News Capsules 03/15/06
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
On Tuesday, President Robert Bruininks presented the proposed Minnesota Biomedical Sciences Research Facilities Authority to the House Governmental Operations committee and Senate Higher Education Budget Division in the Minnesota Legislature, as part of the overall University capital request. Deborah Powell, dean of the Medical School, also answered questions from committee members about the essential need for sophisticated research space in order to attract top-tier research faculty. If approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor, the proposed authority would finance five new research buildings over the next 10 years.
What You Can Do:
Want to help with the U of M’s legislative effort? Then sign up for AHC Day at the Capitol, which is March 27 this year. This is an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to talk to their legislators about how we are transforming education, discovering knowledge, and advancing care at the University. The U’s request includes the proposed research facilities authority noted above, funding for a $60 million Medical Biosciences Building, and a supplemental funding request for clinical education equipment in the School of Dentistry and College of Veterinary Medicine. For more information, contact Mary Kenyon, mhk@umn.edu or 612-626-1987. To register online for the event, go to http://ga4.org/u_of_m_leg_net/events/ahcday06/details.tcl.
NEWS
Medical School researchers have identified key insights into how different types of infection-fighting T-cells survive and co-exist within the body’s immune system. “Without this balance, a body’s immune system will not have the desired response when faced with infection,” said Marc Jenkins, microbiology, co-author of the study. “These findings could aid the development and production of vaccines and lead to further research on how the body fights specific infections, such as HIV.” For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/t-cells030306/home.html.
The Center for Spirituality and Healing has teamed with Twin Cities Public Television to create My Health Planner, a free online resource that helps people set up and follow individualized health plans. “If we want to help people live healthy lives and reduce health care costs, focusing on lifestyle and behavior change is essential,” says Mary Jo Kreitzer, director of the center. The Web tool was launched in conjunction with the New Medicine television program, a two-hour documentary that airs nationally March 29 on PBS. For more information on My Health Planner or the New Medicine program, go to www.thenewmedicine.org.
PEOPLE
Wendy Hellerstedt, School of Public Health, epidemiology; and Michel Sanders, Medical School, biochemistry, are two of eight faculty members to receive a 2006 University of Minnesota award for Outstanding Contributions to Graduate and Professional Education. Hellerstedt and Sanders will be inducted into the U’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. The awards will be formally presented April 24, 3 p.m., at the McNamara Alumni Center.
Several Medical School faculty members contributed to “The Complete Guide to Colorectal Cancer,” a new book available through the American Cancer Society. David Rothenberger, surgery, served as an editor and writer. Chapters were also written by Edward Greeno, medicine, and Rocco Ricciardi, surgery. The book includes a forward by Katie Couric. For more information about the book, go to http://www.cancer.org/crc.
Jim Collins, College of Veterinary Medicine, director of the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, was awarded the Howard Dunne Memorial Award by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. The award recognizes important contributions and outstanding service to the association and the swine industry.
Scott Dee, College of Veterinary Medicine, was elected president of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians at the association's annual meeting March 7 in Kansas City, Mo.
Martha Kubik, School of Nursing, has received NIH funding for her study to develop and test a school-based intervention to prevent further weight gain and/or promote weight loss among ethnically and economically diverse adolescents attending alternative high schools. Jayne Fulkerson, School of Nursing, and Leslie Lytle, School of Public Health, are co-investigators.
Joseph R. Prohaska, Medical School, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was invited to present two lectures on the nutritional biochemistry of zinc and copper at the School of Biomedical & Molecular Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Take a sneak peek at the new Bio-Medical Library Web site, still under development, at http://www.biomed.lib.umn.edu/drupal. Click on the feedback link to provide the library with information on what works well and what needs to be tweaked.
The Clinical Research Conference takes place from 8-9 a.m. on the first and third Fridays of each month and is directed to AHC junior faculty and fellows seeking to establish careers in clinical research. Sponsored by the AHC Office of Clinical Research and the VA, the conference is led by Frank A. Lederle. All those interested are encouraged to attend. Upcoming dates are April 7, 1-450G Moos Tower, Rebecca Rossom, VA Clinical Scholar; and April 21, 1-450G Moos Tower, Mandeep Sawhney, VA Clinical Scholar.
One day. One night. One community. Relay For Life is about celebration, remembrance, and hope. Participants in this annual event honor cancer survivors, pay tribute to the lives lost to cancer, and raise money to help fight it. Register online at http://www.acsevents.org/relay/mn/uofm. For more information, contact Jenny Meslow, at meslo001@umn.edu.
The University is one of 22 sites nationwide hosting a public discussion March 22 on the U.S. health care system, its flaws, and how those flaws might be addressed. This free event will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., in Moos Tower, room 5-125. The University will be linked via satellite to other town meetings across the country. The highlights will be compiled and forwarded to President George Bush and key members of Congress. Leading the discussion locally will be the School of Public Health’s Lynn Blewett, Roger Feldman, Susan Foote, Ira Moscovice, and the Medical School’s Mac Baird, head of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Moderating will be Judith Garrard, senior associate dean for research and academic affairs, School of Public Health. A light dinner buffet and beverages will be provided free of charge. For more information, go to http://www.sph.umn.edu.
“The Road to Successful Clinical Research: A Case Study in Pittsburgh” will be presented March 29, 12:10 to 1 p.m., in room 2-650 Moos Tower, by David J. Kupfer, the Thomas Detre Professor and chair, Department of Psychiatry, at the University of Pittsburgh, and director of research at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. A light lunch will be served. The presentation is part of the Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series of the Academic Health Center Office of Clinical Research. Presenting April 18 is Robert Brook, vice president and director of RAND Health, and professor of medicine and health services at the Center for Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles. For more information on the series, contact Susan Jackson at sjackson@umn.edu.
Healthy Foods in Minneapolis Urban Communities: Economic, Policy and Community Strategies to Improve Healthy Food Access takes place March 28, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 3355 N. 4th St., Minneapolis. The purpose is to bring together University researchers and community leaders to identify and discuss issues related to healthy food access in lower income Minneapolis communities. Register Online at: http://www.publichealthplanet.org Questions? Call 626-4515 or write to cpheo@umn.edu.
AHC faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the premiere of “The New Medicine,” a two-hour PBS documentary, on March, 29, 6:30-10 p.m., in the A.J. Johnson Great Room, McNamara Alumni Center. Dinner will be provided, but space is limited. Register by sending an e-mail to nyst0060@umn.edu.
Want to learn more about emergency preparedness? The School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Preparedness is offering a series of awareness-level online modules covering various preparedness topics, including special populations, disaster mental health, and personal protective equipment. The courses can be found at http://www.umncphp.umn.edu/phet.
An online course designed for volunteers who may be asked to work in mass dispensing sites during a public health emergency is being offered by the School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Preparedness. The module is designed as an initial orientation. To access the training modules, go to http://www.umncphp.umn.edu/massdisp. For more information, contact Jennifer Reilly at 624-7440 or write to massdisp@umn.edu.
SAVE THE DATE
Barbara Daly will speak at the Florence Schorske Wald Lectureship in Palliative and Hospice Care April 5, 4 p.m., in Coffman Memorial Union’s Mississippi Room. Daly is director of the Clinical Ethics program at the University Hospitals of Cleveland and associate professor in the School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. She will discuss the need to better understand the issues associated with conducting research on dying patients and their families. The lecture is free and open to the public but registration is required. Register online at http://www.nursing.umn.edu/WaldLecture or contact Aneisha Tucker at tucke127@umn.edu.
The Women’s Health Nursing Conference: A Focus on Excellence will be held April 6, 7:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., in the Cancer Center Resource Building, room 450. The event is co-sponsored by the Medical School, Deborah E. Powell Center of Excellence in Women’s Health, School of Nursing, and the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. To register, send an e-mail to Suann Mitchell at mitch016@umn.edu, including your name and contact information. For more information, go to http://www.womenshealth.umn.edu.
The six Academic Health Center schools will offer a free faculty development opportunity, spanning a day and a half, Thursday and Friday, May 11 and 12. Leaders in education from all six schools, as well a national education leader, will share their expertise in the following four educational tracks: 1) Finding Balance for Health Care Professionals; 2) Enhancing Key Teaching Skills; 3) Teaching Ethics in the Classroom, Clinic, and Community; and, 4) Technology-Enhanced Teaching. For more information or to register online, go to http://www.bpinstitute.umn.edu.
“Frontiers of Drug Discovery: Chemical Library Development and Screening” takes place May 17 at Coffman Memorial Union Theater. The workshop is sponsored by the University Chemical Biology Initiative. The aim of the workshop is to inform biomedical, pharmacological, medicinal, computational, and chemical researchers about recent advances in chemical library design and screening. For more information or to register, go to http://www.pharmacy.umn.edu/cbi/workshop/home.html.
The 2006 Summer Public Health Institute takes place May 22 through June 9. Offered through the School of Public Health, the institute provides professionals a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in a chosen field of study. For more information, go to http://www.sph.umn.edu/publichealthplanet/events/institute or call 626-4515.
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