“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”
– John Maxwell
May 24, 2013
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
Pioneering Pollock …. Putting Pressure on Hypertension … A National Leader
Our very own Dr. David Pollock will give this year’s Lewis K. Dahl Memorial Lecture during the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Session in September in beautiful New Orleans. The lecture honors Dr. Dahl’s pioneering work in the relationship between salt, the kidney, and hypertension, and his establishment of an important, genetically based experimental model of hypertension, the Dahl salt-sensitive rat. As we all know, Dr. Pollock has done a lot of his own pioneering work right here in this important health issue for our nation. We applaud him again for those efforts and for this true honor.
Advancing Leadership … Selection for Prestigious Women in Medicine Program
Our congratulations once again to Dr. Martha Tingen who has been selected for fellowship into the American Academy of Nursing AND for the 2013-14 class of fellows of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program at Drexel University College of Medicine. Incredible honors for a determined and visionary leader. Dr. Tingen will be part of the 19th incoming class for ELAM®, the only program in North America dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in academic health science institutions. When she finishes up in May 2014, she’ll join a group of 800 alumnae from around the world serving in a variety of leadership positions including department chairs, research center directors, deans, and college presidents as well as chief executives in health care and accrediting organizations. Way to go Dr. Tingen!
More Significant Science … Understanding Mental Illness
Speaking of great contributions, Dr. Lin Mei reports this week in the journal Neuron that his team has successfully eliminated classic symptoms of schizophrenia in a mouse model by restoring normal levels of the neuregulin-1 gene, which was already associated with this extremely difficult disorder. In a fascinating tale, Mei and his colleagues have a mouse in which they can turn levels of the gene up and down: when they turn it up, symptoms appear and when they turn it down they resolve. Amazing and incredibly gratifying for the rest of us who are on the front line of treating this condition and, like Dr. Mei, are looking for better therapies and, ideally, a cure. This is the kind of groundbreaking work that should make a real difference in the lives of patients and build the reputation of our medical school as a research leader. Congratulations Dr. Mei and team.
Scientific Models … Worldwide Recognition
A big congratulations as well to Dr. Arni S.R. Srinivasa Rao on his appointment to the Editorial Board of Theoretical Biology and Medical Modelling. What a great honor for our colleague in Biostatistics and Epidemiology! Check outhttp://www.tbiomed.com/about to learn more about the journal.
Hats off as well to Manoj Mathew … National Institutes of Health Medical Research Scholar
A big round of applause for our fourth-year student Manoj Mathew,who recently gained a highly competitive National Institutes of Health Medical Research Scholars position for 2013-14. He will be among a small number of medical, dental and veterinary students from across the country spending 12 months at the NIH in a mentored basic, clinical or translational research program. This is a great honor for Manoj and our medical school and we are VERY proud of him. Well done Manoj! Check out this link to learn more about the program — http://1.usa.gov/10ls4zh
Wonderful news… Internal medicine Residency…
We commend the Internal Medicine Residency program which recently received continued residency accreditation from the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. The program currently has 63 residents and will gain four more residents starting July 1. Terrific news! We have so many great residency programs here at MCG and are proud that they continue to thrive as they play a pivotal role in educating the next generation of physicians. Thank you Dr. Madaio and others who have led the program to continued success.
A New Department …. Expanded Collaboration in Cancer
We welcome to our medical school the inaugural Chair of our 21st Department! Dr. Feng-Ming “Spring” Kong is Chair of our new Department of Radiation Oncology. She also is Co-Leader of the Lung Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinic and Co-Director of Lung and Esophageal Cancer Programs at our Cancer Center. Dr. Kong, a pioneer in personalized treatment that enables the best patient outcomes with the fewest side effects, will help us further improve care to our cancer patients – the majority of whom receive radiation therapy – and significantly strengthen our cancer-related research and education. One of her many goals is establishing a radiation oncology residency. We definitely will be hearing a lot from Dr. Kong and are excited about this important collaboration with our cancer colleagues. A special thanks to Dr. Khleif for his leadership in this important venture. You can read more about Dr. Kong at http://news.gru.edu/archives/8871 and http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/health/2013-05-21/radiation-oncology-advances-personalized-medicine?v=1369095335.
Georgia Regents Medical Associates… Annual Membership Update
At Georgia Regents Medical Associates annual membership meeting, Dr. Azziz’s encouraging remarks were followed by a comprehensive report on our health care system by Mr. David Hefner. Our thanks also to GRMA president Dr. David Bogorad, who did a great job explaining this important physician group. We ended the meeting with an inspirational video which Dr. Cosgrove had shared with us from the Cleveland Clinic. Certainly it was a poignant reminder that all of our patients and colleagues have triumphs and tragedies and that we are here to support each other through it all. For those who weren’t there, it’s truly worth the few moments it takes to watch — http://bit.ly/1a7uYZ7
Single Largest Gift to Columbus Regional Medical Foundation … Honors our Pediatric Alum
Another shout out to another incredible alum, pediatrician Dr. Kathryn Cheek (’77), whose tireless contributions to the wellbeing of children prompted Courtney and Paul Amos II to donate $1.5 million, the largest single gift ever, to the Columbus Regional Medical Foundation in Columbus, Ga., to help start a pediatric emergency department. “She is a true servant leader and exemplifies the magic that results when passion and purpose are put to work for the good of others,” Mrs. Amos said in announcing the gift. Indeed! What an incredible testament to Dr. Cheek, to children and to the giving spirit. There are plenty of life lessons for us all in these words and actions. Learn more athttp://www.bizjournals.com/prnewswire/press_releases/2013/05/16/CL15137.
Upcoming Events…
May 28 – The Richmond County Medical Society will gather at the Old Medical College with a social hour beginning at 7 p.m. and dinner with a meeting following. If you are interested, please reserve by this Friday, May 24 by emailingNgraham@medicalbureau.netor by calling the Society office at 706-733-1561.
June 13 – MCG Chair Investiture Ceremony, starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Lee Auditorium. If you are unable to attend, please check out the live stream at www.gru.edu/stream.
Check out our MCG Facebook page at www.facebook.com/grumcg and Twitter page as well #Follow.
Enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend!