This Week@WesternU, Jan. 30-Feb. 3, 2012
Announcements
Free Health Screenings
PCHAT will hold free health screenings from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1150 W. Holt Ave., Pomona, Calif. Click here for more information.
Save the Date
The Towne & Gown Golf Classic, benefiting the University Scholarship Fund, will be held on June 18, 2012 at the Glendora Country Club, 310 Amelia Ave., Glendora, Calif. Noon shotgun start with reception and awards to follow. Sponsorship opportunities available. For information, e-mail abraunwalder@westernu.edu or sterrazas@westernu.edu.
Click here for more information.
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
Kudos on accomplishments
Marcel Fraix, DO, FAAPMR, published an evidence-based clinical review article in the January 2012 edition of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association titled “Role of the Musculoskeletal System and the Prevention of Falls.” Falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries in adults 65 years or older. This article examines the risk factors for falls in older adults, including Vitamin D deficiency, diminished strength and coordination, depression, multiple medications, and home hazards. Dr. Fraix is chair of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at WesternU as well as assistant professor in the OMM/NMM Department. He has a particular interest in musculoskeletal disorders, both in terms of research and how they impact the lives of his patients.
Assistant Professor Brian P. Kraatz, PhD, published the following paper: Seiffert, E. R., Nasir, S., Al-Harthy, A., Groenke, J. R., Kraatz, B. P., Stevens, N. J., Al-Sayigh, A. R. accepted. Diversity in the later Paleogene proboscidean radation: a small barytheriid from the Oligocene of Dhofar Governorate, Sultanate of Oman. Naturwissenschaften, v. 99, p. 133–141.
From the College of Allied Health Professions:
Department of Health Sciences Education News
On Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, the College of Allied Health Professions facilitated a presentation of the Diabetes Literacy Project at the Pomona Public Library. The presenter, Elizabeth Maugh, a student and an instructor in the Physician Assistant program, spoke to the participants about the different types of diabetes, symptoms, medications, and answered questions. The group then went the computer lab in the library, and with the help of student volunteers from various colleges at WesternU, assisted the participants by showing them how to access diabetes information from the Medline Plus web site. A special thanks to Dr. Tina Meyer who was present and video recorded the event.
From the College of Pharmacy:
Kudos on accomplishments
Professor Roger Klotz has been confirmed as one of the reviewers for the CMSi Health Care Innovation Challenge, which is the first round of funding from the CMS Center for Innovation that totals about $13 million.
Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Sciences alumna Krishna Muppidi, collaborator Dr. Andrew Pumerantz from COMP and her co-advisers Drs. Guru Betageri and Jeffrey Wang recently published the following article: Krishna Muppidi, Andrew S. Pumerantz, Jeffrey Wang, and Guru Betageri, “Development and Stability Studies of Novel Liposomal Vancomycin Formulations,” ISRN Pharmaceutics, Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 636743.
Dr. Wang also gave an invited seminar titled “Developing therapeutics for type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus” at LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport, Louisiana on January 10, 2012.
Congratulations to Dr. Ying Huang (PI) on her contract: “In vivo Evaluation of MTD and Pharmacokinetics of Nex-Gem-0, Nex-Gem-2 and Ne-Herceptin” from FULGENT Therapeutics Inc. This project will last six months with a total budget of $78,844 (Co-investigator: Maria Lambros).
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
Veterinary Professor Dr. Malika Kachani is a member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases (STAG, NTDs) and the chair of the Neglected Zoonotic Diseases (NZDs) working group of the STAG. This week another work-product of the STAG has reached the public via the internet, “Accelerating work to overcome the global impact of neglected tropical diseases – A roadmap for implementation.”
The internal report of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases; Salle C, WHO headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland 12–13 April 2011 (published elsewhere on the STAG website) lists Dr. Kachani as a contributor to the new roadmap and in an e-mail STAG leaders (Dr. Lorenzo Savioli, NTZ Director) acknowledged appreciation to Dr. Kachani for her input and advice.
With evidence clearly showing that overcoming neglected tropical diseases makes economic and development sense, the roadmap shows the way forward for intensified control, elimination and eradication. The full version of the roadmap and an Executive Summary have been launched today on the NTD web site.
