This Week@WesternU, Aug. 17-21, 2015
WesternU welcomes new students, honors Founding President Philip Pumerantz’s legacy
The newest generation of health professions students will learn to rely on one another across disciplines to provide the best possible care for their patients, WesternU’s incoming class was told by one of Southern California’s leading physicians.
Pedram Salimpour, MD, president of the Los Angeles County Medical Association, underlined the importance of interprofessional education — and of failure — during his keynote address at WesternU’s Convocation ceremony Saturday, Aug. 8 at Fairplex for more than 1,000 new students.
Click here to read the full story and to view the slideshows.
Western Diabetes Institute presents symposium Aug. 24-26
The Western Diabetes Institute’s Center for Periodontal Health presents the First International & Interprofessional 3-Day Symposium on Diabetes and Periodontal Disease August 24-26, 2015. The symposium will be held each day from noon to 1 p.m. in the Health Education Center, Lecture Hall 2. Lunch will be provided.
Topics and speakers will include: “What is periodontal disease and its association with diabetes?” by Philip Preshaw, BDS, PhD, FDS, Professor of Periodontology, School of Dental Sciences and Institute of Cellular Medicine at Newcastle University, UK.
“Pathophysiology of periodontitis in people with diabetes: the mechanisms of interplay between two common diseases” by WesternU College of Dental Medicine (CDM) Assistant Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Biomedical Sciences Bradley Henson, DDS, PhD, and CDM Assistant Professor Diana Folmsbee, DDS.
“Periodontal management in people with diabetes: the UK and US situations” by Susan Bissett, NIHR Clinical Research Fellow & Team Lead, Dental Clinical Research Facility, Newcastle University, UK; Heidi Davila, RDHAP, Center for Periodontal Health, Western Diabetes Institute, WesternU; and Jorge Oaxaca, DDS, Private Dental Practitioner, Seal Beach, Calif.
“Implications for diabetes care: redesigning and scaling team-based care” by Andrew Pumerantz, DO, FACP, Professor of Internal Medicine, Founder and Executive Director, Western Diabetes Institute, WesternU.
Click here to view a flier.
STRS Symposium
The 8th Annual Student Technology and Research Symposium (STRS) was held Aug. 4, 2015 at WesternU.
STRS is hosted by Vice President for Research & Biotechnology, Steven J. Henriksen, PhD. The symposium marks the conclusion of the 2015 Summer Grant Fellowships.
Twenty-five students presented at STRS 2015. Presenters were selected from sixty Summer Grant recipients and were chosen from applications submitted in the spring. The students worked with a faculty adviser during the summer to investigate a problem. Their work is then presented at STRS or at an off-site conference of their choice.
A summary program of student reports was issued to students and advisers, featuring 46 students’ preliminary work. The program has been issued from the Office of the VP for Research & Biotechnology and is available
electronically in PDF. For more information, visit the website at
http://www.westernu.edu/research or contact Bronwyn Weis at Ext. 5606.
Click here for a list of students, their projects and their advisers.
From the College of Optometry:
Kudos on accomplishments
Dr. Joshua Cameron’s lab had a paper published Aug. 12, 2015, in the journal PLoS ONE. The reference is: Saidi EA, Davey PG, Cameron DJ (2015) The Effect of Zeaxanthin on the Visual Acuity of Zebrafish. PLoS ONE 10(8): e0135211. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135211. The article is open access and available at this link:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0135211. First author Eric Saidi is a College of Optometry Class of 2018 student and an MSMS graduate from the Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences in 2014. Dr. Pinakin Davey from the College of Optometry was a co-author of the study.
Rep. Norma Torres visits WesternU Eye Care Center
Rep. Norma Torres visited the Eye Care Center at Western University of Health Sciences Monday, Aug. 10, 2015 in part to recognize National Health Center Week. She toured the facility and met with College of Optometry officials, including Dean Elizabeth Hoppe and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs Robert Gordon, to talk about issues of mutual interest and importance.
Click here for more information and photos.
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
Kudos on accomplishments
Kudos to COMP Director of Clinical Education Natalie Nevins, DO ’97, who received this letter from Leslie McDonald of the Special Olympics World Games:
Dear Dr. Nevins,
On behalf of the entire Organizing Committee for the 2015 Special Olympics World Games – THANK YOU!! Here’s a short message from our team:
https://youtu.be/sCLrdNWxvgc.
What a blast to work together and make history! Western University of Health Sciences’ support made this an absolutely incredible event celebrating the abilities of all people.
Thank you again for joining in the movement of acceptance and inclusion! Best, Leslie.
Click here to read more about WesternU’s involvement in the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.
OMSIII Shelby Anderson discusses her battle with Lyme disease in the latest issue of “The DO.”
http://thedo.osteopathic.org/2015/08/how-lyme-disease-changed-one-med-students-life/
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
CVM Associate Professor Brian Oakley was invited to Bucaramanga, Colombia, August 4-6, to give a talk, “Managing the gastrointestinal microbiome of poultry for performance and food safety goals.” Dr. Oakley served as a panelist at the conference focused on poultry health and nutrition sponsored by Promitec, an animal health company based in Colombia.
CVM student Jennifer Siess, DVM ’16, was recently notified of her selection as the recipient of the 2015 Humane Society Veterinary Medical Associate Student Direct Care Award “in recognition of all you have done to provide care and assistance to animals in need throughout your time as a veterinary student.” This award is from the Rural Area Veterinary Services Program. Student doctor Siess has worked in 17 HSVMA-RAVS field clinics in communities through North Dakota, South Dakota and Arizona.
