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Message from the Dean
New Faculty Orientation
Center for Health & Healing Nears Completion
FYI: Inside the CHH
Application Deadline Nears for Gerlinger Research Award
OHSU, PVAMC Launch Meth Center
SOM's "Knowledge in a Box" Program
William Thomas, M.D., Lecture on Aging
Radiation Oncology Lecture
Dennis McCarty, Ph.D., Elected to APA Fellow Status
SOM New Faculty
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September SOM News
Message from the Dean
Greetings from the Dean's Office and welcome to the SOM September
Dean's Update. September 15, 2006, was a historical day for all of us
at OHSU as Joe Robertson, M.D., M.B.A., officially began his tenure as
President. Concurrently, I
officially assumed my responsibilities as SOM Interim Dean.
Because Joe and I had the opportunity to work together in the weeks
preceding the official transition, this month's change in leadership
was truly seamless. I'm really excited to be able to serve as Interim
Dean and look forward to working
with all of you in this new capacity.
As Interim Dean, I want to continue the momentum created during Dr.
Robertson's years in the Dean's Office. I'm especially looking forward
to the SOM strategic planning retreat in October and the opportunity to
help map the future course
for the School. We have enormous opportunities, but we need to maintain
our current focus. This includes continuing aggressively with on-going
efforts to create regional campuses for medical education, addressing
predictions of severe
shortages of both physicians and biomedical researchers, supporting
translational research, and enhancing both state allocations and
philanthropic gifts to the School of Medicine.
I am committed to transparency and interactive communication. I welcome
your e-mails and input as we all work to ensure excellence in the
School of Medicine.
Best wishes,
Mark Richardson
(To read a short biographical sketch of Mark Richardson, M.D., M.ScB., M.B.A.,
click here )
Important Reminder: SOM New Faculty Orientation
OHSU School of Medicine New Faculty Orientation will be held on
Wednesday, September 27, from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., in UHS 8B60
(University Hospital, 8th floor). New Faculty Orientation offers an
excellent opportunity to learn more
about OHSU and specifically about available resources and career
advancement opportunities in research, teaching, and clinical service.
All SOM faculty are welcome. To view the flyer,
click here.
Center for Health & Healing Nears Completion
 The Center for Health & Healing (CHH) is quickly approaching
completion, and moving day for some SOM departments is planned for
October. The CHH, one of OHSU's most significant building projects and
the first that has been substantially
funded, designed and managed under the direction and responsibility of
the OHSU Medical Group, is just weeks away from accepting its first
occupants.
The CHH, a partnership effort between OHSU and the OHSUMG, has eight
levels dedicated to physician practices, surgery and imaging; four
levels reserved for academic and research activities; and two floors
occupied by March Wellness Center,
the comprehensive health and wellness center. CHH integrates the newest
medical technologies with patient-focused designs and innovative
sustainability standards, and is a tribute to OHSU's service to the
community and environmental
leadership.
The CHH was designed to create a new kind of health care experience,
one that feels more personal and exemplifies OHSU's commitment to
patient- and family-centered care. From the moment patients, visitors
and staff arrive in the building,
details throughout the center help create a warm, friendly environment.
FYI: Inside the CHH
 The following list answers the questions, What's inside the CHH? When will they be open for business?
1st floor Reception
Daily Café
OHSU Pharmacy* (tent. opening Nov. 13)
Casey Optical Shop* (Oct. 30)
march wellness center (open to the public Jan. 2007)
2nd floor March Wellness Center (open to the public Jan. 2007)
Outpatient Rehabilitation Services (Oct. 30)
3rd floor Outpatient Rehabilitation Services (Oct. 30)
Imaging Services* (Oct. 23)
Laboratory Services* (Oct. 23)
4th floor Ambulatory Surgery Center* (Nov. 30)
Preadmission Testing*
Cosmetic & Reconstructive Surgery Center
Sterile Processing*
Comprehensive Pain Center (Nov. 13)
Pathology (processing)* (Nov. 30)
5th floor Dermatologic Surgery (Nov. 6)
Dermatopathology (Nov. 6)
Otolaryngology* (Oct. 30)
Vascular Surgery Vein Clinic
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (Oct. 30)
6th floor Digestive Health Center (Nov. 13)
Endoscopy* (Nov. 13)
Bone Densitometry* (Nov. 13)
7th floor OHSU Cancer Institute Multidisciplinary Oncology Clinics (Nov. 20)
Medical Oncology* (Nov. 20)
Surgical Oncology Cancer Teams* (Nov. 20)
Infusion Therapy (Nov. 20)
Infusion Pharmacy (activated Oct. 17-19)
8th floor Neurosurgery (Nov. 20)
Neurology* (Nov. 20)
Neurodiagnostics Testing (Nov. 20)
9th floor OHSU Family Medicine at South Waterfront (Oct. 23)
Cardiovascular Medicine* (Oct. 23)
Cardiovascular Diagnostics* (Oct. 23)
Internal Medicine and Geriatrics (Oct. 23)
10th floor OHSU Fertility Consultants (Nov. 13)
Urology (adult/pediatric) and Male Infertility (Oct. 30)
11th floor Ophthalmology* (Oct. 30)
12th floor Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation, including
Sports Medicine (Nov. 20)
The OHSU Spine Center (Nov. 20)
OSU/OHSU College of Pharmacy (moving Oct. 17-29
Investigational Pharmacy (Dec. 9)
13th floor Biomedical Engineering (moving Nov. 7-9 and 14-16)
14th floor Gene Microarray Shared Res. (moving Oct. 17-19)
OHSU Pharmacy Research (Oct. 17)
Cardiology Research (moving Oct. 24-26)
Cancer Research (moving Oct. 31, Nov. 1-2)
15th floor General Clinical Research Center (moving Nov. 14-16)
Cardiac Prevention Center
Cancer Dry Study (moving Oct. 17-19)
16th floor Dermatology (Nov. 6)
(* indicates practices and departments that will also continue to provide services on Marquam Hill)
Application Deadline Nears for Gerlinger Research Award
The School of Medicine is taking applications for the Gerlinger
Research Award. Applicants must have a faculty appointment within the
School of Medicine. Preferences will be given to research dealing with
collagen disease, arthritis
or DMSO. Funds for a one-year period may be sought for salary,
equipment or supplies. Indirect costs cannot be provided. Applicants
may seek all or part of the $40,000 available annually. Previous awards
have averaged $10,000.
Applicants should follow guidelines provided in the Gerlinger
application. An original and 29 copies (all copies stapled) of the
application should be submitted by 12:00 noon, Wednesday, November 15,
2006, to Sandra Kollenburn in room
11D30 in the Hatfield Research Building, or mailed to her attention at
CR 113. Funding will begin in January 2007.
Applications can be obtained by e-mailing
click here or calling 494-5649.
OHSU, PVAMC Launch First Comprehensive Meth Center
OHSU is now home to the nation's first federally funded center for
studying methamphetamine abuse from its genetic underpinnings to its
prevention through public education programs. OHSU and the Portland
Veterans Affairs Medical Center
have jointly launched the Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center (MARC),
which is funded by a five-year, $5 million grant from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH. OHSU and PVAMC also are providing a total
of $50,000 per year toward
the center. Aaron Janowsky, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and
Behavioral Neuroscience, OHSU School of Medicine, and research career
scientist, PVAMC, is the center's director.
Employing 20 researchers and physicians, the center will typify
bi-directional translational research. Their goals are to better
understand the genetic predisposition behind meth addiction and
withdrawal symptoms; use rational drug design
to develop new therapies; create educational programs for school-age
children that improve science education and reduce initiation of meth
use; and educate rural clinicians about new information and therapies
for their patients affected by
meth.
Meth addiction is the world's most persistent drug abuse problem.
Globally, more people use meth than use cocaine and heroin combined. In
the United States, the primary meth-related hospital admissions rate
increased from 10 to 52 per
100,000 people aged 12 and older between 1992 and 2002. In 2002, 19
states had rates in excess of the national rate, and 12 had primary
meth admission rates of more than twice the national rate, or 104 or
more admissions per 100,000
people.
There were more admissions directly related to meth in Oregon than in
any other state tracking the data. And while alcohol is responsible for
the most admissions at the Portland VAMC, patients admitted with meth
addiction are often more
psychiatrically ill than patients addicted to other drugs.
A key difference between cocaine and meth that might account for meth's
more addictive characteristics is that while cocaine and meth both
block the recycling of dopamine at the nerve terminal, meth also
prevents the second step of
recycling inside the terminal where dopamine is repackaged and ready
for release again. Meth is taken up by the transporter, causing release
of more of the neurotransmitter, but cocaine only blocks the re-uptake
of the
neurotransmitter.
The center contains four research themes to study the effects of meth
use. One will focus on the areas and systems of the brain involved in
drug craving and drug effects. Another will examine the changes in
gene, nerve cell and brain
function that accompany meth exposure and withdrawal. A third theme
will look at the effects of stress on drug craving and the potential
for relapse. The fourth will study impulsivity and the decision-making
process associated with meth
use.
Several pilot projects already are in progress at the MARC. One
involves using fMRI to examine the brains of former meth users while
they take a test that measures their impulsivity. For example, study
subjects are asked whether they'll
take $10 now or $100 in a week.
"It turns out that people addicted to drugs of all sorts, and
particularly people addicted to meth, tend to discount the delayed
rewards," said project head and MARC investigator William Hoffman,
Ph.D., M.D., Assistant Professor of
Psychiatry, OHSU School of Medicine, and staff psychiatrist in the
Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences Division, PVAMC. MARC
scientists also are developing new measures of impulsivity that can be
used in both animal and human
research.
Another pilot project is studying the prenatal and neonatal effects of
meth abuse. Jacob Raber, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Behavioral
Neuroscience and Neurology in the OHSU School of Medicine, showed in a
recent study that in mice,
exposure to meth early in life causes sex-dependent impairments in the
ability to recognize objects and navigate based on memory. These
effects were much more pronounced in female than in male mice. He also
found that a naturally released
compound, histamine, mediates these long-term impairments, and that the
histamine system may be an important link to developing an effective
target for drug therapies.
One of the most important components of the MARC is its education
program. Headed by William Cameron, Ph.D., OHSU Associate Professor of
Behavioral Neuroscience, the education core will translate the center's
findings into useful
information for clinicians and students, and it will be instrumental in
community outreach programs designed to reduce meth use. All members of
the center will participate in these educational activities.
SOM's "Knowledge in a Box" Program
The SOM's Knowledge in a Box program began with a pilot program
called Brain in a Box developed in collaboration between OHSU's
neuroscience researchers and local teachers from the Beaverton School
District last year. The program
included visits to five middle schools to present information about
basic neuroscience, cutting-edge neuroscience research, neurological
diseases and brain health and potential. The visits were led by two
volunteers, an OHSU
neuroscientist and a retired educator from the Brain Research Awareness
& Information Network (BRAINet), a friends group developed seven
years ago to support OHSU's Neurological Sciences Institute and OHSU
neurosciences.
BRAINet raised the initial funds ($1000) to produce two pilot "boxes"
through a giving tree at the annual holiday luncheon. Five volunteers
(3 retired school teachers, one retired psychologist and one
neuroscience postdoctorate fellow)
worked with the Community Affairs & Education staff to develop a
strong partnership with the science coordinator for the Beaverton
School District and five seventh grade teachers to research, develop,
implement, and evaluate the pilot
program. A daylong session with the group produced the initial
curriculum and program design.
The program is a straightforward model that involves two visits,
approximately two weeks apart, from the volunteers and a box that is
left in the interim for extended research and activity. The purpose is
to engage the 7th grade student
about the potential of his/her own brain, basics on brain
structure/function/development, the excitement around medicine and
research and key messages about brain health. This is done in an
attention-getting way with age-appropriate
activities. Additional resources for the classroom (teacher and
students) are provided for more extensive enrichment activities.
Both students and teachers rated the pilot highly. Much useful
information was gained through the pilot that has provided additional
refinement. The Beaverton School District is very excited about
expanding the project and the Portland
School District is initiating it this coming year. Neurology students,
as well as neuroscience graduate students, will be recruited and
trained to go into the schools along with the retired educators who
belong to BRAINet. This
collaborative model of retired educators, who are interested in
episodic volunteer activities and are very interested in neuroscience,
along with OSHU students, who are learning how to communicate their
excitement about neuroscience while
gaining community service credit, is a perfect utilization of
knowledge, skill, and motivation.
The program is unique in the country and will be integrated into
several statewide OHSU brain awareness outreach grants. The Brain In a
Box has also been used as a model for the School of Medicine in
developing similar programs for Heart
In a Box, Lung In a Box, and Doc In a Box, the external part of the
Mini Medical School program initiated by OHSU President Joe Robertson
when he was Dean of the School of Medicine.
William Thomas, M.D., Lecture on Aging & Longevity
William H. Thomas, M.D., international authority on geriatric
medicine and elder-care, founder of the Center for Growing and
Becoming, the Eden Alternative and recently nominated as one of
America's Best Leaders in U. S. News & World
Report, will present a lecture entitled "What are Old People For? How
Elders will Save the World," on Wednesday, October 18, at 12:00 noon,
in the OHSU Auditorium (Old Library). His lecture will cover issues
related to aging and longevity
as well as the wise use of prescription drugs.
Dr. Thomas's lecture is co-sponsored by the OHSU Center for Healthy
Aging; AARP, Oregon; and the SOM Center for Evidence-based Policy.
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