http://med.miami.edu/news/ News from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine en jprather@med.miami.edu Copyright 2012 2012-05-16T16:37:26+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/research-to-develop-cocaine-addiction-therapy-wins-nih-grant A drug-like molecule developed to treat cocaine addiction has proven so promising that two University of Miami Miller School researchers have been awarded a NIH grant to continue their research in developing it further. Claes Wahlestedt, M.D., Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and associate dean for therapeutic innovation, and Shaun Brothers, Ph.D., research assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the new Center for Therapeutic Innovation (CTI) at the Miller School, received a National Institutes of Health grant of $1.7 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to improve a drug-like molecule they began developing in 2009 with federal stimulus funding. 2012-05-16T16:37:26+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/class-of-2012-graduates-eager-for-new-responsibilities With an abundance of enthusiasm and several reminders of their new responsibilities, the Miller School of Medicine’s Class of 2012 accepted their doctor of medicine degrees and contemplated their futures as they exited the BankUnited Center on the University of Miami Coral Gables campus on May 12. “I’m overwhelmed and honored,” said Juliet Nissan, M.D., who will remain in Miami to pursue her residency in general surgery at UM/Jackson Memorial Hospital. 2012-05-15T11:00:50+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/um-surgeons-help-daughter-give-mom-gift-of-life-for-mothers-day As Yolanda Mixon smiled broadly and joked easily with reporters on the morning of May 11, it was difficult to imagine that, just two days earlier, she had received a new kidney – donated by her daughter – at UM/Jackson Memorial Hospital. “The best Mother’s Day ever,” Mixon quipped. A 19-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Yolanda Mixon began suffering severe aches and pains while serving as a sergeant first class some years ago. What she thought was arthritis was diagnosed as lupus, a chronic, autoimmune disease that damages different parts of the body, including the kidneys. As the disease progressed, she was diagnosed with kidney failure and pulmonary fibrosis. Doctors told the single mother raising two children she would eventually need a kidney transplant. 2012-05-11T21:45:32+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/class-of-2012-can-celebrate-match-day-success-at-commencement After striding across the stage to pick up their M.D. degrees at the BankUnited Center on May 12, members of the Class of 2012 will head to some of the most competitive residency programs and prestigious institutions in the country. The class could, in fact, take a collective bow for their notable Match Day success, which created a buzz among underclassmen and is sure to be a great recruiting tool for prospective students. “These kids are really terrific,” said Laurence B. Gardner, M.D., executive dean for education and policy. “They hit it out of the ballpark. What that says is if you’re bright enough and work hard, you can go anywhere.” 2012-05-10T16:35:27+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/white-house-and-um-center-on-aging-host-historic-lgbt-conference-on-aging In the first federally funded study of health and aging among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) adults, a 66-year-old lesbian cited isolation, finding supportive friends, caregiving and health as the biggest issues facing older gays. Then she asked, “Who will be there for us, who will help care for us without judgment?” The White House and the University of Miami Center on Aging set out to address those questions on May 7 by bringing grassroots leaders, community organizers, advocates, caregivers and other interested citizens together with officials from the Obama administration for the first White House LGBT Conference on Aging. Held in the Miller School’s Clinical Research Building and hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement, in partnership with the Center on Aging, the historic gathering was part of a series of conferences the White House is conducting across the nation to address LGBT issues and occurred at a propitious time for the center, according to David Loewenstein, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and member of the center’s faculty. 2012-05-09T16:44:32+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/michael-d.-norenberg-m.d.-inducted-into-association-of-american-physicians For the fourth year in a row, a Miller School physician has been inducted into the prestigious Association of American Physicians (AAP), founded in 1885 for “the advancement of scientific and practical medicine.” Members include Nobel laureates and members of the National Academy of Science and the Institute of Medicine, making induction a great honor. This year’s UM honoree is Michael D. Norenberg, M.D., professor of pathology and biochemistry and molecular biology and director of neuropathology research. He was inducted August 28 during the organization’s annual meeting and dinner in Chicago. 2012-05-08T11:00:14+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/interdisciplinary-stem-cell-institute-awarded-10-million-grant-from-starr-f The Miller School of Medicine’s Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) announced that it received a $10 million grant from The Starr Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the United States. The grant will support ISCI in broadening its preclinical and clinical research on stem cells, and help accelerate its pipeline of translational research and programs for a wide range of debilitating conditions including cardiac disease, cancer, wound healing, stroke, glaucoma and chronic kidney and gastrointestinal diseases. 2012-05-03T20:24:33+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/pap-corps-makes-3.2-million-gift-to-cancer-research-at-sylvester Fueled by the work of more than 21,000 volunteers, The Pap Corps: Champions for Cancer Research, presented its annual gift to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine — a check in the amount of $3.2 million. The check presentation, made April 30 at the group’s President’s Meeting at the Boca West Country Club in Boca Raton, is part of the group’s $25 million commitment to Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami. Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School of Medicine, and CEO of the University of Miami Health System, called the gift “awesome” as he described what it means for South Florida’s only academic cancer center. 2012-05-01T13:18:56+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/licensing-office-links-miller-school-physician-with-entrepreneur-for-simple One day in the not so distant future, many of the 50,000 Americans destined to be diagnosed with head and neck cancer annually, as well as millions at risk, could learn with a simple gargle-and-spit test that they could develop the deadly disease long before the first lesion appears in their mouth. If so, the lifesaving breakthrough will have been made possible by the innovative clinical research of a Miller School otolaryngologist, the entrepreneurial passions and personal pain of a Georgia attorney, and the service-oriented invention clearinghouse that brought them together and enabled their success. Formerly called the Office of Technology Transfer, the newly christened office for Intellectual Property Strategy & Licensing, or IPSL, navigated the diagnostic technology that Elizabeth Franzmann, M.D., associate professor of otolaryngology, developed in 2002 through the bewildering patent process and into the hands of Matthew H.J. Kim. An intellectual property attorney by training and an entrepreneur by passion, Kim is as determined as Franzmann to spare others the painful and disfiguring surgeries his mother endured while battling squamous cell carcinoma. He founded Vigilant Biosciences, Inc. (VigilantBIO), an award-winning start-up, to bring the low-cost test to dentists’ offices, primary care practices, and drug stores everywhere. 2012-05-01T12:45:56+00:00 http://med.miami.edu/news/miller-school-neurology-chair-honored-by-national-academy-for-stroke-resear 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 2012-04-27T16:07:56+00:00