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I g n i t i n g t h e p a s s i o n o f p h y s i c i a n s , p h a r m a c i s t s a n d h e a lt h r e s e a r c h e r s
SPRING 2014
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NEOMED Kicks Off 40th Anniversary
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Research
A Facility Fit for the Future
n e omed. edu
A Passion For Parkinson’s
Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) is a community-based, public medical university with a mission to improve the quality of health care in Northeast Ohio, working in collaboration with its educational and clinical partners. NEOMED is a member of the University System of Ohio, and its partners include teaching hospitals, community sites and boards of health.
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE As the University celebrates 40 years of health professions education, research and service to Northeast Ohio, and I prepare to enter the fifth year of my presidency, I continue to be humbled by the caliber of people who work here, the quality of our programs, the breadth of our partnerships, and the strength of our region.
Ignite magazine is published twice per year by the Office of Public Relations and Marketing. NEOMED Board of Trustees Daisy L. Alford-Smith, Ph.D. Paul R. Bishop, J.D. Dianne Bitonte Miladore, M.D. (‘81) Elizabeth A. Carter – Student Trustee L. Austin Fredrickson Jr. – Student Trustee Joseph R. Halter Jr. J. David Heller, CPA, Vice Chair Robert J. Klonk Chander M. Kohli, M.D., Chair Anil M. Parikh, M.D., DFAPA Sharlene Ramos Chesnes Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D. President Heather M. Griesbach – Editor Manager, Public Relations and Marketing Contributing Writers: Cristine D. Boyd, Director of Public Relations and Marketing; Jared F. Slanina, Public Relations and Marketing Specialist; Rebecca S. Verlezza, Public Relations and Marketing Specialist Publication Design: Scott J. Rutan, Graphic Designer Photography: Ken Love Photography Angela D. Gooden, Digital Marketing Specialist Office of Public Relations and Marketing 4209 St. Rt. 44, PO Box 95 Rootstown, Ohio 44272-0095 email: publicrelations@neomed.edu No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission of the editors. Copyright 2014 by Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio 44272
The first 40 years of the University have been a feat of strength, endurance and success. When the College of Medicine was established, pioneering faculty and students endeavored to build a bold, innovative educational entity. In the beginning, our University modeled a new way of delivering health care education Nate, the Walking Whale, NEOMED’s mascot, greeting Mary Woolley, president of Research!America, and Jay in collaboration with area hospitals and other Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of NEOMED, at the community resources, and impressed the grand opening of the University’s new Research and medical community with the introduction of Graduate Education Building. one of the first standardized testing centers for physicians in the United States. In more recent years, the University expanded its educational offering to include a College of Pharmacy and College of Graduate Studies, changed its name and added new university partners. NEOMED is finding ways to create innovative health workforce solutions by integrating interprofessional education models, enhancing diversity in the workforce, focusing on pipeline initiatives that are new to health care education and critical for the future delivery of patient care in all health professions. And, as you will learn more about in this issue, NEOMED also focused and grew its research enterprise, attracting new talent, making innovative breakthroughs and increasing research dollars. I have recently had the opportunity to provide tours to many individuals from the region. They see the physical progress of the campus construction, read stories about us in the media and want to learn more about what is happening at NEOMED. Many have lived in the area their entire lives and never quite understood the work that was taking place here. After one quick tour, the value of our enterprise is evident and they are impressed beyond measure. The 40th anniversary gives us a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our success and build toward the future. I invite everyone to visit campus and see our successes first-hand. Mark your calendars now for our alumni weekend on Oct. 17-19, and our 40th anniversary gala ball on Saturday, Oct. 18. You can learn more at www.neomed.edu/40. Thank you all for helping us to make the past 40 years so successful and for helping us to build toward a future filled with endless possibilities!
Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D. President, Northeast Ohio Medical University
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C ontents
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10 A PUBLICATION OF NORTHEAST OHIO Medical UNIVERSITY
40 Years of Igniting Education, Research and Service: NEOMED kicks off 40th anniversary
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A Facility Fit for the Future: University invests in its research enterprise
Progress at Work: A spotlight on women in research
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A Passion for Parkinson’s: Private donors and public researchers partner for a cure, provide a beacon of hope
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Health Sciences Building Future Home for NEOMED-CSU Partnership Research
In Brief
ACADEMICS and STUDENT LIFE
Development and Alumni
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Donor Profile Gifts and Support News Alumni Spotlight Class Notes in Memory
University Moment
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On Dec. 9, Cleveland State University (CSU) broke ground for a health sciences building that will be a state-of-the-art facility where future physicians, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals will learn to work together at the forefront of collaborative health care education and research. In addition to housing CSU programs offered by the School of Nursing and the School of Health Sciences, the building will also house the Cleveland cohort of Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) programs and serve as the home of the NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health, a trailblazing partnership dedicated to training physicians and other health professionals who deliver primary care services to address the unique health care needs of metropolitan communities. Set to open in June 2015 on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 22nd Street, the $45 million, 100,000-square-foot facility will foster interprofessional teaching, learning and research in community-centered health care. NEOMED will enter a 25-year lease to occupy about 20 percent of the new building. “Our new health sciences building will foster an exciting new model for health care education,” said CSU President Ronald M. Berkman. “For too long, health care education has been relegated to silos, with little or no interaction among aspiring physicians, nurses and other health professionals. In a city renowned for world-class health care, our collaborative approach to health care education will lead to new efficiencies that ensure better health, better care and lower health care costs.” CSU’s new facility will enable a forward-thinking culture of collaboration, with an emphasis on multifunctional spaces that facilitate dynamic interaction. Interdisciplinary team learning will occur in flexible classroom spaces and teaching clinics, where students will interact with each other and with community clients. “Northeast Ohio Medical University is very proud to be part of this vital partnership with Cleveland State University,” said NEOMED President Jay A. Gershen. “Growing needs for health professionals who deliver primary care services have created a great demand for a more diverse health care workforce with interdisciplinary skills to care for underserved populations, especially within America’s cities. Meeting this demand will be central to the mission of the new health sciences facility. Also, bringing the resources of two Ohio universities together to create this first-in-the-nation program demonstrates a prudent and wise use of higher education dollars.” The NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health is led by Dr. Sonja Harris-Haywood, an award-winning family medicine educator, physician and researcher. The Partnership encourages economically disadvantaged students from greater Cleveland to complete undergraduate coursework at CSU, enroll at NEOMED to earn a Doctor of Medicine degree and return after residency to work in medically underserved communities in Northeast Ohio.
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YEARS of Igniting Education, Research and Service NEOMED kicks off 40th anniversary by paying homage to the past, making current progress and planning for the future By Cristine Boyd
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Mehool Patel, M.D., M.B.A., FACP (‘98), president of the NEOMED Alumni Association; Representative Kathleen Clyde; Senator John Eklund; Chander Kohli, M.D., chair of the NEOMED Board of Trustees; Lt. Governor Mary Taylor; Jay Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of NEOMED; Commissioner Kathleen Chandler; Mary Woolley, president of Research!America; Anthony Manna, chairman and CEO of Signet Enterprises; James Merklin, CPA, chair of the NEOMED Foundation Board of Directors
On Nov. 23, 1973, the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM) was established, and the landscape for health professions education, research and service in Northeast Ohio was forever changed. As the years passed, leadership changes, construction and the addition of new partners and programs added to the depth of the college in the cornfield, and it soon transformed to a full-fledged University and academic health center with a new name and a bold new future. As the University reaches its 40th anniversary, faculty, staff, alumni, retirees, students, friends and partners of the now Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) come together to honor the past 40 years, celebrate present progress and discuss the University’s future goals. Dedication of New Buildings NEOMED honored 40 years of education, research and service to the community on Oct. 7, 2013, as it kicked off its 40th anniversary with the dedication of two new campus building
projects: The Research and Graduate Education Building and The Village at NEOMED, a residential housing community. The honorable Mary Taylor, lieutenant governor for the State of Ohio, served as keynote speaker for the event. Also included were: Senator John Eklund; Representative Kathleen Clyde; Portage County Commissioner Kathleen Chandler; President of Research!America Mary Woolley; and Chairman and CEO of Signet Enterprises Anthony Manna. “Forty years ago, a group of educators and elected officials visionaries - from different areas in Northeast Ohio collaborated to start something unique that would help to address the shortage of physicians in Ohio while building on the resources of universities and teaching hospitals located in the region,” said Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of NEOMED. “Over the years, NEOMED has grown from a single college to a university and from a commuter school to a residential campus. We are Northeast Ohio’s medical university, preparing health care professionals for this region of 4.2 million people. Everything we do is in partnership. We collaborate with and leverage the
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Pictured left to right: Charles Taylor, Pharm.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy; Robert A. Liebelt, M.D., Ph.D., charter dean of the University; Jeffrey L. Susman, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine; Sergio A. Garcia, chief of staff
resources of seven universities, 24 hospitals and hundreds of other clinical partners to train our students.” Spotlighted at the event was Dorothy Jones, who along with her late husband, Bryan, lived on the farm and property that is now home to the University. Many former students, faculty and staff were also in attendance. The two construction projects are part of $160 million in campus expansion efforts that also include a Health, Wellness and Medical Education Complex, which is set to open in fall 2014. These facilities are transforming the look of the campus, as well as the University experience for students. Founders Day Students, faculty, staff and retirees gathered for a Founders Day party on Nov. 22, 2013, to recognize the University’s official “founding” date, Nov. 23, 1973. A number of individuals shared their memories and hopes for the University’s continued transformation.
watched the construction of the first building on campus and divided the initial responsibilities of establishing the college. One of Dr. Liebelt’s responsibilities was recruitment, and Dr. Voneida was among his initial hires. Dr. Voneida spoke about working out of an initial office in Kent, Ohio, while the college was under construction and attending the dedication and cornerstone laying. He was tasked with developing the first department of neurobiology in the nation and went on to serve as chair of the department for 22 years. Additionally, Kenneth S. Rosenthal, Ph.D., professor of microbiology, immunology and biochemistry at NEOMED, who was also hired by Dr. Liebelt, shared his memories of the University's continued growth. Hired in 1979, he watched the University grow from a single structure to its current multifacility footprint and transform from a college to a university. He credits the founding leaders with having, “the right people in the right place at the right time.” In addition to Dr. Rosenthal, two other NEOMED faculty members and six staff who started in the 1970s under Dr. Liebelt’s tenure are still with the University today.
Among the event’s special guests were Robert A. Liebelt, M.D., Ph.D., charter dean of the University from 1974-1979, and provost and dean from 1979-1982; and Theodore Voneida, Ph.D., founding chair and professor of neurobiology at NEOUCOM, and professor emeritus.
Future Events To continue the observance, NEOMED is planning a variety of on and off-campus activities, including a closing celebration the weekend of Oct. 17-19, 2014.
Dr. Liebelt recalled how he and his colleagues, including Stanley Olson, M.D., charter provost of NEOUCOM from 1973-1979,
More information on the 40th anniversary can be found at www.neomed.edu/40.
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Walter E. Horton Jr., Ph.D., dean of the College of Graduate Studies and vice president for research, gives guests a tour of the new research building, including new common space, meeting rooms and open labs.
The Research and Graduate Education Building is a four-story, 88,000-square-foot, $45 million facility that serves as home to students in the University’s growing College of Graduate Studies as well as more than 40 of the University’s basic sciences researchers and their teams. The state-of-the-art facility promotes shared resources and technology, customizable and collaborative work, and opens into the University’s renovated public-private partnership zone, The Research, Entrepreneurship, Discovery and Innovation Zone, or REDIzoneSM.
The Village at NEOMED, the University’s first-ever on-campus student housing, is a result of a public-private partnership between the University and Akron-based SIGNET Development (SIGNET), one of the country’s premier developers of both public and private real estate projects. As part of a long-term partnership, SIGNET provided NEOMED with comprehensive, turnkey development and finance services for the project, including the direction and oversight of all design, construction, finance and management activities. The 270,000-square-foot, $37 million Village comprises three, four-story buildings with 339 single and double, fully furnished rooms in addition to study rooms and community recreation spaces.
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Progress at Work:
A Spotlight on By Jared Slanina and Rebecca Verlezza
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Research
Female scientists at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) are continually advancing biomedical research and finding innovative solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals in Northeast Ohio and beyond. Although women are historically underrepresented in scientific and biomedical fields, the proportion of women in research at NEOMED continues to grow. The University has recognized its need to diversify faculty and staff to ensure that the NEOMED community is representative.
“This is part of a broader initiative to diversify the University, not only to provide an all-inclusive environment, but to recruit the best researchers and give them every opportunity to succeed,” said Walter E. Horton Jr., Ph.D., dean of the College of Graduate Studies and vice president “This is part of a broader initiative to diversify for research at NEOMED. “I believe that bringing the University, not only to provide an alltogether individuals of inclusive environment, but to recruit the best varied backgrounds stimulates the best ideas and researchers and give them every opportunity can lead to remarkable medical breakthroughs.”
to succeed.”
University leadership is committed to embracing women in all areas of science and various levels of academic and leadership positions. This commitment not only offers support and encouragement to female researchers, but creates a sense of community for women at NEOMED and provides inspiring mentors and role models for female students. “It’s important to create pathways of achievement for women that come to NEOMED, and to encourage them to be role models for the next generation of scientists and medical professionals,”
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said Dr. Horton. “Recruiting women, as well as faculty from different socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures, will bring a unique perspective to research methods and further expand the University’s range of research topics.”
Walter E. Horton Jr., Ph.D.
NEOMED is on the path to developing high-level research and leadership opportunities for women and all faculty and staff. “It’s still a work in progress, but recognizing the need for improvement and taking action is the first step,” said Dr. Horton. This spotlight on “Women in Research” highlights a few of NEOMED’s inspiring female researchers and recognizes the contributions they have made to the health sciences.
l iya Yin, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor of Integrative Medical Sciences, College of Medicine
When Liya Yin, M.D., Ph.D., began working on her medical degree, she received some discouragement from advisors who may have been too entrenched in traditional gender roles. Some encouraged her to explore other fields, as they were concerned she would eventually need to take maternity leave and would be unable to fill her academic obligations.
said. “I also love having a family and raising two daughters. Both roles are very rewarding, and each have their own unique challenges and satisfying moments that will always stay with me.”
Although she was encouraged to choose between a career she loved or starting a family, Dr. Yin knew she was fully capable of handling both. When Dr. Yin and her husband, Yanqiao Zhang, M.D., associate professor of integrative medical sciences at NEOMED, had their first child, Lauren, in 2004, she took a short leave before returning to work toward her medical degree. Four years later, the family grew again with the addition of their second daughter, Lily.
“Dr. (William) Chilian has been very supportive and flexible during my five years at the University,” said Dr. Yin. “I feel I’m valued both as an employee and a person.”
“I am motivated as a researcher because I am working to help a large population, not just specific individuals,” Dr. Yin
Dr. Yin credits the culture at NEOMED with being able to maintain a satisfactory work-life balance.
Dr. Yin has certainly earned this flexibility by proving to be a major asset to NEOMED, even earning a rare perfect score for a recent National Institutes of Health grant application for her research that aims to prevent and treat ischemic heart disease. “I never considered that I would receive a perfect score. I was just hoping to receive some funding to advance my research,” Dr. Yin said. “Just like anything else, if you want to do great work as a researcher, you have to work very hard.”
M erri Rosen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, College of Medicine Merri Rosen, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology, was never without a strong female role model in the scientific community. Her mother, Ellen Rosen, had a career ranging from a research associate at the Jimmy Fund, a cancer institute in New Haven, Conn., to managing the scientific library for Battelle Ocean Sciences, a nonprofit research organization in Mass. “My mother was born at the wrong time,” said Dr. Rosen. “She was the first in her family to attend college, and women at the time were not encouraged to pursue careers. The societal pressures at the time focused on getting married and starting a family.” Her mother did just that, but also had a successful career. She used these experiences to make sure her daughter never felt limited about her own options. “Both of my parents always encouraged me to work hard and achieve, and to pursue whatever drove me,” said Dr. Rosen. “My mom in particular encouraged me to be curious about the world around me. She always described scientific research as ‘organized play for adults.’”
This encouragement initially led Dr. Rosen to her first passion, playing the oboe. She was a gifted performer who considered playing professionally. But this activity also sparked an interest in musical perception. Dr. Rosen noticed how some of her counterparts with “perfect pitch” could identify the absolute pitch of notes with ease, while the same task was impossible for most others. Driven by an interest to understand how the brain processes sound in our environment, she pursued an education in neuroscience, earning a master’s degree at Brandeis University and a doctoral degree from Duke University, before conducting postdoctoral research at Cornell University and New York University. Dr. Rosen is now working to understand how hearing loss early in development affects the brain. Her work identifies these neural changes and how they alter our ability to process language and distinguish sounds from one another in complex environments. Her multi-faceted research approach combines neurophysiological, perceptual and computational techniques to clarify the varied hearing problems that people experience and establish effective treatments.
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D enise Inman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
Integrated Pharmaceutical Medicine Degree Program Director, College of Graduate Studies
Denise Inman, Ph.D., knew she wanted to use her talents to make a difference in peoples’ lives long before making strides in glaucoma research at NEOMED, be it through her own research breakthrough or inspiring her students to do revolutionary things in medical research.
work is centered on the role of the glial cells in the progression of glaucoma, specifically the relationship between the function of retinal ganglion cells, which are neurons located near the inner surface of the retina of the eye, and changes in glial cells in the brain and spinal cord during the course of the disease.
“What motivates me the most about my research is that I know someday it will impact the health of glaucoma patients in a life-changing way,” said Dr. Inman.
In the lab, Dr. Inman has always let the science lead her, but as a woman in the medical research field, she never felt there were a lot of strong female leaders to look up to or mentors to whom she could easily relate.
Dr. Inman’s lab focuses on the origination and development of neurodegenerative diseases as they pertain to the interactions between neurons, or nerve cells, and glial cells, which provide support functions for neurons. Her recent
“As a woman in medical research, I really try to connect with my female students,” said Dr. Inman. “I want to inspire all of my students. They are such a large part of what drives me to go into the lab every day, but truly they inspire me just as much as I could them.”
Rebecca German, Ph.D.
Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology, College of Medicine
When Rebecca German, Ph.D., interviewed for a position with NEOMED, she decided she needed to make one thing perfectly clear: among her main priorities would be organizing the female researchers in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. She was pleasantly taken aback by the response she received. “I wasn’t sure if my sentiments would be appreciated, but I believed I had to make my priority perfectly clear,” said Dr. German. “Instead of meeting me with resistance, Dr. (Jeffrey) Wenstrup just looked at me and said, ‘That’s what we’d like to see from you.’” Dr. German’s belief that the female researchers would need to be organized stemmed from her previous experiences, both in her early days as a budding scientist and as a professional.
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“I never thought I was being purposefully discriminated against, but it seemed that many colleagues viewed me through a scope filled with their own prejudices and hidden assumptions,” said Dr. German. “For the most part, I was the only female in many of my classes and labs. Because of that, I didn’t have the same amount of social support that becomes really necessary when you are inevitably forced to deal with adversity.” Dr. German knew she wanted to become a scientist at a young age thanks to a natural curiosity to understand the world around her. Although it was rare for women to enter the scientific field at the time, she never let it dissuade her from pursuing her dream. In addition to her own research, Dr. German is using her experience to mentor other faculty members. She already has begun creating workshops to help others hone their grantwriting skills and implementing a reoccurring forum for female researchers.
SAssociate usan M. Fosnight, R.Ph., BCPS, CGP Professor of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy Clinical Lead Pharmacist, Summa Health System
After attending a week-long pharmacy program for high school students at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Susan M. Fosnight, R.Ph., BCPS, CGP, discovered her passion for providing the best pharmaceutical care to patients. Even as an undergraduate student, she took interest in the clinical aspect of pharmacy combined with research. A joint appointment as associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice at NEOMED and a lead pharmacist of acute care and geriatric-based programs at Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio, allows her to integrate research into her practice and bring real-world experience to the classroom. “As an instructor, one of my goals is to encourage students to make research a regular part of their practices,” said
Fosnight. “Bringing students to the hospital to work on clinical research is one way to model this.” Fosnight’s research is integrated with her clinical work at Summa and centered on measuring methods to maximize outcomes in elderly patients with chronic diseases. Her drive to provide the best care through both research and clinical practice has let nothing stand in her way. “My only limitation is time,” said Fosnight. “I’ve found that if you have the desire to make something happen, there are few barriers too large to overcome. I’ve never seen myself as a woman in science, but simply as a clinician and scientist.” Currently, Fosnight is studying delirium prevention and treatment methods, the impact of a structured method to prevent and treat insomnia in hospitalized patients, barriers to medication adherence, and the impact an interprofessional team has on diabetes patients.
JAssociate ulie Aultman, Ph.D. Professor of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine Bioethics Certificate Program Director, College of Graduate Studies
Julie Aultman, Ph.D., associate professor of family and community medicine, has always had an affinity toward understanding underserved populations. Her research to help understand the overlap of policy laws and ethics led to her appointment as chair of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at NEOMED. Dr. Aultman was appointed to this position in 2010 by NEOMED President Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., based on her status with the University and strong background in ethics. “The role of the IRB is extremely important as it meshes with NEOMED’s mission to conduct all research using only the highest ethical standards,” said Dr. Aultman. “We need to not only ensure these practices, but strive to help the entire NEOMED community understand them as well.”
“To be a leader in ethical research practices, we need to study past historical abuses so we can learn how to prevent them,” said Dr. Aultman. In addition to her long list of responsibilities, Dr. Aultman also serves as a mentor to many of her fellow researchers. She often works with others to help them learn about the entire process as they put together their initial research proposals. This includes creating a think tank to encourage collaboration, forming a robust overall research plan and considering a plethora of approaches to their particular research study. “I’ve been fortunate to work with so many outstanding colleagues who willingly shared their expertise, especially when I was just getting my feet wet as a researcher,” said Dr. Aultman. “Now that I am in the position to help others, I’m more than happy to pay it forward and develop future leaders in our field.”
Dr. Aultman goes above and beyond her role to not just review current research practices, but to learn from past examples as well.
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Future
Fit
A Facility for the 14 | IGNITE
High-efficiency Particulate Absorption (HEPA)-filtered air is delivered to each unit.
A bagged water system eliminates contaminates with minimal failure.
By Heather Griesbach The research enterprise at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) has served as one of the University’s greatest assets for 40 years. With faculty and investigators who garner international recognition, creative approaches to addressing the most urgent health care issues facing society, and dedicated resources paired with new state-of-the-art facilities, the University is building out its research capabilities with the future in mind.
“The care and welfare of these
The University has also invested in a lesser known but equally significant arm of its research enterprise, the Comparative Medicine Unit (CMU).
housing and care the animals deserve.”
An existing, major resource for the University’s research mission, the state-of-the-art CMU is an onsite multispecies facility that provides animal models for human disease. The facility recently underwent significant construction and expansion — doubling in size to 41,000-squarefeet of renovated space that features industry leading equipment and technology.
at the University. With a mission to provide the highest standards of animal care and related services in keeping with voluntary as well as mandated regulations, each CMU caretaker is trained, certified, and dedicated to animal welfare and research/teaching integrity.
“Any medical university should be focused on medical issues critical to society, and in order to carry out that work, you have to have an array of approaches,” said Walter E. Horton Jr., Ph.D., vice president for research and dean of the College of Graduate Studies at NEOMED. “Animal models of human disease are an incredibly important step in translating research from the laboratory to the clinical setting, and in order to support this aspect of research, you have to have a dedicated facility.” The CMU provides animal care services in support of the research and teaching programs
models is our responsibility, and one we do not take lightly. We have a tremendous respect for life and wellbeing and must provide the level of quality
Walter I. Horne, D.V.M., M.B.A.
“Our research programs are growing, and we’ve had a swift series of new faculty hires — both junior faculty who are coming up through the ranks, and established faculty who are heavily credentialed and funded leaders in their fields,” said Walter I. Horne, D.V.M., M.B.A., executive director of industry relations and outgoing director of the CMU. “As we continue to gain national and international recognition in our research focus areas, we also continue to gain funding. This, in turn, translates into a demand for animal models for human disease. The care and welfare of these models is our responsibility, and one we do not take lightly. We have a tremendous respect for life and wellbeing and
Individually ventilated cages offer high biosecurity and customizable environments.
must provide the level of quality housing and care the animals deserve.”
Larger Footprint with Room to Grow Recent expansion and technology upgrades in the CMU included creating a barrier facility, developing housing specific to the use of large animal models, introducing industryleading equipment, and implementing greater environmental controls, all to accommodate a broad range of laboratory animal species in a safe and secure environment with added protection and care for both the animals and their caretakers. “The ability to focus on and support multispecies care and a diverse array of models is quite unique,” said Dr. Horton. “Through both the physical as well as technological enhancements, we have improved effectiveness and efficiency. This allows us to reduce the number of models needed to advance the science and secure excellent research outcomes — we can use fewer models to accomplish the same work and really provide the best environment for the animals.” Commitments to quality improvements resulted in a renovated facility that’s forward thinking in the areas of: - Modernized equipment • New cage washing equipment operates at a faster rate and with smaller environmental impact than traditional systems, which are energy intensive and produce output, like heat and steam. The new equipment also records and documents the cleaning process,
Meeting the Needs of Unique Animal Models
Naked mole-rats are rodents that live an extremely long life — up to 30 years — in underground communities similar to insects. Many mole-rat species are found in eastern, sub-Saharan Africa where several dozen mole-rats live together in colonies led by one dominant mole-rat — a queen. Uniquely difficult to observe, naked mole-rats are of interest to researchers around the world in the areas of neurodegeneration, aging, reproductive behaviors, cancer, bone structure and more. Outside their native habitat, naked mole-rats require stringent living conditions, including strict temperature and humidity control, advanced ventilation systems, ample space for burrowing and unique dietary needs such as daily fresh produce. The expertise and expense needed to develop an environment where the rodents can thrive makes them incredibly hard to maintain. In fact, only five biomedical research facilities in the United States are successfully managing naked mole-rat colonies. The CMU is one such facility. Four colonies of naked mole-rats now reside in the CMU, arriving with researcher Samuel D. Crish, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, who joined the College of Pharmacy in late 2010. Dr. Crish has been studying naked mole-rats for 15 years to better understand their brain evolution as it relates to their long lifespan and resistance to age-related diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Because naked mole-rats spend their lives underground where visual cues are poor, they have degenerated eyes and optic nerves, suggesting they are functionally blind. Dr. Crish’s research focuses on glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide, and how defects and degeneration originating in the brain can lead to cell death and resulting functional loss in the eye. By better understanding the selective degradation of sight exhibited in naked mole-rats, his team hopes to further explore the relationship between the defects in retinal ganglion cell axons, which transmit visual information from the retina to several regions of the brain, in early glaucoma. Given that naked mole-rats are also resistant to neurodegeneration, this work has the potential to identify new drug targets for intervention for other diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and stroke. 15 | IGNITE
Samuel D. Crish, Ph.D., and Christine M. Crish, Ph.D., study the naked mole-rat colonies in their efforts to develop treatment options for diseases such as glaucoma and osteoporosis.
The naked mole-rats are also ideal observation models for bone structure and social/reproductive development. Christine M. Crish, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, also observes the naked mole-rat colonies as she studies sensory neurobiology and how developmental changes can affect our ability to sense and respond to the environment. This includes how visual systems develop early in life and in evolutionarily blind mammals, which would contribute to an understanding of age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as glaucoma. However, Dr. Christine Crish’s sensory neurobiology interests also encompass the unusual skeletal changes that take place in naked mole-rats during their reproductive experiences. Naked mole-rats live in social groups where only a queen and certain males reproduce, and the colony raises those offspring. Other females are reproductively repressed. On occasions where a queen is lost or female mole-rats are removed from the colony, they undergo an amazing change in size and shape as they become reproductively active over a very short period of time. During this scenario of achieving puberty over the course of one week’s time after years of delayed ability, the female experiences a unique skeletal morphology, including lumbar spine growth. Dr. Christine Crish’s lab is exploring markers of osteogenesis that may be responsible for this unusual skeletal growth in hopes of developing treatments for osteoporosis and skeletal deficiencies that result from the delay of puberty in humans. “It is very unique that NEOMED’s CMU can support our naked mole-rat colonies, and this high level of care is essential to our work,” said Dr. Christine Crish. “The rodents must be housed under strict environmental conditions that enable them to thrive and reproduce, especially since our observations and research focus on their natural behaviors and unique physical attributes. The CMU staff is trained to work with investigators on these challenging animal models and partners with us in promoting the welfare of our colonies, thus furthering our research efforts to eventually develop treatment options for life-altering disease states such as glaucoma and osteoporosis.”
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generating traceable files. • A new bedding dispenser allows for uniform and controlled bedding distribution with dust reduction and other environmental features that minimize occupational hazards. - Biosecurity • Individually ventilated cages (IVCs) offer a tremendously high level of biosecurity and customizable environment for each rodent. IVCs address the threat of unwanted pathogens, keeping the animals safe and secure for each investigator. • IVCs allow for air purification as positive pressure cycles clean, High-efficiency Particulate Absorption (HEPA)-filtered air to each individual unit. - Sophisticated technology • A bagged water system eliminates contamination and offers an almost nonexistent failure rate. • Control rooms allows facility management to adjust temperature, humidity, ventilation and lighting without interrupting the animals.
A Support System for NEOMED Scientists and Regional Partners In addition to meeting the growing needs of NEOMED faculty and researchers, the expansion positions the University as a resource for the entrepreneurial network of Northeast Ohio as well as other institutional partners in the region. The CMU expansion efforts intentionally aligned with the development of the University’s new Research and Graduate Education Building and Research, Entrepreneurship, Discovery and Innovation Zone (REDIzoneSM). That connection, both physically and operationally, is critical to not only supporting an internal demand for research resources, but the anticipated resource needs of regional partners. “The renovations address two important functions; first, they support NEOMED scientists who are conducting biomedical research, and second, they support companies that want to develop new diagnosis and treatment tools,” said Dr. Horton. “Our goal was to provide one facility that meets the needs of all parties.”
Igniting A New Era of Leadership In addition to experiencing significant physical growth and expansion, the CMU has entered a new era of leadership.
Walter I. Horne, D.V.M.
Stanley D. Dannemiller, D.V.M., M.S., DACLAM
Walter I. Horne, D.V.M., M.B.A., director of the CMU, retired from this role Dec. 31 after 17 years of service to focus on his responsibilities as executive director of industry relations at NEOMED. Prior to joining the University in 1996, Dr. Horne served as associate director for veterinary services at the Case Western Reserve University Animal Resource Center and as a small animal clinician at Roberts Animal Hospital. He has also served as a consulting veterinarian and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee member for a number of institutions for more than 20 years.
“Dr. Horne’s service to this institution is unmatched,” said Walter E. Horton Jr., Ph.D., vice president for research and
The CMU is one of many selling points for early-stage biomedical companies interested in leasing space within the University’s REDIzoneSM, with one of the most appealing aspects centered on the facility’s enhanced biosecurity. “How we conduct studies is of great interest and importance to governing bodies like the FDA, which have very specific facility and regulatory requirements and guidelines,” said Dr. Horton. “We want to be able to support companies that need federal agency approval, so we took those guidelines into consideration as we underwent the recent renovations and improvements.” If these companies are successful, the University is successful, as is the region. “By investing in research, we’re investing in the region, and by helping the entrepreneurs, we’re helping the economy,” said Dr. Horne. “The CMU is really the crossroads of basic science at NEOMED and the clinical application of private enterprise. We hope these opportunities will excite our researchers to think toward commercialization, and interest our partners in considering us as a resource.”
dean of the College of Graduate Studies at NEOMED. “His leadership has impacted so many areas of our research enterprise, from developing relationships with regional partners and those in the private sector, to ensuring the quality care and respect afforded the animals, to building national recognition and accreditation of our CMU. Walt’s legacy is that facility and the folks he has attracted to make the CMU the nationally acclaimed resource it is today.” Leadership of the CMU has transitioned to Stanley D. Dannemiller, D.V.M., M.S., DACLAM. Prior to joining NEOMED, Dr. Dannemiller was director of animal laboratories for Ricerca Biosciences, LLC and served in similar capacities for Lerner Research Institute, Proctor & Gamble Co., and Baxter Healthcare Corporation. He is also currently the attending veterinarian for Cleveland State University. He earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from The Ohio State University and is a board-certified veterinary specialist in laboratory animal medicine and science. “Dr. Dannemiller is an outstanding veterinarian who is committed to the welfare of our animals as well as the quality of our basic science research,” said Dr. Horton. “He will continue Walt’s legacy while bringing new perspectives from his work in the private sector that will help to continue to position us as a regional resource.”
The CMU is now a viable asset for the University’s regional partners as well, both educational as well as clinical. “Much like NEOMED as a whole, the CMU is a regional facility that supports our partner universities and hospitals,” said Dr. Horton. “Some major health systems are shifting their focus to carrying out their animal research at NEOMED, and we believe that will continue to grow.” The CMU and its staff ensure a supportive and well controlled environment that allows for high quality, reproducible and meaningful results, and future growth and expansion of the facility will result in future success of the overall research enterprise at NEOMED. “NEOMED research teams focus on the most urgent health care issues facing society, and the discoveries and innovations of their research have direct and positive impact on the growth of our medically focused local economy, the furthering of knowledge, and the well-being of our communities,” said Dr. Horne. “Our scientists’ careers depend on the CMU. Put simply, high quality science is dependent on high quality animal care.”
New cage washing equipment operates at a faster rate and has smaller environmental impact. 17 | IGNITE
PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder and the most common movement disorder.
A Passion for
Parkinson’s Private donors and public researchers partner for a cure, provide a beacon of hope By Heather Griesbach Today, one million Americans suffer from Parkinson's disease (PD). After hearing their diagnosis, patients learn there are no validated FDA-approved medicines that will slow down or stop the progression of the disease. They also learn there is no cure. For all intents and purposes, they learn there is no hope. Fortunately, there are those who refuse to accept this reality. There are family members and friends of those living with the disease who publicly raise awareness of the disease’s debilitating outcomes. There are researchers who work diligently to develop treatment options. There are philanthropic individuals and organizations supporting local and national advocacy, education and research. Most important are those individuals living with PD who drive everyone’s continued efforts to fight for a cure. When these individuals come together in partnership, there is an undeniable impact. The result of that impact is hope. A Disease Without A Cure Parkinson’s disease is one of many neurodegenerative diseases that cause worsening of several of the body's functions, including balance, movement, talking, breathing and heart function. Without significant therapeutic intervention, more than 12 million Americans will suffer from neurodegenerative diseases by 2040, making the discovery of treatments and cures increasingly important. 18 | IGNITE
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) Facts and Figures Source: Parkinson's Disease Foundation
4% Incidence of PD increases with age, but an estimated four percent of people with PD are diagnosed before the age of 50.
Men are one and a half times more likely to have PD than women.
Two researchers in the College of Pharmacy at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) specialize in neurodegenerative mechanisms leading to neuronal death as well as drug design and intervention. Richard Carroll, Ph.D., and Werner Geldenhuys, B.Pharm., Ph.D., focus their efforts on discovering medicines that will stop or slow down the brain cell death and progression of PD, thereby prolonging and preserving the quality of life for patients. Their interests and experiences in studying neurodegenerative diseases are compelling. Dr. Carroll has been focusing on neurodegenerative diseases since 1991 with more than 15 years of drug discovery experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He served as a former drug discovery project co-chair at Pfizer for five years, and he was on the Parke Davis team that developed the first FDA-approved drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Geldenhuys has focused on PD research since 2000, concentrating his master’s degree, doctoral degree and post doctoral training in neuroscience with an emphasis on PD. His grandfather had PD, and he describes his work as, “possibly preventing my own future.” Both researchers joined the newly formed Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at NEOMED in 2007. They quickly began to partner on a focused, creative approach to treating PD. Mitochondria play a very important role in the brain cell death seen in PD patients. Dr. Carroll and Dr. Geldenhuys are pursuing a mitochondrial protein called mitoNEET (CISD1) that can regulate the energy of mitochondria in brain cells. Through their efforts, they have developed very novel medicinal compounds, i.e., NL-1, which can selectively work through mitoNEET and slow down the progression of brain cell death. “We are taking a risk and doing something different, but also changing the way people think about Parkinson’s disease,” said Dr. Carroll. “Being risk adverse does not cure diseases. We’ve shown people something new, and we’re doing something no one else has accomplished.”
Initial stages of PD are primarily associated with shaking, rigidity and tremors, but advanced cases also include cognitive problems such as depression and dementia.
However, to move their research forward, the researchers recognized a need for external funding partners who also believed in their work. “Do You Believe in Serendipity?” The first partnership between the two NEOMED researchers and external funders was formed with a foundation that was already partnering with the University in another area. The Wish, Cope and Life Fund of Stark Community Foundation provides financial support to NEOMED’s William G. Wasson, M.D., Center for Clinical Skills Training, Assessment and Scholarship. This funding has been ongoing since 2005. During a regular update meeting with Stark Community Foundation, Lindsey Loftus, senior development officer at NEOMED, learned Stark Community Foundation had PD research funding but could not find a suitable partner. “Do you believe in serendipity?” asked Mark J. Samolczyk, president of Stark Community Foundation. “At the time, there wasn’t much basic science research to support in Stark County. We recognized a potential alignment between our Irene H. Smith Memorial Fund and the Parkinson’s disease research at NEOMED, and although we don’t invest in medical research, this fund allowed us to match her desires with these researchers.” Samolczyk met Dr. Carroll and Dr. Geldenhuys at the end of the first grant cycle when he was invited to an update meeting at NEOMED. He distinctly remembers his first impressions. “When I think of those researchers, the word that comes to mind is passion,” said Samolczyk. “They gave a presentation trying to explain in layman’s terms their theory and how they were approaching their work. My colleagues and I were so impressed with their passion and dedication. We all said, ‘This is a no brainer.’” An initial gift to support NEOMED’s PD research in 2009 was only the beginning. Every year Stark Community Foundation asks gift recipients for an annual update, and every year the 19 | IGNITE
A History of Support researchers submitted their findings along with another grant request. The Foundation’s continued support is due to the quality of the research compounded by a personal desire to see Dr. Carroll and Dr. Geldenhuys succeed. “We are able to see they’ve made fairly significant progress given the amount of funding, and the intrigue and interest of their peers also reassures us they are following through,” said Samolczyk. “Their ability to take a small amount of money and use it efficiently is incredible. What is a relatively small investment on our part could be a large outcome. What better investment for us to make, and continue to make.” With private support from Stark Community Foundation allowing the researchers to move their research forward, others in Northeast Ohio started to take note. When James (Jim) L. Pazol, trustee emeritus of the Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation Board of Directors and trustee for the Zita M. and Joseph DiYorio Charitable Foundation, heard about the Stark Community Foundation grants, he thought it was an appropriate time to engage his connections in the Youngstown area. In addition to encouraging grant support from the DiYorio Charitable Foundation, he contacted the trustees at the Frances and Lillian Schermer Charitable Trusts and suggested matching grants. “I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do something to help the research,” said Pazol. “My personal interest was that my step-father-in-law, with whom I was very close, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in his late 80s. Turned out lots of people had been touched by Parkinson’s disease so it was the perfect thing to do.”
March 23, 2009: Stark Community Foundation
May 24, 2011: Frances and Lillian Schermer Charitable Trusts
March 24, 2010: Stark Community Foundation
Oct. 23, 2012: Stark Community Foundation
April 18, 2011: Stark Community Foundation
Dec. 13, 2012: Richard A. Nicely
May 24, 2011: Zita M. and Joseph DiYorio Charitable Foundation
July 26, 2013: Portage County Parkinson’s Support Group
Another person touched by the disease was Bruce E. Sherman, a co-trustee for the Schermer Charitable Trusts and now a member of the NEOMED Foundation Board of Directors. “My nextdoor neighbor has Parkinson’s disease — I think we all know somebody who is affected,” said Sherman. “When Jim approached us about the Parkinson’s disease research at NEOMED, we really liked that the research is being done here. We have a lot of pride in our community, and this level of quality research builds pride not only for the University, but for the community and the region.” Once again, it was unique for these funds to support basic science research, but the broader impact of the grant, along with the idea of establishing a regional support system for PD research, resulted in the support.
Pictured left to right: Jay Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of NEOMED; James Merklin, CPA, chair of the NEOMED Foundation Board of Directors; Charles Taylor, Pharm.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy; Mark Samolczyk, president of Stark Community Foundation; Werner Geldenhuys, B.Pharm., Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences; Richard Nicely, president of R.G. Smith Company; Dean Olivieri, member of the NEOMED Foundation Board of Directors; Bruce Sherman, member of the NEOMED Foundation Board of Directors; Richard Carroll, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences; Lindsey Loftus, senior development officer 20 | IGNITE
“We thought this was an important opportunity when we considered the impact we could have, and we really like knowing where the support is going and to whom it’s going,” said Sherman. “I may have shaken hands with the guys who will cure this thing. We know they are giving it their best shot, and we know they are good stewards of the money and it’s having an impact.” A Personal Pledge of Support The serendipitous support from around the region didn’t only come from community foundations. Private support for Dr. Carroll and Dr. Geldenhuys took a personal turn when another member of the NEOMED Foundation’s Board of Directors, Dean L. Olivieri, president of Canton-based Olivieri Construction Company, connected the researchers with his business associate Richard (Dick) A. Nicely, president of another Canton-based construction company, the R.G. Smith Company. Diagnosed at age 53, Nicely has lived with PD for 15 years. His father had PD, but as he was diagnosed later in life, Nicely didn’t pay much attention to the possibility he might also have the disease. He was shocked when what started as a tremor in his left thumb resulted in a diagnosis, but has since done everything in his power to make others aware of the disease. Active in several national organizations, including the Parkinson’s Action Network in Washington D.C., the Parkinson’s Institute and Clinical Center near San Jose, Calif., and the Michael J. Fox Foundation in New York, N.Y., Nicely was interested in lending his support locally when Olivieri connected him with NEOMED. “I have a lot of people asking me for money, but I’m particular about who I support. In this case my passion for Parkinson’s disease was key, but I also had to feel confident the researchers would do what they promised. I had to trust them,” said Nicely. “When I met Dr. Carroll and Dr. Geldenhuys, I thought they were very charismatic and excited, which caught my attention. Their enthusiasm got me more than anything else. I know their backgrounds are great, but I also know they have a drive to succeed, and that matters.” The timing of their introduction was once again serendipitous as the researchers had recently submitted a grant to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for major funding support, only to learn they had to complete additional testing before their application would be considered. The resources to complete that testing and position them for another submission to the national foundation came to the researchers from their external partners in the form of a personal check from Nicely as well as matching support from Stark Community Foundation. “Everyone believes in their own research. I don’t have the background and I can’t evaluate the way they are approaching this, but this sounds realistic to me — it sounds very possible,” said Nicely. “There won’t be a cure for the disease in my lifetime, but that really doesn’t matter. If they can slow it down or stop the progression, that’s a win because then you can manage it.
My desire is that Fox feels it’s valid and supports it financially so they can move forward. That would give me hope.” Passion Positioned for A Cure Thanks to the latest gifts and grants, Dr. Carroll and Dr. Geldenhuys are again approaching the Michael J. Fox Foundation for major funding to develop a compound that will target NL-1. The ask comes on the heels of an in-person discussion, arranged by Nicely, between Michael J. Fox, NEOMED President Jay A. Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., and Lindsey Loftus at the Michael J. Fox Foundation Gala held in New York City in December 2013. “Dr. Gershen has taken his time and shown a direct interest in our research and our partners,” said Dr. Carroll. “We are extremely appreciative of the president for all of his involvement.” The researchers’ gratitude also extends to those in the community who have given their support through the years, positioning Dr. Carroll and Dr. Geldenhuys to seek national funding. “We keep making progress. I say ‘we’ because the Stark Community Foundation feels like we are part of this. Wouldn’t it be great to see a drug come out of this? Wouldn’t it be great to be part of that story?” said Samolczyk. “It will be a wonderful day when we get a call from NEOMED saying, ‘we got funding from the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s disease research.’ Everyone here will be standing and cheering.” From private donors to community foundations to public researchers, a shared passion for Parkinson’s disease has resulted in a shared sense of hope. “Our work is an extension of the foundations and Dick Nicely. NEOMED’s Division of Advancement, specifically Senior Development Officer Lindsey Loftus, has created an environment where we can partner with the donors. They are not just a funding source; they are sharing in this with us and will share in our success,” said Dr. Carroll. “We all want the same thing—a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Working together with our partners using an approach that’s novel, we can do it. We are very grateful to them, and I hope they know that.” 21 | IGNITE
R esearch
Paul Hartung, Ph.D., lectures to a group of students in Olson Auditorium. Dr. Hartung’s research focuses on how individuals explore, choose and adjust to work throughout their lifespan.
HELPING OTHERS FIND THEIR CALLING By Jared Slanina ”What to do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question asked of seemingly every child as soon as they learn to speak. A select few are able to turn a childhood passion into a career. For some, it may take several years of life experience before deciding on the right field. For others, this decision could take decades, or perhaps is never quite settled. At some point in nearly everyone’s life, the time comes when a career path is determined. Paul Hartung, Ph.D., professor of family and community medicine, and Erik Porfeli, Ph.D., assistant dean of community engagement and admissions, both in the College of Medicine, are working to simplify the process to help others find an occupation they will find equally interesting and rewarding. Dr. Hartung’s research examines how individuals explore, choose and adjust to work throughout their lifespan. He has published and presented widely on topics of work and career in human development — with emphases on physician career development, career decision making, work values, life-span career development and career intervention. He is particularly interested in studying how people use work to shape their identities and advance their life stories. He also examines work-life balance to better understand how people navigate
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their work lives and career while also finding meaning through family, leisure and community involvement. “Vocational research is important because it helps us understand how and why people make career choices, adapt to transitions and change, and construct their careers,” Dr. Hartung said. “We spend so much of our time at work that job satisfaction becomes one of the keys to overall quality of life and well-being. If you have trouble finding meaning and are not satisfied with your job, this typically spills over into your personal life and impacts your overall happiness.” Hartung’s research helped him to develop the Physicians Value in Practice Scale (PVIPS), a tool used to help medicine students make specialty choices. The PVIPS contains 60 items that measure six core values found to be common among medicine students and practicing physicians: prestige, service, autonomy, safety, management and scholarly pursuits. These values can then be considered in terms of how they may find their realization within specialty options being considered and how they may relate to particular specialty areas of medical practice. The PVIPS has become a central part of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Careers in Medicine webbased career assessment program where thousands of U.S.
to support aspiring health care professionals. In 2011, Dr. Porfeli initiated a pilot project to streamline his research and direct it to NEOMED-specific initiatives. He invited all first-, second- and third-year College of Medicine students to participate in a survey research project, with about half of each group choosing to participate. The results from this initial study served as the basis of what will become a Primary Care Orientation Scale (PCOS) that is designed for universities like NEOMED to help recruit students with a strong interest in primary care and to evaluate the capacity of the educational design to produce more primary care physicians. Dr. Porfeli is now collaborating with others throughout the University to determine if and how the PCOS may be used in Erik Porfeli, Ph.D., focuses his research on learning more about how people are socialized to the world of work, how they make use of information to make work choices and how both impact the admissions process. In addition to work choices. current NEOMED students, Dr. Porfeli will administer the survey to all students in the pipeline programs with partner universities, beginning in the medicine students every year use it to assist them with spehigh school years and moving through the baccalaureate phase. cialty exploration and choice. “Working with students is easily one of the best parts of my job, and they often need help exploring their career options,” said Dr. Hartung. “With so many specialty options it can often be difficult for a student to choose the precise focus in medicine that will provide them opportunity to derive the most meaning and satisfaction. Medicine students have high aspirations, are highly motivated, and know that they want to do something special for the betterment of their community. It’s a privilege and an honor to work with them.” Dr. Porfeli also has a rich history of researching vocational behavior. His doctorate dissertation focused on how work values of adolescents and young adults, in combination with their part-time work experience, lead to the work rewards they obtain later in time. He is particularly interested in learning more about how people are socialized to the world of work, how they make use of information to make work choices and how both impact work choices. “Students from distressed areas can often times have different worldviews of the vocational sphere,” Dr. Porfeli said. “It’s important that everyone have the opportunity to strive toward a career they will find rewarding in a variety of ways.” Like Dr. Hartung, Dr. Porfeli has narrowed his research focus
Students enrolled in NEOMED’s high school programs such as MEDCAMP and the Health Professions Affinity Community program, as well as those enrolled in Bio-Med Science Academy, will be a part of the research taking place. The process is designed to survey students before and after each program to see if their interests are maintained or changed. If the program is designed to promote primary care, for example, then there is an expectation that students’ interests in primary care activities will increase or remain stable in those with strong interests. If the opposite occurs, they will have evidence to promote a re-evaluation of the program and make constructive improvements. Dr. Porfeli's long-term goal is to collect data around students’ interests and how NEOMED’s programs affect their interests in a way aligned with the University's mission, but also to provide information to the students. “I am fortunate that my personal career has unfolded in the direction of taking my research and applying it in the real world to provide guidance to high school, college and health professions students that is rooted in science and inquiry,” Dr. Porfeli said. “My hope is that what I can contribute to these students’ lives will help to provide dedicated, knowledgeable and well-prepared NEOMED graduates.”
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R esearch
An “Alternative” Approach to Osteoarthritis Treatment Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common musculoskeletal disorder in the aging population and is characterized by cartilage degradation and joint inflammation. Currently, there is no disease modifying treatment for OA. The available therapies are mostly symptomatic, and the only effective treatment is surgical joint replacement. Safe and effective treatment of OA continues to be an unmet clinical need, and alternative approaches to treatment are often rejected or considered a secondary option by medical professionals. To address this vital need, Tariq M. Haqqi, Ph.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology in the College of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), is looking to Ayurveda and Unani systems of medicine, the two most widely practiced traditional systems in Indian medicine. In these ancient medical practices, the water extract of Butea monosperma flowers (BME), appropriately named “flame of the
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By Rebecca Verlezza
forest” due to its bright orange-red color, is used to treat inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. Dr. Haqqi’s research aims to bring elements of this practice to conventional medicine, using BME to develop a safer and more cost-effective therapeutic approach for the treatment and prevention of OA. A Natural Solution Historically, BME has been viewed as a nutraceutical or nutritional supplement, similar to green tea. Dr. Haqqi’s studies take an innovative approach to alternative medicine. Recognizing the natural use of BME has worked for thousands of years, his research aims to discover how nutraceuticals work and specifically which compound in BME provides beneficial results in the treatment of OA. Dr. Haqqi’s studies examine how small non-coding Ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules affect cartilage. He hypothesizes that BME suppress cartilage breakdown in OA by controlling gene
Tariq M. Haqqi, Ph.D., professor of anatomy and neurobiology in the College of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University
expression at the RNA level of a specific gene known as Sonic hedgehog (SHH). The proteins of this gene play an integral part in fetal development and have been identified as a destructive factor in OA. Dr. Haqqi hypothesizes that small non-coding RNA plays an important role in controlling the excessive production of the SHH protein in chondrocytes, the cells in human cartilage. Coincidently, these proteins are also involved in the changes, production and maturation of chondrocyte cells. To prove his hypothesis, Dr. Haqqi uses preclinical models to test the anti-inflammatory and cartilage protective activity of BME. He does this by examining and observing articular cartilage, which is the smooth tissue covering the ends of bones where they meet to form joints. Synovial fluids and serum are analyzed for inflammatory responses, as well as the expression of enzymes that degrade, or chew up, tissue substances. Preclinical models given two different doses of BME are analyzed for levels of BME constituents, such as butein, butrin and isobutin. They are also examined to see if the BME and isobutin consumption has an effect on the RNA molecules and protein expression levels in the joints. Finally, the expression of SHH correlated with the induction and progression of the disease. From Nutraceutical to Pharmaceutical One potential result from the testing is that components of BME may employ cartilage protective effects in OA by controlling the expression of specific RNA that negatively regulate the expression of SHH proteins and other factors of metabolic breakdown. By isolating any beneficial compounds, Dr. Haqqi anticipates
the possibility of synthesizing a product that can be used in clinical trials and eventually develop a mainstream pharmaceutical. “Although BME has many of the vital properties for developing an OA therapy treatment, it’s important to study and determine how it works,” said Dr. Haqqi. “The clinical trials that may lead to the prescription of natural products as medicine are still a long way off, but we are making significant strides in translating traditional medicine practices to a Western knowledge base to develop more effective strategies to treat the disease.” Recently, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded $383,357 to NEOMED, in support of Dr. Haqqi, for his research on “Suppression of SHH Expression in Arthritis by Butea monosperma.” This initial Research Project Grant (R01) will provide funding for lab operations as well as a research staff and is part of an anticipated five-year award, potentially totaling up to $2.28 million. Dr. Haqqi earned his doctoral degree from the Aligarh Muslim University in India, and a certificate in bioinformatics from the University of Oxford in England. He has more than 25 years of experience in the field of inflammatory and degenerative joint diseases and is well-versed in guiding post-doctoral fellows and research assistants in various areas of study. The Haqqi lab at NEOMED comprises a focused group of Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellows and a research assistant. The lab is supported by two RO1 grants from the NIH, in addition to the funding provided for BME research.
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in brief
Frederick Frese, Ph.D., accepting the Compass Award for being a public voice for people with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. Photo Credit: Scott Horstman through The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation.
NEOMED Center, Faculty Receive 2013 Morgan Impact Awards Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) was recognized among the award recipients at The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation’s Fourth Annual Morgan Impact Awards, which honor individuals and organizations impacting the areas of mental health, education and the arts. The Best Practices in Schizophrenia Treatment (BeST) Center at NEOMED received the Award for Innovation. The Center promotes recovery and improves the lives of people affected by schizophrenia by accelerating the adoption of evidence-based and promising treatment practices. Frederick Frese, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at NEOMED, received the Compass Award for being a public voice for people with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses. A consumer, provider and passionate advocate seeking to decrease discrimination and promote a better understanding of mental illness, Dr. Frese experienced his first schizophrenic break while serving as an officer in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Dr. Frese supports others in telling their stories through his work as a psychologist, and works relentlessly to change attitudes and practices within the mental health field through his writing, local and national board memberships, and role as educator for professionals in the fields of health and criminal justice.
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Award recipients pictured left to right: Terry Dalton, president and CEO of Community Support Services; Lt. Michael Woody, law enforcement liaison, Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence; Frederick Frese, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at NEOMED; Mark Munetz, M.D., The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation Endowed Chair of Psychiatry at NEOMED; Lon Herman, M.A., director of the BeST Center at NEOMED. Photo Credit: Scott Horstman through The Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation.
Bast Named COO Carrie Bast, CPA, has been named chief operating officer at NEOMED. She will be responsible for the hands-on, day-to-day operational management of the Division of Administration and Finance, working on behalf of the vice president to manage Carrie Bast, CPA the division and provide oversight for University priorities that originate in the division. She also will be tasked with identifying, planning, executing and finalizing broad-based projects for the division, driving critical business improvements across multiple departments, divisions and academic disciplines. Bast has served as director of budget and resource planning at NEOMED since 2007. She was previously director of finance at Walsh University and served as an auditor for KPMG Audit Services. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting at Walsh University, is a licensed CPA and is a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs.
Longenecker Selected for Prestigious NIH Fellowship Graduate student Ryan Longenecker was awarded the prestigious Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Ryan Longenecker Disorders of the National Institutes of Health. This predoctoral research training fellowship is awarded to promising doctoral candidates who have the potential to become productive, independent investigators. A student in the partnership biomedical sciences program with Kent State University, Longenecker is working with Northeast Ohio Medical University mentor Alexander Galazyuk, Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy and neurobiology, on his project, Differential Pathologies Resulting from Sound Exposure: Tinnitus vs Hearing Loss. Longenecker plans to explore whether hyperactivity to sound exposure can be used as a biomarker to separate general hearing loss from tinnitus and to identify the underlying cellular mechanisms of that hyperactivity in auditory neurons.
Altaf Darvesh, M.Pharm., Ph.D.
Timothy R. Ulbrich, Pharm.D., R.Ph.
Lisa Weiss, M.D.
Carl Schaub, M.D.
Denise M. Inman, Ph.D.
NEOMED Faculty Selected as Excellence in Education Recipients Five faculty members were selected for Ohio Magazine’s 2013 Excellence in Education recognition program. Awardees include Altaf Darvesh, M.Pharm., Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy and assistant professor of psychiatry in the College of Medicine; Timothy R. Ulbrich, Pharm.D., R.Ph., director of pharmacy resident education and assistant professor of pharmacy practice in the College of Pharmacy; Denise M. Inman, Ph.D., director of the integrated pharmaceutical medicine program in the College of Graduate Studies and assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy; Lisa Weiss, M.D., associate dean of curriculum and academic services and associate professor of family and community medicine in the College of Medicine; and, Carl Schaub, M.D., professor of pathology in the College of Medicine. This special recognition is given annually to high-achieving faculty in Ohio colleges and universities based upon nominations by their administrators and colleagues.
Have You Moved?
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Please send change of address notices to alumnioffice@neomed.edu.
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overall operational responsibility for the College’s academic affairs and represents the College in the dean’s absence.
Elisabeth H. Young, M.D., FACP (‘81)
Jeffrey Wenstrup, Ph.D.
Louis D. Barone, B.S., Pharm.D., R.Ph., FASHP
NEOMED Faculty Promotions Several faculty were promoted to leadership roles within the College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy. Elisabeth H. Young, M.D., FACP (‘81), associate dean for academic affairs, assumed the role of vice dean in the College of Medicine. In her new role, Dr. Young is focused on strategic planning, interprofessional education and outreach to clinical and academic partners. She retains
Jeffrey Wenstrup, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, assumed the role of associate dean for research in the College of Medicine. In his new role, Dr. Wenstrup will concentrate on strategies to promote research success, align incentives and grow funded scholarship. He will continue to serve in his role as chair of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology. Louis D. Barone, B.S., Pharm.D., R.Ph., FASHP, assumed the role of associate dean of clinical and strategic partnerships in the College of Pharmacy. Dr. Barone has served as vice chair of practice site resource management in the Department of Pharmacy Practice since 2007. As associate dean, he will continue to fulfill this role with the addition of focusing on pharmacy clinical affairs and strategic partnerships at the collegiate level.
The Office of Public Relations and Marketing, pictured left to right: Angela Gooden; Jared Slanina; Diana Dillon; Heather Griesbach; Nate, the Walking Whale; Cristine Boyd; Scott Rutan; Rebecca Verlezza
A Whale of a Winner! NEOMED’s mascot contest and unveiling inspired more than just a new character on campus — it resulted in two industry awards! The Office of Public Relations and Marketing (OPRM) at NEOMED was recognized on two occasions this fall for its management, execution and analysis of the University’s mascot competition and launch event. The OPRM won the silver award in the Teresa Du Bois Exline Award for Best Practices in Communications and Marketing category of the 2013 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District V Pride of CASE V
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Awards Program. This annual awards program honors institutions and individuals who demonstrate outstanding achievement in the concept and execution of programs within the advancement, alumni and communications fields. In addition, the OPRM was recognized with a gold award in the Brand and Reputation Management category of the 11th Annual Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Cleveland Rocks Awards Program. The Cleveland Rocks Awards acknowledge outstanding public relations programs that incorporate sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. To learn more about NEOMED’s mascot — Nate, the Walking Whale — visit www.neomed.edu/mascot.
A C A D E M I C S an d S T U D E N T L I F E
Liew split her time volunteering to provide medical care for a community that rarely had access to such services, as well as conducting her research to understand the obstacles of providing care to Kenyan populations. While giving medical care, she did everything from prescribing medications for common ailments to treating serious physical wounds. “The practical experience was invaluable to me as an aspiring physician,” Liew said. “But the biggest takeaway was getting to work with an unfamiliar culture. The people I helped treat were so grateful to have someone who wanted to help them. It really opened my eyes to how the basic care we take for granted is a major deal for so many people around the world.”
Student Service
Knows No Bounds Along with education and research, service to others is one of the primary pillars of the mission at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). Six NEOMED students recently went well above-and-beyond their call to service by traveling overseas to provide medical care to severely underserved populations. Where the Streets Have No Name Most students typically use their summer vacation to relax and enjoy themselves away from the stressors of college life. For second-year College of Medicine student Zi-Qi Liew, this time led to a life-altering experience thousands of miles from home. It all began when Liew wanted to find a way to help others during the summer break following her first year at NEOMED. She approached Julie Aultman, Ph.D., associate professor of family and community medicine, to inquire about opportunities to volunteer in Kenya. Dr. Aultman realized that Liew had an incredible opportunity to help others while immersing herself in a different culture and conducting research with a potentially far-reaching impact. After receiving a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, Dr. Aultman and Liew teamed up to co-author a study titled, “Capabilities of a Developing Kenyan Healthcare Clinic for the Underserved: An Ethical and Clinical Analysis of Achieving Justice.”
Liew shared her story with campus at a special diversity presentation this spring and will present at the annual Bioethics and Humanities Conference on April 19 at NEOMED. She is also in the process of submitting an abstract to the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities and to the American Public Health conferences. Her goal is to present her work at two national events. “Zi-Qi has a passion to learn and help others that is difficult to match,” said Dr. Aultman. “She has an incredible work-ethic and unlimited potential to accomplish anything she sets her mind to.” Promising Experiences in the Amazon Five second-year College of Medicine students discovered a whole new world when they volunteered to take part in an Amazon Promise mission during their summer break. Kamil Klinkosz, Lindsay Meade, Rachel Michael, Alexandra Schueler and Reem Sarkis traveled to Peru to provide medical coverage for a population that has no access to basic necessities many take for granted. The mission of Amazon Promise is to bring care to individuals living in remote areas of the Amazon Basin of Peru. With geographical limits of access to care, this region also struggles with physician strikes multiple times a year for varying lengths of time. Even when a patient in need is able to make it into a hospital, it is common for the doctors not to be available or for the cost of care to be unaffordable. Amazon Promise aids in this situation by bringing health care providers to the people. The organization helps provide medical care to more than 6,000 Peruvians each year. “The things we take for granted, like Ibuprofen and Neosporin, mean the world to people who don’t have access to medical care,” Meade said. “Most important, we should all remember there are people in the world who do not have access to clean water, and this impacts their health greatly. I don’t think most of us can even imagine what it is like to not have water to drink, cook or bathe with.” 29 | IGNITE
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Northeast Ohio Medical University Students Selected as Choose Ohio First Scholarship Recipients needed most and are designated for exemplary students who are seeking degrees in medicine. Each recipient will receive $30,000 per year in tuition support. In return, scholars must complete a residency in family practice, general internal medicine, general pediatrics or internal medicine-pediatrics in Ohio and must commit to practice in Ohio for no less than three years after residency.
Choose Ohio First Scholarship recipients, pictured left to right: Kimberly Tamargo, first-year medicine student; Christopher Yohn, first-year medicine student; Elizabeth Looney, second-year medicine student
Six students from the College of Medicine were recently honored by the State of Ohio with a Choose Ohio First Scholarship in medicine. These scholarships follow three awards granted to NEOMED students in 2012, bringing the total to nine Choose Ohio First NEOMED scholars, the highest number for any university in Ohio. Choose Ohio First Scholarships are designed to help recruit and retain primary care physicians in areas where they are
Kimberly Tamargo, First-Year Medicine Student “My inspiration to enter a career in medicine stemmed from my job as an ultrasound technician at University Hospitals. As a sonographer, I felt limited in my ability to care for my patients. I wanted to provide continuous, high-quality care. Having lived and worked in inner-city Cleveland for more than four years, I saw the desperate need for primary care physicians in the area, and I soon realized that I had an opportunity to provide quality and accessible primary care to the people who need it most. Thanks to Choose Ohio First, I am closer to achieving this goal.”
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The Choose Ohio First scholarship program aligns with NEOMED’s Education for Service initiative, which strives to improve the health and economic vitality of the Northeast Ohio region by supporting students from Ohio and particularly its medically underserved communities, engaging the Ohio communities in supporting their progress and reducing financial barriers to encourage students to become future primary care physicians in medically underserved areas. “NEOMED is pleased to announce the new recipients of the 2013 Choose Ohio First Scholarship,” said Erik Porfeli, Ph.D., assistant dean of community engagement and admissions, and program director for Choose Ohio First at NEOMED. “These students have a demonstrated commitment to serving the needs of our medically underserved communities and I expect will become future leaders of primary care in Ohio. We are proud to have them as part of the NEOMED family and grateful to the Ohio Board of Regents for supporting these students with such generous and needed scholarship program.”
Katherine Williams, First-Year Medicine Student “My mother is a LPN, and I always remember how thankful the patients were toward her for taking the time to spend with them and how happy it made them to have someone go above and beyond to help them. This award gives me an extra incentive to do the very best I can to live up to the standards that are expected of me as a Choose Ohio First Scholar.”
Legislative Action Day Brings Pharmacy Community to Columbus
College of Pharmacy faculty, preceptors and students represented the pharmacy profession and created dialogue between pharmacists and legislators on issues impacting pharmacy practice during the Ohio Pharmacists Association (OPA)/Ohio Society of Health-System Pharmacists (OSHP) biennial Legislative Action Day in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 30. Twenty pharmacists and student pharmacists gathered with others in the pharmacy community for a morning presentation by OPA’s government affairs team, which discussed the state government’s structure and lawmaking process as well as tips for developing relationships with key legislators and effectively communicating pharmacy issues. The exercise was followed by a forum of legislative leaders who discussed current legislation affecting the pharmacy profession. In the afternoon, College of Pharmacy representatives met with nearly a dozen state senators and representatives to further discuss these issues. There were two main items discussed — first, a bill on revising the pharmacist consult agreement with physicians (Senate Bill 240), and a bill that proposes changing the ages of patients that pharmacists can immunize (Sentate Bill 79).
Igniting Inclusivity: NEOMED Launches SafeSpace Initiative Sexual orientation is an important component of Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)’s definition of diversity. In an effort to further its commitment to creating a diverse and welcoming environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) students, faculty, staff and guests, NEOMED has launched a new initiative called SafeSpace. The SafeSpace initiative is designed to provide dedicated resources to members of the LGBTQ community at NEOMED as well as their allies, family and friends. It will improve visibility and support to LGBTQ students as well as individuals who are able to aid them in making connections with the information and support available to them at the University as well as in the community. The University has hosted several introductory and formal training seminars for faculty and staff who have demonstrated an interest in serving as trained advocates for the SafeSpace initiative. To date, NEOMED has 57 faculty and staff SafeSpace
advocates trained as a result of the rollout. These individuals are committed to increasing their knowledge of and sensitivity to LGBTQ issues, and providing a safe space for LGBTQ students, faculty and staff. Trainings will also be made available to students who wish to participate as the SafeSpace initiative continues to expand. To learn more, visit neomed.edu/about/diversity.
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Diversity Reception Highlights University Initiatives and Awards Student Impact students for their efforts in creating and influencing the University’s curriculum in order to increase student comfort of and knowledge about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQ) patients. Group members included third-year medicine students Meena Thatikunta and Shane Jeffers, and second-year medicine students Rachel Wurzel, Poornima Oruganti and Rosemary Szparagowski. “We have one very simple goal — we aim to develop a system of health care with a more open and inviting clinical setting for LGBTQ patients,” Pictured left to right: Walter E. Horton Jr., Ph.D., chair of the Diversity Council; Rachel Wurzel, said Wurzel and Szparagowski in a second-year medicine student; Rosemary Szparagowski, second-year medicine student; Poornima Oruganti, second-year medicine student; Andre Burton, J.D., director of diversity affairs letter about their efforts. “We strive to give the students at NEOMED and elsewhere the tools to become competent LGBTQ health care Diversity is valued on the Northeast Ohio Medical University providers, and we’ve been successful! However, we could not (NEOMED) campus, and faculty, staff, students and partners have achieved any of the curricular changes without the support joined together to celebrate those who embrace inclusion at the and encouragement of Dr. Lisa Weiss, Dr. Julie Aultman, Dr. annual Value Community and Diversity Reception on Nov. 20. Paul Lecat, Andre Burton and LuAnne Stockton. We are so grateful to them for giving us the opportunity to develop and Andre Burton, J.D., director of diversity affairs at NEOMED, implement the curriculum at NEOMED.” shared the results of the recent University-wide diversity climate survey and third-party managed employee focus groups. Burton The group introduced nine hours of LGBTQ health-related and the NEOMED Diversity Council are evaluating the feedback curriculum into the Principles of Clinical Medicine and Principles of these tools to aid in preparing short and long-term campus of Medical Science courses, creating two original lectures to be plans that could encompass everything from hiring practices, presented to second-year medicine students and presenting cultural competency curriculum enhancements and expanding the content themselves. Additionally, they helped integrate existing programming, such as the Embracing Diversity Series, LGBTQ patient standardized interviews into students’ Wasson in order to ensure the University is fostering a welcoming and Center experiences. inclusive environment. Joined by Walter E. Horton Jr., Ph.D., chair of the Diversity Council, dean of the College of Graduate Studies and vice president for research, Burton recognized the 2013 Community Builder Award recipient as well as all students who were nominated for the award. The annual award recognizes a NEOMED student who promotes and supports the needs, values and respect of underrepresented communities and who is sensitive to the issues of diversity, taking action to promote the ideals of inclusion, equity and community. For the first time, the 2013 Community Builder Award was not given to an individual, but was presented to a group of
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“In my opinion, these students shaped the thinking of a faculty and staff group who are now revising and molding curriculum, not just with regard to LGBTQ diversity issues, but now thinking about diversity in general whenever the curriculum is revised,” said Lisa Weiss, M.D., associate dean of curriculum and academic services for the College of Medicine. “They did this as a team and worked with a team of faculty and staff to accomplish this. It was a daunting task that will have lasting effects on not just the student body, but on the faculty and staff with whom they worked and ultimately — and most importantly — on their future patients.”
Todd Diacon (left), senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Kent State, and Charles Taylor (right), dean of the College of Pharmacy at NEOMED, sign a new partnership agreement between the two institutions. Photo Credit: Kent State University
Agreement With Kent State University Advances Pharmacy Program Movember Movement Raises Awareness and Funds For Men’s Health
The rise and fall of the male moustache on Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)’s campus throughout the month of November signified more than a short-lived interest in facial hair. The movement, known around the world as Movember, had NEOMED faculty, staff and students joined in a common effort to bring much needed awareness to men’s health issues. A global charity movement that began in 2003, Movember encourages men to grow a moustache for the 30 days of November — starting the month clean-shaven, then growing and grooming their Mo (slang for moustache) and asking friends and family to donate to their efforts. Female participants are also needed to raise funds and encourage the men in their lives to get involved. Under the leadership of Christopher Shelby, Pharm.D., BCPS, (‘11), assistant professor of pharmacy practice, who is in his third year of participating in the movement, NEOMED’s ‘Team Medstache’ was formed. On Nov. 1, members held a “Shave” the Date kickoff event to ensure all members were clean shaven at the start, and on Nov. 20, they hosted a Mo Party with educational materials and a raffle to raise additional funds for the team. By Nov. 30, Team Medstache’s 24 dedicated Mo Bros and Mo Sistas had raised awareness as well as $1,140 to combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges among men. Their contributions, along with Mo Bros and Mo Sistas worldwide, help change the face of men’s health.
Students pursuing a career in pharmacy now have an accelerated path to complete both a bachelor’s degree and Doctor of Pharmacy degree in seven years through a new partnership agreement between Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and Kent State University. During an official signing Jan. 13, Charles Taylor, Pharm.D., dean of the College of Pharmacy at NEOMED, and Todd Diacon, Ph.D., senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Kent State, acknowledged the new partnership agreement, which enhances the educational programs at both institutions and builds upon NEOMED’s existing pipeline program for students who complete pre-professional pharmacy studies at Kent State. Students enrolled in the program are eligible to apply for one of Kent State’s designated seats in the professional Doctor of Pharmacy degree program at NEOMED. Kent State students who are pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry with a biochemistry concentration through the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State can now accelerate through the pipeline to the College of Pharmacy at NEOMED. Specific classes have been identified as transfer courses by both universities and are required for students to obtain both degrees. The new agreement enables these students to complete their bachelor’s and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees in just seven years, rather than the typical eight years. 33 | IGNITE
D E V E L O P M E N T an d A L U M N I Donor P rofile
Pictured left to right: Liya Yin, M.D., Ph.D.; Ian Bratz, Ph.D.; William M. Chilian, Ph.D., principal investigator; Jeffrey Susman, M.D.; Vahagn Ohanyan, M.D., Ph.D.; Jeanie Fibus; Werner Geldenhuys, B. Pharm., Ph.D.; James L. Pazol, ESQ.; Richard Carroll, Ph.D.
FIBUS FAMILY FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT DIABETES RESEARCH While heart failure affects four percent of the U.S. population, the threat of heart failure is tripled for individuals diagnosed with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Currently, there are no clinically effective treatments for Diabetic Cardiomyopathy (DCM), the specialized type of heart failure that occurs in individuals diagnosed with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, the best that can be done at this time is to slow the progression of the disease. William Chilian, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Integrative Medical Sciences in the College of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), is examining how to effectively combat DCM with the generous support of the Fibus Family Foundation. The Fibus DCM Study, with Dr. Chilian serving as principal investigator, will work to develop a drug to support the diabetic heart by stopping and even potentially reversing the progression of heart failure in diabetics. The research efforts will be supported by an interprofessional team of co-investigators, including Ian Bratz, Ph.D., Richard Carroll, Ph.D., Werner Geldenhuys, B. Pharm., Ph.D., and Liya Yin, M.D., Ph.D. Specifically, the aim of the Fibus DCM Study is to develop a drug that will reconnect blood flow to the heart with work performed by the heart, stop the progression of DCM and reverse the consequences of DCM. The Fibus Family Foundation has awarded the Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation $100,000 for the study. The
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foundation was established in 1982 and is based in Youngstown, Ohio. It gives primarily to health organizations and Jewish agencies. Its main areas of interest are cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, human services and higher education. “The Fibus Family Foundation’s generosity has made it possible for us to learn more and potentially treat Diabetic Cardiomyopathy, which threatens the life of anyone diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes,” said Dr. Chilian. “Together we will work toward finally discovering an effective treatment for DCM.” In addition to supporting NEOMED’s diabetes research efforts, the Fibus Family Foundation also provided a generous sponsorship for the 2013 Meeting of the Physiology Society on NEOMED’s campus in October to host Nobel Laureate Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Murad was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1998 for his discovery concerning nitric oxide, a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. He was the first Nobel Laureate to lecture on-campus. “We are pleased to support these important research efforts and begin a relationship with the NEOMED community,” said Fibus Family Foundation Chair Jeanne Fibus. “We support the University’s mission to improve the health, economy and quality of life in Northeast Ohio and are excited to be part of these efforts.”
Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation Major Gifts
Thank Y ou !
The Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation appreciates every gift received. The generosity of our donors allows us to advance the University’s mission of education, research and service in the health professions in ways that truly make a difference. The Foundation thanks all donors for their gifts and support and recognizes the following major gifts and commitments received between July 1, 2012, and June 30, 2013.
Fund Name/Gift Amount Aneal Mohan Kohli Academic Technology Endowment Dr. Chander M. and Mrs. Karen Kohli........................$100,000
Palliative Care Education Ms. Eileen Burg............................................................$10,000
Ann and Barry Klein Commitment to Community Scholarship Endowment Mr. Barry and Mrs. Ann Klein........................................$12,755
Parkinson’s Disease Research Restricted Fund Frances and Lillian Schermer Charitable Trusts............$5,000 Zita M. and Joseph DiYorio Charitable Foundation........$5,000 Richard A. Nicely..........................................................$50,000 Stark Community Foundation.......................................$50,050
Bio-Med Science Academy, Professional Development Program Martha Holden Jennings Foundation...........................$26,350
Planned Gift to Northeast Ohio Medical University Mr. Anthony Primavera*................................................$25,000
Bio-Med Science Academy, Virtual Learning eXperience Verizon Corporation......................................................$20,000 The Fred A. Lennon Charitable Trust…........................$10,000
Samuel A. and Judy Roth Scholarship Endowment The Youngstown Area Jewish Federation....................$50,000
Blain/Rosenberg Education for Service Scholarship Fund Jewish Federation of Cleveland.................................... $5,000
Fred S. Silk Endowed Scholarship Fred F. Silk Charitable Foundation...............................$52,150
Edith and Milt Wiskind Primary Care Scholarship Fund Edith and Milt Wiskind…..............................................$50,000
Scholarship for Academic Excellence Anonymous..................................................................$10,000 Anonymous................................................................... $5,000
Education for Service Initiative General Restricted Fund Dr. Jay A. Gershen.......................................................$25,000 Geriatric Care Education Ms. Eileen Burg........................................................... $10,000 Giant Eagle Educational Opportunities in Community Pharmacy Giant Eagle.................................................................. $30,000 Health Professions Affinity Communities (HPAC) Program Martha Holden Jennings Foundation...........................$27,500 NEOMED-CSU Partnership for Urban Health, Student Mentoring Program The Reinberger Foundation.........................................$35,000 The Ohio Alliance Conference Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation..........................................$35,000
Sisler McFawn Education for Service Scholarship The Sisler McFawn Foundation....................................$25,000 Timken Foundation of Canton Innovation Corridor The Timken Foundation of Canton.............................$250,000 W3 Wealth Management Scholarship Fund United Way of Summit County.....................................$10,000 Walgreens Pathway Program Walgreens....................................................................$10,000 Wasson Unrestricted Fund The Wish, Cope and Life Foundation.........................$100,000 The Watanakunakorn Suite at the Village Eleanor Watanakunakorn.............................................$27,604 Watanakunakorn Trust Distribution Fund Dr. Chatrchai* and Mrs. Eleanor Watanakunakorn.....$300,000 *Deceased 35 | IGNITE
D E V E L O P M E N T an d A L U M N I Gifts an d S upport
College of Pharmacy Third Annual Golf Classic Supports Student Scholarship The College of Pharmacy hosted its third annual Pharmacy Golf Classic on Aug. 16 at Oak Knolls Golf Course in Kent, Ohio. The event, attended by alumni, community partners, faculty, staff and students, raised nearly $9,000 with $6,650 presented to the Northeast Ohio Medical University Foundation in support of student scholarship, and the remaining funds distributed to pharmacy student organizations. Organized by Daniel Krinsky, B.S., M.S., R.Ph., associate professor of pharmacy practice, the event was supported by student volunteers from the Student College of Clinical Pharmacy, the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists, Lambda Kappa Sigma, the Student Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the Student National Pharmacist Association.
SoundCom Sponsors NEOMED’s Help Desk Charging Station SoundCom, a technology partner of Northeast Ohio Medical University that provides enterprise audio-visual solutions, recently sponsored the installation of a mobile device charging station near the Help Desk in the Oliver Ocasek Regional Medical Information Center. The charging station features 10 lockers that allow students, faculty and staff to plug in their mobile phones and tablets for safe and secure charging.
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NEWS
“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Zarconi for his multifaceted impact on patient care and dedication to the profession — as a charter alumnus of our University, an essential faculty member in our College of Medicine, and a recognized leader in training the next generation of physicians.” Jeffrey L. Susman, M.D. Joseph Zarconi, M.D., FACP (‘81)
NEOMED Alumnus Receives ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award Joseph Zarconi, M.D., FACP (‘81), professor of internal medicine and associate dean for clinical education in the College of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University and system vice president for medical education and chief academic officer at Summa Health System, was recently honored by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) with its prestigious, national Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award. This award, presented annually, honors designated institutional officials who have demonstrated excellence in overseeing residency programs and graduate medical education at their sponsoring institutions. Areas of outstanding leadership include encouraging program directors, providing residents and fellows with career resources, improving performance and innovation, maintaining high quality physician educators, and promoting strong and collaborative interdisciplinary activity. “Dr. Zarconi has clearly demonstrated excellence in these and many other ways, and we join the ACGME in believing he is most deserving of this recognition,” said Erik Steele, D.O., senior vice president and chief medical officer at Summa Health System. “We are also pleased for the many thousands of patients
that Dr. Zarconi and his fellow teachers have touched through their teaching of our physicians in training. The skills and dedication recognized in his award reach patients in direct and important ways.” ACGME’s Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award recognizes the many challenges facing institutional leaders as they work to create an environment for educational programs, ensure safe and appropriate care of patients, and facilitate residents’ ethical, professional and personal development. “We are incredibly proud of Dr. Zarconi for his multifaceted impact on patient care and dedication to the profession — as a charter alumnus of our University, an essential faculty member in our College of Medicine, and a recognized leader in training the next generation of physicians,” said Jeffrey L. Susman, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine at NEOMED. “In these ways and many more, he is constantly forging the future of health care through his committed, and courageous, leadership.” Dr. Zarconi will be presented with the award at the national ACGME meeting in March 2014.
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D E V E L O P M E N T an d A L U M N I A lumni S potli g ht
Kim Stearns, M.D. (‘85), celebrates the 2013 Cleveland Indians playoff-clinching victory against the Minnesota Twins with First Baseman Nick Swisher.
HEALING OUR TRIBE
Many people spend countless hours of their childhood running around the backyard and dreaming about hitting a home run to clinch the World Series or scoring the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. While people eventually find themselves in another field, Kim Stearns, M.D. (‘85), is still able to hang out in the locker room and help contribute to his favorite team. Dr. Stearns, a College of Medicine graduate, is one of three orthopedic surgeons for the Cleveland Indians. He recently completed his eleventh season with the team after beginning in 2003 with the Lake County Captains, Cleveland’s Class-A affiliate. He is responsible for performing surgeries as needed, conducting regular physicals, working with both teams prior to and following each home game and is on-call for any orthopedic issues at nearly all times during the season. Dr. Stearns is a lifelong baseball fan, but his role with the Indians was made possible by sheer chance. Before joining Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Stearns worked at a private practice that provided
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care for the Indians. While he was not initially involved with these efforts, a spot for him opened up when it was announced the Indians would receive the Captains as a new affiliate team. “I still get excited going to games that I’m covering,” said Dr. Stearns. “The feeling of being very lucky that I get to do this has never worn off. I’ve been able to collect so many great memories of things I never thought I would experience.” While Dr. Stearns gets to live out his dreams of being around the team, his role requires plenty of sacrifice and hard work. “The baseball season is extremely long and takes up much of my time,” said Dr. Stearns. “After a full day of surgery, I have to be at Progressive Field by 6 p.m. for a 7 p.m. game. We also work with the visiting teams and are required to stay until after the game once all the players are accounted for. It makes for some very long days.”
While some Cleveland fans may resent players who decide to move on with another team, Dr. Stearns enjoys continuing his relationship with former Indians. “I’ve built friendships with many players and managers who are no longer with the Indians,” Stearns said. “I usually stop by the visitors’ clubhouse to say hello to someone I once worked with.” He still regularly chats with former colleague John Farrell, current manager of the Boston Red Sox, who recently led his team to a World Series victory. Dr. Stearns firmly believes that landing his dream job would have never happened without first getting his start at Northeast Ohio Medical University. “My education was outstanding and prepared me very well for my residency at Cleveland Clinic. I think that we are taught history taking, physical exam and diagnostic skills way better
than many schools,” Dr. Stearns said. “In fact now that I am an attending I interact with many orthopedic residents and the NEOMED-trained residents are usually at the top of their classes.” Others in the baseball community outside of Cleveland have also taken notice of Dr. Stearns. He was recently selected by Major League Baseball to serve as a venue physician at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Dr. Stearns traveled to Fukuoka, Japan, where he treated national teams from Brazil, China, Cuba and Japan. “2013 was a very eventful year for me. Traveling to Japan and working with some of the top players from around the world was definitely a highlight of my career,” Dr. Stearns said. “I was also in Minneapolis with the Indians when they clinched a playoff spot. The chance to celebrate an improbable playoff berth alongside the players is something I will never forget.”
NEOMED Alumna Destined for Success As the eldest child of two doctors, Madhavi Kandula, M.D. (‘87), was destined to pursue a career in medicine. “Even at six years old, I knew that I wanted to become a doctor,” said Dr. Kandula. “Children of physicians are often asked, ‘are you going to become a doctor when you grow up?’ My parents always asked me, ‘what kind of doctor are you going to be?’” Born in Guntur, India, she came to the U.S. at the age of five and grew up in Dayton, Ohio. At 17, Dr. Kandula enrolled at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) in the College of Medicine’s accelerated Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Medicine (B.S./M.D.) degree program. Following graduation, she went on to Washington University’s School of Medicine and became board certified in internal medicine while completing a residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Following her residency, Dr. Kandula ran the surgical and medical intensive care units at Missouri Baptist Hospital for two years and returned to Washington University to complete a residency in dermatology, serving as chief resident during her last year.
In 1997, she opened a general and cosmetic dermatology practice in west St. Louis County and recently developed her own skin care line, called Madhavi Kandula, M.D. While consulting with Johnson & Johnson, she helped with the national launch of the RoC® Skincare product line. “My experience at NEOMED is a major contributing factor to my success,” said Dr. Kandula. “We were taught by clinicians in a private practice setting almost daily. The one-on-one experience combined with the humanistic approach that NEOMED emphasized has been instrumental to my development as a physician.” Dr. Kandula has been featured in broadcasts for St. Louis’ local Fox and CBS affiliates, and contributed to articles focusing on skin care for local and national publications, including O (Oprah) Magazine, St. Louis Magazine and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Today, she boasts a patient load of nearly 40,000. With a strong emphasis on personal service, her office is ranked in the top two percent of all cosmetic practices nationwide. Dr. Kandula currently lives in the Village of Huntleigh, Mo., with her husband Mitchell Platin, M.D. (‘87) an anesthesiologist, and their sons, Max (19) and Jacob (15).
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D E V E L O P M E N T an d A L U M N I class notes
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Michael Sokol, M.D. (‘83), was recognized by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry for exceptional expertise in the fields of osteoporosis and bone densitometry. Dr. Sokol is one of few physicians in the United States to have masters qualifications in psychopharmacology, and he is board certified in diabetes education and bone densitometry/ osteoporosis. He practices endocrinology at Menorah Medical Center and Statland Medical Group, in Overland Park, Kan.
Chung-Suk Lee, M.D. (‘90), founder and president of Polyglot Systems, Inc., in Morrisville, N.C. has been appointed to a consulting role with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this role with the FDA Risk Communication Advisory Committee, Dr. Lee will consult with the committee on strategies and programs designed to improve communication for patients with low health literacy and language barriers.
David Kim, M.D., FACS (‘86), released a new website, www.drdkim.net, dedicated to providing patients with the latest techniques and technology available at his practice, the Kim Bariatric Institute for weight loss surgery in Dallas. Dr. Kim’s new website features pages of in-depth content covering everything from LAPBAND® expectations to revision bariatric surgery procedures. Dr. Kim is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery, as well as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.
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Jeffrey Guy, M.D. (‘91), was named chief medical officer at TriStar Health, located in Brentwood, Tenn. Dr. Guy will help lead the company’s clinical care goals at its 15 hospitals in Tennessee, South Central Kentucky and Northern Georgia. Prior to joining TriStar Health, Dr. Guy was chief medical director for the pediatric program at TriStar Centennial Women’s & Children’s Hospital and director of the regional burn center and acute operative services at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He and his wife Deanna Aftab Guy, M.D. (‘91) live in Franklin, Tenn.
00s Ronald D. Crock, M.D. (‘92), was named Graduate School Alumnus of the Year as part of Malone University’s 2013 Alumni of the Year awards. Dr. Crock is the medical director for the hospice program at Mercy Medical Center in Canton, Ohio, as well as medical director for Mercy Medical Center’s palliative medicine program. Edward B. Yoon, M.D. (‘94), was named a medical director at Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan (CDPHP) in Albany, N.Y. In his role, Dr. Yoon will provide support to the health plan’s Enhanced Primary Care program, a nationally recognized and innovative patient-centered medical home. Prior to joining CDPHP, Dr. Yoon was a family practitioner at Clifton Park Family Medicine and a medical director at Blue Shield of Northeastern New York. Dr. Yoon has also served as the physician manager/director for Urgent Care Delmar, Urgent Care Niskayuna, Urgent Care Schodack, Niskayuna Family Medicine, and Clifton Park Family Medicine.
Kenneth R. Lee, M.D., FACS (‘00), was recently named to the Top Docs in Plastic Surgery in Orlando Magazine. Dr. Lee is a plastic and reconstructive surgeon specializing in microsurgical reconstruction at MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando. His expertise includes DIEP flaps, head and neck reconstruction, and other complex oncological defects. Dr. Lee and the rest of the section of MDACCO Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery is the only team in Florida offering Vascularized Lymph Node Transfers for lymphedema.
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10s Christopher P. Shelby, Pharm.D., R.Ph., BCPS (‘11), was appointed continuing education coordinator of the Akron Area Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists.
What’s New? Births, marriages, new jobs, recent promotions, honors and achievements — we want to know! Please send your news and photos to alumnioffice@neomed.edu so we can share your news with the NEOMED community in an upcoming issue of Ignite magazine or our new Alumni Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/NEOMEDAlumni. Melanie Drake, M.D. (‘03), married Benjamin Citino July 24 on the beach in Marco Island, Fla. Dr. Drake is a physician hospitalist at Riverside Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Amol Soin, M.D. (‘02), received the 2013 Excellence Award from the Department of Surgery in the Boonshoft School of Medicine at Wright State University in recognition of his outstanding teaching and mentoring of senior medical students. Dr. Soin is medical director at the Ohio Pain Clinic in Dayton, Ohio.
Darshana Alle, M.D. (‘05), married Dr. Deepak Raghavan Aug. 31. Dr. Alle is an allergist and immunologist at the Allergy and Asthma Care Center in Arlington, Va. Meredith Konya, M.D. (‘06), was one of 11 Boardman High School sports figures inducted into the BHS Hall of Fame in 2013. Dr. Konya is a musculo-skeletal physiatrist at Cleveland Clinic.
Benjamin A. Trapp, M.D. (‘06), received his board certification in pediatric anesthesiology, a distinction that has only recently been offered by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). Pediatric anesthesiology is a discipline that includes the evaluation, preparation and management of pediatric patients undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in operative and critical care settings. Dr. Trapp is a physician with Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants in Charlotte, N.C.
Kyle A. Sobecki, B.S., M.S., Pharm.D., R.Ph., BCPS (‘11), was appointed secretary of the Akron Area Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Jaclyn Kruse, Pharm.D. (‘12), was appointed to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Section Advisory Group on Small and Rural Hospitals. Philip King, Pharm.D. (‘13), was appointed National Member-At-Large to the American College of Clinical Pharmacy’s National Resident Advisory Committee for 2013-14. Ashley Ruozzo, Pharm.D. (‘13), married Donald C. Dudley Jr. July 27. She is a pharmacist at the Medicine Shoppe in Warren, Ohio.
I n memory Cinda Jenney died on Nov. 23, 2013, at the age of 65 after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). She was coordinator for the Office of Clinical Sciences at the then Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy and retired in 2010.
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Details to come!
�ele�ra��! * * * * * * * * * * * * Oct. 17 – 19, 2014 * * * * * * * * * * * * Don’t miss a weekend full of activities and events to celebrate this important milestone.
Still Burning Bright After 40 Years
U N I V ERS I TY MOMENT Then - In 1991, Jeanette Killius, supervisor of the Electron Microscopy Lab, assists a student researcher with a sample insertion in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). Now - Research remains a focal point of the University and the use of technology is paramount. Pictured is Jeanette Killius, lab coordinator in the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, preparing to insert samples into the TEM.
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Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage PAID Rootstown, Ohio 44272 Permit No. 4
4209 St. Rt. 44, PO Box 95 Rootstown, Ohio 44272
Igniting an Energy for … Entrepreneurship Elliot Reed, J.D., M.B.A., program manager of the Research, Entrepreneurship, Discovery and Innovation Zone (REDIzoneSM). Q: As program manager, what is your focus for the recently added REDIzoneSM program? Reed: My plan for 2014 is to continue cultivating relationships between the University and private sector businesses, with a specific focus on emerging biomedical companies within NEOMED’s four research focus areas — auditory neuroscience, community-based mental health, metabolic and cardiovascular disease and skeletal biology. Q: How can the REDIzoneSM benefit the NEOMED community? Reed: By providing companies with access to the REDIzone’s unique pre-clinical testing capabilities, NEOMED can work collaboratively with entrepreneurs to further medical development. Through this collaboration, our faculty, staff and students will increase their entrepreneurial aptitudes and enhance the University research enterprise. Elliot Reed, J.D., M.B.A., program manager, REDIzoneSM
Q: What do you hope to achieve for the improvement of health and the medical community on a larger scale? Reed: By serving as an incubator for emerging companies, NEOMED will contribute to the development of biotechnology and the improvement of health worldwide, as well as increasing economic prosperity in Northeast Ohio through job creation and business development.