Thursday, May 25, 2006 Mays Appointed First Vice Chancellor-Public Relations for UT Health Science Center
In a move that underscores the importance of communication to the future of the UT Health Science Center (UTHSC), Chancellor William F. Owen, Jr., MD, announced today the appointment of Sandra Hall Mays as vice chancellor for public relations. For the first time in its history, the statewide academic health institution has elevated the communications leadership position to the vice chancellor level with a direct report to the chancellor.
Mays will be responsible for providing strategic communications leadership and planning for the main campus in Memphis , as well as major educational sites in Knoxville and Chattanooga . She will serve as the lead public relations counsel to the Health Science Center leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni organizations.
Dr. Owen commented, “The UT Health Science Center has a great story to tell; ground-breaking discoveries are made on our campuses on a regular basis; our faculty, staff and students give back to the community abundantly and in many ways. Ms. Mays will bring a much needed focus to getting that message out, as well as to helping revitalize a strong, open communication culture within our academic healthcare system.”
Prior to joining UTHSC, Mays was director of communications, marketing and public relations for the Memphis Housing Authority, and Housing and Community Development. She also worked with the mayor's office on several key initiatives. Mays has a wealth of experience in broadcast media, which includes holding public relations and marketing positions with Group One Summit Broadcasting, Dayton, Ohio, and marketing consulting positions with Gillet Corp., Nashville, Tenn., Hearst Corp., Dayton, Ohio, and most recently, with Raycom Communications in Memphis.
The recipient of numerous sales and marketing awards, Mays is listed in Who's Who Among Black Americans and was selected for the Price Waterhouse Up and Comers Award. She is a past member of the Public Relations Society of America and chapter president of American Women in Radio and Television.
Her civic activities include being a past member of the Junior League of America (Dayton and Nashville chapters), and Jack and Jill of America Inc., as well as a board member of Girls Incorporated, the YWCA of Dayton and the Dayton Art Institute. Mays has served as past president of The Links Inc., Memphis Chapter, and currently serves on the organization's National Ethics and Standards Commission. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
A graduate of Howard University, Washington, D.C., Mays holds a master's degree from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Mich. Her daughter, Clarissa, is a senior at Howard University .
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Wheeless to Present at Ob/Gyn Resident Research Day
The event will be held Friday, June 2, 2006, at the University Club, 2704 Kingston Pike. Dr. Wheeless will open the research day with his presentation, "African Vesico-Vaginal Fistula" at 7:30 am.
Kimberly B. Fortner, Instructor, Department of Ob/Gyn, said of Dr. Wheeless, "He is a tremendous pelvic surgeon and has made land mark contributions to the field of gynecology. His Atlas of Pelvic Surgery text is a book that nearly every gynecologist owns. Dr. Wheeless' experience in the field is vast, having trained at Johns Hopkins, doing some of the first laparoscopic tubal ligations in the US, and serving on faculty at numerous academic institutions. He is retired and currently spends the majority of his time in Africa repairing rectovaginal fistulas." Read more about Dr. Wheeless's work in Africa.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
O'Nuallain Awarded NIH R21 Grant
Brian O'Nuallain, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine and the Human Immunology and Cancer Program (HICP) has been awarded a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award-R21 grant in the amount of $376,200 funded for the next two years. On the NIH web site, R21 grants are described as "intending to encourage exploratory/developmental research projects by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of development."
Dr. O'Nuallain's grant is entitled, "Primary Amyloidosis: Small Molecule Inhibitors of Light Chain Fibrillogenesis." Dr. James Neutens, Interim Dean of the UT Graduate School of Medicine, added, "We are very proud of Dr. O'Nuallain's accomplishments this year. We know that procuring NIH funding is very difficult which makes his accomplishment even that much more outstanding."
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
First Executive Dean to Lead UTHSC Medical Colleges Across State
A nationwide search culminated in the appointment of Steve J. Schwab, MD, as the first executive dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Medicine campuses. Reporting directly to the chancellor, Dr. Schwab will assume his role at UTHSC in late July and be located in Memphis. He will have overall administrative responsibility for the UTHSC College of Medicine campus locations in Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Deans located on each of these campuses will report to Dr. Schwab.
Serving as the most senior administrative leader for College of Medicine state-wide initiatives, such as the UT Cancer Institute and the UT Biodefense Network, Dr. Schwab will also work closely with the executive leadership of UTHSC's affiliated teaching hospitals.
"Dr. Schwab is joining Tennessee's flagship academic health center at a pivotal point in our history," said William F. Owen, Jr., MD, UTHSC chancellor. "We are challenged to meet inequities in access to healthcare, disparities in healthcare interventions and outcomes, not to mention escalating costs of healthcare endemic to our nation. With all of these opportunities as a backdrop, our mandate is to serve the entire state of Tennessee. Dr. Schwab brings extensive leadership experience that will enable us to achieve our mission of excellence in education, research, patient care and community service throughout the state."
Prior to joining UTHSC, Dr. Schwab served as interim dean and chief clinical officer of the Medical College of Georgia where he was also a Regents Professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine. Before that, from 1985 to 2003, he was at Duke University where he rose to become professor and vice chairman of medicine. He has held board positions in both the private and public sectors and currently serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation of Singapore and the National Renal Alliance.
Internationally recognized in the field of renal disease with more than 150 refereed publications and five books to his credit, he has presented his research nationally and across Europe and Asia. Dr. Schwab regularly reviews research for professional journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the American Journal of Medicine and the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. Currently, he is on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney International and Clinical Nephrology. Additionally, he has a substantial record of NIH funding in both single-center and multi-center clinical trials.
Attesting to his commitment to patient care is the fact that Dr. Schwab was selected for inclusion in Best Doctors in America and America's Top Doctors for the past 12 years. Certified in internal medicine and nephrology by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), Dr. Schwab served as a board member from 1996 to 2002. The ABIM sets the standards for and certifies the knowledge, skills and attitudes of physicians who practice internal medicine in the United States. He has been honored by the National Kidney Foundation, the American Heart Association and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Schwab's teaching expertise is evidenced by his winning the Duke University Eugene Stead Teaching Award.
A native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., he graduated from the University of Missouri School of Medicine, completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Kansas Hospitals and Clinics, and a fellowship in nephrology at the Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mo.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Special Seminar: Robin Trundy, Biological Safety Office, UTK, will present, "Biosafety Principles and Blood-Borne Pathogen Refresher 1." The seminar will be held Tuesday, May 16, from noon - 1:30 p.m. in the Morrison's Conference Room. This seminar is mandatory for all GSM investigators and technicians who handle human-derived materials (including cell lines).
Surgery Grand Rounds, Thursday, May 18, 2006 Robert J. Stratta, MD, Professor of General Surgery, Director of Transplantation, Wake Forest University, Baptist Medical Center, Winston, Salem, NC will speak at the Surgery Grand Rounds on Thursday, May 18, at 7:00 a.m. The title of Dr. Stratta's talk will be "Extended Donor Criteria Kidneys."
Everyone is invited to attend.
May 16, 2006 MRC Meeting Scheduled The next Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) meeting will be held Monday, May 22 at 6:00 p.m. in the Morrison's Conference Room at UT Medical Center. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a volunteer group of healthcare professionals and others who are organized in advance to respond to a mass casualty event that would overwhelm the standard resources that are currently in place. Please email Stephen A. Cole, MD, Assistant Director of the UT Knoxville MRC Unit, if you have questions or if you need further information.
May 2, 2006 O'Nuallain Receives Awards Brian O'Nuallain, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Human Immunology and Cancer Program (HICP) was recently awarded a 2006 Brian D. Novis Junior Research Grant from the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF). In 1994, the IMF established the Brian D. Novis Research Grant program to support both junior and senior investigators searching for the answers to better treatment,
management, prevention, and, ultimately, a cure for myeloma.
Dr. O'Nuallain's research grant is entitled, "A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Patients for Systemic Primary Amyloidosis: Identification of Drugs that Inhibit Light Chain Fibrosis." The grant award was presented at the IMF Scientific Advisors Meeting held in Atlanta, GA, December 2005.
The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) has also awarded Dr. O'Nuallain a 2006 Junior Faculty Travel Award. According to the AAI web site, this award is intended to assist young investigators with travel to attend the AAI annual meeting. Awardees are selected on the basis of career progress and abstract submission. Dr. O'Nuallain's abstract is entitled, "Diagnostic and Therapeutic Potential of Amyloid-Reactive IgG Antibodies Contained in Human Sera." The work is currently in press in the Journal of Immunology.
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine
Brian O'Nuallain, PhD, Assistant Professor, 
Brian O'Nuallain, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Human Immunology and Cancer Program (HICP) was recently awarded a 
