The eleventh annual Lois Pope LIFE International Achievement Award ceremony had the feel of a family reunion as Paul Farmer, M.D., Ph.D., received the prestigious honor under a tent erected near the Lois Pope LIFE Center on February 17.

On Wednesday, February 18, in a whirlwind fashion, public health students met with faculty members for an hour of round-robin speed mentoring at Pasha's Restaurant in the Medical Wellness Center. Public health students had three minutes with each faculty member to explore their respective research focus as well as learn about any research team opportunities. Faculty provided insight on career options, CV building techniques and got to meet the public health student body in a closer, intimate forum.

Hosted by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health’s Public Health Student Association (PHSA), students expressed great enthusiasm for learning more about the various research options afforded by the faculty. PHSA raffled an Apple iPod and a "Cool Science" cooler for faculty.

Aetna members can save significantly on health care expenses by using UM physicians and facilities. You will save $5 on primary care office visit copays, $10 on specialist office visit copays, $100 per day on inpatient hospital copays, and $50 to $150 (depending on the plan) on high-end diagnostics including MRI, PET, CT MRA and SPECT scans. Aetna Select 2 members and the POSII 600 do not have to pay their deductible for low-end diagnostic services if they use a UM facility. 

To find UM physicians or to make an appointment online, visit www.uhealthsystem.com. Members can also make an appointment by calling the UM employee dedicated appointment line at 305-243-CARE. If you need further assistance, contact a Benefits Expert by completing the form at www.miami.edu/benefits/ask.

The Miller School commencement will be held at 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, at the BankUnited Center on the Coral Gables campus. If you are part of the Dean’s administration or a faculty member, you must fill out the RSVP form whether you plan to attend commencement or not. Regalia is rented by the school and there is no charge, but you must fill out the name of your alma mater so the appropriate hood in the colors of your alma mater will be available. The regalia will be delivered directly to the Hurricane 100 Room at the BankUnited Center on the day of the ceremony.  Robing begins at 4 p.m. and the ceremony begins promptly at 5 p.m., so you must arrive on time for robing.

You’re invited to join more than 300 supporters who are expected to gather at Bongos Cuban Café on Sunday, March 15, to support the 2009 fundraiser for the Miller School’s Department of Urology. This year, the celebration to support the department’s Center for Urologic Research, Education and Diseases (CURED) will feature a Latin beat.

The Community Blood Centers of South Florida will hold a blood drive this Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, second-floor student lounge. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate in this campus-wide blood drive. All donors will receive special giveaways. 

The BioTech 2009 conference committee is inviting regional researchers to submit posters. Posters must showcase recent research findings and support the conference’s objectives to create collaborations among university researchers and companies who develop products, learn about new research and development occurring locally, and present opportunities to grant providers, licensees and investors. Research that supports application development is of particular interest.

The Post-Doctoral Programs Office is now accepting abtracts for its first annual Post-Doctoral Fellow Research Day scheduled for Friday, May 22. Participating in this event will allow you to practice your presentation skills, share research and learn about the research of your post-doctoral colleagues.

Three of the university-approved retirement vendors will visit the medical campus in March to answer financial questions about your retirement plan.

The Optical Department at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute is offering its 20/20 Vision Club eyewear benefits to all UM and Jackson employees, family and friends. You can choose from an expanded selection of metal or plastic frames with single vision (distance or near) or bifocal plastic prescription lenses starting at only $40. Progressive lenses are also available and start at $135. You can also save $5 on your second pair of eye or sunglasses.

Certain restrictions may apply. For further information, please call 305-326-6092.

Are you looking for funding opportunities or applying for grants? You can learn more about internal procedures and policies regarding sponsored programs by taking an online course. Courses can be found in ULearn at www.miami.edu/ulearn. Once you login to ULearn, click on "Learn" at the top menu and then click on "Categories." The listing is titled "Research Administration and Sponsored Programs." Some of the courses are classroom-style and others are computer-based learning. 

For more information, please send an e-mail to ResEDU@med.miami.edu or call 305-243-5092.

Do you ever wonder why your computer is slow sometimes? It may be because you are not the only person using it. Your computer might be part of a botnet or zombie network. A botnet is a term used to define a group of computers that are seized by malicious software and given instruction from cyber criminals called bot herders. Botnet software is designed to be inconspicuous so you are not aware that your machine has been compromised.

This is an evolution from the typical computer virus which has an immediate and obvious effect on your computer. Since new computers are often compromised within minutes of being connected to an unprotected Internet connection, it should be no surprise that some bot herders control hundreds of thousands of computers. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to tell if your machine has been taken over by this software, but there are some tell-tale signs such as an outbox full of e-mail you didn’t send or noise coming from your hard drive even when you are not using your PC.

To read more, including steps to protect yourself and the University’s information, please visit http://www.med.miami.edu/hipaa/public/x385.xml. 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.

The UM Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center is pleased to announce an active winter and spring season of Parkinson’s events. These community outreach programs are complimentary and designed for Parkinson’s patients and their loved ones. The Center offers support groups, Tai Chi classes, and deep brain stimulation groups at the National Parkinson Foundation, third-floor conference room. In addition, there will be a Parkinson's disease educational series, which will include the second annual "Parkinson’s Disease Complementary Therapies Symposium" on Thursday, April 23, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center, 18900 NE 25th Avenue in North Miami Beach, Katz Auditorium; and "Parkinson’s Disease 101 En Español," a lecture series scheduled for three Tuesdays, May 12, 19 and 26, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at The Palace Suites, 11377 SW 84th Street in Kendall.

Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in this country, and more than one million people in the U.S. develop skin cancer each year. Through UMatter preventive care benefits, employees and dependents enrolled in an Aetna medical plan are eligible to receive one free annual skin cancer screening with a UM dermatologist. Take advantage of your free cancer screening, and learn the facts about skin cancer prevention and steps you can take to help reduce your risk.

To make an appointment, please call 305-243-3729.

Would you like to save gas money by joining a van pool? Space is available for employees who work on the University of Miami/Jackson medical campus. If you live in the Pembroke Pines area and work from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. you might be able to join the van pool.

The Office of Research has launched a new international research listserv. The listserv targets UM faculty, staff and students engaged in international research and permits subscribers to post questions and share information related to international research.
 
For information on how to join this or any of the research listservs, visit http://med.miami.edu/orim/x20.xml.

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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. Anai M. Cuadra, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, will present "Children’s Psychological Reactions After Traumatic Medical Procedures: How Do You Know You Need to Intervene?"

While Latin American and Caribbean investigators have dramatically increased their participation in collaborative international bioscience research, there continue to be challenges for the establishment of adequate mechanisms for human subjects protection. Some reasons include a lack of infrastructure to administer clinical trials and difficulties for enforcing an adequate regulatory framework. Sergio Litewka, M.D., Latin America operations director for the UM Bioethics Programs, will present a lecture titled "Current Status on Research Ethics in Latin American Countries."

You are encouraged to bring your lunch to this roundtable discussion, which will take place today (Tuesday) from noon to 1 p.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, room 3023. 

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

Please join us today (Tuesday) at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium for a seminar by Charles W. Luetje, Ph.D., professor and interim chairman of molecular and cellular pharmacology. Dr. Luetje will present a lecture titled "The Structural Basis for Insect Olfactory Receptor Activation."

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

The Cardiovascular Division will host Grand Rounds today (Tuesday) from noon to 1 p.m. at University of Miami Hospital, Seminar Center. Gustavo G. Lopera, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, will present "Risk Stratification of SCD."  

For more information, call Yanay Tabraue at 305-243-1998 or ytabraue@med.miami.edu.

Worried about staff-related issues? One of the best strategies for retaining employees is by placing the right candidate in the best job role for them. Behavioral Interviewing is a research-based method of choosing the best candidate by using behavioral questioning techniques to determine ability based on past performance, a proven predictor of future performance. The course is a core requirement for all hiring managers.

The session will take place today (Tuesday) from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155. You must complete the corresponding online computer-based learning module before you enroll in the course. To register, visit ulearn.miami.edu and follow the instructions to logon. For more information, call 305-243-3090.

The Music Ensemble for the Enrichment of Medicine (MEEM) will perform today (Tuesday) at 5 p.m. on the Schoninger Research Quadrangle. Everyone is invited to attend and the concert is free of charge.

The Division of Plastic Surgery will present Grand Rounds with Douglas Ousterhout, M.D., D.D.S., clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ousterhout will present "Bony Aesthetic Surgery of the Forehead and Chin" tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7:30 a.m. at University of Miami Hospital, Seminar Center.

Please join us for Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery Grand Rounds tomorrow (Wednesday) from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 2090. James Grichnik, M.D., Ph.D., professor of dermatology & cutaneous surgery, will present "Melanoma and Stem Cell Biology."

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

The Pediatric Clinical Research Forum will be held tomorrow (Wednesday) from noon to 1 p.m. at the Batchelor Children’s Research Institute, conference room 508B. The forum will feature a presentation by Guillermo Prado, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology and public health; Hilda M. Pantin, Ph.D., clinical associate professor of epidemiology and public health and associate director of the Center for Family Studies; and José Szapocznik, Ph.D., chair of epidemiology and public health, associate dean for community development and director of the Center for Family Studies. Their presentation is titled "Familias Unidas: A Program of Research Aimed at Preventing Cigarette, Alcohol, Illicit Drug Use and Unprotected Sexual Risk Behaviors in Hispanic Youth."

Please RSVP to Natalya Bublik at 305-243-9936 or nbublik@med.miami.edu.

Making a budget work can be quite a challenge. The Employee Assistance Program is pleased to sponsor this seminar for those interested in learning how to gain control over spending and develop better budgeting and credit use habits. Participants will learn about how to avoid financial disaster, the pitfalls of credit, how to use credit to get ahead, and options for those in over their heads. 

The seminar will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) from noon to 1 p.m. at Dominion Tower Parking Garage, suite 155. To register, visit http://ulearn.miami.edu. For help with registration, call 305-284-5110.

The Medical Wellness Center will host a full-day of free “Stress Less Wednesday” festivities tomorrow. From 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., dance away your workday stress with salsa and Latin dance instructors or relax at Pasha’s restaurant and submit a song request to DJ Connection. Attend a “Beauty Begins Within” seminar from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., where you will receive free product samples and sign up to win a live makeover. During the evening hours, attend the open salsa and Latin dance class with international recording artist Shelina from 5 to 6 and conclude the day with refreshments compliments of Pasha’s from 6 to 7 and participate in a high-energy business apparel/yoga clothing fashion show and acrobatic partner yoga performance.

The Human Subjects Research Office is pleased to welcome Suzanne Page, J.D., director of the Clinical Research Initiation Services (CRIS) for an overview of the CRIS Office, the research revenue cycle and the revised enrollment policy to the University research community. The event will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium.

Registration is required through Ulearn. For further information, please contact Joey Casanova at jcasanova@med.miami.edu or at 305-243-3476.

There will be a Faculty Senate meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) at 3:30 p.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Faculty members are encouraged to attend.

Jason Jent, Ph.D., and Aja Levine, M.S.W., will present a Healthy Steps February Parent Group Session titled "Parenting Hot Topics: A Review of Infancy and Childhood FAQs." The session will cover topics such as sleep challenges, potty training and bed wetting, feeding, sibling adjustment and rivalry, and challenging behaviors in young children. The event will take place tomorrow (Wednesday) from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at UM Pediatrics South.

The group is free and children are welcome to attend. Snacks, diapers and wipes will be provided. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Aja Levine at 305-270-3495 or alevine@med.miami.edu.

The Department of Anesthesiology will present Grand Rounds this Thursday from 6:45 to 7:45 a.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium. Aimee Kamat, M.D., assistant professor of anesthesiology, will present "CPP Management in the Sitting Position."

The Miller School designates this educational activity for one continuing medical education credit. For further information, please contact Marsha Williams at 305-585-1191 ext. 2*2 or mwilliams@med.miami.edu.

Please join us for Otolaryngology Grand Rounds this Thursday from 8 to 9 a.m. at the Clinical Research Building, room 989. Myles Pensak, M.D., H.B. Broidy Professor and Chairman of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, will present "Skull Base Corridors." By attending the lecture, participants will understand regional anatomy of the skull base, recognize optimal surgical approaches to skull base tumors and appreciate the limits of specific approaches to skull base tumors. 

This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit. For more information, please contact Maria Hurtado at 305-585-8776 or mhurtado@med.miami.edu.

The Division of Hospital Medicine will present Grand Rounds this Thursday at noon at University of Miami Hospital, Seminar Center. Shirin Shafazand, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, will present "When the Problem is the Right Side of the Heart: The Diagnosis and Management of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension." By attending this lecture, participants will be able to evaluate the signs and symptoms of pulmonary hypertension, assess the diagnostic modalities available and evaluate the results accurately, and appreciate treatment modalities for PH and their effects.

The lecture is designed for family practitioners, emergency physicians, surgeons, internists and hospitalists. This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit. For more information, please contact Janette Jurado at jjurado2@med.miami.edu or visit www.cme.med.miami.edu.

Please join us for Pathology Grand Rounds this Thursday at noon at Holtz Children's Hospital, conference room 2034. Venkata Kakulavarapu, Ph.D., research assistant professor of pathology, will present a lecture titled "Aquaporins in Cell Physiology and Pathology."

For more information, please contact Jamie Silva at 305-585-8381 or jsilva@med.miami.edu.

Sandra Lemmon, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular pharmacology and director of the M.D./Ph.D. program at the Miller School, will deliver a seminar titled "Double-Clutching Actin for Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis." The seminar will take place this Thursday at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 6018. 
 
For additional information, please contact Nivia Machin-Gonzalez at 305-243-1078.

The 2009 Eastern-Atlantic Student Research Forum Keynote Address will be given this Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Retter Auditorium by Barbara M. Alving, M.D. Alving is the director of the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health, and she will talk about "Social Networking: A Critical Factor for Success in Medical Practice and Biomedical Research."

The Institute for Women’s Health will present its Multidisciplinary Grand Rounds this Thursday at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium. Barbara Kahn, Ph.D., dean of the School of Business, will present a lecture titled "Repeated-Adherence Protection Model: I’m OK and It’s a Hassle." The lecture will discuss patient adherence to preventive measures, such as mammography screening. Such adherence is shown to be influenced by prior usage, particularly when hazards (e.g., cancer, accident) do not occur. Implications from the model provide suggestions for public policy interventions that can encourage repeated use of preventive measures.

The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism will present Grand Rounds this Thursday at 1 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. Bresta Miranda-Palma, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine, will present a lecture on "Gestational Diabetes."

Attention study team members, coordinators, research nurses and all study personnel who manage patients. The Office of Research Information Management is offering a “Velos Patient Management Workshop." Come and learn how this system will help you manage your patients. The hands-on module will discuss patient enrollment, patient status management and patient calendars. The workshop will be held this Thursday and Thursday, March 5, 12, 19 and 26, at Dominion Tower, room 1003 from 4 to 5 p.m.

Velos eResearch is a Web-based clinical research management application that is designed specifically for investigators and their research teams. It supports processes for patient recruitment, patient scheduling, budgeting, invoicing, and milestone management, data safety monitoring, adverse event reporting, system integration, data collection and study execution. Velos eResearch allows all study-related information to be centralized and can be accessed from anywhere, anytime. Accounts are password-protected and only accessible to authorized personnel. It is easy to use, reliable and completely secure. 

Registration for the workshop is required through ULearn. For more information, please send an e-mail to ResEDU@med.miami.edu.

Please join us for Neurology Grand Rounds this Friday from 10 to 11 a.m. in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Clinton Wright, M.D., associate professor of neurology and scientific director of the Evelyn McKnight Center for Age-Related Memory Loss, will present "Approaching Studies of Successful Aging in a Population Based Sample."

Please join us for a Neurology Clinicopathologic Conference this Friday from 11 a.m. to noon in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Jose Gutierrez, M.D., neurology resident, will present "69-Year-Old Male Presenting with Fever, Right CN III Palsy and Left Hemiplegia."

The Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences cordially invites you to Psychiatry Grand Rounds, "Medical Errors Prevention, Part 1," this Friday, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. The speaker will be Vineeth John, M.D., assistant professor of psychiatry & behavioral sciences and medical director for the adult outpatient clinic at the Mental Health Hospital Center. Upon completion of this lecture, participants will be able to provide the definition and examples of medical errors, define various components of root-cause analysis and state various modalities for medical error reduction and prevention that will lead to enhanced patient safety.

Please join us this Friday at noon in Sylvester, conference room 1301 for a Sylvester Distinguished Lecture by Robert S. Kerbel, Ph.D., professor of medical biophysics at the University of Toronto. Dr. Kerbel will present a lecture on "Mechanisms and Consequences of Therapeutically Inhibiting Tumor Angiogenesis."

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will host James Peliska, Ph.D., professor and chair of chemistry and biology at Ave Maria University in Florida. Dr. Peliska will present "HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Conformational Dynamics and Their Role in Replication Fidelity and Drug Resistance" this Friday at noon in the R. Bunn Gautier Building, room 118.

If you wish to meet with the speaker, please contact Sylka Perez at 305-243-6265 or sperez6@med.miami.edu.

The Center on Aging in conjunction with the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement will host a series of group discussions on how modern communication technologies affect older adults at work. The lecture titled "The Impact of Modern Communication Technologies at Work" will take place this Friday and Wednesday, March 4, at noon in the Mental Health Building, room 3208.

Seating is limited. To RSVP or for more information, please contact Chin Chin Lee at 305-355-9062 or clee@med.miami.edu.

The Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service (DOCS) will host a Pompano Beach Health Fair this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sanders Park Elementary in Pompano Beach. 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 and cancer. Children will also be seen, but must be accompanied by an adult. 

For more information, please contact Erin Forster at emforster@med.miami.edu.

The College of Engineering Distinguished Speaker series will feature a lecture titled "Micro-CT Analysis of a New Paradigm for Vulnerable Plaque Rupture: Cellular Microcalcifications in Fibrous Caps." The event will take place on Monday, March 2, from 11 a.m. to noon on the Coral Gables campus in the Schwartz Nursing Building, room 107. This presentation will focus on a new hypothesis for sudden ruptures of the thin cap fibroatheroma, the fibrous cap overlying the necrotic core of a vulnerable plaque within coronary arteries. The speaker, Sheldon Weinbaum, Ph.D., distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at the City University of New York, is also a member of all three U.S. national academies: the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Science, and the Institute of Medicine. The presentation is co-sponsored by the Miller School and the School of Nursing and Health Studies.

Please join us on Tuesday, March 3, at noon in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium for a seminar by Akira Chiba, Ph.D., professor of biology. Dr. Chiba will present a lecture titled "Bioprobe-Assisted In Vivo Dissection of Molecular Signaling by Rho GTPases in Developing Neurons."

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

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology will host Nobel Prize winner Edmond H. Fischer, Ph.D., professor emeritus  of biochemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle, on Tuesday, March 3, at noon in the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Dr. Fischer will present "Phosphorylase and the Origin of Reversible Phosphorylation."

If you are new to submitting electronic applications through Grants.gov, please join us for a Grants.gov hands-on training on Wednesday, March 4, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Dominion Tower, room 1003A. The workshop will provide practical instruction for electronic submission of proposals through Grants.gov. Maria Valero-Martinez, manager of Sponsored Programs Education, will walk participants through the process as well as provide tips for avoiding common errors. The focus 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.

Space is limited. To register, please visit http://ulearn.miami.edu/. For help with registration, please send an e-mail to ResEDU@med.miami.edu.

Please join us for a Pediatric Clinical Research Forum presentation by Lee Sanders, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics, on Wednesday, March 4, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Batchelor Children’s Research Institute, conference room 508B. Dr. Sanders will present "Health Promotion in Early Childcare Centers: Results of a Controlled Trial."

Please RSVP to Natalya Bublik at 305-243-9936 or nbublik@med.miami.edu.

Please join us for Dermatology & Cutaneous Surgery Grand Rounds on Wednesday, March 4, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, room 2090. Roberto Perez, Ph.D., research assistant professor of dermatology & cutaneous surgery, will present "Animal Model Genetics in Wound Healing Research."

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

The 17th annual Miriam Lemberg Visiting Professorship in Cardiovascular Disease is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Lois Pope LIFE Center, seventh-floor auditorium. Eugene Braunwald, M.D., Distinguished Hersey Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and chairman of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, will present "Emerging Insights into Antiplatelet Therapy."

For more information, call Yanay Tabraue at 305-243-1998 or ytabraue@med.miami.edu.

The Department of Orthopaedics will present Grand Rounds on Thursday, March 5, from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Randall C. Marx, M.D., fifth-year orthopaedic resident, will present "Comparison of Arthrodesis and Metatarsal Head Resurfacing Hemi-Arthroplasty of the Hallux Metatarsophalangeal Joint."

For more information, please contact Ledinaida Figueroa at lfigueroa@med.miami.edu.

Learn more about foundation relations and advancement at the Sponsored Programs Roundtable, "Foundation Applications," on Thursday, March 5, from noon to 1 p.m. at Dominion Tower, twelfth-floor conference room. The presentation will explain how to collaborate with foundation sponsors.

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

The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism will host Grand Rounds on Thursday, March 5, at 1 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. Clifford Rosen, M.D., clinical associate professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, will present a lecture titled "Bone Remodeling, Energy Metabolism and the Molecular Clock."

Coaching by a supervisor makes a difference in permanent performance change, implementation, reinforcement and retention of newly learned behaviors. The course, "Coaching for the Leadership Academy," focuses on learning techniques to transfer information from the classroom to actual practice. The session will be held on Thursday, March 5, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155.

You must complete the corresponding online computer-based learning modules before you enroll in the course. To register, visit ulearn.miami.edu and follow the instructions to logon. For more information, call 305-243-3090.

The Employee Assistance Program is pleased to offer a seminar, "Stress Management," for those interested in developing skills to help manage stress. The seminar will focus on causes and effects of stress, the impact of stress response, coping skills for preventing and relieving stress, and  relaxation strategies.

The seminar will take place on Friday, March 6, from noon to 1 p.m. in Dominion Parking Garage, suite 155. To register, visit http://ulearn.miami.edu. For help with registration, please call the Professional Development and Training Office at 305-284-5110.

Tango the night away at "Taste of Love: Viva Tango," a food and wine extravaganza to raise awareness and funds to support The Transplant Foundation in its effort to save lives. The event will take place on Friday, March 6, at Jungle Island. The night will begin with cocktails at 7:30 p.m. followed by the main event from 8 to midnight.

The event is open to the public. Tickets are $100 in advance or $125 at the door. There will be a fashion show, a tango performance, live music and dancing, and a raffle for $2,500 cash. Not only will there be non-stop entertainment, but more than 25 beverage and food vendors will provide samples of their signature dishes.

The Transplant Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting transplant patients in need, educating the community on the importance of organ donation and funding transplant research. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact Melissa Chediak-Wetzel at 305-817-5645 ext.106 or visit www.transplantfoundation.kintera.org/vivatango.

The Division of Complementary and Alternative Medicine will offer an acupuncture training course, which will take place across 15 Saturdays, March 7 through June 27, from 9:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at the Medical Wellness Center. The instructors for the course will be Janet Konefal, Ph.D., A.P., assistant dean of complementary and integrative medicine; Garrett Krause, A.P.; Fu Di, M.D., A.P.; and Jorge Mora, M.D.

Mark Hopkins' documentary Living in Emergency will be shown at the Bill Cosford Cinema on the Coral Gables campus as part of the Miami Film Festival on Sunday, March 8, at 8:30 p.m. The film presents a window into the seldom portrayed and less-than-glamorous side of humanitarian aid work. It explores a world that is challenging, complex and fraught with the struggles, both internal and external, that aid workers face when working in war zones and other difficult contexts. 

For more information on the film, please visit www.livinginemergency.com.

Please join us on Tuesday, March 10,  at noon, in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium for a seminar by Lawrence H. Boise, Ph.D., professor of  microbiology and immunology. Dr. Boise will present "The Cell Biology Behind Current Cancer Therapeutic Approaches."

For additional information, call 305-243-6691 or send an e-mail to naviles@med.miami.edu.

Join us for Medical Grand Rounds on Wednesday, March 11, from noon to 1 p.m. at the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, third-floor auditorium. James Sowers, M.D., professor of medicine and physiology and pharmacology, vice chair for research in the Department of Internal Medicine, and director of the Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Division at the University of Missouri-Columbia, will present a lecture titled "Metabolic Syndrome – An Update 2009."

For more information, contact Cristina Flores at 305-243-6484 or cflores2@med.miami.edu.

Gregory Zych, D.O., Christine E. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Orthopaedic Trauma, will present "Medical Malpractice." The presentation will take place on Thursday, March 12, from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium.

For more information please contact Ledinaida Figueroa at lfigueroa@med.miami.edu.

On March 12, the faculty of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology’s NHLBI Training Program in Cardiovascular Signaling will be hosting the second annual Cardiovascular Research Symposium on the Schoninger Research Quadrangle. The collaborative forum will provide outstanding opportunities to promote cutting-edge science in laboratories, clinics and classrooms across UM and the South Florida cardiovascular community.

Trainees, fellows and faculty are invited to present, discuss and interact with recognized leaders from basic science and clinical cardiovascular disciplines. The event will feature a keynote address by Jeffery Molkentin, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and a special presentation by Joshua Hare, M.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the Miller School. Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., and James Potter, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular pharmacology, will present opening remarks.

For more information about the agenda and abstract submission, please visit www.uheartmiami.com/CRS. The abstract submission deadline is this Sunday.

The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism will present Grand Rounds on Thursday, March 12, at 1 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. Marc Lippman, M.D., professor and chairman of medicine, will give a lecture titled "Estrogenic Regulation of Breast and Breast Cancer."

The federal government requires that the distribution of salary and wage to grants and
contracts or other activities including teaching, patient care and administration must be based on payrolls that are documented in the Effort Certification Reporting System. The effort certification training is recommended for all new department administrators who are responsible for effort, defined as total time spent on university activities that an employee is compensated for. Although this class is for new administrators it is also recommended for all effort coordinators who would like a refresher course on the online Effort Certification Reporting System. The session will be held on Tuesday, March 17, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Dominion Tower, room 1003.

Please register for the training at http://ulearn.miami.edu or send an e-mail to Judy Mallon at jmallon@miami.edu.

Learn how to use the InfoEd Proposal Development System to prepare and submit your proposal electronically to the NIH. Join us for a hands-on workshop on Wednesday, March 18, from 9 a.m. to noon at Dominion Tower, room 1003. 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.

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

The UM Hemophilia Treatment Center will host a one-day symposium for primary care providers to address the challenges of bleeding disorders. Speakers will include Joanna A. Davis, M.D., associate professor of clinical pediatrics and medical director of the Comprehensive Pediatric Hemophilia Treatment Center, along with several area and visiting physicians. The symposium, "Challenges for the Primary Care Provider: Coagulation Disorders and ITP," will be held on Thursday, March 19, from 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Alexander All-Suite Oceanfront Resort in Miami Beach.

The symposium is free to UM and Jackson faculty, staff, voluntary faculty and former UM residents and fellows. For more information and for an online registration form, visit http://www.htcextras.org/symposium.html or e-mail Patrice Bravo at pbravo2@med.miami.edu.

The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism will present Grand Rounds on Thursday, March 19, at 1 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, fourth-floor auditorium. James R. Sowers, M.D., professor of medicine at the University of Missouri, will present "Mechanisms of RAAS Inhibition of Insulin Metabolic Signaling."

The Victor Center for Jewish Genetic Diseases at the Miller School will host an educational research fair to increase awareness of Jewish genetic diseases. The event will take place on Saturday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Temple Beth Am. Free carrier screenings will also be available to those who are between the ages of 18 and 44 and are of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.

For more information, please call Debbie Wasserman at 786-897-9587.

The Department of Orthopaedics will host Grand Rounds on Thursday, March 26, from 7 to 8 a.m. at the Mailman Center for Child Development, eighth-floor auditorium. Charles A. Popkin, M.D., fourth-year orthopaedic resident, will present "Successful Treatment of Osteitis Pubis with a Minimally Disruptive Surgical Technique."

For more information, please contact Ledinaida Figueroa at lfigueroa@med.miami.edu.

The Faculty Senate has awarded Anita Cava, J.D., co-director of UM Ethics Programs, with this year's Outstanding Teaching Award. The university community is invited to attend the ceremony and reception on Monday, March 30, at 4 p.m., at the School of Business Administration, Storer Auditorium on the Coral Gables campus.

The Jay Weiss Center for Social Medicine and Health Equity is requesting abstract submissions for its inaugural Social Medicine Advocacy, Research and Training (SMART) Forum. The forum will encourage interdisciplinary and community-based approaches for addressing health disparities.

Mark your calendars for the Institute for Women’s Health Research Day scheduled for May 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at University of Miami Hospital, Seminar Center. UM President Donna E. Shalala will present opening remarks and Vivian Pinn, M.D., associate director for research on women’s health and director of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health, will present the keynote lecture.

The Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute will hold its third annual Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute Symposium on Friday, May 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Retter Auditorium. This symposium brings together leading experts to discuss novel data on cutting-edge advancements in the field of stem cell research. Discussions from prominent keynote speakers include Evangelos Badiavas, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery at the Miller School; Linzhao Cheng, Ph.D., associate professor of the stem cell program in the Institute of Cell Engineering at Johns Hopkins University; W. Dalton Dietrich, Ph.D., Kinetic Concepts Distinguished Chair and professor of neurological surgery and scientific director of The Miami Project to Paralysis; Eli Gilboa, Dodson Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; Joshua M. Hare, M.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute; Richard Jones, M.D., professor of oncology and medicine and director of the Bone Marrow Transplantation Program at Johns Hopkins University; Jane Lebkowski, Ph.D., senior vice president of regenerative medicine at Geron Corporation in California; Paul Schiller, Ph.D., research associate professor of medicine and biochemistry and molecular biology at the Miller School; and John Wagner, M.D., professor and clinical director of the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Minnesota. 

The Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine is conducting a series of research studies. Currently, we are conducting focus groups to understand how older adults are able to successfully use communication technology and the potential benefits and impact of communication technologies at work. If you speak English and are more than 18 years old, you might qualify for this study. If you want to learn more about CREATE, please call 305-355-9200 and mention the “Communication Technology at Work” project. You will be paid for your time and effort.

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