc.umn.edu/calendar. You can submit an item to the AHC calendar by going to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/submitevent.
FACILITIES NEWS
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Renovations underway at Delaware Street ramp
Work is underway to add a new elevator and stairwell to the Delaware Street ramp. In addition to adding a third elevator cab, the project will upgrade controls on the other two elevators to improve speed and renovate the vestibule areas of the parking ramp. The project is expected to take 11 months.
University to upgrade wireless network
The Board of Regents approved a plan to upgrade campus wireless services with a seamless, campus-wide network. The current plan will only replace existing access points, but with an eye to future expansion. If you know of a location on campus that does not have adequate wireless coverage, let the Office of Information Technology know by going to http://www.umn.edu/nts and clicking the "Order Services" link.
TIME CAPSULE
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Medical School Admissions – Then and now
Obtaining an advanced degree in the health sciences is no easy task. The first major hurdle for many is the application process. Look back at the entrance criteria for the inaugural class of the College of Medicine and Surgery in 1888 and read the handwritten minutes of the Board of Regents outlining the requirements for admission.
AHC News Capsules is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Jacob Portnoy at port0179@umn.edu.
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