The first weekday morning at the University of Miami Hospital was filled with festivities as leaders from the Miller School gathered to welcome employees to a hospital with a new name and a new vision for top-notch academic health care.

Registration is now open for the 14th annual International Society for Cellular Therapy conference scheduled for May 17 through 20 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel Miami. The conference is being chaired by Miller School faculty members Ian K. McNiece, Ph.D., director of experimental and clinical cell-based therapies at the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, and Norma Kenyon, Ph.D., professor of surgery, microbiology and immunology and director of the Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research.

Medical identity theft is a criminal act that occurs when a person uses someone else’s personal information to obtain medical services or make false claims for medical services. Unlike financial identity theft, medical identity theft can harm its victims by creating false entries in their medical records. These entries may result in inappropriate treatment or loss of health insurance coverage.

To detect and prevent medical identity theft, request and verify an annual listing of benefits paid in your name by your insurers. To read more on this, please visit http://www.med.miami.edu/hipaa/public/x358.xml.

If you have questions related to this or any other HIPAA Privacy or Security related issue, please contact the Office of HIPAA Privacy and Security at hipaaprivacy@med.miami.edu.

Get your tickets to see the Miami Hurricanes take on ACC rivals Georgia Tech at the men's basketball game on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m., and Florida State at the women's basketball game on Thursday, Jan 24, at 7 p.m. As a UM employee, you will receive one free ticket to both games and can purchase up to five more tickets to each game for $1 per ticket. To pick up your Employee Day tickets, download and complete the registration form at http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/mifl/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/08BKemployeeform. Individuals must bring the completed form and a valid UM ID card to receive tickets.

Bascom Palmer Eye Institute's Contact Lens Service offers all UM faculty, staff and their family members a 50 percent discount on contact lens services to include six months of unlimited follow-up care and replacement of lost or damaged soft, disposable lenses at no additional charge.

The August-October issue of Calder Communications is now available online at
http://calder.med.miami.edu/caldcomm/calder_communications.html.

• 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 Division of Cardiology will host Stefan Anker, M.D., Ph.D., professor of applied cachexia research at Charité University Berlin, for a seminar today from noon to 1 p.m. in the Clinical Research Building, room 1179A. Dr. Anker will present "Treatment Development for Cachexia in Heart Failure and Cancer--Common Targets and Goals."

World AIDS Day: An Evening of Art and Empowerment will be held at 7:30 tonight at Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant in the Design District. Come join the Physicians for Human Rights as they investigate the global AIDS epidemic through art, musical performances and expert guest speakers. 

The event will feature UM faculty Dushyantha Jayaweera, M.D., associate professor of medicine, and Stephen Symes, M.D., assistant professor of medicine. Ana Obregon, director of Community Education and Awareness at M.U.J.E.R., a local support organization, will also speak. The discussions will focus on AIDS from a global, local and individualized perspective. 

Enjoy dinner and drink specials and entertainment provided by local spoken word artists and medical student musicians. For more information, please contact Neil Masters at 863-838-8333 or nhmasters@med.miami.edu.

You are invited to attend a special seminar tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. in the auditorium at the Medical Training and Simulation Laboratory building. Guest speaker Zhao-Jun Liu, M.D., research assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, will present "Notch Signaling in Cutaneous Melanoma."

The Gail F. Beach Memorial Visiting Lectureship Series will be held at noon tomorrow in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Martyn D. Goulding, Ph.D., professor of molecular neurobiology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, will present "Genetic Dissection of Motor Circuits in the Spinal Cord." 

For more information, call 305-243-7108 or visit the Web site www.miamiproject.med.miami.edu/x381.xml.

The Department of Microbiology and Immunology will be hosting a seminar by Michael Krangel, Ph.D., professor of immunology and director of graduate studies at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Krangel will present "Chromatin, Transcription, and the Developmental Regulation of V(D)J Recombination" this Thursday at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 3109.

The Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology presents Cornelius F. Boerkoel, M.D., Ph.D., associate clinical professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Boerkoel will present "Rare Diseases: Doors to New Biological Processes" this Thursday at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 6018.

For additional information, please contact Nivia Machin-Gonzalez at 305-243-1078.

Please join us for a special lecture with guest speaker Peter Altevogt, Ph.D., professor of immunology at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, this Thursday at noon in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Dr. Altevogt will present "L1-CAM in Tumors and the Biological Role of Tumor-Released Exosomes."

Are you new to working with the National Institutes of Health grants? Need a refresher course? The Sponsored Programs Roundtable Series "NIH 101" will start with the basics and lead you through the NIH application review, award and grants management process. Maria Valero Martinez will present this session this Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Batchelor Children's Research Institute, Baxter Conference Room.

Registration is required through http://Ulearn.miami.edu. For more details, please contact saymerich@med.miami.edu.

You are invited to attend a seminar on "ALDH1 - A Marker of Normal and Malignant Human Mammary Stem Cells and a Predictor of Poor Clinical Outcome" this Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium.

You are invited to attend a special seminar this Friday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Clinical Research Building, room 1080.

Please join us for a Biochemistry seminar with Alan Hinnebusch, Ph.D., senior investigator in the Section of Nutrient Control of Gene Expression at the Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Development at the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Hinnebusch will present "Mechanism and Regulation of AUG Selection by Scanning Ribosomes" this Friday at noon in the R. Bunn Gautier Building, room 118.

Bascom Palmer Eye Institute will be holding a Retinal and Glaucoma Imaging conference at The Breakers Palm Beach on Saturday, Dec. 8, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. This conference will feature the co-inventors of optical coherence tomography, a widely utilized ophthalmic diagnostic technology. The basic physical principles of optical coherence tomography will be reviewed, followed by a comprehensive discussion of current clinical applications in management of glaucoma and retinal diseases. There will also be a discussion of the use of anterior segment optical coherence tomography in the management of keratorefractive surgery and in decision making with phakic anterior chamber lenses. Finally, the latest developments in optical coherence tomography including high resolution and high speed systems will be presented.

For more information, please visit the Web site www.bascompalmer.org, call 305-326-6110 or send an e-mail to bpeicme@med.miami.edu. The registration fee for the conference is $250.

The Developmental Center for AIDS Research in conjunction with the Comprehensive Drug Research Center and the Comprehensive AIDS Program proudly present Jag H. Khalsa, Ph.D., chief of the Medical Consequences Branch in the Division of Pharmacotherapies and Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse at the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Khalsa will present "Medical and Health Consequences of Drug Abuse and Co-Occurring Infections: Research at NIDA" from noon to 1 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium on Monday, Dec. 10.

Choosing and managing a retirement plan investment portfolio is a challenging prospect. The University is pleased to offer a free UMatter benefit called LTSave. This innovative benefit will help guide you through the many investment options offered by the University and create a personal investment plan. LTSave will also help you set retirement goals and determine if your current savings and investment plans are on target.

To learn more about LTSave, attend a lunch-and-learn session on Tuesday, Dec. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. in Bascom Palmer Eye Institute's Retter Auditorium, or Wednesday, Dec. 12, from noon to 1 p.m. in Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155.

To RSVP, please e-mail vagramonte@miami.edu.

Tory Burch at Bal Harbour Shops along with Jennie Weiss Block, Christopher Block, Betty C. Fleming, Matthew Whitman Lazenby, Lizzi Nuell and Laurie Weiss Nuell, celebrate the spirit of giving this holiday season with a private shopping event benefiting the Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity. Twenty percent of the evening’s proceeds will benefit the Center. Please join us at Bal Harbour Shops for shopping and cocktails on Thursday, Dec. 13, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Can’t make it out that evening? Tory Burch at Bal Harbour Shops will honor all sales made December 13 and 14. Just mention your support of the Jay Weiss Center and Tory will donate twenty percent of your purchase to the Center.

Please RSVP no later than this Thursday, Dec. 6, at 305-243-9697 or eventsrsvp@med.miami.edu. 

The Laboratory for Clinical and Biological Studies will host Bender MedSystems for a workshop on "Quantitation of Cytokines by FlowCytomix Technology." The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13, in the Fox Cancer Research Building, room 118.

To register, please contact Naresh Sachdeva, Ph.D., at 305-243-2010 or  nsachdeva@med.miami.edu. Space is limited. 

The Craniofacial and Cleft Palate Clinic at UM/Jackson will be hosting a picnic for all the cleft palate and craniofacial patients on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Alamo Park.

There will be appearances by Ronald McDonald and Sebastian the Ibis, games, prizes and food. For more information, please contact Beatrice Aquino at 305-585-6571.

Improve your Spanish at UM’s Intensive Spanish Program from Jan. 5 through Jan. 11. This program is for all levels of learners. You can boost your Spanish language skills dramatically in just seven days and enjoy yourself at the same time. Classes meet daily, Saturday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Please join us for the Mary Bartlett Bunge Distinguished Women in Cell Biology Lecture Series being held on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. Joan A. Steitz, Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Yale University, will present "RNA-Protein Complexes (RNPs): Versatile Regulators of Gene Expression in Mammalian Cells."

For additional information, please contact Maria Penton at 305-243-6691 or mpenton@med.miami.edu.

Register now for the 40th annual Teaching Conference in Clinical Cardiology and Neurology, a primary care update presented by the Michael S. Gordon Center for Research in Medical Education. The conference will address both acute and long-term evaluation, management, practical treatment and clinical skills for nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists and physicians. Case-based presentations will include Harvey, the cardiopulmonary patient simulator. 

The conference will also feature University of Miami faculty Michael S. Gordon, M.D., professor of clinical medicine, director and associate dean for research in medical education; S. Barry Issenberg, M.D., assistant director and assistant dean of the Gordon Center for Research in Medical Education; and Joan Baker, R.N., MSN, CCRN, CNRN. Also presenting are visiting professors Robert E. Safford, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine from the Mayo Clinic, and Jaffar Khan, M.D., assistant professor of neurology from Emory University.

A maximum of 14 continuing medical education credit hours and continuing education units can be earned by attending. The registration fee for full-time UM employees is $100 for non-physicians and $150 for physicians. All learning materials for the course are included. Tuition remission is available for a limited number of registrants. The conference will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 25, and will continue through Saturday, Jan. 26.

Please register online at http://www.gcrme.med.miami.edu/meded_conf2008.html. For more information, call 305-243-6491 or e-mail tcccn@crme.med.miami.edu.

The Department of Pathology will conduct its 33rd annual "Review and Recent Practical Advances in Pathology" course at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa from Monday, Jan. 28, to Friday, Feb. 1.

Topics include neuropathology, prostate pathology, kidney tumors, urologic pathology, automation, cytopathology, breast pathology, pediatric pathology, soft tissue tumors and GI pathology.

For information or assistance, please contact Linda Hung at 1-866-794-9942, lhung@med.miami.edu or visit the Web site at http://pathology.med.miami.edu.

The Center for Liver Diseases is looking for volunteers with liver (hepatic) disease who are 18 years or older to test the safety of a new drug. For more information, please call Sachin Nalin Vyas, Ph.D., research unit manager, at 305-243-4649.

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.