AHC News Capsules 02/21/07
February 21, 2007
NEWS CAPSULES
is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Jennifer La Forgia, lafor016@umn.edu.
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In the past two weeks, I’ve met with our elected representatives in both the nation’s capital and in St. Paul. From each contingent, I hear strong support for the work of our University and its health sciences schools and programs. It’s clear that the health status of our state – as well as its economic health – depend on successfully attaining our vision of the future, where our educational programs provide a mark of distinction, our research programs are a talent magnet, and our clinical enterprise is a destination of choice. I’d like to thank all of you who also are visiting D.C. and St. Paul for helping to make that case.
– Frank B. Cerra
The Minnesota Biomedical Sciences Research Facilities Authority made progress in the legislature this week. President Bruininks presented the authority in the Senate, where it passed out of the State and Local Government Operations Committee and moved to the Rules Committee. And, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences Frank Cerra testified in the House Governmental Operations Committee, which passed the authority on to House Finance.
To “protect and deepen the excellence” of the U’s research standing, Faculty Liaison Martin Sampson testified that the state legislature must fund the $67 million in salary increases in the Sustaining Quality and Competitiveness request, part of the U’s biennial budget request. In testimony before the Senate Higher Education Finance Committee, Sampson stressed that public universities face special challenges and cautioned that they “are falling behind private research university salaries.” To maintain the U’s strength as a talent magnet for quality faculty, the request must be funded, he said. This portion of the biennial request is not in the governor’s budget.
UCare Minnesota has donated $2 million to the AHC in order to support the Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC) in its efforts to serve community health. The generous donation from UCare Minnesota, a health plan dedicated to promoting integrated health care, will be used to support CUHCC programs in combining primary care, dental and mental health services and to help fund a new facility at Bloomington and Franklin Avenues.
Jonathan Slack, head of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Bath, England, is the new director of the U’s Stem Cell Institute. He earned his first degree in biochemistry from Oxford University, and his doctorate from Edinburgh University. Slack was elected a fellow of the U.K. Academy of Medical Sciences in 2004. He is an accomplished developmental biologist who uses model systems to examine questions underlying organ development and regeneration. Slack will begin his duties in March.
A research team led by Mark Schleiss (Medical School) has developed an experimental vaccine that reduces stillbirths in guinea pigs born to mothers infected with the cytomegalovirus (CVM), a common virus that can cause mental retardation and hearing loss in children infected while in the womb.This represents a significant step toward a top priority of the Institute of Medicine: To develop a vaccine to prevent cytomegalovirus infection during pregnancy. The experimental vaccine is called a vector vaccine, which uses an altered virus to deliver one gene from the viral DNA to the animal’s cells. The study will appear in the March 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The new building for the planned University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview, will include children’s acute care beds, a children’s emergency department, a children’s dialysis center, and a children’s radiation oncology center, according to an update by Russ Williams, vice president of the patient experience. The planned pediatric hospital will continue to use the following East Building infrastructure and services including: all perioperative services, plus four new operating rooms; a remodeled imaging department with pediatric sedation area; and an expanded neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU).
University of Minnesota alum Daniel J. Garry will be the new Director of the Lillehei Heart Institute and Division Director for Cardiology in the Department of Medicine. In line with the legacy of C. Walton Lillehei, Garry is an accomplished investigator who will contribute greatly to the U’s cardiovascular research program. Garry received his doctorate from the U in cell biology and neuroanatomy in 1990 and completed his residency here in 1993. Garry will come to the U from his position at the University of Texas, Southwestern where he is director of its Cardiovascular Regeneration and Stem Cell Center. His research focus has been on the molecular mechanisms of myocardial stem cell biology. Garry will begin his appointment June 15.
Charles Christiansen, new head for the U’s Center for Allied Health Programs, has accepted the additional role of Vice Provost for Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota Rochester. As vice provost, Christiansen will help oversee and coordinate all academic programs in health sciences; guide health science programs through the review and approval process; and inform the UMR administration of new opportunities and challenges.
David Jacobs and Susan Goodwin Gerberich (School of Public Health) have been named Mayo Professors of Public Health, the school’s highest recognition of its faculty members. The professorship recognizes the achievements of senior SPH faculty who demonstrate excellence in research, teaching and outreach. Gerberich is being recognized as a major research contributor in the area of injury prevention and Jacobs in cardiovascular disease prevention.
Robert H. Margolis (Medical School) has been awarded the James F. Jerger Career Research Award by the American Academy of Audiology. The presentation will be made at the national convention in Denver in April.
Privacy protectors Ross Janssen and John Jensen of the U’s Privacy Office have been invited to speak at the 2007 International Associate of Privacy Professionals summit, March 7-9, in Washington D.C. on the development and delivery of data privacy and security training programs in higher education.
David Sutherland (Medical School) recently assumed duties as editor-in-chief of the journal Clinical Transplantation, succeeding John Najarian (UMMC), the founding editor and now editor-in-chief, emeritus.
More than 300 leaders in business, government, and academia attended the Business Preparedness for Pandemic Influenza: Second National Summit held last week in Orlando, Fla. Dean John Finnegan (School of Public Health) who attended, said, “It’s was clear this year that preparedness planning has taken root in the business community.” The summit was organized by Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP). Also in attendance were 18 students from Osterholm’s Emerging Infectious Diseases course. To see photos, hear audio diaries, and read blog postings from the summit, go to http://blog.lib.umn.edu/sphpod/panflu/
The AHC’s Health Sciences Orchestra will play Mozart and Bach during its first noon concert of the season Friday, March 9, at the Grace University Lutheran Church, 324 Harvard Street S.E. (corner of Harvard and Delaware). A contribution at the door would be appreciated.
“Taking Charge of Your Health” is the theme of the spring Mini Medical School to run Monday evenings April 9–May 7 from 6–8:30 p.m. in the newly renovated Mayo Auditorium. The series, organized in collaboration with the Center for Spirituality & Healing, will cover topics that include: diet and nutrition; relationships and family; stress mastery; and life purpose. The cost is $75. To learn more and register go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/minimed. If you have questions, email minimed@umn.edu
The e
nvelope please! And…the Award of Distinction from the Association of American Medical Colleges goes to the Minnesota Medical Foundation for its video Minnesota Lifeline, a chronicle of the 2005 effort of the University of Minnesota Medical Reserve Corps, Mayo Clinic, College of St. Catherine, American Refugee Committee, and others to provide onsite assistance in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Project director Steve Johnson will accept the award next month in Tampa at the spring meeting of the AAMC’s Group on Institutional Advancement. Susan Cozzolino, former MMF editor, wrote the script.
The AHC and University Libraries will launch the AHC History Project with a special lecture honoring the late University of Minnesota oncologist B.J. Kennedy. Gretchen Krueger, historical consultant for the American Society of Clinical Oncology from 2003-06, will speak on “B.J. Kennedy and the Campaign for Medical Oncology,” Wednesday, Feb. 28, from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Mayo Memorial Auditorium. A reception will follow in the auditorium lobby. The AHC History Project is dedicated to preserving the rich history of the Academic Health Center and promoting the collection of its historical documents within the University Archives. For more information, go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/7617/HistoryProject_Kennedy.pdf
A new U recruiting tool. Garrison Keillor welcomes visitors and touts the culturally rich and family friendly highlights of the University and surrounding Twin Cities in a voice-over for a new Web site produced by the Provost’s office. The site is designed to attract and inform prospective faculty. To hear the wish-you-were-here welcome, go to: http://www.umn.edu/wishyouwerehere.
What will the legislature hear about women’s health? The Powell Center of Women’s Health is co-sponsoring a policy briefing on women’s health Friday, March 2, 2–3:30 p.m. in room 142 of the West Bank Office Building. Presenters include: Rep. Maria Ruud, (Minnetonka); Rep. Erin Murphy (St. Paul); Lorie Alveshere, Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention & Parenting; Julia Earl, Prevent Harm Minnesota; Mary Jo George, Minnesota Nurses Association; and School of Public Health faculty.
"Who Wrote My Paper?" will be the topic of the Distinguished Visiting Scholar Lecture Series . Drummond Rennie, M.D., deputy editor (west) of the Journal of the American Medical Association and adjunct professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, will present the lecture 12:15–1:15 p.m., March 6, in 2-530 Moos Tower. All are invited. Sandwiches and beverages will be served and parking will be validated.
A ground-breaking stem cell conference will be held Feb. 26. This full-day conference sponsored by the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences will convene top researchers and experts to explore the issues raised by SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer), the options open to universities, and how policy should progress. To register for the conference, "Creating Stem Cells by Research Cloning: Scientific, Ethical, Legal and Policy Challenges," go to: http://www.lifesci.consortium.umn.edu/conferences/scnt.php or e-mail lawvalue@umn.edu.
The AHC Translational Research Grant Program will fund three new grants with up to $200,000 over two to three years. Awards will go to new projects without outside funding and preference will go to projects that create new collaborations. The goal is to move concepts developed at the University from basic work to clinical testing. The deadline for receipt of applications is May 18. Awards will be announced in July. For program and application details, go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/research/funding/translational/home.html
Ethics and research. The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) announces a new periodic series, University Forum on Research and Professional Ethics. The inaugural event will be March 21 with a presentation by J. Michael Oakes (Division of Epidemiology), "From Leviathan to Peer Review: Social Science and IRBs.” For more information, go to http://www.research.umn.edu/events/research_ethics.html. This event qualifies as continuing education for investigators.
What does cancer look like in the body? What makes one cell normal and one cancerous? The Cancer Center’s seventh annual “Cancer and the Human Body” event at the Science Museum in St. Paul will help visitors understand the disease. The event is Saturday, Feb. 24, 1–4 p.m.
AHC News Capsules is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Jennifer La Forgia at lafor016@umn.edu.
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