“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.” ~ General Colin Powell
December 7, 2012
Congratulations … Recent Leadership National Election Status for Four of Our Faculty … Increasing Our Presence Nationally …
Please join us as we congratulate Dr. Anilkumar Pillai, Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Dr. Lin Mei, Director, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics on being elected Associate Member and Member, respectively of the prestigious American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP).
Also join us as we congratulate Dr. Pamela Fall, Professor, Nephrology on her recent appointment to the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Multimedia Task Force.
We also want to congratulate Dr. Stan Nahman, Professor, Nephrology, on his recent appointment to the American Society of Nephrology Training Program Directors Executive Committee. What impressive appointments and elections for our faculty.
Congratulations … Well Earned Awards at STaR 2012 … Our Students are Great Representatives of Our Research …
Congratulations to three of our graduate students in the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on receiving awards recently at the Southern Translational Education and Research Conference (STaR 2012): Rui Wang (Best Poster); Mary Zimmerman (Travel Award); and Austin Schull (Travel Award).
Congratulations to the Department of Ophthalmology … Continued Philanthropic Success …
Please join us as we congratulate the Department of Ophthalmology on the recent gift of $42,000 from the Knights Templar Educational Foundation of Georgia to support Vision Science and Eye Educational activities. This builds on the many prior philanthropic successes supporting vision research… great job all around. Thank you.
Community Partner … Patient Center Model … University Health Care System Hospice …
We are delighted to see the positive impact in our community from one of our most valuable community partners, University Health Care System Hospice. We want to thank Dr. Tara Kattine and her team for their innovativeness and thoughtfulness with this model for hospice patient care. This is a terrific and much needed new service for our community.
Congratulations … We Are A “Super Site” In Our Clinical Research … Rating of 185 Out of 200 … Increasing Our Competitiveness Nationally …
Our institution has been officially named a “Super Site” by Quintiles, one of the largest Contract Research Organizations in the world. By having this designation, we will have “first right of acceptance” for all new studies they obtain, as well as new studies they are bidding on and in their pipeline. In order to be a “Super Site”, we had to go through a qualification process which included a site visit and obtain a rating of at least 125 points of 200 … we obtained 185. Many thanks to Drs. Tony Mulloy and Richard Sattin and Ms. Kathy Miles and Ms. Ivy Tillman and many more who assisted with this process.
Cancer Center in the Spot Light … Again … Developing New Clinical Research Opportunities …
New Technology … Faster …
The Cancer Center Integrated Genomics Resource is now using a faster sequencing system (Illumina MiSeq System) which produces data in several formats. This is a single sample sequencer which has an overall lower output than the HiSeq. It can be used for exome, miRNA, RNA-seq, CHiP-Seq, ultra high-throughput targeted sequencing and small genome organisms. We are excited about this new technology.
New Clinical Trial … Homegrown … Our Development … Our Discovery … Moving Forward …
Our very own Dr. Samir Khleif, Director, Cancer Center is conducting the first human clinical trial to investigate combining two other drugs with the only therapeutic FDA-approved prostate cancer drug, Provenge. (http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/health/2012-11-30/ghsu-approach-could-boost-vaccine-prostate-cancer ). Dr. Khleif’s trial hopes to boost Provenge’s effectiveness by combining it with two other drugs. The trial will enroll up to 63 men. This is the kind of trials that Dr. Khleif is promoting at the Cancer Center… “homegrown”, “our development”, “and our discovery”, “moving forward”.
Welcome … Building Our Pediatrics Team …
Please join us as we welcome Dr. Ian M. Heger as our new Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Dr. Heger comes to us from Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. His specialty is repairing craniosynostosis (premature fusion of one or more of the six major growth points in a baby’s skull). We are excited to have Dr. Heger at the CMC and we appreciate the team efforts in such a key recruitment.
Supreme Court Explores Academic Admissions … Supporting Diversity in Academic Workforce Development …
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in a case challenging the University of Texas at Austin’s consideration of race in undergraduate admissions. (https://www.aamc.org/advocacy/washhigh/highlights2012/307796/supremecourtexploresconsiderationofraceinadmissions.html). A student who was denied admission is asking the court to invalidate the university’s admissions process under the court’s 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger. That decision allows for race to be part of the individualized selection process in the quest for a diverse student body. The AAMC supports upholding the court’s 2003 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger to ensure a diverse student body. This is a key decision.
Georgia Trend Magazine … GHSU Making the List … Dr. Bill Kanto Quoted …
GHSU is ranked in the Top Teaching Hospitals of Georgia Trend Magazine. Georgia Trend used publicly available information on quality of care, patient satisfaction, mortality and readmission statistics and data on hospital-acquired infections and conditions (http://www.georgiatrend.com/December-2012/Top-Georgia-Hospitals-2012/).
Also in this issue of Georgia Trend Magazine is comments made by Dr. Bill Kanto on “Finding the Right Hospital”. Congratulations Dr. Kanto!!! (http://www.georgiatrend.com/December-2012/Finding-The-Right-Hospital/). The article reads very well and shows off Dr. Kanto’s impressive leadership within our healthcare system.
Talent Show … What a Blast! … Another Example of Our Students Supporting Our Community …
This year’s talent show benefited the Reach Out and Read organization that partners with doctors to prescribe books and encourages families to read together. Our students raised over $1000. Many thanks to all our performing medical students for the hard work and artistic innovation that went into this most successful show as well as to Drs. Paul Wallach and Kathie McKie who were my co-judges. We very much appreciate our student leadership in community activities, volunteerism and advocacy.
A Holiday Concert … A Live Performance … What Talent …
The GHSU Arts Council recently presented its winter concert, Performing Live: A Holiday Concert, which was inspirational as well as exceptional. We have such talented students, residents, faculty and staff who fully entertain us. Our thanks and congratulations to Dr. Kathie McKie for her inspiration in launching this 10 years ago.
Upcoming Events …
December 11th – Richmond County Medical Society Meeting, Old Medical College, 7 pm
December 12th – Georgia Health Sciences Annual Medical Staff Meeting, 5:30 pm to 7 pm, CMC Conference Room – BT 1810
December 14th – Employee and Faculty Service Recognition Breakfast, the Salvation Army Kroc Center 7:30 – 9:30 am (honoring employees and faculty with 5, 10, 15, and 20 years of service)
December 24th and 25th– Christmas Holidays
January 1st – Happy New Year and Holiday
January 24th – Monthly series to inform teaching faculty of current methods, findings, and trends in health sciences education and education‐related research, 11:30 am, EC 1210, Psychiatry Empathy: Assessment, Teaching Methods and Simulation Pilot Data by Adrianna Foster, MD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Health Behavior
February 5th – Medical Student Advocacy Day in Atlanta
Have a wonderful weekend.