Sabrina Candelaria, M.P.H., R.D., L.D./N., a nutritionist at the Mailman Center for Child Development, has been selected to participate in the American Dietetic Association's new Diversity Leader Program. This is the first year of the program, which uses a competitive peer review process for selection. The association's Diversity Leader Program was established to advance leadership skills of underrepresented groups within the association and the dietetics profession.

Deborah Heros, M.D., associate professor of clinical neurology in the Neuro-Oncology and General Neurology Division, has been asked to serve as the medical advisor for the Miami-Dade Division of the American Cancer Society.

Michael Lewis, M.D., professor of anesthesiology and residency program director, has been selected to serve as chair of the Committee on Geriatric Anesthesia for the American Society of Anesthesiologists. He will take on his new responsibilities in October.

Tatjana Rundek, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology and chief of the Clinical Translational Research Division, received funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for a grant titled "Genetic Determinants of Extreme Phenotypes of Subclinical Atherosclerosis." This is a five-year, mid-career award to train young investigators in patient-oriented research, perform research on genetic factors of extreme phenotypes of subclinical atherosclerosis, and enhance career development in genetic epidemiology.

Camillo Ricordi, M.D., scientific director of the Diabetes Research Institute, made a presentation at the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition's 1st International Forum on Food and Nutrition in Rome in December. Dr. Ricordi, a member of the center's advisory board, spoke during the section of the conference devoted to food and health.

Steven Falcone, M.D., M.B.A., associate professor of radiology and executive clinical dean at the Miller School at FAU, organized and moderated a special focus session on "The Use of Medical Imaging Data Distribution Standards to Improve Patient Care and Safety" at the Radiology Society of North America 95th Scientific Assembly in Chicago in December.

Carlos Singer, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Division of Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders, spoke at the 2009 Huntington's Disease Symposium held on November 17th at Easter Seals of South Florida. The symposium was open to Huntington patients, their family members, caregivers and friends. The lectures covered topics such as the diagnosis and causes of this disease, genetic testing currently available, and research initiatives.

Mark Soloway, M.D., professor and chair of urology, was a speaker at the Turkish Genitourinary Oncolgy Congress held in Ankara, Turkey, last November. He spoke about active surveillance in prostate cancer and surgery for large renal tumors, and led a one-hour case discussion of challenging bladder cancer cases with a panel of Turkish urologists.

Shirin Shafazand, M.D., professor of medicine and part of the UHealth Sleep Program, gave a lecture to the World Swimming Coaches Association on the physiology of what happens to coaches and swimmers when they get up at 3:30 or 4 a.m. for training sessions. She also discussed growth hormones, tissue repair and the restorative benefits of quality sleep.

Yao-Shan Fan, M.D., professor of clinical pathology, hosted an invited Scientific Session on Genetic and Genomic Studies of Chinese Populations at the American Society of Human Genetics 2009 Annual Meeting in Hawaii. Fan serves as president of the Association of Chinese Geneticists in America. Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., associate professor of otolaryngology, made a presentation titled "The Genetic Bases for Non-Syndromic Hearing Loss among Chinese" at the session. Several other distinguished scientists were invited from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to review recent progress and discoveries in genetic and genomic studies on Chinese populations.

Sonjia Kenya, Ed.D., M.S., M.A., assistant professor of family medicine and community health and director of the Health Disparities Program at the Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity, was invited to serve as an expert on a panel discussion, "Confronting the Tough Challenges in HIV Prevention'' with Ambassador Eric Goosby, President Obama's global AIDS coordinator. Held in Washington, D.C., on January 19, the discussion was sponsored by The Center for Strategic and International Studies and The University of Miami Knight Center for International Media.

Robin Dando, Ph.D., a post-doctoral associate in the lab of Stephen Roper, Ph.D., professor of physiology and biophysics, has published a Journal Club article titled "Examining the neglected side of calcium regulation in taste cells" in the Journal of Physiology.
Several leading journals accept "Journal Club" articles, and they are seen as an excellent venue for trainees to have their work published.  

Scott Simmons, M.S., director of telehealth, served as the senior author of an article in the December 2009 issue of the journal Telemedicine and e-Health. Anne Burdick, M.D., M.P.H., professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery and associate dean for telehealth and clinical outreach, was also an author on the article titled "Economic Evaluation of Telemedicine: Review of the Literature and Research Guidelines for Benefit-Cost Analysis." From the College of Arts and Sciences, Maria Davalos, a Ph.D., candidate in economics, served as lead author; and Michael French, Ph.D., professor of sociology, was also an author.

Rodney Howell, M.D., professor and chairman emeritus of pediatrics, had an op-ed published in The Miami Herald titled "Cures require collaboration." In the January 23 article, he wrote about the film Extraordinary Measures, which tells the story of the development of a life-saving treatment for Pompe disease. Dr. Howell pointed out that "in the quest for new drugs for genetic diseases, it's rarely a single hero who saves the day." He said "success comes from a worldwide village of scientists and funding organizations like MDA working together for the common good."