News Capsules 03/01/06
NEWS
AHC Grant Deadline Reminder
PEOPLE
ANNOUNCEMENTS
DATE
NEWS
A new approach to financing very expensive and technologically sophisticated research space will be announced March 2 by President Robert Bruininks during his annual State of the University speech, which begins at 3 p.m. on the University of Minnesota Morris campus. A briefing for reporters will be held at 9:30 a.m. Live interactive broadcast feeds of the State of the University will be located in 100 Dowell Hall, UM Crookston; 173 Kirby Plaza, UM Duluth; ST108, UM Rochester; and Coffman Union Theater and 145 Peters Hall, UM Twin Cities.
Gunda Georg, a world-renowned researcher in drug discovery and development, will join the College of Pharmacy in early fall as head of the Department of Medicinal Chemistry. Georg is highly regarded for her research on discovering and developing potential drugs to treat cancer and developing male contraceptive agents. Over the last 25 years, she has ranked in the top 5 percent of researchers receiving NIH funding. Georg will bring a team of more than 20 graduate students and postdoctoral research associates with her, and she will work closely with researchers in the Cancer Center and the Medical School. "Georg's hiring establishes drug discovery and development as a major focus at the University," said Dean Marilyn K. Speedie, College of Pharmacy. Georg will hold the Robert Vince Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and the McKnight Presidential Chair in Medicinal Chemistry. For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/georg022106 .
Medical School researchers have successfully reversed diabetes in monkeys using transplanted islet cells from pigs. "These results suggest it is feasible to use pig islet cells as a path to a far-reaching cure for diabetes," said lead researcher Bernhard J. Hering, surgery, associate director of the Diabetes Institute for Immunology and Transplantation. For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/diabetes022006 or http://www.startribune.com/789/story/257336.html . To listen to Hering speak about the research, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/18362/diabetes_research_raw.mp3 .
The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics is awarding $9 million in state-funded research support to nine new U-Mayo research teams. The funding will support research on pancreatic cancer, tuberculosis, brain tumors, as well as cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and autoimmune diseases. Other projects will focus on transplant rejection, drug addiction and cancer drug development. The partnership also is awarding $6 million in infrastructure support. To view the winning research teams, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/umayo022806/awards . To view the news release, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/umayo022806 .
The 3M Foundation has contributed $1 million to the School of Dentistry to renovate teaching labs for beginning dentistry students. This is the lead gift toward a $10.5 million project that will position the U as the best equipped dental school in the Big Ten. The lab will feature virtual reality-based simulation equipment that provides lifelike patient experiences for students and uses interactive multimedia to give students real-time feedback on their performance. "We are overwhelmed by 3M's generosity," said Dean Patrick Lloyd. "Their gift is important in so many ways. It not only gets us closer to our goal of raising $10.5 million, it demonstrates to all the importance of the project. As Minnesota's only dental school, we have a far-reaching responsibility to educate tomorrow's dental professionals in a way that most efficiently and effectively prepares them to treat patients. Our work affects the lives of nearly every resident in the state." For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/3mgrant021606 .
About 375,000, or 7.4 percent, of Minnesotans, were uninsured in 2004--an increase of about 94,000 people compared with 2001 when the uninsurance rate was 5.7 percent, according to a report by the Minnesota Department of Health and the School of Public Health's State Health Access Data Assistance Center. The growth in uninsurance was driven by a decrease in group or employer-based coverage, the report states. For an in-depth look at the changes in health insurance coverage by income, race/ethnicity, age, family status, and geography in Minnesota between 2001 and 2004, one can access the report at www.shadac.org or www.health.state.mn.us/healtheconomics .
Second-year medical students on the Duluth campus will help educate more than 2,700 fifth- and sixth-graders March 13-17 during Brain Awareness Week. Thirty-four medical students will visit 27 towns in Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin , leading interactive demonstrations of brain function. Brain Awareness Week in the Twin Cities will be held April 24-28 . Students and faculty will present neuroscience activities and information to area fourth- and fifth-graders. The University's Brain Awareness program is sponsored by the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, the Medical School, the Keith Kajander scholarship fund of the School of Dentistry, and the Academic Health Center.
The Health Sciences Libraries is the new name used to refer to the Bio-Medical Library, Veterinary Medical Library, and the Owen H. Wangensteen Historical Library of Biology and Medicine. The Health Sciences Libraries are under the direction of Linda Watson. The three libraries retain their distinct identities but now share an overarching identity as the Health Sciences Libraries based on their common mission, visions, and goals. This spring, watch for the Health Sciences Libraries' new Web site.
Members of the Medical School's Deborah E. Powell Center for Women's Health are working with the newly formed Minnesota Human Trafficking Watch, a group of organizations and individuals concerned about the increase in sex and labor trafficking in Minnesota. The group, which holds its first meeting March 3, will coordinate training, conduct public education and outreach, and provide comprehensive services to victims of trafficking in Minnesota. Powell Center members will work with health care providers to help them identify victims and provide information about available resources. For more information, contact Lauren Gilchrist at gilc0010@umn.edu .
Nearly 200 University dental students provided free dental care Feb. 5 for 216 children, ages 2-18, as part of Give Kids a Smile Day, a student-coordinated event. First- and second-year dental students helped in registration, served as patient escorts, and assisted third- and fourth-year dental students and pediatric dental residents who treated patients. Dental residents provided orthodontic and endodontic (root canal) consults, and dental hygiene students and faculty treated patients and provided oral health education. Faculty supervised treatment, and many staff members were on hand to support the day's events. Forty children received treatment at a similar event Feb. 11 at the dental school's Hibbing Community College Dental Clinic. Give Kids a Smile Day is an annual, national event created to provide free dental care to low-income children and to increase awareness about the barriers some children and their families face in accessing dental care. For more, go to http://www.dentistry.umn.edu/news/give_kids_smile.html .
Fairview Health Services has launched a new Web site for University of Minnesota Children's Hospital, Fairview. Check it out at http://www.fairviewchildrens.org . Let us know what you think by writing to ahccomm@umn.edu .
AHC GRANT DEADLINE REMINDER
May 5 is the deadline to apply for an AHC Translational Research Grant of up to $200,000. Three grants will be awarded. The program was established to assist researchers move research from the lab to clinic. Details are available at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/research/funding/translational .
Apply now through April 7 for an AHC Seed Grant of up to $25,000. The program is intended to support new initiatives in a faculty member's research. Fifteen awards will be made. Details are at http://www.ahc.umn.edu/research/funding/seedgrants .
PEOPLE
Going to the State Fair in Minnesota means Ferris wheels, cotton candy, and skin cancer exams , via videoconferencing, wrote Elliot Gold in the Feb. 6 Electronic TeleSpan, describing the Fairview University of Minnesota Telemedicine Network. Telespan named the State Fair videoconferencing event as one of 10 Wild and Unexpected applications of teleconferencing for 2005. The article featured Zoi Hills, Fairview Health Services, and Marshall Hoff, Academic Health Center Office of Education. To read the entire article, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/7617/UMinnCS060206.pdf .
Muriel Bebeau, School of Dentistry, is co-author of a book nominated for a Moral Development and Education Outstanding Book Award by the American Education Research Association. The book, "Dentists Who Care: Inspiring Stories of Professional Commitment," traces the lives of 10 dentists identified by their peers as moral exemplars and provides insight into the emergence of professional values and virtues that motivate the committed actions that distinguish their professional lives.
Carol Ley has been named chair of the board of trustees of University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, effective June 1. She will serve a two-year term. Ley is 3M's director of occupational medicine, Corporate Occupational Medicine, Medical Department, and is chair of the board of directors of the National Patient Safety Foundation. Attorney Ed Drenttel was named vice chair.
Don Nixdorf, School of Dentistry, was elected to the Medical Advisory Board of the Trigeminal Neuralgia Association, which provides information and support for patients.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Need computing resources for your bioinformatics research? There's help from the Academic Health Center's Center for Computational Genomics and Bioinformatics ( http://ccgb.umn.edu ), which recently introduced two new Web sites for those needing assistance. Descriptions of the center's bioinformatics and computing resources are available at http://resources.ccgb.umn.edu and http://training.ccgb.umn.edu . The sites provide schedules and course materials for CCGB workshops. Questions or comments? Send an e-mail to help@ccgb.umn.edu .
Apply now through March 10 for the A. Marilyn Sime Faculty Research Fellowship Program in Complementary Therapies & Healing Practices through the Center for Spirituality and Healing. The intent of the program is to identify faculty who have high potential for a research career in areas including complementary therapies and healing practices, spirituality, and cross-culture healing practices. University of Minnesota tenure and tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply. For more information, please contact Linda at 612.626.5307 or chmie001@umn.edu. To download an application, visit the center's Web site at www.csh.umn.edu .
SAVE THE DATE
The School of Public Health's annual Film Festival will be April 3-7 in recognition of National Public Health Week. The movies and clips focus on raising awareness of health promotion and disease prevention. All screenings are free and begin at 5:30 p.m., in the Mayo Memorial Auditorium. To see a tentative list of films scheduled for showing, go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/filmfestival.html .
Beyond the Cure, a free educational conference on childhood cancer survivorship, will be held Saturday, April 8 , 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the McNamara Alumni Center. The conference will focus on issues and concerns of importance to survivors and their families after completion of treatment for childhood cancer. The conference is intended for parents of cancer survivors, cancer survivors ages 16 and up, health-care professionals, school administrators, and social workers. Space is limited so please register early by calling 1-888-CANCERMN (888-226-2376) or visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu to register online.
A Global Health Forum will be held Saturday, April 8, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m ., in Moos Tower. The event is sponsored by the AHC's Center for Health Interprofessional Programs. Admission is $5, which includes the cost of lunch. For more information, contact Larry Pyers at pyer0002@umn.edu .
"Sudden Cardiac Death: What Have We Learned?" will be presented by Russell Luepker, School of Public Health, as part of the Mayo Professors in Public Health Lecture series. The event will take place April 18, 4:30-5:30 p.m., in the Molecular and Cellular Biology building, room 3-120. A reception begins at 4 p.m. The Mayo Professor program honors faculty who are internationally recognized scholars in public health.
The Harvard Street Forum presents David Feldshuh, author of Miss Evers' Boys, on Friday, April 28, noon to 1 p.m., at Grace University Lutheran Church. His talk is titled "Miss Evers' Boys: Factual Fiction and Ethical Truth." Also featured will be music performed by T. Mychael Rambo, Twin Cities actor and vocalist. The Harvard Street Forum is a collaboration of the Medical School's Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, the Academic Health Center, the Center for Medical Humanities, and Grace University Lutheran Church. It provides a venue in which members of the University and the surrounding community can discuss issues of relevance and controversy that impact our lives.
The Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra will perform a benefit concert for Fairview Hospice on Sunday, May 21, 4 p.m., at Ted Mann Concert Hall. Preceding the concert will be a dessert reception beginning at 3 p.m. For tickets, call 612-672-7272. For more information, please call Heather Glasso at 612-672-7772.
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