This Week@WesternU, April 30-May 4, 2018
Walmart Foundation Awards WesternU Health Career Ladder $40,000 Grant
The Walmart Foundation donated $40,000 to two Western University of Health Sciences programs that prepare and inspire Pomona Unified School District elementary, middle and high school students for careers in the sciences and the health professions. The Pomona Health Career Ladder (PHCL) and American Indian Health Career Ladder (AIHCL) provide mentorship and other resources to students from under-resourced communities of Pomona and surrounding neighborhoods.
Click here to read the full story.
2018 Photo Competition – Facebook Voting Open Now through May 2!
On behalf of University Student Affairs and Public Affairs, thank you to our WesternU family for submitting your wonderful pictures. Finalists in each category have been selected and are available on the University’s Facebook page! Cast your vote by “liking” or “loving” your favorite photos. One winner from each of the three categories will be determined by the most “likes” or “loves” on Facebook. Winners will be announced in May.
Theme: WesternU Way,” so keep that in mind when voting for your favorite.
Facebook voting ends at 9 a.m. Wednesday, May 2, 2018
View the finalists on Facebook by clicking the categories below:
Happy voting and again, thank you for everyone’s submissions!
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
WesternU campuses celebrate life of Sean Wyman, DO ’17
Sean Wyman, DO ’17, passed away April 13, 2018, less than 24 hours after being placed on the lung transplant list at the Cleveland Clinic.
Wyman earned his MSMS degree from Western University of Health Sciences and graduated from WesternU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific last year. He suffered from Pulmonary Hypertension and worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the disease by creating an animated series called “Lips Painted Blue.”
“One of his dreams was to become an osteopathic physician, and he fought so hard to accomplish that dream,” said Paula M. Crone, DO ’92, Dean of COMP and COMP-Northwest. “He dedicated every single day to that dream, and I can’t tell you the number of times he was in my office talking about his coursework, his future, and his plans for residency.
“Today we honor Dr. Wyman. He is an example of a life that was so very well lived, but held the possibility of what a transplant could have saved if it had come in time,” Crone said.
To honor his memory, both WesternU campuses — in Pomona, California, and Lebanon, Oregon — held an information session bringing in state, nonprofit groups who help facilitate organ donations.
Click here to read the full story.
Kudos on accomplishments
The LA County Medical Association (LACMA) club hosted Eric Hargis, DO ’13, who spoke to first- and second-year students about addiction medicine.
Neurologist (and recipient of the 2017 Southern California Super Doctors award) Clifford Segil, DO ’04, returned to campus to deliver a neurology lecture to first-year students.
COMP NMM/OMM Fellows Julia Minasian and David Briganti were recently at the École Superieure d’Osteopathie just outside of Paris, France. They worked with Dr. Lorane Dick, who has been teaching at that school for about 30 years. They taught sixth-year osteopaths (in their final year of school) multiple techniques, namely counter-strain and muscle energy techniques.
COMP students Anthony Rosefeld, Monica Gupta, Christopher Jaime, Kylie Mulvaney, Sara Boye and Kelly Hood demonstrated a patient encounter to students from four local high schools during the WesternU Health Sciences Day hosted by the College of Allied Health Professions. After the role-play session they held a question and answer session with an eager crowd of future health care providers.
First-year COMP students Sandy Chen, Andrew Nguyen, Eric Nguyen, Parth Patel, Mitchell Sauder and Maria Sava traveled to Sacramento for the 44th Annual Legislative Leadership Conference. Sponsored and led by the San Bernardino County Medical Society, students met with California’s elected officials and learned about leadership and advocacy for legislative policy.
The third annual Internal Medicine trivia night took place on Saturday, April 21. Mike Katsaros, DO, and Tom Fox hosted the event raising money for the Internal Medicine Student Research Fund. With amazing food and the Musicians in Medicine club playing for the “Name That Tune” round, the evening was a huge success. Congratulations to the staff of the Harriet K. & Philip Pumerantz Library for taking first place!
Twenty-seven research projects, concerning nine area service agencies, were presented last week for the students’ IPE capstone projects. Medical students from COMP-Northwest, pharmacy students from Oregon State University, and nursing and medical assistant students from Linn-Benton Community College participated in the poster presentation. “This was the culmination of over a year’s work by the Design Team,” said Phillip Mitchell, Assistant Director of IPE. This year, members of the IPE Design Team took up the challenge of redesigning the course to maximize the course’s effectiveness. “We truly walked the talk of interprofessional teamwork and problem solving.”
Dr. Louise Muscato and her Lifestyle Medicine Track students presented research posters at the Linn, Benton Lincoln Partners in Health Regional Community Health Summit, Screen Time and the Impact on Social, Emotional and Physical Health on April 18, 2018. Megan Kuntz, Avery Briggs and Kimberly Schwartz, presented research titled, “Eat More Plants! A community based Approach to Early Nutrition Education,” and Leah Nelson, Kristina Van Nuys, and Molly Weatherholt presented research titled, “Rural Kid’s Cooking Camp Emphasizing a Plant Based Diet, Survey Study.” Their research supported the importance of nutrition and culinary education knowledge and skills for youth.
Drs. Mathew and Vicki Wedel, of COMP/CPM and COMP respectively, represented WesternU at the Inland Empire Science Festival at the Western Science Center in Hemet, California. Dr. Matt Wedel discussed his paleontology research with participants, and Dr. Vicki Wedel talked about her forensic anthropology work. They also shared information about WesternU’s programs.
From the College of Graduate Nursing:
Two WesternU nurses join the Pomona Unified School District
Western University of Health Sciences College of Graduate Nursing (CGN) alumna Emma Birur, MSN-E ’17, once thought school nurses took care of minor injuries and the occasional medical emergency.
Now that she is a school nurse for the Pomona Unified School District (PUSD), she is finding she does a lot more – ensuring children receive proper medication, serving as an important member of special education students’ Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, and performing state-mandated vision, hearing and scoliosis screenings.
CGN student Angelica Alvarez, who is completing her final year of the MSN-E program, is also a PUSD school nurse. Alvarez grew up in Pomona, and is the school nurse for four schools, including Lincoln Elementary, which she attended as a child.
“There is nothing more impactful and real than having an alum come back and show our kids our school works. She’s homegrown Pomona, from elementary school to college. That speaks volumes to the kids,” said Lincoln Elementary Principal Alicia Ochoa McMullin. “The opportunities are there, and they’re in Pomona.”
Click here to read the full story: https://spark.adobe.com/page/dwsqIv1ld7Ndk/
This story will appear in the Spring edition of WesternU View magazine. Look for it soon on campus news racks and online.
Kudos on accomplishments
Congratulations to Professor Gwen Orozco on her most recent poster presentation April 25, 2018 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center’s Perinatal Symposium. “What is the relationship between stress, self-esteem, and social support on the emotional well-being of the high risk antepartum patient who is prescribed bed rest as scored by the Friedman Emotional Stability Tool and the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile Tool while being guided by the Lazarus Folkman Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping?”
From the College of Pharmacy:
Kudos on accomplishments
Congratulations to the following Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty and their collaborators on their most recent accomplishments:
Dr. Peter Oelschlaeger and his collaborators published the following: Xiang Y, Chen C, Wang W-M, Xu L-W, Yang K-W, Oelschlaeger P, He Y. Rhodanine as a Potent Scaffold for the Development of Broad-Spectrum Metallo-β-lactamase Inhibitors. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 2018;9(4):359-64. doi: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.7b00548.
Dr. Maria Lambros and Dr. Lyna (Yun) Luo and their lab members, postdoctoral fellow Dr. Wesley Botello-Smith, MSPS students and alumni Qinqin Fei, Adelaziz Alsamarah, Payal Chatterjee, and volunteers published: Fei Q, Kent D, Botello-Smith WM, Nur F, Nur S, Alsamarah A, Chatterjee P, Lambros M, Luo Y. Molecular Mechanism of Resveratrol’s Lipid Membrane Protection. Scientific Reports. 2018;8(1):1587. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-18943-1. Link to Article
Dr. Maria Lambros and Dr. Ying Huang and MSPS/PharmD Alumna Dr. Hari Chandana Mulamalla were granted United States and Japanese patents for their project titled “Targeted Liposomes in Cancer Therapy.” Link for more information
Congratulations to Dr. Sheryl Chow for the following publications and invited talk:
Maisel AS, Daniels LB, Anand I, McCullough PA, Chow SL. Utility of Natriuretic Peptides to Assess and Manage Angiotensin Receptor Blocker/Neprilysin Inhibitor Combination Products in Patients with Heart Failure. Postgraduate Med. 2018;130(3):299-307. https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.proxy.westernu.edu/pubmed/29596012
Chow SL. Acute Heart Failure. In: Baker WL, Beavers C, Bolesta S. et al, eds. ACCP Updates in Therapeutics: Cardiology Pharmacy Preparatory Review Course. 2018 ed. Lenexa, KS: American College of Clinical Pharmacy, 2018, pages 373-401. (Book Chapter)
Chow SL. Faculty, Annual ACCP Cardiology Prep Course review on Acute Heart Failure presented to clinical pharmacists specializing in cardiology on February 17, 2018 in Jacksonville, Fla.. (1.25 hours of CPE credit).
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
CVM Associate Professor Babak Faramarzi, in collaboration with the equine industry, led a study on changes in blood values during pregnancy in horses. Dr. Faramarzi has been informed that the manuscript has been reviewed and accepted for publication by the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research. Jolan Wu (previous WesternU grad student) worked under Dr. Faramarzi’s supervision on this project. Student Doctor Wu is a DO candidate at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences and presented a podium presentation on this project at her DO college. Faramarzi, B., Rich, L. and Wu, J. (2018) Hematological and serum biochemical profile values in pregnant and non-pregnant mares.
From the Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences:
Kudos on accomplishments
Christina Goode, PhD, of GCBS and Gerald Thrush, PhD, of COMP presented a podium talk at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) annual conference in Washington, D.C. (April 18-21, 2018). The presentation was titled, “Collaboration In A Special Master’s Program Increases Diversity In An Osteopathic Medical College.” Collaborators were Colleen Talbot, PhD, of COMP-Northwest and Susan Mackintosh, DO, MPH, of COMP.
Dr. Goode also presented a second 60-minute podium talk at the AACOM meeting titled “Collaboration Opportunities with Electronic Learning Platforms” with Mark Speicher, PhD MHA, Senior Vice President for Medical Education and Research at AACOM, and Sean Tackett, MD, MPH, IM physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. An additional collaborator was Grace Cisek, EdD, of Arizona College of Medicine.
