March 27, 2009

Welcome to the University of Michigan Medical School E-News, your source for quick and current news from the medical school community.

March 31: Faculty town hall meeting to address Pfizer facilities
A faculty town hall meeting will take place from 4 - 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, in the Chesebrough Auditorium (North Campus) 220 Chrysler, featuring information about the anticipated possible purchase of the Pfizer laboratories. Faculty input on potential use of the facilities is desired.

James Woolliscroft, M.D., the dean of the Medical School and Lyle C. Roll Professor of Medicine, is leading the University's planning for the site. He will provide an overview of the planning and then ask for advice and take questions from the faculty on how the added laboratory space, if the University purchases the Pfizer site, might best be used to strategically expand research programs, initiate new programs and consider the future of the University's research mission.

The University announced in December its intention to purchase the former Pfizer campus in northeastern Ann Arbor, if the University was satisfied with its due diligence investigation of the site. While the purchase process is still in the due diligence phase and no purchase has been made, strategic planning for research growth and interconnection across the entire campus is proceeding.

April 7: Ninth Annual Horace W. Davenport Lecture in the Medical Humanities
The Ninth Annual Horace W. Davenport Lecture in the Medical Humanities will take place at noon Tuesday, April 7, in Dow Auditorium. Students, residents, physicians and anyone interested in the spiritual journey toward medical practice will want to attend this lecture by Samuel Shem, entitled "Staying Human in Medicine: From The House of God to The Spirit of the Place." Samuel Shem, pen name of Stephen Bergman, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician, psychiatrist, novelist, playwright, essayist and activist. His novels, including the classic The House of God, have sold over three million copies. Book signing and reception to follow.

April 1: 2009 Distinguished Innovator Award Lecture and Reception
Farnam Jahanian, Ph.D., has been named the U-M Distinguished University Innovator for 2009. Jananian will be recognized for his accomplishments at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, in the Biomedical Science Research Building Auditorium. He will also give a public address on his work, entitled "Securing the Internet Cloud: A Perspective on Seeding Innovation and Technology Transfer." A reception will follow in the BSRB Atrium. The award is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Call for Proposals for Medical Innovation
Application Deadline: Friday, April 10
The Medical Innovation Center is pleased to announce its first grant program made possible by the Bud Williamson Innovation Fund and Michigan Institute for Clinical Health Research. The awards are intended to help inventors move a medical technology idea to the next step on the path to commercialization. For the application and guidelines, visit the Web site.

May 14: Reducing Regulatory Burden, Real strategies for real change
The federal Office for Human Research Protections and the University of Michigan are co-hosting a Research Community Forum that will take place Thursday, May 14, in the Rackham Auditorium. The forum will focus on using the flexibility within human research regulations, proposed regulatory changes, novel approaches to Institutional Review Board activities, and decreasing regulatory burdens for researchers and IRBs. The event is open to the public with registration. For more information or to register, visit the Web site.

April 2 - MICHR Open House will Spotlight New Clinical Research Site and Other Programs and Services
Faculty and staff, especially those involved with clinical and translational research, are invited to celebrate the opening of the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research’s clinical research unit located in the Cardiovascular Center. The event will take place 3 - 5 p.m. Thursday, April 2, at the Cardiovascular Center, room 1702. Refreshments will be served. On display will be the new primary location of the Michigan Clinical Research Unit, a component of MICHR, and information about other MICHR programs and services, including biostatistics, community engagement, data management, education and mentoring, informatics, project management, and research development. For more information, visit the Web site.

April 4: Global Health: A Conversation with Betsy and Gary Nabel
The Haiti Nursing Foundation, based in Ann Arbor, is sponsoring a free global health symposium from 2 - 5 p.m. Saturday, April 4, at the Michigan Theater. This event features Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institutes of Health Vaccine Research Center. Both are former University of Michigan Medical School faculty.

They will describe the role of research in support of global health, and outline how to conduct "bench to practice" research in developing countries like Haiti. A panel, which includes U-M School of Public Health faculty member Matthew Boulton, M.D., M.P.H., will discuss the Nabels' remarks. This event honors the co-founder of the first School of Nursing in Haïti, Ruth Barnard, Ph.D., R.N., professor emeritus at the U-M School of Nursing. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. For more information or to register, visit www.haitinursing.org.

Making a Difference
Do you want to salute a co-worker or colleague for a job well done? Do you need to recognize someone who went above and beyond the call of duty? If so, beginning April 1, there’s a new way to do it - - and now everyone in the Health System, including Medical School faculty and staff, can get involved!

The new Making A Difference recognition program will kick off next week. Take time to stop by and visit the tables set up on the following dates and pick up information about the new program – and popcorn too!

• From 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Friday, March 27, in the Towsley Link
• From 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, outside the North lecture Hall, Medical School

The Making A Difference program replaces the You’re Super program that has been in place at the Hospitals and Health Centers for many years. The program is expanding to be UMHS-wide, with new rewards and the look of The Michigan Difference brand.

Making A Difference will be the new way for staff – as well as patients, families, visitors and students to recognize employees who perform their work in an outstanding manner and demonstrate UMHS Values in their daily work. For more information, visit the Web site.

Host an MHealthy Weight Management Program at your worksite
MHealthy's U-M Employee Weight Management Program, Healthy Habits at Work, is designed exclusively for University of Michigan employees who want to participate at their worksites. These small groups, 10 - 20 participants, create a cohesive unit that is accepting, supportive, motivational, and celebratory; all are key ingredients to weight-loss success. This 12-week program includes one-on-one consultations with dietitians and health and fitness specialists, 10 weekly group meetings, unlimited e-mail and phone access, weekly recipes and more, all for just $95 per person (payroll deduction available).

To bring this program to your worksite, all you have to do is secure a room for the weekly meetings, MHealthy will do the rest. For more information, or to complete a request form to bring this program to your worksite, visit the Web site.

U-M Makes the News!
M-News Now! is a Web page with timely information about members of the UMHS community who are in the news. See who is being interviewed or where their comments are being published at M-News Now!
March 24
--Mott gifts officer featured in Free Press

March 23
--Laurel Northouse quoted in Cure Magazine

March 22
--Sunday Free Press story features Dr. Opp

News Releases and Health Minute
For medical press releases and the details behind the headlines, visit www.med.umich.edu/news

Next Week's Health Minute
Compulsive hoarding poses safety and psychological risks

Medical School FAQs
You can find answers to many of your questions pertaining to the U-M Medical School in one place. The FAQ page links to a variety of resources including information and support, educational programs, research and policy information. The site also lists useful U-M resources.

Seminars, lectures, colloquia and events for next week

Monday, March 30, 2009
Noon. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Science Seminar Series. Dan Roden, M.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology, William Stokes Professor of Experimental Therapeutics, director, Oates Institute for Experimental Therapeutics, assistant vice-chancellor for Personalized Medicine, Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, Vanderbilt University, will present "Arrhythmia pharmacogenomics and thoughts on translating to the bedside," in the Cardiovascular Center Danto Auditorium. A panel discussion will follow at 1 p.m.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Noon. Department of Biological Chemistry Seminar Series. Youxing Jiang, associate professor, University of Texas, Department of Physiology, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, will present "Structural study of a non-selective cation channel," in Med. Sci. I room 6311.

3 p.m. Department of Epidemiology Seminar. Derek Smith, professor of Infectious Disease Informatics Department of Zoology University of Cambridge, England, will present "The Evolution of Influenza Viruses," in the school of Public Health II room 1152.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
12:15 p.m. Immunology Seminar. Anita S. Chong, Ph.D., professor of surgery, Section of Transplantation, Committee on Immunology, Committee on Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition at the University of Chicago, will present "Bacterial Infections as barriers of Transplantation Tolerance," in Med. Sci. Ii West Lecture Hall.

3 p.m. Department of Epidemiology Seminar. Joel Schwartz, Ph.D., professor of environmental health and epidemiology HSPH director, Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, will present "Gene-Environment Interactions: Through the looking glass into Mechanisms," School of Public Health I Lane Family Auditorium.

5 p.m. Radiology Grand Rounds. Visiting professor, Dorothy Bulas, M.D., section head, ultrasound and fetal imaging, Department of Diagnostic Imaging/Radiology, Children's National Medical Center, will present "Advances in Fetal Imaging - its impact on perinatal management," in the MCHC Auditorium.

Thursday, April 2, 2009
12:10 p.m. Gifts of Art. A string quartet featuring the Michigan Pops Orchestra Small Ensembles Program, UH Main Lobby, floor .

Noon. Department of Surgery Visiting Professor. Eileen Bulger, M.D., University of Washington, will present "Hypertonic Resucitation after Severe Injury." She will cover both basic science and clinical aspects of hypertonic fluid resuscitation, in the Turcotte Sirgical Library, Department of Surgery Surgical Suite.

1 p.m. Vision Research Seminar. David R. Copenhagen, Ph.D., professor, ophthalmology and physiology, University of California, San Francisco, will present "Vision and the Development of Retina in Neonates," in the Kellogg Eye Center Oliphant-Marshall Auditorium.

3 p.m. Department of Epidemiology Seminar. Dong Zhao, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director, Beijing Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases (BIHLBD), professor and director of Department of Epidemiology, Capital Medical University, will present "CVD Epidemiological Study in China," in the School of Public Health I room 3755.

4 p.m. Pathology Research Seminar Series. Elizabeth Townsend, doctoral candidate in Molecular and Cellular Pathology, University of Michigan (Mentor: Yali Dou, Ph.D.), will present "Development of an Inhibitor to MLL-Dependent Histone H3K4 Methylation," in Med. Sci. I in room 4234.

Friday, April 3, 2009
4 p.m. 16th Annual Milton F. Bryant Lecture. Professor Bo Eklöf, emeritus professor of surgery, University of Hawaii, will present "Early Thrombus Removal - The Development of Aggressive Treatment of Iliofemoral Deep Vein Thrombosis," in the Cardiovascular Center Danto Auditorium.