News Capsules 04/27/05
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
The House of Representatives passed a biennial budget recommendation of $102.3 million for the University on April 22. The full Senate will vote next week on a $121.3 million proposal from the Senate Finance Committee. The University has requested $126 million. Once a bill is passed by the Senate, a conference committee will be assembled to work out a compromise. An important difference is that the House recommendation wraps $15 million earmarked for the University-Mayo partnership into the U’s budget allocation, while the Senate would fund the partnership through a separate bill. For more information about the University’s budget request, and to watch for legislative updates, go to http://www.umn.edu/urelate/govrel.
AHC NEWS
The University of Missouri won first place at the first National CLARION competition, held April 8-9 at the University of Minnesota. Minnesota tied for second place with Dartmouth College. “Each of the teams made a great effort,” said Judy Beniak, director of the University’s Health Careers Center. “New collegial relationships were formed around interprofessional education and patient safety.” CLARION was founded by Minnesota students a few years ago, with a focus on increasing patient safety through interprofessional collaboration. Each team includes four students from the fields of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, physical therapy, or health-care administration. During the competition, teams took on the case study of a major medical error. Other competing schools included the University of Chicago, University of Tennessee, University of Connecticut, and University of Wisconsin-Madison.
More than $90,000 was raised to fight cancer at the April 22-23 Relay for Life event at the University of Minnesota Field House. The total breaks the Relay for Life Big Ten record of $72,000 by the University of Michigan. Overall, 58 teams and 700 people, including 25 survivors, participated in the all-night event. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.
A new procedure for obtaining research resources at Fairview Health Services no longer requires review and approval from the AHC Office of Research (Box 19 on the Proposal Routing Form or PRF should still be checked, but will no longer require a signature). Under the new electronic system, pricing information can be obtained directly from Fairview by completing an online application at http://www.fairview.org/Research/For_Researchers/c_099905.asp. When submitting final documents to Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA), include a copy of the Research Price Quote for Fairview Services provided by Fairview Research Administration. Mike Nordberg, AHC Office of Research, is still available to help with questions (625-1109). These changes take effect May 2.
All six AHC schools and more than 130 Web sites in the AHC are now using the University of Minnesota Web design template and the FileNET Web Content Management System. The templates provide consistent, yet customizable, design and navigational structure to AHC Web sites. The FileNET software makes updating Web pages easy for non-technical editors. The templates and software are free for units within the Academic Health Center. For more about the AHC Web System, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/webdepot.
Wordmarks for the AHC and its six schools and colleges are now available online, along with hundreds of photos, at the AHC Image Library. To access them, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/about/admin/communications/images. You will need to log in using your University e-mail user name and password. The images are intended for use by University of Minnesota faculty and staff for noncommercial, University of Minnesota purposes only.
OTHER NEWS
Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery is now offered to Fairview-University patients on the University of Minnesota campus. Located in the radiation oncology department, the Gamma Knife delivers 201 beams of radiation that precisely intersect on a targeted area of abnormal or cancerous tissue within the brain. Its precision results in minimal damage to adjacent, healthy tissue. Fairview-University is the only Twin Cities hospital offering Gamma Knife. Medical directors of the Gamma Knife Center are Walter Hall and James Orner, University of Minnesota Physicians, and Paul Sperduto, Minneapolis Radiation Oncology.
Judith Buchanan is the new associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Dentistry. Recruited from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine, Buchanan did her post-doctoral work in biochemistry at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center with a research focus on the control of gene expression. She earned a doctor of dental medicine degree from the University of Florida in Gainesville. Buchanan is a recognized leader in the introduction and implementation of virtual reality-based simulation clinics into dental curricula and a noted researcher in the area of students’ learning styles. She also is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard, deployed in 2003 to run dental clinics in Bosnia and Germany. She joined the school on April 25.
The College of Pharmacy ranked fourth in this year’s U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of pharmacy programs. The rankings are based upon peer assessment surveys of leaders in pharmacy colleges and schools across the country. "The ranking reflects the hard work, dedication, and high standards the students and faculty of the College of Pharmacy set for themselves and their colleagues," said Dean Marilyn K. Speedie. "Cutting-edge research by world-renowned faculty enhances the excellent education program." For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/pharmacy041505
Fairview-University Medical Center will be a tobacco-free property, effective May 2. This includes all Fairview-University owned and leased property. Special accommodations will be made for outpatient chemical dependency treatment patients who smoke.
Free skin cancer screenings on Melanoma Monday, May 2, will be provided by the Medical School’s Department of Dermatology. The screenings are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., in Phillips-Wangensteen Building, 4-175, and 8:30 to 11 a.m., at the University Riverside Orthopedic Clinic, Room 102. The American Academy of Dermatology-sponsored event is designed to raise awareness of skin cancer and encourage regular skin examinations. “We are trying to teach our patients and the public the basics of sun-safety, including wearing proper clothing, using adequate sun screen, and practicing sun avoidance,” said Peter Lee, assistant professor of dermatology and director of the University’s Dermatologic Surgery and Laser Center. For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/melanoma042605
Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer visited The Raptor Center April 20 during an event to celebrate National Volunteer Week. During the last year, more than 300 volunteers have logged 32,000 hours at The Raptor Center, which is equivalent to 16 full-time employees. Volunteers help veterinary staff care for injured birds, exercise the birds in preparation for release back to the wild, and educate the public.
PEOPLE
Javier Silva Biotti, AHC Human Resources; John T. Jensen, AHC Office of the Senior Vice President; and Jan Williams, executive assistant to the dean/communications coordinator at the College of Veterinary Medicine, have been selected to participate in the University of Minnesota President's Emerging Leaders program this coming year. The President's Emerging Leaders program is designed to identify talented staff and further develop their readiness and skills for leadership roles.
Lisa Harnack, School of Public Health, epidemiology, will receive a $670,659 NIH grant for her study, “Effect of Nutritional Labeling on Fast Food Choices.” Co-investigators from the Division of Epidemiology include Simone French, Robert Jeffery, Michael Oakes, and Mary Story.
Mary Jo Kreitzer, Louise Delagran, and Sheila Hoover at the Center for Spirituality and Healing received a University Technology Enhanced Learning Grant for $9,784. This grant will fund the development of Phase II of the Interactive Scenario Builder, a tool that generates online simulations of patient/provider interactions. For more information, go to http://www.csh.umn.edu/isb/index.html
Patricia Lenton, School of Dentistry, preventive sciences, was featured in the April 2005 issue of Current Science, published by the Weekly Reader Corporation. Her research in the area of sensory judging of bad breath is being conducted at the School of Dentistry Oral Health Clinical Research Center. Mailed to secondary school students, the magazine issue focuses on women with careers in science. More than 90 percent of United States school districts distribute the publication to their students.
Robert H. Margolis, Medical School, otolaryngology, was awarded a $750,000 Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the National Institutes of Health for the development and evaluation of an automated clinical test of speech understanding. The technology utilizes automatic speech-recognition software to score responses to speech stimuli which can be in any language. The project is a multicenter study involving the University of Minnesota, Medical University of South Carolina, Oregon Health & Science University, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Johnson City, Tennessee.
James R. Miller, School of Dentistry, orthodontics, received the Robert E. Binder Teaching Fellowship Award from the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation for 2005-06. The $25,000 award was based on competitive application and was one of twelve awards given nationally.
Kristin Nichol, Medical School, medicine, was named the first recipient of the Dr. Charles Mérieux Award for Scientific Achievement by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The award honors an individual who demonstrates a commitment to science-based medicine and research in infectious diseases, shows excellence in clinical and/or research activities, and has an unsurpassed dedication to improving public health. Mérieux, a French scientist, devoted his life to fighting infectious diseases globally.
Leah Schafers, a junior nursing student, has been elected president of the CHIP (Center for Health Interprofessional Programs) Executive Council for the 2005-06 academic year.
Janet Shanedling, Manda Lo, and Paul Ceelen, AHC Office of Education, are part of the team that won a University Technology Enhanced Learning Grant of $9,596 for the School of Nursing project, “Friendly Tools to Develop Interactive Online Courses.” The complete list of grant recipients is at http://dmc.umn.edu/grants/2005/awards05.shtml
Mary Story, School of Public Health, epidemiology, was awarded a $3.7 million NIH grant for her study, “Bright Start: Obesity Prevention in American Indian Children.”
Kristen Thorstenson, second-year Medical School student, received a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellowship. She is one of 66 new HHMI medical fellows in the country this year and will receive a $23,000 stipend for her year-long research project working with Linda McLoon, ophthalmology.
Elizabeth Wattenberg, School of Public Health, environmental health sciences, will receive a $1.18 million grant from the National Cancer Institute for her study, “Negative Regulators: Key Determinants in Carcinogenesis.” The co-investigator is Laura Mauro, College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences.
Brenda Wood, Community University Health Care Center, was awarded a chair on a American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) task force, which will evaluate the current practice standards of registered health information technologists. These technologists ensure the quality of medical records by verifying their completeness and accuracy. Wood has also been invited to serve on an AHIMA national committee that will be evaluating the information from the regional task force committees and implementing changes to the credentialing examination.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
“With All Deliberate Speed: Race Relations 50 Years After Brown II,” a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education II, will be held on campus May 2-7. The presentations look at race relations today, focusing on issues of college admissions, contemporary prejudice, and broadly at black-white relations. Presenters are nationally recognized researchers on inter-group relations. For more information, and to register for any of the events, go to http://www.academic.umn.edu/system/communications/brownvboard2.html
Nominate a Fairview-University Medical Center physician for any of three Medical Staff Recognition Awards, each worth $5,000. Categories are clinical care, clinical innovation, and clinical scholar. Any active member of the credentialed medical staff at Fairview-University is eligible, and any member of the Fairview or University of Minnesota Academic Health Center community may submit nominations. The deadline is May 27. Awards will be presented Oct. 12 at the Fairview-University medical staff banquet. Go to http://www.fairview.org/mdnomination for more information. Questions can be directed to Marge Salstrom at 273-4201.
Interim Dean John Finnegan, School of Public Health, will moderate during day two of the Minnesota Public Health Association and the Minnesota Environmental Health Association Joint Conference and Meeting, May 4-6, in Nisswa, Minn. The conference is intended to focus attention on the role of the environment in human health, to highlight the importance of scientific integrity in shaping public policy, and to encourage health professionals to work across organizations. For more information, go to http://www.mpha.net/mehaMphaConf.html.
Academic Health Center students are eligible to apply for the new Health Activism Elective, which runs from June 29 to Aug. 3. Health Activism is an interdisciplinary, community-based summer opportunity. It involves working on a community health project, with a community-based organization; building your community health and advocacy skills through a series of hands-on workshops taught by faculty and community activists; and building strong working relationships with community activists and fellow AHC students. For information, contact Sara Axtell (625-4489). Credits and hours of work per week negotiated with your college faculty contact.
Travel awards are available to female graduate students engaged in scientific research. The funds may be used for travel expenses and registration fees, not for room and board. The usual award is in the range of $200 to $300. For more information, contact Katherine E. Himes at mailto:hime0005@umn.edu
"Where are Law, Ethics & the Life Sciences Headed? Frontier Issues" will take place Friday, May 20, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., in Mondale Hall, Room 25, University of Minnesota. Online registration, full agenda, and further information are available at http://www.jointdegree.umn.edu/conferences/lawlifesci.php or by calling 612-625-0055.
Members of the University of Minnesota Retirees Association (UMRA) can now receive discounts on purchases from University Bookstores, Intercollegiate Athletics, Rec. Sports, and Parking Services. In addition, the association has worked to assure continuing access for all retirees to the University’s e-mail system and the University’s contract with the National Car Rental. To find out more about UMRA and how to join, visit http://www.umn.edu/umra, or contact John Howe, at mailto:howex002@umn.edu.
Dr. Joia Mukherjee will speak May 5 on the topic of Medical Activism, in 2-650 Moos Tower, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Mukherjee, medical director of Partners in Health, is a global leader in the treatment of MDR-TB and HIV/AIDS in resource-poor communities. She divides her time between Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and clinical sites in Peru, Haiti, and Russia.
CLINICAL RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
For information on other clinical research opportunities, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/campusnews/trials.
|
