This Week@WesternU, Oct. 5-9, 2015
College of Dental Medicine Dean becomes WesternU’s Interim Provost
College of Dental Medicine (CDM) Dean Steven W. Friedrichsen, DDS, is now Interim Provost of Western University of Health Sciences. He will also maintain his duties as CDM dean.
Friedrichsen will serve as interim provost on a part-time basis, taking over some of the duties of Provost and Chief Operating Officer Gary M. Gugelchuk, PhD, who took on the role of Interim President when Founding President Philip Pumerantz retired Sept. 8, 2015. Click here to read more.
A Tribute to Caring
WesternU will hold its annual fundraising gala “A Tribute to Caring” Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California. Molina Healthcare, Inc. will receive WesternU’s Access to Caring Award for making a difference in advancing health care access and availability to underserved people. “A Tribute to Caring” raises money for student scholarships. Click here to visit the ATC website for more information.
WesternU to hold Casino Night
Western University of Health Sciences will hold a Casino Night at 7 p.m. Saturday, October 24, 2015 in the Meritage Room of the Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, California 91768.
Casino Night is a university-wide event that will bring together the entire campus for a night to connect with alumni, faculty, staff and students. All proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships will go directly toward student scholarships.
To purchase tickets, please click here. For more information about this event, please visit our website at www.westernu.edu/casinonight or contact Austin Braunwalder at 909-469-8495, abraunwalder@westernu.edu, or Danielle Katayama at 909-469-5436, dkatayama@westernu.edu.
From Faculty for Autism Collaboration & Education (FACE):
WesternU at sea
Two episodes of FACE’s “Autism Intersection” show will be featured in a new collaboration between The Autism Channel and Royal Caribbean cruises.
Royal Caribbean International will be the first in the hospitality industry to offer complimentary on-demand access to exclusive content from The Autism Channel onboard most of its ships. Starting in late October 2015, this new offering enhances the cruise line’s highly successful Autism Friendly program, designed to provide inclusive cruise vacation experiences for families living with autism and other developmental disabilities.
The Autism Channel informed FACE that these two episodes will be featured: Direct from WesternU, Episode 3: Denise Schilling, PT, PhD, shows how physical therapy is crucial in autism therapies. She is also trained in ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and sensory integration — two schools of thought that are normally on opposing ends. Watch how she incorporates both in her therapy sessions.
Direct from WesternU, Episode 6: In this segment, a physical therapist works with a special needs dentist in order to help decrease oral and tactile defensiveness among patients with autism and reduce their anxiety related to dental care.
Click here to read more.
From the College of Allied Health Professions:
Happy National PA Week
National PA Week takes place each year from Oct. 6–12 to celebrate the profession and its contributions to the nation’s health. Before it was a weeklong event, National PA Day was first celebrated on October 6, 1987, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class of Physician Assistants (PAs) from the Duke University PA program. October 6 is also the birthday of the profession’s founder, Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD. For more on the profession’s history, visit the PA History Society.
America’s more than 100,000 certified PAs are a powerful force for better health for millions of patients across the country. Consistently recognized as one of the fastest-growing professions, PAs were ranked the most promising job of 2015 by Forbes.com. Because of PAs, the healthcare system is stronger and more patients get access to high-quality, cost-effective care. Because of PAs, we celebrate National PA Week!
From the College of Veterinary Medicine:
Kudos on accomplishments
Dr. Greg Brennan was recently notified that his paper was highlighted in the October edition of the Fred Hutch Science Spotlight. In the article summary, Dr. Brennan was identified as a faculty member of WesternU CVM. The link is http://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/spotlight/imports/a24r-and-a35r-help-vaccinia-play-the-genetic-accordion.html.
Dr. Chandru Charavaryamath was an equal contributing first author on a paper, “Evaluation of inhibition of F4ac positive Escherichia coli attachment with xanthine dehydrogenase, butyrophilin, lactadherin and fatty acid binding protein.” The research paper was published in the BMC Veterinary Research journal.
Dr. Brian Oakley was part of a team that recently sequenced the genome of a novel bacterial strain in the genus Compylobacter. The team, led by Dr. Rick Meinersmann from the USDA Agricultural Research Service with other members from the CDC in Atlanta, combined optical mapping, 454 pyrosequencing, and PacBio long read sequencing technologies to complete the genome sequence. The announcement of the sequence is titled “The Genome Sequence of a Urease-positive Campylobacter lari” and will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal GenomeA published by the American Society for Microbiology.
From University Advancement:
San Miguel Association Medical Scholarship Fund
The San Miguel Association Medical Scholarship Fund at the San Diego Foundation has made a gift of $90,458 supporting scholarships in COMP. Through this fund, the Foundation has supported COMP for many years and with the addition of this gift its giving has well surpassed $1 million.
Alumni news
Don’t forget to RSVP for the WesternU Receptions at these upcoming conferences:
Oct. 9 – California Academy of Physician Assistants’ Annual Conference in Palm Springs: https://westernu-capa.eventbrite.com
Oct. 9 – American Academy of Optometry’s Academy 2015 Meeting in New Orleans: https://westernu-aao.eventbrite.com
Oct. 9 – California Society for Health-System Pharmacists’ Annual Seminar in San Diego: http://2015-cshp-reception.eventbrite.com
Oct. 19 – American Osteopathic Association’s OMED Convention in Orlando: https://westernu-omed2015.eventbrite.com
From the Pumerantz Library:
National Medical Librarians Month
October is National Medical Librarians Month (NMLM). To celebrate NMLM the librarians of the Pumerantz Library want you to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse. To help you get prepared we have the following displays and events planned:
Zombie Survival Prep improvised defense weapons display – all month long, Museum.
10 C’s of Survival display – all month long – second floor stairwell.
On campus interlibrary loan office delivery – all month long.
Screening of Zombieland, 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in the library’s fourth floor conference room. Please register.
We will also offer the following training sessions in the library’s J and K Virtual Reality Learning Center for faculty, staff and students. Each class has a limit of 20 participants.
Noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 8. Please register
5-6 p.m. Oct. 14. Please register
Noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 20. Please register
Our perennial favorite events will make a comeback:
Fine Free Friday – Oct. 16 (this is only for new fines, current outstanding fines don’t count).
Halloween photo contest, take a picture in your Halloween costume with the library in the background and submit with the following #PumerantzHalloween on Oct. 30-31 @pumerantzlib or Facebook.
Halloween “trick or trick” at the library first and second floor desks – Oct. 30-31.
If you have any questions please contact 909-469-5323 ask for Reference or email reference@westernu.edu for more information.
