2003  

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December

12/29 - Medical school faculty are among fellows recruited by Center for the Study of Biological Complexity - Ten newly recruited CSBC fellows -- including four from the SChool of Medicine --presented their work to an audience of biologists, chemists, mathematicians, and engineers at the 2003 Annual Research Review of the CSBC. The common theme stressed the inevitable linkage of mathematics, computer science and information technology in 21st Century biological and biomedical research. Read more.

12/19 - Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation hosts fifth annual holiday toy drive - For the fifth time in as many years, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Virginia Commonwealth University has launched a successful toy drive in conjunction with the department's holiday party. More than 300 new toys to the Holiday Toy Fundraiser, including CD players, dolls, games, footballs, basketballs and jewelry. Read more.

12/16 - MITAC team continues telemedicine project in Ecuador - The team from VCU's Medical Informatics and Technology Applications Consortium recently was in the field again in Ecuador. Led by Dr. Ronald Merrell, the group established new telemedicine integration for a mobile health project and continued their work in informatics support for remote regions. Read more.

12/10 - VCU Medical Center unveils new comprehensive Heart Center - An extensive renovation created 20 cardiac surgery beds, 28 cardiology beds and 16 intensive care unit (ICU) beds. The Heart Center centrally locates all inpatient cardiac services and brings together core care teams, all on the same floor. Read more.

12/10 - Shortage of FcyRII molecules leads to reduced immunity in the elderly - Immunologists report that low levels of a molecule known as FcyRII reduce the ability of the elderly to produce antibodies to fight germs and infections. The findings, included in the Dec. 1 issue of the Journal of Immunology, confirm preliminary research by VCU researchers reported last year that linked shortages of the molecules on the surface of follicular dendritic cells to immune deficiency. "The aging immune system is characterized by a progressive decline in its ability to fight antigens, which may contribute to serious illnesses and death in the elderly," says Andras K. Szakal, Ph.D., professor of anatomy and immunobiology and the lead author on the study. Read more.

12/4 - Pediatric cancer clinic wins national design award - The ASK Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Clinic at the VCU Medical Center has been selected as one of the ten most innovative designs in the country for 2002 by the Center for Innovation in Health Facilities, a national organization that recognizes and promotes creative, functional architecture in the health care field. The clinic was the result of a five-month renovation project funded by a generous gift from ASK - the Association for the Support of Children with Cancer. Read more.

November

11/24 - VCU is part of a multi-site clinical trial for new cancer drug - VCU is one of five institutions participating in NCI-sponsored clinical trials of 18F-Fluorothymidine (FLT) as an agent for positron emission tomography (PET), applied to the management of patients with cancer. Read more.

11/21 -VCU joins $350 million bioterrorism study - VCU has been selected to join a national consortium of biomedical research institutions established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services to help combat bioterrorism.  The VCU project will apply nearly $1 million of the grant to decode the Cryptosporidium parvum genome and identify potential vaccines for the bioterrorism agent. Gregory A. Buck, Ph.D., director of the VCU Center for the Study of Biological Complexity and a professor of microbiology and immunology, will lead the project. Read more.

11/20 - VCU Health System names distinguished clinician - Michael L. Hess, M.D., professor of internal medicine in the Division of Cardiology, recently was awarded the 2003 Distinguished Clinician Award by the VCU Health System. Dr. Hess specifically was recognized for extraordinary leadership and superb quality of clinical activities, as well as his contributions as director of VCU's medical heart failure team and efforts in heart transplant management. Read more.

11/18 - Researchers find enzyme that activates new transplant drug - Researchers have identified an enzyme that appears to activate the new immunosuppressant drug, FTY720, which prevents rejection of transplanted organs without the toxic side effects of older drugs. "This is an important first step in understanding the mechanism of FTY720," said Sarah Spiegel, M.D., chair of biochemistry and the lead author on the article, published this month in the journal FEBS Letters. Read more.

11/17 - Carr named to Hemophilia Advisory Board - Marcus E. Carr, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and pathology, has been appointed to Governor Warner's Hemophilia Advisory Board, where he will serve as a medical advisor/consultant. The board provides input to various government agencies about the status of Virginia's citizens with bleeding disorders. Read more.

11/17 - VCU, Hayes E. Willis Health Center host peace in schools festival - A professor in the School of Medicine organized a community forum to deal with the recent surge of local violence that has affected school-aged children and that has even spilled over into the classroom. Daphne L. Bryan, M.D., assistant professor of family practice and medical director of the Hayes E. Willis Health Center of South Richmond, said students need to find an appropriate means for handling anger and she wants to help. Read more.

11/12 - High school students enjoy a front row seat during surgery - About 40 Chesterfield County math and science students recently has a doctor's-eye view during a gall bladder surgery... but they were nowhere near the operating room. Thanks to a high-speed Internet connection and some fancy equipment provided by VCU's Medical Informatics and Technology Application Consortium (MITAC), the students were able to view the surgery from their science classroom at Clover Hill High School. Read more.

11/11 - Public access defibrillation by trained community volunteers increases survival for victims of cardiac arrest - The number of survivors of sudden cardiac arrest markedly increased when the victims were helped by community volunteers trained to perform not only CPR but also to use an automated external defibrillator, according to the results of a large multi-center study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in collaboration with the American Heart Association. "We now have the results of the world's largest test of public access defibrillation," said Joseph P. Ornato, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine and chairman of the Public Access Defibrillation steering committee. Read more.

11/11 - Gift from Anthem endows professorship, honors outstanding clinician and teacher - During a recent ceremony, with friends and colleagues looking on, representatives from Anthem presented a $415,000 check to VCU's School of Medicine in honor of Orhan Muren, M.D., professor emeritus in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine. The gift endows the Orhan Muren Distinguished Professorship and recognizes a revered physician and teacher for his outstanding gifts to medicine. Read more.

11/7 - Drs. Colenda and Holmes Named Alumni Stars

On Nov. 7, two of the medical school's distinguished alumni returned to campus to participate in Founders Day. Held biennially, the celebration marks the university's 1848 beginning and honors the newest generation of Alumni Stars from each of the university's schools. Christopher Colenda, M'77, is the Jean and Thomas McMillin Dean of the College of Medicine at Texas A&M, and Kevin L. Holmes, Ph.D.'81, is tenured head of the Flow Cytometry Section at the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Read more about the ceremony and about the careers of Dr. Colenda and Dr. Holmes.

11/06 - Researcher developing models to evaluate cancer treatments - Internal Medicine Professor Bruce E. Hillner, M.D., has been awarded a $687,000, four-year Research Scholar Grant by the American Cancer Society to develop models that could help clinicians and cancer policy makers better evaluate potential treatments for cancer patients by weighing projected survival rates, enhanced quality of life and other outcomes against financial costs. Read more.

11/04 - Gift from Anthem endows professorship - A generous $415,000 gift from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has endowed the Orhan Muren Distinguished Professorship. Dr. Muren, Professor Emeritus in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine, was one of the first physicians in Virginia to use fiber optics to diagnose patients with lung disease, and his research publications on chronic respiratory failure have been cited more than 10,000 times in various medical journals. And in a ceremony on Nov. 4, he was lauded as a challenging and inspiring teacher. Read more.

11/03 - Anti-cancer drugs show promise for leukemia patients - Combining the cutting-edge drug Velcade (bortezomib) with a second novel agent that appears to stop the growth of cancer cells by blocking key enzymes effectively killed leukemia cells, including those that had become resistant to other chemotherapy drugs, according to a new study. "We found that this combination was quite lethal to chronic myelogenous leukemia cells, which are generally resistant to standard chemotherapy agents," says Steven Grant, M.D., Shirley Carter and Sture Gordon Olsson Professor of Oncology and lead author of the study, which was published in the Nov. 15 issue of the journal Blood. Read more.

October

10/30 - Hospital-based palliative care unit reduces costs - Caring for seriously ill patients, including those near the end of their lives, in a hospital-based, specialty palliative care unit could reduce costs dramatically while, at the same time, provide more appropriate care to patients in their final days, according to a provocative new study. The research is the first of its kind to compare the cost of a hospital's palliative care unit with the cost of caring for seriously and terminally ill patients in a regular hospital setting. Published in the October issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine, the study was led by Thomas J. Smith, M.D., chair of the Division of Hematology/Oncology and an expert in the growing medical specialty known as palliative care, which focuses on the relief of pain, symptoms and the stress of the most serious and complex illnesses. Read more.

10/28 - Researchers pursue hope for sickle cell disease - A national sickle cell disease expert said the latest treatment for sickle cell disease, the drug hydroxyurea, can do more than just counteract painful episodes associated with the disease. It is also proving effective at prolonging life. "Now that patients know that this drug prolongs life, they are more eager to take it," said Wally R. Smith, M.D., director of the VCU Medical Center's Adult Sickle Cell Center, who is part of the national research team that recently published study results in the Journal of the American Medical Association that show that hydroxyurea prolongs life, cutting observed mortality by as much as 40 percent. "Although the drug has some side effects, there are reduced hospital stays, reduced number of crises and reduced levels of pain." Read more.

10/27 - New study shows benefits of hepatitis C therapy - New research demonstrates hepatitis C patients with normal ALT levels benefit from treatment with a combination therapy of Pegasys ® and Copegus ®. "While normally associated with milder liver disease, ALT levels vary from person to person and can fluctuate from month to month. This study provides a great deal more information on how we should treat the 30 percent of chronic hepatitis C patients who have normal ALT levels," said Mitchell L. Shiffman, M.D., chief of the Hepatology Section and medical director of VCU's Liver Transplant Program, who was a U.S. investigator on the study." Results from this first, international, large-scale study to investigate the use of pegylated interferon in patients with normal ALT levels were presented Oct. 27 at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases annual meeting. Read more.

10/24 - p53 gene is linked to DNA changes that promote cancer - Researchers have discovered a link between a key gene that suppresses the growth of cancer cells and DNA methylation, a process that controls which genes function by turning some genes on and other genes off. "p53 has been called the guardian of the genome. It watches out for DNA damage and, when this is detected, p53 stops the cell cycle and activates DNA repair enzymes. If it can't repair the genome, then p53 signals the cell to die - which is important in control of cancer," says Shirley M. Taylor, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology and director of the Molecular Biology Core Facility at VCU's Massey Cancer Center. "But p53 also is the most frequently altered gene in human cancers. When that happens, it allows DNA methylation to be elevated, which has the effect of shutting down other growth control genes and contributing to the development of cancers." Dr. Taylor was the lead author on the study, which was published in the journal Cancer Research. Read more.

10/20 - Researchers have new test to study depression in young girls - Researchers have developed an innovative method that looks at genes and environment in a new way to identify young girls who are at high risk for depression once they enter puberty. The model, which is published in an October special issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, for the first time simultaneously considers three ways that genes linked to anxiety in young girls influence later depression. "Genes explain about 30 percent of the difference in people," says Judy L. Silberg, Ph.D., associate professor of human genetics and a researcher at VCU's Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. "Finding the genes is important, but it is not the only positive contribution that genetically informative studies can make in understanding the mechanisms underlying behavioral development." Read more.

10/20 - SMAsquerade to raise funds for spinal muscular atrophy research - On Oct. 25, SunTrust and Children's Wear Digest will present SMAsquerade 2003, a fundraiser that will benefit SMA clinical trials at the VCU Medical Center. "Those of us committed to the care of children afflicted with life threatening genetic neuromuscular disorders believe that SMA will be the first of these diseases to be conquered by the joint efforts of basic scientists and clinical investigators," said Dr. Robert Leshner, professor of neurology, pediatrics and physical medicine and rehabilitation who is currently heading a clinical drug trial. Read more.

10/20 - School of Medicine announces annual teaching awards - On Oct. 14, the School of Medicine presented its highest honors for teaching and mentoring excellence to five faculty members. Read more.

10/15 - Taxotere improves tumor response rates in women - A five-year, multi-site study that included more than 2,400 women with operable breast cancer shows that preoperative treatment with the anti-cancer drug, Taxotere, and a standard regimen of chemotherapy dramatically reduced tumor size and - in a notable number of patients - eliminated cancer completely. "Giving chemotherapy before surgery has become increasingly common for patients with locally advanced or borderline inoperable breast cancer," says Harry D. Bear, M.D., Ph.D., chair of surgical oncology and lead author of the NSABP study. "As more effective drugs have become available, we've become interested in extending this approach to patients with less advanced or operable breast cancer." The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology's Nov. 15 edition. Read more.

10/13 - Internal Medicine Chair receives alumni achievement award - Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., chair of internal medicine in the School of Medicine and president of MCV Physicians, has been selected to receive the Alumni Achievement Award from Philadelphia's Jefferson Medical College. This is the most prestigious honor that the Jefferson Medical College Alumni Association confers. Read more.

10/10 - Hospital Auxiliary has been selected for Governor's Community Service and Volunteerism Award - The 350-member Auxiliary has raised more than $1.2 million in the last five years and logged more than a quarter-million hours of volunteer time. Read more.

10/7 - VCU hosts international childbirth injury expert from Ethiopia - Recently, the School of Medicine was visited by one of the world's leading experts on obstetric fistula, a debilitating birth injury among young women in the developing world, caused by the lack of medical intervention during prolonged, obstructed labor. A specialist in obstetrics and gynecology, Dr. Catherine Hamlin is co-founder and director of the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia, where she has devoted 44 years of her life to the treatment of poor, rural women who have suffered devastating childbirth injuries. Later this week Dr. Hamlin is to be inducted as an honorary fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Read more.

10/3 - VCU named as National Center of Excellence in Women's Health - VCU has become the only institution in the Southeastern United States - and one of only six in the nation - to be newly designated as a National Center of Excellence in Women's Health from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Read more.

10/3 - Gala to celebrate VCU Institute for Women's Health - The celebration will take place Sunday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.  Proceeds from the event will be used to fund a professorship in women's health at the Institute. Read more.

10/2 - International childbirth injury expert to discuss obstetric fistula in young women - The School of Medicine will present a special lecture by Dr. Catherine Hamlin, one of the world's leading experts on obstetric fistula, a debilitating injury among young women in the developing world, caused by the lack of medical intervention during prolonged, obstructed labor.  Read more.

September

9/30 - Researcher awarded national grant to test Web site's impact on healthy lifestyle choices - The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has awarded a $125,000 grant to a medical school researcher to study the effectiveness and feasibility of using a unique "healthy behaviors" web site to help patients make healthy lifestyle choices. The grant for the 16-month study is made under the Foundation program called Prescription for Health: Promoting Healthy Behaviors in Primary Care Research Networks. Principal investigator Steven H. Woolf, M.D., M.P.H., will gather data from six family practices that participate in a research network administered by the Department of Family Practice. Read more.

9/30 - Marijuana and its receptor protein in brain control epilepsy - Ingredients in marijuana and the cannabinoid receptor protein produced naturally in the body to regulate the central nervous system and other bodily functions play a critical role in controlling spontaneous seizures in epilepsy, according to a new study by researchers in the medical school. The study suggests new avenues that researchers can explore in their search for more-effective drugs to treat epileptic patients who don't respond to today's anticonvulsant medications or surgery. "Although marijuana is illegal in the United States, individuals both here and abroad report that marijuana has been therapeutic for them in the treatment of a variety of ailments, including epilepsy," says Robert J. DeLorenzo, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., professor of neurology. Read more. 

9/29 - MCV Hospitals named to top 100 hospitals in nation - MCV Hospitals of the VCU Medical Center has been named one of the Solucient 100 Top Hospitals in the U.S. for 2002. Solucient Corporation - which maintains the country's largest healthcare data base - announced the awards when it released its latest survey: "100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success Class of 2002." MCV Hospitals is one of only 16 major teaching hospitals in the U.S. selected for the honor. Read more.

9/29 - $1 million awarded for research on rare pediatric neurologic disorder - A researcher who has focused his career on deciphering the mysteries of a rare form of brain damage in children recently received his sixth National Institutes of Health grant, bringing his total research funding to more than $6 million. For the past 20 years, Neurology Professor Steven Shapiro, M.D., has received almost continuous federal funding for his study of a disabling syndrome called kernicterus - a type of brain damage caused by excessive jaundice that can develop in newborns. Read more.

9/26 - First epidemiology program in Virginia - The Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health officially kicked off the first and only Ph.D. program in epidemiology in Virginia. Genetics, biology, pathology and statistics are among the areas covered by the multi-disciplinary program. Read more.

9/24 - Patients suffering from two common liver ailments also tend to have metabolic syndrome - Patients afflicted simultaneously with hepatitis C and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease also tend to be obese and show symptoms of metabolic syndrome. "NAFLD and the associated metabolic syndrome not only are associated with diabetes, high blood pressure and abnormal blood fats, but together they may increase the risk of developing cirrhosis in those who also have hepatitis C," said Arun J. Sanyal, M.D., professor of internal medicine, pharmacology and pathology and chair of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. "The problem is further compounded by the fact that the presence of NAFLD makes a person less likely to respond to treatment for hepatitis C." Read more.

9/24 - Gov. Warner, NCI director help launch VCU Massey Cancer Center Research Addition - At the site of the former Randolph Minor Annex, Gov. Mark R. Warner, the director of the National Cancer Institute, VCU Health System President and Chair Dr. Eugene P. Trani, volunteers and cancer survivors today officially launched the construction of the new, state-of-the-art research addition to the VCU Massey Cancer Center. The construction of the new facility is one of more than 120 projects at public college and university campuses across the state to be funded by the General Obligation Bond for Higher Education approved by voters this past November. Read more.

9/24 - The Second Annual Alumni Update Course - Friday Nov. 21 - Because of the positive response to last year's inaugural course, the day-long CME marathon will return this fall at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Education Complex. Save the date and plan to join the Medical School Advisory Council, fellow alumni and School of Medicine faculty for a full-day program covering the latest issues across a broad range of fields. Review the day's topics and faculty.

9/16 - $1.5 million from HHS to provide bioterrorism training - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Department has awarded a $1.5 million grant to VCU to provide continuing education for health professionals to better respond to bioterrorism emergencies.

VCU is the only Virginia institution to receive one of 19 grants awarded under the HHS Bioterrorism Training and Curriculum Development Program. Emergency Medicine Chair man Joseph Ornato, M.D., who will lead the grant team, said training will include healthcare workers and some non-healthcare workers, such as government officials, who have responsibilities in a community disaster caused by a terrorist event.  Read more.

9/15 - Most psychiatric disorders share a small number of genetic risk factors - In the most extensive and comprehensive study of its kind, researchers have demonstrated that the most common psychiatric and drug abuse disorders in both men and women can be traced to a small number of dimensions of genetic risk, which also influences the combination of disorders that tends to affect the same person. The study, published in the September issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, examined the similarities of the underlying genetic and environmental risk factors for a broad array of syndromes. "Most common psychiatric and drug abuse disorders are affected by two broad sets of genetic risk factors," says psychiatric geneticist Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics and lead author on the study. Read more.

9/12 - Team wins prestigious cancer research award - A team of researchers at VCU's School of Medicine and Massey Cancer Center has won one of this year's highly competitive Translational-Clinical Awards from The V Foundation for Cancer Research to continue its ground-breaking work on novel treatments for blood cancers. The team will receive $100,000 per year for three years and matching funds from VCU to explore a novel treatment for hematologic malignancies, primarily leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Read more.

9/9 - Jerry Nadeau makes pit stop at VCU Medical Center to thank staff - Almost four months after he was admitted to the hospital following a violent collision with a concrete wall, NASCAR Winston Cup driver Jerry Nadeau returned to the VCU Medical Center to say thank you to the many doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other staff members who helped care for him. Read more.

August

8/29 - Dr. Ellis to be honored at 2003 Convocation - Dr. Earl F. Ellis Jr., professor of pharmacology and toxicology, will be awarded the University Award of Excellence at VCU's 21st Convocation ceremony Sept. 10 at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. In his career, he has attracted more than $13 million in research and training grants, published more than 110 papers and been appointed to the editorial boards of national and international journals. Read more.

8/28 - Researchers combine novel drugs to treat leukemia - In a prototype of a new, possibly more effective and less-toxic approach for treating leukemia patients, researchers at VCU's School of Medicine and Massey Cancer Center have combined two novel drugs to kill blood cancer cells. "We saw tremendous synergism between 17-AAG and UCN-01," said Grant, Shirley Carter and Sture Gordon Olsson Professor of Oncology at VCU and lead author of the study, which is published in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Blood. "Combining these two classes of novel agents makes the tumor cell very vulnerable." Read more.

8/28 - M1s receive symbol of knowledge, responsibility - Their journey is just beginning, but students in the School of Medicine's Class of 2007 recently received perhaps the most important symbol of their quest for a medical degree - their white coats. During the ceremony, family and friends looked on as each of the 184 students came forward and was helped into their coat by a senior faculty member. Read more.

8/14 - Forensic toxicologist's work in helping solve bizarre death to be featured on national forensics television show - Alphonse Poklis, Ph.D., a forensic toxicologist in the Department of Pathology, recently sat down with a producer from Court TV's Forensic Files to share his story of assisting Oklahoma police in solving a mysterious death. "I enjoyed sifting through the evidence. This is how forensic toxicology started out -- as a way to help law enforcement solve cases. I do it because it's our highest calling." Read more.

8/14 - More dogs on call - The number of certified therapy dogs approved to interact with patients at the VCU Medical Center will increase dramatically now that a recent training and certification program has been completed. "Our published research has documented the calming effect the dogs have on anxious patients and now we have the potential to reach more patients than before," said Sandra B. Barker, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Human-Animal Interaction in the School of Medicine. Read more.

8/ 13 - Report to CDC points to VCUHS as "Good Example" of smallpox preparedness - In a report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine singles out the VCU Health System as "a good example" of an organization that has attained a high level of preparedness without vaccinating its healthcare workers before a smallpox attack. Read more.

8/12 - First-year students to receive white coats during annual ceremony - The 184 students in the class of 2007 will participate in the annual White Coat Ceremony on Au. 14. The ceremony is a tradition at many Schools of Medicine in which incoming medical students are cloaked in their first white coats by members of the school's senior faculty. Read more.

8/11 - Toxic mix of loss, humiliation could spark depression - In addition to serious loss, humiliating events in a person's life -- particularly involving romantic breakups -- appear to be strongly linked to risk for major depression, according to a study of more than 7,300 twins by researchers at School of Medicine. The study, published Au. 11 in the Archives of General Psychiatry, is the largest study to date to use a rating system to assess the role that highly specific groups of stressful life events play in sparking depression, anxiety and a combination of the two psychiatric disorders in both men and women. Read more.

8/8 - Pediatric Intensive Care Unit celebrates 25th anniversary - Former patients and their families will reunite with PICU physicians, nurses and other staff to mark the anniversary on Aug. 16. The Greater Richmond area's first critical care unit for children, the PICU has tallied more than 17,000 admissions since it opened in 1978. Read more.

8/5 - Massey Cancer Center chosen as palliative care leadership center -

The Center to Advance Palliative Care, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has awarded a three-year, $750,000 grant to the Massey Cancer Center's palliative care program to help increase the availability of palliative care in the U.S. Of the six institutions with exemplary palliative care programs chosen to be Palliative Care Leadership Centers, Massey is the only one located on the East Coast and the only cancer center. Read more.

July

7/31 - Grant focused on making cancer cells more sensitive to radiation - A team of Virginia Commonwealth University researchers led by radiation oncologist Dr. Rupert K. Schmidt-Ullrich has been awarded a five-year, $4.5 million National Cancer Institute program project grant to continue its groundbreaking research into more effective ways to kill cancer cells with radiation. Read more.

7/31 - Genetic profiling of tumors shows high success - Nearly 90 percent of the time, gene expression patterns in tumor cells appear to accurately predict whether a breast cancer patient will respond well or show resistance to treatment with the anti-cancer drug Taxotere, according to a study in the Au. 2 issue of The Lancet. Genetic profiling of a patient's tumor could help clinicians decide which chemotherapy drug or drug combination is best for that patient's breast cancer, says Dr. Peter O'Connell, professor and chair of the Department of Human Genetics. Read more.

7/29 - First-year student selected for national humanitarian award - Sohaib Mohiuddin, an incoming first-year medical student, was selected as one of five students nationally to receive the Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Award. Presented by Campus Compact, the award recognizes a student's outstanding efforts in public service and individual commitment in the community. Mr. Mohiuddin is a recent graduate of VCU, where he was a presidential scholar in the combined BS/MD program. Read more.

7/28 - Fear conditioning runs in families - An innovative twin study by an international team of researchers suggests that genes influence fear conditioning, or how people respond to dangerous and fear-provoking stimulus. Published in the July issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, the findings have important implications for the study and treatment of anxiety disorders, says lead author John M. Hettema, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and researcher with the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics. Read more.

7/16 - Randolph-Minor Hall razed to make room for Massey Cancer Center expansion - Demolition has begun on Randolph-Minor Hall to make way for a new $29.7 million state-of-the-art research addition for VCU's Massey Cancer Center . Once the demolition is completed, the site will be cleared, excavated and readied for the new 60,000 square-foot five-story addition to the cancer center featuring three floors for research laboratories and staff offices, a two-level parking deck and healing garden for cancer patients and staff. Construction is expected to be completed in March 2005. Read more.

7/16 - School of Medicine and City of Richmond offer bioterrorism and public health preparedness course - State and Richmond-area health department employees, emergency responders and graduate students are learning how to prepare for bioterrorist attacks through a special summer course offered by VCU's School of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, and the Richmond City Department of Health. Read more.

7/16 - Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and serious liver damage still possible in patients with "normal" liver function tests - Patients with normal results from a laboratory test commonly used to detect liver abnormalities still could suffer from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease, according to a study published in the June issue of Hepatology. "The absence of obvious symptoms and a low normal ALT value do not guarantee freedom from advanced stage chronic liver disease," says Arun J. Sanyal, M.D., chair of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Read more.

7/14 - VCU Health System among "Most Wired" in nation - The VCU Health System has been named one of the nation's "Most Wired" hospitals and health systems, according to survey released today by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. It is the only health system in Central Virginia honored for use of information technology. Read more.

7/2 - Scientists awarded NIH grant to study noninvasive procedure to measure hardening of the arteries - A team of medical school scientists has been awarded a three-year, $877,000 NIH grant to evaluate the usefulness of a new MRI method to measure hardening of the arteries.  "There currently exists no universally accepted method to measure aortic rigidity, except using invasive surgical procedures" said Kenneth A. Kraft, Ph.D., associate professor of radiology, who developed the new noninvasive procedure to measure the degree of hardening of the thoracic aorta. Read more.

7/1 - Dr. Harvey J. Sugerman Retires After 30-Year Career - On July 1, Harvey J. Sugerman, M.D., vice chair for the Department of Surgery, will retire. With more than 210 articles, 59 book chapters in medical textbooks and 20 books to his credit, Dr. Sugerman has gained an international reputation for treating obesity with gastric bypass surgery. Next year, look for Dr. Sugerman and several of his patients to be profiled as part of a yearlong National Geographic project on obesity. Read more.

7/1 - Dr. Kendler to begin prestigious fellowship at Stanford - Kenneth S. Kendler, M.D., the Rachel Brown Banks Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Human Genetics, begins a 10-month sabbatical next month to write a book as a fellow at the elite Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Stanford, CA. Read more.

June

6/18 - Genes cause teen girls to smoke, drink, use drugs - Genes affecting conduct problems, more so than environment, cause teenaged girls to smoke, drink alcohol and use drugs. But boys who experiment with drugs and alcohol tend to be influenced more by their family and friends than genes. Researchers found, in fact, that genetic factors appear to have no significant effect on the decision of teen boys to use illegal drugs. The study is published in the July issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. Read more.

6/12 - VCU to host workshop to teach business concepts to scientists, entrepreneurs - VCU will host a one-day workshop on July 31 to teach researchers and entrepreneurs business planning skills to help them more effectively compete for funds from the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and bring their ideas to market. The commercialization workshop will be the first instructional event of its kind in the country involving the SBIR, which awards grants through several federal agencies for high-risk, idea-to-prototype research projects that are of interest to the federal government and which have potential for commercialization in the areas of defense, health, energy, transportation, commerce, agriculture, environment, basic science and space. Read more.

6/10 - Lanier to chair State Board of Health - Jack O. Lanier, Dr. P.H., M.H.A., FACHE, professor in VCU's Department of Preventative Medicine and Community Health, has been elected chairman of the State Board of Health effective July 1. The Board's mission is to provide leadership in planning and policy development for the Virginia Department of Health in order to implement coordinated, prevention-oriented programs that promote and protect the health of all Virginians. Lanier has been a State Board of Health member since July 2001.  Read more.

6/9 - New test could help physicians better control clotting in bleeders and trauma, surgery patients - Researchers have developed an innovative laboratory test that quickly measures the amount and speed at which the enzyme, thrombin, is produced in a patient's blood. "The continuing development of potent antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents and their combined application in settings such as acute coronary syndromes and cerebrovascular attacks have emphasized the need for a global measure of thrombin generation which could reflect the combined effects of these agents," says blood-clotting expert Dr. Marcus E. Carr Jr. Read more.

6/5 - Vitamin D analog found to boost radiation treatment for cancer - A form of vitamin D has been found to greatly enhance radiation treatment for tumors associated with breast cancer.  The findings support the potential benefits of combining a vitamin D analog with radiation to wipe out radiation-resistant cancer cells. The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Cancer Research, compares tumor growth in mice treated with radiation alone and mice exposed to radiation and EB 1089, a derivative of vitamin D.  Final tumor volume in animals irradiated with EB 1089 was approximately 50 percent lower than in the group that received radiation alone. Read more.

6/3- Treatment regimen dramatically improves survival rates for liver cancer patients - A multi-part therapy that combines radiofrequency ablation, chemotherapy and liver transplant has dramatically increased survival rates for patients with liver cancer, according to a five-year study. An abstract of the study, presented June 1 at the American Transplantation Congress 2003, showed an 84.8 percent survival rate for patients with cirrhosis and primary liver cancer. The survival rate is especially noteworthy because five-year survival rates in the United States for primary liver cancer, as reported by the National Cancer Institute, generally are very low - less than 10 percent. Read more.

6/2 - Hepatitis C recurrence similar in living donor, cadaver liver transplants - Hepatitis C recurs in recipients of living donor liver transplants at a rate similar to that observed in patients who receive livers from deceased organ donors, according to a study at the VCU Medical Center. The study, presented at the June 1 session of the American Transplant Congress 2003, disputed recent findings that recurrent hepatitis C may be more rapid and severe in patients following living donor liver transplants than in liver transplants from cadavers. Read more.

May
5/29 - New procedure offers faster, less invasive screening for colorectal polyps - Doctors can now use animated computer images rather than internal scopes to screen patients for colorectal polyps. The technique, called virtual colonography, uses a computer program to transform a standard CT scan of the colon into a three-dimensional, high-resolution image that doctors can "fly through" on a computer screen. VCU is currently participating in an NIH funded, two-year clinical trial comparing the effectiveness of virtual colonography screening to other techniques. Read more.

5/29 - National conference features cardiac electrophysiology program via live satellite feed - Using a three-dimensional system for mapping the heart, physicians performed a cardiac ablation procedure that was broadcast live via satellite to an international conference of electrophysiology experts. Cardiac ablation uses radio frequency energy generated from a catheter, a thin flexible tube inserted into a vein and threaded into the chambers of the heart, to destroy the cardiac tissue producing an irregular rhythm. Read more.

5/28 - VCU to graduate 1,000th family practice physician - When 40 diplomas are handed out later this month to residents in the Department of Family Practice, the university will graduate its 1,000th family practice physician. A ceremony May 31 will recognize individual accomplishments as well as a milestone that has been achieved by only four other family practice departments in the United States. Read more.

5/19 - Final semester includes work at African leprosy hospital for graduating medical students - A quartet of VCU medical students rounded out their final semester of education at an African leprosy hospital, far from the lecture halls and modern labs of the School of Medicine in Richmond. As fourth-year medical students, they were able to take advantage of elective time to explore different aspects of medicine - and chose to spend two weeks at Uganda's St. Francis Leprosy Hospital. "I was surprised to discover that pretty much everyone in Uganda gets malaria. It is like getting the flu or a cold in the U.S.," said student Ashley Jones. Read more.

5/19 - Dr. Neifeld appointed chairman of Surgery Department - The Board of Visitors of VCU has approved the appointment of surgical oncologist and educator James P. Neifeld, M.D., as Stuart McGuire professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery in the School of Medicine. A medical school alumnus, Neifeld, 54, joined the faculty in 1978 and was appointed vice-chair of surgery in April 2002. Read more.

5/19 - Youth Tobacco Project announces grants for smoking prevention research - The Virginia Youth Tobacco Project, in conjunction with VCU's Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, is accepting applications until May 27 for grants to fund research on the causes and prevention of tobacco use by youths. The grant program, which is open to all public universities and colleges in Virginia, hopes to attract new faculty researchers to work on the problems of youth smoking. The maximum amount to be awarded will be $40,000, for a research project up to 18 months. Read more.

5/19 - Medical school scientists on agenda for life sciences research priorities conference - Two of VCU's top scientists are on the agenda for the May 27-28 conference, "Research Priorities in the Life Sciences," co-sponsored by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology. Dr. Rupert Schmidt-Ullrich will highlight the Massey Cancer Center's Radiation Biology and Oncology Program at the conference, and Dr. John N. Clore will discuss early detection and treatment of diabetes. Read more.

5/19 - High school students investigate the medical profession - Later this month, 10 Richmond-area students will mark their completion of Project ACEe, a project in the School of Medicine designed to expose disadvantaged high school students to the medical profession and provide them with workshops and mentoring opportunities that will enhance their roles as students. Project ACEe, which stands for Academic, Career, and Educational experiences, provides students with hands-on experiences in a variety of medical specialties. Read more.

5/19 - Nettleman suggests new approaches for financing primary care - Academic medical centers should consider new approaches for financing their critically important, but consistently money-losing, primary care operations, including getting tough with insurers who don't pay enough to cover costs, Dr. Mary D. Nettleman told an international meeting of division chiefs of general internal medicine. Nettleman is professor and chair of general internal medicine and primary care in the medical school. Read more.

5/14 - Infectious disease experts write guidelines for therapy, infection control for SARS - Immediate isolation of patients in private, negative pressure rooms and protection of health care workers with gloves, gowns, masks and eye coverings are important first steps in managing the spread of the SARS infection, according to a new set of guidelines developed by infectious disease experts at the VCU Medical Center. The recommendations, which appear in the May 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, offer a checklist for clinicians who suspect that a patient may have SARS. Read more.

5/14 - Doctors report dementia as side effect of using thalidomide as treatment for multiple myeloma - Doctors at the VCU Medical Center report in the New England Journal of Medicine that physicians using thalidomide to treat multiple myeloma should be aware that dementia is a side effect and is reversible. In the May 1 issue of the NEJM, the physicians cite the case of a 66-year old man. Read more.

5/5 - Motivational counseling reduces risk for alcohol-exposed pregnancies - A multi-site, national pilot study suggests that motivational and contraception counseling reduces drinking and encourages effective contraception in women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy. The results, reported in a supplement to the journal Pediatrics, should help primary care physicians target early intervention and treatment for childbearing-age women, says Dr. Mary D. Nettleman, professor and chair of the Division of General Internal Medicine/Primary Care in VCU's School of Medicine and a primary investigator on the Project CHOICES motivational counseling study. Read more.

5/2 - Mega doses of blood-clotting "wonder drug" shown safe - Researchers have determined that a single dose of the blood-clotting drug, NovoSeven, at a concentration nearly four times that recommended by the manufacturer, appears to a very effective way to stop severe bleeding quickly without increasing a patient's risk of life-threatening thrombosis. The finding, reported in the May 2 issue of the journal Thrombosis and Haemostasis, offers surgeons and other clinicians new guidance on using the correct dosage of NovoSeven, a drug that increasingly is being used in trauma and other life-saving surgeries to stop severe bleeding, even though it is approved for use in the U.S. only for certain hemophilia treatment. Read more.

April
4/ 29 - Trauma surgeon receives Immigrant Achievement Award - Recognized for his outstanding efforts as a surgeon and humanitarian, Rao Ivatury, M.D., director of trauma and critical care surgery at the VCU Medical Center, has received the 2003 Washington Immigrant Achievement Award. Presented in Washington D.C. last month, the award is given annually by the American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF) to honor outstanding contributions by immigrants. Read more.

4/29 - Fulcher is new radiology chair - Ann S. Fulcher, M.D., who took over as chair of radiology in February, is focused on growing the department by recruiting new radiology stars to the unit while retaining the nationally renowned clinicians, teachers, and researchers already on staff and by focusing on high technology areas. Read more.

4/29 - Leadership and Service Awards honors students for outstanding efforts - Three students from the School of Medicine were recognized at the 2003 Leadership and Service Awards ceremony that honors top VCU students for their leadership and service efforts at the university. Read more.

4/26 - Two Alums Honored at Reunion Weekend '03 - In April, more than 1,200 alumni and their families from the five MCV Campus schools returned to Richmond. Amidst the dinners, picnics, and antique appraising, the medical school honored two of its own for their remarkable careers in medicine. Dr. Harold W. Kimmerling, M'53, received the 2003 Outstanding Medical Alumnus Award for distinguished contributions to health care at Friday night's all class dinner. The next night, at the Grand Alumni dinner for those who graduated in 1954 and earlier, Dr. Chai Chang Choi, M'35, was saluted for his Life-Long Distinguished Service to the Healing Arts. Read more about Dr. Kimmerling and Dr. Choi .

4/24 - Hemodyne to launch platelet analysis system in Europe - Hemodyne, Inc., which has developed products to diagnosis blood disorders related to stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, will begin selling its innovative Platelet Analysis System (PAS) in Europe. Hemodyne, founded by Marcus E. Carr, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., professor of internal medicine and pathology, has been testing the PAS at major universities for seven years in the United States and Europe. Hemodyne's plans call for seeking FDA clearance later this year in order to offer the PAS domestically by mid-to-late 2004. Read more.

4/24 - Epidemiologist to address Institute of Medicine board on smallpox vaccinations - Mike Edmond, M.D., the chief epidemiologist at the VCU Medical Center, has been invited to present the VCU Health System's approach to smallpox vaccinations during a May 1 public board meeting of the Institute of Medicine in Washington D.C. VCU's smallpox policy garnered a great deal of medical and media attention late last year after Edmond and Richard Wenzel, M.D., chair of internal medicine in VCU's School of Medicine, recommended to delay vaccinating VCU's front-line health care workers, saying the risks outweighed the benefits. Read more.

4/21 - Illicit drug of choice is personal: genetics, home life have little impact - Researchers have long documented that drug abuse runs in families, but genetics and the home environment appear to have little impact on a person's illegal drug of choice, according to researchers. They concluded that genetic factors and family environment had an impact on a person's predisposition to use and abuse a wide range of illicit substances.  But other environmental factors not shared by members of a twin pair, such as easy access to a specific drug, appeared to determine which specific illicit drug or drugs were used. Read more.

4/21 - Vitamin D compound may enhance radiation treatment for cancer - Researchers have found that a form of Vitamin D given before low-dose radiation to treat breast cancer significantly enhanced the ability of irradiation to kill malignant cells without damaging healthy tissue. The study, to be published in the May print edition of Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, also suggests that combining the Vitamin D compound and low-dose radiation results in continued death of breast cancer cells for a week after treatment and may inhibit recurrence. The results could lead to shorter radiation treatment periods for breast cancer patients and could present new treatment options for other cancers that are resistant to radiation. Researchers used breast cancer cell cultures to test the effect. Read more.

4/9 - Infectious disease expert publishes new textbook - Dr. Richard P. Wenzel, chair of internal medicine, has completed a revised edition of his seminal textbook on hospital-acquired infections. The Fourth Edition of "Prevention and Control of Nosocomial Infections" is a comprehensive guide to the prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections, which affect about 3.5 million patients annually. The textbook has been completely revised from the Third Edition. "Concerns about infection control in the era of bioterror, Mad Cow Disease in Europe and new devices used in U.S. hospitals are discussed in detail," Wenzel said. Read more.

4/4 - 20 VCU graduate programs rank in the top 60 - Twenty VCU graduate programs rank in the top 60 of the U.S. News & World Report 2004 rankings of "America's Best Graduate Schools." The School of Medicine ranked 59th in the research medical school category, and the graduate program in Community Health ranked 18th. Read more.

4/3 - Company started by SOM faculty member nominated for tech award - OrbitalMed, LLC, a telemedicine company, was chosen as a finalist by the Greater Richmond Technology Council in the Infineon Technologies' Technology Innovation Award category. The awards are given annually to honor top technology organizations in the Richmond area. OrbitalMed was co-founded by Ronald C. Merrell, M.D., chair of surgery, and is headquartered at the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park. Winners will be announced May 1 at the council's 8th Annual Technology Stars Awards Gala.  Read more.

4/2 - Ginder, Dewey honored as outstanding scientists of 2003 - Dr. Gordon D. Ginder, director of the Massey Cancer Center, and Dr. William L. Dewey, pharmacology professor and Pharmacology Department vice chairman, received Virginia's Outstanding Scientist and Lifetime Achievement awards on April 1 at the Science Museum of Virginia. Read more.

March
3/24 - School of Medicine hosts surgery pioneer for annual lecture - The surgeon who performed the world's first successful combined heart-lung transplant recently served as visiting professor for the annual Brooks-Lower Lecture in Cardiothoracic Surgery. Bruce A. Reitz, M.D., Norman E. Shumway professor and chair of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University's School of Medicine, discussed "Heart-Lung Transplantation: Lessons Learned." Read More.

3/20 - Fourth-year students celebrate on national Match Day - The 164 students in the fourth-year class gathered for March's annual roll call to learn where they'll head for their residencies. Among the students are nine who will enter residencies in the Armed Forces. This year, 23,965 total active applicants vied for the record-high 20,908 positions available. See pictures from Match Day and review the 2003 Match Results.

3/17 - VCU physician elected president of Richmond Academy of Medicine - Isaac L. Wornom III, M.D., associate professor of surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, has been elected president of the Richmond Academy of Medicine - a non-profit organization of 1,600 physicians founded in 1821 to promote the science and practice of medicine and surgery. Read More.

3/13 - Nitric oxide release triggered by Viagra is key to heart protection - In a major breakthrough in understanding how Viagra protects the heart, researchers have found that the popular impotence drug stimulates the release of nitric oxide in heart cells, offering protection to a healthy heart against future damage. The study shows, for the first time, that Viagra produces therapeutic levels of the chemical, nitric oxide, which dramatically reduces damage in heart muscle during heart attacks. The study was posted online on March 13 by Circulation Research, a journal of the American Heart Association. It will appear in the April 4 print edition. Read more.

3/6 - VCU BOV member selected as one of "America's Top Physicians" for 2003 - Stephen P. Long, M.D., a member of VCU's Board of Visitors and clinical associate professor of anesthesiology, recently was selected by the Consumers' Research Council of America as one of "America's Top Physicians" for 2003. Read More.

February
2/27 - Bio-Track teams with VCURES to assist Special Forces - Bio-Track, LLC, a biomedical product development company located at the Virginia Bio·Technology Park, has received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop a state-of-the-art, one-handed battlefield tourniquet and breathing tube that can be used in remote locations by Special Operations Forces. The company will team with the VCU Reanimation Engineering Shock Center (VCURES) in the effort. "The state of the art for tourniquets used to treat the wounded in forward-fighting forces has not changed much since World War II," said Mark Licata, a biomedical engineer and president of Bio-Track. Read More.

2/26 - Procedures vary widely for popular living donor liver transplant - "There is inconsistency among procedures used at transplant centers, starting with how the centers interview potential donors to how they follow up with those donors after surgery," says Mitchell L. Shiffman, M.D., professor of medicine, chief of the Hepatology Section, and medical director of the Liver Transplant Program at the VCU Health System. Shiffman is co-author of a national study - the largest of its kind to date to study the increasingly common use of living donor liver transplants in adults - that was published in the Feb. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. VCU also is participating in a seven-year national project organized by the National Institutes of Health that is underway at nine transplant centers to examine the potential benefits and safety issues of living donor liver transplants. Read More.

2/26 - Drug proves itself effective against Hepatitis B - The oral antiviral medicine adefovir dipivoxil, which is sold under the trade name Hepsera, appears to be an effective treatment for chronic Hepatitis B and avoids the most serious side effects common with previous drugs, according to a study to be published in the Feb. 27 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Not only does this drug appear to suppress the virus in greater numbers of patients during the first year of treatment, allowing those patients to stop taking medicine for their illness, it does not appear to build up resistance as older medicines did, allowing Hepatitis B to recur," said liver expert Mitchell L. Shiffman, M.D., professor of medicine, chief of the Hepatology Section of the VCUHS and co-author of the NEJM article. Read More.

2/26 - Liver symposium expects large crowd - More than 200 physicians from seven states are registered to attend Saturday's 7th annual Virginia Liver Symposium, organized by VCU's Hepatology Section and Liver Transplant Program and the Office of Continuing Medical Education. Read More.

2/12 - It's tough to get Physicians to Change - Despite offering myriad training sessions and lectures, distributing brochures, holding individual meetings and trying other methods of persuasion, those interested in changing physician behavior have had little success, according to a new review. SOM researchers analyzed 20 years' worth of studies that have attempted to measure the effectiveness of methods to alter physician behavior. "As medical science advances and other pressures are imposed, it is constantly necessary for physicians to alter their behavior," says Dr. Mary Nettleman, professor and chair of VCU's Division of General Internal Medicine/Primary Care, which is nationally known for its research on the cost and quality of health care. Read More.

2/11 - Two faculty honored for scientific contributions - Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner and Science Museum of Virginia Director Dr. Walter R.T. Witschey today announced that Dr. Gordon Ginder has been recognized as one of Virginia's Outstanding Scientists and Dr. William Dewey has been recognized with Virginia's Life Achievement in Science Award. The honorees will be introduced to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Feb. 18 and will receive their awards at a banquet at the Science Museum on Tuesday, April 1. Read More.

2/4 - Faculty to participate in national genetics mentoring network - Three faculty members have volunteered to be a part of a national effort to promote the emerging fields of human genetics and genomics to Virginia students in grades K-12. The Genetics Mentor Network is a partnership between the American Society of Human Genetics and the National Human Genome Research Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. Read More.

2/3 - Surgical study of blood-thinning drug launched -