At the Faculty Senate meeting on April 26, Stephen Sapp, College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Religious Studies, was elected chair of the Faculty Senate. Michael Lewis, M.D., Department of Anesthesiology, Miller School of Medicine, was elected first vice chair, and Sharyn Ladner, Richter Library, Reference and Government Information, was elected second vice chair.
 
The current list of senators, members of the newly elected General Welfare Committee, meeting dates and contact information can be found along with other relevant information on the Faculty Senate at www.miami.edu/FacultySenate.

There are times when people are faced with emergent and catastrophic illnesses but have not accrued sufficient leave time to ensure that they will continue to be paid. These unusual situations provide our organization an opportunity to support our employees during a most difficult time.
 
Medical Human Resources is pleased to announce the institution of a Donation of Time Policy, which provides guidelines to departments about funding paid leave for eligible employees who have exhausted their accrued vacation and sick leave and are experiencing a catastrophic or an emergent illness.
 
Full-time and part-time regular staff who have been employed with the University for more than one year, are in good standing, and have exhausted all accrued vacation and sick leave are eligible for consideration.

The Injury Free Mobile provides free, important information about the injury risks to children that exist in the home, when traveling in cars, riding bikes and near or in water. Visit the interactive home exhibits and obtain safety products, such as car seats, gates, and bike helmets, for a small donation. The program is open to the public twice per month in front of the Alamo. The Injury Free Mobile also visits the North Dade Health Center, Juanita Mann Health Center, and Rosie Lee Health Center every month. To find out dates and other locations, please call 305-243-8838 or e-mail gstepanian@um-jmh.org. The Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Miami is a division of Holtz Children's Hospital in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics. To learn more about this and other programs of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids of Miami, please visit http://www.um-jmh.org/violence.cfm?id=8429.

Have you noticed someone close to you having problems speaking or understanding effectively? A hearing, speech or language disorder might be the source. One in six Americans suffers from a hearing, speech or language problem, conditions that affect our daily communications with others. Anyone can have or develop an impairment of the ability to hear, speak, or understand effectively.

Is your drive home from work a hassle? Here’s the solution: Vanpool. If you live in the area of Weston, Pembroke Pines, Miramar or Cooper City and work between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Vanpool has a ride for you. Call Marie during the day at 305-585-6480 (ext. 62527).

For those University of Miami employees who were unable to take advantage of the first Employee Night, the university will present a second Hurricanes Baseball Employee Night. Employee Night Part II, featuring the Hurricanes versus the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, will be held at Mark Light Field on Saturday, May 13 at 7 p.m. Employees will receive one complimentary ticket to the game. Additional tickets for family members are available for purchase for only $1. (Limit of 5 additional tickets per employee.)

To ensure that your child car seat is installed correctly, a certified child passenger safety technician will be available today (May 2) and every other Tuesday thereafter in front of the Mailman Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The service is available to everyone who transports children under the age of 12 in their vehicle. For more information, e-mail gstepanian@um-jmh.org, or call 305-243-3928 to set up an appointment. Priority will be given to those with appointments. The Injury Free Coalition for Kids is a division of Holtz Children's Hospital/ Miller School of Medicine.

A representative from Lincoln Financial Group will be at the medical campus to conduct individual counseling sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May 16 and June 20. To schedule an appointment, contact Theresa Yong at 1-866-772-4163 or tmyong@lnc.com.

• University Compliance (anonymous hotline): 866-YOURCALL
• Billing (anonymous hotline): 305-243-HELP or 877-415-HELP
• Research Integrity and Compliance: 305-243-6415
• Financial Improprieties: 305-284-2605
• Privacy Office/HIPAA: 305-243-5000 or 1-866-366-HUSH
• University Ombudsperson: 305-284-4922

Any University of Miami employee reporting or deciding whether to report activity that may be in violation of a law, rule, or regulation is protected against retaliation by the Whistleblower Protection Statement. For more information, visit the Office of Compliance site.

• Please note that submissions are due no later than 5 p.m. Thursday for publication on Tuesday.
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Richard L. Rotundo, Ph.D., professor, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, will present "How Many Receptors Does it Take to Make a Neuromuscular Synapse?" today (Tuesday) at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. For more information, please call Maria Penton at 305-243-6691.

The following presentations are sponsored by the Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology and take place at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 6018. For more information, please contact Irene Hung at 305-243-6643.

Michael Kjaer, M.D., D. Sci., professor and head of the Department of Sports Medicine, University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, will present "Human Tendon Adaptation and Overuse with Exercise” tomorrow (Wednesday) at noon in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. For more information, please call 305-243-7108, or visit www.miamiproject.med.miami.edu/x381.xml.

This workshop will help parents and caregivers learn simple and effective discipline strategies to manage their teens’ behavior. It will be held on Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. in Dominion Parking Garage, room 155. Visit http://netlearning.miami.edu to register. For step-by-step instructions on how to register, visit http://www.miami.edu/eap/HowToRegister.doc. For answers about content, please call 305-284-6604 or call 305-243-3090 for registration answers.

Health Research Ethics in the Americas II, a conference on the challenges of international human subjects research, will be held Thursday and Friday at the Wyndham Miami Beach Resort, 4833 Collins Avenue. Co-sponsored by UM's Ethics Programs and the John E. Fogarty International Center, the conference will feature experts from the National Institutes of Health, the Pan American Health Organization and the Bioethics Society of the English-speaking Caribbean, as well as leading UM faculty. There is no charge to attend, but pre-registration is required. For more information and a registration form, please visit www.miami.edu/ethics, or e-mail ethics@miami.edu.

Robert Butler, M.D., president and CEO, International Longevity Center, New York, and former director of the National Institute on Aging, will discuss “Health and Longevity to Create Wealth” on Friday in the Hurricane 100 room of the BankUnited Center, 1245 Walsh Avenue, Coral Gables, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Light refreshments will follow. To RSVP, please e-mail spurcell@med.miami.edu, or call 305-355-9080.

The following presentations are sponsored by the Department of Microbiology and Immunology Seminar and will take place at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 3109. For additional information, please contact Michelle Perez at 305-243-6655.

In recognition of May as Skin Cancer Awareness Month, free skin cancer screenings will be provided on Monday, May 8 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., at UM/Sylvester at Deerfield Beach, 1192 East Newport Center Drive, suite 100. The screenings will be provided by Robert Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery. Screenings are by appointment only. Please call 1-800-545-2292 for an appointment.

W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., F.A.C.S., director, UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and professor, otolaryngology, will present “How Cancer Can Be Prevented” on Tuesday, May 9 from noon to 1 p.m. at UM/Sylvester at Deerfield Beach,1192 East Newport Center Drive, suite 100. This presentation is free of charge and a light lunch will be served. Seating is limited. Please call 1-800-545-2292 to register.

The National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service, the Intercultural Cancer Council, the University of Puerto Rico Cancer Center and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center invite you to attend a national research conference, “Puerto Ricans and Cancer: The Unequal Burden.” This conference is designed to exchange the latest scientific research relating to cancer health disparities in Hispanics, specifically the Puerto Rican populations in the United States and Puerto Rico. It takes place May 10 to 12 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. For more information or to register, please visit http://iccnetwork.org/PR2006/.

This caregiver workshop, intended for family and friends who care for people living with brain tumors, will be presented in Spanish. Presentations will include treatment, symptoms, psychological changes, available resources for families, caring for homebound patients, and legal issues that may arise in the care of a patient. The workshop will take place on Saturday, May 13 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Diagnostic Treatment Center, rooms 252 and 254. Valet parking is free and lunch and refreshments will be provided. This event is sponsored by UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Division of Neuro-oncology Site Disease Group and Schering Oncology. For more information, please contact Jacqueline Cereijo, R.N., at 305-243-4235, or jcereijo1@med.miami.edu.

Looking for funding opportunities? Searching for a collaborator? Leverage technology and learn to navigate through InfoEd SPIN Plus to locate funding opportunities or find potential collaborators from more than 600 institutions. Participate in the Navigating InfoEd SPINPlus seminar on Tuesday, May 16 from 3 to 4 p.m. in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Log onto NetLearning at https://netlearning.miami.edu to register. For more information, contact Brendaly Rodriguez at brodriguez2@med.miami.edu.

Back pain is a very common, but often preventable, ailment. The Wellness Center staff will teach you how to keep your back healthy and strong on Tuesday, May 16 at noon in UM/Sylvester, room 1301. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Please call 305-243-4201 to register.

Behavioral Interviewing is a highly-interactive, three-hour training session intended for managers and supervisors who have hiring responsibilities. Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to provide make better hiring decisions, conduct sound, defensible, interviews, develop questions to enhance selection skills, develop techniques to probe candidate responses, and develop a deeper understanding of the role you play in establishing mutual expectations of the interview. It takes place on May 17 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155. To register for a session, please visit http://netlearning.miami.edu. Contact the Professional Development and Training Office at 305-243-3090 for more information.

The Office of Graduate Studies at the Miller School of Medicine will host four workshops by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Institutes of Health. These seminars will be held on Wednesday, May 17 and Thursday, May 18 in the Calder Library, third-floor computer lab. Registration will be on a first come, first serve basis. You may choose to attend more than one workshop. Please e-mail dierdre@miami.edu with the workshops you would like to attend in preferential order by Friday, May 12. 
 
Wednesday, May 17 from 9 a.m. to noon.
Workshop 1: Making Sense of DNA and Protein Sequences
In this mini-course, we will find a gene within a eukaryotic DNA sequence. We will then predict the function of the implied protein product by seeking sequence similarities to proteins of documented function using BLAST and other tools. Finally, we will find a 3D modeling template for this protein sequence using a conserved domain database search. During the first hour, an instructor will walk you through an analysis of an uncharacterized Drosophila melanogaster genomic sequence from the GenBank record AE003584 found in Notebook 1. During the second hour of the class, you will perform the same analysis on the genomic sequence contained in Notebook 2.

Developing Leadership Academy Competencies through Effective Coaching Follow-Up will be offered by The Leadership Academy on Thursday, May 18 from 9 a.m. to noon in Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155. Seating is limited. To register, please visit http://netlearning.miami.edu. For more information about the Leadership Academy, visit www.miami.edu/development-training/la, or call the Professional Development Training Office at 305-243-3090 or 305-284-5110.

Judah Folkman, M.D., Andrus Professor of Pediatric Surgery and professor of cell biology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Vascular Biology Program at Children’s Hospital, Boston, will present “Lessons from Antiangiogenic Therapy and Other Diseases” on Thursday, May 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Jackson Memorial Hospital Diagnostic Treatment Center, second floor.

Honors

George Paff Teaching Awards  were presented to several faculty members by UM Miller School of Medicine students on April 10. These awards are presented annually to three faculty members recognized by each medical school class for their dedication to students and excellence in teaching. This year’s honorees were:
 
Senior Class of 2006:
Daniel Lichtstein, M.D., General Internal Medicine/Medicine
Miguel Paniagua, M.D., Geriatrics/Medicine
David Gordon, M.D., Neurology

Junior Class of 2007:
Hilit Mechaber, M.D., General Internal Medicine/Medicine
Akram Tamer, M.D., Pediatrics
David Gordon, M.D., Neurology

The Department of Psychology and the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control is conducting a quality of life research intervention with advanced prostate cancer patients. Participants should have Stage III or IV prostate cancer and have recently or currently been treated with hormone therapy. Eligible participants will take part in a ten-week cognitive behavioral stress and affect management program or a health promotions program. Three psychosocial/medical assessments are also required. If you are interested in this study or would like more information, please contact Frank Penedo, Ph.D., at 305-243-3329, or fpenedo@miami.edu.

Daniel Santisteban, Ph.D., of the Center for Family Studies in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is currently conducting a research program that would provide adolescents and/or their family treatment for free. Participants must be 14 to 17 years old, have a parent or legal guardian willing to participate, meet DSM criteria for both substance abuse disorder and borderline personality disorder, and be willing to participate in four separate but paid evaluations. If interested, please contact Henry Calderon, clinical research specialist/assessor, at 305-243-2225, or hcalderon@med.miami.edu for details.

The Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement is conducting research with family caregivers of dementia patients who speak English and are 50 years of age or older. If you are not a caregiver but are interested in participating, you may be able to help as well. Participants will receive basic training on how to use the Internet and will be asked to look for information about care-giving and dementia. If you are interested in being a part of this research study, please call 305-355-9200. You will be paid for your time and effort.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is conducting a clinical research study evaluating an investigational vaccine for human papillomavirus. Participants should be healthy women over the age of 26 who are not breastfeeding or planning to become pregnant during the next eight months and who will be in the area for the next three years. Qualified participants will receive study related tests, physical and gynecological exams, information on women’s health issues, family planning and compensation for travel and time. Please contact Iliana Rivas at 305-243-5832 for more information.

The Institute for Women’s Health, in collaboration with the Women’s Mental Heath Programs in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, is currently recruiting 92 African-American women employed at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine or Jackson Memorial Hospital to participate in a research study focus group to discuss feelings, beliefs and experiences about being overweight or obese. Volunteers for the African-American Women’s Weight Reduction Study will receive healthy snacks, valuable diet readiness feedback, and monetary compensation for their time. For more information, please call Rhonda at 305-355-9157 or e-mail rnelson@med.miami.edu.

Jennifer B. Marks, M.D., is currently recruiting patients ages 18 through 40 with type 1 diabetes mellitus with a recent diagnosis for participation in a research study to test the safety and effectiveness of an investigational medication. Patients must be taking multiple insulin injections daily and in good health. Those who are interested should contact Rogelio Suarez at 305-243-6573 or rsuarez2@med.miami.edu.

The AIDS Clinical Research Unit, directed by Margaret Fischl, M.D., is recruiting participants for the following studies:

• An investigational smallpox vaccine in patients with HIV and without HIV. The vaccine uses a modified vaccinia virus, which is not as strong as the smallpox virus and cannot grow well enough in human cells to cause disease. Participants must be 18 to 34 years of age, have never received smallpox vaccinations, and have no history of heart or skin problems. HIV patients must be taking antiretroviral therapy and have a viral load of less than 50,000 and a CD4 cell count greater than 200. Up to $275 provided and free HIV testing is done.

• An investigational CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) entry inhibitor for patients with HIV. The study will look at single dose, dose escalations of a study drug (0.5 mg, 2.0 mg and 5.0 mg) and a placebo. The study will determine how well the study drug blocks CCR5 receptors and is tolerated. Participants must be 18 and older, not taking antiretroviral therapy for at least three months and have a viral load greater than 5,000 and a CD4 count greater than 250. Must be willing to do six-hour drug level monitoring. Up to $250 provided.

• A therapeutic HIV-1 vaccine study. Participants must be 18 to 50 years of age, receiving antiretroviral therapy, have an HIV-1 RNA level less than 500 copies/ml for at least two years and a CD4 cell count 500/ccm or higher. Up to $150 in food certificates provided.

• A phase I IL-7 study (IL-7 is a cytokine that aids T-cell development and improves T-cell survival). Participants must be 18 to 50 years of age, receiving antiretroviral therapy for at least 12 months, have an HIV-1 RNA level less than or equal to 50,000 copies/ml, and have a CD4 cell count of 100 cells/ccm or higher. Participants must be willing to do 12-hour IL-7 blood level monitoring. Up to $200 in food certificates provided.

For more information on studies conducted by the AIDS Clinical Research Unit, contact Juan at 305-243-3838 or Leslie at L.Thompson@miami.edu.

The SPARE Study (Soy Phytoestrogens As Replacement Estrogen) is currently recruiting women 45 to 60 years of age to study the role of soy phytoestrogens given in tablet form to prevent bone loss. Participants will be given a physical exam at study entry, an annual mammogram and bone density test, and will be asked to come for 10 study visits over a period of two years for blood tests and to complete questionnaires about diet, exercise, and well-being. Interested women should contact the SPARE Study Office at 305-243-4330 or via e-mail at aherrin@med.miami.edu.

The University of Miami Skin Research Group, directed by Brian Berman, M.D., Ph.D., is looking for people with acne, atopic dermatitis (eczema), and keloids. Participants should be 18 or older for the acne and keloid studies and ages 2 to 17 for the atopic dermatitis studies. If interested, please contact the research staff at 305-243-5519 or visit our website at www.skininvestigation.com.

The Division of Cosmetic Dermatology, directed by Leslie Baumann, M.D., is looking for teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 to participate in a research study to determine whether injections with Botulinum toxin Type A relieve excessive underarm sweating. If interested, please contact a member of the research staff at 305-532-5552.

Bruce Rubin, M.D., is currently performing a study on trigeminal neuralgia (TN) treatment with subcutaneous injections of BOTOX® to evaluate the effectiveness of treating facial pain associated with TN. Patients must have a diagnosis of TN for more than three months and be at least 18 years of age.
 
Dr. Rubin is also seeking patients for a research study on the treatment of tightness/spasticity in the wrist, fingers, and elbow caused by a stroke while evaluating the effect of BOTOX® on pulmonary functioning. Patients must be 18 years of age, have had a stroke six months ago or longer, have a pulmonary/breathing problem and cannot have used BOTOX® or any other botulinum toxin previously for any condition. Please contact Amy L. Kaye, ARNP, at 305-243-6223 for additional information on either of these studies.

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