This Week@WesternU, April 21-25, 2014

Collaboration, strength emphasized at WesternU’s Trends in Autism Conference

Speakers at the 13th Annual Trends in Autism Conference at Western University of Health Sciences emphasized collaboration, celebrating victories and building on strengths during their presentations.

The conference, held April 12, 2014 on WesternU’s Pomona, Calif. campus, was organized by WesternU’s Faculty for Autism Collaboration and Education (FACE), an interprofessional team of educators, clinicians and researchers that promotes integrated perspectives, activities and resources that serve to enhance the lives of individuals with ASD, and the lives of their significant others.

Click here to read the full story and to view a slideshow.

WesternU’s East West Dinner raises more than $100,000 for student scholarships

Western University of Health Sciences celebrated the accomplishments of students while also setting records for attendance and money raised at the 8th Annual East West Scholarship Dinner April 12, 2014 in San Gabriel, Calif.

More than 30 WesternU students from 10 disciplines collectively received more than $40,000 in scholarships.

“”Let me say to our friends who are here tonight, you are paying tribute to some very important people,”” said WesternU President Philip Pumerantz, PhD. “”These students being honored tonight will be the healers of our communities, who will make a difference in our lives and in the quality of life of our community. They will be people we can count on. People we can trust, who will care for us.””

Click here to read the full story and to view a slideshow.

Towne & Gown Golf Classic

WesternU invites everyone to an exciting day of golf to benefit the Towne & Gown Endowed Scholarship.

The Towne & Gown Golf Classic will be held Monday, June 16, 2014 at Red Hill Country Club, 8358 Red Hill Country Club Dr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Registration and lunch starts at 11 a.m. followed by a noon shotgun start. The Hole-in-One prize is a 2014 Chevrolet, sponsored by Mark Christopher Auto Center. Reception dinner and awards ceremony will follow the event.

Cost is $200 per golfer or $800 per foursome. Dinner for a non-golfing guest is available for a fee of $50. Proceeds will benefit the Towne & Gown Endowed Scholarship thanks to the generosity of T.F. Chen, DDS. Deadline to enter is June 9, 2014.

For more information or to sign up for the Towne & Gown Golf Classic, please contact Austin Braunwalder at (909) 469-8495 or abraunwalder@westernu.edu.

To view the website go to www.westernu.edu/golf.

Click here to view a brochure.

Helicopter Drop

Everyone is invited to join the Towne & Gown Golf Classic Helicopter Drop, whether you’re at the golf course or not. The helicopter team will dump numbered golf balls over a designated hole, and the owner of the ball that lands in the hole (or closest to the pin) will win the 50-50 cash prize. Contact Austin Braunwalder at (909) 469-8495 or abraunwalder@westernu.edu for more information.

Click here to view the flier.

From the College of Pharmacy:

Symposium speaker focuses on U.S. mortality

Life expectancy in the United States, once firmly in the middle of the pack compared to most of the other major developed nations in the world, is relatively low and declining, a nationally recognized gerontology expert told WesternU students, staff and guests Thursday, April 17, 2014.

Eileen Crimmins, PhD, AARP Chair in Gerontology at the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology, and director of the USC/UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health, was the keynote speaker at The Ray Symposium, an annual event jointly presented by the WesternU College of Pharmacy and the Interprofessional Education program.

Click here to read the full story and to view a slideshow.

Kudos on accomplishments

Dr. Sheryl Chow (Principal Investigator) received an in-kind contribution of $20,000 awarded by Critical Diagnostics for her research proposal entitled “”I-PRESERVE biomarker study: ST2 and IL-33 on Treatment Effect and Outcomes in Patients with Preserved Ejection Fraction.”” Drs. Stephen O’Barr, Barry Massie, Michael Zile, Inder Anand, Peter Carson, Henry Krum, John McMurray, and Michel Komajda are co-investigators on this collaborative biomarker study. The production of circulating sST2/IL-22 will be associated with outcomes in patients with heart failure with preserved EF, and changes in sST2 concentrations over time will be correlated with treatment response and outcomes.

Dr. Chow presented a poster at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Meeting. Wen-Hsing Jiang and Pauline Phan were AE students with Dr. Chow and WesternU graduates (class of 2013).

Jiang WJ, Phan P, Baker, B, Chow SL. C-Reactive Protein Does Not Predict Therapeutic Response in Patients with Heart Failure: A Meta-Analysis. ACC Scientific Sessions, Washington DC. Poster presentation. March 29, 2014. JACC 2014;63(12):A189.

Dr. Chow served as vice-chair for the AHA Clinical Pharmacology Committee semi-annual meeting at the ACC Annual Meeting. Dr. Cynthia Jackevicius is also a member of this committee.

Our PGY1 (post graduate year 1) Ambulatory Care Residency directed by Dr. Emmanuelle Schwartzman has been granted accreditation by the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) for the full six years. This is the first residency at WesternU COP that has earned this status of maximum duration of accreditation..

It is certainly a testament to Dr. Schwartzman’s quality program at WesternU COP and PCC – in recruitment, process, mentorship and outcomes. The format of the syllabus she developed was highly commended by the site visitors and was quoted as being a possible template at ASHP; it certainly is being used internally in the COP.

Congratulations also to Dr. Schwartzman’s residents for their role and commitment to the program – the first resident Dr. Binh Tang; current resident -WesternU alumna, Dr. Salpi Yaghoubian; and incoming resident Dr. Ginnie Kim from UIC, who matched from about 35 applicants.

Our Director of Residency and Fellowship Training Programs Dr. Cynthia Jackevicius has overseen and guided the postdoc programs since 2010. Her vision and leadership have been very instrumental in the success and reputation of our programs, as evidenced by the increasing number of residencies, and improving quality of the applicant pool.

From the College of Podiatric Medicine:

Kudos on accomplishments

V. Kathleen Satterfield, DPM, has become the first Podiatric physician to have completed and received a certificate for academic assessment by the Higher Learning Commission’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges. To earn the certificate, the Assistant Dean for WesternU’s College of Podiatric Medicine completed a year-long Assessment Leadership Academy where she was able to study under and work with nationally renowned assessment thought leaders. Her capstone project resulted in development of a program to educate and assess DPMs who have been away from practice for an extended period of time due to personal choice or medical and licensing board decisions and who then decide to return to practice. The program is called Podiatric Physician Re-Entry Program or PPREP.

From the College of Veterinary Medicine:

Kudos on accomplishments

Dr. Chandru Charavaryamath will be attending the American Association of Anatomist’s annual meeting on April 28. He will be participating in the Scientific Affairs Committee, of which he is a member. Dr. Chandru is an Anatomy instructor for the MDC.

Dr. Victoria Voith was a panelist in a Webinar broadcast recently. Dr. Voith, an animal behaviorist, took part in “”CAAB Chat on Cat Social Behavior.””

Third annual SCAVMA Kiss-a-Pig contest

WesternU marketing specialist Edith Jennison raised the most votes during the third annual Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association (SCAVMA) Kiss-a-Pig Contest, entitling her to kiss lovely Penelope.

Jennison raised $84 from Kiss-a-Pig votes while nearly $300 total was raised for SCAVMA.

SCAVMA, part of the College of Veterinary Medicine, put on a university-wide fundraising event, which culminated with a kiss on Friday, April 18, 2014.

Click here to read the full story and to watch a video.

From the College of Dental Medicine:

ASDA spotlight

College of Dental Medicine Director of Student Affairs Sean Rowan is featured on the American Student Dental Association website’s “”Under the White Coat”” section.

Click here to view the story.

Kudos on accomplishments

Second-year College of Dental Medicine student Debra Peterson won a 2014 Ozar Hasegawa Award sponsored by the American Society for Dental Ethics (ASDE) and the American College of Dentists. She will receive a $500 check, a one-year membership in ASDE, and her essay, “”Cheating – Who or What Does it Really Hurt,”” will be published on the ASDE website.

From the Patient Care Center:

Eye Care Center extended hours

The Eye Care Center will be open until 6 p.m. on the following dates:

April 28 and 30

May 1, 7, 8 and 12.

From University Advancement:

Alumni news

On the afternoon of Wednesday, April 16, the WesternU Alumni Association distributed nearly 500 bags of caramel-coated popcorn to students in Ethan Allen Park. Known as “”Sudden Snack,”” these giveaways are held a few times each year to give the students a much deserved break (and a treat!). Students are not notified about the event until just about an hour beforehand, when they receive an email from the Alumni Office with the details of what, when, and where.

From Institutional Research and Effectiveness:

Kudos on accomplishments

Senior Assessment Analyst Neil Patel graduated from the WASC Assessment Leadership Academy, which prepares postsecondary professionals to provide leadership in a wide range of activities related to assessment of student learning. Click here to read more about the academy.

From Learning Enhancement & Academic Development:

LEAD: Nutrition and Exercise

David Redding, DO, associate professor for the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, presented “”Nutrition and Exercise: Strategies for Thinking and Learning”” during a WesternU Learning Enhancement & Academic Development’s (LEAD) Wellbeing workshop Thursday, April 17, 2014. The LEAD office provides academic counseling and coaching, tutoring, academic workshops and other support for WesternU students and employees.

Click here to view a photo.

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