Archived News and Events - 2009
Siemens's Triple Modality Scanner Has Arrived
The Preclinical and Diagnostic Molecular Imaging Laboratory (PDMIL) took one small, one-ton step yesterday to progress research and education when it received a special delivery from Siemens. After more than nine months of anticipation, the Inveon, a state-of-the-art triple modality imaging machine that delivers PET, SPECT and CT imaging capabilities in a single system, has arrived.
Weighing more than 2,000 pounds with its components and casing, a team of engineers removed all casing from the Inveon to maneuver it through a doorway and down an elevator. The scanner is expected to be fully assembled by the end of the week.
The PDMIL received the scanner as part of its agreement with Siemens to be a luminary training site for Siemens customers.
The imaging laboratory is directed by Jonathan Wall, PhD, and staff include Stephen J. Kennel, PhD, radio-biochemist; Tina Richey, MS, animal model specialist and researcher; and Alan Stuckey, BA, CNMT, imaging specialist and facility manager. Staff assisted the Siemens installation team, which included Ron Wolfe and Dustin Osborne, who is also a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of Medicine.
The PDMIL is an imaging facility dedicated to the study of disease and the development and evaluation of novel treatments and diagnostic techniques.
Posted: September 30, 2009
UT Graduate School of Medicine Dietitian Receives American Dietetic Association's Highest Award
University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine registered dietitian Jane V. White has been named the 2009 recipient of the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award, the American Dietetic Association's (ADA) highest honor.
An emeritus professor in the department of Family Medicine, White is a national authority on improving elderly people's nutritional status and improving nutrition education in postgraduate medical education settings. She will receive the award Oct. 17 at the ADA's conference in Denver, Colo.
White has served as ADA's president; member and speaker of the House of Delegates; member of the Board of Directors of ADA and the American Dietetic Association Foundation; member and chair of ADA's Coding and Coverage Committee; member of ADA's Health Care Reform Task Force; and chair of ADA's Nutrition Screening Initiative and Physician Nutrition Education Project, among many other leadership positions. In 1996, she received ADA's Medallion Award for service to the Association and the dietetics profession. White is ADA's representative to the American Medical Association's Lifestyles Advisory Committee and the Relative Value Update Committee's Health Care Professional Advisory Committee, or RUC HCPAC.
White has worked at the University of Tennessee since 1975, beginning as a nutrition consultant to the department of Family Medicine. She developed a written curriculum in nutrition, one of the first in a family practice residency program. The curriculum served as a prototype for the first national nutrition curriculum developed by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, for which White was a principal contributor. White's work has been recognized as modeling the position of the registered dietitian as the nutrition expert working in tandem with the physician and the rest of the healthcare team.
White has written or co-authored chapters in more than a dozen books and nearly 50 peer-reviewed journal articles on the role of nutrition in disease management and health care. In her lengthy association with the Boy Scouts of America, White has been an Assistant Scout Master and member of the Executive Committee of the Great Smoky Mountain Council; received the council's Silver Beaver Award; and holds the Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow, the Boy Scouts' honor society.
White is a graduate of St. Mary's Dominican College, interned at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and earned a doctorate from the University of Tennessee.
The ADA's Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award is named for an early 20th-century pioneer in dietetics who was recognized by the British and French governments for her service in World War I and was chief dietitian at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. After her death, a gift from her husband to ADA established the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award in her honor.
The American Dietetic Association is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA is committed to improving the nation's health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. Visit the American Dietetic Association at www.eatright.org.
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 mission of the UT Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care and public service. The Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville 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., form 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.
Posted: September 29, 2009
Carlson Chairs OMFS Residency Review Committee
Eric Carlson, MD, DMD, Professor, Chair and Resident Program Director, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, was appointed to chair the OMFS Residency Review Committee for the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation. Dr. Carlson will serve a four-year term through 2013. The resident review committee reviews the national program guidelines and regulations for accreditation.
Dr. Carlson has been chair of OMFS since 2002 and published more than 20 articles during the past 10 years.
Posted: September 29, 2009
Regal Foundation Supports Pulmonary Disease Fellowship
The UT Graduate School of Medicine Pulmonary Disease Fellowship program received $1 million in grant money from the Regal Foundation and Will Rogers Institute to expand research and types of treatments physicians can learn during fellowship training.
The two-year Pulmonary Disease Fellowship Program, directed by Tina Dudney, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Chief of Pulmonary Medicine/Critical Care Medicine, began in 2008 and provides physicians comprehensive education covering all pulmonary disorders at a tertiary referral center serving the entire East Tennessee region.
The grant money was awarded to the University of Tennessee Medical Center as part of a $3 million grant allocated equally among three Knoxville-area hospitals to benefit pulmonary care.
The Regal Foundation partnered with the Will Rogers Institute to support local hospitals which focus on medical research, education and treatment of pulmonary disease. Read news coverage of the grant from the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Posted: September 24, 2009
Preston Medical Library Marks 20th Year of Providing Free Health Information to Community
Gain knowledge. Reduce stress. Improve communication with your physician. You might not think a medical library could help its patrons accomplish these goals, but for 20 years, Preston Medical Library has done just that, and in October, they can teach you how.
Preston Medical Library at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine sometimes surprises people. Of course, the library has a wide variety of medical resources for physicians' research. The librarians are specially trained, and Preston has been a valued resource for the medical community for more than 40 years.
But Preston also offers the unexpected: a service free of charge to us all, the Consumer and Patient Health Information Service. For 20 years, Preston has been providing health information to families, patients and anyone in the community, state and country, free of charge. The information is as close as a telephone or computer. And the best part is that it is reliable, up to date and easy to understand.
"We recently asked about 300 people in the community who have used our health information service if it was valuable to them," said Sandy Oelschlegel, Library Director. "What we learned is that the service has been much more than just a source of information."
Users of the Consumer and Patient Health Information Service reported their own stress levels and those of their families were reduced by the information they received from Preston Medical Library. More than 90 percent said they had gained knowledge they could easily understand, and perhaps most importantly, almost 85 percent said the information they received from Preston helped them communicate with their health care providers.
"An important benefit of the service is that people can gather information about their health concerns and be able to have more productive relationships with their physicians," said Oelschlegel. "The information is not medical advice; that comes from health care providers. The information we provide helps people understand their conditions, so they feel more confident asking questions of their health care providers."
Oelschlegel estimates that over the 20 years of providing the Consumer and Patient Health Information Service, more than 4,000 patients, family members and others have taken advantage of the resource. "And we see only a growth of the service in the future," she said. "People are learning that they must be their own healthcare advocates, and Preston Medical Library is here to help them do that."
To use the Consumer and Patient Health Information Service, call, e-mail or visit Preston Medical Library, located on the campus with University of Tennessee Medical Center: 865-305-9525, library@utmck.edu. A medical librarian will make note of your health question and do research for you. In a day or two, you will receive the information through the mail or via e-mail.
Preston Medical Library also helps people learn how to access trustworthy health information from the internet. In celebration of Medical Librarians Month in October, the librarians will teach two, free classes on Oct. 5 and 7, at the library. Anyone in the community is invited to attend. To reserve a seat and for more information, simply call 865-305-8777.
The Consumer and Patient Health Information Service is funded by grateful patients, members of the community and grants, which provide the cost of materials, mailing and resource books, as well as educational outreach programs offered to community groups.
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 mission of the UT Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care and public service. The Graduate School of Medicine in Knoxville 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., form 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.
Posted: September 24, 2009
Researchers Granted Patent for Amyloidosis Diagnosis and Treatment
Alan Solomon, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Human Immunology and Cancer Program; Jonathan Wall, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Human Immunology and Cancer Program and Director of the Preclinical and Diagnostic Molecular Imaging Laboratory; and their co-investigators at the UT Graduate School of Medicine were recently granted a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office entitled, "Methods of Investigating, Diagnosing and Treating Amyloidosis."
Amyloidosis is a condition in which certain proteins form abnormal fibrils that can cause irreversible damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, pancreas or other vital organs; these deposits are found in Alzheimer's disease, diabetes and disorders associated with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and the aging process. Specifically, one part of their invention describes a therapeutic method to dissolve amyloid from tissue through use of a special fibril-based vaccine that would stimulate a patient's immune system to form antibodies that eliminate this material from the body. The patent also includes a unique transgenic experimental animal model of a particular kind of amyloid that can be used to evaluate agents designed to prevent or treat this illness, as well as diagnostic assays to monitor amyloid formation. Finally, another part of the patent involves the precise chemical identification of the amyloid type. This information is essential for determination of prognosis and proper treatment. Drs. Solomon and Wall trust that this patent will generate interest from a pharmaceutical company that will provide the means to translate these encouraging experimental findings to the clinic and patient care. Read full details of the patent on the USPTO Web site.
Patents are awarded for unique technologies and ideas and serve to protect inventions that can benefit society. The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) supports the patent process for UT inventions.
Posted: September 23, 2009
Record-Breaking Attendance at Heart, Lung, Vascular Conference
A record-breaking number of primary care physicians and others attended the annual Heart, Lung, Vascular Conference, Sept. 11-12. These physicians took advantage of the CME opportunity and earned 11.5 credits while learning about diagnosing and treating vascular disease. Presenters described tools and treatments, including echocardiography, PET and CT, robotically assisted cardiac surgery, angiographies, blood pressure control, therapy for atrial fibrillation patients, and many more advancements in the fight against vascular disease.
Featured speaker was Thomas Giles, MD, Professor of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Louisiana, who was joined by expert UT faculty.
The HLV Conference was offered by the UT Graduate School of Medicine and Internal Medicine.
Learn more about Graduate School of Medicine CME activities.
Posted: September 23, 2009
Rasnake to Discuss Pandemic Flu at UT Science Forum October 2
The University of Tennessee Science Forum will host a special program, "Pandemic Flu — Poultry, Pigs and People," presented by Mark Rasnake, MD, Internal Medicine Residency Program Director and Associate Professor of Medicine. Dr. Rasnake also specializes in Infectious Diseases at University of Tennessee Medical Center.
The Forum will be held Oct. 2, 12-1 p.m., Thompson-Boling Arena Dining Room C-D, UT, Knoxville. The Forum is free and lunch is welcome. For more information visit www.utk.edu/scienceforum or contact Mark Littmann at 974-8156.
Posted: September 21, 2009
The Scope Has the GSM Mission in Focus
At the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine, excellence in education, research, patient care and service are at the epicenter of everything we do. Learn more about innovative research culminating in grants, a patent and clinical trial; grants to support pulmonary disease education; new surgical procedures; and leadership on national boards in The Scope September 2009 issue.
Posted: September 21, 2009
Family Medicine Fellowships Offer Specialized Training, Application Deadlines Coming Soon
Family Medicine at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine offers advanced fellowship training in several programs including Sports Medicine and Behavioral Medicine, which are now accepting applications. Physicians who have graduated from a family practice residency program are eligible to apply.
The Sports Medicine program is directed by Kenneth Bielak, MD, and offers a wide spectrum of experiences designed to prepare the fellow for a clinical or an academic career. Responsibilities of the fellow include academic presentations and publications and care of preadolescent, high school, collegiate Division I and Division II, recreational and professional athletes. Learn more about the Sports Medicine Fellowship and apply by Sept. 18.
The Behavioral Medicine Fellowship is directed by Steven Spalding, MD, in conjunction with Cherokee Health Systems. The fellow will develop clinical skills in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of the majority of behavioral health problems as they present in the primary care setting. Learn more about the Behavioral Medicine Fellowship and apply by Dec. 1.
The Department of Family Medicine serves the people of East Tennessee by selecting and educating competent, caring physicians to provide optimal, affordable health care for all members of the family. Learn more about all of the resident and fellowship training programs offered.
Posted: September 15, 2009
Physicians Determine OTC Ovulation Prediction Device Instructions Too Complicated
Women trying to get pregnant may have difficulty understanding instructions accompanying over-the-counter ovulation prediction devices. A study conducted by Virginia Homewood, MD, Resident, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Nikki Zite, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Lorraine Wallace, PhD, Associate Professor, Family Medicine, found that the instructions accompanying many OTC devices are written above the recommended sixth-grade reading level. Learn more about their study, published in the August 2009 issue of The Journal of Reproductive Medicine.
Posted: September 11, 2009
Seminar to Address Lung Cancer Origins and Translation to the Clinic
The University of Tennessee Comparative and Experimental Medicine Seminar Series will continue Monday, Sept. 14, with "Molecular Pathogenesis of Lung Cancer with Translation to the Clinic," presented by John Minna, MD, Professor, Internal Medicine and Pharmacology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center; Director, Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research; Director, W. A. "Tex" and Deborah Moncrief, Jr. Center for Cancer Genetics; The Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research; The Max L. Thomas Distinguished Chair in Molecular Pulmonary Oncology.
The seminar will be held from 2-3 p.m. in room A118 of the Veterinary Medicine Building, UT, Knoxville.
Posted: September 8, 2009
Surgery Grand Rounds Discuss Leadership
The next Surgery Grand Rounds meeting will feature guest speaker J. Patrick O'Leary, MD, Executive Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Assistant Vice President for Strategic Development at Florida International University College of Medicine, Miami, Fla., and Professor and Chairman Emeritus, Department of Surgery, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, La., presenting "Leadership: A Personal Perspective," Sept. 10, 7 a.m., Morrison's Conference Center.
Posted: September 8, 2009
Study Finds Palliative Care Information on Web Sites Not User-Friendly
End-of-life care decisions can be difficult no matter the circumstances and understanding avialable options is important. Today, many people turn to the internet for information. Lorriane Wallace, PhD, Associate Professor, Family Medicine, and Kevin Ache, DO, Family Medicine Resident Alumnus, evaluated patient education resources from the Web sites of five national palliative care organizations to determine their readability user-friendliness. Find the results of their study, "Are End-of-Life Patient Education Materials Readable," published in Palliative Medicine.
Posted: September 3, 2009
New GSM Faculty Bring GSM Experience
The University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine recently welcomed several new faculty members, each with previous experience supporting its programs and missions.
Jonathan Bradshaw, DDS, Instructor, General Dentistry
Dr. Bradshaw graduated from the General Dentistry Residency Program in 2009.
Carol Ellis, MD, Assistant Professor, Medicine
Dr. Ellis was a previous faculty member.
Heather Moss, MD, Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Moss was a previous volunteer faculty member.
Jaclyn Van Nes, MD, Instructor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dr. Van Nes was a previous volunteer faculty member.
Wesley White, MD, Instructor, Surgery
Dr. White graduated from the Urology Residency Program in 2008.
Demetria Yarbrough, MD, Instructor, Medicine
Dr. Yarbrough graduated from the Medicine Residency Program in 2009.
Posted: September 2, 2009
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