arrow   Dr. Richard Bookman Named Vice Provost for Research
(from left) President Donna Shalala, Paul Polizzotto from EcoMedia, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and Miller School Dean Dr. Pascal Goldschmidt plant a tree to officially mark the creation of the new Miami Health District.

(from left) President Donna Shalala, Paul Polizzotto from EcoMedia, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz and Miller School Dean Dr. Pascal Goldschmidt plant a tree to officially mark the creation of the new Miami Health District. 

Around Campus
arrow new  Environmentally-Friendly Initiative Announced at Miller School of Medicine
arrow new  2006 Personal Benefits Statements Are Here
arrow Questions about Compliance? UM Helplines Can Assist You
arrow e-Update Submission Guidelines

Human Subjects Research Opportunities
For information on current Human Subjects Research Opportunities, see the listings below.

Feedback

Faculty and staff submissions should be e-mailed to the Office of Communications, at update@med.miami.edu.


Events
arrowUPCOMING
  Wednesday, July 12, 2006 and every other Wednesday thereafter, 1 to 2 p.m.
Benefits Orientation Luncheon
  Wednesday, July 12, 2006, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
new  Conversations About Cancer
  Thursday, July 13, 2006, noon to 1 p.m.
new  Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Grand Rounds
  Tuesday, July 18, 2006, 2 to 3 p.m.
new  Sponsored Programs Special Seminar Series
  Thursday, July 20, 2006, noon
new  Sponsored Programs Roundtable Series
e-update.med.miami.edu

 Back to top
Dr. Richard Bookman Named Vice Provost for Research
Richard J. Bookman, Ph.D., of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, has been named the new Vice Provost for Research as well as Executive Dean for Research and Research Training for the Miller School of Medicine. In this new role, Dr. Bookman will be responsible for nurturing and growing the research enterprise, promoting inter-departmental and inter-school research efforts, and overseeing research administration and compliance. Dr. Bookman is assuming the role previously held by Norman Altman, V.M.D., who will continue as professor in the Department of Pathology and director of the Division Comparative Pathology at the Miller School of Medicine.

Around CampusBack to top
new  Environmentally-Friendly Initiative Announced at Miller School of Medicine

Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, together with UM President Donna E. Shalala and Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean of the Miller School of Medicine, announced a new environmentally-friendly initiative for the city last Thursday at the Clinical Research Institute on the medical campus. 

UM’s new Clinical Research Institute is the first high-rise built in South Florida embracing many new “green” technologies. Three additional buildings planned for the medical campus – the Biomedical Research Institute, the new University Hospital and a support facility – will all contain many of the same high-efficiency features.

Dr. Goldschmidt discussed the vital role the new facilities will play in his medical mission. “When we try to recruit champions to UM, these facilities really allow us to attract the very best and make them more attached to the community,” said Goldschmidt. “It will also support our ongoing battle to affect and avert substantial threats to humanity: an avian flu epidemic; AIDS; the scourge of cardiovascular disease.”

In the coming years, the area around the medical campus—now the Miami Health District—will offer much more green space, be redesigned to encourage more recreational activity, increase convenient public transit, raise environmental awareness among citizens and visitors, and provide seed money to develop these ideas.


new  2006 Personal Benefits Statements Are Here

2006 Personal Benefits Statements are being delivered via interoffice mail. Your 2006 Personal Benefits Statement includes a personal retirement income calculation, features of employment that protect your survivors (such as life insurance) and features that protect your income in the case of disability. An “Annual Value of Your Benefits,” which includes your compensation and the value of University of Miami benefits, is also reflected on your statement. If you have any questions about your statement, please contact Benefits Administration at 305-284-3004.


Questions about Compliance? UM Helplines Can Assist You
  • 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.


e-Update Submission Guidelines

  • Please note that submissions are due no later than 5 p.m. Thursday for publication on Tuesday.
  • We are unable to include attachments.
  • Please use URL addresses in your announcements rather than hyperlinks.
  • Event announcements should include the time, date, location, speaker, topic and cost if applicable. All events should have a contact phone number or e-mail address for further information. We will run event announcements for three weeks only.
  • Information must be written in paragraph form. PDFs, Publisher files and flyers are not accepted.
  • Human Subject recruitment announcements must be IRB approved.
  • Events to be listed should be either held on the medical campus, sponsored or hosted by the Miller School of Medicine, or affect all or most of the employees on the medical campus.
  • Please be sure to e-mail items to e-Update at update@med.miami.edu. Submissions to other e-mail addresses run the risk of being missed.


EventsBack to top
Benefits Orientation Luncheon
July 12, 2006, and every other Wednesday thereafter, 1 to 2 p.m., Medical Human Resources office, Park Plaza East, Suite L

Newly-appointed medical faculty are invited to learn about the comprehensive benefits programs during a lunch session hosted by Benefits Administration and Faculty Affairs. Please review the Benefits Administration web site at www.miami.edu/benefits to learn more about the topics to be discussed at the orientation. Luncheons will take place in the conference room in the Medical Human Resources office, Park Plaza East, Suite L, beginning Wednesday, July 12 and every other Wednesday thereafter from 1 to 2 p.m. For additional information, please call Wanda Colón, at 305-284-6835, wcolon@miami.edu. To RSVP for one of the lunch sessions, please call Illene Londono at 305-284-4568, or i.londono@miami.edu.


new  Conversations About Cancer
July 12, 2006, 6 to 7:30 p.m., UM/Sylvester at Deerfield Beach, 1192 East Newport Center Drive, suite 100

Eli Avisar, M.D., assistant professor, Division of Surgical Oncology, will present “Surgical Options for Treating Cancer” on Wednesday, July 12 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at UM/Sylvester at Deerfield Beach, 1192 East Newport Center Drive, suite 100. A light dinner will be provided. Seating is limited. Please call 1-800-545-2292 to register.


new  Department of Rehabilitation Medicine Grand Rounds
July 13, 2006, noon to 1 p.m.

Heather Vincent from the Center for the Study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies will present “A Comparison of Clinical Outcomes of Cardiopulmonary Patients in the Inpatient and Skilled Nursing Facility Setting: Pilot Data and Study Design” on Thursday, July 13 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. For more information, call 305-585-1431.


new  Sponsored Programs Special Seminar Series
July 18, 2006, 2 to 3 p.m., Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium

Jill Frazier Tincher, Patricia Atkinson and Maria Valero-Martinez will present "Grants.gov Electronic Submission" on Tuesday, July 18 from 2 to 3 p.m. in the eighth-floor auditorium of the Mailman Center for Child Development. Participants will learn how to prepare electronic submissions through www.grants.gov. Discussion will be in-depth and attendees should have a general knowledge of institutional and federal policies. The online course, Sponsored Programs Administration 101, must be completed prior to taking this class. Both are available at NetLearning at https://netlearning.miami.edu. For more information, please e-mail mvalero@med.miami.edu.


new  Sponsored Programs Roundtable Series
July 20, 2006, noon, Batchelor Children's Research Institute, Baxter conference room

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. Brendaly Rodriguez, Special Projects Coordinator, will present “Navigating InfoEd SPINPlus” on Thursday, July 20 at noon in the Baxter conference room of the Batchelor Children's Research Institute. Log onto NetLearning at https://netlearning.miami.edu to register. For more information, please email Maria Valero-Martinez at mvalero@med.miami.edu.


Human Subjects ResearchBack to top

Researchers at the MRI Center need healthy subjects for a magnetic resonance imaging study. For more information, please visit http://midas.med.miami.edu/Research/MRStudies.htm.

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are being recruited for a study of effects of sildenafil on exercise and breathlessness. Participants must have a firm clinical diagnosis of IPF, be 40 to 85 years of age, and not be on medication for IPF. Interested patients or physicians wishing to refer patients should call 305-575-3548, fax 305-575-3126, or e-mail rjackson2@med.miami.edu.

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is recruiting women for the following clinical research studies:

• A new investigational medication for pelvic pain due to endometriosis. To qualify, you must be between 18 and 45 years of age with regular menstrual periods, have endometriosis diagnosed by a surgical procedure (laparoscopy or laparotomy) within the past five years, have moderate to severe pelvic pain due to endometriosis for at least three months, have not used oral contraceptives for the past 30 days, be sexually active, and have not had a surgical treatment for endometriosis in the past six months. For more information, please contact Marisol Sloane at 305-243-1616, or msloane@med.miami.edu. Visit http://umic.miami.edu/documents/FINAL_BROCHURE2_1.pdf to view the brochure.

• An investigational medication to treat the symptoms of menopause and prevent osteoporosis. To qualify you must be between 40 to 64 years of age, have not had a period for at least six months, and have not had a hysterectomy. Qualified participants will receive free study-related tests and investigational medication, study-related physical and gynecological exams, mammograms and bone density scans, if eligible. Compensation for time and travel is available for qualified participants. Please contact Tilky Lopez-Blanco at 305-243-1616, or tlopez7@med.miami.edu.

• 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 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.

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:

• 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.

• 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.

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.

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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