This Week@WesternU, Oct. 12-15, 2010

Announcements

“Our Body” a success

WesternU co-sponsored an exhibit on human anatomy at the Los Angeles County Fair, which ran Sept. 4 to Oct. 3. “Our Body: The Universe Within” attracted about 75,000 visitors.

From the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific:

Kudos on accomplishments

Dr. Elizabeth Rega, Associate Professor of Anatomy and Director of Strategic Alliances and Special Projects, presented a research seminar at the L.A. County Museum of Natural History on Pathology in ancient and fossil animals on Oct. 7. Her lab is preparing three dinosaur bones for exhibit in the new hall of dinosaurs to be opened in January 2011 at the LACM. This involves cutting and grinding sections of the bones to show bone microstructure and growth.

Dr. Rega led a field trip on primates Zoo for Dreamworks Studios for an upcoming feature film on Oct. 6. On Sept. 21, she lectured and demonstrated on human locomotion for Blizzard Studios in Irvine, the creators of World of Warcraft and other popular multiplayer online games. She will continue to do artist development work on anatomy and function for Blizzard Studios this year.

Dr. Brian Kraatz, Department of Anatomy, recently gave an invited seminar to Pomona College’s Department of Geology titled “Paleogene fossils of Asia: an emerging story of mammalian evolution.”

Associate Professor of Physiology Edward J. Wagner published a review article titled “Framework for sex differences in adolescent neurobiology: A focus on cannabinoids” in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. This article published in collaboration with colleagues from Complutense University and The Cajal Institute in Spain. Click here to view the uncorrected galley proof.

Dr. Wagner also just returned from Tulsa, Okla., where he gave a seminar presentation titled “Sex differences in, and estrogenic influences on, the cannabinoid regulation of energy homestasis” on Friday, Oct. 1 to the College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Graduate Program of Biomedical Sciences at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences.

Dr. Vicki Wedel of COMP and the College of Dental Medicine along with collaborator Dr. Ken Hermsen of Creighton University’s School of Dentistry have been awarded the 2010 American Society for Forensic Odontology Research Grant to continue their work on using human teeth to determine season at death.

From the College of Allied Health Professions:

Department of Physician Assistant Education News

On Sept. 29, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 1069 into law. SB 1069, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2011, will allow PAs to perform the following, unless otherwise indicated in the physician assistant’s Delegation of Services Agreement:

Order Durable Medical Equipment for purposes of Medicare billing; approve, sign, modify, or add to a plan of treatment or plan of care for home health services; certify that certain school district employees, including educators at community colleges, are free from communicable diseases for purposes of employment; provide the statement attesting to the need of an Epi-pen to be carried by pupils while at school; order medications and provide the statement attesting to the need for medications to be available to a student during school hours; certify the parent’s request to waive a school-based visual acuity test; perform physical examinations required for participation in interscholastic athletic programs; certify the needs of an individual who has been diagnosed by a physician and surgeon as being deaf or hearing impaired to retain a telecommunications device for the deaf or hearing impaired.

This past weekend, the California Academy of Physician Assistants (CAPA) held its annual conference in Palm Springs, Calif. PA faculty members Roy Guizado, Tim Wood, Monica Adams, Brian Tessier, Nancy Nielsen-Brown, and Miguel Medina all provided CAPA with leadership and education at the conference. Several WesternU alumni attended the conference. Jennifer Baltazar, PA-S, ’11 is CAPA’s Student Representative.

The Saturday night Alumni Reception at the CAPA conference provided a fun meeting place for all the alumni. A special thanks to Russel Heskin, from Alumni Affairs, for sponsoring the reception. Everyone enjoyed a good time.

Congratulations to the PA 2012 class for sponsoring a very nice PA day on Oct. 6. They were able to share with the rest of the University what PAs are all about. Thanks to everyone who made the day a success.

Department of Physical Therapy Education News

Professor David Selkowitz, PT, PhD, OCS, DAAPM, gave a podium presentation on “Using Fine-Wire Versus Surface electrodes to Quantify the Amplitude of the EMG Signal of Hip Musculature during Therapeutic Exercise” at the recent California Physical Therapy Association (CPTA) Annual Conference held in Oakland. This two-day event was attended by more than 900 professionals from throughout the state.

From the College of Pharmacy:

Kudos on accomplishments

Two Class of 2013 Doctor of Pharmacy candidates have had articles published in the Summer Edition of the California Pharmacist.

Annie Song authored the article, “Running an Independent Pharmacy with Multiple Specialties,” and Youkavet Samih co-authored an article with Dr. Edith Mirizian, University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, titled “Collaborative Care.”

Dr. Olivia Phung worked on an AHRQ project last year with the UConn and Hartford Hospital Evidence-based Practice Center. This work has been published online this week. Its results were featured in the LA Times http://www.latimes.com/health/hc-uconn-cystic-fibrosis-hormone-20101004,0,3626446.story.

The full report is available here.

Phung OJ, Coleman CI, Baker EL, Scholle JM, Girotto JE, Makanji SS, Chen WT, Talati R, Kluger J, Quercia R, Mather J, Giovenale S, White CM. Effectiveness of Recombinant Human Growth Hormone (rhGH) in the Treatment of Patients With Cystic Fibrosis. Comparative Effectiveness Review No. 23. (Prepared by the University of Connecticut/Hartford Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-2007-10067-I) AHRQ Publication No. 11-EHC003. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. October 2010.

The corresponding manuscript for this report has also been published online at Pediatrics.

Congratulations to Dr. Janice Hoffman on her recent publication in The Consultant Pharmacist September 2010 VOL. 25. NO. 9; pp 570-576. Click here to view the article.

From the College of Veterinary Medicine:

Veterinary Anesthesiologist and Assistant Professor Dr. Lyon Lee delivered two presentations at the annual meeting of American College of Veterinary Surgeons in San Antonio, Texas last month.

Dr. Lee collaborated with surgeons at the Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea to present the clinical report titled: “Sprayed Intraperitoneal Bupivacaine to Reduce Early Postoperative Pain and Stress in Laparoscopic Ovariohysterectomy (LOVH) in Dogs.”

Dr. Lee also presented a study developed in collaboration with clinical researchers at Seoul National University, Republic of Korea titled: “Epidural Distribution of Injected Contrast Medium and Dye Differs in Varying Positions in Anesthetized Dogs”

Josh and Friends founder Dr. Randy Lange recognized CVM students, who are part of the Josh and Friends Josh Challenge, as a top fundraiser four out of the last five years during an event at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital (LLUCH) on Oct. 4, 2010.

LLUCH’s Sharon Riesen, MD, championed the event and encouraged everyone to vote once a day during the month of October for Project Josh and Friends Pepsi Refresh Campaign at http://refresheverything.com/joshandfriends. If they get the most votes they can obtain a $50,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Campaign.

To see the story and photo gallery from the event, click here.

From University Advancement:

Alumni reception

The Alumni Office hosted a reception in Oakland on Friday, Oct. 1 at the California Physical Therapy Association’s Annual Conference. The reception was attended by 40 WesternU alumni, students, faculty and friends.

From the Business Center:

The Star-Spangled Banner

Amber Villasenor, the granddaughter of Accounting Associate Dorothy Villasenor, will perform the national anthem at the exhibition game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 22 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario. Click here to read a Press-Enterprise story about Amber.