The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has been selected by the National Institutes of Health as the study center in Florida for the wide-reaching National Children’s Study, an unprecedented look at the health of children in the U.S. that examines both environmental and genetic factors. Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., and the team of researchers from the Miller School’s Department of Pediatrics who will lead the study announced the details October 3 at a news conference in the Batchelor Children’s Research Institute on the medical campus. For more on this story, click here.

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., was among the Miller School team members who participated in Sunday’s Escape to Miami Triathlon, a grueling swimming, biking and running event that featured 960 participants – including actor Matt Damon.
 
Dean Goldschmidt placed 25th in the sprint section of the triathlon and came in an impressive second place in his age category, 50 to 54; John Robitaille, division administrator for the Department of Neurology’s Sleep Disorder Center, placed eighth in the same group. In addition to Goldschmidt and Robitaille, the Miller School and the University were outstandingly represented by several other triathletes including Joe Natoli, UM senior vice president for business and finance; David A. Lubarsky, M.D., chair of anesthesiology; Orlando Silva, M.D., associate professor of medicine, Jeff Farmer, associate athletics trainer at the Medical Wellness Center, and several students.

A memorial service for Edward “Ted” L. Chambers, M.D., a professor of physiology and biophysics at the Miller School for more than 40 years, will be held Tuesday, October 21, at 5 p.m. in the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, room 1301.
 
Scientifically, Dr. Chambers is best known for his research on fertilization and early development. He was ahead of his time in his awareness, starting in the late 1930s, of the importance of ion transport in these processes.
 
Dr. Chambers received his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton and his medical degree from New York University. After completing his residency and fellowship training at Bellevue Hospital, affiliated with Cornell University, Dr. Chambers served in Africa and Italy from 1944-1946 as assistant surgeon for the U.S. Public Health Service. He came to the Department of Physiology at the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1954 after holding positions at University of California, Berkeley, New York University, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Oregon School of Medicine.
 
Among his most significant accomplishments at UM was his creation of an informal collaboration between the basic sciences at the medical school and the Department of Biology at Coral Gables that led to an interdisciplinary NIH-funded Ph.D. program – the Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Program – a bedrock on which basic biological science grew at the University.
 
Sheldon B. Greer, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and immunology,  William J. Whelan, D.Sc., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and David Landowne, Ph.D., professor of physiology and biophysics, have organized the memorial service and, with other colleagues of Dr. Chambers, will speak about the impact of Dr. Chambers’ work and  creative scholarly contributions to the UM community. Refreshments will be served.
 
Dr. Chambers died on July 3, 2008 in Miami. He was 91.

In September, the International Medicine Institute, Office of the General Counsel and two of the Miller School’s top research scientists visited Hospital Santo Tomas, the largest public hospital of the Panamanian Ministry of Health in Panama City, Panama. 

The Benefits Office will hold a lunch-and-learn information session on the new Aetna Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) plan. The plan is different from the other medical benefits the University has traditionally offered and blends the best features of popular health benefits with the HRA fund used to pay for medical and prescription expenses.

Sessions will be held this Thursday at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium; this Friday at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Retter Auditorium;, and on Monday, October 13, at the Diabetes Research Institute, suite 1000. All sessions will take place from noon to 1 p.m. Lunch will be served, but RSVP is required. Please RSVP by completing the online form at www.miami.edu/benefits/RSVP. You can also learn more at www.miami.edu/benefits/2009.

Today is the last day to purchase raffle tickets from the International Medicine Institute’s Heart Walk team, Tropical Rhythms. The team has gathered prizes and gift certificate donations from businesses such as Books & Books, Tiffany & Co., Toni & Guy Hairdressers, Artigiano Men’s Clothing, MCycle Gym, Green Gables Restaurant, Houston’s, Ortanique on the Mile, Laura Mercier Cosmetics and many more. Proceeds will benefit the American Heart Association Start! Heart Walk.

To purchase your raffle tickets or join their team, please contact Julissa Gutierrez or Laz Gordon at 305-243-2934. For more information, please visit http://www.med.miami.edu/imi/x88.xml. The drawing will take place at noon tomorrow (Wednesday) in Dominion Tower, suite 206A.

Pick up your tickets to see the Hurricanes take on ACC rival Wake Forest to cap off the homecoming celebration on Saturday, October 25, at Dolphin Stadium. As a UM employee, individuals will receive one free ticket and will have the opportunity to purchase up to four more tickets for $1 each. To pick up Employee Day tickets, download and complete the form at http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/mifl/genrel/auto_pdf/PDF-Employee-Day-092508.pdf. You must bring the completed form and a valid employee ID to receive tickets. To expedite distribution, please fill out the entire form before coming to pick up tickets.

Representatives from the Hurricane Ticket Office will be on the Miller School campus today (Tuesday), tomorrow (Wednesday) and this Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of Au Bon Pain restaurant and at in the University of Miami Hospital cafeteria. 

Everyone is encouraged to show their support for UM by wearing orange. For more information, call the Hurricane Ticket Office at 305-284-2263.

The Department of Pathology is proud to present the 34th annual "Review and Recent Advances in Pathology" scheduled for Monday, January 26, through Friday, January 30, at The Alexander All-Suites Oceanfront Resort in Miami Beach.  

For more information, please contact Alicia Cabrera at 305-585-6103 or visit http://pathology.med.miami.edu/x81.xml. Online registration will begin soon.

• University Compliance (anonymous hotline): 866-YOURCALL
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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.

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Please join us for Pediatric Grand Rounds today (Tuesday) from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Atul K. Madan, M.D., F.A.C.S., associate professor of surgery and chief of laparoendoscopic and bariatric surgery, will present “Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery: Should It Be Offered to Adolescents?”

Are you looking for funding opportunities? Attend this interactive demonstration and learn how to use SPINplus and SMARTS, tools to find funding opportunities. The SPINplus system is Web-based and will facilitate this process. The session will take place today (Tuesday) from 10 a.m. to noon at Dominion Tower, room 1003.

Please register at http://Ulearn.miami.edu. For more information, please contact the Sponsored Programs Education and Training team at ResEDU@med.miami.edu.

The Division of Hospital Medicine will present Grand Rounds by Kristine O'Phelan, M.D., assistant professor of neurology, today (Tuesday) from noon to 1 p.m. at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Central Building, second-floor auditorium. Dr. O'Phelan will present a lecture titled “Coma Update."

The Developmental Center for AIDS Research will present Grand Rounds today (Tuesday) from noon to 1 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium. Glen Barber, Ph.D., professor of medicine and associate director of basic science at Sylvester, will give a lecture titled “Innate Immune Signaling and Infectious Disease.” 

Please join us for the “Taste of UM” today (Tuesday) from noon to 2 p.m. at the Medical Wellness Center, room C. Admission to the event is free for UM employees; however, donations will be accepted. Approximately 24 catering vendors will be on hand to provide a variety of free food samples ranging from pasta to paella. Vendors will provide menus, portfolios, business cards and ideas for your upcoming events. 

Please join us today (Tuesday) at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium for a seminar by Peter Mundel, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Miami Institute of Renal Medicine. Dr. Mundel will present “Proteasomal Regulation of RhoA Signaling.” 

For additional information, please contact Nilcer Aviles at 305-243-6691 or naviles@med.miami.edu.

Eva Ritvo, M.D., associate professor of clinical psychiatry and vice chair for professional and community development, will be signing her new book, The Beauty Prescription, at Books and Books in Bal Harbour, 9700 Collins Avenue, tonight (Tuesday) at 7:30.

Dr. Ritvo and longtime friend, Debra Luftman, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist, wrote the book together to create a guide to becoming beautiful, inside and out. Ritvo will sign books and discuss the main components of the book—how outer and inner beauty, health, and environment affect people’s view of themselves.

Dermatology Grand Rounds will still be held tomorrow (Wednesday) from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 2090. However, Leslie Baumann, M.D., will now be presenting the lecture "Comparing HA Fillers."

For more information, please call 305-243-4472.

The Department of Orthopaedics will present Grand Rounds this Thursday from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. J. David Pitcher Jr., M.D., associate professor of orthopaedics, will present “Professionalism in Orthopaedics 2008."

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology will present Grand Rounds this Thursday, at 7:15 a.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium. Ami Shah, M.D., assistant professor of general obstetrics and gynecology, will present "Total Laparoscopic and Robotic Hysterectomy."

The Department of Otolaryngology will present Grand Rounds this Thursday from 8 to 9 a.m. at ACC East, room 356. Jose Ruiz, M.D., assistant professor of otolaryngology, and Thomas Walker, M.D., resident, will present "Endoscopic Management of Zenker's Diverticulum."

The Division of Hospital Medicine will host Grand Rounds this Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at University of Miami Hospital's Seminar Center. Jorge M. Diego, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine, will present “Current Management of End Stage Renal Disease.” At the lecture, participants will learn about the principles of anemia management and objectives, cardiovascular calcification in end-stage renal disease, current management of metabolic bone disease, and current alternative modalities of dialysis including home dialysis, peritoneal dialysis and nocturnal hemodialysis.

The University of Miami Health System and the Miller School of Medicine are sponsors of this year’s Start! Miami-Dade Heart Walk and want you on board for the event designed to raise research funds and draw attention to heart disease and stroke. Join Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., your Executive Champion, in supporting the effort by contributing to your department’s Heart Walk team. The walk takes place this Saturday at Tropical Park at 9 a.m. Activities will begin at 8 a.m.

To contribute and/or sign up for the walk click here. For more information, please contact Ana Bezanilla at 305-243-2295.

The Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service will host its annual Little Haiti health fair this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Center for Haitian Studies. At the fair, Miller School faculty and medical students will provide free health screenings, health education and more. Screenings will include cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, vision, cancer, etc. Children will also be seen, but must be accompanied by an adult.

Are you submitting electronic applications through Grants.gov? Join us for a Grants.gov hands-on workshop on Monday, October 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Louis Calder Memorial Library, electronic classroom. This computer lab training course is offered to provide hands-on instruction for NIH electronic submission of proposals through Grants.gov. The trainer will walk participants through the process and provide tips for avoiding common errors. The emphasis will be on finding and using the correct application package, following grant application instructions, and understanding the procedures for the internal routing of the proposal.

Please register at http://ulearn.miami.edu. For more information, please contact the Sponsored Programs Education and Training team at ResEDU@med.miami.edu.

Please join us on Tuesday, October 14, at noon, in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium for a seminar by Christian Faul, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine. Dr. Faul will present a lecture titled “Calcineurin and the Synaptopodin Protein Family: From Podocytes to Cardiac Myocytes.” 

For additional information, please contact Nilcer Aviles at 305-243-6691 or naviles@med.miami.edu.

The Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity Grand Rounds will feature Sheri Fink, M.D., Ph.D., medical reporter for ProPublica. Dr. Fink will present “Aid, Ethics and Human Rights in Conflict and Disaster Zones.” The lecture will take place on Tuesday, October 14, at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium.

Lunch will be provided. For more information, e-mail Katie Houghton at Khoughton@med.miami.edu or visit www.jayweisscenter.org.

Learn how to use the InfoEd Proposal Development System to prepare and submit your proposal electronically to the NIH. InfoEd streamlines the proposal development process. It is Web-based and accessible almost anywhere by Mac and PC users with no additional software. InfoEd populates agency forms, includes built-in agency validations, stores proposals in a secure environment and provides a database of all proposals submitted. This session will help participants create, route, submit and track proposals using the InfoEd System.

The session will be held on Wednesday, October 15, from 9 a.m. to noon at Dominion Tower, room 1003. Please register at http://Ulearn.miami.edu. For more information, please contact the Sponsored Programs Education and Training team at ResEDU@med.miami.edu.

The Department of Orthopaedics will host Grand Rounds on Thursday, October 16, from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Visiting professor Hill Hastings II, M.D., clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery at Indiana University Medical Center, will present "Surgical Management of the Arthritic Elbow."

The Department of Otolaryngology will present a Grand Rounds lecture on Thursday, October 16, from 8 to 9 a.m. at ACC East, room 356. Zoukaa Sargi, M.D., assistant professor of otolaryngology, and Ross Germani, M.D., resident, will present "The Role of Human Papilloma Virus in Cancers of the Head and Neck." 

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.

Please join us for Pathology Grand Rounds on Thursday, October 16, at noon at Holtz Children's Hospital, conference room 2034. Richard Cote, M.D., FRC.Path., professor of pathology and urology, and director of the Biomedical Nanosciences Initiative at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine's Kenneth Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, will present a lecture titled "New Approaches to Cell Capture, Analysis and Molecular Biosensing using Novel Nanotechnology Platforms."

Late last year, UM acquired the Velos eResearch clinical research management system.  A Sponsored Programs Roundtable session will be held on Thursday, October 16, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, room 4003. The session will provide an update on deployment status, process transformation and overview of functionality. This deployment is part of three major initiatives in the Office of Research to improve its ability to initiate and manage clinical research efforts and simplify as many of the supporting processes as possible. There will also be a Q&A session.

Please register at http://Ulearn.miami.edu. For more information, please send an e-mail to resedu@med.miami.edu.

Join the UM team at Bayfront Park on Saturday, October 18, for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a race dedicated to the effort to cure breast cancer. To register online, click here or sign up onsite the day of the race beginning at 6 a.m. Race for the Cure events start at 7:30 a.m., and the race starts at 8:30 a.m. For more information, visit www.komenmiaftl.org or call 305-284-5671 for UM-related participation information.

The Division of Hospital Medicine will present Grand Rounds by Joshua Lenchus, D.O., assistant professor of clinical medicine, on Tuesday, October 21, from noon to 1 p.m. at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Central Building, second-floor auditorium. Dr. Lenchus will present a lecture titled "Overview of the Procedure Team."

For more information, please contact Karen Harvey at 305-243-1960 or Kharvey@med.miami.edu.

The Department of Orthopaedics will hold Grand Rounds on Thursday, October 23, from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Carlos Lavernia, M.D., chief of orthopaedics at Mercy Hospital's Orthopedic Institute, will present "Avascular Necrosis of the Hip – Diagnosis and Treatment."

For more information, please contact Ledi Figueroa at 305-243-6725 or lfigueroa@med.miami.edu.

Please join us for Surgical Grand Rounds on Thursday, October 23, at 8 a.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. Camillo Ricordi, M.D., scientific director of the Diabetes Research Institute and professor of surgery and medicine, will present “Challenges in the Development of a Cell-Based Therapy for Diabetes.” Upon completion of this lecture, participants will be able to appraise pancreatic islet cell transplantation.

The Department of Otolaryngology will host Grand Rounds on Thursday, October 23, from 8 to 9 a.m. at ACC East in Chandler Library, room 356. Simon Angeli, M.D., associate professor of otolaryngology, and David Neskey, M.D., resident, will present a lecture titled "Glomus Tumors."

The Division of Hospital Medicine will host Grand Rounds on Thursday, October 23, from noon to 1 p.m. at University of Miami Hospital's Seminar Center. Shirin Shafazand, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, will present “Stop that Snoring: The Diagnosis and Management of Sleep Disordered Breathing.” After attending the lecture, participants will be able to review the signs and symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, discuss screening tools for obstructive sleep apnea, and highlight the health consequences of sleep disordered breathing.

Register today for the Third Annual Ventricular Arrhythmias Symposium. At the event, you will learn from top international experts in the management of ventricular arrhythmias and gain a detailed understanding of ventricular arrhythmia treatment in various disease states, including advances in non-pharmacological therapies such as implantable device therapy and catheter ablation. The scientific basis of new techniques and therapies, their clinical use and limitations will be also discussed.

The symposium will be held on Friday, October 24, and Saturday, October 25, at The Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne. To learn more or to register, please visit www.vtsymposium.com.

The 12th annual Richard P. Bunge Memorial Lecture will feature James Salzer, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cell biology and neurology at New York University. Dr. Salzer will present "Axo-Glial Interactions that Direct Assembly of Myelinated Nerves." The lecture will be held on Friday, October 24, at noon in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium.

Lunch will be served at 1 p.m. For more information, contact the Neuroscience Program at neurosci@med.miami.edu or 305-243-3368. 

The Department of Medicine invites you to a research conference on Monday, October 27, at noon in the Medical Training and Simulation Laboratory, conference room. William Harrington, Jr., M.D., professor of medicine, will present “Viral Associated Lymphomas.” 

Lunch will be served. For more information, e-mail Zurama Rodriguez at zrodriguez@med.miami.edu or visit http://www.med.miami.edu/medicine/x522.xml.

Genetic tests for specific maladies are known to raise ethical issues. These issues, including sharing results with patients and appropriate secondary use of data, are considerably magnified with the recent success of whole-genome sequencing. On Tuesday, October 28, Kenneth W. Goodman, Ph.D., director of the Bioethics Program, will present a Human Subjects Protections Program seminar on "Whole-Genome Sequencing: Ethical, Legal and Social Issues."

The event will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Please register at http://Ulearn.miami.edu. For more information, please send an e-mail to resedu@med.miami.edu.

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center will host an oncogenomics seminar on Wednesday, October 29, from noon to 1 p.m. at Sylvester, conference room 1301. Brian Rabinovich, Ph.D., director of genetic engineering and molecular imaging and senior research scientist in the Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will present a lecture titled "Visualizing Fewer than 10 Mouse T Cells with an Enhanced Firefly Luciferase in Immunocompetent Mouse Models of Cancer."

Registration is now open for the fourth in a series of one-day programs presented by the Joan K. Stout, R.N. Nurses Training Program. The seminar, "2008 Trauma Update," is designed to provide a practical update that teaches a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach to the care of critically ill and injured patients. Hands-on workshops on clinical skills and treatment will emphasize the assessment and management of the trauma patient. Topics to be covered include traumatic brain injury, hypothermia for brain and spinal cord injuries, airway and chest tube management, and transfusion and pain management guidelines. A unique perspective on lessons learned from the battlefield will also be presented.

This program is designed for those who provide care to trauma patients. The seminar will be held on Friday, November 21, from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Gordon Center for Research in Medical Education's Broad-Bussel Auditorium located on the first floor of the Clinical Research Building.

The registration fee is $125 and includes all learning materials and lunch. Groups of three will receive a $25 per person discount. Registration for students is $50. The program is approved for a maximum of 6.5 continuing education hours for nurses, respiratory therapists and physical therapists and 7 hours for paramedics. Register online at http://www.gcrme.med.miami.edu/2008_trauma_update.html. For more information, call 305-243-6491 or e-mail gcrmence@med.miami.edu.

Saggy Abdominal Skin
Heather Woolery-Lloyd, M.D. of the University of Miami Cosmetic Medicine and Research Institute is looking for women ages 18 to 70 who have saggy, aging skin on the abdomen. The study will evaluate whether a light-based device is safe and effective for abdominal skin tightening. If you are interested in participating, contact a member of the research staff at 305-531-5788 or cosmeticresearch@med.miami.edu.

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The University of Miami is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action University.