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Volume 3 - Number 4 – Fall 2004
We hope that you'll enjoy these quick highlights from the
MCV Campus. Please forward
this newsletter to friends who might like to learn more
about the
School of Medicine! In this issue...
School of Medicine welcomes Class of 2008
Chosen from more
than 4,400 applicants, 184 students have begun their
first year at the School of Medicine. The students
participated in three days of orientation activities,
including the annual White Coat Ceremony, in which
senior faculty members cloak the students in their first
white coats. See
photos from the ceremony and review
the list (Word document) of first-year students and
their undergraduate schools.
M2008 medical student named
Cooke Foundation scholar
An incoming School of Medicine student is among
39 students nationwide chosen to receive a Jack Kent
Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholarship, an award that can
total up to $50,000 per year. Read about Mireille
D. Truong, who earned her bachelor's degree from VCU
in 2003 and is the third student from our medical school
to be honored as a Cooke Scholar.
 Infectious disease expert calls for a response
to antibiotic shortage Scientists, the federal government and the
pharmaceutical industry must work together quickly to
solve the growing crisis of antibiotic-resistant
bacteria, according to Richard P. Wenzel, M.D. "With
increasing levels of antibiotic resistance, an insecure
pipeline and a dwindling number of companies investing
in anti-infectives, we have reached an unsettling
impasse in medicine," wrote Dr. Wenzel, chairman of the
Department of Internal Medicine, in the Aug. 4 issue of
The New England Journal of Medicine. Read about Dr.
Wenzel's perspective.
Gene-expression patterns tied to
progression of primary liver cancer Multiple changes in the
gene-expression patterns of cells involved with tumor
progression in liver cancer patients and in those with
cirrhosis may help scientists predict a person's risk of
developing primary liver cancer. If particular gene and
protein expressions can be detected, "then we may be
able to intervene before that potentially lethal disease
becomes incurable, or eliminate those components before
a patient becomes infected," said surgery professor
Robert A. Fisher, M.D., director of the liver transplant
program. Read about the
study that was published in the journal Liver
Transplantation.
New treatment strategy for brain
cancer
Massey
Cancer Center researchers have found that combining
ionizing radiation with a secreted protein that
selectively inhibits tumor cell growth and survival can
target cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone,
perhaps presenting a new approach for treating the
deadliest type of brain tumor. Read about the
study that was published in the August 2004 issue of
the journal Cancer Biology and Therapy.
Blood transfusions during surgery could be
risky
Patients
who received blood platelet transfusions during coronary
bypass surgery were more likely to have prolonged
hospital stays, longer surgeries, more bleeding and
higher risk of infection, stroke and death. "Although
this analysis cannot prove that platelet infusions
caused the increases in adverse events examined, the
data are sobering and should be taken into account when
determining the risk-benefit ratio of platelet
transfusion therapy," says Bruce D. Spiess, M.D.,
professor of anesthesiology and lead author on the
article. Read about the
international study published in the August issue of
Transfusion.
Foundation grant establishes women's health
resource center
The Institute for Women's Health has received a
$100,000 grant from the Theresa A. Thomas Memorial
Foundation to establish a comprehensive resource center
for information on women's health. To be located at the
Women's Health Center at Stony Point, the center will
offer resource materials as well as a medical librarian
who will help patients locate relevant information and
resources that address their individual health needs.
Read about the
grant.
Medical Center offers area's only specialized
pediatric otolaryngologist
Ron B. Mitchell, M.D., of the
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Department, is
one of the state's only fellowship-trained pediatric
otolaryngologists. Medical advancements have made it
possible for premature infants to survive in greater
numbers than ever before, many of whom, explains Dr.
Mitchell, require pediatric ear, nose and throat
specialty care. Read about Dr.
Mitchell.
Dr. Whitehurst-Cook chosen for national
leadership program
A family medicine physician has been selected as
a fellow in the national Hedwig van Ameringen Executive
Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women. Michelle
Y. Whitehurst-Cook, M.D., associate professor and a
1979 alumnus, is the seventh faculty member sponsored by
the VCU School of Medicine in eight years for the
national leadership program.
Two School of Medicine faculty
to be honored at 2004 Convocation
Among the four distinguished
professors honored during Convocation 2004 were two from
the medical school: Richard M. Costanzo, Ph.D., received
the Distinguished Teaching Award; and Steven H. Woolf,
M.D., received the Distinguished Scholar Award. Read
about the careers of Dr.
Costanzo and
Dr.
Woolf.
VCU Board of Visitors approves new master
site plan
Laying
out the vision for VCU's campuses for the next 15 years,
the master site plan includes a 500,000 square-foot
building for the School of Medicine that would provide
modern classroom and laboratory facilities and a $110
million, state-of-the-art Critical Care Bed Tower that
will provide 300 critical care and isolation beds. Read
more about the
plan (Web site includes link to a PowerPoint
presentation of the plan as well as a video with
architectural renderings of the new buildings).
VCU to
have state's only School of Public Health
The State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia has approved a new School of
Public Health at VCU. The new school, the only School of
Public Health in Virginia and one of only 34 nationwide,
will help fill a large and growing need for public
health professionals. Read about the
school that will initially be established within the
VCU School of Medicine.
 Alumni receptions
planned for D.C. and Florida
Dr. Hugo Seibel will
briefly come out of retirement to help host a Nov. 3
reception for alumni and housestaff of the Washington
D.C. area! If you live or work in the area but have not
received an invitation to the event that will be held at
Vienna Virginia’s Tower Club, please let us know by
sending an email to Lynn Dowdy.
Did you know that hundreds of medical school
alums live in the South Florida region? Maybe you even
refer patients to some of them, never knowing they, too,
spent time in Richmond. Mark your January calendar for
alumni receptions that will be held in Boca Raton on the
18th and Miami on the 19th – and make sure that your contact
info is up-to-date so that you'll receive your
invitation.
Back by popular demand - the Third Annual
Alumni Update Course
The day-long CME marathon will return
this fall, on Friday, Nov. 12, at the Lewis Ginter
Botanical Garden Education Complex in Richmond.
Attendees will hear from medical school faculty
including Dr. Harry Bear on recent changes in breast
cancer treatment, Dr. Joel Silverman on new treatments
for depression, and Dr. Ellen Brock on HRT best
practices. Review
the conference agenda and register early; space is
limited.
New online eGiving site
The MCV Foundation has
unveiled a new, secure online giving site that alumni
and friends can use to support the School of Medicine.
With the tax year drawing to a close, don’t forget to
make your gift to the Annual Fund. You can make your
gift online at the MCV
Foundation’s eGiving Page, just use the drop-down
menu to select the medical school for your gift.
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