*****
University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 12, No. 31
August 1, 2008
*****
To view an archived version of Online News on the UW
Medicine Web site, visit:
http://www.uwmedicine.org/Global/NewsAndEvents/somnews/index.htm
*****
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN: Workplace programs can help people at UW Medicine maintain health and wellness
*****
This week’s news:
* Simian foamy virus found in several people living and working with monkeys in Asia
* David Pierson honored with lifetime achievement award in pulmonary and critical care medicine
* Center for AIDS Research at the UW and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center receives $16.5 million in funding
*****
MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN:
Dear Colleagues:
At UW Medicine, we recognize that our faculty and staff are our most treasured resource, and we are committed to supporting programs that advance health and wellness in the workplace. I would like to tell you about some recent progress we have made and to remind you of available resources to enhance your wellness in the workplace.
The first-ever Washington Business & Health CEO Summit, initiated and organized by UW Medicine and Premera Blue Cross, was held in March. This meeting represented a significant opportunity for business leaders to focus on advancing prevention and wellness in the workplace and the community. The summit was an important step at spotlighting prevention. Simple steps -- diet, exercise, not smoking and regular screening -- make an enormous difference in preventing disease and improving quality of life, and can help control rising healthcare costs. These steps also make the workplace safer, more productive and more enjoyable. Many employers help make wellness a reality by offering appropriate resources.
I would like to bring to your attention a set of wellness and prevention resources currently available to faculty, staff, students, and trainees at the University of Washington. These do not represent all of the existing resources, and I plan to keep you apprised on a regular basis of resources as they become available and as I learn more about what is available. We will also be hosting some forums to gain ideas from faculty and staff on other wellness initiatives that may be important to consider at UW Medicine sites.
1) A number of opportunities are available through UW Human Resources. A good starting place for exploring these is the UWellness web page at:
http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/benefits/wellness/index.html
Among the many resources available at this site are information on:
* walking and bicycling;
* gym discounts;
* free, confidential counseling;
* legal and financial services consultations;
* eldercare, childcare, nannyshare and other family resources;
* nutrition;
* ergonomics;
* weight management, including Weight Watchers meetings;
* CPR instruction videos and other health education tools;
* classes on time management and other lifestyle aids;
* smoking cessation.
2) Hall Health Primary Care Center, located on campus, offers resources both at the center and on their web site at:
http://depts.washington.edu/hhpccweb/index.php?ClinicID=1
Among the resources offered are information on:
* blood pressure screening for faculty and staff on Thursdays 11-1 in the Hall Health Center lobby;
* the UW Employee Health Center, which provides surveillance, work-related immunizations, and work-related physical exams;
* resources on fitness, nutrition, mental wellness, consumer health newsletters, instructional videos, and more;
* fitness and safety items for sale at very low cost, including bike helmets, helmet mirrors, lights, and locks, CycloComputers, pedometers, skate and ski helmets, and safety triangles for visibility;
* seasonal flu shots at low cost.
3) Commuter Services offers information on nighttime shuttle services, riding your bicycle to work (including information on showers and bike lockers available on campus), walking maps, and more.
http://www.washington.edu/commuterservices
4) Exercise classes and equipment are available at low cost through several facilities and offices, including the IMA on campus, and the Women’s Center, with exercise classes that are not for women only.
http://depts.washington.edu/ima/
http://depts.washington.edu/womenctr/
I urge you to review and use these and other resources available to UW employees across our multiple sites. Wellness starts with each of us -- both in improving our own lives and in being role models for those we know and serve.
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
*****
PRIMATE VIRUS FOUND IN SEVERAL PEOPLE LIVING AND WORKING WITH MONKEYS IN ASIA
A research team led by UW scientists has found that several people in South and Southeast Asian countries working and living around monkeys have been infected with simian foamy virus (SFV), a primate virus that, to date, has not been shown to cause human disease. The findings provide more evidence that Asia, where interaction between people and monkeys is common and widespread, could be an important setting for future primate-to-human viral transmission. The study appears in the August issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Though SFV has not been found to cause any human disease, it is a slow-acting retrovirus, so it could take many years before scientists determine the effects of infection. SFV could also change at the genetic level, resulting in a new strain of the virus that would affect humans. Scientists believe that a similar process occurred with HIV, which probably originated as a virus in non-human primates in Africa before jumping the species barrier to human hosts.
In this study, researchers from the University of Washington visited several countries in Asia, interviewing and testing about 300 people who live or work closely with any one of several species of small-bodied monkeys called macaques. Eight of those participants tested positive for SFV.
The people who had contracted the virus came from a variety of places and contexts: one person lived in an urban area in Bangladesh that had a large monkey population, for instance, while two other people lived near a monkey temple in Thailand. Monkey temples are places of religious worship that have become refuges for populations of primates. The group’s findings support the notion that viral transmission could occur in any one of many settings in Asia, from religious temples to urban areas, and that the issue could affect many different people, from temple workers to pet owners.
Some Asian countries are prime areas for viral transmission between monkeys and humans because of the huge populations of both and the widespread interaction between the species. People are in close contact with monkeys in many settings in Asia: in cities, religious temples, open-air markets, street performances, nature preserves, hunting areas, zoos, and even homes, where monkeys are kept as pets.
The research team was led by Lisa Jones-Engel, a senior research scientist in the Division of International Programs at the UW's Washington National Primate Research Center, and included Gregory Engel, UW clinical assistant professor of family medicine, and Maxine Linial, a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and a research professor of microbiology at the UW.
*****
PIERSON HONORED FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN PULMONARY MEDICINE
David Pierson, professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, has been selected to receive the Leonard D. Hudson Lifetime Achievement award for 2008, to be presented in October during the annual Butler Lung Conference in Boise. The award, sponsored by the John Butler Lung Foundation and the UW Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, is presented annually to a physician who has attained national or international recognition for contributions to pulmonary and critical care medicine.
Pierson came to the division in 1976 following his training at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Colorado. He has served as medical director of respiratory care at Harborview Medical Center for 32 years, and directed clinical education for the division for 15 years. Pierson is an authority on acute respiratory failure, mechanical ventilation, COPD management, and other aspects of respiratory therapy and has published widely in the field. He has been acknowledged many times for excellence in scholarly work and for teaching at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and CME levels.
Last year, Pierson received the American Thoracic Society's Distinguished Achievement Award, and in 2005 received the American Association for Respiratory Care's highest award, the Jimmy A. Young Medal. He recently stepped down after 10 years as editor in chief of the AARC’s journal, Respiratory Care. He has served on numerous national and international boards and committees and currently advises the CDC and the government of Vietnam.
*****
UW CFAR RECEIVES $16.5 MILLION IN FUNDING
One of the first AIDS research centers in the country has been awarded $16.5 million for the next five years to continue its trailblazing work in providing a cost-effective infrastructure for HIV/AIDS researchers. The National Institutes of Health award announced in June provides funding through May 2013, marking 25 years of funding for the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) at the UW and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The center, established in 1988 when the AIDS epidemic was peaking in the United States, is part of a national network of 20 AIDS research centers whose mission is to provide core services to HIV investigators and to unite distinct research groups into a synergistic, collaborative system. All these centers are helping to battle an epidemic with more than 6,800 new infections and more than 5,700 deaths each day.
More than 300 UW and affiliated faculty and research scientists participate in the CFAR through 10 research cores and three scientific programs. The center is a consortium of Seattle-based member institutions, including the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, and includes HIV/ AIDS and STD specialists from more than 20 disciplines. It is led by King Holmes, the center’s principal investigator and William H. Foege endowed chair of the Department of Global Health.
The CFAR is now based in the Department of Global Health because a large proportion of CFAR's pilot research takes place in developing countries where HIV rates are the highest.
With new funding, CFAR will launch its scientific program on AIDS-Associated Infections and Malignancies (AAIMS) to bring more resources to the investigation of these conditions. There have been relatively few advances in the treatment of AIDS-associated infections and malignancies since 1996, when their incidence in the United States and Europe dropped to levels so low that drug development was discouraged and clinical trials would have been difficult to undertake. However, malignancies and infections in people with HIV are devastating problems in the developing world.
Among other projects, CFAR is emphasizing an expansion of its work into mental health and substance use, connecting with various disciplines on campus. It is also working on one of the first studies to translate scientific understanding of the importance of concurrent sexual partnerships in causing HIV transmission in King County.
To learn more about the Center for AIDS Research, go to:
http://depts.washington.edu/cfas/cfar/
*****
Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2008. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
*****