UT Graduate School of Medicine News and Events

News Archives
May 2008 - June 2008

June 5, 2008
Medical Explorations Program Gives Students Glimpse of Medicine at an Early Age

A 17-year-old taking medical courses? You bet. In fact, there are many of them observing how physicians at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and UT Graduate School of Medicine reach excellence in medicine and provide the best in patient care.

Years ago, Mitchell Goldman, M.D., chair of the UT Graduate School of Medicine Department of Surgery, had just finished a presentation to a high school science class when he received a curious proposal from a 17-year-old: Be my mentor. The student making the proposal knew she wouldn’t be allowed to treat patients; she just wanted to start learning medicine by seeing physicians at work. And it didn’t stop there. Next the 17-year-old asked Goldman to start a medical education program for high school students. The student was Brooks Davis, a then-high school junior at West High School in Knoxville.

“At first I didn’t want to do it,” Goldman says. “Why would I or other medical professionals want high school students observing us, asking questions about our professions, asking how to do what we do? They wouldn’t treat patients, so what would they do? What about confidentiality? What if they get in the way? How can we possibly teach high school seniors?

“But then I thought, how can we not?”

Evolution of a Program

That was in 1991. The program, called Medical Explorations, reaches young students considering medical professions as a career. During the 17 years of the program’s existence, more than 300 high school seniors and college students have participated in the program. And as the state of Tennessee faces a physician shortage in the future, Medical Explorations nurtures a cohort of potential medical students who are at a critical decision point in their lives.

The program offers a fall term and a more intense summer term and provides experience in 26 areas of medicine.

Criteria for applying for admission to the Medical Explorations program include high school rising senior or above; interest in a medical career; GPA of 3.5 or higher; parent or guardian permission; and confidentiality training. 

The program is fully funded by donations from the community and individuals, which fund course materials and stipends for the students.  Students pay nothing—and in fact, receive small stipends—while participating.

“If we required tuition for the program, then only the kids who could afford it could apply,” says Goldman. “Many students must have an income during the summer, and we want anyone who is interested in a career in medicine to be able to apply.”

Through the Paces

“I will never forget walking out after the first lecture wondering who would be crazy enough to spend that much time and money on becoming a doctor,” says Sara Warfield, a current medical student and former Medical Explorations participant. “The next thing I knew, I was walking out thinking, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’ By the end of summer, I had fallen in love with medicine. Every doctor I encountered was so willing to answer my questions and showed me what being a good physician really means. I would come in early and leave when the doctor I was shadowing left. I didn’t want to miss a thing.”

The program accepts about 40 students each term. Because they are in the rigors of high school and college studies, the fall term consists of afternoon lectures only once a month, September through April. Topics include how to get into medical school, death and dying, and life as a medical student and resident physician.

Summer term, however, is intense. It is meant for the student who is serious about investigating medicine as a career. The program requires students to be on site from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, for six weeks during the summer. Students juggle homework, lectures, observing different medical specialties, and almost 20 reading assignments, including books on topics such as end-of-life decisions, becoming a doctor, and confidentiality.

“I’m not sure when I started thinking about a career in medicine,” says Brooks Davis-Hagee, the wise high school student who now is a practicing pediatrician, “but during the Medical Explorations program, I knew I wanted to become a physician. The program gave me a chance to learn about the demands of a medical career, much earlier than your average college student.”

A typical summer schedule might have a student learning about careers in anesthesia, general surgery, orthopedics, nursing, physical therapy, and OB/GYN while another student observes experts in pharmacy, hematology, vascular surgery, radiology, nephrology, and family medicine.

Lectures for the summer students run the gamut of medicine: from medical missionaries to malpractice, from indigent care to medical ethics, from doctor-patient relationships to multiculturalism, and more.

Big Decisions

“The program helps students make their career decisions, and they don’t always go into medicine,” Goldman says. “Sometimes they realize their calling is somewhere else. And this is a good thing.”

Why can’t 17-year-olds learn medicine? At the University of Tennessee Medical Center and UT Graduate School of Medicine, they can. They don’t get in the way. They don’t disrupt the clinic. They don’t jeopardize confidentiality. Instead, they choose career paths that point them toward becoming surgeons, pediatricians, EMTs, nurses, medical case managers, anesthesiologists, researchers, and hospital administrators…or English teachers, lawyers, accountants, and musicians.

And when their six weeks are up? Students leave with a certificate. And a clearer path to their futures.

Applications for summer term are accepted in mid-January each year, and students interesting in participating in the fall should call 865-305-9244. More information is available at http://gsm.utmck.edu/medexp.

June 4, 2008
New Protein Discovered by University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Scientists May Be Important Target for Cancer Therapy

Scientists in the Human Immunology and Cancer Program at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine have identified a structurally unique protein in dental and other epithelial cancers termed odontogentic ameloblast-associated protein (ODAM), a finding of potential diagnostic and therapeutic impact.  This study is featured in the May/June issue of Molecular Medicine.

This discovery emanated from the findings of Alan Solomon, M.D., Director, UT Graduate School of Medicine Human Immunology and Cancer/Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program, and his colleagues who found that amyloid associated with a rare dental tumor was composed of ODAM fragments. This was the first evidence for expression of this unusual protein.

Subsequently, Dr. Solomon’s team made antibodies to ODAM, as well as recombinant ODAM, and serendipitously found this molecule expressed not only in dental tumors but other epithelial cancers, including breast, gastrointestinal and lung.

Notably, patients with these malignancies were also found to have significant titers of anti-ODAM antibodies in their blood.

“This suggests some type of immune reaction against the tumor and that ODAM may be an important target for cancer therapy,” said Daniel Kestler, Ph.D., a lead researcher in this study.  “Our current efforts are directed toward delineating why ODAM is expressed in these cancers, as well as the function of this protein, its role in tumorogenesis and, especially, if it can serve as a novel tumor biomarker.”

Dr. Kestler and his colleagues believe that ODAM will prove important in the initiation and growth of epithelial cancers and the anti-ODAM immune response may have prognostic significance.

“This is an example of an academic medical center at its best: always working to find answers, new ways of studying a problem and new treatments, and then advancing these treatments more quickly to help people,” said James J. Neutens, Ph.D., FASHA, Dean, UT Graduate School of Medicine.

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system.  The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 11 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists.  The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area.  For more information about the UT Graduate School of Medicine, visit http://gsm.utmck.edu.

May 22, 2008
May Edition of The Scope Newsletter

Please read the latest edition of The Scope! Great things are happening at UTGSM.

May 22, 2008
University of Tennessee Research Suggests Antibody May Target the Primary Cause of Alzheimer's Disease

Researchers at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine have found that natural human antibodies in an antibody product bind to and possibly neutralize clusters of a protein fragment, called A-beta, which form brain plaques and are believed to be the primary culprit for Alzheimer’s disease. These findings could translate into new treatment for Alzheimer’s patients, possibly reversing the effects of the disease.

Brian O’Nuallain, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director, Small Molecule Therapeutics and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Labs, and Alan Solomon, M.D., Professor of Medicine, head of the Human Immunology and Cancer/Alzheimer’s Disease and Amyloid-Related Disorders Research Program, found that natural human antibodies in an FDA-approved intravenous antibody product, GAMMAGARD Liquid, produced by Baxter International Inc., bind to the abnormal A-beta protein clusters. These clusters abnormally accumulate and form sticky fibrils that attract various proteins, resulting in the development of plaques in brain tissue and toxic forms in brain fluid of Alzheimer’s disease patients. The accumulation of the A-beta protein clusters are believed to be the primary cause of the disease.

Antibodies are proteins in blood that produce immunity by attaching to foreign proteins and removing or neutralizing them.

“These initial findings are promising and warrant further investigations on the use of naturally occurring antibody as treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. O’Nuallain. “No cure exists that can halt or delay the brain deterioration associated with Alzheimer’s disease, but our findings show how the action of the antibody against multiple forms of the abnormal protein might protect the human brain from dementia and facilitate the development of treatment for patients.”

The study, funded by Baxter Bioscience, was recently reported at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Chicago.

Thirty-five academic medical centers in the U.S. soon will conduct a Phase III clinical study of GAMMAGARD Liquid for Alzheimer’s disease. The trial is sponsored jointly by the National Institutes of Health and Baxter Inc. and currently is being reviewed by the FDA with the intention of beginning patient recruitment later in 2008. For information about the clinical trial, visit the National Institutes of Health web site, www.nih.gov.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive and fatal brain disease and the most common form of dementia. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. One out of eight people age 65 and older have the disease, and the number of new cases per year is expected to grow to 454,000 by 2010. By 2010, the number of people age 65 and older with the disease could reach as high as 16 million.

In Tennessee alone, 120,000 people will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease by 2010. There are already 222,830 Alzheimer’s/dementia caregivers in the state who provide 192,346,581 hours of unpaid care per year, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system. The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 11 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists. The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area. For more information about the UT Graduate School of Medicine, visit http://gsm.utmck.edu.

May 15, 2008
University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine Professor Honored for Hematology Contributions Worldwide

Universityof Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine professor of medicine and chief of hematology/oncology recently received a Recognition ofContribution Award for his outstanding, worldwide contributions to the field of hemophilia in Cairo, Egypt.

Wahid T. Hanna, M.D., Professor, Dept. of Medicine, Chief, Hematology/Oncology Division, University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, and Director, East Tennessee Comprehensive Hemophilia Center, UT Medical Center, was presented the award by the World Federation of Hemophilia, Egyptian Society of Hemophilia and the Egyptian Ministry of Health.

Dr. Hanna has been involved in hematology/oncology research and the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases for 37 years.  He started his career at the UT Memorial Research Center, the predecessor to UT Medical Center, and joined the UT Graduate School of Medicine in 1980.

Hemophilia is a rare, inherited bleeding disorder in which blood does not clot normally and may cause excessive or internal bleeding. This internal bleeding can damage organs or tissues and, sometimes, be fatal. The East Tennessee Comprehensive Hemophilia Center, directed by Dr. Hanna and located at UT Medical Center, treats more than 200 patients suffering from hemophilia and other bleeding disorders, including platelet dysfunction and von Willebrand’s disease.

“The East Tennessee community is fortunate to have Dr. Hanna’s level of experience and expertise to help sufferers of hematologic diseases live healthier lives,” said James J. Neutens, Ph.D., FASHA, Dean, UT Graduate School of Medicine.

Dr. Hanna’s involvement in a collaborative program between UT Medical Center and Egypt began in 1995. Since that time, several new hemophilia treatment centers have been created in Egypt and the level of hemophilia care has improved tremendously.

The inception of the Twinning Program between Knoxville and Egypt began in 1999 as part of the World Federation of Hemophilia, an international organization based in Canada. The program is one of 25 worldwide.

In 2003, the Knoxville-Cairo partnership received the prestigious Twin of the Year Award for developing a National Patient Registry, which was presented in Tokyo at the World Congress of Hemophilia by the World Federation of Hemophilia.

The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville is part of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the statewide academic health system. The school is home to more than 200 teaching physicians and researchers; more than 190 medical and dental resident physicians in 11 residency and 11 fellowship programs; and more than 180 volunteer faculty physicians and dentists. The school, together with clinical partner, University Health System Inc., forms the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the only academic medical center in the area. For more information about the UT Graduate School of Medicine, visit http://gsm.utmck.edu.