News Capsules 09/21/06
September 21, 2006
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The school year is definitely in full swing, and the pace of challenges and opportunities we face is in full swing as well. First, in the challenge category is the struggle faced by our Community University Health Care Center, or CUHCC. The clinic is on the front lines of all that is stressing health care in this state — the rapid rise in the number of uninsured patients, the increase in languages requiring translators to access care, and the regulatory burden of providing care to those with public insurance. We’ll need to get creative to keep the clinic open to serve its community.
The decision involving the pursuit of an independent children’s hospital should be completed by the end of September. The process involving Children’s Hospital and Clinics, Fairview, and Allina has been constructive — and incredibly complex. Although we have made progress on a number of issues, there are still significant obstacles to overcome. No single issue or institution stands in the way of an agreement. Regardless of outcome, I believe the discussions and process have been positive for the community.
As to the opportunities, take a scan of the people section below and see the recognition our faculty are attracting for their contributions to their disciplines. Kudos to all — and to the four new members of the Academy of Excellence in Health Research whose photos and accomplishments have been installed on the wall display on the second level of Moos Tower. Slow down as you walk by and take a look.
– Frank B. Cerra
Leo T. Furcht, head of University’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, testified September 19 before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce in support of the National Institutes of Health Reform Act. Furcht, speaking in his role as president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), expressed gratitude for the committee’s continued support for increases in NIH funding and applauded its efforts to preserve investigator-initiated, competitive, peer-reviewed grants, but he also expressed FASEB’s support of a “common fund” for large-scale resources for the multi-disciplinary approach to research.
The University of Minnesota will host the dedication of the Scholars Walk and the unveiling of the Wall of Discovery Friday, September 29. The ceremony will occur at noon at the 253-foot Wall of Discovery on the north side of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building, where the Walk passes through a narrow area between buildings. Then, from noon to 2 p.m., free Dairy Queen ice cream will be available along the walk.The Scholars Walk, which runs from the McNamara Alumni Center to Appleby Hall, honors remarkable research and academic accomplishments of the University’s greatest students and faculty, while the Wall of Discovery is an artistic tribute to the process that leads to discovery. For more information, go to www.alumni.umn.edu/scholarswalk.
The University recently launched the Academic and Corporate Relations Center (ACRC) to improve University connections and relationships with the business community. ACRC staff will be available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to respond to questions from businesses and connect them with the right University contact. “ACRC is the ‘front door’ for businesses to connect with the University,” says Dick Sommerstad, director of ACRC. “We are here to deliver University resources, assets, and expertise to our partners in the business community.”
Apostolos P. Georgopoulos, director of the Brain Sciences Center, was selected for membership in the Cajal Club, one of the world’s preeminent neuroscience organizations. The club also named Georgopoulos its 2006 Krieg Cortical Discoverer, an honor given in recognition of high achievement in the field of neuroscience.
Sam McCready, the University’s program director for Continuing Medical Education for nearly 30 years, died September 4 of cancer. She retired from the University in 2005 after nearly 30 years of service.
Philip Portoghese, College of Pharmacy , received the 2006 Nauta Award in Medicinal Chemistry. The international award recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of medicinal chemistry and was presented at the International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry in Istanbul. He is an expert in opioid receptors.
Joseph Gaugler, School of Nursing, received a 2006 Mature Media Award for his book Promoting Family Involvement in Long-Term Care Settings: A Guide to Programs that Work. This national award is the largest awards program to recognize the best educational materials produced for adults age 50 and over.
James Begun, School of Public Health , was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). CAHME is the accrediting agency for graduate health administration programs in the United States and Canada.
William F. Austin, founder and CEO of Starkey Laboratories (the largest hearing aid manufacturer in the United States) received the University Award of Distinction at Eastcliff September 8. Austin donated 150,000 hearing aids to children worldwide since 2000 and has supported the International Hearing Foundation under the auspices of the Minnesota Medical Foundation.
Stephen Hecht, Cancer Center, will be the chair of the "Chemistry in Cancer Research—A Vital Partnership" conference scheduled for February 4–7, 2007, in San Diego. The meeting focuses on the promise of transdisciplinary interactions as a major pathway to progress and the power of chemistry to address the crucial problems in cancer research. For more information and to register, visit http://acswebcontent.acs.org/meetings/specialty/AACR/index.html.
A boom truck will be in the circle drive area east of the Mayo Building (southeast corner of the Mayo Auditorium) on Saturday September 23, for the day. The boom truck will hoist equipment into the Mayo Auditorium through the roof. McGough Construction will maintain one open lane in the circle drive.
Sign up to receive Accelerate, the new monthly newsletter of the AHC Office of Clinical Research about clinical and translational research. It provides information on resources available to clinical and translational researchers, incorporating news from the Research Services Organization, the General Clinical Research Center, and the newly funded NIH K12 program, CAPS. To read September’s issue, which includes information on the Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars and a feature on internal funding opportunities, go to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/img/assets/20383/Accelerate_Sept2006.pdf
Please use this link to subscribe, or e-mail the office ahcocr@umn.edu.
The required data-security training for the AHC is continuing. All AHC staff, faculty and students are encouraged to complete training as they are notified of their training assignment by e-mail. The training , "Public Jobs: Private Data," is a University-developed online data security and management training program. The training highlights key University policies, as well as helps learners understand best practices to securely use and share University data. More information about the Public Jobs: Private Data training program can be found at www.privacysecurity.umn.edu. Or, contact the Privacy and Security Office at 612-624-7447 or by e-mail at privacy@umn.edu.
The 22nd MHA Alumni Institute will be Sept. 29–30 at the Radisson University Hotel. The theme is "Leadership for Linking Health Protection and Promotion to Provide Better Healthcare." Derek Yach, director of health equity, Rockefeller Foundation, will present the keynote address at 8:30 a.m. Friday, September 29. His presentation is "Where Is the Political and Economic Leadership to Balance Health Gain and Health Care?" Advance registration is required and early registration is encouraged. For more information contact Dave PeKarna at pekar001@umn.edu or call 612-625-1321. To view the institute program, or to register, go to www.hpm.umn.edu/mha/alumni/inst2006/.
The Academic Health Center and Mayo Clinical Trial Services are sponsoring a conference, "Current Issues in Clinical Research: Latest Trends in Clinical Research," Oct. 4–5 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The program will cover the latest on pharmacovigilance, genomics and proteomics, principles of good clinical practice, and teamwork in clinical research. A nationally prominent faculty has been assembled, including SPH professor Jim Neaton. For more information and to register, go to www.mayocts.com/education/conferences.
The Health Policy Management Seminar Series presents Amitabh Chandra, assistant professor of public policy, Harvard University. He will present the "Economics of Treatment Disparities in Healthcare" on Thursday, September 21, from 3–4:30 p.m. in room A-110 Mayo. To download the abstract, go to www.hpm.umn.edu/.
Allan Chapman, University of Oxford, will lecture on “A History of Surgical Complications II: From Hunter to Lister, 1770–1870” Friday, September 22 at 4 p.m. in 11-157 PWB (Surgery Conference Room).
David Jones, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will deliver the History of Medicine Lecture on Monday, September 25, at 12:20 p.m., in room 555, Diehl Hall. His lecture is entitled “Psychiatry and the Origins of Pharmacogenetics: Genetics, Race, and Psychopharmacology.”
As part of the Cancer Center Seminar Series, David Scadden, Harvard University, co-director of Harvard’s Stem Cell Institute, will speak on “Defining and Manipulating the Hematopoietic Stem Cell Niche” on Tuesday, September 26, at noon, 450 CCRB. For more on the Cancer Center Seminar Series visit http://www.cancer.umn.edu/news/releases/2006/ccseminarbegins.html.
The lecture series on Law, Health & the Life Sciences will present Mark Blumenthal (American Botanical Council) on Wednesday, October 4, from 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m. in the Coffman Memorial Union Theater. Blumenthal will lecture on “Nutraceuticals: Dietary Supplements, Botanical Drugs, and Natural Products—Science, Safety, and Efficacy.” To receive continuing education credit, you must register by contacting lawvalue@umn.edu or call 612-625-0055.
The next two presenters for AHC Office of Clinical Research Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series are :
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Eugene Orringer, M.D., Executive Associate Dean Faculty Affairs School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill speaking on “An Innovative, Dean’s Office-Based Approach Designed to Enhance Faculty Success,.” Thursday, September 21, from 1:30–2:30 p.m. in 2-690 Moos Tower.
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Spero M. Manson, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Head, American Indian and Alaska Native Programs at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center will present a DVSS Health Disparities lecture, “Wounded Spirits, Ailing Hearts: Trauma in American Indian Communities,” Tuesday, October 3, 12:15-1:15 p.m., in 1-450G Moos Tower (lunch provided).
For more on the Distinguished Visiting Scholar Series, contact ahcocr@umn.edu or call 612-626-6033.
Marie Manthey, president emerita of Creative Healthcare Management, will present the Andrea Printy Memorial Lecture on “Back to the Future: Exploring the World of Nursing Innovation.” The lecture, hosted by the School of Nursing Foundation, will be Monday, October 16, from 12:15-1:30 p.m. in Moos Tower, Room 2-530. For more information or to RSVP, visit http://www.nursing.umn.edu/PrintyLecture
The Harvard Street Forum will feature speaker Joia Mukherjee, medical director of Partners in Health, on Friday, October 13 in Grace University Lutheran Church at noon. Music will begin at 11:30 a.m. and there will be an opportunity for conversation with the speaker after the presentation. 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 topic will be announced in the next AHC News Capsules.)
The Fall 2006 Mini-Medical School will be all about cancer. This popular University program is taught by leading faculty of the Academic Health Center and is designed to educate and update Minnesotans on health-related issues. The program, which is open to the public, will run Monday nights, November 6–27, from 6–8:30 p.m. in the Coffman Memorial Union Theater.
The Academic & Corporate Relations Center announces a Digital Technology Workshop , Tuesday, November 21 in the McNamara Alumni Center from 7–10 a.m. To RSVP e-mail Futte002@umn.edu or call 612-626-3438.
The Academic Health Center will sponsor a blood drive Thursday, September 28 , from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the McNamara Alumni Center. Please schedule your appointment beforehand by visiting www.givelife.org and entering the sponsor code: uofmacademic. Donors must be 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and present a photo ID at the blood drive check-in. If you have traveled outside the country in the past year, or have questions about your eligibility to donate blood, please call the ARC nurse 651-291-3885 before scheduling your appointment. For questions, contact Jenny Meslow at meslo001@umn.edu.
Proposals for the Community-Campus Partnerships for Health 10th Anniversary Conference are due Oct. 6. The CCPH conference will be April 11–14, in Toronto. CCPH is a network of over 1,200 communities and campuses across North America that are collaborating to promote health by striving to achieve the systems and policy changes needed to address the root causes of health, social, and economic inequalities. Details at: www.ccph.info.
Applications to the Career Advancement Program for Clinical Research Scholars (CAPS) are due October 1. For more information, go to http://www.epi.umn.edu/CAPS/index.shtm
The following opportunities for faculty research development grants are targeted to AHC faculty and have deadlines in the next few months:
The PhRMA Foundation “Health Outcomes” grant deadline is October 1. The goal of the grant is to encourage young scientists to pursue careers related to drug discovery. For more information, go to http://www.phrmafoundation.org
The 2006 Community Fund Drive will run Oct. 1–31. Goals this year are to raise $1.2 million and have at least one-third of our University faculty and staff participate. AHC faculty and staff may give to one of the federation of charities that connects the U to the wider community in the Twin Cities and Minnesota by addressing issues in health, community organizing, the environment, higher education, and human needs such as hunger and homelessness. Or, contributors may write in the nonprofit charity of their choice on CFD forms. For more information, go to (www.umn.edu/cfd).
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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