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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 12, No. 27
July 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To view an archived version of Online News on the UW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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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN: Promotions for UW Medicine faculty announced
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This week’s news:
* James Davis at University of Wisconsin named new chair of UW Department of Family Medicine
* Researchers develop method to visually monitor and analyze real-time gene expression in roundworm C. elegans
* Dena Brownstein named associate medical director for patient safety at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center
* Randall Chesnut appointed to Integra Foundation Endowed Professorship in Neurotrauma
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MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN
Dear Colleagues:
It is a pleasure to announce the promotion to a higher academic rank of 91 UW Medicine faculty, effective July 1. The faculty promoted in 2008 are on the list linked below, organized by department and, within department, by rank.
http://tinyurl.com/3ldh66
Whether through teaching medical students or residents, performing research, providing clinical care, or some combination of these activities, each faculty member promoted has made a vital contribution to UW Medicine and its mission of improving health. Each is to be commended for maintaining a strong focus on mission, for dedication to academic medicine, and for accomplishing outstanding personal achievements.
In addition to these promotions among regular faculty, 142 clinical and affiliate faculty members were promoted to a higher academic rank this year. Congratulations to each of these individuals for a job well done, and thank you for your many contributions to UW Medicine.
I congratulate and thank each faculty member promoted. With faculty like these and the more than 6,500 other faculty, both regular and clinical, located throughout our diverse sites, UW Medicine continues to have a very bright future.
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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WISCONSIN’S JAMES DAVIS NAMED NEW CHAIR OF FAMILY MEDICINE
James Davis, a professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been named the new chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the UW, effective Nov. 1. He will succeed David Losh, who has been serving as acting chair.
Davis received his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and earned his medical degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed a family practice residency and served as chief resident at the University of Wisconsin, and completed a fellowship in medical education. He joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin as a physician at Wingra Family Medical Center in Madison.
Davis has served in several leadership positions at the University of Wisconsin and its medical system, including as director of Wingra Family Medical Center and founding director of the Department of Family Medicine’s Research Division. He has also served as clinical operations director for the Madison campus and acting chair of the Department of Family Medicine. His research is focused on quality of care, especially quality measurement and strategies for influencing practice behavior.
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RESEARCHERS DEVELOP METHOD TO VISUALLY MONITOR AND ANALYZE GENE EXPRESSION
A group of researchers led by Robert Waterston, professor and chair of genome sciences, has developed a method of real-time visual monitoring of gene expression in the roundworm C. elegans, an organism commonly used for basic-science research. The imaging method allows scientists to see genes turning on in individual cells on a minute-by-minute basis, and is the first of its kind to allow both visual monitoring and automated computer analysis of the genes.
Waterston and his colleagues detail their work in an article published online this week by the journal Nature Methods. The system involves taking a microscopic picture of a roundworm embryo each minute during its development, following the embryo for several hours as its cells divide and it grows into a full-size organism. The researchers used fluorescent markers to show when particular genes are being expressed in the roundworm cells. The system has the resolution to track particular genes in individual cells over the entire development of the worm embryo.
The researchers hope this gene-expression imaging method will help in the study of how the roundworm’s genes affect each other during the first few hours of life, yielding insight into the gene cascades that drive organism development.
To watch a video showing real-time gene expression in a developing roundworm embryo, visit Waterston’s Web site:
http://waterston.gs.washington.edu/2color.htm
In that video, the green dots represent cells in the embryo, and the yellow dots represent cells with a particular gene being expressed.
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DENA BROWNSTEIN TO LEAD PATIENT SAFETY EFFORTS AT CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
Dena Brownstein, associate professor of pediatrics, has been appointed the associate medical director for patient safety at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. She will oversee the adverse event program, medication safety, and the culture of safety at the hospital.
Brownstein is an attending physician in the emergency department at Children’s, and has been on the medical staff since 1985. She received her medical degree from the UW School of Medicine, and completed her pediatric residency at Children’s. Brownstein also completed a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
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CHESNUT APPOINTED TO INTEGRA FOUNDATION ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP IN NEUROTRAUMA
Randall Chesnut, professor of neurological surgery and of orthopaedics and sports medicine, has been appointed to the Integra Foundation Endowed Professorship in Neurotrauma. The endowed position was created in 2005 with a gift from the Integra Foundation, a philanthropic foundation established by the medical device company Integra LifeSciences.
Chesnut, who is also director of the Cranial and Spinal Trauma Center at Harborview Medical Center, is internationally recognized for his expertise in brain and spinal trauma, and is highly regarded as a teacher and mentor. He received his medical degree at the UW and completed his residency in neurosurgery and a spine fellowship at the University of California, San Diego, before serving on the faculty there. Chesnut has also worked at San Francisco General Hospital and Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. He joined the UW faculty in 2004.
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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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