This Week@WesternU, July 13-17, 2015
WesternU researchers unveil new mechanism in the regulation of learning and memory
An interprofessional team of scientists at Western University of Health Sciences has published a paper that potentially explains why children with Angelman syndrome have learning and memory impairment. The paper, "UBE3A regulates synaptic plasticity and learning and memory by controlling SK2 channel endocytosis," by Jiandong Sun, Guoqi Zhu, Yan Liu, Steve Standley, Angela Ji, Rashmi Tunuguntla, Yubin Wang, Chad Claus, Yun Luo, Michel Baudry, and Xiaoning Bi, was published today, July 9, 2015, in Cell Reports.
Click here to read the article: http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/abstract/S2211-1247(15)00621-X
Click here to read the full story.
From the College of Dental Medicine:
CDM news
Dr. James Borke will add a part-time appointment as Assistant Dean for Biomedical Sciences Curriculum to his duties and Sean Rowan will advance to Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. Their years of experience and contributions to our mission will bring great value to their new roles for CDM.
Dr. Margaret Soh joined the College of Dental Medicine as Clinical Team Leader in the Dental Center on July 1. Dr. Soh obtained her BS from La Sierra University and her DDS from Loma Linda University. She has extensive experience in providing services for medically complex, underserved patients and has participated in multiple missions trips.
Dr. James Borke and Dr. Irina Vukmanovic Nosrat both recently received intramural grants in the amounts of $22,000 and $20,000, respectively. Dr. Borke will be researching the "Correlation of Bisphosphonate-Related Vascular Changes in the Eye and Mandible" and Dr. Nosrat will be studying the "Prevention of Taste Bud Deterioration by Innate Overexpression of BDNF Caused by Chemotherapy."
CDM student Debra Peterson, DMD ’16, published a paper, "Cheating – Who Does It Really Hurt?" in the Journal of the American College of Dentists. The paper was also selected as the 2014 Ozar-Hasegawa Prize for ethics essays.
From the College of Graduate Nursing:
Kudos on accomplishments
A presentation titled "An Ecological and Educational Approach for On-line Community Health: Implementation in Master’s and Doctoral of Nursing Practice Education," by Professor Quannetta T. Edwards, PhD, FNPc, WHNPc, AGN-BC, FAANP, Assistant Professor Ivy Tuason, PhD-C, FNPc, and Assistant Professor Ruth Trudgeon, MSN, from the College of Graduate Nursing, was presented by Dr. Quannetta T. Edwards at the 2015 Annual Global Health Conference and Annual Worldwide Nursing Conference held in Singapore June 29-30, 2015. A formal paper of the presentation was also published in the Proceedings by the Global Science & Technology Forum.
From the College of Pharmacy:
Kudos on accomplishments
Congratulations to the following Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences members and their colleagues on their most recent accomplishments: Yun (Lyna) Luo, PhD, Peter Oelschlager, PhD, CVM faculty Jijun Hao, PhD, MSPS Student Abdelaziz Alsamarah, and MSPS Alum Alecander E. LaCuran, published the following: Alsamarah A, LaCuran AE, Oelschlaeger P, Hao J, Luo Y (2015) Uncovering molecular bases underlying bone morphogenetic protein receptor inhibitor selectivity. PLoS ONE 10(7): e0132221. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132221 Link to Article
Dr. Jeffrey Wang co-organized a concurrent session, "Proteins and Peptides in Drug Delivery," and gave a presentation titled "Lipid Conjugates in Peptide Drug Delivery" at the 15th International Symposium of the Society of Chinese Bio-scientists in America, June 25-29, 2015 in Taipei, Taiwan.
Dr. Wang has been invited to speak at the United States Pharmacopeia’s 2nd Peptide Workshop on Nov. 2-3, 2015 in Rockville, Maryland. He will present on the rationale and approaches of using lipid conjugates for the pharmaceutical development of peptide therapeutics.
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
Kudos on accomplishments
Fourteen student research projects were accepted and presented at the recent annual International Association of Medical Science Educators conference in San Diego, California. All the student research projects were blind peer reviewed and accepted for publication. The students – 12 medical, one masters, one post-baccalaureate and one baccalaureate – represented COMP-Northwest’s Medical Anatomy Center (MAC) and conducted the work in the McDaniel Surgery, Radiology & Education Research Anatomy Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Brion Benninger: John Carter, Ankura Patel, Lisa McLane, Kelsey Baran, Liana Dagdavaryan, Adam Birch, Adam Kimbal, Vitaly Natkha, Kyler Kozecek, and Jonathon Wright. Ian Blandford is our master’s student, Daniel Barrack our post-baccalaureate and David Horn our baccalaureate student. The research included novel and disruptive innovation research, which included technology from Sonivate, Sectra Vision, PercuVision, Fukuda Denshi 4D ultrasound probes and systems, Google Glass and 7D interactive ultrasound imaging programs. Many of the students received a personal invite to publish their project as a manuscript in a top international journal.
Marisa Orser, MEd, was recently promoted to COMP Assistant Director of Clinical Education. Marisa joined the COMP family in September 2007 as the Assistant to the Associate Dean of Postgraduate Education and six months later was appointed the Manager of Clinical Education and Rotations. This past April, Marisa became an Adjunct Instructor in Social Medicine and Healthcare Leadership. During her tenure in Clinical Education and Rotations, Marisa has proven to be a leader and a team builder. She manages all aspects of clinical rotations for over 450 students and makes certain that both the Pomona and Lebanon campuses are collaborating and communicating effectively. She works closely with our students and clinical faculty both on campus and during site visits allowing us to maintain strong relationships.
Congratulations to the Institute for Medical Educators COMP Faculty Award winners for the 2014-15 year. COMP-Pomona faculty-voted winners: Student Focus: Airani Sathananthan Teamwork: Katherine Mitsouras Personal & Professional Goal Achievement: Ed Barnes Respect for Human Dignity: Raj Kandpal Professionalism: Personal Responsibility & Accountability: Sandra Garner Lifelong Learning in Research: Tie – Mihai Covasa & Vishy Venketaraman Lifelong Learning in Teaching Innovation: Vicki Wedel Outstanding Community Service: Alan Cundari Unsung Hero: Marian Safaoui
COMP-Northwest faculty-voted winners: Lifelong Learning in Research: Glen Kisby Lifelong Learning in Teaching Innovation: John Pham Unsung Hero: Katherine Fisher
COMP-Pomona student-voted winners for outstanding faculty members: DO 2017 BMS: Vishy Venketaraman DO 2017 Clinical: Joe Brown DO 2018 BMS: Robert Pechnick DO 2018 Clinical: David Redding
COMP-Northwest student-voted winners for outstanding faculty members: DO 2017 BMS: Vishy Venketaraman DO 2017 Clinical: Cosimo Storniolo DO 2018 BMS: Gerald Thrush DO 2018 Clinical: Derrick Sorweide
From University Advancement:
College of Pharmacy scholarship support
On June 29, Cardinal Health notified the College of Pharmacy that it would be awarding $100,000 in new scholarship support for WesternU College of Pharmacy student pharmacists interested in pursuing careers in independent community pharmacy ownership. These funds will be awarded in $25,000 annual increments each year for the next four years. This new scholarship support will build upon the $125,000 scholarship award that Cardinal Health made to the College of Pharmacy in September 2012, further strengthening the robust partnership between Cardinal Health and the College of Pharmacy. Cardinal Health has also been the exclusive sponsor of the College of Pharmacy’s white coat ceremony for the past three years. Cardinal Health is a top distributor of pharmaceutical and other medical supplies and equipment in the U.S., helping pharmacies, hospitals and ambulatory care sites focus on patient care while reducing costs.
