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AHC News Capsules 12/04/08
Dec. 4, 2008
NEWS CAPSULES is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Nick Hanson at hans2853@umn.edu.
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Today’s sobering economic news from the state of Minnesota requires all of us to sit back and take a long hard look at the way we do and support our work. Most of us pursue and have an established model of achieving our goals based on familiar sources of support, or funding. In the health sciences, I like to say that we are a “NIH culture,” competing for peer-reviewed approval and public dollars to support the pursuit of knowledge. State dollars support our partnership with Mayo, and revenue generated by patient care is a critical source for supporting education and innovation. There are corporate funds that support specific types of research, and philanthropy from individuals and foundations are targeted as well.
Our future may well require a shift for all of us in the health sciences. We need to move out of our established ways of doing things and take a new look at more effective opportunities for leveraging our wide array of strengths within this University. How can we share our work, learn from each other, and eliminate unnecessary duplication? Are there some things we simply don’t need to do?
Fortunately, this is an institution filled with creative and smart people, and we are here to fulfill an important mission on behalf of Minnesota. What we do continues to matter to the health of this and future generations. We are the stewards of the state’s health, so I have great faith that we can manage through this sobering state deficit. And we will do so while maintaining our core missions.
– Frank B. Cerra, M.D.
Sr. Vice President for Health Sciences
Gastric bypass surgery being used as a tool to combat Type 2 Diabetes
Medical School researchers have teamed up with peers at Columbia University and National Taiwan University for a clinical trial examining the effectiveness of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RNY) as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes. This is the first randomized clinical study of its kind to compare RNY to traditional medical management as a practical solution for dealing with diabetes. For more information about the study, visit: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/
diabetes120208/home.html.
Study: It’s wise for college students to get flu shot
College students who are vaccinated against influenza appear less likely to develop flu-like illnesses, require related health care visits, or experience impairments in academic performance during flu season, according to new research in the Medical School. For more information about the study visit: http://www.medpagetoday.com/
InfectiousDisease/URItheFlu/11950
Stressful life events may lead to disordered-eating behaviors among teens
Young adults and older adolescents facing stressful life events are far more likely to engage in disordered-eating behaviors, according to researchers at the School of Public Health. As a result, researchers suggest health care providers, school counselors, and others who work with adolescents screen for disordered-eating behavior when an adolescent reports experiencing a stressful life event. For more information visit: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/
stresseating112408/home.html
Report: U.S. electrical supply vulnerable in next pandemic
Reliable mining and delivery of coal, which generates nearly half the nation’s electricity, must be safeguarded to keep water and sewerage systems running, lights on, and vaccine and critical drugs available during an inevitable pandemic, according to a new study of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. For more information visit: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/releases/pandemic112008/home.html
William Riley, Ph.D. (School of Public Health), has been named interim executive director of the Public Health Accreditation Board. For more information visit: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/
releases/riley112508/home.html
Jordan Dunitz, M.D. (Medical School), was awarded the 2008 Medical Staff Recognition Award for Excellence in Clinical Care. Dunitz, who also directs the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview was nominated and selected for this annual award by his University of Minnesota health science colleagues. For more information visit: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/news/
releases/dunitz111408/index.htm
Doris Taylor, Ph.D. (Medical School), was featured in Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” issue. She won the Grand Award in the health category for creating a beating rat heart in the laboratory.
International Medical Education and Research Program Director Phillip Peterson, M.D. (Medical School), and Co-Director Paul Quie, M.D. (Medical School), were honored recently with University of Minnesota Awards for Global Engagement.
Life Science Week, Bakken Symposium, set to kick-off
Gov. Tim Pawlenty has issued a state of Minnesota proclamation designating Dec. 8-12 as Life Science Week. The proclamation has been issued to showcase Minnesota as a national and world leader in ground-breaking scientific research and innovation in the health care and life science industry, contributing to the health and well-being of people, animals, plants, and the environment. There are three programming opportunities scheduled throughout the week: The annual Bakken Surgical Device Symposium here at the University of Minnesota from Dec. 8-9; the 7th annual LifeScience Alley Conference & Expo on Dec. 10; and the Midwest Personalized Health Framework meeting hosted by LifeScience Alley on Dec. 11. For more information about the Bakken Symposium visit: http://www.lifesciencealley.org
/programs_events/detail.aspx?id=225. For information about the other events visit: www.lifesciencealley.org.
Medica grant helping leverage state investments made for U/Mayo partnership
The last installment of a $5 million Medica grant designed to leverage state investments – made for the U/Mayo partnership – will be received at 2 p.m. today. The grant has helped fund biotechnology and medical genomics through six research projects led by teams of University and Mayo researchers.
AHC Web site updated
The Academic Health Center Web site – representing the six health science schools and colleges at the University – has received a facelift. The site has been upgraded with a new, easy-to-use interface that cycles through stories and news items occurring in the AHC. To check out the new site, visit: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/ .
HOPE Clinic opens in Duluth
After three years of planning, the HOPE Clinic, organized and operated by medical and pharmacy students and faculty from the Duluth campus, has opened its doors in downtown Duluth. Operating under an affiliation agreement with Churches United in Ministry (CHUM), the students see uninsured patients who access services at its day shelter for homeless and low-income people on Tuesdays from 3 -5 p.m. More than 100 people visit the center on an average day.
PULSE survey released
This year, 42 percent of all employees at the University responded to this survey, used to improve the workplace. Results of the 2008 survey indicate that faculty and staff satisfaction remains high, and overall, employee opinions of the U are moving in a positive direction. For more information, read Taking the Pulse of the University.
New MCRB signs nearly installed
New maroon interior signs are nearly installed in the Masonic Cancer Research Building. The signs include: room identification signs outside the doors of conference rooms and offices (see example); directory signs located off the visitor elevator on each floor; and the wall sign in the entry area on first floor. Outside, a new maroon sign with the name Masonic Cancer Research Building in gold color lettering has been placed on the brick wall above the window. The name “Masonic Cancer Research Building” will also be shown on the exterior tower sign in front of MCRB at 425 East River Road.
Miss a Learning 2.0 Lunch and Learn? Not a problem
Miss any of the previous Learning 2.0 Lunch and Learn sessions: “Why Use myU,” “iTunesU,” “Series Gaming,” and “My Library from Everywhere?” No worries. They’re all available to view online at: https://www.myu.umn.edu/
metadot/index.pl?iid=1857217&op=show.
“Market-Based Reforms in Health Care: The Next Step?”
Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Minnesota business and health care leaders will discuss the potential for health reforms that build on private markets and on the implementation of reforms passed during the 2008 legislative session from 3-5 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 9 in Cowles Auditorium at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. A reception will follow the conference. For more information go to: http://www.hhh.umn.edu/
centers/cspg/index.php. The conference is free and open to the public. RSVPs are requested to: cspg@umn.edu
Relay for Life seeks participants
The group Colleges Against Cancer is looking to boost faculty and staff participation in this year’s Relay for Life event, a fundraiser that supports the American Cancer Society’s research, education and advocacy efforts. The 12-hour event, held on Friday, April 17, 2009, involves teams of people who take turns walking around the track at the U of M field house. For more information, or to register a team, visit: www.uofmrelayforlife.com.
“The Changing Face of Minnesota Communities Now through 2050: How Will Public Health Respond?”
This School of Public Health Roundtable Series is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4. Minnesota state demographer Tom Gillaspy is the keynote speaker for the event, which will be held in Coffman Memorial Union Theater. There will also be a panel discussion. The roundtable is free, but registration is requested. For more information call (612) 626-4515, or read more about the roundtable.
Shared Resources promoted in new lecture series at Masonic Cancer Center
The first Cancer Center Shared Resources Seminar will be Monday, Dec. 1, from 10-11 a.m., in the Masonic Cancer Research Building and will continue to be held at the same time and location the first Monday of every month. The first seminar, “Manipulating the Mouse Genome: A new gene targeting service in the Mouse Genetics Laboratory,” will be given by Mouse Genetics Laboratory Shared Resource co-directors David Largaespada, Ph.D., and Anindya Bagchi, Ph.D. For more information about the Cancer Center Shared Resources Seminar, contact Sabine Fritz at (612) 624-7151, or e-mail: fritz017@umn.edu.
Consortium calling for proposals
The Consortium on Law and Values in Health,
Environment & the Life Sciences is issuing a call for proposals addressing the societal implications of problems in health, environment, and the life sciences. Awards are available for graduate/professional students, faculty, and consortium/joint degree program members. Proposals are due in March 2009. See www.lifesci.consortium.umn.edu/rfps/ for further information, deadlines, and application instructions. For more information call: (612) 626-5624 or e-mail boyle032@umn.edu.
Minnesota TIGER Summit to spring into action
The second Minnesota Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Summit is designed to translate the vision of the national TIGER initiative into action in the upper-Midwest. The conference will include updates on the national initiative, examples of nurses in Minnesota using informatics to facilitate diverse nursing practices, and an opportunity to tell major informatics organizations what you need. The summit is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2009. Click here for more information or to register.
Dec. 4
8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Roundtable Series
The Changing Face of Minnesota
Communities Now-2050: How will Public Health Respond?
Location: Coffman Memorial Union - Coffman Memorial Union Theater
Dec. 8 - 9
2nd Annual Bakken Surgical Device Symposium
Cardiac Valves: Past, Present and Future
Location: Mayo Memorial Auditorium – Auditorium
Dec. 10
12:15 p.m. – 1 p.m.
Learning 2.0 Lunch & Learn Seminar
Collaboration Sites
Location: Moos Health Sciences Tower - 1-450, and 155 Peters (St. Paul)
More events like these can be found on the AHC calendar, http://www.ahc.umn.edu/calendar. You can submit an item to the AHC calendar by going to http://www.ahc.umn.edu/submitevent.
Question on a prescription? A little College of Pharmacy history
In the 1950s and 1960s, the College of Pharmacy provided an information service for pharmacists and the general public who had questions about prescriptions. View a selection of the written responses ranging from how much mink oil to put in an ointment to translating a prescription from Poland at: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/moore144/
ahcarchives/2008/12/is_my_prescription_ready.html.
AHC News Capsules is a biweekly newsletter for faculty, staff, and students of the Academic Health Center. Please send submissions to Nick Hanson at hans2853@umn.edu.
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