This Week@WesternU, March 28-April 1, 2011
Announcements
Dr. Robert L. Austin Endowed Lectureship
The 2nd Dr. Robert L. Austin Endowed Lectureship in Pediatric Medicine and Pediatric Health Care Policy will feature pediatric and autism specialist Dr. Robert W. Sears. The public is invited to attend this free event on campus beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 5. Sears will be speaking on “Autism: Early Detection, Effective Multidisciplinary Treatment, and Possible Preventative Measures.”
A reception will follow the lecture. RSVP by March 29 to Olive Stephens at ostephen@westernu.edu or (909) 469-5211.
or click here to download an invitation.
Athletes for Autism
Anthesis Autism Services and the Pomona Valley Workshop (PVW) will have their 2nd annual Athletes for Autism event at WesternU’s Ethan Allen Park on Saturday, April 30, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fun and games for the participants with autism will be the main feature. Free dental, foot, eye and health screenings will also be given. The event is for individuals with autism of all ages and their parents/providers within the Inland Empire. The event is free but donations are greatly appreciated. For more information, call PVW’s Anthesis Autism Services at 909-624-3108, ext. 22, or e-mail College of Podiatric Medicine Assistant Professor Dr. Patris Toney at ptoney@westernu.edu.
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
Kudos on accomplishments
COMP alumnus James M. Lally, DO, MMM, is sponsoring the conference room in the Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons of California’s new Sacramento office with an extremely generous contribution of $70,000.
This sponsorship continues a trend of generosity by Dr. Lally. For the past seven years, Dr. Lally has donated as much as $10,000 annually in support of the OPSC Annual Convention and for several years has paid for WesternU student memberships. He is also the first diamond level sponsor for OSTEOPAC. OPSC is extremely grateful for Dr. Lally’s ongoing support.
Students from WesternU, the University of La Verne, the University of Wisconsin, San Francisco University and Cal Poly Pomona, led by Marek Malecki, MD PhD, Associate Professor of Genetics, Genomics, and Gene Therapy at COMP and Director of Biotechnology Program at GCBS, were invited to the Annual Meeting organized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in San Diego March 7-10. They delivered two presentations focused on environmental health. The first presentation outlined the novel technology, which they developed and pioneered, allowing them to determine with atomic accuracy the elemental composition of the ultrasmall particles polluting the environment. This novel technology is now under consideration for being incorporated into the EPA’s AN environmental health program. The second presentation revealed correlations, which they discovered, between the mortality due to prolonged diseases and composition of the pollutants plaguing Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties. The data suggest serious effects, which environmental pollution may exert upon human genetics and genomics leading to cancer and deaths.
Alva B, Malecki R, En-Hsien H, Quach C, Eaton P, Lee D, McCarthy J, Malecki M. Correlations Of Mortality with Environmental Pollution in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside Areas.
Malecki R, McCarthy J, En-Hsien H, Alva B, Lee D, Eaton P, Quach C, Malecki M. Analysis with Ultra-High Resolution X-Ray Spectral Imaging and Electron Energy Loss Spectral Imaging of Elemental Composition, Geometry, and Size of Nanoparticles Polluting Environment.
Dr. Vishwanath Venketaraman has had a chapter accepted for publication in the book under the working title: “AIDS/BOOK1”, ISBN 978-953-308-85-1.
Dr. Gregory McQueen, PhD, COMP Senior Executive Associate Dean, conducted grand rounds at Beverly Hospital on March 18 as part of their continuing education monthly lecture series. In attendance were some 70 physicians and medical staff. Dr. McQueen’s focus was “Improving Quality of Clinical & Organizational Ethics.”
Joseph C. Gambone, DO, MPH, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at COMP, is the co-author of two recently published papers on the vascular effects of nitric oxide (NO). The first article was published in Fertility and Sterility in December 2010 and reviews “NO’s role in erectile and vascular function in men.” The second article, “The Link Between Erectile and Cardiovascular Health: The Canary in the Coal Mine,” was just accepted by the American Journal of Cardiology. Another co-author is UCLA researcher Louis J. Ignarro, PhD, who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1998 for his work on elucidating the role of NO on vascular function.
Gail Singer-Chang, PsyD, Kay Kalousek, DO, Jerry Thrush, PhD, and Scott Helf, DO, MSIT, received an AACOM Mini-Grant for their study titled “Analysis of the Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Osteopathic Medical Student Performance and Success.”
From the College of Allied Health Professions:
Department of Physical Therapy Education News
Assistant Professor Janet Konecne, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS, will be performing at the La Mirada Center for the Performing Arts at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 2. The annual POPS concert will feature the “Wild Wild West,” with selections from such composers as Copland, Rogers and Hammerstein, Williams, Bernstein and more. Dr. Konecne, an established expert in physical therapy for performing artists, plays principal bassoon with the La Mirada Symphony Orchestra. More information on this and future performances is available at www.lamiradasymphony.com.
From the College of Pharmacy:
Kudos on accomplishments
Dr. Cynthia Jackevicius has published yet another high impact article, this time in Journal of the American Medical Association (Journal Citation Reports Impact Factor: 28.899); outlining the differences in prescribing and utilization patterns of fibrates between Canada and the U.S.
Dr. Daniel Carreon is College of Pharmacy Class of 2010 graduate.
Dr. Jackevicius has previously published three original research articles in the New England Journal of Medicine. Recently, an article that she and her resident Dr. Tina Liu, published, “A Review of the Clopidogrel and Proton Pump Inhibitor Interaction” in the March 2010 issue of Pharmacotherapy was the most downloaded article in the past year.
Dr. Anandi Law’s recent fellow, Dr. Amir Zargarzadeh, is first author on a paper co-authored by Dr. Law, “Design and test of preference for a new prescription medication label.” Int J Clin Pharm. 2011 Mar 12; [Epub ahead of print]
In this study, a new prescription label was designed that added a table for times of administration, warnings to the label (took off aux labels) and indications. This is the first attempt to test a new label with a large sample size.
Dr. Quang Le published an article in Medical Care (ranked among the top journals in health services research). Le QA, Doctor JN. Probabilistic Mapping of Descriptive Health Status Responses onto Health-State Utilities using Bayesian Networks: An Empirical Analysis converting SF-12 into EQ-5D Utility Index in a National U.S. Sample. Medical Care 2011. Published Ahead-of-Print. http://journals.lww.com/lww-medicalcare/Abstract/publishahead/Probabilistic_Mapping_of_Descriptive_Health_Status.99609.aspx
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Sixth Annual College of Veterinary Medicine Open House
The College of Veterinary Medicine will once again throw open its doors to the community during its sixth annual Open House, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 2, on the campus’ Esplanade between Palomares Street and HEC. For more information, including scout registration and directions, please click here.
Kudos on accomplishments
Assistant Professor Suzie Kovacs recently presented the need for “diversity climate” surveys among U.S. veterinary students and educators. Her presentation before the assembled audience at the spring conference of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges during the annual diversity symposium served as an introduction to the surveys which should be sent out later this spring. The AAVMC brings together leaders in veterinary education for the purpose of sharing information and promoting collaborations both national and international.
“Climate Surveys and the U.S. Veterinary Colleges: What’s on the Horizon,” presented by Dr. Paige Carmichael, University of Georgia, and Suzie Kovacs, Western University of Health Sciences. March 11, 2011. AAVMC Annual Conference and 18th Iverson Bell Symposium, Alexandria, Va.
From the College of Podiatric Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
Lester J. Jones, DPM, MS, Executive Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Podiatric Medicine, Surgery & Biomechanics, received the 2011 American Podiatric Medical Association’s (APMA) Award of Excellence for members during the APMA House of Delegates, held March 20-21, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Click here to read more.
