Training Day: Cadets Learn About The Illegal Wildlife Trade

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Newswise — NEW YORK (October 21, 2013) – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point released this photo of West Point cadets examining illegal wildlife items, including a preserved elephant’s foot, commonly found for sale in areas where U.S. soldiers are deployed. On October 2nd Dr. Heidi Kretser, Livelihoods and Conservation Coordinator for WCS, talked to 150 cadets about illegal wildlife trafficking, the dangers of purchasing illegal wildlife items while stationed overseas, and the consequences that such actions can have on their careers and missions.

“The cadets were very receptive to this information.” said Kretser. “Many were unfamiliar with the laws and potential consequences for soldiers related to purchasing illegal wildlife products, and to the species put at risk by these crimes. In addition, they made the connection on how the purchase and transport of such products can result in the inadvertent support of organized crime, threats associated with disease, and the depletion of scarce and/or culturally significant natural resources.”

Wildlife products available on bases in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, which include claws, teeth, pelts, meat, horns, and ivory products, come from locally or globally threatened or endangered species. Law enforcement authorities are finding that organized crime groups that smuggle weapons and drugs are increasingly involved with the trade of illegal wildlife – a trade that is estimated to reach into the billions of dollars and also threatens U.S. security.

To raise the awareness level, Kretser has spoken to cadets for the last four years at West Point, Fort Drum, and to other units being deployed to Afghanistan. Cadets are particularly important as they will step into leadership roles in the military. In addition, WCS has created a series of outreach tools in an ongoing initiative supported by the DoD Legacy Program, including the attached training video (seen here).

Media Notes

• WCS, with support from USAID, is also working in Afghanistan to train military personnel on bases across the country about the dangers – to both wildlife and to the military – of purchasing and transporting illegal wildlife products. They are also working with Customs officials and the military police to control and restrict illegal wildlife product sales and movement within Afghanistan and overseas.

• To address the significant effects of wildlife trafficking on the national interests of the United States, President Obama recently created a Presidential Task Force that includes a senior representative from the DoD and WCS President and CEO, Cristián Samper, among others.

Growing impacts poor and stressed as an adult brain function

Newswise - Child poverty and chronic stress can lead to problems of regulation of emotions as an adult, according to research published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Our findings suggest that the burden of stress of growing poverty can be an underlying mechanism that represents the relationship between poverty as a child and how the brain works as an adult," said Dr. K. Luan Phan, Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and lead author of the study.

The study was conducted by researchers at the UIC, Cornell University, University of Michigan and the University of Denver.

The researchers found that test subjects who had family incomes less than 9 years old exhibited, as adults, increased activity in the amygdala, an area of the brain known for its role in fear and other negative emotions. These individuals showed less activity in areas of the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that regulates negative emotion.

Amygdala and the prefrontal cortex dysfunction has been associated with mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, impulsive aggression and substance abuse, according to the authors.

Phan said that it is well known that the negative effects of poverty can set "a cascade of increasing risk factors" for children to develop physical and psychological problems as an adult. But it is not known how child poverty might affect the functioning of the brain, particularly in emotional regulation. The ability to regulate negative emotions can provide protection against the consequences of physical and psychological health of acute and chronic stress, he said.

The study examined the associations between the poverty of children at age 9, exposure to chronic stress factors during childhood and neuronal activity in brain areas involved in emotional regulation at age 24.

49 Participants were part of a longitudinal study of child poverty. We collected data on household incomes, exhibitions stressor responses of physiological stress, social-emotional development and interactions, parents and children. Approximately half of the participants were from low-income families.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the researchers evaluated the brain activity of the participants while they performed a task of emotional regulation. Subjects were asked to try to suppress negative emotions and viewing pictures, using a cognitive coping strategy.

"This serves as an index of brain-behavior of daily capacity of a person to cope with stress and negative emotions as those found" said Phan.

Perhaps the most important finding, Phan said, was that the amount of chronic stress from childhood to adolescence, such as substandard housing, overcrowding, noise and social stressors as familial disorder, violence or family separation - determines the relationship between childhood poverty and prefrontal brain function during the emotional regulation.

Co-authors include Pilyoung Kim of the University of Denver; Gary Evans of Cornell University; and Michael Angstadt, Shaun Ho, Chandra Sripada, James Swain and Israel Liberzon of the University of Michigan.

The study was supported by the national institutes of health (RC2MD004767), the Foundation of W.T. Grant, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Network on socioeconomic status and health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

[This press release, together with accompanying photos, illustrations or multimedia files is online at http://news.uic.edu/?p=17630.

Low Vitamin D Levels Raise Anemia Risk in Children

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Newswise — Low levels of the “sunshine” vitamin D appear to increase a child’s risk of anemia, according to new research led by investigators at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. The study, published online Oct. 10 in the Journal of Pediatrics, is believed to be the first one to extensively explore the link between the two conditions in children.

The researchers caution that their results are not proof of cause and effect, but rather evidence of a complex interplay between low vitamin D levels and hemoglobin, the oxygen-binding protein in red blood cells. The investigators say several mechanisms could account for the link between vitamin D and anemia, including vitamin D’s effects on red blood cell production in the bone marrow, as well as its ability to regulate immune inflammation, a known catalyst of anemia.

To capture the interaction between the two conditions, researchers studied blood samples from more than 10,400 children, tracking levels of vitamin D and hemoglobin. Vitamin D levels were consistently lower in children with low hemoglobin levels compared with their non-anemic counterparts, the researchers found. The sharpest spike in anemia risk occurred with mild vitamin D deficiency, defined as vitamin D levels below 30 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). Children with levels below 30 ng/ml had nearly twice the anemia risk of those with normal vitamin D levels. Severe vitamin D deficiency is defined as vitamin D levels at or below 20 ng/ml. Both mild and severe deficiency requires treatment with supplements.

When investigators looked at anemia and vitamin D by race, an interesting difference emerged. Black children had higher rates of anemia compared with white children (14 percent vs. 2 percent) and considerably lower vitamin D levels overall, but their anemia risk didn’t rise until their vitamin D levels dropped far lower than those of white children. The racial difference in vitamin D levels and anemia suggests that current therapeutic targets for preventing or treating these conditions may warrant a further look, the researchers say.

“The clear racial variance we saw in our study should serve as a reminder that what we may consider a pathologically low level in some may be perfectly adequate in others, which raises some interesting questions about our current one-size-fits-all approach to treatment and supplementation,” says lead investigator Meredith Atkinson, M.D., M.H.S., a pediatric kidney specialist at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Untreated, chronic anemia and vitamin D deficiency can have wide-ranging health consequences, including organ damage, skeletal deformities and frequent fractures, and lead to premature osteoporosis in later life.

Long known for its role in bone development, vitamin D has recently been implicated in a wide range of disorders. Emerging evidence suggests that low vitamin D levels may play a role in the development of certain cancers and heart disease and lead to suppressed immunity, the researchers note.

Anemia, which occurs when the body doesn’t have enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells, is believed to affect one in five children at some point in their lives, experts say. Several large-scale studies have found severe vitamin D deficiency in about a tenth of U.S. children, while nearly 70 percent have suboptimal levels.

“If our findings are confirmed through further research, low vitamin D levels may turn out to be a readily modifiable risk factor for anemia that we can easily tackle with supplements,” says senior study investigator Jeffrey Fadrowski, M.D., M.H.S., also a pediatric kidney specialist at Johns Hopkins.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases under grant number K23 DK084116.

Other investigators involved in the research included Michal Melamed, M.D., M.H.S., of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York; Juhi Kumar, M.D., M.P.H., of Weill Cornell Medical College; Cindy Roy, Ph.D., and Edgar Miller III, M.D., Ph.D., of Johns Hopkins; and Susan Firth, M.D., Ph.D., of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Related article on the Web:
Memo to Pediatricians: Screen All Kids for Vitamin D Deficiency, Test Those at High Risk

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Founded in 1912 as the children's hospital of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, the Johns Hopkins Children's Center offers one of the most comprehensive pediatric medical programs in the country, with more than 92,000 patient visits and nearly 9,000 admissions each year. Hopkins Children’s is consistently ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation. Hopkins Children’s is Maryland's largest children’s hospital and the only state-designated Trauma Service and Burn Unit for pediatric patients. It has recognized Centers of Excellence in dozens of pediatric subspecialties, including allergy, cardiology, cystic fibrosis, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, pulmonary, and transplant. For more information, visit www.hopkinschildrens.org.

Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM), headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is a $6.7 billion integrated global health enterprise and one of the leading health care systems in the United States. JHM unites physicians and scientists of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with the organizations, health professionals and facilities of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System. JHM's vision, “Together, we will deliver the promise of medicine,” is supported by its mission to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care. Diverse and inclusive, JHM educates medical students, scientists, health care professionals and the public; conducts biomedical research; and provides patient-centered medicine to prevent, diagnose and treat human illness. JHM operates six academic and community hospitals, four suburban health care and surgery centers, and more than 30 primary health care outpatient sites. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, opened in 1889, was ranked number one in the nation for 21 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report.

Legal expert: breast milk must come from known, trusted sources

News that human breast milk for sale online for babies can contain dangerous bacteria should not come as a surprise, says Sarah Jane Hughes, a legal expert and member of the Faculty in the University Maurer School of law in Bloomington Indiana.

"Breast milk should be from sources known, or acquired through sources known as hospitals, to reduce the risk of contamination," said Hughes, the University and Fellow Student in commercial law at the school of Maurer.

"Breast milk for donation often is frozen quickly after an expression to be preserved," added Hughes. "If they are not managed correctly, it can deteriorate quickly. Donor breast milk to hospitals should be pre-selected for diseases, such as AIDS or hepatitis".

In a study published online in the journal Pediatrics, the researchers bought and analyzed 101 samples of breast milk sold by women on a popular website, which did not identify. Three-fourths of the samples contained bacteria at levels high enough as to sick babies, the researchers found.

A member of the faculty since long ago at Maurer school, Hughes also has experience as a breast milk donor in the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C.. You can contact her at 812-855-6318 or sjhughes@indiana.edu.

Promoting experts in your organization with the expert pitch. Do reporters: follow @Expert_Pitch to receive instant updates via Twitter looking for an expert in different? Journalists can submit a
Expert consultation.

Case Western Reserve School of Medicine Scientist Wins Prestigious NIH New Innovators Award

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Newswise — Derek Taylor, PhD, a member of the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, has been awarded the prestigious New Innovator Award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH awards this grant to scientists proposing highly innovative approaches to major contemporary challenges in biomedical research, under the agency’s High Risk-High Reward program.

“Only the absolute top notch scientists compete for this award, which undergoes intense review by leaders at the NIH,” stated Stanton Gerson, MD, Asa and Patricia Shiverick- Jane Shiverick (Tripp) Professor of Hematological Oncology, director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and director of the Seidman Cancer Center at UH Case Medical Center. “Derek continues to excel as a cancer scientist at Case Western Reserve. I have been impressed with his continuous innovative approaches to fundamental questions in cancer. Telomere research is critical since this process is central to how cancer continues to grow and outlive normal cells.”

Taylor is an assistant professor, Department of Pharmacology, at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, and a member of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. He received the New Innovator Award to support his research on the induction of cancer cell death by selective DNA misincorporation.

Taylor’s laboratory studies chromosome stability. His lab is particularly interested in telomeres, the specialized structures that cap and protect the ends of chromosomes. Dr. Taylor’s research also focuses on a special enzyme, telomerase, which interacts with telomeres to contribute to chromosome stability. As telomerase is upregulated in the majority of human cancers, the Taylor lab is investigating how to use its unique mechanism to deliver toxic compounds to cancer cells selectively.

Taylor’s research will use telomerase as a “Trojan horse” to deliver toxic drugs exclusively to cancer cells. The results obtained from the proposed experiments could lead to an entirely new, and more successful, method for treating a diverse set of human cancers.

The New Innovator Award initiative, established in 2007, supports investigators who are within 10 years of their terminal degree or clinical residency, but who have not yet received a Research Project Grant (R01) or equivalent NIH grant, to conduct exceptionally innovative research.

Taylor is the only scientist in Ohio to receive a 2013 New Innovator’s Award.

About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation’s top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School’s innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership,
and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.

Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report’s “Guide to Graduate Education.”

The School of Medicine’s primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu.

About Case Comprehensive Cancer Center
Case Comprehensive Cancer Center is an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center located at Case Western Reserve University. The center, now in its 25th year of funding, integrates the cancer research activities of the largest biomedical research and health care institutions in Ohio – Case Western Reserve, University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic. NCI-designated cancer centers are characterized by scientific excellence and the capability to integrate a diversity of research approaches to focus on the problem of cancer. It is led by Stanton Gerson, MD, Asa and Patricia Shiverick- Jane Shiverick (Tripp) Professor of Hematological Oncology, director of the National Center for Regenerative Medicine, Case Western Reserve, and director of the Seidman Cancer Center at UH Case Medical Center.

Investigador recibe donación de $681K para examinar el impacto de huracán Sandy en personas mayores

Newswise - STRATFORD - Rachel Pruchno, PhD, director of research at the Institute of New Jersey for the aging successful at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, has received a two-year scholarship $681.000 from the United States Department of health and human services to examine the effects of the hurricane Sandy in a large representative sample of more than 3,200 seniors living in nine New Jersey counties most affected by the storm. The study will identify aspects of social capital that promote resilience of older adults exposed to the disaster. Because the participants were also evaluated twice (in 2006 and 2011) before Hurricane Sandy, the study offers a unique opportunity to understand the resilience in the elderly.

"Natural disasters tend to have an impact disproportionate in older people interrupting the resources they need to function independently," said Pruchno, "older people accounted for 65 percent of the deaths related to Hurricane Sandy. Understand how affects the social capital of neighborhood resilience primarily to expand the scope of the investigation of the disaster and identify ways that help to protect the health and safety of seniors in emergency situations.

Pruchno estimated that nearly two-thirds of the eligible participants will have had any exposure personal disaster. The results of this study will provide information critical to informing individual and community-based interventions that can help to minimize the vulnerability of older persons, both before and after a disaster strikes.

"The resistance of an individual is not only a function of that individual's characteristics, resources, and exposure to the disaster," said Pruchno. "Resilience is also affected by the districts where they lived before, during and after the hurricane. Growing evidence suggests that the characteristics of the environment are considerable variations in resistance, and that these effects are stronger in later life".

In addition to interviewing the participants of the study in the nine counties of New Jersey, the researchers gather to be data from a variety of sources, including Medicare and Medicaid claims data, the 2010 Census and providers of community focus groups.

This project is being funded by a grant from the office of the Assistant Secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of health and human services of the United States.

Journalists interested in speaking with Rachel Pruchno, PhD, should contact Jerry Carey, Rowan University media communication and public relations, at careyge@rowan.edu or 856-566-6171.

About Rowan University
Rowan University is an institution of State public inquiry appointed with campuses in Glassboro, Camden and Stratford, N.j., offered through doctoral degree programmes to 14,000 students. In the past two years, Rowan created a school of Biomedical Sciences; He opened the University Cooper medical school of Rowan based in Camden; and the school of medicine Osteopathic, which formed part of the University of medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, making Rowan only the second University in the nation to grant medical degrees both M.D. and D.O. built-in. Rowan is also scheduled to collaborate with Rutgers-Camden to create a new University of Health Sciences in Camden, with degree programs related to the growth of necessary medical services in the future. Recently appointed by the State only the second institution of comprehensive public research in New Jersey, Rowan plans to increase sponsored research to $100 million a year. These new initiatives will be added to Rowan Rohrer College of Business and powers of communication and creative arts, education, engineering, graduate and continuing education, humanities and social sciences, performing arts and science and mathematics.

Los Angeles residents vote Cedars-Sinai No. 1 for the quality of care and staff

 

Newswise - LOS Angeles (October 22, 2013) - for 18 years in a row, Cedars-Sinai has won a national award from consumption to provide the medical care of high quality and staff in the Los Angeles region based on a survey of households in the area.

Cedars-Sinai has received an award of the 2013-14 National Research Corporation consumer choice. It is only medical center in the Los Angeles area to win the prize to the best professional quality of health in general, image, reputation, doctors and nurses.

"Cedars-Sinai is gratified by this important recognition of our community," said Thomas M. Priselac, President and Chief Executive Officer. "It reflects our commitment to providing compassionate, high quality care for residents in the region."

More than 270,000 households were contacted across the country for the study of knowledge about market research Corporation. Consumers in local markets were asked to which hospitals preferred based on service and quality of care.
Cedars-Sinai is one of only 37 hospitals throughout the country which won, or shared, in their local markets every year since its inception in 1996.

The award is the latest recognition of the commitment of Cedars-Sinai's quality of care.

Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released data showing that Cedars-Sinai is the only hospital in California (and one of only five in the nation) that have a mortality rate 30 days best that the national rate for five consecutive years in the following major categories of disease: heart failurepneumonia and the acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).

The distinction is significant for Cedars-Sinai treats many patients with advanced heart disease requiring complex interventions, including heart transplants. The programme has made adult heart transplant more than any other medical center in the nation for three consecutive years.

"We are proud of our history of quality," said Michael Langberg, MD, senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. "It is the result of our personnel, paying special attention to even the smallest detail when it comes to patient care".

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Large, Prospective Study Finds Long-Term Obesity Is Associated with Poorer Pancreatic Cancer Survival

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In this News Digest:

- Summary of a study being published online October 21, 2013 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, reporting that patients with pancreatic cancer who were overweight or obese years before their diagnosis tend to have more advanced disease at diagnosis and shorter survival.

- The findings add to increasing evidence linking obesity with cancer, suggesting that maintaining a healthy body weight not only reduces the risk of developing certain cancers, but may also improve outcomes after a cancer diagnosis.

- Quote for attribution to Smitha Krishnamurthi, MD, American Society of Clinical Oncology Cancer Communications Committee member and gastrointestinal cancers expert

Newswise — New results from a prospective study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology show that patients with a body mass index (BMI) in the obese range live on average two to three months less after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, compared with healthy weight patients, even after adjusting for factors that are known to predict survival for patients with this disease, such as age and disease stage. This association was statistically strongest for people who were overweight two decades before their diagnosis.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. Most patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, which accounts for more than 90% of new cases, survive less than a year after their diagnosis.

Obesity is a major public health problem in the United States and many other countries around the world. While it is well known that obesity is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is also associated with cancer risk and outcomes. In fact, scientists predict that obesity will become the leading preventable cause of cancer in the near future.

Several prior studies have shown that elevated BMI increases the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, but thus far there has been little research on whether BMI affects the aggressiveness of the disease or survival after diagnosis.

“This study adds to mounting evidence for the role of weight control in improving outcomes for patients with cancer. It also reinforces the importance of maintaining a healthy weight throughout your life, which may lead to better outcomes after diagnosis and help prevent pancreatic cancer from developing,” said senior study author Brian M. Wolpin, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. “While our findings will not affect the way we treat patients today, they provide new leads for investigating the molecular pathways that may be responsible for the survival difference between obese and healthy-weight patients. Hopefully, in the future, that research will bring new approaches for treatment of pancreatic cancer.”

Researchers evaluated the association between patients’ BMI in 1986 and survival after diagnosis of pancreatic cancer among participants from two large prospective cohort studies – the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Participants of those studies were surveyed on medical history, health behaviors, and lifestyle choices. The present study assessed 902 cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma that were diagnosed during a 24-year period.

Overall, the median length of survival after diagnosis for those patients was five months. According to Dr. Wolpin, on average, healthy weight patients (BMI less than 25 kg/m2) lived 2 to 3 months longer than obese patients (BMI greater than or equal to 35 kg/m2). The association between higher prediagnostic BMI and shorter survival persisted after adjusting for differences in age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, and disease stage. Obese patients were also more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease – 72% of obese patients had metastatic disease at diagnosis compared to 59% of healthy-weight patients.

The association between BMI and survival was even stronger among the 202 patients with high BMI assessed 18-20 years before diagnosis. Assuming that most people remain overweight once they gain weight, according to Dr. Wolpin, this finding suggests that being overweight for a prolonged period of time leads to worse outcomes. This study also suggests further avenues of research on the link between obesity and cancer. For example, it is not yet clear if the same changes that promote tumor development in obese people also affect the aggressiveness of the tumor. Several ongoing studies are already exploring metabolic (energy and nutrient processing) pathways and genomic changes in relation to obesity and cancer. This work might reveal whether tumors that develop in obese people are susceptible to different treatments than tumors that develop in healthy-weight people.

This research was funded in part by a 2009 Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Career Development Award to Brian Wolpin.

ASCO Perspective:
Smitha Krishnamurthi, MD, ASCO Cancer Communications Committee member and gastrointestinal cancers expert
“While previous retrospective studies suggested a link between obesity and pancreatic cancer survival, the prospective nature of this study makes the findings more reliable. An interesting aspect of this study is that it suggests that obesity, particularly chronic obesity, increases the risk of death from pancreatic cancer. This study, however, could not distinguish if the increased risk of death was due to metabolic and inflammatory changes that accompany obesity or due to other health complications of obesity.”

The full study can be found online at the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

About the Journal of Clinical Oncology:
Journal of Clinical Oncology, the flagship journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, is a leader in reach, readership, impact, and influence. With a focus on significant clinical oncology research, Journal of Clinical Oncology publishes over 1,000 articles in 36 issues a year.

About ASCO:
Founded in 1964, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is the world's leading professional organization representing physicians who care for people with cancer. With more than 30,000 members, ASCO is committed to improving cancer care through scientific meetings, educational programs and peer-reviewed journals. ASCO is supported by its affiliate organization, the Conquer Cancer Foundation, which funds ground-breaking research and programs that make a tangible difference in the lives of people with cancer. For ASCO information and resources, visit www.asco.org. Patient-oriented cancer information is available at www.cancer.net.

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Dr. Francis O. Walker Welcomed as New President of AANEM

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Newswise — The American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM) is pleased to announce the selection of Francis O. Walker, MD, to lead the organization in 2013-14 as its new president.

Dr. Walker is a professor of neurology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston Salem, NC. He attended medical school at Indiana University School of Medicine and graduated in 1978. He completed an internal medicine internship, a neurology residency, and a fellowship at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He completed another fellowship at the University of Michigan Medical Center in 1983. Dr. Walker is certified by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine and the American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology. He has lectured extensively on the topic of neuromuscular ultrasound and is considered a national expert in this field.

A member of AANEM since 1985, Dr. Walker has served on numerous committees including the Annual Meeting Coordination, CME Advisory, Ultrasound Committees and the Muscle & Nerve Editorial Board. He served on the AANEM Board of Directors and the Finance Committee as President elect and was Chair of the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine (ABEM) Examination Committee from 1999-2006. As president, he will lead the Board of Directors, which has responsibility for the association's strategic planning, policy creation, and financial oversight.

“I look forward to being able to serve this great organization in this capacity,” said Dr. Walker. “The field of medicine is ever changing and the AANEM has always done an admirable job in educating and advocating for its members so that they can better adapt to these changes. In addition to maintaining these traditions, I hope to bring a particular enthusiasm for finding, developing, and applying new technology for the care of our patients with muscle and nerve diseases.”

AANEM Executive Director Shirlyn Adkins added, “Dr. Walker throughout his career has been interested in combining electrodiagnostic studies and ultrasound to improve diagnostic accuracy. As AANEM President, he will continue to improve AANEM’s education and advocacy efforts in this area and the staff and I look forward to working with him during the coming year."

Dr. Walker replaces Peter A. Grant, MD, of Medford, OR, who completed his term on October 18, 2013.

About AANEM
Founded in 1953, the AANEM is a nonprofit membership association dedicated to the advancement of neuromuscular and electrodiagnostic medicine. Nearly 5000 physician members—primarily neurologists and physiatrists—are now joined by allied health professionals and PhD researchers working to improve the quality of medical care provided to patients with muscle and nerve disorders. AANEM programs are guided by its five pillars: education, professional standards, advocacy, communications, and research. Its administrative office is located in Rochester, MN.

Two UC San Diego researchers elected to Institute of medicine

 

Newswise - University of California, San Diego medical school researcher the researchers Joseph G. Gleeson, MD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Professor of neuroscience and Pediatrics and Richard D. Kolodner, PhD, Professor of medicine and Ludwig Cancer Research scientist, have been appointed new members of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), considered among the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine.

Gleeson and Kolodner were among 70 new members and 10 foreign partners announced today the IOM annual meeting, bringing the total membership of the IOM to 1966 worldwide. Forty-six members of the Faculty of UC San Diego, current and Emeritus, are members of the IOM.

Joseph Gleeson

Gleeson is the principal investigator at the Center for the development of the brain, a laboratory that seeks to understand the genetic basis of diseases of the brain such as mental retardation, epilepsy and autism using genetic tools. He is also director of the UC San Diego neuroscience Core, Co-Director of the master of Biomedical Sciences and a member of the Institute of genomic medicine at UC San Diego.

He is also a member of the Child Neurology society, the society for Neuroscience and the American Society of human genetics and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Child Neurology, Journal of Pediatric Neurology and human Molecular Genetics.

Gleeson got his Bachelor's degree in chemistry from UC San Diego and his title of doctor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. He came to UC San Diego in 1999. His awards and recognition include award Klingenstein Fellowship in neuroscience, a Searle Scholar Award and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Clinical Scientist Award in translational research.

Richard Kolodner

Kolodner, Professor in cellular and molecular medicine of the Faculty of medicine at UC San Diego and UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, has made seminal contributions to understanding the connection between cancer and the repair of the DNA mismatch - the ability of cells to correct the genetic DNA.

It is member of the National Academy of Sciences (2000), the Academy American of Arts & Sciences (2008), the American Society of Microbiology, the Genetics Society of America and American Association for Cancer Research. He has served on numerous boards advice and review, including the Board of scientific advisors of the national cancer Institute and Howard Hughes Medical Institute criticizes Scientific Council.

Among his awards are the research award of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Morse, the Prix Charles S. Mott of the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation and the Landon-AACR Prize for basic cancer research.

Kolodner received his titles of Bachelor's degree and doctorate in biological sciences from UC Irvine and he worked at the medical school of Harvard to the UC San Diego in 1997.

About the Institute of medicine
Founded in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the IOM serves as an independent, science-based, authoritative advisory group to the federal Government of the United States on various topics ranging from the effects on the health of the intake of salt, cancer care and abuse of minors in the armed forces mental illness and gun violence.

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Loyola University Chicago Professor Named American Academy of Nursing Fellow

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Newswise — MAYWOOD, Ill. – Sue Penckofer, PhD, RN, was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing on Oct. 19, 2013. This event took place at the Academy’s 40th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. Dr. Penckofer is a professor at Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON).

“I am honored to join this esteemed group,” Dr. Penckofer said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance the profession of nursing and improve health care nationwide.”

Selection for membership in the academy is one of the most prestigious honors in the field of nursing. The academy fellows represent the top nurse researchers, policymakers, scholars, executives, educators and practitioners. This new class of fellows represents all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 19 countries. Dr. Penckofer was among 172 fellows inducted in to the academy. She was named a fellow for her contributions to the field of nursing for her work in improving women’s cardiovascular health, particularly for women afflicted with diabetes who are at greatest risk for cardiac morbidity and mortality.

The academy is composed of more than 2,000 nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy and research. Selection criteria include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care and sponsorship by two current academy fellows. Applicants are reviewed by a panel of elected and appointed fellows, and selection is based, in part, on the extent to which nominees’ nursing careers influence health policies and well-being.

Dr. Sue Penckofer earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in nursing and her doctorate from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been an educator and researcher for more than 30 years and is recognized nationally and internationally for her expertise in women’s cardiovascular health, depression, diabetes and vitamin D deficiency. Dr. Penckofer’s research on how emotions can affect overall health and quality of life has helped to transform the care delivered to women with diabetes. She also has made substantive contributions to promoting awareness and understanding of key health issues, which disproportionately affect women in minority and underserved populations.

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The Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division (HSD) advances interprofessional, multidisciplinary and transformative education and research while promoting service to others through stewardship of scientific knowledge and preparation of tomorrow's leaders. The HSD is located on the Health Sciences Campus in Maywood, Illinois. It includes the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, the Stritch School of Medicine, the biomedical research programs of the Graduate School, and several other institutes and centers encouraging new research and interprofessional education opportunities across all of Loyola University Chicago. The faculty and staff of the HSD bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and a strong commitment to seeing that Loyola's health sciences continue to excel and exceed the standard for academic and research excellence. For more on the HSD, visit LUC.edu/hsd.