Edwin Olsen, M.D., J.D., MBA
One Friday last month, Edwin Olsen, M.D., J.D., MBA, professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences, spent the morning at the Medical Wellness Center learning basic Tai Chi moves he’ll teach older adults to improve their balance and avoid falls.
Then, sweaty and facing a pending grant deadline for the Miami Area Geriatric Education Center (MAGEC), which he established in 1988 to provide continuing geriatric education for health care professionals across South Florida, Olsen rushed off to shop for the kick-off party he was hosting that night for the new Medical Student Pathway in Health Law.
Read more about Dr. Olsen »
Taylor Schreiber
Last year, Taylor Schreiber thought his life had reached near-perfect harmony. Under the tutelage of Eckhard R. Podack, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of microbiology and immunology and a luminary in the field, Schreiber was the first graduate of the Miller School’s doctoral program in cancer biology and, while wrapping up his Ph.D., he stumbled on a new method to stimulate a regulatory immune cell, winning a grant to fund a post-doctoral year of study and publish more papers with Podack.
With the prestigious but grueling four-year Ph.D. program behind him, the Bucknell University grad who had managed a lab at Harvard’s Skin Disease Research Center for two years was eager to tackle his final two years of medical school and begin the next phase of life with his wife Nicki, who was completing her OB/GYN residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Read more about Taylor Schreiber »
John Guy, M.D.
A Bascom Palmer research team, led by John Guy, M.D., professor of ophthalmology, has pioneered a novel technological treatment for Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), an inherited genetic defect that causes rapid, permanent, and bilateral loss of vision in people of all ages, but primarily men between the ages of 20 and 40. Genetic mutations in the mitochondria cause the disorder.
Their research was published in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on April 20.
Read more about the research »
Patient Vilma Gonzalez shares a special bond with Dr. Dennis Patin, who relieved her pain.
Almost every morning for six years, Vilma Gonzalez would wake up wishing it were night again so she could go back to sleep. Tormented by pelvic pain that never ceased, her days were agonizing tests of endurance.
Yet one recent evening, the Tampa resident, who was diagnosed in 2007 with interstitial cystitis, (also known as painful bladder syndrome) pelvic floor dysfunction and chronic rectal pain, danced almost till dawn with her husband of 43 years. And though she still endures bouts of intense pain, she’s cooking, tending her beloved orchids, and, most importantly, exercising her pelvic floor muscles again.
Read more about Dr. Patin's pain solution »
Carlos T. Moraes, Ph.D., left and Francisca Diaz, Ph.D.
When Francisca Diaz, Ph.D., research assistant professor of neurology, and Carlos T. Moraes, Ph.D., professor of neurology and cell biology, developed a genetically modified mouse with a defective enzyme (cytochrome oxidase) responsible for energy production inside cells, their main interest was to study human diseases in which this enzyme is defective. This mouse has now proven useful in a study of glial cells published in the April 29 issue of the journal Nature.
Because cytochrome oxidase deficiencies are devastating and often fatal infantile genetic disorders, Diaz and Moraes used this mouse model in a number of published studies to understand and treat these diseases. However, they predicted that this mouse model could also help address several important basic biological questions. This proved to be true in several occasions, including in this recent collaboration, “Glycolytic oligodendrocytes maintain myelin and long-term axonal integrity,” with Klaus Armin-Nave, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen, Germany.
Read more about the findings »
From left, Carolina de la Cuesta, M.D., Timothy J. Cleary, Ph.D., and Silvia Munoz-Price, M.D.
Over the last decade, antibiotic resistance has become a serious issue in fighting virulent bacteria. Scientists worldwide have worked to determine specific factors that cause bacteria to develop this virulence against antibiotics, and how those factors are spread. A study, led by Miller School physicians, has found that seagulls and pelicans on Miami Beach may be among the birds carrying one of the most frequently found resistance genes (CTX-M-15) among community patients.
The study, “Wild Coastline Birds as Reservoirs of Broad Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Miami Beach, Florida,” is published in the May edition of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Read more about the study »
Lisa De Angelis, M.D., chairman of the AAN’s Science Committee, presents Ralph Sacco, M.D., with the Robert Wartenberg Lecture Award.
Building on an already nationally recognized body of work, Ralph L. Sacco, M.D., M.S., Olemberg Family Chair in Neurological Disorders and Leonard M. Miller Professor of Neurology, Epidemiology and Human Genetics, is the recipient of the 2012 Robert Wartenberg Lecture Award presented by the American Academy of Neurology. Sacco received the award on April 24 for his research in stroke prevention during the Academy’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, where he also presented a lecture. The meeting is the world’s largest annual gathering of neurologists.
The Robert Wartenberg Lecture Award is presented to a neurologist for excellence in clinically relevant research, which Sacco has long pursued to prevent strokes, the No. 4 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the United States
Read more about Dr. Sacco »
Clinton B. Wright, M.D., M.S.
Clinton B. Wright, M.D., M.S., associate professor of neurology and scientific director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, has been awarded a four-year $1.3 million grant from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health to examine mineral metabolism as a risk factor for stroke, subclinical small and large vessel injury, and cognitive decline.
Wright, who is principal investigator, will collaborate with Ralph L. Sacco, M.D., M.S., Olemberg Family Chair in Neurological Disorders and Leonard M. Miller Professor of Neurology, Epidemiology and Human Genetics; Myles Wolf, M.D., M.M.Sc., associate professor of medicine; Tatjana Rundek, M.D., Ph.D., professor of neurology; and Chuanhui Dong, Ph.D., research assistant professor of neurology, who will serve as biostatistician for the study. The Miller School researchers also will collaborate with investigators at Columbia University Medical Center.
Read more about the research »
Stephen D. Nimer, M.D.
Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., the new director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, officially starts work this week. One of the world’s premier leukemia and stem cell transplant researchers and clinicians, Nimer arrives Wednesday, May 2, coming from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where he headed the Division of Hematologic Oncology.
“I’m very excited to finally be here at Sylvester,” said Nimer. “I look forward to meeting and working with everyone at the center.”
Nimer’s office will be in the Fox Cancer Research Building, suite 200, and his laboratory will be in the Biomedical Research Building, seventh floor.
To read more about Dr. Nimer, visit his announcement online.
Kenneth Goodman, Ph.D., left and Sergio G. Litewka, M.D., M.P.H.
The University of Miami Ethics Programs have been redesignated as a Collaborating Center in Ethics and Global Health Policy by the World Health Organization in Geneva.
UM’s center is one of six in the world. The initial four-year designation began in 2008; the current redesignation is valid through 2016.
The redesignation affirms the Ethics Programs’ two decades of work in ethics education, research and public policy in Latin America, the Caribbean and other regions, according to Kenneth Goodman, Ph.D., professor of medicine, co-director of UM’s Ethics Programs and director of the University’s Bioethics Program.
Read more about the ethics program »
José Szapocznik, Ph.D., right, confers with Joan A. Muir, Ph.D., BSFT™ associate director.
José Szapocznik, Ph.D., professor and chair of epidemiology and public health and director of the Center for Family Studies, has received registration in the United States and Europe for the trademarked Brief Strategic Family Therapy® Program, which he pioneered at the Miller School more than three decades ago.
Administered by the BSFT® Institute, led by Joan Muir, Ph.D., at the University of Miami Center for Family Studies, the program is a cost-effective, evidence-based, family-focused intervention used to improve family interactions, treat behavioral problems and reduce delinquency and drug use in adolescents.
Read more about the program »
Department of Surgery employees, from left, Milaidys Marrero, Cristina Bichara, and Nicole Nagel promote organ and tissue donation on the medical campus.
In honor of National Donate Life Month this April, the Miller School/UHealth – University of Miami Health System joined forces with the Department of Surgery’s Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency to increase the number of registered organ and tissue donors in the country by 20 million by the end of 2012.
A kickoff event on the medical campus April 20 got the Miller School/UHealth off to a good start toward reaching its goal of registering 1,000 employees as organ, tissue and eye donors before year’s end. More than 350 people took information about the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donations to help prevent death in patients who are waiting for the gift of life through transplantation.
Read more about designating your wishes »
The University of Miami Ethics Programs are calling for proposals for the sixth annual Arsht Research on Ethics and Community Grants program by May 21.
Under the auspices of the Arsht Ethics Initiatives and made possible by generous gifts from UM Trustee Adrienne Arsht, the program has emerged as a fixture of interdisciplinary intellectual life at UM. Since the program’s inception, the Ethics Programs have funded 37 projects and given some $500,000 in awards.
Read more about the grant and how to apply »
On behalf of the Faculty Senate, please congratulate the following Senate officers for the 2012-2013 academic year, which begins June 1:
Chair: Richard Williamson, J.D., professor of law
First Vice Chair: R. Stephen Cantrell, Ph.D., professor of mathematics
Second Vice Chair: Tomas Salerno, M.D., professor of surgery
The Miller School now has a comprehensive website, Kronos Workforce Central, for Kronos users, which includes the following features to enhance the user experience:
- Rotating banners to direct users toward common issues and procedures
- Sections set up specifically for different employee pay types (hourly, salaried, and Kronos users)
- Latest news of upcoming projects and/or events pertaining to Kronos
- Additional resources that provide documents and links
- Documentation and forms
- Tutorials which allow a new or existing user to view step-by-step videos of timekeeping functionality
- Contact information to submit feedback
Please note that the site is only accessible on the medical campus and at satellite locations.
Peer Review
Andrew Colin, M.D.
Andrew Colin, M.D., Batchelor Professor of Cystic Fibrosis and Pediatric Pulmonology and director of the Pulmonary Division, is one of five associate editors of “Imaging in Pediatric Pulmonology,” a definitive reference book by Springer Publications. Using a series of images and clinical correlations, lung diseases, disorders and tumors are presented in order to help physicians across specialties determine the most effective test that will provide a starting point to formulate a diagnosis.
Hilit Mechaber, M.D.
Hilit Mechaber, M.D., associate professor of medicine and associate dean for student services, was elected vice-chair for the Association of American Medical Colleges Southern Group on Student Affairs at the recent Central and Southern Group on Student Affairs Joint Spring Conference, held March 29-April 1, in Clearwater, Florida. Following two years as vice chair, Mechaber will assume the role of chair for two years. The purpose of the Group on Student Affairs is to advance medical education, specifically the interests of medical schools and students in the areas of admissions, student affairs, financial aid, diversity affairs, and student records.
Scott C. Simmons
Scott C. Simmons, M.S., director of Telehealth, has been elected to the American Telemedicine Association’s College of Fellows. Election to the ATA College of Fellows is a high honor that recognizes achievements in telemedicine, services to the general telemedicine community and service to the American Telemedicine Association.
Sharad Virmani, M.D.
Sharad Virmani, M.D., chief medical resident at the Miller School Regional Campus, was one of three recipients of Physician of the Year awards at a celebration marking National Doctors Day, held at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center on March 30. Virmani, chief medical resident for the Regional Campus’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, was recognized for his leadership, innovation, and commitment to excellence in graduate medical education and for his outstanding service.
