Bridging Science, Health and Community

Upcoming 

February 2, 2016
Faculty Recognition Ceremony
College of Medicine Lobby & Gelb Auditorium | 5:00 p.m.

February 6, 2016
Renaissance Ball
Polo Club in Boca Raton | 6:30 p.m.

February 12, 2016
Medical Student and Resident Research and Scholarship Day
College of Medicine Lobby & Gelb Auditorium | 1:00 p.m.

March 18, 2016
Match Day 2016
Student Union and Live Oak Pavilion | 11:15 a.m.
 This & That
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In November, the Pediatric Interest Group organized a successful blood donation van, parked in lot 4 just outside the medical school building.  Thank you to all who participated in support of this excellent cause and thank you to our dedicated medical students.
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Nova Southeastern University Libraries is hosting "Power Publishing Workshops" on Jan. 28, 2016, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and is open to all FAU faculty, staff, and students, FREE of charge.
 
The workshops include:
  • How to Write a Technical Paper for Publication with IEEE
  • Crash Course into Open Access Publishing
  • How to Write and Publish a Case Study 
  • Workflow Tools for Discovery, Citation and Publication
For more information, email Amanda Chiplock or call her at (561) 297-4103.
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The Miami Winter Symposium on Inflammation will be held January 24-27, 2016, at the Hyatt Regency in Miami. Sessions will cover acute inflammation; cardiovascular and metabolic inflammation; neuroinflammation; cancer and inflammation and resolution of inflammation. A registration portal for Florida universities is available and discounted rates are available. The deadline for poster submission was November 9, but there are no late fees if you would still like to attend.
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Our new website has launched. Check it out here!  
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If your unit is planning an event, please contact Joanna Duran, Development and Special Events Coordinator, at [email protected] or (561) 297-2097.
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MedWrite

Do you need something with a logo printed or reprinted? Do you need an electronic invitation or web banner? Check out MedWrite for more information.
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Construction Progress: Work on the Windows and Doors


 
Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Florida Atlantic University
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, Florida 33431
[email protected]
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Top Neuroscientist to Lead New FAU Brain Institute
 
Randy Dean Blakely, Ph.D., an internationally renowned neuroscientist with expertise in synaptic molecular biology, neurotransmitter transporters, and human genetics, will join FAU in May 2016 as the founding Executive Director of the newly-formed FAU Brain Institute, with a primary appointment in the College of Medicine. Blakely comes to FAU from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine where he is currently the Allan D. Bass Professor of Pharmacology and serves as the Director of the Vanderbilt/National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Silvio O. Conte Center for Neuroscience Research, the Director of the Vanderbilt/NIMH Postdoctoral Training Program in Functional Neurogenomics, and as Professor of Psychiatry. He previously served as the Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Molecular Neuroscience from 1996 to 2011.
Study Shows 45 Percent Increase in Death by Law Enforcement
 
Joanna Drowos, D.O., M.P.H., M.B.A., and Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.PH., in conjunction with other colleagues, conducted an analyses of nationwide data on individuals who were killed as a result of legal intervention or law enforcement in the United States between 1999 and 2013.


Results from a 15-year period of data collection indicate a 45 percent increase mostly among non-whites. 96 percent of these deaths occurred among men, of which 78 percent occurred between the ages 15 and 44 years. From 1999 to 2013 in the United States, between 279 (in 2000) and 507 (in 2012) people were killed each year by legal intervention or law enforcement, excluding legal execution. In total, between the years of 1999 and 2013, legal intervention contributed to 5,511 deaths.
First-year Medical Student
Aims to Make an Impact
 
Benjamin R. Childs is a first-year medical student with an important mission. Before entering medical school, Benjamin was a real estate finance associate for Mass Mutual in New York, taught algebra at a public school in Harlem, and volunteered as an Emergency Medical 
Technician for the Central Park Medical Unit in New York. Since joining the medical school this year, Benjamin has co-authored three journal articles, publishing most recently in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma with the article, "Obesity and Longer Hospital Stays Following Orthopedic Trauma." Benjamin is in the United States Army and is enrolled in the Health Professions Scholarship Program where he will complete his military residency after he graduates with his medical degree in 2019. Benjamin will then spend four years as a military attending physician.
Honors & Awards
 
Breast Cancer Patients Benefit from
Reconstruction Advancements


Hilton Becker, M.D., a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and an affiliate professor, was recently interviewed by Local 10 news regarding the latest techniques and advances in surgical reconstruction of breasts following cancer removal.Dr. Becker developed a new procedure for breast reconstruction that is minimally invasive and spares the skin, nipple and areola.

 
Treatment for Eldery Depression

John W. Newcomer, M.D., and colleagues have provided doctors with a new tool to combat depression in older patients who do not respond well to typical front-line medications. "Depression, the clinical version John W. Newcomer that is beyond just feeling sad, the kind that saps a person's appetite and robs them of sleep, must be treated not to relief but remission or it will take hold again," Dr. Newcomer said. "Doctors most commonly attack the disorder in people 60 and older with an anti-depressant, but that works only about half the time." As a result, Dr. Newcomer and his colleagues sought to determine if adding a second drug, an anti-psychotic medication called aripiprazole sold under the brand name Abilify, would produce favorable results. While the drug combination has shown promise in younger patients, translating these results in older patients was not guaranteed.

 

From Boeing to Brookdale:
INTERACT Remakes Senior Living

The nation's largest senior living provider has been able to cut costs and improve resident wellness by implementing a seemingly simple innovation that the aviation industry pioneered 80 years ago.  Brookdale Senior Living in New York is the nation's largest owner and operator, and has managed to significantly cut costs and reduce hospitalizations from assisted living centers by utilizing a checklist tool known as INTERACT (Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers). INTERACT was developed by Joseph G. Ouslander, M.D., and his colleagues as a method for skilled nursing facilities to keep closer tabs on residents' conditions and result in fewer and more effective transfers into and out of facilities. Initial research has helped nursing homes achieve a 24% reduction in 30-day readmissions.


   
International Presentation
 
Joseph G. Ouslander, M.D., presented his research, 
The Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers 
(INTERACT) Quality Improvement Program: FutureDirections within Nursing -Home Health Information Technology at the 2nd Nursing Home Research International Working Group in Toulouse, France, which comprised of two full days of symposiums and presentations on December 2 and 3.