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

From the Dean's Office

Nov. 13: Attend Dean Woolliscroft's office hours program
Since beginning the office hours program, Dean Woolliscroft has met informally with many faculty, staff and students who have provided him with valuable comments and suggestions on how to enhance our efforts and make a great school even better. Faculty, staff and students are invited to stop by with their creative ideas and innovative solutions from 9 - 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, in University Hospital room 2G209.

Nov. 17: Dean's Lecture Series
The next Dean's Lecture Series will feature Jay Hess, M.D., Carl Vernon Weller Professor of Pathology and chair of Pathology, at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17, Towsley Center Dow Auditorium. Hess will present "Toward Targeted Therapy for Acute Leukemia." This lecture has been accredited by the ACCME to receive a maximum of one CME credit for attending.

Research

Nov. 16: 'Science and Technology Investments and Policy in the Obama Administration'
This lecture will take place from 4 - 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy - Betty Ford Classroom 1110. A reception will follow. Kei Koizumi, assistant director, Federal Research and Development, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, will discuss the Obama Administration’s strategies for innovation, investments in research and development and the policy initiatives that have been designed to address four national challenges:

• Economic recovery and renewed growth
• Dealing with the interrelated challenges of energy, the environment and climate
• A healthier American people
• A secure America within a global world

This event is part of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Lecture Series. It is sponsored by The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation and co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Research and the University of Michigan College of Engineering. For more information, read the flyer.

Biomedical News Online - November 2009
The November 2009 issue of Biomedical News is now online. This monthly publication from the Medical School Office of Research highlights:

• Exciting news from the U-M Medical School research enterprise
• New funding and educational opportunities
• Key upcoming dates for special events and seminars
• Recent awards and publications

We need input from U-M Health System clinical researchers
The U-M Health System is investing in a holistic, enterprise-wide analysis of its clinical research infrastructure and is gathering input from faculty and staff about the entire clinical research process.

At the request of UMHS leadership, the evaluation is being conducted by the same Strategic and Enterprise Analysis group that previously evaluated the purchase of the former Pfizer property. The group has already interviewed more than 60 researchers, study coordinators and administrators, and is now conducting a survey to further understand the barriers to research faced by research teams. To ensure that the analysis accurately captures team needs, members who would like to participate in further interviews are invited to contact project manager Joan Scheske at jscheske@umich.edu or 734-615.7200.

To begin the survey, click here.

Funds available for subsidized use of U-M research resource cores for problems in aging research
The Nathan Shock Center for the Biology of Aging announces the availability of subsidy funds to help U-M faculty members purchase services from the University's family of research resource cores.

The funds can be used to help pay up to 40 percent of costs at any U-M core that has published user fees or recharge rates. Some examples of these cores include:

• Center for Integrative Genomics
• Metabolomics and Obesity Center
• Protein Structure Facility
• DNA Sequencing Core
• Center for Molecular Imaging
• Center for Chemical Genomics
• Affymetrix and DNA Microarray Core
• shRNA Library Core
  

The research project must address questions related to the physiology, cell biology, genetics or molecular biology of aging.

For detailed information, visit Funding Info. For Use of U-M Research Cores.

IRBMED holiday announcement
As the holiday season approaches, the Institutional Review Boards of the University of Michigan Medical School Office would like to remind you that:

IRBMED review boards will not meet Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 26), or Friday, Nov. 27.

IRBMED review boards do not meet during the holiday closure Dec. 25 - Jan. 3. The last meetings of 2009 will take place Friday, Dec. 18 and Thursday, Dec. 24. The first meeting of 2010 will be Thursday, Jan. 7.

The IRBMED Office is not open for regular business during the holiday closure, beginning the afternoon of Dec. 24. The office will reopen at 8:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 4. The drop-box outside our offices at 517 W. William will remain open to receive submissions, although mail will not be opened until Jan. 4. In addition, campus mail will not be delivered during the holiday closure.

Education

Applications now being accepted for a funded fellowship in Medical Innovation. Fellowship runs for one-year, beginning in July 2010
The University of Michigan Medical Innovation Center Fellowship Program builds tomorrow's innovation leaders today. The MIC Fellowship is a multidisciplinary team training program for talented post-graduate professionals with medical, dental, doctorate or master's degrees, who are committed to addressing real health care issues through innovation excellence. Innovation Fellows are expected to function as a cohesive team, blurring the boundaries of their respective disciplines. The program draws on the strengths of Michigan's renowned schools and colleges to develop a new type of medical innovator with the knowledge and integrated, cross-disciplinary skills necessary to transform problems into practical solutions and discoveries into products. Residents (pediatric oriented specialties preferred) who have completed a minimum of two years of training are eligible to apply. To learn more about the Fellowship scope, please visit our Web site.

Clinical

Nov. 19: Broadcast about using performance improvement methodologies
The Joint Commission Quality and Safety Network is presenting a live broadcast on "Using Performance Improvement Methodologies to Increase Compliance and Measure Outcomes" from 2 - 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19. The broadcast can be viewed live from your personal workstation via streaming video. A video of the broadcast will be available to view on demand one week following the live broadcast date. CE credit is available for the broadcast. For more information regarding live broadcasts, visit www.med.umich.edu/i/quality/edu/jcr_qsn1.html. For more information regarding CE credit, visit www.med.umich.edu/i/quality/edu/jcr_qsn.html.

Weekly Joint Commission Quizlette
This week's step toward continuous readiness; Test your knowledge of influenza - part two:

Influenza is a serious respiratory illness that spreads from person to person. It can lead to pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration and worsening of chronic medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes, and even death.

1. How does the flu virus usually spread?
A. Through respiratory droplets that spray from coughing/sneezing and then land on someone's mouth or nose
B. By touching someone with respiratory droplets on them and then touching one's mouth or nose
C. By touching something with respiratory droplets on it and then touching one's mouth or nose
D. Any of the above

2. What is the most effective way to cover your cough/sneeze to avoid contaminating others?
A. Cover your mouth or nose with a tissue (then throw it out right away)
B. Cough/sneeze into your sleeve
C. Cough/sneeze into your hands
D. A & B only

3. Under the new UMHHC visitor guidelines, which of the following applies?
A. No visitors of any kind with symptoms of the flu are allowed in any of the facilities
B. No visitors under the age of 16 are allowed in inpatient and Emergency Department areas
C. Visitors under the age of 16 are strongly discouraged from visiting outpatient areas
D. No more than two visitors are allowed at a time in inpatient and Emergency Department rooms
E. All of the above

Administrative

Nominate a colleague for the Kaiser Teaching Awards
Consider nominating a colleague for one of the Kaiser-Permanente Awards for Excellence in Teaching. There will be one award given to an outstanding pre-clinical teacher and one given for an outstanding clinical teacher. Any faculty member who teaches in the M1 or M2 portion of the medical school curriculum may be nominated for the pre-clinical award; faculty with major teaching effort in the M3 or M4 years are eligible for nomination for the clinical award. Faculty who have previously received a Kaiser award are not eligible for re-nomination.

For further information about the Kaiser awards and for instructions on submitting a nomination, visit the Web site. At this time, we are asking for names of nominees and brief qualifying statements only; all necessary support materials will be requested at a later date. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 1.

Other

Help Michigan beat Ohio State in the organ donation registry competition!
Wolverine fans across the state can help Michigan beat Ohio State and save lives! The University of Michigan and Ohio State University are competing in the 4th annual Wolverine vs. Buckeyes Challenge for Life, to see which state can sign up the most people to its state's organ donor registry from now through Nov. 19. The state with the most donors wins.

The Buckeyes have beaten us the past three years. It's time that we show them our Michigan pride and win this year. Tell everyone you know to sign up: you don't need to be a Michigan resident to sign up, and there are no age limitations on donors.

For more information about the Michigan vs. Ohio State donor registry competition visit www.giftoflifemichigan.org/goblue/.

Also, read Tony Denton's message.

Nov. 16 - Dec. 16: Student Alliance for Global REACH calendar sales
The 2010 Student Alliance for Global REACH calendar contains photos taken by students during their 2009 trips which reflect their projects and their commitment to global health. Calendars will be on sale from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays through Dec. 16, in the Cardiovascular Center lobby. Cost for the calendar is $19.95. Your purchase will help support the 2010 service learning trips. To learn more about Global REACH, visit the Web site.

ROAD CLOSURE ALERT:  Part of East Hospital Dr., closed from Nov. 16 – Jan. 31, 2010
Another temporary road closure as part of the construction of the new U-M Children’s and Women’s Hospital begins on Monday, Nov. 16 and will continue until Sunday, Jan. 31, 2010. Our contractors will be working with the city of Ann Arbor on construction of the watermain lines for the new hospital beginning next Monday, Nov. 16. This work will require that we close a portion of East Hospital Drive – the portion between the hospital construction project and the Mott/Simpson (M22) parking deck. It will not require any closures of East Medical Center Drive, the "ring road" around the medical center.

Shortly after that work is completed, the major task of setting the steel for the new sky bridge connector from the new hospital to the Mott/Simpson parking structure will begin. This second task is scheduled for completion by the end of January. 

Although the closure takes place on a small street that most people don’t travel, access to the birthing center, Mott employee entrance and Med Inn entrance will not be affected. These entrances will be accessible via Simpson Road, which will be converted to two-way traffic throughout the closure period. 

For more information and a map of this temporary closure, visit www.med.umich.edu/construction.

Seminars, lectures, colloquia and events

Basic Science Seminars

Clinical Seminars

Major Events and Conferences

Student Seminars and Thesis Defense