This Week@WesternU, Sept. 3-6, 2013

Vision and health seminar to be held at WesternU

The community is invited to a free vision and health seminar from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013 at Western University of Health Sciences, Health Education Center, Lecture Hall 1, 795 E. Second St., Pomona, CA 91766.

The seminar, presented by the Foundation Fighting Blindness and WesternU, will feature valuable information on macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, stem cell research, dental health, diabetes, pharmacy, podiatric medicine and vision rehabilitation. Click here to view the full story. Click here to view a flier.

WesternU to hold free health clinic Sept. 6, 2013

Western University of Health Sciences will hold a free medical clinic from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, 2013 in the Mendoza Center Auditorium, 851 S. Hamilton Blvd., Pomona, Calif. 91766.

Patients will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. WesternU’s Pomona Community Health Action Team (PCHAT) will provide free physical wellness exams – full physical exam, blood pressure, glucose tests and BMI calculation.

Click here to view a flier. Contact PCHAT@westernu.edu if you have questions.

From the Patient Care Center:

As children head back to school after the summer break, the Eye Care Center (ECC) at Western University of Health Sciences reminds parents that good vision is critical to learning.

The ECC is giving away a limited number of backpacks filled with school supplies as an incentive to bring your child in for a comprehensive eye examination. August is Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month.

Click here for more information.

Medication disposal event

The Pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences wants to help you remove unused or outdated medications from your home. The Pharmacy will hold a free medication disposal event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. The Pharmacy is on the first floor of WesternU’s Patient Care Center, 795 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif. Click here to view a flier.

From the College of Allied Health Professions:

Department of Physical Therapy Education News

Associate Professor/Recruitment and Alumni Liaison Georgeanne Vlad, PT, MA, recently had an abstract accepted for presentation at the 7th International Conference on Communication in Veterinary Medicine (ICCVM) to be held in November in St. Louis, Mo. The presentation “Comparison of Medical Empathy Scores Between Veterinary and Nursing Students” is a result of ongoing collaborative research with Dr. Beth Boynton and Professor Suzie Kovacs from CVM, and Dr. Richard Sugerman from COMP. The ICCVM is the annual conference of the International Veterinary Communication Institute, which represents a community of professionals whose collective goal is to enhance communication in veterinary medicine for patients, clients, and veterinarians.

From the College of Pharmacy:

Dr. Gollapudi Shankar published the following article in the Journal of Autocoids: Shankar GS, Yuan C (2013) Effects of 5HT2c Blockade of Dibenzodiazepines on Thyroid Levels in Patients with Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder. Autacoids 2:102. doi: 10.4172/2161-0479.1000102.

Dr. Shankar served as an invited speaker at The World congress on Endocrinology 2013 at Raleigh, North Carolina, on August 25, 2013; presenting on “Track level 11-Metabolism and Thyroid Gland- Role of 5HT2c receptor in Metabolic Syndrome, Clinical and Subclinical Hypothyroidism in patients with Schizophrenia.”

He also presented a poster at the same conference: “Effects of 5HT2c Blockade of Dibenzodiazepines on Thyroid Levels in Patients with Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder.”

Dr. Sheryl Chow has been appointed Chair of the writing committee for the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Statement on the Role of Biomarkers for the Prevention, Assessment, and Management of Heart Failure. The statement is expected to be published in Circulation within the next year.

Dr. Doreen Pon presented a Research Platform Presentation at the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association Annual Meeting in Los Angeles in March 2013; this abstract was one of only four selected as a platform. Eun-Ah Cho and Doreen Pon “Management of Drug Interaction between Posaconazole and Sirolimus in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Recipients.”

Dr. Pon presented a second Platform Presentation at the Multinational Association of Supportive Cancer Care/International Society of Oral Oncology International Symposium on Supportive Care in Cancer in Berlin, Germany in June 2013. At this conference, only 26 out of 800 abstracts were selected as platform presentations. This presentation received coverage in the July 2013 issue of Pharmacy Practice News in an article, “Posaconazole and Sirolimus Not Always a Bad Mix.” Jennifer Joo and Doreen Pon. “Hand-Foot Syndrome in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Patients: Effect of Etoposide, Total Body Irradiation and Palifermin.” EunAh and Jennifer Joo are 2012 WesternU PharmD graduates.

From the College of Veterinary Medicine:

Veterinary Professor and equine internal medicine specialist Dr. Joe Bertone recently received confirmation that his invited clinical commentary titled “Accidental zilpaterol toxicity, food for thought” concerning the case report titled “Treatment and resolution of zilpaterol hydrochloride toxicity in a Quarter Horse gelding” has been accepted for publication in the journal Equine Veterinary Education.

Veterinary Associate Professor Dr. Suzana Tkalcic has co-authored and original research manuscript titled “Fertility issues in Simmental cows in Central Croatia: a 5-year study.” The purpose of this study was to establish the fertility trends in dairy cows in Central Croatia and compare the trends and causes of infertility and subfertility during a five-year period.

College of Veterinary Medicine Assistant Professor Dr. Jijun Hao recently published a book chapter titled “Molecular Mechanisms of Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency” in the text “Pluripotent Stem Cells.”

In this chapter, the authors reviewed the signaling pathways and transcription factors critical for Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency, and deeply elucidated an emerging field of “naïve embryonic stem cells,” and provided some prospect view of future field direction. Click here to view the chapter.

Veterinary faculty Drs.Yvonne Drechsler, Suzana Tkalcic, Miguel D. Saggese and Ellen Collisson, working collaboratively with researchers in California and Texas, published an article titled “A DNA Vaccine Expressing ENV and GAG Offers Partial Protection against Reticuloendotheliosis virus in the Prairie Chicken (Tympanicus Cupido).” The paper explores the development of a vaccine against reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV), an avian oncogenic gammaretrovirus, affecting the endangered Attwater’s prairie chicken (Tympanicus cupido attwateri). Click here to view the article.

College of Veterinary Medicine Associate Professor Dr. Miguel Saggese recently published an article titled “Parental care and time-activity budget of a breeding pair of Black-chested Buzzard-Eagles (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) in Southern Patagonia, Argentina.”

College of Veterinary Medicine Associate Professor Dr. Lyon Lee recently published an article titled “Evaluation of risk factors for development of corneal ulcer after nonocular surgery in dogs: 14 cases (2009–2011).” This retrospective study described the incidence and risk factors including duration of anesthesia, small sized skull and use of a fentanyl patch for the development of peri-operative corneal ulcers after non-ocular surgery under general anesthesia in dogs. Finding from the study led to reassess current peri-operative eye protection strategies and post-operative ophthalmic examination in order to better reduce corneal ulcer and their progression, especially for high risk dogs and procedures. Click here to view the article.

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Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif. 91766

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