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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 11, No. 44
Nov. 9, 2007
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm
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MESSAGE FROM DEAN: UW Medicine people garner many honors
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This week’s news:
* Association of American Medical Colleges honors UW's Seymour Klebanoff with Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences
* Body-weight regulation scientists give Science magazine perspective on obesity-related disease research and suggest a more integrative, cell biology approach
* Washington state program offers student-loan repayment for medical professionals working in underserved areas
* WWAMI Regional Partnership Conference brings together educators, researchers, and policy-makers from throughout the Northwest
* Bioengineering researcher Wendy Thomas to discuss tiny adhesive bonds at New Investigator Science in Medicine Lecture, Wednesday, Nov. 14
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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Dear Colleagues:
Our faculty members often receive local, national, and international awards, and it is a pleasure to recognize their accomplishments. In the past two months alone, many individuals at UW Medicine have been recognized by major organizations. In this message, I am delighted to acknowledge several of these individuals for their contributions and to thank one in particular for his mentorship and scientific leadership.
On Oct. 24, Maynard Olson, professor of medicine and of genome sciences, accepted the 2007 Gruber Prize for Genetics at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in San Diego. Olson was awarded this top prize, which includes a gold medal and an unrestricted cash award of $500,000, for groundbreaking work on the yeast genome that paved the way for analysis of the entire human genome. Olson joins two other UW Medicine faculty who have received the award in the past four years: Robert Waterston, professor and chair of genome sciences, and Mary-Claire King, the American Cancer Society professor of medicine and of genome sciences.
Three UW Medicine faculty and two School of Medicine alumni were elected this year to the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Warm congratulations to the following UW Medicine faculty: Wylie Burke, professor and chair of the Department of Medical History and Ethics; Eric B. Larson, clinical professor of medicine and former medical director of UW Medical Center; and Christopher Murray, professor of global health and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. These three talented individuals join 30 other UW Medicine faculty in the prestigious institute.
UW School of Medicine alumni newly elected to the IOM are Leighton Chan, chief of the rehabilitation medicine department at the National Institutes of Health and a UW Medicine faculty member from 1994 to 2006; and Louis Ptacek, the John C. Coleman Distinguished Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. Congratulations also to inductee Edward Wagner, professor of health services in the UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
There is one major national award for teaching excellence in graduate medical education. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) presents the Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award to 10 individuals each year. UW faculty members Karen Horvath and Richard Shugerman are among the 10 people receiving the 2008 Palmer Award. They were honored for their commitment to teaching and development of innovative and effective residency programs. Shugerman, professor of pediatrics, has directed the residency program for the UW Department of Pediatrics since 1992 and has received multiple teaching awards. Horvath, associate professor of surgery, has directed the residency program for the UW Department of Surgery since 2002. These two exceptional individuals join three others from UW Medicine -- Teresa Massagli, Deborah Crowley, and Harold Johnston -- who have received the Palmer Award since it was established by the ACGME six years ago.
For the first time ever, one of our faculty members has received the Award for Distinguished Research given annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). I would like to offer personal thanks as well as congratulations to Seymour Klebanoff, emeritus professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who received the 2007 award. This award, established in 1947, recognizes outstanding clinical or laboratory research by a medical school faculty member. The award was presented at the annual AAMC meeting on Nov. 3 in Washington, D.C.
Seymour Klebanoff has been on the UW faculty for 45 years. During that time, he has distinguished himself through what one nominator called “an enormous and transformative contribution to our current understanding of the biology of inflammation, the biochemistry of innate immunity, and the many biological roles of reactive products of oxygen metabolism.” He was responsible for the revolutionary discovery of the role of peroxidase-dependent antimicrobial systems in the host defense against infection, as well as in the regulation of inflammation-associated host tissue responses. Seymour has received numerous awards for his contributions, including the prestigious Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Infectious Diseases Research.
I have known Seymour since 1978, when I came to Seattle to spend two years in his laboratory as an infectious diseases senior fellow. It quickly became obvious to me that Seymour’s commitment to research and his passion for mentoring others signified a rare gift. I am one of many who can proudly name Seymour as a mentor. This quiet and unassuming individual’s influence is far-ranging: as a mentor and role model and as someone who has accomplished great scientific achievements. Both facets of his success are remarkable, and one complements and completes the other. It is a pleasure and an honor to thank him for all he has done for UW Medicine.
Please join me in congratulating those mentioned in this letter and the large number of other faculty, students, staff, and trainees who are recognized on a regular basis for their contributions to research, education, and patient care. It is a privilege for me to work with such a large number of talented individuals.
Sincerely,
Paul G. Ramsey, M.D.
CEO, UW Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and
Dean of the School of Medicine,
University of Washington
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SEYMOUR KLEBANOFF HONORED WITH AAMC DISTINGUISHED RESEARCH AWARD
Certain white blood cells, called phagocytes, engulf and destroy harmful bacteria. UW faculty member Seymour Klebanoff discovered in 1967 that these cells produce their own antibacterial, an enzyme called myeloperoxidase. This revolutionary discovery changed science's understanding of the body's natural defense mechanisms in fighting infections, advanced knowledge about inflammation, and pointed to the many roles of oxygen metabolism.
On Saturday, Nov. 3, Klebanoff was honored for his lifetime of research excellence and his important findings by the Association of American Medical Colleges at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. He received the association's Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences. He was also recognized for encouraging several generations of physician/scientists to enter the field of infectious disease research.
Because of his initial discovery of the production and action of myeloperoxidase, followed by 40 years of other seminal contributions to uncovering the body's chemical weapons against bacteria and viruses, Klebanoff is considered to be both a pioneer and a continuing leader in studies of the body's infection-fighting immune system. He is the author of more than 200 research papers. His work led to new insights and approaches in the study of cancer, viruses (including HIV), and other infectious diseases.
Klebanoff is now a professor emeritus in medicine, Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and remains active in his field.
He is the past director of two major programs at the UW for training physician scientists: the Research Training Unit and the Medical Scientist Training Program, in which a highly select group of students earn both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees.
Klebanoff received an M.D. with honors from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from University College London. He completed a fellowship in pathological chemistry at the University of Toronto, and an Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation Fellowship at the Rockefeller Institute in New York. He joined the UW School of Medicine faculty in 1962.
He is member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine. He has received the MERIT Award from the National Institutes of Health, the Marie T. Bonazinga Award of the Society for Leukocyte Biology, the Alexander Fleming Award of the Infectious Disease Society, and the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Infectious Disease Research.
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SCIENTISTS GIVE PERSPECTIVE ON OBESITY-RELATED DISEASE STUDIES
The health effects of obesity involve complex interactions between many body organs that can obscure insight into underlying mechanisms, according to a Perspective article on obesity research appearing in the Nov. 9 issue of the journal Science. The authors point to their work and other scientists' findings suggesting that at the cellular level, common underlying defects occur and that a more complete understanding of them might help uncover the causes and consequences of obesity.
The authors of the article, An Integrative View of Obesity, are body-weight regulation researchers Brent Wisse, Francis Kim, and Michael Schwartz. Wisse is an assistant professor of medicine, and Schwartz is a professor of medicine, both in the UW Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition. Kim is an associate professor of medicine, UW Division of Cardiology. All are physicians at Harborview Medical Center, and members of the new UW Medicine Diabetes and Obesity Center, directed by Schwartz.
The authors cited growing evidence that metabolic problems arise when the body's cells have to deal with the excess of nutrients that occurs when the body consumes more energy in food than it burns in activity. This oversupply triggers similar, harmful responses in a variety of cell types: liver, muscle, endothelial, immune cells, and even brain cells.
These reactions lead to cell-damaging oxidative stress, impeded protein production, and a slow-down in mitochondria. All these responses lead to inflammation and can interfere with certain cell signals, such as those involved in insulin action and appetite control. The Science Perspectives authors noted that this illustrates how problems in different organs -- such as heart disease, or diabetes -- might be partly due to a cellular response common in many parts of the body. Studying these ubiquitous underlying mechanisms might ultimately lead, they wrote, to strategies for preventing or treating obesity and the medical problems that accompany it.
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WASHINGTON GRANTED FUNDS FOR PHYSICIAN LOAN REPAYMENT
The Health Resources and Services Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has granted $525,000 to the state of Washington to help pay for the education of health professionals who agree to serve in underserved areas.
The administration last month announced $7 million in grants for programs around the country that fund student-loan repayment for clinicians. The half-million-dollar grant to the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board was the third highest of any state, behind only California and Michigan.
The grants are aimed at increasing the number of primary-care physicians serving in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas. Federal funds for loan repayment are generally given to state health departments or other state agencies, and state and local governments often contribute matching funds or even more to help pay for the program.
The Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board has both loan repayment and scholarship programs for health professionals who are willing to serve in critical shortage areas around the state. The program is available for physicians, physician assistants, licensed nurses, midwives, pharmacists, dentists, and dental hygienists. In return for financial assistance, health professionals agree to work in primary health care in a rural or urban underserved area for at least three years.
For more information about the state's loan repayment and scholarship programs for health professionals, visit:
http://www.hecb.wa.gov/paying/waaidprgm/health.asp
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CONFERENCE BRINGS TOGETHER EDUCATORS AND RESEARCHERS FROM WWAMI REGION
The UW School of Medicine played host for the 2007 WWAMI Regional Partnership Conference this week. The conference brought together educators, researchers, and policy-makers from the five-state WWAMI region: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. The WWAMI medical education program at the UW allows students to split their educational experiences between the Seattle campus and their home state.
The conference allowed people from the WWAMI region to discuss current programs and future directions with students, residents, and faculty members. Conference programs covered issues of dynamic changes in health-care delivery, access to and affordability of health-care, and increasing workforce demands. John Coombs, vice dean for rural health, regional affairs, and graduate medical education, discussed the 36-year history of the WWAMI program. Roger Rosenblatt, professor of family medicine, spoke on the issue of physician shortages. Paul G. Ramsey, dean of the UW School of Medicine, addressed future challenges and opportunities for the WWAMI program.
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BIOENGINEERING'S WENDY THOMAS TO SPEAK AT SCIENCE IN MEDICINE LECTURE
Wendy Thomas, UW assistant professor of bioengineering, will discuss her research on tiny mechanical bonds and their medical applications in the New Investigator Science in Medicine Lecture next week. Her lecture will be held from noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 14, in Hogness Auditorium, Room A-420 of the UW Health Sciences Center.
Thomas studies catch bonds, which become stronger when stretched by mechanical forces but relax and detach when the force lets up. Her work is aimed at developing nano-sized adhesives that could be used for medical applications, such as drug delivery or medical robotics. Nano-sized objects are about the size of a nanometer, which is one-millionth of a millimeter or one-billionth of a meter.
The lecture is open to all faculty, staff, and students, and no registration is required. The lecture will also be simultaneously televised at the Harborview Research and Training Building, Room 113, and at three locations in the VA Puget Sound Health Care System: Seattle Division, Building 1, Room 518; American Lake Division, Building 2, Room 343; and HSR&D Met Park Main Conference Room, Suite 1400.
For more information, contact Vee White at veewhite@u.washington.edu
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2007. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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