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University of Washington School of Medicine
Online News
Vol. 11, No. 32
Aug. 17, 2007
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This week’s news:
* UWMC team performs its first adult heart and lung transplant, treating man with congenital heart defect and cystic fibrosis
* Henry Ou receives Marian E. Smith Junior Faculty Research Award to support work on hearing loss
* Center for Research in Reproduction and Contraception invites applications for pilot study grants in reproduction and contraceptive development
* Carlos Pellegrini receives Founders Medal from Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract
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UWMC TEAM PERFORMS ITS FIRST ADULT HEART AND LUNG TRANSPLANT
Doctors at UW Medical Center last week performed the first adult heart and lung transplant in Western Washington. Transplant recipient Patrick Farris, a 30-year-old from Richland, Wash., had suffered from both cystic fibrosis, a disease affecting the lungs, and from cardiomyopathy, a genetic heart defect.
UWMC has been a regional leader in organ transplants since the 1960s, and has performed heart transplants since 1985 and lung transplants since 1991. The first heart and lung transplant occurred in 1981 at Stanford.
Several UW doctors were involved in Farris' treatment, including Edward Verrier, professor and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at UWMC; Michael S. Mulligan, associate professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, UWMC; Gordon Cohen, chief of congenital heart surgery at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center and UW associate professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery; Daniel Fishbein, medical director of the heart transplant program at UWMC and professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology; and Mark Tonelli, UWMC pulmonologist and associate professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.
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HENRY OU RECEIVES MEDICAL SCHOOL JUNIOR FACULTY RESEARCH AWARD
Henry Ou, UW assistant professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, has received the School of Medicine's Marian E. Smith Junior Faculty Research Award. The one-year, $25,000 award will support his research and professional activities.
Ou is investigating ways to prevent hearing loss by stopping the death of hair cells, which are sensory receptors in the inner ear. His research is aimed at understanding the mechanisms of hair-cell injury, and developing ways to prevent injury to the ear.
After earning his medical degree at Washington University in St. Louis, Ou came to the UW and Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle for his postgraduate training. He completed a general surgery internship and a residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the UW, and a fellowship in pediatric otolaryngology at the UW and Children's Hospital.
Ou may be reached at henryou@u.washington.edu
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REPRODUCTION AND CONTRACEPTION CENTER ACCEPTING GRANT APPLICATIONS
The UW Center for Research in Reproduction and Contraception is accepting applications for pilot study grants in basic and clinical research in reproduction and contraceptive development. The awards are open to junior and senior UW investigators, especially those without established programs in reproduction and contraception.
These one- to two-year awards provide about $25,000 to $50,000 per year. Applications are also invited for fellowships for M.D. and Ph.D. fellows in UW labs to support studies in the same fields. Applications are due Sept. 17 for November awards. For further information, contact Robert Braun, 543-1818, braun@u.washington.edu, or Patty Garcia, 616-1818, pgarcia@u.washington.edu.
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PELLEGRINI RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOR FROM ALIMENTARY SURGICAL SOCIETY
Carlos A. Pellegrini, the Henry N. Harkins Professor and chairman of surgery at the UW, has received the highest honor of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. The society's board of trustees presented Pellegrini with the Founders Medal, which recognizes members who have served with distinction.
Pellegrini chaired the society's education committee for five years, and served as president of the society in 1999-2000. He also served a year as chair of the society's board of trustees.
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Justin Reedy, editor:
206-685-0382, jreedy@u.washington.edu
Online News is copyright 2007. All rights, including electronic
redistribution, are reserved.
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