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April 06, 2010 | Tuesday 
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Two Miller School Faculty Members Elected to Prestigious ASCI Honor Society

Maria Abreu, M.D., and Myles Wolf, M.D.

Two Miller School of Medicine physician-scientists have been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), one of the nation's oldest and most respected medical honor societies. Maria Abreu, M.D., professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology, and Myles Wolf, M.D., MMSc., associate professor of medicine, director of the Clinical Research Center and assistant dean for translational and clinical research, will be introduced as new members at the organization's annual meeting on April 23 in Chicago.

Since members must be 45 or younger at the time of their election, ASCI membership generally honors their early-career scientific research accomplishments.

"The ASCI considers the nominations of several hundred physician-scientists from around the world each year, and only elects up to 80 new members, so to have two of those members be from the Miller School is truly an extraordinary accomplishment," said Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D. "It is quite an honor for these two faculty members to be recognized for their spectacular research achievements."

Nancy Klimas, M.D., is Recognized for Her Many Achievements on Behalf of Women

Nancy Klimas, M.D., and Sophie Khokhawalla, a senior majoring in neuroscience, were honored by the University of Miami Women's Commission.

The University of Miami Women's Commission has awarded Nancy Klimas, M.D., professor of medicine, psychology, and microbiology and immunology, the prestigious May A. Brunson Award for her quarter century-plus efforts on behalf of women.

The award, bestowed at the commission's 39th annual awards breakfast last month, is named for UM's second dean of women and recognizes an administrator, faculty or staff member who has made an outstanding contribution to improving the status of women at the University.

Klimas said it was an "extraordinary honor'' to be recognized by so many other deserving university women.




UM’s Palm Beach County Residency Program Qualifies for Regional Competition

UM at FAU internal medicine residents (from left) Bharath Palraj, M.D., Sherene Alexander, M.D., and Fredy Chapparo Rojas, M.D., won an ACP "Doctors' Dilemma" quiz competition that qualifies them for the state finals scheduled for fall.

Using quick minds, fast hands and their amazing breadth of knowledge, three physicians in the University of Miami at Florida Atlantic University Internal Medicine Residency Program won an American College of Physicians (ACP) contest that pitted internal medicine residents from three Florida programs against each other in a "Jeopardy-like" game of medical facts and figures.

"It feels great because our residency program is still new and this gives us some attention," says Bharath Palraj, M.D., a member of the UM at FAU team that won the first level of the ACP's Doctors' Dilemma contest, besting the UM/Jackson and Mount Sinai residency programs. "It also says what we're getting here is solid medical education."




Ticket Distribution Continues for UM Family Night with the Marlins

Ticket distribution for UM Family Night with the Florida Marlins, scheduled for Saturday, May 1, at Sun Life Stadium, continues this month.

Each regular employee, as well as contract employees, can receive one complimentary ticket and purchase up to three additional tickets for $1 each. If you wish to obtain more than three guest tickets, additional tickets are $7 each. Children 2 years old and younger do not require tickets. Each employee and their first three guests will also receive a complimentary meal voucher for a hot dog, chips and soda.

You must have a valid UM ID to receive your tickets; only one ID card per person will be permitted and you cannot bring anyone else's ID to purchase tickets for them. You can only receive tickets at a single ticket distribution session; you cannot go multiple times. Cash only is accepted for all ticket purchases. This year, the University has secured a larger allotment of lower-level seats, which will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ticket distribution on the medical campus:
Monday, April 12
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Schoninger Research Quadrangle.

Ticket distribution at University of Miami Hospital:
Friday, April 16
7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Seminar Center C.




Appointments

Stephen D. Roper, Ph.D.

Stephen D. Roper, Ph.D., professor of physiology and biophysics, has been invited to join the editorial board of The Journal of Physiology (London) as a reviewing editor. In addition to reviewing 25 to 30 manuscripts per year, editors are responsible for suggesting expert referees and making recommendations based on their reports. The Journal of Physiology is the premier journal for scientific reports on physiological findings.

Paul Hudgins

Paul Hudgins, associate vice president and medical chief human resources officer, has been named chair of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association's Healthcare Workforce Task Force. Created in 1999, the task force was formed to look into the nursing personnel shortage, and is currently examining overall staff shortages among association members and working toward non-competitive solutions.

Robert L. Hernandez, M.D.

Robert L. Hernandez, M.D., senior associate dean for medical student administration, will become chair of the Southern Group on Student Affairs (SGSA) of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) later this month. He previously served as vice chair and chair-elect of the organization. Dr. Hernandez will remain the program chair for the combined 2011 Southern Group and Northeast Group on Student Affairs regional meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, and will participate in planning the national AAMC meeting in Washington, D.C., this November.

Claude Earl Fox, M.D., M.P.H.

Claude Earl Fox, M.D., M.P.H., research professor of epidemiology and public health and executive director of the Florida Public Health Institute, has been named to the Institute of Medicine's Oral Health Initiative study committee.

Awards

David J. Birnbach, M.D., M.P.H.

David J. Birnbach, M.D., M.P.H., vice provost and director of the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Center for Patient Safety, accepted two awards for research presented at the 10th Annual International Meeting on Simulation in Health Care held in Phoenix, Arizona, in January. The work presented earned recognition for "patient-related outcomes" and "human factors oriented simulation-based research."

Presentations

Sheldon Greer, Ph.D.

Sheldon Greer, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology, biochemistry and molecular biology and radiation oncology, was invited to give a talk about his abstract titled "My life with cytidine/uridine analogs: 5-Fluorodeoxycytidine, Tetrahydrouridine and Zebularine,"
at the American Association for Cancer Research's Cancer Epigenetics special conference held in January in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Mark Soloway, M.D.

Mark Soloway, M.D., professor and chair of urology, delivered the keynote lecture at an international symposium at the Maljibhai Patel Urological Hospital in Nadiad, India, in January. The hospital was established as a center for kidney disease and has now established a urologic cancer wing. With the health minister of Gujarat in the audience, Dr. Soloway discussed the importance of this subspecialty in urology and the need for a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer like that at the Miller School's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

M. Judith Donovan Post, M.D.

M. Judith Donovan Post, M.D., professor of radiology, was an invited guest lecturer at the annual Harvard postgraduate course in neuroradiology. She lectured on "MR Diagnosis of Spinal Inflammatory Disease." She also served as a visiting professor in the Radiology Department at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, last fall. At the end of October, Dr. Post was an invited guest lecturer for the Southeastern Neuroradiological Society in Palm Coast, Florida. She delivered a lecture on the "Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring of Intracranial Infections."

Publications

Kathy Hebert, M.D., M.M.M., M.P.H.

Kathy Hebert, M.D., M.M.M., M.P.H., associate professor of medicine and director of disease management and outcomes research in the Cardiovascular Division, has published a paper in the February issue of the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. The paper, titled "The Impact of a Standardized Disease Management Program on Race/Ethnicity and Gender Disparities in Care and Mortality," delivers data on racial and gender differences in mortality in patients followed in a standardized heart failure disease management program.

Amir K. Jaffer, M.D.

Amir K. Jaffer, M.D., associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine, was the lead author of "Variations in Perioperative Warfarin Management: Outcomes and Practice Patterns at Nine Hospitals," in the February issue of The American Journal of Medicine. The study, which looked at nine clinical centers to characterize the outcomes surrounding perioperative warfarin management, also looked at the rates of bleeding with "bridging therapy" - i.e. substituting heparin or low-molecular-weight heparin for oral anticoagulation in the perioperative setting. The study concluded that, after an invasive procedure, management of anticoagulation practices varies widely and is not explained by clinical characteristics of patients alone. The study also showed that the risk of major bleeding is strongly associated with the use of postoperative therapeutic doses of heparin/low-molecular-weight heparin.

Antoni Barrientos, Ph.D.

Antoni Barrientos, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology and biochemistry and molecular biology, was the senior author on a paper published recently in The FASEB Journal, a publication of the American Societies for Experimental Biology. Alejandro Ocampo, a Ph.D. student from the Department of Biochemistry, was the first author. The article, titled "Suppression of polyglutamine-induced cytotoxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by enhancement of mitochondrial biogenesis," was the result of research funded entirely by a Stanley Glaser Foundation Award received by Dr. Barrientos. The study concluded that mitochondrial dysfunction is an important contributor to polyQ cytotoxicity. The results suggest that therapeutic approaches enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis could reduce polyQ toxicity and delay the development of clinical symptoms in patients.

Profiles
Noted Researcher and Clinician Susan Folstein, M.D., Opens Autism Psychiatry Clinic at Miller School

Susan E. Folstein, M.D.

For more than 15 years, parents of children with autism or related disabilities in South Florida have relied on the skilled psychologists and educators at the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism & Related Disabilities, or CARD, to help their children communicate better, make friends, learn new skills or otherwise reach their potential.

But for autistic children or adults who needed medication and treatment for depression, anxiety, attention deficits or other psychiatric disorders that often accompany autism, there were few places to turn.

Paulette Richards Knows the Stress and the Rewards of Turning the Campus Smoke Free

Paulette Richards

As a Smoke Free Ambassador, Paulette Richards has to approach smokers on the UM/Jackson campus and ask them to put out their cigarettes. She truly knows of what she speaks -- a long-time smoker herself, Richards has had to make drastic changes since the campus went smoke free on March 1.

"I have said to a couple of people, ‘I am a smoker and I understand how it feels, and I understand how difficult it is,' and for the most part people have been very gracious,'' Richard says. "One woman even apologized because she didn't know about the new policy.''

Just a month into the policy, Richards has personal evidence that it is meeting its goal of helping smokers quit and improving their health. She's already gone from smoking about a dozen cigarettes a day to only two.

Grand Rounds
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 12 p.m.
Division of Infectious Diseases and Developmental Center for AIDS Research Grand Rounds
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 12 p.m.
Cardiovascular Grand Rounds: “Patient-Focused Barriers and Opportunities for Stroke Prevention in Atrial Fibrillation"
Wednesday, April 07, 2010 11:45 a.m.
Dermatology Grand Rounds: “Healing in Fetal Skin: Clues for Enhancing Wound Repair”
Wednesday, April 07, 2010 12 p.m.
Psychiatry Grand Rounds: “Treating Depression During Pregnancy: Clinical Perspectives”
Thursday, April 08, 2010 6:45 a.m.
Anesthesiology Grand Rounds: “Diving and Submarine Medicine: Clinical Problems Shared with Anesthesia"
Thursday, April 08, 2010 7 a.m.
Orthopaedic Grand Rounds: “A Pain in the Foot: The Clinical Importance of the Lateral Branch of the Deep Peroneal Nerve"
Thursday, April 08, 2010 7 a.m.
Obstetrics and Gynecology Grand Rounds: “Gynecologic Oncology: Individualized Multimodality Therapy”
Thursday, April 08, 2010 7:30 a.m.
Surgical Grand Rounds: “The Native Arteriovenous Fistula in 2010: Still the Gold Standard 44 Years After Being Introduced as a Hemodialysis Access"
Thursday, April 08, 2010 8 a.m.
Otolaryngology Grand Rounds: “Lasers for Facial Rejuvenation”
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 11:45 a.m.
Dermatology Grand Rounds: “Molecular Basis of Wound Infection”
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 12 p.m.
Epidemiology and Public Health Grand Rounds: “Examining Heterogeneity in Growth Trajectories in Observational and Experimental Studies of Depression and Aggression"
Thursday, April 15, 2010 7 a.m.
Orthopaedic Grand Rounds: “Diagnosis and Treatment of Brachial Plexus Injuries”
Thursday, April 15, 2010 7:30 a.m.
Surgical Grand Rounds: “Update on Patient Safety in the Department of Surgery”
Thursday, April 15, 2010 8 a.m.
Neurological Surgery Grand Rounds: “Neuropathology”
Thursday, April 22, 2010 6:45 a.m.
Anesthesiology Grand Rounds: “Clinical Trials in the Anesthesiology Department”
Thursday, April 22, 2010 7:30 a.m.
Surgical Grand Rounds: “Percutaneous Aortic Valve”
Thursday, April 22, 2010 8 a.m.
Neurological Surgery Grand Rounds: “Joint Neurology-Neurosurgery Conference: New Techniques in Peripheral Nerve and Spine Surgery"
Thursday, April 29, 2010 7 a.m.
Neurological Surgery Grand Rounds
Thursday, April 29, 2010 7:30 a.m.
Surgical Grand Rounds: “M.D. + M.B.A.: Is There Value?”
Events
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 12 p.m. Bioinformatics Journal Club: “An Overview of Promises and Challenges of Next-Generation Sequencing Applications"
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 12 p.m. Cell Biology and Anatomy Seminar: "The Role of a Novel Set of Zinc-Finger Transcription Factors During Vertebrate Neurogenesis"
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 1 p.m. Sylvester Seminar: “The Development of Multi-Gene Prognostic and Predictive Tests for Cancer Management"
Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4 p.m. Genomics Seminar: "Neurobehavioral Traits in Mice are Particularly Susceptible to Genome Structural Changes"
Wednesday, April 07, 2010 12 p.m. Gail F. Beach Memorial Visiting Lectureship: “Promoting Axon Regeneration in the Injured Spinal Cord"
Thursday, April 08, 2010 9 a.m. The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis Faculty Candidate Lecture
Thursday, April 08, 2010 12 p.m. Pathology Journal Club Meeting
Thursday, April 08, 2010 12 p.m. Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Seminar: “Understanding the Source of Increased Ca2+Sensitivity in HCM Mutants"
Thursday, April 08, 2010 5 p.m. Faculty Senate Awards Ceremony and Reception
Thursday, April 08, 2010 6 p.m. Artists Support Haiti: Silent Art Auction to Benefit the UM Global Institute
Friday, April 09, 2010 7:45 a.m. UM/Florida Bioethics Network Spring 2010 Conference: "Florida Bioethics: Debates, Decisions, Solutions"
Saturday, April 10, 2010 7:30 p.m. Coral Gables Wine and Food Festival Supports the International Bronchitis Center
Monday, April 12, 2010 11 a.m. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ph.D. Dissertation Seminar: "Characterization of Two CX9C Containing Mitochondrial Proteins Necessary for Cytochrome C Oxidase Assembly"
Monday, April 12, 2010 2 p.m. Center for Computational Science Distinguished Lecture: "Academic and Research Environments in Asia and Europe -- Toward Peta-Scale Systems"
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 11 a.m. Please Join Us at the Travel Fair
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 12 p.m. The Cell Biology and Anatomy Seminar: "Keratin Modulation of Fas Receptor Signaling Through Membrane Trafficking in Hepatocytes"
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 3 p.m. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ph.D. Dissertation Seminar: "Regulation of PDK1 Protein Kinase Activation by its C-Terminal Pleckstrin Homology Domain"
Friday, April 16, 2010 12 p.m. Second Annual Post-Doctoral Fellows Research Day
Monday, April 19, 2010 12:59 p.m. Community-Linked Research Forum: Opportunities and Challenges
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 1 p.m. NHSN Videoconference: “From the Lab to the Community and Back: Research That Makes a Difference in Real Time"
Friday, April 23, 2010 9:30 a.m. Third Annual Integrative Medicine Symposium
Friday, April 23, 2010 12 p.m. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ph.D. Dissertation Seminar: "Self-Renewal Mechanisms of Human Stromal MIAMI Cells"
Sunday, April 25, 2010 11 a.m. John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics Presents DNA Day 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 10 a.m. Miller School Blood Drive
Thursday, April 29, 2010 12 p.m. Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Seminar: “Shaping Neurons and Sculpting Synapses in Dynamic Circuits"
Saturday, May 01, 2010 7 a.m. SunSmart Sprint 5K Run/Walk for Melanoma Awareness
For Your Benefit

Faculty and Staff Assistance Program Seminar: “Miami-Dade County Consumer Services Department: Things You Need and Want to Know"

Theta Healing Lecture at the Medical Wellness Center

Medical Wellness Center Seminar: “Food as Medicine”

Financial Wellness Week

Faculty and Staff Assistance Program Seminar: “Social Drinking Gone Wild”

Grand Rounds

"Clearly, women with children who are still being cared for by the mother decreases the likelihood of the mother hurting or killing herself partly because she's so emotionally invested in the children and, in a very complex way, killing herself means killing her children as well, and depriving them of a mother."

Jon Shaw, M.D., commenting on a study of Taiwanese mothers showing that having children seems to shield women from suicide.

"Motherhood a Buffer Against Suicide"
HealthDay, March 22

"Bigger volume hospitals generally tend to have better outcomes than the lower volume hospitals, but that's not an absolute rule. There are some low-volume hospitals that are doing very well."

William O'Neill, M.D., commenting on a study in The New England Journal of Medicine that indicated heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia patients fare better in hospitals that see more of these patients than in those that see relatively few.

"Fewer Deaths in Larger, Busier Hospitals"
U.S. News & World Report, March 24

"Clearly the finances have to be dealt with in respect to reimbursement to physicians and loan repayments. Our medical school education costs money and they have to be able to pay back their loans."

Alex Mechaber, M.D., discussing Match Day and the debt medical students will face at the end of their training.

"Med Students Are Rewarded At Match Day"
WFOR-CBS4, March 18

"The greater good is best achieved by translating discoveries made by our researchers into commercial use - products and services that help people and the human condition."

Bart Chernow, M.D., discussing UM Innovation, the University initiative designed to move breakthrough therapies and technologies from the research bench to the public domain.

"University of Miami venture nurtures research, spins off 20 infant technology efforts"
Miami Today, March 25

"Easter is coming. This is death and resurrection. This child was dead and she's rising up again and her family's rising up again."

Arthur Fournier, M.D., commenting on the planned reunion of Baby Jenny and her parents. Fournier rushed the dying infant found in the rubble of the Haitian earthquake to a plane bound for Miami, where she received live-saving treatment. Her parents were discovered later.

"Next for miracle baby girl: a reunion with her parents"
The Miami Herald, March 18


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Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
CEO, University of Miami Health System
Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D.

Executive Editor
Associate Vice President for Communications
Christine Morris

Editor
Jenny Prather

Contributors
Maya Bell
Dwayne Campbell
Jeanne Antol Krull
Blair S. Walker
Lisa Worley


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