"Next generation" DNA sequencer arrives on campus
With funding provided by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, OHSU has
taken a big step toward the creation of the planned Integrated Genomics
Center. The Trust provided a $475,000 grant to help purchase a "Next
generation" DNA sequencer to serve as the crown jewel of the
center.
The Illumina Genome Analyzer IIx (GAIIx) nucleotide sequencer which
arrived this week will give OHSU investigators a vastly improved
ability to identify genetic mutations that lead to individual
variations in responses to treatment and disease. The new sequencer
will also expand OHSU capabilities for transcriptome analysis, small
RNA discovery, and epigenomic studies.
Two orders of magnitude faster than the systems used to sequence the
human genome, the GAIIx will support research on a wide range of
disease types, including cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis,
substance addiction, and more. This platform anticipates impending
advances during the next decade that will enable the routine, rapid
characterization of individual patients' genomes and the development of
customized therapies for their specific genetically based health
issues. The GAIIx is an important element of OHSU's infrastructure in
both genomic analysis and bioinformatics.
The new Massively Parallel Sequencing University Shared Resource
will be directed by Robert Searles, PhD, with an anticipated opening
date of January, 2010. The facility will reside in the Integrated
Genomics Center alongside the Gene Microarray Shared Resource. The
new Center, under the leadership of Chris Harrington, PhD, with
Dr. Searles serving as the Associate Director for Informatics, will
provide coordinated services for genomic studies on campus.
The instrument has been identified as a key factor in several
important pending recruitments. Both the sequencer and Center were
identified as top priorities for the $100 million "faculty fundraising"
initiative now underway at the OHSU Foundation and represent an early
success for that initiative.
Robert Hitzemann, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Behavioral
Neuroscience, led the process to apply for funds from the Murdock
Trust. Rae Rosenberg, MPH, OHSU Foundation, provided guidance in that
process. Susan Hayflick, MD, Professor and interim Chair, Department of
Molecular and Medical Genetics, is leading the internal effort to
develop the administrative and organizational structure for the
Integrated Genomics Center. A G-20 application for American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to renovate physical space in
Richard Jones Hall for the proposed Center was submitted last month.
Pictured: Dr. Searles with the new sequencer
Governor Kulongoski nominates President Robertson to Oregon Health Policy Board
On
June 11, Oregon's legislature passed historic health reform
legislation. In particular, HB 2009 created the Oregon Health
Authority, which will be responsible for recommending health care
reform policies to increase access and improve outcomes, streamline
state health purchasers, and organize state health policy and health
services. The Authority will be overseen by a nine-member Oregon Health
Policy Board.
This month, Governor Kulongoski nominated the individuals to this
new Board, including OHSU President Joe Robertson. During the
nomination process, President Robertson wrote, "As President of OHSU, I
will bring the collective knowledge and experience of our world-class
faculty to serve the Board and the cause of health care reform. I
believe it to be both my responsibility and my honor to work
steadfastly and collaboratively to change our health care system.
Working together, I know we can make Oregon the healthiest state in the
nation. I am excited and enthusiastic about this opportunity."
The nine board members are: Eric Parsons (Chair), Portland; Lillian
Shirley (Vice Chair), Portland; Michael Bonetto, Bend; Eileen Brady,
Portland; Dr. Carlos Crespo, Portland; Felisa Hagins, Portland; Dr.
Charles Hofmann, Baker City; Dr. Joe Robertson, Portland; Nita Werner,
Beaverton. Details can be found here at the Oregon Office of Health Policy and Research.
Pictured: President Robertson at the ceremonial signing of the Healthy Kids bill at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in August.
"The end of cancer is within reach"
Brian J. Druker, MD, Director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute,
will present "The End of Cancer Is Within Reach," describing the
significant progress he and colleagues have made in the fight against
cancer.
Dr. Druker, a Howard Hughes Institute Medical Investigator and
JELD-WEN Chair of Leukemia Research at OHSU, recently was awarded
the Lasker-DeBakey Award for Clinical Medical Research, a prize widely
regarded as the most prestigious medical research award in the United
States and often referred to as "America's Nobel."
Dr. Druker's goal is to treat all cancers with targeted drugs like
Gleevec and make Oregon's cancer death rate the lowest in the nation.
His lecture will discuss the extraordinary opportunities that lie ahead
and the hurdles we still need to overcome. "The End of Cancer Is Within
Reach" is a Mark O. Hatfield Lecture.
"The lecture is a good opportunity to share the OHSU story with the
wider public - invite your neighbors and friends so they can better
understand the amazing research, health care and education that happen
every day at OHSU," said Dean Richardson.
WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 20, 7 - 8 p.m.
WHERE: Newmark Theatre, 1111 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97205
DETAILS: For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.ohsu.edu/druker
From the Archives: 1936 Nobel winner Sir Henry Hallett Dale visits the School of Medicine 
This casual group portrait of faculty and students in the cafeteria
of the Multnomah County Hospital is interesting enough for what it
quickly reveals: a sack lunch and an old black lunchbox; a few
sandwiches still unopened in their little triangular wrappers; students
turning away from the faculty conversation to share a joke among
themselves. A no smoking sign. What appears to be an ashtray.
The notation on the back of the print tells us the date and a great deal more: This is June 1954, and Sir Henry Hallett Dale is visiting the Medical School.
Dale was co-winner of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
for his work on the chemical transmission of nerve impulses, and had
just published his latest book, An Autumn Gleaning.
So we see, now, that this is a lunch gathering meant to both occupy
the visitor and allow faculty and students to hear the thoughts of the
great scientist. Dale is flanked by Norman David, Chair of
Pharmacology, and (possibly?) Hance Haney, Director of Outpatient
Services. Physiology Chair John Brookhart and Adolph Weinzirl, Head of
Public Health, are here, too. Do you recognize any of the others?
Contributed by Sara Piasecki, Head, OHSU Historical Collections & Archives.
Discovery Spotlight: Heidi Nelson, MD
Medications effective in reducing risks for breast cancer can cause serious side effects
Although
tamoxifen, raloxifen and tibolone dramatically reduce the risk of
invasive breast cancer, some patients experience adverse effects,
according to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality (AHRQ), US Department of Health & Human Services.
The report is based on a study led by Heidi D. Nelson, MD, MPH,
Research Professor in the Department of Medical informatics &
Clinical Epidemiology (pictured). It was published online in
the Sept. 15 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The report,
Comparative Effectiveness of Medications to Reduce Risk of Primary
Breast Cancer in Women, is the latest analysis from the Agency's
Effective Health Care Program.
The study is the first to make a direct, comprehensive comparison of
drugs that reduce the risk of breast cancer so that women and their
health care providers can assess their potential effectiveness and
adverse effects. It compares the use of tamoxifen, raloxifene and
tibolone to reduce the risks of getting breast cancer in women without
pre-existing cancer. The study found that all three drugs reduce the
occurrence of breast cancer but have various side effects.
"Before applying the findings of the report to practice, clinicians
must ensure that women understand their individual risks for breast
cancer and can favorably balance these with the unwanted effects of
risk-reducing medications," explained Dr. Nelson.
To read more click here.
Has it been 50 years already?
Pictured
are the thirty-four members of the MD Class of 1959 who attended their
50th Class Reunion at the coastal Salishan Resort over the weekend of
September 19.
At the Reunion Dinner, Dean Richardson inducted class members into
the Golden Circle – a recognition reserved for alumni who graduated
from the School of Medicine 50 or more years ago.
Dean Richardson spoke briefly about the School's response to the
current economic climate, and the need to protect and extend the
School's excellence. He also thanked Drs. John Roehr, Bob Mendelson,
John Thompson and Harley Kelley for their leadership and commitment in
organizing such a large and successful alumni gathering.
Welcome new Graduate Studies Program students!
The
School of Medicine welcomes 159 new students to the Graduate Studies
Program this month: 42 doctoral candidates and 117 new students in a
master's 
program.
Of the total, 52% are from Oregon and 18% are from another country.
Eighty-nine are female and the average age of the class members is
29.
Dean Richardson joined Alison Fryer, PhD, Associate Dean for
Graduate Studies, and about 175 students at a Sept. 25 barbeque
to welcome new and returning students.
The event was hosted by the Graduate Student Organization, and
co-sponsored by the School of Medicine Alumni Association (SMAA), the
Office of Academic Affairs, and the All Hill Council.
SMAA Council members Jim Fearl, Bob Laird, Tod Tolan, and Ray Hickey
joined Council President Walter Meihoff to flip burgers and grill
sausages for the crowd. Graduate student Dustin Johnsen provided
over two hours of great music mixes, and the Alumni Association
sponsored door prizes.
For more photos of the annual welcome barbecue, check out the SOM Facebook page.
To learn more about our amazing new and current graduate studies students, keep on reading!
Christy Murphy – Incoming Master of Science student, Clinical Nutrition
Orphaned by the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s, Christy Murphy, 23,
is aware of the irony in the seemingly miraculous turn of events that
led her to start the program this year to earn a Master of Science 
degree with a major in Clinical Nutrition.
"I lost both my birth parents because they did not have enough
food," she says. "Now I am acquiring the knowledge and skills to teach
others that nutrition is a global issue, and that the nutritional
habits of one culture have a significant impact on the nutritional
habits of others."
Murphy's thesis will include studying the effect of American culture
on the nutritional habits of immigrant communities, initially around
breast-feeding frequency and duration. "The breast-feeding habits of
newly-arrived Americans change holistically with first-hand exposure to
American culture," she says. "This acculturation process also impacts
dietary habits after weaning."
Placed in an orphanage shortly after birth, Murphy was adopted at 18
months by US parents who would eventually adopt a total of five
children to join their three birth children. "My parents are examples
of grace and generosity," says Murphy. "They have taught me to help
where you can and give what you can. They taught me to live outside of
myself."
Murphy's goal is to make a difference in Ethiopia. "My passion for
nutrition is scientific as well as personal, but I do know I was saved
for a reason. Nutrition is a critical piece of sound public health, and
developing countries are in desperate need of dieticians. This is a way
I can give back."
Ravi Iyer – Incoming PhD student, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
For
Ravi Iyer, 34, intellectual roaming and physical roaming are closely
intertwined. An outdoorsman, mycologist and incoming student in the
Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (PMCB), Iyer says that he
"gets a lot of my scientific ideas out in the back country. You
certainly have a goal in mind when you are back-packing or when you are
conducting research, but you are also free to range over the landscape
and explore interesting diversions as you encounter them."
Iyer's journey to the PMCB program has at times roamed far from the
linear pathway. He obtained his baccalaureate degree in Political
Science from Western Washington University, and has held jobs as
diverse as snake handler, beer brewer, accountant and meter
reader.
He became interested in infectious disease as a result of several
years of travel, notably in Central America where he was involved in
human rights observation projects. "I saw large numbers of impoverished
people suffering from water-borne diseases and illnesses such as
tuberculosis, and decided that I had the temperament and personality to
want to tackle these issues through microbacterial
research."
He returned to school at the University of Washington, obtaining a
second baccalaureate in Microbiology followed by employment there as
lab assistant for six years. "Now, I'm eager to get back into school,"
he says. "I want to be in a situation where I can learn something new
every day."
Eric Morley – Incoming PhD student, Biomedical Computer Science
Incoming student, Eric Morley, 24, has just returned from West
Africa where he and his wife Sheena were in Benin with the Peace Corps.
For the past two years, he taught English in the local equivalent of 
a
middle school/high school. Morley received an undergraduate degree in
linguistics from the University of Chicago, and plans to focus on
text-to-speech synthesis in the Division of Biomedical Computer
Science, Department of Science and Engineering.
One of his projects in Chicago was working on documentation of the
nearly extinct Native American Washo language used in the Lake Tahoe
area on the California-Nevada border. He utilized his linguistics
training in Africa to write a learner's guide for the Peace Corps to
Adja, the native language spoken in the area around Klouekanme, the
town of 12,000 in Benin where he taught school. And he is in the throes
of completing an Adja grammar book.
One of Morley's ambitions is to work on making synthetic speech
appropriately expressive. The unnatural monotone may be okay on a bus
or for a weather announcement, he says, but it would be ridiculous for
a reading of Shakespeare. Why did Morley choose OHSU to do his graduate
work? It's pretty much the only place in the country, he says, with the
faculty firepower to do the kind of serious work in text-to-speech
synthesis he wants to do.
Nicole Paulk – Second-year PhD student, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
As
a child in Mt. Vernon, Washington, Nicole Paulk spent summers picking
cucumbers and strawberries and was the first in her family to graduate
from college. She now spends most of her waking hours in Oregon Stem
Cell Center lab directed by Markus Grompe, MD, Professor of Pediatrics
and of Molecular & Medical Genetics, searching for a way to use
gene therapy to repair a mutation that causes a rare metabolic disorder
in children born with the defect called hereditary tyrosinemia type I.
"These kids," she explained, "have a mutation in an enzyme called
fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase, which is needed to break down an amino
acid in protein called tyrosine. The result is that tyrosine and other
byproducts build up to toxic levels in their systems and can basically
cause end-stage liver failure and kidney failure. If they don't get a
liver transplant or some other therapy they'll probably die."
Traditional gene therapy seeks to treat diseases by providing the
patient with a supplemental good copy of the gene to make the needed
protein, but it doesn't fix the defective gene. The kind of gene
therapy Nicole is working on – true gene repair – would actually repair
the defect.
"By sending a benign adeno-associated virus into the body with just
a fragment of the genomic sequence for the non-mutated gene, not the
whole thing, the mutation is fixed through the magic of DNA repair,"
she said. "So nothing is removed that shouldn't be and nothing extra is
inserted. All we're doing is fixing that one tiny mutation and then the
virus goes away and you're literally cured forever. You don't need any
medicine, you don't need any organ transplants. But this is pretty new.
It's only been done in mice; it's never been tested in monkeys; it's
never been done in humans. We're one of the first labs pioneering this
technology."
Nicole is a second-year student in the Program for Molecular and
Cellular Biosciences (PMCB) in the Department of Cell &
Developmental Biology. She passed her PhD qualifying exam a few weeks
ago, freeing her to focus entirely on her research project now.
Nicole – or Niki as her friends call her – is the first OHSU grad
student to have won a coveted National Institutes of Health NRSA (the
Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award) predoctoral
fellowship as early in her career as she did, at the age of 23. She won
it before she even started grad school. "I've never heard of anyone
doing that before," said Allison D. Fryer, PhD, Associate Dean for
Graduate Studies. "I've never heard of any student coming in at the
very beginning of her graduate career and saying, 'I've already got my
NRSA."
To read more about Nicole, click here.
$1 million in Presidential Bridge funding helps restore external funding to 16 labs
The OHSU Presidential Bridge Funding program was initiated in 2007
to help established investigators navigate the shoals of a turbulent
federal funding environment. This program provides about $500,000
annually to support faculty members who are between grants. The goal is
to provide enough funding so that investigators can develop data to
support application renewals.
"In these challenging times, investigators at all stages of their
careers can encounter gaps in funding of their research programs.
Bridge funding is critical to allow them to weather these periods,
and maintain resources and staff until external funding can be
reinstated," said Dan Dorsa, PhD, Vice President for Research and SoM
Senior Associate Dean for Research. "The statistics we have now
collected about this program clearly demonstrate its success in
accomplishing this goal and its importance to the research
mission."
In fiscal years 2007 and 2008, 19 OHSU investigators were awarded a
total of $1,005,218 under the Bridge Funding program. Of these 19
scientists who received funding, 16 have since restored the funding of
their laboratories. In fiscal years 2008 and 2009, this cohort of
investigators received a total of $13,332,502. For more information,
read Research News (OHSU log-in required).
Announcements, appointments and honors
Dr. Trunkey's collection of rare books available at OHSU library
When Donald D. Trunkey, MD, Professor Emeritus of Surgery, was just
five years old he was taught to read by his aunt, a teacher at the
Southern Oregon College of Education (now Southern Oregon 
University).
He quickly devoured all the works of Zane Grey and other adventure
tales — fitting subject matter for a young boy growing up on the
Palouse. He remembers first falling in love with history on reading
Francis Parkman's classic, The Oregon Trail (1847), and for a time he
thought about becoming a history teacher.
But an early experience, combining tackle football and a clothesline
pole — which resulted in an epiphyseal fracture and dislocation of the
wrist — brought Dr. Trunkey into contact with the local general
practitioner. Over the course of the several hours it took the
physician to set the break, and the weeks of subsequent cast repair,
Dr. Trunkey got to know the doctor and soon decided that medicine was
the direction he wanted to take.
Combining his love of medicine and history, Dr. Trunkey began
collecting classic medical texts. In 2005 Trunkey donated approximately
150 titles from his personal library, many of them titles in the
Classics of Surgery series, to the OHSU School of Medicine Department
of Surgery. Now housed in the Trunkey Library in Mackenzie Hall, the
collection is accessible by department faculty, staff, and students, as
well as researchers visiting the OHSU Historical Collections &
Archives History of Medicine Room.
For information about the collection, or to make an appointment to
access the books, contact Pamela Sidis, Executive Specialist, Dept. of
Surgery (sidisp@ohsu.edu or 503-494-4937) or Sara Piasecki, Head,
Historical Collections & Archives (piasecki@ohsu.edu or
503-418-2287). Learn more at the Library Web site.
Pictured: archived photo of Dr. Trunkey.
ARCS picnic honors new scholarships, students and friends
Over 100 donors, students and supporters of the Portland Chapter of
the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) gathered at a
picnic in Gabriel Park on Sept. 27 to welcome the newest OHSU ARCS
Scholars to the program.
The ARCS program funded nine new scholars this year, bringing the
total number of OHSU scholars the Chapter has supported to 54. ARCS
scholarships are available to students enrolled in the Graduate Studies
program, and scholars receive a three-year commitment of $6,000
annually, which they may apply to any area of their work or living
expenses.
"We've been proud to commit $789,500 to support graduate students at
OHSU," said Leslie Workman, Portland Chapter President. "The
picnic gave us a great opportunity to thank our donors, meet the new
scholars and hear about their plans for the future."
See photos from the event at www.facebook.com/ohsusom
Dr. Lieberman authors clinical case vignette for NEJM
"A healthy 76-year-old woman presents as a new patient for primary
care. She reports having one daily bowel movement and no rectal
bleeding. She has no family history of colorectal cancer. She reports
having negative stool card tests during gynecologic examinations, most
recently at 65 years of age. Would you advise this patient to undergo
colon-cancer screening, and if so, what test would you
recommend?"
The expertise of David Lieberman, MD, Professor of Medicine, Head,
Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, was spotlighted in a
recurring New England Journal of Medicine clinical feature in the Sept
17 issue. Each issue includes a case vignette highlighting a common
clinical problem. Evidence supporting various strategies is then
presented, followed by a review of formal guidelines, when they exist.
The article ends with the author's clinical recommendations. To read
the full case vignette, link to the Sept 17 issue (log-in may be required).
ORPRN receives "Medical Decision Making" grant
The Oregon Rural Practice-Based Research Network
(ORPRN) has received a grant from the Foundation for Informed Medical
Decision Making. The grant will fund demonstration sites throughout the
state to explore the best ways to use innovative audio-visual decision
aids to improve the ability of patients to make complex medical
decisions in partnership with their physicians. These demonstration
sites are part of a national effort by the Foundation to make patients
full participants in their own health care decisions.
Charles Drum receives National Distinguished Disability Research Award
Each year, the Southwest Conference on Disability selects an
individual to receive the National Distinguished Disability Research
Award. The award recognizes an individual from the United States
who has compiled a distinguished record of disability-related research
in the social or physical sciences that has contributed to and advanced
our overall knowledge of disability. The selection committee,
which consists of past recipients and other disability researchers,
named Associate Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
Charles Drum, JD, PhD, as the 2009 recipient.
Speaking clearly about research
Since 1980, the Marquam Hill Lecture Series has covered subjects as
diverse as ADHD, male osteoporosis, low back pain and stem cell therapy
as an alternative to liver transplantation. Members of the OHSU faculty
describe, in lay terms, the research that will form the basis of
tomorrow's treatments. The series is sponsored by the OHSU Foundation,
the Marquam Hill Steering Committee, the Oregon Clinical Translational
Research Center and the OHSU School of Medicine. You'll find dates,
subjects, venues and registration information for the 2009 - 2010
series at the Marquam Hill Lectures Web site.
HR team moves to Mackenzie Hall Dean's office
Linda Strahm, Lori Watson and Fiona Canova have joined the Dean's
office as the School of Medicine's HR Business Partners. They are
located in Mac Hall 3211. They assist managers on a wide variety of HR
issues including interpretations and guidance on HR policies related to
employee and labor relations, classified and unclassified HR issues,
performance management, conflict resolution, compensation, benefits,
discipline, employee services, HR processes and procedures, etc. They
also help managers regarding organizational and environment issues,
assess needs and recommend workplace interventions, deliver educational
workshops and provide support for hiring managers on recruitment and
selection activities, develop ad strategies, enhance diversity of
applicant pools, source, etc.
Welcome new faculty
A warm welcome to our newest faculty members.
