e-Update
July 24, 2000
Weekly News Briefs
e-Update is distributed weekly to keep faculty and staff at the University
of Miami School of Medicine up-to-date on news at the University of Miami/Jackson
Memorial Medical Center. To submit news for publication, e-mail items to update@med.miami.edu.
THIS WEEK'S NEWS
--Dr. Roger Donahue to Jointly Lead State Commission on Health Care
--Veterinary Resources Appoints Dr. Bobby Collins as New Director
--AAMC Grant Will Fund Integration of Geriatrics in Undergrad Medical Curriculum
--Student Athletes Should Receive EKGs, Says Dr. Robert Myerburg
--Herald Article Discusses New UM Study on Vaccine for Lung Cancer
--Upcoming Calendar Events
DR. DONAHUE SELECTED TO SERVE ON STATE HEALTH CARE COMMISSION
Roger Donahue, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pediatrics and director of the Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory, was appointed to the Florida Commission on Excellence in Health Care, a group recently created by Governor Bush to develop a statewide strategy for improving state health care systems and reducing medical errors. Dr. Donahue will head the Commission, along with select state legislators. He will play a pivotal role in efforts to identify the state's best medical practices.
DIVISION OF VETERINARY RESOURCES NAMES NEW DIRECTOR
The Division of Veterinary Resources recently appointed Bobby Collins, D.V.M., as its new director. Dr. Collins joins the School of Medicine from the University of Florida, where he served as associate director of the Health Science Center Animal Resources Department for 18 years. In his new position at UM, Dr. Collins plans to establish a web site for the division and acquire accreditation from the American Association for the Accreditation of Lab Animal Care (AAALAC), among other goals. He replaces Joseph Wagner, D.V.M., who is retiring after 21 years of dedicated service to the University.
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE RECEIVES AAMC GRANT TO ENHANCE GERIATRICS TRAINING IN CURRICULUM
The Association of American Medical Colleges funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation, has recently awarded the School of Medicine a two-year grant of $50,000 per year to enhance gerontology and geriatric medicine in the undergraduate medical school curriculum. The grant was awarded on the strength of a proposal that included plans to integrate geriatrics training longitudinally throughout the four-year curriculum and across a range of disciplines. The proposal, according to Lisa Granville, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine and primary investigator for the grant, included a web-based resource to help learners tie together the integrated content of the geriatrics curriculum and direct them to other resources for geriatric education and clinical care.
UM CARDIOLOGIST CALLS FOR STUDENT EKGs IN HERALD ARTICLE
Sudden cardiac death is the subject of a recent Miami Herald article, stemming from the July 18 death of a high school student in Opa-Locka. Brian Bell, a student at Monsignor Edward Pace High, collapsed during a team workout and later died from a congenital heart defect. Tragedies like this could be avoided, says Robert Myerburg, M.D., professor and director of the Division of Cardiology, if students were required to receive electrocardiograms (EKGs) before participating in school athletics. Dr. Myerburg has consistently campaigned for the test to be implemented in student athletes' physicals. To read the full article, visit http://www.herald.com/content/thu/docs/093815.htm.
DRS. PODACK AND SRIDHAR BEGIN TESTING POSSIBLE LUNG CANCER VACCINE
Researchers at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center recently began testing a new vaccine for lung cancer, according to an article in the Miami Herald last week. Kasi Sridhar, M.D., professor in the Department of Medicine, and Eckhard Podack, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, hope to use gene therapy to stimulate the immune system to fight lung cancer. The article, entitled "A Magic Bullet for Lung Cancer?" discusses in detail how the vaccine is proposed to work and chronicles the medical history of one of the study's subjects. To read the complete article, visit http://www.herald.com/content/thu/living/health/digdocs/085290.htm.
QUESTIONS ABOUT MEDICARE BILLING?
CONTACT THE OFFICE OF COMPLIANCE
Address questions regarding Medicare billing and compliance to Third Party Reimbursement/Office of Compliance at 305-243-HELP or 1-877-415-HELP. For more information about the help line or training programs offered by the compliance office, contact Gemma Romillo at 305-243-5842.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
DEADLINE APPROACHES FOR TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER'S GAP-FUND PROGRAM
The Office of Technology Transfer reminds faculty that the September 30 application
deadline for the Gap-Fund Program is rapidly approaching. This award supports
early-stage research with commercial potential. Three grants of $20,000 each
will be awarded, and one must come from either the Coral Gables or Rosenstiel
campuses. All Invention Disclosures submitted between December 1, 1998, and
September 30, 2000, are eligible. Interested parties must submit an Invention
Disclosure (unless they have already done so) together with a "Gap-Fund
Award Program Application" to the Office of Technology Transfer, Dominion
Tower, Suite 906 (M-811). Invention Disclosure forms are confidential in
nature and cannot be sent through the Internet. To obtain an Invention Disclosure
form, visit http://www.med.miami.edu/technology_transfer/invention_disclosure.html.
For a Gap-Fund application form, e-mail Silvia Arguelles at sarguell@miami.edu
or visit Technology Transfer on-line at http://www.med.miami.edu/technology_transfer.
Call 305-243-5689 with any questions.
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