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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 12, No. 14
April 4, 2008
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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW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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This week’s news:
* Medical training at community health centers helps encourage doctors to work in underserved settings during their career
* Howard Hughes Medical Institute accepting applications for Early Career Scientist program, which provides six years of funding for biomedical researchers
* Sherrill Slichter, UW professor of medicine and researcher at the Puget Sound Blood Center, to receive Presidential Award from the International Society of Blood Transfusion
* Karen Low, longtime departmental director in anesthesiology, appointed to leadership position in UW Medicine
* Scripps cancer researcher Peter Vogt speaking in Science in Medicine lecture April 9; UW developmental molecular biologist John Medina discussing "Brain Rules" at Town Hall April 10
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DOCTORS TRAINED AT COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS MORE LIKELY TO WORK IN UNDERSERVED SETTINGS
UW researchers have found that family medicine physicians trained in community health centers were more likely to work in underserved settings than their non-community health center-trained counterparts. The results appear in a study published in the April issue of the journal Family Medicine.
The news comes on the heels of last month's announcement from the National Resident Matching Program that there is an increased interest in family medicine and more residency positions in that field available across the United States. In addition, the need for family physicians is expected to skyrocket by 2020 to nearly 140,000 doctors, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Scant research has been conducted in the family medicine residency-community health center (CHC) realm, despite an affiliation that dates back more than 25 years. CHCs are federally funded primary care clinics that provide care for underinsured and uninsured patients.
With a continued increase in the numbers of uninsured, the recent economic downturn and the anticipated doubling in numbers of physicians needed in CHCs, the UW study results suggest one strategy to bring more health providers to underserved areas is by ensuring there are residency programs based in those centers.
The UW research team, led by Carl Morris, assistant professor of family medicine, conducted a cross-sectional survey of the 838 graduates from the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) Family Medicine Residency network from 1986 to 2002 to reach their conclusion. They found that 64 percent of physicians in the study who trained in community health centers worked in underserved settings, compared to 37 percent of those who were not trained in the centers.
Because there are no national data to identify either the number of family medicine residencies affiliated with CHCs or the number of residents training with them, more research is needed to better understand the relationship, researchers cautioned.
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HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR EARLY CAREER PROGRAM
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is now accepting applications for its Early Career Scientist program, which supports biomedical researchers who have led independent laboratories for two to six years. The national competition will culminate in the selection of as many as 70 scientists who will receive six years of support from the institute.
The Early Career program funds a scientist's full salary and benefits, and provides laboratory research funding that increases from $150,000 in the first year of the term to $300,000 for the final three years.
Researchers who are interested in applying should notify HHMI of their intention by 2 p.m. Eastern Time on April 30. Full applications will be accepted between May 1 and June 10. To learn more about the program or to apply, visit:
http://www.hhmi.org/research/competitions/earlycareer2009/
The UW has 11 faculty members who serve as HHMI investigators, working in a variety of areas from genome sciences to neurology.
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SHERRILL SLICHTER RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOR FROM BLOOD TRANSFUSION SOCIETY
Sherrill Slichter, UW professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and director of platelet transfusion research at the Puget Sound Blood Center, has been selected to receive the Presidential Award from the International Society of Blood Transfusion, a 70-year-old association of scientists from 85 countries.
The award will be presented to her at the 30th ISBT Congress in Macao, China, in June, and a special ISBT Presidential Award Symposium will be held in her honor. This award is given annually to a senior scientist who has made eminent contributions to transfusion medicine through research, therapy, or significant educational or other contributions to the field.
Slichter, a Washington native and Washington State University graduate, came to the UW as a hematology/oncology fellow in 1967 following training at George Washington, Mt. Sinai, and Dallas. She has been associated with the Blood Center since 1970, serving in leadership positions such as medical director, scientific director, and director of research. She has held numerous leadership roles in the National Institutes of Health, the American Society of Hematology, and other national and international organizations.
Slichter is currently the lead investigator of the five-year, $10.3 million NIH-supported Specialized Center of Clinically Oriented Research (SCCOR) in Transfusion Biology and Medicine.
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LONGTIME ANESTHESIOLOGY DIRECTOR KAREN LOW APPOINTED TO UW MEDICINE LEADERSHIP
Karen Low has been appointed director of Clinical Affairs Program Analysis and Planning for UW Medicine, effective May 1. This position was formerly occupied by Brian McKenna.
Low previously worked in the Department of Anesthesiology, where she has served as departmental director of finance and administration for 25 years. She has significant experience in departmental budgeting and program development, as well as considerable experience working with hospital leaders. Low will work on many areas in the Clinical Affairs office, including contracting for professional services, departmental business and strategic planning, and external affiliations.
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CANCER RESEARCHER AND BRAIN SCIENTIST SPEAKING IN PUBLIC LECTURES NEXT WEEK
The UW is sponsoring two major public lectures next week on biomedical science. In the first, Peter Vogt, of the Scripps Research Institute, will speak in the UW School of Medicine Science in Medicine Lecture, scheduled for noon, Wednesday, April 9, in Hogness Auditorium, Room A-420 of the UW Health Sciences Center. Vogt, a professor in the Department of Molecular and Experimental Medicine at Scripps, will discuss the role of a type of enzyme in cancer. The lecture is free and open to all faculty, staff, and students.
The lecture will be televised live at several locations, including the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, conference room G3102; Washington State University Riverpoint Campus Phase 1 Auditorium, Room SCLC 122; Harborview Research and Training Building, auditorium; the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle Division, Room 518 in Building 1; VA American Lake Division, Room 343 in Building 2; VA HSR&D Met Park, conference room E14.
John Medina, a UW affiliate associate professor of bioengineering and a brain researcher, will speak at Town Hall Seattle at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 10. Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning at Seattle Pacific University, will discuss the human brain and how it works. He is the author of the new book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School.
Medina's lecture at Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Ave., is sponsored by the UW School of Medicine, SPU, and University Book Store. Tickets are $5, sold at the door only. For more information about Medina's book, visit:
http://www.brainrules.net/
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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