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| FEATURE STORY |
 Last month WVU unveiled Bonnie’s Bus, complete with equipment and staff, poised to begin the trek throughout West Virginia to reach women who lack easy access to mammograms. Bonnie’s Bus will offer life-saving early detection for breast cancer in our state which has the fifth highest mortality rate in the nation.
The bus and mammograms are made possible through a $2.5 million gift from Jo and Ben Statler to the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, part of last year’s $25 million donation to WVU. The bus is named after Mrs. Statler's late mother, Bonnie Wells Wilson. Bonnie’s Bus and the Cancer Center also received $300,000 from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to support outreach to women and conduct follow-up tracking studies, and a two-year $400,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation to establish a clinical trials network.
Click here for more information. |
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 Michael D. Schaller, Ph.D., was recently named chair of the Department of Biochemistry. Dr. Schaller comes to WVU from the University of North Carolina where he was professor of cell and developmental biology. For more information on Dr. Schaller, click on the link.  Mark Polak, M.D., Class of 1982 and Professor, Department of Pediatrics, has been named Chief of the Division of Neonatology. Dr. Pete Yossuck will serve as the Medical Director of the NICU.
 J. Michael Ruppert, M.D., Ph.D., recently joined the School of Medicine as the Jo and Ben Statler Eminent Scholar and Chair in Breast Cancer Research. Dr. Ruppert’s research focuses on breast cancer tumor suppressor genes and transcription factors. For more information on Dr. Ruppert’s appointment or research, click on the link. Alfred Sommer, M.D., Professor and Dean Emeritus of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recently spoke on “Insights into Global Health” as part of Global Health Day. For more information on Global Health Day, click here.
The National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health hosted a retreat for women last month. The purpose of this retreat was to help women keep mind, body and soul in balance. For more information, click on the link. The WVU Injury Control Center has released ATV accident and death results through mid-November 2008. Click on the link for more information. Last month was National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month. Recent studies have found that following certain steps can reduce the risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. For more information click on the link. The Eastern Campus’s Residency Programs in family medicine and the geriatric fellowship program have had an increased number of residents stay in the eastern panhandle. To find out more information, click on the link. Community Service Opportunities:
Medical Students are collecting the recycling bins in the HSC on Fridays. Contact Jeff Richmond jrichmo4@mix.wvu.edu for more information. COMING
Suganthi Rajah, M.D., has joined the Eastern Campus of the School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, as an Assistant Professor.
Michael Hogan, M.D., has joined the Morgantown Campus of the School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, as an Associate Professor.
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Sara C. Allman, M.D., Class of 1997, was recently named the recipient of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’ Hands and Heart award. She is the lead physician for the Primary Care Blue Team, and was recognized for her “professional expertise and delivery of emotional support, help and guidance to patients above and beyond the call of duty.” Dr. Allman began her VA career in 2000 at the Huntington VA Medical Center. For more information, click on the link. |
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George A. Kelley, D.A., Professor, Department of Community Medicine, and Kristi S. Kelley, M.Ed., Research Instructor, Department of Community Medicine, have studied the effects of exercise and physical activity on homocysteine levels in adults. Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood. Studies have shown that high levels of homocysteine increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. For more information on this research, click on the link.
 Stephen Wetmore, M.D., Chair, Department of Otolaryngology, has studied results of endolymphatic sac surgery for patients with Ménière’s disease who did not respond to more conservative therapies such as low-sodium diets or diuretic medications. Surgery involves inserting a shunt into the endolymphatic sac to drain excess inner ear fluid into the mastoid air cell system to relieve patients of major spells of vertigo. For more information on this surgery, click on the links ( WVU Healthcare | Science Centric). WVU recently received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors will connect patients who’d like to kick the smoking habit with the state’s Quitline, which boasts a success rate of 27%. For more information click on the linkLast month the Office of the Vice President for Health Sciences announced the availability of investment funds to support the preparation of competitive, multi-investigator NIH grants, such as NIH program project grants (P01’s) and NIH center grants (P50’s). Funds will be made available by December 30, 2008 and awarded on the basis of merit as determined by a competitive review coordinated by the HSC Office of Research and Graduate Education. To view details please click here (intranet website). |
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Emme Chapman, M.D., PGY-3, surgery resident, presented a poster in October in San Francisco at the American College of Surgeons 94th Annual Clinical Congress on “The changing prevalence, morbidity and mortality of acute pancreatitis in a rural population-based study.” Linda Vona-Davis, Ph.D. and Richard Vaughan, M.D., from the Department of Surgery, and Jeffrey Coben, M.D., and Penney Baughman, MPH, from the Center for Rural Emergency Medicine also collaborated on the project.
Daniel Rossi, D.O., PGY-5, general surgery resident, recently had an abstract accepted at the Western Trauma Association Meeting in February 2009.
The Jon Michael Moore Trauma Center has announced the winners of three grants for conducting trauma-related research. The winner of the $1,000 grant is James Mills, M.D., PGY-4, Neurosurgery and the winners of the $500 grants are Claire Beimesch, M.D., PGY-1, Orthopaedics and Barry Davis, PGY-3, Orthopaedics. |
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Julie Balch-Samora Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., Class of 2009, was recently named the National Co-Winner of the Ruth Jackson Medical Student Award. The Ruth Jackson Orthopedic Society is a support and networking group for the growing number of women Orthopaedics surgeons. Click on the link for more information about this award. |
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Many recall that he was the first pediatrician the city ever knew, back in the days when a physician was well-respected but rarely well-off. Perhaps, like you, medicine was something he believed in.
In his view, a lifetime gift wasn’t the right prescription. So he arranged for his eventual estate to remember two of his most treasured subjects: medicine and children. The gift created a pediatric library endowment for the School of Medicine, and its income buys needed additions each year.
Whatever you treasure about medicine, perhaps you can enhance it forever with your own support through a gift provision included in your will. You can learn all the options by calling the Development Office at 304-293-3980. They’ll be happy to assist.
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 James Brick, M.D., Interim Dean, School of Medicine, recently spoke in Parkersburg, WV, about the growth of the School of Medicine from its inception to today. For more information click on the link.  Geri Dino, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, who recently suffered a heart attack, was interviewed by WBOY-TV. Dr. Dino, who exercises and eats a healthy diet, says that everyone is at risk – even those who follow a healthy lifestyle. Click here to read more. Norman Ferrari, M.D., Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Mahreen Hashmi, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Kim Lanham, Residency Coordinator, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will be presenting at the national Group on Resident Affairs (GRA) of the AAMC meeting in Atlanta, GA in April 2009 on Innovative Technologies for Didactic Education of Residents and the Adult Learner.
C. H. Mitch Jaques, M.D., Dean, Eastern Campus, and Jay Bonfili, Vice President of Administration, Eastern Campus, were recently featured in a newspaper article about the Eastern Campus. To read the article click here.
 Chris Martin, M.D., has been appointed by the AAMC to the Advisory Group for a joint AMA/AAMC conference in September 2010 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Flexner Report.
Martha Mullett, M.D., Professor, Department of Pediatrics, is weighing in on new statistics on pregnant women in West Virginia. More than 800 West Virginia women have admitted using illegal drugs while pregnant-about 5% of women who delivered babies last year. For more information, click on the link.
 William Neal, M.D., founder/director, CARDIAC program, was recently recognized for his efforts in tracking childhood obesity in the state of West Virginia. The most recent findings have shown a small decrease in WV’s childhood obesity rate. For more information, click on the link.
Dr. Neal was also the recipient of the 2008 “No Greater Legacy Award”. For more information on this award click on the link.
 Uma Sundaram, M.D., Professor, Department of Medicine, is talking about Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis which are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) afflicting 1.4 million Americans. Dr. Sundaram said that young people ages 15 to 35 are most susceptible to these diseases. For more information click on the link. |
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That in 2002, planning for the Health Sciences Campus’ Learning Center began, but the Learning Center did not open until January of 2007. Today the Learning Center is used daily by students in the School of Medicine and the other Health Sciences Center schools. They know it is a great place to study!
That in 1954, construction started for the Basic Sciences Building (now Health Sciences Center North) by the Virginia Engineering Company of Norfolk, Virginia, a ship building company that had never constructed a building before, thereby causing the building to look like a huge ship.
Can you guess who these two faculty members are?
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(Click Images to enlarge) |
The answers will appear in next
month’s issue.
Last month’s faculty members were
Kenneth Veselicky, M.D., and Gary Marano, M.D. |
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Last month WVU unveiled Bonnie’s Bus, complete with equipment and staff, poised to begin the trek throughout West Virginia to reach women who lack easy access to mammograms. Bonnie’s Bus will offer life-saving early detection for breast cancer in our state which has the fifth highest mortality rate in the nation. 
