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USF Health Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine Newsletter
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In Memoriam |
It is with great sadness that we announce that ID physician and prominent HIV researcher and past faculty member Dr. Jeffrey Nadler passed away last weekend after a long illness.
A memorial is set for:
1 PM on Saturday, December 4, 2010
Friends Meeting House
130 19th Avenue Southeast
St. Petersburg, FL
His wife, Connie Price Nadler, has requested that in lieu of flowers that one direct donations to:
- Partners in Health for Care in Haiti (www.pih.org)
- American Friends Service Committee (www.afsc.org), or
- The Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, one of the CHART family sites (www.SVYM.net) where Balu, Bindu and their doctors run hospitals, clinics and schools in Southern India. We were always delighted to support them.
The St. Petersburg Times recently published an article highlighting the important research and work Dr. Nadler contributed to research and medicine. Please click here to read the article.We established a web site in his honor where users can write condolences, life stories, and memories as well as upload photos of Dr. Nadler. Please share with those who knew him so all have a means of sharing their thoughts, prayers, and memories. Please click here to visit the memorial site. |
| Creative Educational Models |
Name change: The College of Medicine, Office of International Affairs is now USF Medicine International. Drs. Sinnott, Oehler, Toney and Ubillos have collaborated with Triax Pharmaceuticals to develop podcasts for the division as learning tools for physicians, fellows and students. The first podcast in the educational series can be seen here. Dr. Oehler's new podcast, "What's in the Sanford Guide," a how-to guide for accessing "the Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy," perhaps the most widely read infectious diseases reference in publication today, premiers on ID Podcasts.net this month. Working closely with Mr. Jeb Sanford, editor of the Sanford Guide, Dr. Oehler put together a concise, guided video tour of the book to enable ID specialists and other clinicians to get the most out of this popular pocket guide. Click here to view the podcast. The Division is pleased to announce the release of version 2.0 of IDPodcasts Mobile Viewer, one of the first infectious diseases applications ever developed for the iPad. It is the first iPad compatible universal application developed by the division and the first iPad application developed within the State University System. Click here to download the app today! |
| International Prominence | |
Thailand Awards
Dean Klasko, MD, Associate Dean Dr Sinnott, MD, FACP and Dr.Somboonwit MD, FACP were invited as guest lecturers to speak at the 2nd Annual International Medical Summit in Bangkok, Thailand. Dean Klasko delievered an address on personalized medicine, Dr. Sinnott spoke on global warming and infectious diseases and Dr. Somboonwit delivered an elegant HIV update.
Drs. Klasko, Sinnott and Somboonwitwere presented awards for their work in Global Medicine from the SWU School of Medicine and the Medical Association of Thailand.
USF has been affiliated with SWU for the last two years and has exchanged students and faculty.
2010 International Medical Summit in Bangkok, Thailand
2010 International Medical Summit Bangkok, Thailand
Dr. Somboonwit and Dr. Sinnott
Dean Klasko, USF and Dean Somkia, SWU
China Collaborations
As a follow-up to the recent Gansu hospital administrator training at USF, USF faculty visited Lanzhou in Gansu Province, China and met with the Director and Deputy Director of the Gansu Health Department, Presidents and senior management from five major hospitals.
Drs. Sinnott and Menezes traveled with Dr. Dianne Morrison-Beedy, Dean of Nursing, Dr. Yiliang Zhu, Professor and Director, Center for Collaborative Research, Dr. Lewis Rubin, Chief of Neonatology and Mr. John Ekarius, Chief Administrative Liason to USF Health. In Zhenjiang, the USF Health team met with officials from Jiangsu University including Professor Xu, Huaxi, Vice President, Professor Zhu Lixin, Vice Dean, School of Medicine, Professor, Zhou Hong, Vice Dean, School of Basic Medical Science and Professor Luo Ying, Director, International Office, and Me Li, Deputy Secretary. The purpose was to explore mutual interests in faculty and student exchange in the areas of research, education and training. At the end of the discussions, an agreement of collaboration was signed between the two Universities to cement this new partnership and set the stage for the exchange of trainers and faculty.
Areas that the USF- Gansu partnership agreed to work on were additional hospital administrator trainings, short-term and long-term subspecialty trainings, particularly NICU training, assistance in epidemiological oncology research, translation of infectious disease podcasts into Chinese, faculty and student exchange and other collaborative research.
Drs. Zhu and Menezes conducted a research methods and ethics workshop in Gansu Tumor Hospital where more than 100 physicians, nurses, researchers, and post graduate students participated.
Mr. Ekarius, Dr. Lynette Menezes, Dr. Morrison-Beedy, Qiang Li, Dr. Sinnott, Dr. Guo, Dr. Zhu, Mr. Go
Minister of Medical Education in Maharashtra, India asks USF to Explore the Development of an Infectious Disease Degree Program and Institute
Dr. Menezes, Director of Medicine International, met with Dr. Vijaykumar Gavit, the Maharashtra Minister of Medical Education and Research in Mumbai, India to discuss the establishment of a post graduate training in Infectious Disease (ID) in the state of Maharashtra. The training development is part of an ongoing collaboration with the Directorate of Medical Education (DMER) in Maharashtra.
Currently, sub-specialty training in infectious disease is not available through the Medical Council of India. USF's Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine has a strong ID fellowship training program, having graduated more than 95 fellows since 1982. The Division would be an ideal capacity building partner as Maharashtra begins the process of starting this much needed training.
Further discussion resulted in the need for an Infectious Disease Institute as well as incorporation of ID units and isolation rooms in J J Hospital, Mumbai city's largest public and teaching hospital. Minister Gavit reiterated that medical graduates from the city's colleges are not able to recognize infectious diseases early and treat appropriately. Offering both a diploma and degree in Infectious Disease would arm doctors with better skills and knowledge related to ID, thus reducing morbidity and mortality due to infectious disease.
In addition to the tropical infectious diseases that plague the state of Maharashtra, Minister Gavit was keen on focusing on HIV, TB, influenza, hepatitis and sepsis.
Other distinguished participants at the meeting included Mr. Milind Mhaiskar, Secretary of Medical Education and Research, Dr. Tayade, Director of DMER, Dr. Lahani, Dean of Grant Medical College (GMC) and Dr. Ameeta Joshi, Chief of Microbiology, GMC.
The meeting concluded with Dr. Joshi and Dean Lahani taking the responsibility to work collaboratively with Dr. Menezes and USF ID faculty in preparing a proposal for managing infectious diseases in J J Hospital and developing an ID training program.
From Left to Right: Dr. Joshi, Chief of Microbiology, GMC; Dr. Menezes; Minister, Dr. Gavit;
Mr. Mhaiskar, Secretary of Medical Education and Research; Dr. Tayade, Director DMER;
Mr. Savade; Dr. Lahani Dean GMC & J J Hospital
Dr. Menezes is welcomed by Dr. Gavit |
| Entrepreneurial Models |
We are currently beginning the development of a shared image library with SWU University. The image library will be a valuable teaching and educational resource and will be multi-lingual including; English, Thai, and Spanish captions.
The division received a pharmaceutical grant for the electronic development of educational podcasts.
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| Research |
Dr. Somboonwit recently began a pneumococcal study at Tampa General Hospital
Dr. Sinnott traveled to Hong Kong for a poster presentation on Vaccination Rates and the Elderly.
Dr. John Sinnott
Grants
The Division successfully competed for a 1.6 Million HRSA Grant to establish a Hepatitis C Treatment Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center. Please click here to read the full press release.
Dr. Tiffany Chenneville (PI) from Pediatrics and Dr. Lynette Menezes were recently awarded an NIH grant titled "Enhancing NIH Supported Health Research in Gujarat, India" to develop and improve existing human subject research related ethics procedures and protocols at Medical College Baroda and Government Medical College Surat, Gujarat, India. Dr. R.K. Baxi (India PI) and Dr. Jayesh Kosambiya will be the investigators from the Indian side.
Scientific Update
Some of the most recent news in Infectious Disease include the following articles, please click on the article title below to read them in their entirety. Treatment of infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant gram-positive bacteria: Click here to read the full report. CDC Panel Recommends Meninigitis Booster Vaccine for Adolescents: Click here to read the full article. Acute Mastoiditis in Children: A Retrospective Study of 188 Patients: Click here to read the full article. |
| Faculty News |
The Division welcomes Carlos Callegari, MD and founding Director of the International Academy of Medicine, USF Medicine International.. Dr. Todd Wills was quoted in CQ Healthbeat News regarding HIV and the importance of early treatment therapy:
CQ HEALTHBEAT NEWS
Washington Turning Its Back on Thousands in Need of AIDS Drugs,
Advocates Say
By John Reichard, CQ HealthBeat Editor
The waiting list for the federal-state AIDS medications program is
growing by 100 people per week in Florida alone and has climbed to more
than 3,000 nationally, speakers said at a Capitol Hill forum Thursday.
Yet lawmakers haven't agreed on a bill to add $126 million to eliminate
the backlog, and the Obama administration has kicked in only $25 million
to address the issue, they said."People are not hearing enough about how this program needs to besaved," Anne Lefert, associate government relations director for theNational Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, told the
forum. The program is intended to ensure that no HIV-positive American
goes without AIDS medications.
The event was organized by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation,
the Community Access National Network and the AIDS Drug Assistance
Program's Advocacy Association. Various drug companies and the AIDS
Institute, a nonprofit group that sponsors policy research and advocacy
programs, paid for the event.
A Florida doctor emphasized the importance of people getting on
medications quickly after being diagnosed with HIV. "Discontinuing
antiretroviral therapy or using it intermittently is unsafe," said
physician, Todd Wills of the Hillborough County Health Department in
Tampa."Not only does interrupting or stopping antiretroviral therapy imperil the health of the person with HIV, it also increases the odds that theywill transmit the virus to others, Wills said. He added that there is a
two-to-five times greater likelihood of transmitting HIV to others if
one's viral load is not suppressed."
Funding by the Centers for Disease Control to increase testing to
determine HIV status is on the rise but people aren't motivated to learn
that status if comprehensive treatment isn't available, Wills added.
Waiting lists are growing for a variety of reasons, including the
increase in the number of people losing their jobs and their health
insurance. The economic downturn has affected state funding. Meanwhile
federal funding of AIDS Drug Assistance Programs has stayed flat in
recent years as more people got tested, learned they were HIV positive,
and turned to ADAP for access.
Dr. John Toney was a guest speaker on the Focus on Females Radio Healthcare Clinic show to discuss Sexually Transmitted Infections. Click here to listen to the podcast.
Additionally, Dr. Beata Casanas was a guest speaker on the Focus on Females Radio Healthcare Clinic show to discuss"Tuberculosis the Looming (Secret) Epidemic". Click here to listen to the podcast.
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| Announcements |
As an innovator in infectious disease prevention and patient safety, the Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine is instituting high-tech, fluid repellant Vestex™ lab coats for its physicians and advanced clinical staff. Engineered as a first line of defense against blood and other bodily fluids, Vestex will help prevent contamination of clothing in health care settings. USF ID is the first entire ID division to incorporate the new lab coat technology for every day use.
This is an obvious in our goal to be an internationally outstanding academic center and resource for infectious disease identification, prevention and treatment issues. Developed by Orlando-based Vestagen Technical Textiles, Vestex uses exclusively licensed and patented technology to repel blood and bodily fluids, wick away perspiration, guard against degradation from microorganisms, and control odors. The innovative, nanotechnology-based textile helps prevent contamination of the clothing while keeping the wearer clean, cool and dry. President & CEO of Vestagen Ben Favret, Dr. Sandra Gompf, and Dr. John Sinnott
USF Infectious Disease Faculty from left to right:Linda Lennerth, MSN,RN, Dr. Somboonwit, Dr. Heinzel, Gina Taylor, LPN, Dr. Oehler, Dr. Sinnott, Dr. Casanas, Dr. Haight, Dr. Amuso, Dr. Alrabaa, Dr. Hannah, Dr. Velez, Dr. Montero, and Dr. Holt Associate Director. |
| Upcoming Events |
USF Medicine International will have a booth at the USF Foundation Benefactors and Breakthroughs event on Wednesday, December 8th. At the event ID physicians will discuss a range of medical topics with physicians and medical students from around the globe via Skype. |
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Warmly,
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Our mission is to be an internationally outstanding
academic center. We conduct research, analyze policy, deliver clinical
care and provide training to healthcare providers locally,
nationally & internationally. Our goal is to be a resource for
infectious disease identification, prevention & treatment issues.
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