*****
University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 11, No. 11
March 16, 2007
*****
To view an archived version of Online News on the UW Medicine Web site, visit: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:
* UW medical students and residencies participate in National Resident Matching Program
* Mitochondrial genetic mutations do not contribute to aging, according to UW research
* UW Medical Center serves as title sponsor for 2007 Seattle Marathon; proceeds to benefit patient and family housing fund
* Pradeep Singh receives Burroughs Wellcome Fund grant to support research on new antimicrobial methods
* UW Medicine physicians and School of Medicine faculty featured on list of city's top doctors from Seattle Metropolitan Magazine
* Registration open now for Faculty Development Days, scheduled for March 28-29
*****
UW STUDENTS, RESIDENCY PROGRAMS PARTICIPATE IN MATCH DAY
Of the 164 graduating students at the UW School of Medicine, 155 of them participated in the National Resident Matching Program's "Match Day," to get paired with residency programs around the country. Another 10 students who had previously graduated from the UW entered the matching program this year. Ninety-six percent of the UW students matched with programs initially, and the remaining students secured positions in the post-match scramble.
There were 29 UW students who matched with UW-affiliated hospitals, and several more UW students will complete some or all of their residency years at other Puget Sound hospitals, such as Virginia Mason Medical Center. Another 18 UW students matched with either one-year or categorical programs within the WWAMI region.
Out of the UW graduating class, 45 percent went into primary-care specialties, such as family practice and internal medicine. The number of students matching with emergency medicine, 21, increased from 2005 and 2006, when only 14 and 15 students matched in that specialty. Pediatrics also saw an increase from previous years, with 26 students choosing that specialty this year compared to 23 last year and 16 in 2005. Slightly fewer UW graduates matched into anesthesiology, family practice, and internal medicine programs this year compared to the last two years.
The UW Graduate Medical Education programs also had a successful Match Day. These programs filled 179 of its 184 residency positions, with the remainder filled during the post-match scramble. Many of the UW residencies were quite popular with prospective residents. The UW Family Medicine Residency Network filled 94 percent of its residency slots through the match, which is very favorable compared to the United States overall, where about half of all family medicine residency slots are filled by graduating seniors. Thirteen UW graduates matched into positions in the family medicine network.
Family practice continues to be more popular among UW graduates than the national average. Less than 8 percent of the country's graduating seniors matched into family medicine residencies, while the UW has seen between 11 percent and 16 percent of its graduating students go into family practice over the past three years.
*****
MITOCHONDRIAL MUTATIONS MAY NOT AFFECT AGING
A large number of genetic mutations in the mitochondria does not affect aging in mice, according to a UW-led study appearing in Nature Genetics. The findings contradict a theory that an accumulation of such mutations in the mitochondria, the power plants of living cells, contributes to the aging process.
Some researchers have speculated the accumulation of mutations in mitochondrial DNA over an organism’s lifespan can contribute to the decline of tissue function as that organism grows older.
Lawrence Loeb, UW professor of biochemistry and pathology, and his colleagues used a new, highly sensitive approach to determine the rate of mutations in the mitochondrial DNA of mice. They studied both normal mice and “mitochondrial mutator” mice, which have a mutation rate 500 times greater than that of normal mice. They found that the normal mice had an 11-fold increase in mitochondrial mutations with age, and that mutator mice did not have any obvious features of accelerated aging. The findings suggest that mitochondrial point mutations do not contribute to aging.
Even though the results indicate that point mutations do not contribute to normal aging, many scientists believe that mitochondrial genetic deletions, in which large swaths of DNA are deleted from the genetic sequence, may contribute to some age-related disorders.
*****
UWMC SPONSORS 2007 SEATTLE MARATHON
The UW Medical Center is the title sponsor of the 2007 Seattle Marathon. Proceeds will benefit the UWMC Patient and Family Housing Fund. The fund provides local, affordable housing for transplant patients, their families, and others who travel long distances for specialized medical care. This is the second consecutive year that UWMC has sponsored the Seattle Marathon.
The University of Washington Medical Center Seattle Marathon 2007, Half Marathon Run, Marathon Walk and Half Marathon Walk will be held on Sunday, November 25. The UW Medical Center Seattle Kids Marathon 2007 will be held Saturday, November 24. To learn more about the Seattle Marathon, or to sign up to run, walk or volunteer, visit http://www.seattlemarathon.org
For the past six years, UW Medical Center has sponsored Team Transplant, a group of UWMC transplant recipients, faculty physicians, staff, family, and friends, who have participated in the Seattle Marathon. More than 180 Team Transplant members, including 30 liver, kidney and heart recipients, participated in the 2006 event. The team was founded and is coached by Alysun Deckert, a UWMC dietitian and past Olympic trials qualifier.
In addition, this year UW physicians and staff will provide medical care to Seattle Marathon participants on the race course, at the finish line, and at the Victory Recovery Area at the Seattle Center.
The Seattle Marathon was founded in 1970. More than 11,000 individuals participated in the running and walking events last year, and more than 45,000 people passed through the Seattle Marathon Health and Fitness Expo in the two days leading up to the main event on Sunday morning. The geographical reach of the Seattle Marathon continues to grow year after year as well, with 47 states and 10 nations represented at the 2006 event.
The Seattle Marathon Family of Events has risen to become one of the largest, most influential mass-participation runs on the West Coast, and is ranked by Runners World Magazine as one of the top 20 marathons in the United States.
*****
PRADEEP SINGH RECEIVES BURROUGHS WELLCOME FUND AWARD
Pradeep Singh, associate professor of medicine and microbiology, has received a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in Translational Research. The award supports research by physician scientists who are dedicated to the two-way transfer between lab research and clinical treatment. Singh is one of 11 award recipients this year.
The grant provides $150,000 per year for five years, for a total of $750,000. The award will support Singh's research on using the metal gallium to disrupt the intake of iron by bacteria. The new antibacterial method may inhibit growth of bacteria and prevent the formation of biofilms, a type of protective skin that can form around bacteria colonies and help maintain chronic infections.
Singh joined the UW faculty in 2005. He received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in New York, and earned his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. He completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City.
Singh previously served on the faculty at the University of Iowa and Indiana University School of Medicine. He may be reached at singhpr@u.washington.edu
*****
UW MEDICINE DOCTORS FEATURED IN SEATTLE METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE
Many UW Medicine physicians are featured in this month's issue of Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, which includes a list of the city's top doctors as chosen by a survey of their peers. The magazine lists 296 physicians in 77 fields who were ranked through a survey of more than 23,000 medical professionals in the area. It includes physicians from UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and other UW Medicine affiliates.
A full list of the UW Medicine doctors selected for the Top Doctors 2007 list can be found on the UW Medicine Web site at http://www.uwmedicine.org
The magazine also featured three UW Medicine doctors from Harborview in its cover story on medical miracles: Nicholas Vedder, professor of surgery and chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at HMC; Douglas Smith, professor of orthopaedics and sports medicine and an orthopaedic surgeon at HMC; and Laligam Sekhar, professor and vice chairman of neurological surgery.
Vedder and his team treated Johan Otter, who was flown to Harborview with a detached scalp, a broken second vertebra and many puncture wounds after a grizzly bear attack in Glacier National Park in Montana. One of the medical miracles was to create a new scalp with a transplanted back muscle.
Smith was selected for his expertise with amputation surgery and his role as a consultant to the U.S. Army. The article featured Matthew Watters, a former Army Ranger whose left leg was amputated below the knee as a result of injuries suffered in Iraq. After starting a new career as a Tacoma police officer, Watters came to Harborview for follow-up surgery by Smith to remove residual shrapnel.
Sekhar’s patient was Dezreen Miller, who came to Harborview when she was eight months pregnant and suffering the worst headache of her life. It was caused by a subarachnoid hemorrhage from a bleeding aneurysm, a very rare and dangerous condition for a pregnant woman. After successful brain surgery by Sekhar and his team to clip the aneurysm, Miller’s obstetrician was able to deliver her baby by C-section.
*****
FACULTY DEVELOPMENT DAYS COMING UP LATER THIS MONTH
The 9th annual UW Medicine Faculty Development Days are scheduled for later this month, March 28-29. The event is free for UW Medicine faculty, but registration is required.
For more information, a copy of the agenda, or to learn how to register, visit:
http://depts.washington.edu/facdev/workshops/index.html
The two-day event will give faculty an opportunity for networking, skill-building, and rejuvenation. It will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on both days, at the Urban Horticulture Center on the UW campus. The theme for this year's event is Collaborative Leadership for a High-Paced Setting.
Faculty may also register by going directly to this Web site: https://catalysttools.washington.edu/survey/?sid=28518&owner=bmahoney
You may also register by contacting Barbara Mahoney at 543.7718 or bmahoney@u.washington.edu
Please be prepared to provide the following information: name; name for name tag (if different); title; department; work address (Box number); work phone number; and e-mail address.
*****
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 2007. All rights, including electronic redistribution, are reserved.
*****