UW School of Medicine Online News 1-25-08

*****
University of Washington School of Medicine

Online News

Vol. 12, No. 4
Jan. 25, 2008
*****

To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm

*****

This week’s news:

*Bruce Psaty among contributors to recently published AAMC symposium on the science of influence and reciprocity

* David Saunders, professor emeritus of medicine: 1933 - 2008

* UW Mini-Medical School starts Feb. 5

* Wendy Mouradian named director of Regional Initiatives in Dental Education

* Gerald Pollack in bioengineering to discuss his groundbreaking research on the unusual properties of water in the annual UW Faculty Lecture Jan. 30


*****

PSATY AMONG CONTRIBUTORS TO AAMC FINDINGS ON SCIENCE OF INFLUENCE

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has recently published the findings of a 2007 symposium on the science of influence and reciprocity. The publication summarizes the latest evidence from neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics on how gifts, favors, and influence affect objectivity. It includes a discussion of research findings on unconscious bias and unwitting conflicts of interest.

Bruce Psaty, UW professor of medicine and epidemiology, a noted researcher on the safety and effectiveness of commonly used prescription medications, was among the 10 speakers at the symposium. The AAMC and Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Neurosciences and its Computational Psychiatry Unit sponsored the symposium, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trust. Copies of the publication may be downloaded for free at:
http://www.aamc.org/publications


*****

DAVID SAUNDERS, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF MEDICINE: 1933 - 2008

David Saunders, professor emeritus of medicine and former head of the Division of Gastroenterology, died Tuesday after a battle with lymphoma. He was 74.

Saunders joined the UW faculty as an instructor in 1965, and was promoted to professor of medicine in 1976. He earned his undergraduate degree at Princeton University in New Jersey and his medical degree at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He completed his medical residency and gastroenterology fellowship at Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, and research fellowships at the Royal Free Hospital in London and at the UW.

He served for many years as the chair of HuBio 551, the course on gastroenterology for second-year medical students. Saunders was an exceptional individual, said Dr. Paul Ramsey, dean of the UW School of Medicine, and his course was one of most highly rated in the history of the school. He was named Teacher Superior in Perpetuity after receiving the School of Medicine Distinguished Teaching Award four times. He was a consummate teacher, physician, and scientist, and a truly wonderful person, Ramsey said, and his death is a great loss for us all.


*****

UW MINI-MEDICAL SCHOOL BEGINS FEB. 5

The UW community and the general public are invited to UW Mini-Medical School, Tuesdays, Feb. 5 through March 11, from 7-9 p.m. The six evenings of lectures and demonstrations will give participants a glimpse into medical education, research and clinical care at UW Medicine.

This year's hosts will be Joann Elmore, professor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, adjunct professor of epidemiology, and head of General Internal Medicine at Harborview Medical Center, and Hugh Foy, professor of surgery and director of the Surgical Specialties Clinic at Harborview Medical Center.

Seating is limited and registration is filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration deadline is Thursday, Jan. 31. In lieu of a registration fee, a donation to UW Medicine is appreciated. For more information, to register or to make a donation online, call 206-685-9420 or visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/minimed/


*****

MOURADIAN NAMED DIRECTOR OF REGIONAL DENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM

Wendy Mouradian, clinical professor of medicine and dentistry, has been appointed director of the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE). The program is a strategic expansion of the UW School of Dentistry in conjunction with Eastern Washington University, designed to help meet the oral health needs of rural and underserved communities in the Northwest. RIDE will create regional training sites in areas lacking dental schools by partnering with regional universities, dentists and dental associations, community health centers and others.

To minimize costs and provide interdisciplinary training opportunities, the RIDE program will be initiated in conjunction with Washington State University's new WWAMI program in Spokane. The WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) program is the UW School of Medicine's program for regional medical education in the Northwest. RIDE will also work with other health professional "pipeline" programs to encourage the recruitment of dental students from rural and underserved areas. For more information, visit:
http://www.washington.edu/ride


*****

POLLACK TO DISCUSS PECULIAR PROPERTIES OF WATER IN ANNUAL UW FACULTY LECTURE

Gerald Pollack, UW professor of bioengineering, will discuss his research on the unusual properties of water in the 32nd annual UW Faculty Lecture next Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. in Kane Hall, Room 130. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Pollack's lecture, Water, Energy and Life: Fresh Views From The Water's Edge, will cover his work examining the basic properties of water, which he says is not well understood. People have long known that water is different from other liquids. Pollack has been working on a revolutionary new theory that water isn't quite a liquid. In many cases -- in the neighborhood of electrically charged, or water-loving, surfaces -- it's more like a gel, or a liquid crystal.

Pollack's research has shown that near a charged surface, water molecules line up in a crystal-like manner in a layer up to 1 million molecules wide -- more than 10,000 times wider than previously believed. His work on the properties of water could do more than change science textbooks, however. It could also affect studies from cell biology to cloud formation, and might even explain how oceanic depressions can swallow up ships at sea.

For more information about Pollack's research, visit:
http://uwnews.org/uweek/uweekarticle.asp?articleID=39228


*****

Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu

Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.

*****