News Capsules 07/20/05
July 20, 2005
NEWS
Medical School researchers led by Karen Ashe, neurology, were able to reverse memory loss in mice with significant brain degeneration for the first time, a breakthrough that offers hope to the estimated 4 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Ashe’s findings brought international media attention to the University of Minnesota, including coverage by the Boston Globe, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Reuters News, CNN, Fox News, and most of the Twin Cities newspapers and TV stations. The study results were published in the July 15 issue of the journal Science. Says Ashe: “Most Alzheimer’s disease treatments focus on slowing the symptoms or preventing the disease from progressing, but our research suggests that in the future we may be able to reverse the effects of memory loss, even in patients who have lost brain or neural tissue.” For more, go to
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1556/5506676.html
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/12136025.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-Alzheimers-New-Front.html
http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_195220925.html
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=102485
Although the Legislature and governor needed overtime to agree on a state budget, lawmakers had no trouble recognizing the importance of supporting the Academic Health Center's health professional schools and programs. That support is evident in the final tweaking of the bill that created a 75-cent Health Impact Fee on a pack of cigarettes. Legislators quickly realized that the fee increase likely will result in a decline in cigarette sales--and therefore a reduction in the amount of funding that goes to the AHC since the AHC receives 6.5 cents from the sale of each pack of cigarettes. Legislators agreed to change the provision so that the AHC will receive a flat amount of $44.5 million over the biennium from cigarette taxes and fees--a $3.1 million increase from what had been approved earlier in the session.
Barbara Brandt, AHC assistant vice president for education, joined colleagues around the country to advocate in Washington, D.C., for the restoration of Title VII funding for health professions programs. Title VII program goals are to increase minority representation in the health professions, expand the primary care provider workforce, and support community-based training of various health professions in rural and urban under-served areas. The University receives about $3.4 million annually to fund a number of programs, including those in Duluth, Hibbing, and Willmar. Brandt recently met with U.S. senators from Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin after the House voted to eliminate the program. Last week, a key Senate committee voted to restore funding. The full Senate is expected to vote soon.
A new method that could accelerate the way cancer-causing genes are found, and may lead to a more accurate identification of such genes, has been discovered by Cancer Center researchers working with colleagues at the National Cancer Institute. The findings were published in the July 14 issue of Nature. The Medical School’s David Largaespada (Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development), led the University of Minnesota research team. For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/cancer071305.
Jasjit Ahluwalia has been named the first executive director of the office of clinical sciences in the Academic Health Center. He will also serve as associate dean for clinical research in the Medical School and as professor in the Department of Medicine. Ahluwalia earned his M.D. and M.P.H. from Tulane University in 1987. He received residency training in internal medicine at University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill. He also earned an M.S. from the Harvard School for Public Health. His most recent positions included professor and chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and director of the M.S. degree program in clinical research. “Dr. Ahluwalia brings outstanding scientific skills and commitment to clinical research programs that improve the health of communities,” said Dean Deborah Powell, Medical School. “He is eminently suited to take the lead in developing collaborative, interdisciplinary clinical research projects that connect programs and schools throughout the AHC. He will perform a similar function promoting collaborative clinical research within the Medical School.” Ahluwalia plans to continue his research on smoking cessation and health disparities.
College of Veterinary Medicine researchers have developed a new and improved test for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), the No. 1 infectious disease affecting the swine industry. The test can detect widely divergent genetic isolates in one clinical assay and is more sensitive for some isolates than other tests. Researchers say that the new procedure will reduce costs and turnaround time because the two major strains of the PRRS virus, the European and North American strains, are detected by the same test. The test was developed by Kay Faaberg, Jun Han, Sarah Herrin, Yin Jiang, and Carrie Wees.
The Raptor Center will be able to double its outreach efforts among lower-income and minority families after winning a second AmeriCorps Promise Fellowship this year. Through the program, the center provides educational programs featuring live raptors, to minority and low-income children. "AmeriCorps appreciated our creativity in using live birds to inspire interest in science," said Lisa Koch, director of education at The Raptor Center. "The additional position will help our programs and events reach a broader audience, particularly families and children in our neediest communities. It will directly increase our ability to support Twin Cities-area schools in closing the achievement gap."
PEOPLE
Two College of Veterinary Medicine faculty recently won awards at the American Veterinary Medical Association. William Hueston, director of the Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, received the Karl F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award. Carl Osborne was presented with the first Robert R. Shomer Award for Outstanding Achievement in Veterinary Medical Ethics.
Margaret Moss, School of Nursing, will be one of 15 delegates representing Minnesota at the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. Moss was appointed by the National Congress of American Indians to represent Minnesota at the 2005 conference. She will join 1,200 other delegates from around the country in voting on resolutions and developing strategies to help the president and Congress shape policies for current and future generations of aging adults. For more, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/moss071405.
Dean Jeff Klausner, College of Veterinary Medicine, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Animal Humane Society of Hennepin County.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Teaching and Assessing with Cases will be held Thursday, July 21, 7:30 - 9 a.m. in the AHC Learning Commons. Jane Miller will introduce the session followed by two breakout sessions on Best Practices and the Interactive Scenarios Builder. All AHC faculty and staff are invited. The event is free of charge, but advanced reservations are recommended through http://www.learningcommons.umn.edu. The event is part of the AHC Faculty Summer Camp Program.
Simulations, Health Informatics, and Knowledge Management are the topics for three upcoming presentations, sponsored by the Academic Health Center Office of Education. All will be held in room 488 Children’s Rehabilitation Center, They are: Simulations, Aug. 4, 10 -11 a.m., Robert Sweet, M.D., Medical School, Department of Urologic Surgery; Health Informatics, Thursday, Aug. 11, 9-11 a.m., Connie Delaney, dean, School of Nursing; The Library’s Role in Knowledge Management, Thursday, Aug. 11, 10-11 a.m., Linda Watson, director, University of Minnesota Health Sciences Libraries.
CLINICAL RESEARCH OPPORTUNTIES
For information on clinical research opportunities, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/campusnews/trials.
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