Dr. Reath Elected to Board of Plastic Surgery Association
David B. Reath, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, has been elected to the twenty-member Board of Directors of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The ASPS is the world's largest plastic surgery association and boasts a membership of over 6,000 board-certified plastic surgeons.

Dr. Reath took office at the ASPS Annual Meeting, Plastic Surgery 2006, held in San Francisco, CA, October 6-11, 2006. He represents the Council of State Societies, on which he has served as the Tennessee representative for the last five years. Working with other plastic surgery leaders on the ASPS Board of Directors, Dr. Reath will be involved in strategic planning as well as continuing to provide its members with the tools for best practices in plastic surgery.

Dr. Mitchell Goldman, Chairman, Department of Surgery said, "We are proud that Dr. Reath was elected to the ASPS Board of Directors. He is known for his great skill as a plastic surgeon and his unswerving support of the UT Graduate School of Medicine and the Department of Surgery." Dr. Reath has been a faculty member in the department since 1986.

Phipps Wins Award at Amyloid Meeting
Jonathan E. Phipps, Graduate Student, UT Comparative and Experimental Medicine Program, was recently awarded a certificate for "Best Student Presentation" by the International Amyloid Society at the XIth International Symposium on Amyloidosis. The symposium was held November 5-9, 2006, on the Cape Cod seashore at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. 

The title of Phipps' presentation was "In vitro Silencing of the Amyloidogenic Vl6 Light Chain: Wil." The paper was co-authored by Foster JS, Kestler D, Solomon A and Wall JS.

Jonathan S. Wall, PhD, Associate Professor, Human Immunology and Cancer Research Program, said, "This is a tremendous honor for Jonathan. Typically this symposium draws the best and brightest in the field of amyloid research from around the world." Dr. Wall serves as mentor to Phipps.

Elder Steps Down As Chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Robert F. Elder, MD, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, announced his decision to step down as chairman. He has held the position of Chairman for seven years.

Dr. Elder has accepted a position with the University Health Systems (UHS) to serve as Medical Director of the UT Center for Women and Children's Health. Dr. Elder helped lead the creation of the Center and has been a co-medical director of the business development strategy. In his role as Medical Director, Dr. Elder's responsibilities include the development of a physician strategy of growth for the service line, coordinate outreach activities, develop grant requests for women's health, and integrate women's health strategies with other service lines. He will also serve as Chairman for the Women's Health Strategic Planning Committee.

Dr. Elder will maintain his faculty position in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in order to continue teaching residents and students. He will also continue to serve as Interim Chairman until a new chair is selected.

Dr. Elder earned his BS in Pharmacy at the UT College of Pharmacy before attending medical school at East Tennessee State University College of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency training at the UT Center Health Science Center in Memphis. Dr. Elder has received several faculty teaching awards and is well recognized as an obstetrician-gynecologist in our community. He is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a member of several professional societies.

Dr. James J. Neutens, Interim Dean, UT Graduate School of Medicine, said, "We all wish Bob well in his new assignment and thank him for his many contributions over the years."

Erdem Receives Straumann Resident Scientific Presentation Award
N. Fazil Erdem,BDS, Intern, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, was recently named one of two recipients of the 2006 Straumann Resident Scientific Presentation Award for his paper entitled “Characterization of Three Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell Lines with Different Invasion and/or Metastatic Potentials.” This award carried a prize of $2000 and was presented to the resident whose work “demonstrates high standards of research in the advancement of oral and maxillofacial surgery”.

Dr. Erdem’s award was presented on October 4, 2006 in conjunction with the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) 88th Annual Meeting in San Diego, California. He also presented an abstract of the paper at the meeting. Dr. Erdem accepted his prize from Lee D. Pollan, DMD, MS, President-Elect of the AAOMS.

Third Annual Hematology Conference Set for January 20, 2007
Register today for the Third Annual Hematology Conference: "An Update on Selected ASH Topics." This conference is a follow-up to the American Society of Hematology (ASH) International Conference, to be held December 9-12, 2006, in Orlando, FL. The UT conference is set for Saturday, January 20, 2007, at UT Conference Center.

Five distinguished speakers from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center will present information on study results in patients with hemostasis/thrombosis, myeloma, lymphoma, leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. Registration and CME credits/CEU's are free for those who register by January 19, 2007. Visit this convenient link for more information and details on this event or call the Office of Continuing Education at 865-305-9190. The conference is directed by Wahid Hanna, MD, and is sponsored by UTGSM.

Long-term Survival To Be Discussed at March 2007 Diabetes Conference
More than 18 million Americans have diabetes; 13 million have been diagnosed. In Tennessee, close to 400,000 people have diagnosed diabetes, and the disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the state. This prevalence and long-term outlook can be modified using preventive education and motivation of patients and a team approach to managing diabetes.

Join colleagues to discuss these issues at the March 10, 2007, CME conference, "Advancing Knowledge and Skill in Diabetes Management." Register now for this invaluable conference—the only one of its kind in the region—designed for all members of a patient’s diabetes-management team. Call or email the CME office at 865-305-9190 for more information.

Women’s Health is Focus of Frontiers
The fourth quarter 2006 edition of Frontiers magazine, a quarterly publication for alumni and friends, produced by UT Medical Center and UTGSM, is now available on newsstands and online.

This edition focuses on women’s health and features UTGSM’s involvement in designing the new Clinical Breast Examiner Certification course; UTGSM’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, highlighting the department's chief resident, Jessica Lemmons, MD, as well as study results on women’s level of health literacy. For more information or to request a copy, contact UTGSM at 305-9190.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Topic of Alley Lecture
The UTGSM and the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery presented the 2006 Dr. R. Ben Alley Endowed Lecture Series entitled, "The Surgical Correction of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome and Other Applications of Orthognathic Surgery in 2006," on November 11, 2006. Scott B. Boyd, DDS, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was guest speaker for the conference. The meeting was directed by Eric Carlson, DMD, MD, Professor and Chairman, UTGSM Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

The biennial Dr. R. Ben Alley Lecture Series is made possible through an endowment fund established by Dr. Alley’s family, colleagues, patients and friends as a memorial to one of the University of Tennessee’s most esteemed and beloved faculty members and surgeons.

Pictured above left to right are: Rick Giecek, UHS Chief Development Officer; Mrs. Helen Alley; David Alley; Dr. Scott Boyd; Dr. Bob Alley and Dr. Eric Carlson.

CVD Risk Assessment Studied at November Dean’s Grand Rounds
The UTGSM Office of the Dean welcomed Thomas Barringer, MD, MS, as presenter at the November 8 CME/CEU-certified Dean’s Multi-Disciplinary Grand Rounds session. Dr. Barringer presented “Using Vascular Imaging to Enhance CVD Risk Assessment.” He explained current vascular imaging modalities ready for clinical use, how to interpret CT coronary artery calcium scores and carotid intima- media thickness (IMT) results. Dr. Barringer is Associate Professor, Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Medical Director, Center for Cardiovascular Health.

Harvard Surgeon Speaks at Dean’s Grand Rounds
On September 20, 2006, Bonnie L. Padwa, DMD, MD, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital (Boston) Division of Plastic and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, presented “Current Concepts in Distraction Osteogenesis in Craniofacial Surgery” as part of the Dean’s Multi-Disciplinary Grand Rounds series. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons, physicians and other medical professionals learned about distraction osteogenesis for correction of facial skeletal syndromes and less invasive techniques for treating the disorder.

This lecture was sponsored by the UTGSM Office of the Dean and Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.