This Week@WesternU, Dec. 4-8, 2017
From the College of Optometry:
WesternU, Sight Savers America help visually-impaired children read, play and thrive
Covina resident Mackenzie Martinez, 16, received training on his new Freedom Scientific Onyx HD Electronic Video Magnifier (EVM) at the Western University of Health Sciences Eye Care Institute, Los Angeles Nov. 30, 2017. The EVM allowed him to magnify text to make reading easier and even allowed a closer look out the window, a view that included Beverly Hills High School and the Hollywood sign.
“This makes my life so much easier,” Mackenzie said. “I’ll use it for reading, homework and lots of other stuff. This is a real Christmas gift. I’m very thankful for a device like this.”
Mackenzie was one of nine children with severe visual impairments who received free EVMs through a partnership between WesternU and Sight Savers America.
Click here to read the full story and to view a slideshow.
The event was also covered by CBS2 News and the Los Angeles Daily News.
From the College of Pharmacy:
Kudos on accomplishments
Congratulations to Dr. Lyna Luo and her collaborators, MSPS Alumnus Payal Chatterjee and Abdelaziz Alsamarah, MSPS Student Han Zhang, postdoctoral fellows Drs. Wesley M. Botello-Smith and Li Qian, Cal Poly Pomona Student David Kent and GCBS Faculty Drs. Michel Baudry and Jerome Lecroix, on their most recent, high impact publication (Impact Factor of JACS is 13.858): Chatterjee P, Botello-Smith WM, Zhang H, Qian L, Alsamarah A, Kent D, Lacroix JJ, Baudry M, Luo Y. Can Relative Binding Free Energy Predict Selectivity of Reversible Covalent Inhibitors? Journal of the American Chemical Society. 2017. doi: 10.1021/jacs.7b08938. Link to Abstract
Congratulations to Dr. Peter Oelschlaeger, his former lab member, Cal Poly Pomona alum Joon S. Kang, MS, and their collaborators on their most recent publication: Xiang Y, Chang Y-N, Ge Y, Kang JS, Zhang Y-L, Liu X-L, Oelschlaeger P, Yang K-W. Azolylthioacetamides as a potent scaffold for the development of metallo-β-lactamase inhibitors. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 2017;27(23):5225-9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmcl.2017.10.038.
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishment
CVM Professor Malika Kachani attended the 27th Congress of the World Association of Echinococcosis in Algiers, Algeria, in October and contributed a podium presentation, “The natural history of cystic echinococcosis in untreated and albendazole-treated patients.” The co-authors were Eberhard Zeyhie, Nadia Solomon, Thomas Romig, Peter Kern and Calum N.L. Macpherson.
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
Kudos on accomplishments
Matt Wedel, PhD, of COMP and CPM, had a chapter of his book Sauropod Dinosaurs: Life in the Age of Giants reprinted in the Fall 2017 issue of Prehistoric Times magazine, which is available on newsstands and at http://www.prehistorictimes.com/.
Dr. Vicki Wedel of COMP Anatomy gave an invited talk at the Austrian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology as part of a seminar on New Approaches to Burnt Human Bones and Teeth. Dr. Wedel presented “Expanding Method and Theory in Cementum Analysis” and she had the privilege of closing the seminar when participants went to the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna. Dr. Wedel held a microscope workshop identifying season at death in Bronze age burials from Eastern Austria.
Dr. Vicki Wedel hosted Dr. Margie Dell’s class of advanced anatomy students from Santa Monica College for a tour and talk on “Forensic Medicine: Applied Anatomy.”
Medical Anatomy Center news
Brion Benninger, MD, MSc, Professor of Medical Innovation, Technology & Research and Clinical Anatomy developed an Extended Focused Assessment Sonography in Trauma (eFAST) education manual to train novices. He is establishing and promoting a primary eFAST survey, secondary eFAST survey and maintenance eFAST survey. He integrated human surface anatomy, ultrasound probe windows, probe positioning, direction of scanning body regions with video links. It is designed for novices and for self-teaching as well as maintenance of ultrasound knowledge and skills. He demonstrated three different ultrasound systems (laptop system with classic linear and phased array probes, GE hand held dual probe system and wearable ultrasound with dual finger probe). The primary objective was to create a manual which would be tailored for visual learners using anatomy ratios and planes applied to variable human habitus revealing the desired ultrasound spaces and/or organs. The manual is ready for novices, but he will be adding further exponential technologies with video links to the manual. It will be available for WesternU students in 2018.
From University Advancement:
#GivingTuesday
Thank you to all who gave to WesternU on #GivingTuesday. We are overwhelmed with the support of the students and staff who came out to donate. We also want to thank Iron & Kin Coffee Co. for their partnership in our #GivingTuesday efforts. The philanthropic tradition of giving back to WesternU has allowed so many students to pursue their dreams of becoming health care professionals, and we thank you for continuing that tradition on #GivingTuesday.
Click here to view a Facebook photo gallery.
From the Pumerantz Library:
Holiday cards for hospitalized children
Come to the Pumerantz Library and fill out a holiday card for a child in the hospital. Cards and pens will be provided. Stop by any time during regular library hours through Dec. 10. Cards will be available on the library’s first and second floor. For more details please contact reference@westernu.edu or 909-469-5323 and ask for Reference.
