President Kaiser makes first Medical School appearance

New Health Science Center President Dr. Larry Kaiser spent Monday afternoon at the Medical School in a series of meetings and presentations to get to know the school and its community a bit better.

He first attended Dean Giuseppe Colasurdo’s third town hall meeting. Dean Colasurdo presented a year overview of highlights and achievements of the Medical School, including the practice plan’s positive margin, the signed contracts with our clinical partners, the filling of four vacant chairs, recruitment into the Medical School Expansion, and new communication and development initiatives.

“Recruitment is important to move the school forward – and strong leaders want to come here,” he said. “My goal has been to bring people together over the last year, and make it known we are here to help.”

Dean Colasurdo called upon three guest speakers from the audience: Andrew Casas, vice president and chief operating officer of UT Physicians; Dr. Jeffrey Actor, chair of the Faculty Senate; and Dr. Henry Strobel, associate dean for faculty affairs.

Casas spoke about the expansion of UT Physician services into the building at the 610 South Loop and Bellaire. “If anyone doesn’t know where the building is, I’ll take you there right now,” he said, smiling.

Actor said that communication – to all constituents – has been a focus of this year’s Faculty Senate. “We are building upon the excellent communications that have started over the past year,” he said.

Strobel also talked about communications, as one of the three C’s important to satisfaction and retention. Collaboration and courtesy are the other two. “Retention begins the first day a faculty arrives,” he said.

President Kaiser gave an update on his past week spent in Austin meeting with the UT System Board of Regents and legislative officials.

“I am excited about the possibilities of the Health Science Center and hope to shift some funding back here,” he said, adding that he would be visiting Washington, D.C., in mid-September.

“I am incredibly impressed by the Medical School and Giuseppe’s leadership,” he added.

He also fielded questions from the audience about his heroes and how the Medical School can preserve and enhance its academic focus while facing pressures to bring in revenue.

President Kaiser listed Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. Denton Cooley, and Dr. Joel Cooper, with whom he trained, as his professional heroes. “I admire their leadership,” he said. “They were doing things when no one else was.”

Looking for funding at the state Legislature and through development efforts are two ways that President Kaiser said he would seek to alleviate the pressures to generate revenues. “We have three missions here, and we cannot sacrifice any mission to fulfill the clinical mission,” he said.

Asked about his adjustment to Texas from Pennsylvania, he replied, “It has been a very pleasant, simple transition.”

President Kaiser also met with a group about the Medical School’s clinical partnerships and heard presentations from each Medical School department chair regarding the highlights, challenges, and goals of their respective departments. He spent the previous Friday at the annual Student Retreat in Camp Allen.

-D. Brown

Student receives AMA scholarship

A first-generation college student and the youngest of 13 children, Nadia Hernandez, a fourth-year medical student, never expected to receive a scholarship to help her alleviate the financial burden of medical school.

“I love this quote from Wayne Gretzky, ‘You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take,’” she said. So, with that thought in mind she went ahead and applied for a Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship from the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation -- which she won.

“When I got the e-mail that I had won their $10,000 tuition assistance award, I literally jumped and yelled at the top of my lungs! I ran a couple of laps around the LRC to calm down and I called my fiancé to yell some more,” she said. “I was so excited and surprised. I could not believe it! All the long hours I have put in for the past three years are finally starting to pay off ... literally! I feel so honored to have been chosen from medical students all over the country as someone who the AMA Foundation deemed worthy of all of this money. It truly is a blessing.”

Fifteen rising fourth-year medical students received the $10,000 scholarship to help defray medical school costs. Recipients were nominated by their medical school dean and chosen by a selection committee based upon their academic standing and financial status, as well as community involvement, letters of recommendation, and personal statement.

"These medical students represent the very best of the next generation of U.S. physicians," said AMA Foundation President Jean Howard. "Their academic achievements as well as their leadership and volunteer activities speak to their commitment to make a difference in the medical profession."

Hernandez grew up in Brownsville, and her parents are from Mexico.

“My parents combined income for 2007 was less than this scholarship, so I really just cannot explain the feeling I got when I told my mother,” she said. “She is so proud of me. I could not have done it without help from student affairs and Dr. Ebony Williams (the pediatrics attending who recommended me for the award). Even some of my fellow medical students helped me revise my personal statement for this scholarship. I am very grateful for all their help.”

As the philanthropic arm of the American Medical Association, the AMA Foundation has made it a priority to assist medical students in handling the rising cost of medical education. The Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarships were created in 2004 to provide financial assistance to medical students facing spiraling medical school debt. On average, medical students in the U.S. graduate with a debt load of nearly $140,000.

"The increase in average student debt loads and the declining availability of scholarship assistance threaten our ability to recruit and retain the best and brightest talent," Howard said. "High loan payments may deter students from following a career path into primary care medicine."

-D. Brown

Research retreat set for Sept. 25

The Medical School’s ninth annual Research Retreat will be held Thursday, Sept. 25, in the Sarofim Research Building of the Institute for Molecular Medicine.

Dr. Douglas Fearon, of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, will address “The Activated CD8+ T Cell and Immunological Memory: Developmental Plasticity Avoids Senescence” in the keynote address.

There will be three datablitz sessions, and Dr. Irma Gigli, the Walter and Mary Mischer Distinguished Professor of Molecular Medicine, will chair the Immunology Symposia Session. Key speakers for this session include Dr. Scott Drouin, of the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, and Dr. John Klein, of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences, who will focus on mucosal immunology, and Dr. Jeffrey Actor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Dr. Michael Braun, the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, will address the immunopathology section.

The daylong event will be held is 8:00 – 6:30 p.m. To register, go to:  http://med.uth.tmc.edu/administration/research-affairs/retreat/index.htm

Researchers studying diet in autistic children

Medical School researchers have embarked on one of the first double-blind, clinical studies to determine whether gluten and dairy products play a role in autistic behavior as parents have anecdotally claimed.

The pilot study is one of seven current studies on autism in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

“There’s a lot of misinformation, so that’s why this study is so important,” said Dr. Fernando Navarro, assistant professor of pediatrics and lead investigator of the study. “Hundreds and hundreds of parents think this works but we need serious evidence.”

Autism is a complex neurobehavioral disorder linked to early abnormalities of brain development. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, it affects up to six of every 1,000 children and is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication and unusual, repetitive or severely limited activities and interests.

Researchers have discovered that there are differences in the central nervous system’s anatomy and function in those diagnosed with autism, but the cause of the disorder is unknown. Experts theorize it may be a combination of genetics and environment.

“A lot of children with autism have gastrointestinal problems such as constipation and diarrhea. Whether these problems are related to brain development is open to question,” said Dr. Katherine Loveland, co-investigator and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, pediatrics and biomedical sciences. “There are neurotransmitters and neuroreceptors in the gut that correspond with those in the brain. There are some scientific reasons to think that some kids may benefit from this diet.”

For the double-blind study, funded in its initial phase by supplemental funds granted by the Department of Pediatrics, researchers will enroll 38 autistic children ages 3 to 9. They will look at the influence of gluten and milk proteins in the intestinal function. Gluten is a protein in wheat; casein and whey are proteins in milk. Casomorphin, a peptide in milk; and gliadomorphin, a peptide in gluten, are thought to be related to changes in behavior in these children. Children will be taken off gluten and dairy products before the four-week study and then half will be given gluten/milk powder and half will be given a placebo powder.

Researchers will study intestinal permeability (leaky gut) through urine collection and behavior through psychometric testing.

Co-investigators for the study are Dr. Marc Rhoads, professor and director of pediatric gastroenterology, and Dr. Deborah Pearson, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

Children will be enrolled through the UT Physicians pediatric gastroenterology clinic and The University of Texas Mental Sciences Institute. Navarro and Rhoads are attending physicians at Memorial Hermann hospitals. For more information on the study, call 713.500.5669.

-D. Mann Lake

 

Fall exhibit of art wall set

New art will grace the Medical School’s Art Wall on the ground floor of the Medical School Building next week.

The fall exhibit will be up through Nov. 10 and will feature four pieces of computer-generated expressionism by Eugenia Mileykovskaya, associate professor of biochemistry; a theme series of nine related charcoal sketches by Jenny Lin, a fourth-year medical student; a charcoal/color pencil medical illustration by Chris Thompson, a third-year medical student; portrait photography by Dr. Joan Bull, professor of internal medicine; and landscape photography by Jayasimha Murthy, assistant professor of internal medicine.

 

Clinical Nurse Coordinator Education Course scheduled

The UT Health Science Center and Memorial Hermann Hospital System will present a comprehensive three full day and three half-day educational program focusing on the basics of coordinating a clinical research trial.  The goal of the course is to provide a model of practice in conducting clinical research based on the principles of Good Clinical Practice, thereby focusing on research compliance, protecting the safety and well-being of the research subject, and ensuring integrity of the research.

New and current research nurses and coordinators of clinical trials and MHH staff nurses who care for research subjects on the unit are invited to attend the courses:

Dates:
8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Oct. 21, MSB B605
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 22, MSB B645
8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Oct. 23, MSB B605
9 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 28, MSB B605
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 29, MSB B645
8:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Oct. 30, MSB B605

Breakfast and lunch will be provided on full-days and breakfast only is provided on half-days.  The course is free to UT and MHH employees.  Books will be provided.  Pre-registration is required.  Space is limited, so register early.

For more information and to register, please visit:
http://www.uth.tmc.edu/research/training/ClinCoordinator.html

Student Orientation

From selecting textbooks to attending presentations and meeting classmates, entering first-year students had a busy orientation day August 14.