UW School of Medicine Online News 12-21-07

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University of Washington School of Medicine

Online News

Vol. 11, No. 49
Dec. 21, 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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW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

** NOTE TO READERS: The Online News will be on hiatus Dec. 28 for the winter break. **

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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN: Thanks to all members of the UW Medicine community for their contributions in 2007

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This week’s news:

* UW Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center and Institute for Translational Health Sciences accepting grant applications

* UW researcher Jing Zhang receives grant from Michael J. Fox Foundation to support search for Parkinson's disease biomarkers

* Save the date: Dr. Paul Ramsey, dean of UW School of Medicine, to address the UW Medicine community on Jan. 31

* Faculty development workshop on Jan. 8 will discuss the use of reflection in teaching and learning; workshop is open to all medical school and health sciences faculty

* Sixth annual Idaho WWAMI Mini Medical School to cover the endocrine system; public lectures held each Thursday evening from Jan. 10 to Feb. 7


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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN

Dear Colleagues:

As the 2007 calendar year draws to a close, I would like to thank each of you for your contributions as members of the UW Medicine community. In 2007, UW Medicine has continued to thrive and grow; this success is a direct reflection of the commitment and talent of faculty, staff, students, and trainees. What we have been able to accomplish this past year has a direct and very positive influence on the world in which we live. I am confident that our progress in 2008 will match and even exceed the gains made in 2007. I feel very fortunate to work for and within such a remarkable community.

Best wishes for a safe, healthy, and joyous holiday season and New Year.

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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UW CENTERS ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS

The UW Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center is accepting applications for its Pilot and Feasibility Research Awards to support new research in the area of diabetes and related metabolic-endocrine diseases. New UW faculty who wish to develop a research program related to diabetes, as well as established UW faculty who are new to the field, may request up to $50,000 per year for one or two years.

Letters of intent are due by Jan. 11 and should be sent by e-mail to Denis Baskin, associate director of the Pilot and Feasibility Study Program, at derc@u.washington.edu. Applications are due by Feb. 11. More information about the program and the application process can be found at:
http://depts.washington.edu/diabetes/PFStudies/funding.html

The UW Institute for Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) is accepting applications for technology access grants to support translational or clinical research. These grants will provide up to $10,000 in costs related to services provided to grantees through an ITHS-approved facility core, shared resource, or cost center. Special priority will be given to junior faculty with limited funding and to first-time applicants. The first application deadline for this new program is Feb. 1. Further instructions and applications can be found at:
http://www.nwiths.org/Proposals.htm

Applicants will be notified within one month of the deadline. For more information, contact Kathy Long at ithsapps@u.washington.edu or 206-598-4700.


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UW RESEARCH PROJECT TO STUDY BIOMARKERS FOR PARKINSON'S DISEASE

UW researcher Jing Zhang is one of five scientists receiving grants from the Michael J. Fox Foundation to study biomarkers in Parkinson's disease. The five projects will receive a total of $2 million in support.

Biomarkers are biological compounds that could provide a sort of fingerprint for a disease, allowing patients to be diagnosed earlier and more definitively, and physicians to monitor the progression of the disease.

Zhang will receive about $400,000 from the Fox Foundation for his project, which will attempt to identify various biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid and blood plasma. Zhang's work will focus on variants of a Parkinson's-related protein called alpha-synuclein. His previous research has found several variants of alpha-synuclein in the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of Parkinson's patients.

Including a 2005 grant to support his earlier work in this area, Zhang has received more than $1 million in support from the Fox Foundation for the study of biomarkers. He is an associate professor of pathology based at Harborview Medical Center.


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SAVE THE DATE: DEAN RAMSEY TO ADDRESS UW MEDICINE COMMUNITY ON THURSDAY, JAN. 31

Paul G. Ramsey, CEO, UW Medicine, executive vice president for medical affairs, and dean of the UW School of Medicine, will hold an Address to the UW Medicine Community on Thursday, Jan. 31. Ramsey will provide an overview of progress in the past year, challenges and opportunities facing UW Medicine, and plans and strategic initiatives for the coming year. The address will be held from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., in Hogness Auditorium, Room A-420 of the UW Health Sciences Center. All faculty, staff, students, residents, and trainees are invited to attend. Archive video of this lecture will be on the UW Medicine Web site, uwmedicine.org, beginning Feb. 1.


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FACULTY DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP TO FOCUS ON REFLECTION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

All UW medical school and health sciences faculty are invited to register for a free Faculty Development Workshop next month, covering the use of reflection in teaching and learning. The workshop is sponsored by the Department of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics and the Office of Faculty Development. It will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, Jan. 8, in Room 316R of the UW South Campus Center.

The workshop will include guest speaker Karen Mann, professor in the Faculty of Medicine and director of the Division of Medical Education at Dalhousie University, Canada. The workshop will focus on the concept of reflection and reflective practice, and how they can be employed to help learn effectively from experience and become a self-directed lifelong learner. It will also cover teaching and learning strategies that can promote reflection.

The workshop is free to all UW School of Medicine and Health Sciences faculty members. Enrollment is limited, and registration is required. To register, visit:
http://www.mebi.washington.edu/facdev.html


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IDAHO WWAMI MINI MEDICAL SCHOOL KICKS OFF JAN. 10

The UW School of Medicine is sponsoring the 6th annual Idaho WWAMI Mini Medical School, a series of public lectures in January and February. This year's program will focus on the endocrine system. The lectures will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. each Thursday night from Jan. 10 to Feb. 7, at St. Luke's hospital in Boise. They will be broadcast live to five other sites: the Idaho State University Center in Boise, the ISU campus in Pocatello, the ISU campus in Idaho Falls, McCall Memorial Hospital in McCall, and the College of Southern Idaho campus in Twin Falls.

Registration is required. Contact Dana Ellis, program administrator in the WWAMI (Idaho) Office for Clinical Medical Education, at danae@u.washington.edu or 208-327-0641.

The lecture topics are:
* Jan. 10, Endocrine System Physiology, featuring Victor Eroschenko, faculty member in the WWAMI Medical Education Program, University of Idaho/Washington State University; Al Dufty, professor of biology, Boise State University; and moderator John Boice, chief of medical service at the Boise VA Medical Center and clinical associate professor of medicine at the UW.

* Jan. 17, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity, featuring Beth LaLande, Idaho Endocrinology; Sylvia Moore, UW assistant dean and director of WWAMI Medical Education Program at the University of Wyoming; and moderator Peter Kozisek, associate director of Family Medicine Residency of Idaho.

* Jan. 24, Diabetes: Is It All The Same? Featuring Dace Trence, UW faculty member and director of the Diabetes Care Center, UW Medical Center; Julie Foote, endocrinologist and UW clinical instructor of medicine; and moderator Paula Carvalho, ICU medical director at the Boise VA and UW faculty member.

* Jan. 31, Osteoporosis, featuring Joe Shaker, Idaho Endocrinology; Laura Tivis, research professor, Idaho State University-Boise; and moderator Larry Dewey, chief of psychiatry at the Boise VA and UW clinical faculty member.

* Feb. 7, Thyroid Disorders - U.S. Health Care System, featuring David Hindson, physician at the Boise VA and UW clinical professor of medicine; Patrice Burgess, medical director of physician relations at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise and UW clinical faculty member; and moderator Sunday Henry, physician and educator at Family Medicine Residency of Idaho and UW clinical instructor.


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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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