AHC News Capsules 09/26/07

September 26, 2007

NEWS CAPSULES is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Jacob Portnoy at port0179@umn.edu.

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Every day I’m amazed at the collective wisdom contained within the University community. What concerns me, however, is how we’re sharing that wisdom and knowledge within and between disciplines, and from one generation to the next. This is not an issue affecting our education programs, but involves how we engage with colleagues both within the health sciences and throughout the University. So how do we better engage with each other?

I think our AHC Faculty Consultative Committee has part of the answer in their upcoming Faculty Forum on mentoring, scheduled for Nov. 2 at the McNamara Alumni Center. The concept is right on target – and only by taking part will we see the impact. Register at: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/faculty/mentoring/home.html.

In the context of taking part, I’d also urge AHC Department Chairs to join the University’s Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) in one of four lunches being held to solicit your input. Essentially, the FCC wants to know how it can assist in connecting the administration to what is happening within schools. The lunches, held from 11:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m., are scheduled for:

• October 5 - 220 Skok Hall, St. Paul
• October 16 - Law School Dean's Conference Room, Mondale Hall (third floor), West Bank
• October 17 - A110 Mayo
• October 24 - 510 Morrill Hall

Box lunches will be provided. Please RSVP to Gary Engstrand at garye@umn.edu 626-0884.

Finally, earlier this month, I made a pitch for all of us to take special care with each other, following the stressful events that happened here at the end of the summer. We’ve collected some of the stories of our faculty, staff, and students who were engaged in various forms of care when the bridge collapsed. Take a moment to review these stories at: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/bridgestories/home.html.

– Frank B. Cerra, M.D.
Sr. Vice President for Health Sciences

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HEADLINES —

Office of Occupational Health and Safety created
President Bruininks has established a new University-wide Office of Occupational Health and Safety designed to coordinate and ensure alignment of occupational health and safety programs and compliance activities. The president's decision to establish this new office was based on a comprehensive report produced by an occupational health and safety task force charged by the Vice President for Human Resources Carol Carrier, Vice President for University Services Kathleen O'Brien, and Vice President for Research Timothy Mulcahy. The new office will be managed through the Office of the Senior Vice President for Health Sciences. Ross Janssen has been appointed director of the new office. For more information, go to: http://www.ohs.umn.edu.

Four inducted into AHC Academy of Excellence in Health Research
Karen H. Ashe, M.D., Ph.D., Bruce R. Blazar, M.D., Eric Newman, Ph.D., and Mary Story, Ph.D., R.D., were selected for their sustained, nationally and internationally recognized health-related research that has augmented the quality and eminence of the University of Minnesota. For more information, go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/research/academy/members/home.html.

New online tools to prepare for disasters

• PandemicPractices.org
  Public health planners have a new tool to help them prepare for an influenza pandemic. PandemicPractices.org was launched by the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy at the University of Minnesota and the Pew Center on the States, a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Compiled as a resource to save communities and states time and resources, PandemicPractices.org, enables public health professionals to learn from each other and to build on their own pandemic plans.

• Personal and Family Preparedness Training Now Available Online
  Personal and Family Preparedness Training is now available online. Go to http://www.meret.umn.edu and click on “Create your own Personal & Family Emergency Preparedness Plan”. The AHC Office of Emergency Response staff also are available to provide this training in a face-to-face format for organized groups in the AHC. If you have a group or team interested in this training, contact Joan Rambeck at rambe026@umn.edu.

Grant will better prepare students for academic science careers
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences has given a three-year Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award supporting a Postdoctoral Training Program at the Medical School – Duluth campus. The grant of more than $970,000 is designed to train young scientists to be more effective researchers and teachers at traditional academic institutions and schools with disadvantaged populations.

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Louis Mansky, Ph.D. (College of Pharmacy), Denis Clohisy, M.D. (Medical School), and Xianzheng Zhou, M.D., Ph.D. (Medical School), have been selected from 26 applicants to receive a 2007 Academic Health Center Translational Research Grant of $200,000 for two years. Mansky’s study is “Novel Combination Therapy for HIV.” Clohisy’s study is “Osteoclast-Directed Bone Cancer Treatment.” Zhou’s study is “Sleeping Beauty Mediated Umbilical Cord Blood T-Cell Therapy for Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.”

Mustafa al'Absi, Ph.D. (Medical School – Duluth campus), has been named the first director of the new Duluth Medical Research Institute.

Srirama Rao, Ph.D. (College of Veterinary Medicine), has been named a associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences.

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UPDATES —

Tribal leaders, health professionals unite to examine the unequal burden of colorectal cancer among American Indians in Minnesota
Tribal leaders from Minnesota's 11 tribes, health professionals, cancer survivors, and community members met Sept. 11-12 at Grand Casino Mille Lacs to discuss how they can work collectively to begin tackling the unequal burden of colorectal cancer among American Indians in Minnesota. The dialogue was funded by the Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation. For more information, go to: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/news/releases/2007/colorectalconf.html.

New hours at Boynton
As of fall 2007, Boynton Health Service has expanded hours. The Minneapolis location is now open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Urgent care and pharmacy are now open 9 a.m.-1p.m., Saturday. For more information, go to: http://www.bhs.umn.edu.

Bits and Bytes from AHC-IS

• Everybody out of the pool
  The University is decommissioning its dial-up modem pool on Dec. 31, 2007. The customer base has greatly declined as people move to DSL and cable modem services. For more information, go to: http://www.umn.edu/nts/data.

• Keep private data off your calendar
  Private data should not be stored in electronic calendaring systems such as Meeting Maker and UMCal. Instead, patient names and corresponding medical information should be stored in the appropriate clinical system from Fairview or University of Minnesota Physicians. Under no circumstances should SSN or credit card information be stored in electronic calendaring systems

OPPORTUNITIES —

Mini Medical School schedule and topics set
The theme for fall 2007 Mini Medical School is “The Wonders of the Brain: From Neurons to Emotions.” Topics in the five-class series include: Anatomy & Chemistry of the Brain; The Developing Brain and Adolescence; Dementia & Alzheimer's Disease, and more. All sessions are 6:00-8:30 p.m., Mondays, Oct. 8-Nov. 5. For information and to register online, go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/minimed.

Fall 2007 Bioethics series
 Learn more about bioethics, including topics such as ethics and public health emergencies, health care professionals in interrogation, and stem cell research. This three-week course is taught by Center for Bioethics faculty and hosted by Center Director Jeffrey Kahn. Sessions are Nov. 13, 20, and 27. For more information, go to: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/outreach/minibioethics/home.html.

Diabetes: Advancing Our Med-Tech Edge
This Breakthrough Series event, in partnership with LifeScience Alley, is 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Oct. 29, at the University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center. The program will present important academic and industry research into treatment using insulin delivery systems, continuous glucose monitoring, islet transplantation, stem cells, and other emerging modalities. Fifteen leading researchers and speakers from the University and industry are confirmed. For more information, go to: http://www.lifesciencealley.org/programs_events/detail.aspx?id=104.

Summit of Sages features Maya Angelou
The 2007 Summit of Sages is October 14-16, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota. This year's theme is social justice. Angelou, the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and other best-sellers, will stress the value of ethnic, economic and religious diversity. For more information or register, go to: http://www.nursing.umn.edu/Densford/Participate/SummitSages/home.html.

Open House at Fairview Maple Grove Medical Center
The public is invited to meet the physicians and staff at the newly opened Fairview Maple Grove Medical Center, 5-8 p.m., Sept. 27. Maple Grove Fairview has partnered with University of Minnesota Physicians to offer convenient access to coordinated, patient-centered care in more than 20 specialties. For more information, go to: http://www.umphysicians.umn.edu/.

“Collaborating Across Borders: An American-Canadian Dialogue on Interprofessional Education”
Join American and Canadian health professionals, educators, students, and policy makers for this three-day conference, Oct. 24-26, on the Twin Cities campus to learn about issues and trends in interprofessional education, practice, and policy. Goals for the conference include showcasing best practices, outcomes, and lessons learned in linking interprofessional education to collaborative patient-centered practices. For more information and to register, go to http://www.ipe.umn.edu. To volunteer, e-mail ahceduc@umn.edu.

LECTURES —

“Stem Cell Research: At the intersection of science, politics, law, and culture”
Ruebhausen visiting lecturer Zach W. Hall, Ph.D., will discuss his experience in managing the politics of stem cell research in California and explore the challenges of doing controversial science and the role of bioethics in contemporary political culture. The three-day event is Oct. 9-11. For a full schedule and to register, go to: http://www.bioethics.umn.edu/ZachHall/.

“Preconceptional Wellness as a Routine Objective for Women's Health Care”
This lecture by Merry-K Moos, B.S.N., F.N.P., M.P.H., F.A.A.N., professor
of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, is noon, Oct. 4, at 5-125 Moos Tower. The event is sponsored by the Deborah E. Powell Center for Women's Health. For more information, go to: http://www.womenshealth.umn.edu/.

"Bridging Worldviews of Health: Teaching and Research Partnerships at White Earth Indian Reservation"
This Community-Campus Network event is 12:15-1:45 p.m., Sept. 26, at 488 Children’s Rehab. Speakers features Craig Hassel, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, and David Rodriguez, McNair Scholar. RSVP to Sara Axtell at axtel002@umn.edu.

Institute of Technology to host Roderick MacKinnon
MacKinnon, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry will speak on “Electricity in Biology”, 4 p.m., Oct. 1, at McNamara Alumni Center. The event is part of the Honeywell-Nobel Initiative. The University of Minnesota is one of only 11 universities worldwide chosen by Honeywell to host this event. For more information go to: http://www.it.umn.edu/news/archives/07_09HNI_overview.html.

“The Elephants in the Room: Social Justice, Public Health, and Health Inequities”
Nancy Krieger, Harvard School of Public Health, will present 9:30-10:30 a.m., Sept. 28, at Coffman Union Theater. This event is part of the Carl J. Martinson, M.D., Lectureship in Preventive Medicine, presented by the School of Public Health’s Division of Epidemiology and Community Health. For more information go to: http://www.epi.umn.edu/news/semdetails.asp?eventID=163.

TIME CAPSULE —

Medical records and their keepers
From medical record librarians to registered record administrators, see how those positions charged with maintaining and providing access to medical records has evolved over the course of time at the University at:
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/moore144/ahcarchives/2007/09/medical_records_and_their_keep.html.

AHC News Capsules is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Jacob Portnoy at port0179@umn.edu.