LBJ cardiology adds new CT scanner

The Medical School’s cardiology program at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital is expanding, providing patients with a new 64-slice CT (computed tomography) scanner that could reduce medical costs and help cardiologists more effectively choose the best course of treatment.

“With the 64-slice CT scanner, we will be able to get clear pictures of the heart to pinpoint the problem,” said Dr. Michael Bungo, professor of medicine. “Because our nuclear camera is also at capacity, this could help replace some of the cases where we would have had to order a nuclear scan.”

The new scanner provides 64-slice images, each ½ mm thick, per rotation. It only takes about a third of a second to make one rotation. The high resolution allows physicians to see the entire coronary tree with extremely high accuracy and detail, exposing calcification, which can be factored into a disease management treatment plan.

Bungo said the imaging technique is cost effective and necessary for this patient population.

“One cardiac CT scan costs about $1,500. The cost of a procedure in the cath lab can run about $10,000,” he said, adding that the number of patients treated at LBJ General Hospital with documented or potential heart disease is disproportionately high due to the ethnic and socioeconomic characteristics of the population.

“I am grateful to the Harris County Hospital District for acquiring cardiac CT imaging technology that will improve the diagnostic process for a wide range of heart and vascular disorders,” said Dr. Steven Brown, professor of medicine and chief of staff at LBJ General Hospital. “Also, I am grateful for Dr. Mike Bungo’s leadership in implementing this technology.”

— Melissa McDonald, Office of Institutional Advancement, Media Relations

Winners of writing competition are premiere scientists, too

From cells talking to other cells to physicians at the bedside and scientists garnering public support for research, communication plays a vital role in science and human health.

For doctoral students at the GSBS, writing ability is especially critical. In fact, it will continue to be important throughout their careers as they prepare the grants, reports, and papers on which the success of their professional work and their funding depend.

To encourage students to hone their writing skills, GSBS Dean George Stancel launched a competition—with generous prizes—to see who among Health Science Center graduate students could write best about their work. So that contestants could get some help with their writing before they composed their entries, he also sponsored a workshop, presented by UT Office of Institutional Advancement Director of Communications Karen Kaplan and Communications Manager Dr. Cynthia Johnson.

What makes a good writer? According to Kaplan, Johnson, and the judges: keen powers of observation coupled with the ability to see relationships and organize ideas—plus the linguistic tools to create clean text that is appropriate for the reader.

“You need good grammar, good syntax, accurate word usage,” Johnson noted.

When writing about your research, Kaplan added, “Write so that your Uncle Morty would understand it.”

Winners Angela Bhalla, Jennifer Dale, Proleta Datta, Christina Papke, Cameron Jeter, and Kedryn Baskin did exactly that in their entries, 500-word summaries of their research written in a style appropriate for a news magazine or newspaper science feature.

Contest judges were Eric Berger, science reporter and blogger for the Houston Chronicle; Rob Cahill, senior media relations specialist, UT Office of Institutional Advancement; Jade Boyd, associate director, News and Media Relations at Rice University; Barbara Hyde, director, communications for the American Society for Microbiology; Ruth SoRelle, chief science editor, Baylor College of Medicine and editor of From the Laboratories; and Toni Greene, who completed her doctoral work at the GSBS and the Medical School.

The two categories for submission were Fundamental Basic Research or Clinical and Translational Research. Prizes were awarded for first, second, and third: $1,000, $500, and $250.

Category: Fundamental Basic Research

• 1st prize - Angela Bhalla
• 2nd prize - Jennifer Dale
• 3rd prize - Proleta Datta

Category: Clinical and Translational Science

• 1st prize - Christina Papke
• 2nd prize - Cameron Jeter
• 3rd prize - Kedryn Baskin

Medical School goes Hollywood

After months of preparation, Hollywood will come to Texas in the form of the 2009 Henry Strobel Student Retreat. Set for Aug. 14–15 at Camp Allen, the annual tradition is a unique way to introduce the incoming medical school class to its peers, faculty, and the Medical School environment.

Faculty, students, and alumni are encouraged to attend and participate. For more information, and to register online, visit the Student Retreat Web site.

Holocaust survivor to speak at HAM-TMC Library Aug. 18

The HAM-TMC Library is pleased to announce that Holocaust survivor Walter Kase will speak at the library at 6 p.m., Aug. 18.

Kase spends much of his time speaking to high school students, college students, businesses, and organizations about the harrowing experiences suffered under Nazi tyranny. During his experiences, he endured forced labor camps and five concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen (the camp where Anne Frank died). When he was liberated at age 15, he weighed 65 pounds and learned that most of his family had been exterminated.

“I am a walking American dream; I love, cherish, and appreciate the United States of America,” he said.

This program is presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race,” currently on display at the library through Sept. 23.

This unique exhibition, made possible by the Lerner Foundation and Eric F. and Lore Ross, is on loan from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Seating is limited. Please RSVP to Caroline Schuster.

— Beatriz Varman, HAM-TMC Library

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