This Week@WesternU, Nov. 19-21, 2018
#GivingTuesday is November 27, 2018
Participate in WesternU’s #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. You and other alumni, faculty, staff, and current students are invited to make a gift to WesternU on #GivingTuesday. Spread the word by following WesternU and/or your favorite college on your personal social media accounts (Instagram and Facebook). Look out for our series of inspirational video clips and show your support for WesternU by sharing, forwarding emails, and engaging face-to-face with others about making a donation to WesternU on #GivingTuesday.
For more information, please visit https://www.westernu.edu/givingtuesday/
Click here to watch a #GivingTuesday video from COMP’s Carla Kavanaugh:
https://www.facebook.com/WesternUAlumni/videos/1066025046904203/
Houston-Brown to join WesternU as VP-CTO
Veteran university administrator Clive Houston-Brown, EdD, will join Western University of Health Sciences in 2019 in the newly created position of Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
Houston-Brown, currently Vice President for Human Resources, Information Technology, Facilities and Safety at the University of La Verne (ULV), will undertake his new position at WesternU effective February 1, 2019, following a transition period from his duties at ULV.
Click here to read the full story.
FACE-ing Autism with Integrated and Innovative Approaches
9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018 on the first floor of the Health Education Center.
Faculty for Autism Collaboration and Education (FACE) will hold a special holiday event featuring Special Santa, who is sensitive to children with special needs. This event will feature a renowned special education and integrative therapy expert, WesternU’s own Dr. Denise Schilling. Dr. Schilling is a highly skilled physical therapist with training in Sensory Integration, ABA, and Special Education. She creatively combines approaches to better meet the needs of individual patients. She will be joined by Dr. Yawen Peng, a special needs dental expert. They will describe fun games they are developing to encourage dental care. Resources will be shared, and WesternU dental students will provide oral hygiene instructions, dental desensitization, nutritional counseling, and free dental supplies. Additional information about FACE can be found at www.westernu.edu/face.
Click here to view a flier.
Kudos on accomplishments
An interprofessional WesternU team had a paper accepted for publication in Optometry and Vision Science. “Differences in Oculomotor Function between Children with Sensory Processing Disorder and Typical Development,” by College of Optometry Assistant Professor Kimberly Walker (lead author), OD, FCOVD, College of Health Sciences Emerita Professor of Physical Therapy Education Donna Redman-Bentley (PI), PT, PhD, College of Optometry Director of Community Outreach Kristy Remick-Waltman, OD, FCOVD, and College of Health Sciences Associate Professor Dayle Armstrong, PT, MS, DPT.
4th Annual Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest
Noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11 on the Esplanade near the Bookstore. Show off your best “ugly holiday sweater” for a chance to win a bookstore gift card. Awards will be given to the funniest, most creative and most festive sweaters.
Click here to view a flier.
Free Eye Movement Simulator app available to all WesternU students and employees
Western University of Health Sciences’ 3D Educational Technologies is launching its Eye Movement Simulator (SimEye), a realistic 3D mobile app that simulates the movement of extraocular muscles (EOMs) and pupillary responses. The mobile app simulates the physical examination of EOMs and pathologies can be reproduced in the simulator by using simple checkboxes to activate or deactivate the individual extraocular muscles and cranial nerves that control them. The realistic rendering in 3D provides pupillary responses, as well as blinking by the eyelids.
The SimEye will soon be available as a paid app in all app stores. But WesternU students and employees can download the app for free and also become part of its development. Everyone who uses the app is encouraged to click on the “Feedback” icon on the bottom right.
To download to your mobile device or tablet click in this link https://edtech.westernu.edu/es2. You will be asked to complete a short survey before downloading the app.
Click here to get a preview of the Eye Movement Simulator story that will appear in the upcoming edition of WesternU View magazine: https://magazines.westernu.edu/westernu-introduces-eye-movement-simulator/
If you have questions about the SimEye, please email the 3D Educational Technologies team at gamesupport@westernu.edu.
From the Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences:
WesternU professor publishes paper on the most complete enantiornithine bird fossil from North America
A 75-million-year-old bird skeleton from a threatened national monument in Utah represents the most complete example ever found in North America of a long-extinct group of birds called enantiornithines. This large, fossilized bird provides important new insight into the evolution of flight. It has several advanced adaptations for flying, which show that the Enantiornithes evolved these features separately from living birds.
“The most complete enantiornithine from North America and a phylogenetic analysis of the Avisauridae” by Jessie Atterholt, J. Howard Hutchinson and Jingmai K. O’Connor, was published Nov. 13, 2018, in PeerJ. Western University of Health Sciences Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences Assistant Professor Jessie Atterholt, PhD, is the lead author.
Click here to read the article at PeerJ: https://peerj.com/articles/5910
Click here to read the full story.
The article has been picked up by several publications and websites, including National Geographic.
Kudos on accomplishments
Dr. Michel Baudry, Dr. Xiaoning Bi and their collaborators published a new manuscript titled “Enhancement of synaptic plasticity and reversal of impairments in motor and cognitive functions in a mouse model of Angelman Syndrome by a small neurogenic molecule, NSI-189” in Neuropharmacology. The paper can be viewed at https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Y40I6T90ezVF. Liu, Y., Johe, K., Sun, J., Hao, X., Wang, Y., Bi, X. and Baudry, M. Enhancement of synaptic plasticity and reversal of impairments in motor and cognitive functions in a mouse model of Angelman Syndrome by a small neurogenic molecule, NSI-189. Neuropharmacology 2019, 144: 337-344.
Dr. Baudry was an invited speaker at the Neuroscience Institute in Bordeaux, Oct. 4, 2018.
From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:
COMP professor co-authors ICHOM Diabetes Standard Set
COMP Director of the Department of Population Health and Professor of Internal Medicine Andrew S. Pumerantz, DO, FACP, was one of 28 Working Group members who collaborated on the Diabetes Standard Set released by the International Consortium of Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) on #WorldDiabetesDay.
The set defines outcomes that matter most to adults living with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which the ICHOM Diabetes Working Group recommends health care providers measure in order to achieve patient-centered and value-based care.
Click here to read more on the ICHOM website.
To download the Reference Guide and Flyer for free, visit: https://www.ichom.org/medical-conditions/diabetes/
Kudos on accomplishments
Matt Wedel, PhD, of COMP and CPM gave an invited lecture at Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Nov. 16, titled, “My pet dinosaurs.”
Brion Benninger, MD, MSc, Professor, Executive Director, Medical Anatomy Center, presented on Exponential Technologies, Innovative Imaging, and his Deconstruction-Reconstruction Anatomy Theory at the invitation of professors Keiichi Akita, MD, and T. Sato, MD, from Tokyo Medical & Dental Universities (TMDU) during a three-day visit to Japan in October 2018. Professor Akita is Chair of the Department of Clinical Anatomy and President of Japanese Research Society of Clinical Anatomy. Professor T. Sato MD, recent Dean of Medical School TMDU. Dr. Benninger was extremely honored and acknowledged the important clinical anatomy worldwide contributions Japanese academic institution have made.
Volunteers with Type 2 Diabetes needed for WesternU study
COMP Professor Vishwanath Venketaraman, PhD, is the Principal Investigator for a study on glutathione (GSH) restoration effects of oral liposomal GSH (LRG) treatment in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) for a three-month period of time. Glutathione, a natural antioxidant has been shown to improve immune responses against known pathogens such as tuberculosis. Eligible study subjects are T2DM positive individuals between 21 to 65 years old with HbA1c levels between 7-10. Blood will be drawn three times (pre-screening, before, and after the study). Blood draws take about 10-15 minutes. Study supplements could possibly cause headaches, a minor level of digestive or intestinal discomfort, but we expect this to be of minimal or undetectable discomfort. There might be a mild pricking pain associated with the blood draw (50 ml).
Volunteers will receive $100 cash for their complete participation in the study. This compensation will be paid in four installments of $25.
Click here for complete information.
For more information, contact Dr. Venketaraman at 909-706-3736 or vvenketaraman@westernu.edu.
From the College of Graduate Nursing:
Kudos on accomplishments
CGN Assistant Dean Dr. Ivy Tuason and Assistant Professor Dr. Ruth Trudgeon, Community Coordinator M. Guillaume, MSNE students K. Hodge, C. Delda, H. Brown, C. Davis, Y. Andrade and J. Kuo and UrbanMission’s Director of Community Wellness Ministries Stephen Patten did a poster presentation of their project “Comprehensive Community Pantry” in UCLA/Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity’s 20th Annual Health Equity symposium. The project, made possible through a program seed award by UCLA/Kaiser Permanente, expands UrbanMission’s current food pantry to address upstream social determinants by improving access to healthy food, hygiene supplies, school supplies, clothing, and basic health services. The project’s goals are not only to improve physical health but also promote self-empowerment, self confidence and self-esteem in the vulnerable members of the Pomona community.
MSNE student Yesenia Andrade is the recipient of the National Hispanic Health Foundation 2018 Hispanic Health Professional Student Scholarship award. This award is given to health profession students who exhibit exceptional academic performance, leadership and commitment to their Hispanic communities.
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
CVM Associate Professor Babak Faramarzi, and his team recently published a manuscript in Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research titled “Hematological and serum biochemical profile values in pregnant and non-pregnant mares in California.” Co-authors include Dr. Rich from Antech Diagnostics Inc., and former GCBS student Jolan Wu, currently a third-year DO candidate. The collaboration was supported by the equine industry.
From the College of Optometry:
Kudos on accomplishments
College of Optometry Assistant Professor Naveen Yadav, BS Optom, MS, PhD, FAAO, published “Efferent-Based Oculomotor Dysfunctions in Chronic Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI): Diagnostic and Treatment Aspects” in the professional journal Brain Injury. Click here to view the publication: https://issuu.com/braininjuryprofessional/docs/bip_november_2018
There are many efferent-based, oculomotor deficits are present in the patient with chronic mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)/concussion. Fortunately, all of these vision deficits can be remediated, at least to some extent, by the range of neuro-optometric treatment options available. By doing so, it would facilitate patients achieving their vocational and avocational goals. Lastly, many of these deficits may also act as objective, vision-based biomarkers for the early identification of mTBI/concussion, a valuable and lofty clinical goal.”
