In recognition of its exceptional work related to Parkinson’s disease, the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) has named the Department of Neurology’s Center for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders at the Miller School one of the foundation’s 38 international Centers of Excellence. The designation gives the department entrée into a distinguished group of top medical programs in the field including those at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University and King’s College London.

Conceptualized by NPF as the regional "hubs" for Parkinson’s disease research, patient care and community outreach, Centers of Excellence are the place to which patients, physicians and family members can turn for the most up-to-date research, specialized services, support, information and referral services. As such, Centers define the "gold standard" for Parkinson’s-related work. For more on this story, click here.

Last Thursday, Oct. 18, the University of Miami conducted a full-scale test of its Emergency Notification Network (ENN). Thanks to the University community’s participation and cooperation, the test was an overall success.
 
Approximately 110,000 e-mails, text messages and phone calls were sent out to the University community in one of the first collegiate mass communication system tests to take place in the state of Florida. More than 5,000 pages of test data are now being analyzed, and feedback from individuals is being gathered through a Web-based ENN post-test survey form. To complete a survey, visit the Emergency Preparedness Web site at www.miami.edu/prepare and click on the "Feedback/Technical Question Form" link.
 
Had there been a real emergency, the message you received would have identified the type of emergency the University was experiencing and what actions you needed to take to provide for your safety.
 
If you did not receive an ENN message, it is most likely because your contact information is not registered on myUM or is out of date. Preliminary analysis has revealed that at least 2,000 community members had no contact information registered on myUM, leaving the University with no way to contact them. 
 
Register or update your contact information on myUM now or you will not receive ENN messages in a real emergency. If your contact information was correctly registered on myUM and you did not receive the ENN test message, please contact UM Information Technology by visiting the Emergency Preparedness Web site at www.miami.edu/prepare and clicking on the "Feedback/Technical Question Form" link.

The NW 12th Avenue Bascule Bridge Replacement Project is still underway and some important changes will take place in November. Please visit the alerts section of the Department of Security's Web site at http://security.med.miami.edu/security/alerts.htm for complete details. You can also view the Miami-Dade County weekly traffic advisory, which announces road closures and traffic delays countywide.

Please be advised that effective immediately, Pharmed Group Inc. is no longer able to supply the University with medical or surgical supplies. Two alternative vendors are McKesson General Medical and Cardinal Health Ambulatory Care. 

The Louis Calder Memorial Library in collaboration with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the University libraries is pleased to present "Dive Into the Past: An Exhibit on the Little Salt Spring Archaeological Site." This exhibit represents part of an ongoing, collaborative effort between the University of Miami and Sarasota County archaeologists to inform the public about Little Salt Spring, which has been owned by the University since 1982. Fossils and artifacts found there show traces of the earliest humans in Florida and North America. The exhibit will be on display on the first floor of the Louis Calder Memorial Library through Nov. 20.

By joining the Research Listserv you will receive information about funding, sponsored programs education opportunities and Office of Research Information Management initiatives. It can also facilitate information sharing with other administrators and staff  throughout the entire UM research community.

To register, please send an e-mail to resinfo@med.miami.edu with the subject line "Subscribe to Research Listserv." For more information, please visit the Office of Research Information Management at www.med.miami.edu/orim.

Identity theft is a crime where personally identifiable information is acquired - usually stolen - and used without authorization to commit fraud or other crimes. These crimes may include using the stolen information to make purchases, obtain a mortgage, file fraudulent health claims or establish services such as credit cards.

While some identity theft victims can quickly resolve their problems, others may need to spend substantial amounts of time and money to repair damage to their good name and credit record. Victims of identity theft may also be denied jobs and loans. Some may even be arrested for crimes they did not commit.

Please visit http://www.med.miami.edu/hipaa/public/x357.xml, to read a complete list of tips on how to protect yourself against identity theft. If you have questions related to this or any other HIPAA privacy or security related issue, please contact the Office of HIPAA Privacy & Security at hipaaprivacy@med.miami.edu.

Please note that faculty and staff will not receive paper benefits confirmation in the mail this year. You can print your 2008 benefits elections at any time online at myUM. After you log in, click the "employee" tab, then the "benefits" tab and under "UMatter Benefits," click "open enrollment confirmation." This page will list each of your 2008 open enrollment benefits elections.

Open enrollment will continue through midnight Nov. 2. If you are currently enrolled in a 2007 University Humana medical plan, you must either elect or decline medical coverage via myUM by midnight Nov. 2, or you will be placed in the CoverageFirst 1500 plan effective Jan. 1. 

Humana open enrollment tools are also available. The Humana Health Plan Wizard and Open Enrollment Hotline are excellent resources that can help choose the best health care plan for you and your family. If you are currently enrolled in a Humana medical plan, the Humana Health Plan Wizard will access your personal claims history and give you a customized profile showing how each plan can work for you. The Wizard can be accessed by visiting myUM. You can also call the Humana open enrollment Hotline at 1-888-393-6765 or e-mail the Humana Open Enrollment team at oe@humana.com for assistance. 

For details on UMatter and more health care and benefits information, please visit www.miami.edu/benefits.

The UM Comprehensive Drug Research Center has relocated its Outreach and Assessment Center from 1601 NW Seventh Avenue to 225 NE 34th Street, Suite 102. The new and improved Outreach and Assessment Center has 3,500 square feet of space for interviewing, counseling, interventions and laboratory work. Some new features include a flat screen television and refreshments in the lobby, larger intervention rooms, a phlebotomy office that offers ORASURE, a rapid HIV test, and free parking. 

For additional information, please contact Sam Comerford at 305-243-7266 or oac@med.miami.edu. Information is also available online at www.cdrc.med.miami.edu/x106.xml.

The Division of Plastic Surgery is offering a free Ultimate Eye Lift Treatment with the purchase of a one-hour facial treatment. The cost of a basic facial is $60, but many more services are available. Products and gift certificates are also available. Skin care consultations are done at no charge. For more information, please call 305-585-5285.

The Department of Neurology, Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders is pleased to announce the start of new free ongoing Parkinson’s Disease programs. Three new programs will be held at the Miller School.

• 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.
• 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.

The Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity Grand Rounds Series will feature Andrew C. Agwunobi, M.D., secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Dr. Agwunobi will present "Challenges in Ensuring Success to Affordable Quality Healthcare in Florida" today at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium. Lunch will be provided. For more information, e-mail Maria Pieiga at mpieiga@med.miami.edu or visit www.jayweisscenter.org.

Please join us today at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium for a seminar by Gregory V. Plano, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the Miller School. Dr. Plano will present "Calcium - and Cell Contact-Regulated Injection of Virulence Proteins by Yersinia Pestis, the Causative Agent of Plague."

Behavioral interviewing is a research-based technique used to determine the best candidate for a position. This technique has been shown to increase the success rate during the selection process by determining the most qualified candidates for a position, reducing turnover of new hires, and maintaining a stable, productive team.

Are you a manager, supervisor or Temporary Employee Request Form initiator? Ever wonder what goes on in the Medical Temp Pool and how to request a temporary employee? Attend this lunch-and-learn session tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155. Human Resources in conjunction with the Professional Development and Training Office will be offering this special session to demonstrate the entire Temporary Employee Request Form process. Enjoy a catered lunch, participate in an interactive session, ask questions about hiring temporary employees and learn how to make the hiring process easier.

Please note that you must complete a brief computer-based learning module before attending the interactive session. To complete the module and register for the live session, visit http://ulearn.miami.edu. For additional information, call 305-243-3090.

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine will be presenting Grand Rounds tomorrow from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Sherrill Hayes, Ph.D., P.T., professor and chair of physical therapy at the Miller School, will present "Physical Therapy Education -- The Move to the Entry-Level Doctorate -- What it Means to PT and to Physiatry." 

The Second International Brain Hypothermia Symposium will be held tomorrow through Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa, 4833 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach. Registration and breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. This conference will bring together international experts in the field of therapeutic hypothermia to target a variety of neurological disorders. It is designed for physicians and scientists specializing in neurosurgery, neurology, neuroscience, anesthesiology and intensive care as well as nurses and other healthcare professionals. 

A free class will be offered by UM/Sylvester at Deerfield Beach tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. "Breast Cancer -- What Every Woman Should Know" will be presented by Eli Avisar, M.D., F.A.C.S., assistant professor of surgery and co-leader of the Breast Site Disease Group at UM/Sylvester.

Psychiatry Grand Rounds will be held this Friday from noon to 1 p.m. in the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Rajaprabhakaran Rajarethinam, M.D., assistant professor and co-director of the Services for the Treatment in Early Psychoses clinic at Wayne State University School of Medicine, will present "Temporal Lobe and Schizophrenia."

The Department of Medical Education Grand Rounds series, sponsored by the Educational Development Office, will host Kenneth Goodman, Ph.D., director of the UM Bioethics Program, who will present "Ethics Education: Why, How Much and By Whom?"

The lecture will take place this Friday at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fifth-floor auditorium. Lunch will be served. For more information, please contact Tanyika Stephenson at 305-243-7482.

The Miller School United Way Halloween Pancake Breakfast will be held Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the Schoninger Research Quadrangle. Please join fellow faculty and staff for a free pancake breakfast and find out more about the United Way campaign. Donations will gladly be accepted to support the United Way efforts of the Miller School.

AIG VALIC presents "Financial Planning Strategies For Doctors," a seminar that focuses on estate, retirement, tax and investment planning. The seminar will be held from 8:30 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 in Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155. To register, call 786-205-5617.

Join us for a discussion about deception in research on Tuesday, Oct. 30, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Mailman Center for Child Development, third-floor conference room. Jay Sosenko, M.D., professor of medicine and assistant provost for research standards at the Miller School, will examine the pros and cons of "Deception in Research Involving Human Subjects." The IRB and institutional policies regarding deception will also be examined. 

"Dealing with Difficult People" is a course that is designed to strengthen communication skills, teach individuals how to evaluate the impact of their own actions and determine how to handle difficult situations with other people. The course will be offered on Wednesday, Oct. 31, from noon to 1 p.m. in Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155. Individuals must complete a corresponding online computer based-learning module prior to enrolling in the course. To register for the session, please visit http://ulearn.miami.edu. For more information, call 305-243-3090.

Music Ensembles for the Enrichment of Medicine is a student organization designed to showcase the musical talents of medical students at the Miller School. Their monthly concert series is kicking off with a Halloween concert featuring pianists, guitarists, a choir and many other talented musicians. Bring a lunch and enjoy an hour of entertainment. Everyone is invited and admission is free. Get there early though, as space is limited. For information, please contact Dan Cushman at dcushman@med.miami.edu.

The Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology will feature Markus A. Rüegg, Ph.D., associate professor of neurobiology at the University of Basel in Switzerland. Dr. Rüegg will present "Regulation of Dendritic Spine Morphogenesis and Synapse Formation by Copine Family Members" on Thursday, Nov. 1, at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, conference room 6018. For additional information, please contact Nivia Machin-Gonzalez at 305-243-1078.

The Sponsored Programs Education training team cordially invites you to join them on Nov. 1 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Batchelor Children's Research Institute, Baxter Conference Room for a fun game of "Research Administration Jeopardy" and a thought-provoking discussion of policies and procedures that may affect your research project.

On Friday, November 2, Anthony Poteete, Ph.D., professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, will present "Replisome Invasion Model of Phage Lambda Red-Mediated Recombination," at noon in the R. Bunn Gautier Building, room 118. This seminar is provided by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. To meet the speaker please e-mail Richard Myers at rmyers@med.miami.edu.

The Miami Institute for Human Genomics presents "From Whole Genome Scans to Phenotype: Unraveling Inflammatory Diseases" on Thursday, Nov. 8, at noon in the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. The lecture will be given by David A. Hafler, M.D., Jack, Sadie and David Breakstone Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School's Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., followed by the lecture at noon.

The fifth annual Jay Bon Salle Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Thursday, Nov. 8, at Crandon Park Golf Course, 6700 Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne. Registration and sponsorship levels are now available online. Please visit www.thejpsfoundation.org to register today. Registration by fax or mail is also available. Proceeds from this event benefit the University of Miami Cardiovascular Center.

Setting personal goals is a vital part of accomplishment and helps with personal and business planning. This Leadership Academy course will help emerging leaders identify their values, set principle-based goals and develop an appropriate action plan to achieve these goals. The course will be held on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Dominion Parking Garage, Professional Development and Training Office, suite 155.

You must complete the corresponding online computer based learning module prior to enrolling in the course. To register for the session, visit http://ulearn.miami.edu/ and follow the instructions to log on. For more information, please call 305-243-3090.

The XXIX Inter-American Course in Clinical Ophthalmology will be held Sunday, Nov. 18, through Wednesday, Nov. 21, at the Intercontinental Hotel and Resort located at 100 Chopin Plaza in downtown Miami. 

This course is designed for practicing ophthalmologists in Latin America and the Caribbean. The course material, which will be presented with simultaneous English and Spanish translation, will emphasize practical approaches to select clinical problems. In addition, more than 50 commercial exhibitors will participate in an accompanying trade show.

Early registration is scheduled for Saturday, November 17, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Intercontinental Hotel. For more information, please call 305-326-6110 or e-mail curso@med.miami.edu.

The Miami Winter Symposium on Regulatory RNA in Biology and Human Health will be held Saturday, Feb. 2, through Wednesday, Feb. 6, at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa. 
 
RNA interference is widely adopted as a powerful approach for experimental knockdown of gene expression. At this symposium, a wide group of researchers working in RNA interference, X chromosome inactivation and naturally occurring antisense transcripts will look at our current understanding of the mechanisms of action and biogenesis of small regulatory RNAs, and how this is being applied to create a new generation of therapeutics and diagnostics.
 
The poster session short reports deadline is Monday, Nov. 5. For instructions on how to prepare your two-page short report for the symposium, please e-mail Sandy Black at sblack@miami.edu. Oral presentations will be selected from the short reports received. Additionally, there will be a poster competition for students and post-docs.  Posters will be judged and winners will be selected each day of the symposium. Visit the Web site for details at www.miami.edu/mws.

The symposium is sponsored and organized by the University Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Foundation, Inc., UM/Sylvester, Nature Publishing Group and Scripps Florida.

The Islet Cell Transplant Center at the Diabetes Research Institute is recruiting subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus to participate in research studies that involve transplantation of islets, the insulin producing cells of the pancreas. For more information and eligibility criteria, call the department at 305-243-5321 or view the clinical trials section of the Web site www.diabetesresearch.org.

e-Update is a service of the Office of Communications at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.
To view current and past issues, visit http://e-update.med.miami.edu.
The University of Miami is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action University.