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Volume 6 - Number 2
- Spring 2007
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!
Reunion
Weekend 2007
Reunion Weekend is right around the
corner, but it's not too late to sign up! More than 1000
alumni and friends will be in town April 27 – 29. If you
graduated in a year ending in '7 or '2, and haven't
registered yet, please call the Alumni Association at
(800) 628-7799 or (804) 828-3900 or email lebrinegar@vcu.edu.
Fourth-Year Students Placed From Coast to
Coast
On March
15, the fourth-year medical students celebrated the
tradition of National Match Day. Of the 157 students who
participated:
- 68 students matched into primary care;
- 8 received positions in the early Match including
3 in urology, 2 in neurosurgery and 3 in
ophthalmology;
- in programs that have proven to be extremely
competitive: 2 students matched in orthopedic surgery,
3 in plastic surgery, 3 in dermatology, and 3 in
otolaryngology;
- 7 students matched in the military.
See pictures
from Match Day and a list of students
and their destinations.
Fallen but Not
Forgotten
Ben Orr
was to have been a member of the Class of 2009. When
cancer took his life before he could enter medical
school, his would-be classmates decided to honor his
life by establishing a scholarship in his name. To be
awarded this spring at Honors Day, the scholarship will
ensure that "our fallen, but not forgotten classmate
will have his name called amongst his peers." Read more
about the scholarship
in Ben Orr's name.
Series Expands Students'
Understanding
Tackling issues not normally covered in most
medical schools' curriculum, two student groups teamed
up to create a six-week series focusing on Cultural
Competency and Health Disparities. Supported by the
Annual Fund, the series introduced students to issues
they might encounter in treating Latino or Muslim
patients, or those from other minorities. Read more
about the student-organized
series.
Connecting with the Community
The high school's marching
band was the backdrop for the inaugural Young Women's
Health Day at Richmond's Huguenot High School. Read more
about how the Women
in Medicine Student Interest Organization created a
day that demystified science and health care.
Hunton
Student Center Grand Reopening
One of the most modern facilities of
its kind, in one of the most historic places of its
kind. A $6 million renovation project turned the
166-year-old former Baptist church into a refurbished,
three-story center that serves as the first student
commons for the MCV Campus. The project includes a
permanent exhibition of six large panels chronicling the
rich heritage of the MCV Campus. Read more and watch
video from the
opening of the Hunton Student Center.
Researchers Work toward Creating a
Tailored Breast Cancer Vaccine
"By understanding the molecular
mechanisms involved with tumor relapse, we can create
tailored vaccines that can induce specific types of
immune responses in patients, rather than inducing a
broad range of immune responses - some of which may be
detrimental or may induce tumor relapse," said the lead
investigator. Read more about the effort that identified
interferon gamma as one
of the signaling proteins involved with tumor
relapse.
Erectile Dysfunction Drugs May Trump
Nitroglycerine in Heart Protection
After a heart attack, most patients
require treatment to reduce and repair damage and
improve their chances of survival. But except for early
reperfusion, there are no truly effective clinical
therapies. New findings in animal studies, however,
indicate "erectile dysfunction drugs can prevent damage
in the heart not only when given before a heart attack,
as we discovered previously, but also lessen the injury
after the heart attack," said the lead author. Read more
about the study that compared
nitroglycerin with Viagra and Levitra.
Physician Scientist
is among Three Recognized by Gov. Kaine
Gov. Timothy Kaine has named
Steven Grant, M.D., associate director for translational
research at the Massey Cancer Center, as one of the
state's Outstanding Scientists of 2007. Read more about
Dr.
Grant's research in developing new strategies to
combat leukemia and other hematologic malignancies.
Topping Out Marks Milestone in Critical
Care Hospital Construction
The Critical Care Hospital officially
became part of the Richmond skyline with the topping out
of the final steel beam, completing the structural frame
of the $192 million building now under construction.
Read more and watch video from the
topping out ceremony.
Planning for New Children's
Hospital Halted
The Children's Hospital of Richmond and the VCU
Health System have determined that the cost to construct
and equip a full-service children's hospital in Richmond
- even with the significant commitment of resources from
both partners - is not affordable. Since November 2005,
the organizations have studied the feasibility of
building, equipping and operating such a facility. In a
letter to the VCU Health System, CEO Dr. Sheldon M.
Retchin wrote that construction costs, especially for
hospitals, have skyrocketed in a short period of time,
and the financial forecasts for costs three years from
now when construction would begin are beyond the reach
of the two institutions. While the VCU Health System
regrets the reality of this situation, it is moving
forward with faculty recruitment and new facilities with
the goal of developing the best pediatric specialty care
services in Central Virginia.
Health System Named a Top
Company by NAFE
The National Association for Female Executives
has named the VCU Health System as among its five top
non-profits changing the face of executive suites and
boardrooms. Read more about this vanguard
award.
CME
Registration is open on the below courses. You
can find out more and register online at http://www.cmeregistration.som.vcu.edu/
or you can contact the medical school at (804) 828-3640.
Alumni
Update Course
April 27, Richmond
Reunion Weekend will kick
off on Friday with a day-long CME course. Offering up to
6.75 credit hours, the course will feature stellar
faculty covering a range of topics from Parkinson's
disease and drug-resistant infections to prostate
cancer. The course is open to all alumni, even those not
celebrating a Reunion year. You can review
the day's schedule online.
Pediatrics at the Beach
July 20-22,
Hilton Oceanfront Hotel in Virginia Beach.
The 29th
Annual Pediatric Primary Care Conference features three
half-day sessions that include topics in Emergency
Medicine, Primary Care and Developmental and Behavioral
Pediatrics.
35th Annual Hans Berger Symposium
May 21-22, MCV
Campus
Distinguished faculty from epilepsy centers
and neurophysiology laboratories across the country will
share practical information in applying state-of-the-art
electrodiagnostic testing in the clinical management of
patients with epilepsy and related disorders.
MCV
Society Members
Those who have included any MCV Campus school in
their will or estate plans are invited to attend a
dinner party and dance at Veritas Winery on Thursday May
10. If you have not yet let us know that you've
indicated the medical school in your estate plans, now
is the time to do so! Please contact Tom Holland,
Associate Dean for Development at (800) 332-8813, (804)
828-3800 or tehollan@vcu.edu.
Charitable IRA Rollovers
A limited-time provision for
charitable contributions from Individual Retirement
Accounts could give you an unprecedented opportunity to
help the medical school. Between now and December 31,
2007, individuals aged 70 ½ and older may transfer up to
$100,000 per year. The charitable distribution counts
toward Minimum Required Distribution requirements and
may be made in addition to any other charitable giving
you may have planned. The provision does include some
limitations, and we recommend you seek the advice of
your tax and/or legal counsel before deciding on a
course of action. If you would like more information
about your options under this unique provision, please
contact Tom Holland, Associate Dean for Development at
(800) 332-8813, (804) 828-3800 or tehollan@vcu.edu.
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comments on this communication. Please email us your
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Update
Your Contact Info and provide the Alumni and
Development Office with your latest news via our online
update form.
Annual
Fund dollars support scholarships and student
interest groups as well as milestone events in the
medical school. You can give
online via the MCV Foundation's secure eGiving page.
Check out the
upcoming CME
offerings from the medical school's Office of
Continuing Physician Professional Development &
Evaluation Studies including conferences in Pediatrics,
Neurophysiology, and Systems Biology.
Past issues of SOM eNews are online.
For More Information:
MCV Alumni Association
MCV
Foundation
VCU
VCUHS
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