This Week@WesternU, June 15-19, 2015
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
WesternU celebrates COMP-Northwest Commencement and Lebanon community
The first Commencement ceremony for Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest celebrated not only the accomplishments of the charter class, but the dedication of the entire community who helped make the day possible. The ceremony, held June 5, 2015 on COMP-Northwest’s Lebanon, Oregon campus, featured 100 graduates receiving their Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree.
Click here to read the full story and to view the slideshows.
Kudos on accomplishments
COMP-Northwest graduate Meghan Aabo, DO ’15, is featured in the American Osteopathic Association’s “The DO” publication.
Click here to view the story.
From University Advancement:
Towne & Gown Golf Classic
WesternU invites everyone to an exciting day of golf to benefit the Towne & Gown Endowed Scholarship Fund. The 5th Annual Towne & Gown Golf Classic will take place Monday, June 22, 2015 at Red Hill Country Club, 8358 Red Hill Country Club Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 91730. Registration and lunch starts at 11 a.m., followed by a noon shotgun start with reception and awards to follow. Proceeds will benefit the Towne & Gown Endowed Scholarship thanks to the generosity of T.F. Chen, DDS, and our sponsors. Contact Austin Braunwalder at 909-469-8495, abraunwalder@westernu.edu, or Susan Terrazas at 909-706-3476, sterrazas@westernu.edu. Visit the website at www.westernu.edu/golf.
Click here for Save the Date information. Click here for the Towne & Gown brochure.
Helicopter Drop
Everyone is invited to join the Towne & Gown Golf Classic Helicopter Drop. Whether you’re at the golf course or not, you will be able to tune in and catch the live streaming action (a link will be sent out later this week). The helicopter team will dump numbered golf balls over a designated hole, and the owner of the ball that lands in the hole (or closest to the pin) will win the 50-50 cash prize. This is another exciting way to benefit the Towne & Gown Endowed Scholarship Fund. Contact Austin Braunwalder at 909-469-8495 or abraunwalder@westernu.edu for more information. Click here to view the flier.
From the College of Allied Health Professions:
Kudos on accomplishments
Brian Tessier, MSHS, PA-C, Assistant Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Education, was selected as this year’s recipient of the Provost’s Shared-Governance Travel Stipend Award. Tessier was selected for his leadership and vision for Shared Governance and his contributions to the academic environment at WesternU. As the recipient of this award, he will receive a travel stipend to cover the costs of attending the 2015 annual American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Summer Institute July 23-26 at the University of Denver.
From the College of Pharmacy:
Kudos on accomplishments
Dr. Karl Hess was appointed as Editor-in-Chief of California Pharmacist, a peer-reviewed journal of the California Pharmacists Association. This is great timing for Dr. Hess as he will be helping the journal move from its current themed format to more of a “traditional” medical/pharmacy journal format. In his role, Dr. Hess will be working with a team of Associate Editors and an Editorial Review Committee to produce four issues per year, overseeing the peer review process and have final approval of all articles, and writing one editorial article per issue. He will also be in charge of promoting the Journal at CPhA functions and to schools and colleges of pharmacy.
Peter Oelschlager, PhD, MSPS student Antonia Zhang, MSPS Alumna/PharmD student Eleanor Liu and their collaborators from multiple institutions published the following: Nguyen TQ, Chai W, Gu J, Cook K, Kim E, Goetz S, Farni Z, Chepuru M, Cox M, Nguyen P, Raja H, Magistrado P, Michael F, Oelschlaeger P, Buynak JD. Triethysilyl enol ethers in the synthesis of carbapenem precursors. (http://webassets.westernu.edu/westernu-news/docs/Nguyen-et-al-2015-TetrahedronLett-56-3385.pdf) Tetrahedron Letters. 2015;56(23):3385-9. Liu X-L, Shi Y, Kang JS, Oelschlaeger P, Yang K-W. Amino Acid Thioester Derivatives: A Highly Promising Scaffold for the Development of Metallo-β-lactamase L1 Inhibitors. (http://webassets.westernu.edu/westernu-news/docs/Liu-et-al-2015-ACSMCL-6-660.pdf) ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. 2015;6(6):660-4. doi: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.5b00098. Oelschlaeger P, Aitha M, Yang H, Kang JS, Zhang AL, Liu EM, Buynak JD, Crowder MW. Meropenem and Chromacef Intermediates Observed in IMP-25 Metallo-β-Lactamase-Catalyzed Hydrolysis. (http://webassets.westernu.edu/westernu-news/docs/Oelschlaeger-et-al-2015-AAC-59-4326.pdf) Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy. 2015;59(7):4326-30. doi: 10.1128/aac.04409-14.
Dr. Jeffrey Wang was invited to participate in the “Training and Education” review meeting held by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH/NIH) on July 1, 2015. There will be Fellowship, Career Development, Institutional Training Grant and Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) applications reviewed in this meeting. The purpose of these programs is to support the career development of pre-doctoral and postdoctoral students, provide support and “protected time” for a supervised career development experience in biomedical, behavioral or clinical sciences leading to research independence and to stimulate research in educational institutions that have not been major recipients of NIH support that will expose students to meritorious research projects.
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
Dr. Joe Bertone met with New York City council members last month to present the findings of research on the NYC carriage horses. The work was completed with colleagues Sarah Mercer, DVM 2017, and Dr. David Kersey. The data may help preserve the carriage horse industry in NYC.
Dr. Jijun Hao was awarded the WesternU intramural grant to study the role of BMP signaling in cancer chemoresistance. Dr. Ying Huang, Associate Professor in the College of Pharmacy, is the co-investigator on the project.
Dr. Jose Peralta was awarded the prestigious 2015 AVMA Animal Welfare Award. This award is given by the American Veterinary Medical Foundation once a year to a veterinarian who is nominated by his/her colleagues due to the leadership, public service, research, education and/or advocacy demonstrated in the field of animal welfare science. Dr. Peralta is invited to attend the award ceremony that will take place in July during the American Veterinary Medical Association Annual Convention in Boston.
Dr. Peralta successfully completed the qualification procedures to become a Diplomate of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine (ECAWBM). Dr. Peralta is already a Diplomate of the American College of Animal Welfare (ACAW). Dr. Peralta is one of only two veterinarians in the United States who hold a dual Diplomature by both the European and American Colleges of Animal Welfare.
Dr. Ohad Levi organized a small animal laparoscopy course for general practitioners. The course, held last month, provided veterinary practitioners with the essential theoretical knowledge and practical experience of basic level laparoscopic surgery. The two-day course, held at the WesternU Pet Health Center in Pomona, included four veterinarians (Dr. Ofer Cherbinski, Atascadero; Dr. Shachar Malka, New York; Dr. Young Joo Kim, Newport Beach; and Dr. Tidhar Klein, Israel). The first day included Minimal Invasive Surgery lectures in the morning and laparoscopic training lab on simulators in the afternoon, with contributions from Dr. Dominique Griffon, CVM Associate Dean for Research; Dr. Lyon Lee, CVM Associate Professor; and Dr. Maria Fahie, CVM Professor; in addition to Dr. Levi. The second day the course included practical laparoscopic surgery procedure (laparoscopic abdominal exploration and ovariectomy) on live anesthetized dogs with the instruction and supervision of Dr. Levi and CVM Associate Professor David Clark. Feedback from the participants and the supporting companies reflect great satisfaction and success of the course. The future plan is to continue and organize MIS courses on campus every year.
From the College of Podiatric Medicine:
Podiatric Scientific Mission in Israel
American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel, along with Western University of Health Sciences, College of Podiatric Medicine invite you to the Podiatric Scientific Mission in Israel, Nov. 15 – 24, 2015. Offering up to 25 CME, with Israeli and American speakers, don’t miss out on these informative and educational sessions along with a “Trip of a Lifetime.” Follow the link for more information on this amazing opportunity: http://www.apfmed.org/programs/missions
Extremitas 2015
Click here to read the second issue of Extremitas: Journal of Lower Limb Medicine.
From the Pumerantz Library:
Research Mixer
The 2nd Annual Research Mixer will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, 2015 in the Pumerantz Library. The Research Mixer is co-sponsored by the Pumerantz Library and the Office of Research and Biotechnology. This year we invite all researchers to come to the Library to “talk shop” with other researchers, discuss WesternU research clusters and find potential research collaborators.
For details read the Pumerantz Library News and Events Blog.
From the Center for Oral Health:
COH news
The Center for Oral Health, which is housed at WesternU, received a First 5 San Bernardino grant to narrow the oral health gap in San Bernardino County. Read about this and other COH news in the latest newsletter: http://conta.cc/1QtZBm8
