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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 10, No. 49
December 22, 2006
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW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 THE DEAN: UW Medicine community accomplished much for the public good in 2006
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This week’s news:
* Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire's proposed budget for 2007 includes strong support for the UW community
* Charles "Chip" Asbury receives Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering in support of motor protein research
* J. Randall Curtis to give lecture on end-of-life health care at Seattle Public Library on Jan. 3
* New Web site from Office of Faculty Development gives faculty a clearinghouse of professional development information
* Many UW Medicine faculty, residents, and students honored for accomplishments in 2006
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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Dear Colleagues:
As 2006 draws to a close, I want to thank each of you for your contributions to UW Medicine. The year has been a good one for UW Medicine, with many advances, accomplishments, and promising beginnings in pursuit of our mission.
When I reflect on who we are and what we represent, I am struck by the way we function as a community. UW Medicine consists of thousands of individuals — faculty, staff, scientists, teachers, administrators, students, and trainees, both in Seattle and throughout the region — who join together to advance a common good, health. By working together, we make a difference, and we genuinely do make a difference for our region, the nation, and the world. I am proud to be a part of UW Medicine, both for the good that we are able to accomplish and because of the remarkable individuals and the collective strength and dedication of those who comprise our community.
I wish each of you a joyful, safe, and healthy holiday season and New Year, and look forward to our work together in 2007.
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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GOVERNOR'S PROPOSED BUDGET OFFERS SUPPORT FOR UNIVERSITY
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire this week released more details on her proposed budget for 2007-9, which would increase the UW's operating budget by $181 million for that two-year period. The budget proposal calls for nearly $30 billion in state spending, an increase of about $4 billion from the previous budget period of 2005-7.
The proposal includes funding for many UW Medicine initiatives, including $4.5 million for the expansion of the WWAMI Medical Education Program and Regional Initiatives in Dental Education program into the Spokane area. It would also provide $6.3 million for the UW's new Department of Global Health, a partnership between the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
Under the proposed budget, the UW would receive about $94 million in new capital appropriations for facility renovation and construction. This includes $5 million for the design of a new Interdisciplinary Academic Building for the molecular engineering program, and funds for additional work on the H Wing of the Magnuson Health Sciences Center. The capital appropriations would also support construction and renovation projects in other areas of the campus, including Savery Hall, Clark Hall, Playhouse Theater, Ballmer Hall, Lewis Hall, and Denny Hall.
For more information about the governor's proposed budget, visit the state Office of Financial Management's Web site at http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/highlights/
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CHARLES "CHIP" ASBURY AWARDED PACKARD FELLOWSHIP FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Charles "Chip" Asbury, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics, has received a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering. He is one of 20 recipients for 2006, each of whom will receive $625,000 in funding over five years.
The Packard Fellowship is aimed at giving promising new researchers a chance to pursue science and engineering research with few funding restrictions and limited paperwork. Recipients must be able to serve as principal investigators in labs conducting research in the natural or physical sciences or in engineering. Each year, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation solicits two nominations apiece from 50 major universities, and selects about 16 to 20 recipients for the fellowship.
This fellowship will fund Asbury's research on the biophysics of motor proteins and their role in cell division. His research is aimed at understanding how these motor proteins convert chemical energy into mechanical work, and how the work of the motor proteins is involved in the cell division process.
Earlier this year, Asbury was named a Searle Scholar, an award from the estate of Mr. and Mrs. John G. Searle, heirs to the pharmaceutical business G.D. Searle & Company. Last year, he was named the School of Medicine’s seventh recipient of the Marian E. Smith Junior Faculty Research Award, given to only one junior faculty member each year.
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CURTIS TO SPEAK ON END-OF-LIFE CARE AT SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY LECTURE
J. Randall Curtis, professor of medicine at the UW and an attending physician in pulmonary and critical care at Harborview Medical Center, will discuss end-of-life care at a special lecture at the Seattle Public Library. The event is part of the Medical Lecture Series, sponsored by UW Medicine and the Seattle Public Library, and will be held at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 3, at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle.
Curtis has studied how to improve the quality of palliative or end-of-life care, and is the founder and director of the Harborview/UW End-of-Life Care Research Program. His work is aimed at expanding end-of-life choices for patients and improving patient-clinician communication. Curtis' lecture will focus on talking with doctors about end-of-life care. The lecture is free and open to all, doors open at 6 p.m., and parking at the Central Library costs $5.
For more information, call 206-386-4636 or visit the Seattle Public Library's Web site at http://www.spl.org
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OFFICE OF FACULTY DEVELOPMENT LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE
The Office of Faculty Development in the School of Medicine has launched a Web site designed as an informational resource for all faculty. The site is available at http://depts.washington.edu/facdev/
The faculty development site includes information from the annual New Faculty Orientation, information on faculty mentoring and leadership programs, links to important Web sites, and much more. For more information or to submit suggestions for the faculty development site, contact Christina Surawicz, professor of medicine and assistant dean for faculty development. She may be reached at surawicz@u.washington.edu
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UW MEDICINE FACULTY, STUDENTS, AND RESIDENTS HONORED FOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Many UW Medicine faculty, students, residents and fellows have been honored for their accomplishments or selected for various positions in the second half of 2006. Listed below are some of those honors that have not previously been reported in the Online News:
King Holmes, chair of the Department of Global Health, has received the George Brown Award for International Scientific Cooperation by the Civilian Research and Development Foundation in Arlington, Va. The award, the highest honor given by the CRDF, is in memory of the late U.S. Rep. George Brown and his support for federal research funding. The CRDF has funded international research collaborations for numerous UW faculty members.
Richard Page, head of the Division of Cardiology, has been elected second vice president of the Heart Rhythm Society and will become president in 2009. The society has a membership of approximately 3,500 physicians and associated professionals around the world who are involved in cardiac pacing and cardiac electrophysiology. Page, who holds the Robert A. Bruce Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Research, is an attending physician at UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. His clinical and research interests include arrhythmias, atrial fibrillation, and sudden cardiac death.
Masahiro Narita, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, has been appointed to the federal Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Narita is a physician at Harborview and is the TB Disease Control Officer of Public Health -- Seattle & King County.
Ru Chen, acting instructor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, has received a Career Development Award in Pancreatic Cancer Research from the American Association for Cancer Research and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The award will provide a two-year grant of $50,000 per year for research expenses.
Paul Craig, associate clinical professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has been appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. The committee is part of the Health Resources and Services Administration in the federal Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with advising the government on how current and proposed federal policies and regulations will affect the financial stability of rural hospitals and health-care services, and the ability of rural facilities to attract and retain health-care professionals.
Gail Pairitz Jarvik, professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Genetics, has been appointed chairperson of the Genomics, Computational Biology and Technology Study Section in the Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health. The study section is responsible for reviewing many grant applications in its subject area and determining their scientific merit, which aids in the process of determining research funding priorities.
Aaron Kusano, a medical student at the UW, has been selected for a CDC Experience fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Kusano began the fellowship earlier this year in the Division for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
Suzanne Powell, a fourth-year medical student at the UW, has been selected as a 2006 Pisacano Scholar. The $28,000 scholarship is provided by the Pisacano Leadership Foundation, the philanthropic foundation of the American Board of Family Medicine, and is typically given to outstanding medical students with a strong commitment to family medicine.
Morayma Reyes, assistant professor of pathology, has received the medical school's Marian E. Smith Junior Faculty Research Award. The award gives $25,000 in funding for research and professional activities, and honors one outstanding junior faculty member each year.
Margaret Heitkemper, professor and chair of biobehavioral nursing and health systems in the School of Nursing, and adjunct professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, was appointed to the National Commission on Digestive Diseases. The commission is charged with scientific oversight of NIH-funded research and development of a 10-year plan to address goals for research in digestive diseases, with recommendations to NIH and to Congress.
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Online News is published by Health Sciences/UW Medicine News and
Community Relations.
Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2006. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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