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June 17, 2004
In this issue: |
Remembering. Honoring. Thanking. |
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Medical students and COM faculty gathered May 26 to honor and thank the many people who donate their bodies to medicine. The Special Teacher Ceremony was held to show the appreciation the medical students have to the cadavers in helping them learn about human anatomy. “We celebrate their generosity,” said first-year medical student Brian Derby. Carnations were placed around a tree near Lake Behnke dedicated in their honor, with each flower representing the personal appreciation of each student and faculty member. “The tree stands as a constant reminder of one of the greatest acts of giving one could possibly commit – body donation,” Derby said. In addition, the ceremony included music and special readings. Photo by John Lofreddo. Return to top |
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COPH health education PhD program moves up to second place in nation |
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Dr. John Balis retires June 30 |
| After 40 years in academic pathology, 26 of which have been with USF, John U. Balis, PhD, will retire June 30. Dr. Balis is professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and was recently named Emeritus Professor in recognition of almost three decades of university service. He joined the USF College of Medicine in 1978, after working in the Department of Pathology at the University of Toronto in Canada and at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago. He served twice as interim chairman of the Department of Pathology, for three years from 1979 to 1982 and for two years from 1991 to 1993. |
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| Dr. Balis also served as a member and then as chair of the Academic Promotion and Tenure Committee and took and active role in reorganizing and integrating the new COM curriculum in 2002. In addition, he served as director of Experimental Pathology and Research Laboratories, Electron Microscopy (both at the affiliated James A. Haley VA Hospital and at USF), Autopsy Service, Medical Teaching and was president of the Pathology Alumni Foundation. Outside of academics, Dr. Balis has been involved in the American Foundation of Greek Language and Culture, which established with the Department of Pathology the John Balis Scholarship Fund for Greek Language and Culture. Dr. Balis’ scientific contributions to the field of experimental pathology focus on pulmonary pathobiology. His research findings on the pulmonary surfactant system are routinely quoted by other researchers in this field. He has served the scientific community as a reviewer of NIH and VA Merit grants and as a member of the NIH Pathology Study Section. Return to top | |
Remember to give to charitable campaign |
| The 2004 Faculty and Staff Charitable Campaign continues and donations are still being accepted online. You choose where to designate your gift among the thousands of funds supported by USF faculty and staff. Visit www.hsc.usf.edu and use the Campaign link to view priority funds within your campaign area and donate online. Or, to designate your gift to an area of your own special interest, please use the website to search for funds by college, department or keyword. If you encounter difficulty, please print and complete the official pledge form available on the website. Printed pledge forms should be returned through USF mail to MDC 70. Show your support for USF today by making a pledge online at www.hsc.usf.edu or call Laura Waddel at 813-974-4812. Return to top |
USF professors serve on bioterrorism panel |
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| Jacqueline Cattani, PhD, (center) director of the Center for Biological Defense, and Thomas Mason, PhD, (left) director of the Global Center for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Action, provided expertise on a panel June 2 aimed to educate the public about USF’s involvement in biodefense. Democratic candidate for President John Kerry (right) hosted the panel. Participants addressed the critical need for coordinating communications and equipment between responders, building responsive infrastructure at local levels for bioterrorist events, consistent training of first responder personnel, enhancing hospital emergency preparedness and educating Americans on how to identify biological attacks. Through ongoing support from Congressman Bill Young, the Center for Biological Defense received $7.7 million this fiscal year from the Department of the Defense, U.S. Army. Dr. Mason’s center received $2.54 million from the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, U.S. Navy. College Democrats and Student Government sponsored the event. Photo by Eric Younghans. Return to top |
Full moon exerts no pull on frequency of epileptic seizures |
Werewolves notwithstanding, the full moon does not influence the frequency of epileptic seizures, reports a USF study. “Contrary to the myth, epileptic seizures are not more common during a full moon,” said Selim Benbadis, MD, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the USF College of Medicine. “In fact, we found the number of epileptic seizures was lowest during the full moon and highest in the moon’s last quarter.” The study, to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Epilepsy & Behavior, was posted in May in the journal’s online version. Dr. Benbadis said he decided to investigate the possible relationship between phases of the moon and the frequency of seizures after repeatedly hearing patients claim that their seizures were triggered or worsened by the full moon. “Even some health care professionals believe this, but it’s never been scientifically tested,” he said. Dr. Benbadis and his colleagues statistically analyzed 770 seizures recorded over three years in the epilepsy monitoring unit at Tampa General Hospital. Monitoring brain activity in this unit allows physicians to confirm a diagnosis of epilepsy, determine precisely the location and type of seizures a patient experiences and evaluate the best treatment option. The researchers divided the seizures into epileptic seizures, those caused by electrical disruptions in the brain, and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, those that are not caused by brain electrical disruptions and tend to be emotional. The most epileptic seizures, 152, were recorded in the moon’s last quarter. The researchers found epileptic seizures decreased to their lowest number, 94, during the full moon. The full moon appeared to slightly, but not significantly, increase psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. Other studies exploring the potential connection of lunar phases with heart attacks, birth rates, suicides, and psychiatric hospital admissions have found little or no association. Why then, does the belief persist that the moon may have some mystical gravitational power over our health and well being? In the past, before physicians recognized that epilepsy was caused by processes in a person’s own body, the disease’s frightening seizures were associated with demonic possession and witchcraft, Dr. Benbadis said. “Some people still seem to like poetic, mysterious and irrational explanations for puzzling diseases like epilepsy.” Return to top |
COPH partners with India for master's degree courses |
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The USF College of Public Health made history May 26 with the signing of an agreement to offer two new concentrations jointly with the International Institute of Information Technology (I2IT), located in Pune, India. Representing I2IT was Aruna Katura, executive trustee of I2IT, and signing for USF was Provost Renu Khator. The first of the new concentrations that will be based in the Department of Global Health is an MPH in Global Health Informatics, which will prepare public health practitioners, particularly in developing countries, to manage programs in health surveillance, monitor health outcomes, effectively use health information systems and health insurance data, and develop health infrastructures. The MPH will begin accepting students this fall. |
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In the News |
| USF pediatrician Lisa Simpson, MB, BCH, MPH, who holds the All Children’s Hospital Guild Chair in Child Health Policy, commented on the need for more scientifically rigorous quality measures for children’s health in the June 9 Journal of the American Medical Association. Following Ronald Reagan’s death from Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington Potter, PhD, the Pfeiffer Endowed Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research, commented June 5 in Newsday and June 7 on Fox-13 News on how the former president’s fight with the debilitating brain disease has impacted the search for a cure. Dr. Potter was also among the experts weighing in on the potential of stem cell research for treating Alzheimer’s disease in the June 10 Washington Post. In the June 6 St. Petersburg Times, Jay Wolfson, DrPH, director of the Center for Patient Safety Research at the USF College of Public Health, commented on the need to focus on system-wide safety rather than retribution to help prevent medical mistakes. In addition, Dr. Wolfson, professor of public health and medicine, gave tips on how consumers can keep tabs on their medical records in the May 16 Tampa Tribune. Jacqueline Cattani, PhD, director of the USF Center for Biological Defense, and Thomas Mason, PhD, director of the Global Center for Disaster Management and Humanitarian Action, joined a panel discussion on bioterrorism preparedness led by presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry. The event was covered June 2 and 3 by the Tampa Tribune, Bradenton Herald, Associated Press, the Oracle and other media outlets. A segment on the USF Prediabetes Clinic aired June 1 on Bay News 9 and featured H. James Brownlee, Jr., MD, chair of the Department of Family Medicine. H. Worth Boyce, MD, director of the Joy McCann Culverhouse Center for Swallowing Disorders at USF, discussed Barrett’s esophagus, a precancerous condition sometimes associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease, in the May 25 St. Petersburg Times. Lois Babione, nutritionist and registered dietitian at the USF Diabetes Center, reviewed the weeklong food diary entries of students from a local middle school for a front-page story appearing in the May 19 Tampa Tribune Flavor section. “They have an adequate amount of starch and protein, and quite a few high-fat choices, such as chips and sweets,” Babione commented. “But, in general, the vegetable category wasn’t met, nor were fruits.” Return to top |
First David W. Cahill, MD, lecture is June 25 |
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The Department of Neurological Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine is sponsoring the inaugural David W. Cahill, MD, lecture at 9 a.m. June 25 in the Tampa General MacInnes Auditorium. Presenting will be Christopher I. Shaffrey, MD, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The title of his presentation is “Evaluation and Treatment of Craniocervical Junction Pathology.” |
 Dr. David Cahill |
| In addition to the keynote speaker, the lecture will include a welcome breakfast at 7:30 a.m., and former and current residents and faculty will offer case presentations and talks during the entire day. For more information, please call 259-0901. Return to top | |
Community Links |
Nursing up close and personal |
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| Evelyn Jamilosa, RN, (left) education coordinator for the operating room at Tampa General Hospital, speaks about an upcoming gall bladder surgery that some members of USF’s Nursing Professionals of the Future program got a chance to witness June 11 during a USF/TGH Nursing Camp. In an effort to attract more minorities to the nursing workforce, the program introduces middle school students with an interest in health care to different aspects of the nursing profession before they have made a career decision. For 16 incoming ninth graders the camp was the culmination of a year-long program sponsored by USF’s College of Nursing, Area Health Education Center and Engaging Latino Communities for Education. In addition to touring the surgical suite, the teens visited with nurses from the hospital’s infection control program, physical rehabilitation facility, neonatal intensive care unit, orthopedic unit and aeromed helicopter program. Earlier in the year, the students toured the College of Nursing’s patient simulator lab for some hands-on demonstrations. Photo by Eric Younghans. Return to top |