This Week@WesternU, Oct. 9-12, 2012

Pomona Public Library meetings

Pomona will hold several community meetings to talk about the future of the Pomona Public Library. Click here for times and locations of the meetings in English. Click here for the Spanish version.

From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:

New ACOFP Student Chapter

COMP-Northwest started a new student chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP). Jennifer Maire, OMS-II, is the first president of this chapter. ACOFP President Paul A. Martin, DO, FACOFP dist., recognized COMP-Northwest’s new chapter in a recent column.

Kudos on accomplishments

Dr. Brion Benninger, MD MSc, Professor/Vice Chair, Medical Anatomical Sciences, Lebanon, spoke as a keynote speaker and conducted a symposium regarding emergency medicine skills and pearls at the annual Oregon Emergency Medical Services Conference Oct. 4-7. Dr. Benninger provided current and controversial issues and demonstrated pericardiocentesis, interosseous venous access for the upper and lower limbs, chest drains, decompression and cut-downs. Dr. Benninger would like to thank Nik Matsler, Clinical Anatomy Researcher, for his expert help during the demonstrations.

John T. Pham, DO, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at COMP-Northwest, was the keynote speaker at the National Convention for the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA), held in San Diego over the weekend. Dr. Pham’s presentation, “Ladder to your Dreams” was an inspirational talk, chronicling the medical students’ educational roadmap from college, through their training in medical school and residency. The presentation encouraged students to be proud of their profession and promoted the positive outlook that they will one day provide to their patients.

Michelle Steinauer, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at COMP-Northwest, was an invited speaker at the International Symposium on Schistosomiasis, which took place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, last week. Dr. Steinauer gave a presentation on “Molecular Epidemiology of Schistosomiasis.” Molecular epidemiology is a field in which molecular genetic markers are used to understand the epidemiology of infectious disease. She presented empirical data from western Kenya and simulated data to show why these techniques are difficult to apply to schistosome parasites and also new methodology to overcome these sampling issues.

From the College of Allied Health Professions:

Department of Physical Therapy Education News

The Department of Physical Therapy Education will hold its inaugural WesternU Downtown Dash 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, in celebration of National Physical Therapy Month and the department’s 20th anniversary. Proceeds from the dash will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Pomona Valley. Click here for more information and to register.

Department of Physical Therapy Education alumni, faculty, and students participated in the California Physical Therapy Association (CPTA) Annual Conference recently held in Santa Clara. More than 1,100 professionals from throughout the state attended this two-day event. As a sponsor of the conference, the WesternU logo was imprinted on the official conference tote bag given out at registration. In addition, the department had a booth in the exhibit hall to promote WesternU and the Advanced Standing (transitional) DPT degree for current physical therapists. More than 70 alumni, faculty, and students enjoyed a reception hosted by WesternU Alumni Relations. More than 40 students from the DPT classes of 2013 and 2014 attended the conference with many of them volunteering their time in a variety of roles. Professor David Selkowitz, PT, PhD, OCS, DAAPM, gave a podium presentation on his research titled “Comparison Among Different Maximum Voluntary Isometric Contraction Positions for Maximizing EMG Activity of Selected Hip Muscles.”

Department of Health Sciences Education News

This week is National Health Education Week, a celebration that focuses national attention on major public health issues and promotes consumers’ understanding of the role of health education in promoting the public’s health. This year, students in the Masters of Science in Health Sciences program developed health educational pieces for the themes of each of the days of the week. These health education fliers will be sent out daily to remind everyone on campus of the importance of community health education as well as the need for competent and compassionate health care professionals providing patient education.

“Adolescent Health: Planting Seeds for a Healthier Generation”

Monday, Oct. 15: Nutrition and Physical Activity

Tuesday, Oct. 16: Tobacco and Substance Use and Abuse

Wednesday, Oct. 17: Sexual Health

Thursday, Oct. 18: Injury and Violence

Friday, Oct. 19: LGBT Youth

Please stop by our National Health Education Week table in front of HPC on Wednesday, Oct. 17 from noon to 1 p.m. We will be providing health education flyers and brochures as well as some free goodies! For more information, please e-mail SGA-MSHS@westernu.edu.

From the College of Veterinary Medicine:

Kudos on accomplishments

Veterinary associate professor and anesthesiologist Dr. Lyon Lee presented two anesthetic research studies at the tenth World Congress of Veterinary Anesthesia in Cape Town, South Africa on Sept 25, 2012.

The first talk, “Capnography Guided Intubation in Rabbits as an Alternative to Laryngoscope Guided Intubation,” described a unique challenge for routine endotracheal intubation in rabbits, and tested the effectiveness of capnography guided intubation over laryngoscope guided intubation. The study reports significantly reduced time in intubating rabbits both by a mainstream (the superior method) and a sidestream capnograph compared to laryngoscopy intubation.

Authors in this abstract include WesternU colleague Dr. John Tyler and Drs. Han, Lee and Son from Seoul National University.

The second talk, “Peri-Operative Corneal Ulcer After Non-ocular Surgery in Dogs,” described a retrospective study performed to evaluate the incidence and risk factors including duration of anesthesia, small sized skull and use of a fentanyl patch for the development of peri-operative corneal ulcers after non-ocular surgery under general anesthesia in dogs. Authors include Drs. Park, Seo, and Lee.

Veterinary assistant professor and pharmacologist Dr. Jennifer Buur has published with several CVM colleagues an article titled “Validation of a scenario based assessment of critical thinking using an externally validated tool.”

The Assessment of Critical Thinking (ACT) has been an important element in evaluation of DVM degree students at Western University of Health Sciences. The authors believe that the development and validation of custom assessments of non-knowledge-based competencies will produce higher quality medical professionals.

Congratulations to Dr. Buur, Dr. Schmidt, Dr. Smylie, Dr. Irizarry, Dr. Crocker (currently at St. Matthews University), Dr. Tyler and Dr. Barr. Click here to view the article.

Veterinary assistant professor and small animal internist Dr. Linda Kidd has been invited to make continuing education and research presentations benefiting national and international audiences of veterinarians. Among these is discussion of her work conducted on our campus in collaboration with Dr. Peggy Barr (CVM Professor), a number of southern California veterinarians (CORE curriculum partners) and collaborating universities. Recently Dr. Kidd spoke at the following four venues on topics related to her research and clinical practice:

“State of the art review” lecture for the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine’s Annual Forum in New Orleans, La. May 31, 2012 titled “Use and misuse of diagnostic panels in canine vector borne disease testing.”

Oral Research abstract presentation at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Annual Meeting, New Orleans, La., May 31, 2012 titled “Arthropod-borne disease in sick southern California dogs.” The author list is: Kidd L, Barr M, Lappin M, Breitschwerdt E, Osmond C, Hart J, Hill S, Richter K. Results from a collaborative research project between Western University of Health Sciences, CORE Small Animal Internal Medicine preceptor sites, Colorado State University and North Carolina State University were presented at this international specialty forum. This study was funded by an intramural research grant from WesternU.

A lecture titled “Rocky mountain spotted fever and other rickettsioses” for the Companion Animal Medicine Infectious Disease Sessions at the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif. Aug. 4, 2012.

A lecture titled “Mechanisms of thrombosis in immune mediated hemolytic anemia, mechanisms and treatment implications” in the Advanced Hematology Course for the Veterinary Information Network Sept. 27, 2012. This is an international online continuing education forum for practicing veterinarians.

Veterinary assistant professor and small animal clinician Dr. Pedro Diniz has published another element of his research. This paper is the result of a collaboration between WesternU, UC Davis, North Carolina State University, the U.S. Army, and Nihon University. “Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii, a Potential New Zoonotic Bartonella Species in Canids from Iraq.”

The research documented and named a new blood-borne pathogen in canids located at the military bases in Iraq. The complete manuscript can be found here:

http://www.plosntds.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pntd.0001843

Veterinary professor and equine internist Dr. Joe Bertone was recently interviewed for an article that will appear in “Waterway Guide,” the cruising authority magazine. Dr. Bertone, Student Doctor China Prentice (DVM 2015) and the Tsavos Veterinary Rehabilitation Center in Del Mar, California have been developing methods for evaluation of canine floatation devices (CFDs) effective in various water environments. CFDs are not regulated and often go untested.

WesternU’s Quizzo night was featured on the website StudyBlue. Click here to read the story.

From the College of Optometry:

College of Optometry faculty members Dr. Jasmine Yumori and Dr. Kierstyn Napier-Dovorany and Miary Andriamiarisoa from Information Technology received an American Optometric Foundation – VISTAKON® Innovation in Education Grant titled “Evaluating the effectiveness of iPads as a learning tool in a small group learning context.” This award is designed to aid new faculty in advancing their teaching skills in the areas of improving how information is delivered to students, new methodologies, increase use of new technology in all teaching settings and promote online learning tools. This award will allow the team to begin a pilot study to create electronic cases to use in case-based learning.

College of Optometry faculty member Dr. Efrain Castellanos received an American Optometric Foundation – VISTAKON® Innovation in Education Grant titled “The use of online resources to improve significant learning.” This award is designed to aid new faculty in advancing their teaching skills in the areas of improving how information is delivered to students, new methodologies, increase use of new technology in all teaching settings and promote online learning tools.

Assistant Professor Joshua Cameron, PhD, FAAO, published a paper in Visual Neuroscience, “Early retinoic acid deprivation in developing zebrafish results in microphthalmia.” Click here to view the article.

From University Advancement:

Kudos on accomplishments

Senior Vice President Thomas G. Fox, PhD, is the newest member of the Community Senior Services Board of Directors. Community Senior Services, in Claremont, Calif., connects people, information, resources and communities to enrich the lives of older adults. Click here to visit the website: http://www.communityseniorservices.org/.

Alumni networking mixer

About 25 alumni from several WesternU colleges attended an alumni networking mixer Oct. 5, 2012 in Rancho Cucamonga. Provost and COO Gary Gugelchuk, PhD, and Senior Vice President Thomas Fox, PhD, also attended the event. The next networking mixer will be held the first week of December. For more information, contact Susan Terrazas at 909-706-3476 or sterrazas@westernu.edu.

From the Pumerantz Library:

National Medical Librarians Month

October is National Medical Librarians Month. To celebrate the library is hosting workshops, its annual book sale, book repair week, and finally fine free Friday. For exact dates and times please visit our News and Events Blog.

Your Vote, Your Voice

Are you registered to vote? The Nov. 6 general election is a month away and the deadline to register is Oct. 22. If you need to register to vote come to the library’s 2nd floor and pick up a voter registration form. If you don’t have time to do that, go to the Your Vote, Your Voice website and click on register to vote.