Mock Trial Huge Success
When the gavel fell to call the Wood Auditorium Courtroom to order recently, clinical research itself was on trial.  Plaintiff C.J. Craig hobbled to the witness stand to tell the jury of injuries she claimed were sustained when she agreed to take an experimental drug which Dr. Marcus Welby recommended. In a twist on real life, the TV characters were played by real doctors and nurses who are examined and cross-examined by real lawyers. 

Haralson Joins Dean's Office Staff
Cortni K. Haralson, MPH, recently joined the UTGSM Dean's Office as Data Manager. Her duties as Data Manager include collecting and monitoring data, developing databases, and creating reports as it relates to quality/performance improvement.

Haralson received her MPH from the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, School of Public Health, in Fort Worth, TX. She was previously employed at Wyle Laboratories at the Johnson Space Center/NASA in Houston, TX, before coming to Knoxville to join her husband, Raasaan, who is an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach with the UT football athletic staff.

Family Medicine Welcomes New Staff Members
The Department of Family Medicine recently added three new staff members:

• Tracey A. Bender, Billing Office
• Alicia A. Kirk, Front Desk Receptionist
• Sandra N. Velasquez, Family Medicine Clinic

Henderson Elected to Committee
Darla Henderson, RD, MPH, LDN, Nutritionist in the Department of Medical Genetics, recently was elected to serve on the nomination committee of the Dietetics in Developmental and Psychiatric Dietetics Practice Group, a subgroup of the American Dietetics Association.

Henderson also coordinated a clinical dietetics rotation for Courtney Howell, Dietetic Intern, University of Northern Colorado, as a student in their distance learning internship.  “Very few dietetic interns learn about inborn errors of metabolism because of the unique specificity of the field," said Henderson.

Kasper Receives APS Research Award
Sherry O. Kasper, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Shock Trauma & Nutrition Research Laboratories, Division of Surgical Research, has been awarded The American Physiological Society's (APS) Caroline tum Suden/Frances A. Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award in recognition of exemplary research. Dr. Kasper also received the Mead Johnson Research Award in Endocrinology and Metabolism for the best abstract in endocrinology and metabolism at the 2006 Experimental Biology Annual Scientific Meeting held in San Francisco, CA, April 1-5.

Dr. Kasper's paper entitled "Thermal injury induced insulin resistance is associated with the renin-angiotensin system (RAS)" was co-authored by Scott M. Castle, Brian J. Daley, Blaine L. Enderson and Michael D. Karlstad.

In a press release from the APS, Kasper explained that their research has honed in on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) as the key to preventing insulin resistance in burn injury. About 70% of serious burn victims develop insulin resistance, a condition marked by elevated levels of glucose and insulin. The researchers used Losartan, a drug which blocks renin-angiotensin system, to reverse the insulin resistance that accompanies burn injury in a rat model of third-degree burn. 

In fact, burn injury caused a substantial (124%) increase in the index of insulin resistance, while Losartan treatment completely reversed the effects of burn injury by returning the index of insulin resistance to normal levels.  Losartan is routinely given to patients to control high blood pressure and recently has been shown to reduce the chances of developing diabetes in the hypertensive population.  However, this study shows for the first time that renin-angiotensin system may be involved in the development of insulin resistance associated with injury.  This is an extremely exciting finding with many clinical possibilities for the treatment of burn injury.   

Read more about the study in a press release from The American Physiological Society.

Dr. Albert T. Ichiki's Life Celebrated at Memorial

Al Ichiki, PhD, Professor and Acting Chairman of the Department of Medical Genetics, was remembered in a memorial service on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 at UTGSM . Dr. Ichiki passed away suddenly while on vacation with his family in Sydney, Australia on March 23, 2006. He was remembered for his many accomplishments at the University of Tennessee including his research in erythropoietin, the K562 Cell, and the NASA SpaceLab Life Sciences Missions. He began his thirty-five year career with UT in 1971 as a Research Associate in the then, University of Tennessee Memorial Research Center. Dr. Ichiki published nine book chapters, over 40 journal articles, and presented over 120 presentations at scientific meetings all over the world.

Dr. Ichiki was also remembered as a wonderful teacher. He trained and mentored over fifty students through the graduate program in Comparative and Experimental Medicine at the University of TN College of Veterinary Medicine. Erich Baker, PhD, Baylor University, was one of Dr. Ichiki's former students who spoke at the memorial. Baker jokingly remarked, "Al always told me not to talk at meetings. 'Just keep your mouth shut and no one will know that you don't know what they are talking about,' Al would say."

At the memorial service, many of the speakers touched on Dr. Ichiki's passion for community service. He was on the Advisory Board of The Hope Center, Co-Founder and Past-President of AIDS Response Knoxville and a member of the National Minority AIDS Council. Jeannie Gillian, PhD, Director and founder of the Hope Center, said that Al was always there for those with HIV who needed someone. "Al never turned his back on the HIV population and was always there to co-facilitate the support groups," Gillian said. "It was so important for the participants in the support group to know that people in the community cared about them and Al definitely cared," she added.

Carmen Lozzio, MD, Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, said, "Dr. Ichiki was an 'Ambassador to the World' for the University of Tennessee. He will be missed by everyone who knew him."

Wolfenbarger Remembered
Dennis "Denny" Wolfenbarger, a long-time UTGSM staff member died on April 9th as a consequence of pulmonary fibrosis.   Denny, a retired City of Knoxville Fire Department Captain, was also a Certified Medical Technologist and began his employment on a part-time basis at UT Medical Center in 1977 working in the Hematology/Oncology Outpatient Clinic for Dr. Stephen Krauss and later with Dr. Al Biggs and Dr. Al Beasley.  In 1987, he joined the Human Immunology and Cancer Program (HICP). His major responsibility involved the preparation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies.  This work led to the discovery of an amyloid-reactive antibody that is currently being developed by the National Cancer Institute for clinical use. 

In 2002, Denny retired with many honors from the Knoxville Fire Department after 31 years of service and became a full-time employee at UTGSM. As head of the Hybridoma Laboratory, he assumed other duties including the development of experimental animal models and tumor lines used for amyloid and cancer research.  Denny was a loyal, dedicated, highly technically proficient member of the HICP and will be greatly missed by all that knew and worked with him. A memorial honoring Denny was held Wednesday, April 25th.

In Memoriam: Sheryl Minter
Sheryl A. Minter, Administrative Support Assistant in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology passed away suddenly on Thursday, April 6th. She was a member of the Department for 12 years. Sheryl’s husband, Arlie, is a surgical technician in the operating room at the UT Medical Center.  Sheryl was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother and was always concerned about the welfare of her children even in their adult years, giving them any help she could up to the time of her death. She will also be remembered for her love for her dog, "Buttercup."

"Sheryl had a keen sense of humor and remained upbeat and optimistic even during difficult times. She will be missed by everyone who knew her," said Dr. Jeffrey Keenan, Associate Professor, Department of Ob/Gyn.