Category Archives: Medical School

ALEXANDRIA Donning the white coats of a doctor, three Bishop Brossart High School alumni have entered the same medical school class at the University of Louisville.

Jessica Baumann of Highland Heights, James Schack of California, and McKenzie Vater of Alexandria, joined the medical class of 2016 in a White Coat Ceremony at the University of Louisville School of Medicine Sunday, Aug. 5.

The three Bishop Brossart alumni are part of a class of 160 medical students seeking to complete four years of medical school. The three were among the members of the medical class selected from a pool of 3,200 applicants, according to a news release from Bishop Brossart. Of the 160 medical students selected, 120 were Kentucky residents.

This is an extremely proud moment in the lives of these three aspiring medical professionals and their families, as well as, an incredible tribute to our wonderful Bishop Brossart faculty and staff, said Ron Heiert, director of development for Bishop Brossart.

Bauman, the daughter of Larry and Jill Baumann of Highland Heights, is a 2006 Bishop Brossart graduate. Schack and Vater are 2008 Bishop Brossart graduates. Schack is the son of Jim and Milissa Schack of California, and Vater is the daughter of Jim and Carole Vater of Alexandria.

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Bishop Brossart trio enter medical school

EDINBURG University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa today is expected to announce plans to expand medical education as a path to establishing a free-standing medical school in the Rio Grande Valley, a press release said.

The announcement is expected to affect all Regional Academic Health Centers in the Valley, which includes Harlingen, said Louie Sanchez, a spokesman for state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville.

Officials on Thursday declined to disclose details of plans set to be announced at 10:30 a.m. at the Regional Academic Health Centers Medical Research Division in Edinburg.

However, Randy Whittington, a former Harlingen mayor who serves as president of the South Texas Medical Foundation, said the announcement will include plans to turn the RAHC which includes branches in Harlingen, Edinburg and Brownsville into a four-year medical school.

Hes going to announce plans to convert the RAHC into a four-year medical school in the Valley, Whittington said. Hes going to lay out steps to get there and a timetable. I think everybody will be surprised about how quick it can be done.

The plans will impact the entire RAHC system, which includes the Harlingen branch, the Edinburg research division and a public health school in Brownsville, Sanchez said. Its about the entire program, Lucio said.

Officials continue to work to develop a four-year medical school in Harlingen, Lucio said. The goal we have always had is to go from a two-year operation to a four-year institution, Lucio said.

About 1,000 third- and fourth-year medical students have trained at the RAHC since it opened in 2002, said Harlingen Mayor Chris Boswell, who has called the RAHC one of the citys hallmarks.

It has built up, Boswell said. A huge investment has been made.

The Regional Academic Health Center lays the foundation to a proposed South Texas health science center, Sanchez said.

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RAHC Impact: ‘Path’ to Valley medical school announcement expected

To acquaint Cooper Medical School of Rowan Universitys first 50 students with their new neighborhood, the charter class was loosed upon Camden on Wednesday with a series of clues in search of specific landmarks the good, the bad and the ugly.

For new students Susan Talamini and Rebecca Lee, the first and most crucial item they needed to locate was their car in the parking garage across the street from the new school.

But, like the proverbs will tell you, its about the journey, not the destination.

The women realized that sooner than later.

Talamini, 28, and Lee, 26, are both from out of town.

Complete strangers to each other before orientation at the school this week, Talamini and Lee had to learn to work together quickly as a team.

Talamini was born in Essex County in New Jersey, and Lee is from Cleveland, Ohio.

Both women spent a good amount of their lives in New York and now live in Princeton and Haddonfield.

Something else the pair has in common?

They were two of 50 students chosen out of 2,900 applicants to be the first to attend Cooper Medical School.

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Cooper Medical School of Rowan University sends new students exploring through Camden

Newswise NEWARKScientists at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ-NJMS) have developed new DNA sequencing tests that hold significant promise for decreasing costs associated with diagnosing cancer and hereditary diseases, including cysticfibrosis.

Officials at the New Jersey Department of Health approved the use of the new Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Carrier and Diagnosis Test, which was created at the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UMDNJ-NJMS. Using a semiconductor mechanism that was developed by San Francisco-based Ion Torrent, the microchip tests the entire gene for mutations. IGM now offers this certified Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory service for hospitals as well as obstetrics and gynecology practices throughout the Garden State.

According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation web site, More than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene. This chronic disease impacts the lungs and the digestive system. It occurs when a child inherits one defective CF genefrom each parent. Statistics show New Jersey averages 125,000 births of children who are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis annually.

We believe the adaptation of this new sequencing technology will drastically improve our ability to analyze genetic disorders, said Marvin N. Schwalb, PhD, director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine. Traditional CF sequencing testing costs thousands of dollars making the test unavailable for carrier screening. This new test costs less than $200. Most importantly, the genetic carrier test we developed improves the diagnosis rate to 98 percent. While the test provides significant improvement for all populations, the improved rate is particularly valuable for minorities because current carrier screening methods only detects approximately 65% of mutations in these populations.

The new technology provides many advances including the ability to test as many as 96 samples on a single platform and the fact that the equipment cost 1/10 as much as the previous technology.

IGM has developed another test, which was also approved by the NJHSS, for mitochondrial DNA. Mutations in mitochondria cause a wide variety of diseases, such eye and neuromuscular system disorders and possible cancer.

Schwalb, a professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at NJMS, said, We are proud of the fact that the IGM is a world leader in the advancement of genetic diagnosis. DNA sequencing will keep us very busy for a while. In the state of New Jersey, there is nothing thatcompares to this advancement and this is just the beginning.

To arrange an interview with Dr. Marvin Schwalb, contact Kaylyn Kendall Dines at 973-972-1216.

About New Jersey Medical School:

Founded in 1954 as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry, UMDNJNew Jersey Medical School was the state's first medical school. Today, it is part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. NJMS has four mission areas: education, research, clinical care, and community outreach. It has 22 academic departments and more than 60 centers and institutes. In addition to offering the MD degree to its students, NJMS also offers, MD/PhD, MD/MPH, and MD/MBA degrees through collaborations with other institutions of higher education.

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New Jersey Medical School Researchers Develop DNA Sequencing Tests for Hereditary Diseases

Posted on | August 16, 2012 | Comments

UC Riverside School of Medicine Research Building

Legislation that would give the UC Riverside Medical School $15 million finally made it to committee Thursday, quickly stalled, and is likely dead for the year.

The bill by Assemblyman Jeff Miller, R-Corona, emerged earlier this summer and had co-authors from across Inland Southern California. It proposed to allocate $15 million to help open the medical school from the states expected settlement of an overbilling case with the Senior Care Action Network (SCAN.)

The bill idled in the Senate Rules Committee for several weeks. Thursday, it was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee, where majority Democrats voted to place it on the suspense file. Later, it was among dozens of bills left on suspense.

There are significant costs, the panels chairwoman, state Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, said during the hearing.

Miller is the Republican candidate for Riverside Countys 31st Senate District, a top fall target of Senate Democrats. In a statement a short while ago, Miller blamed partisan politics for the bills demise.

It is extremely disappointing to see Sacramento Democrats put partisan politics first and block the vital funding needed to get the UC Riverside Medical School off the ground, said Miller. Its clear that the political bosses are more interested in playing political games than improving health care.

Earlier, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, denied that the SD-31 race had anything to do with the bill.

My thoughts are it is premature and there ought to be a public-policy discussion about how to spend those proceeds, he said of the SCAN settlement. Without mentioning Miller, Steinberg alluded to legislative Republicans blanket opposition to new tax revenue.

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UCR Medical School: Funding bill stalls in committee

Harvard Medical School says it will start making changes at the primate research center that has come under national scrutiny following the death and injury of several monkeys in the past year and a half.

The school said it is following the recommendations of an independent panel of scientists who conducted a five-month review of the schools primate research center and this week released a two-page summary of their report.

The document recommends adding several new leadership positions and advises better oversight and more open communication between the school and the research center, which has played a key role in cancer, AIDS and other medical research.

Southboroughs New England Primate Research Center has come under scrutiny from the U. S. Department of Agriculture after several incidents that resulted in research monkey injuries and deaths.

The USDA investigation of the facility is ongoing, spokesman David Sacks said Wednesday, for the incidents of neglect over the last 18 months. The lab faces up to $10,000 in fines for each violation of the Animal Welfare Act, he said.

But an animal rights advocate who has been following the saga of the labs missteps said Wednesday the center isn't doing enough to rectify the situation and should be more transparent.

"It does not sound as though theyre taking the steps necessary to prevent additional deaths from happening in the future," said Michael Budkie, executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation Now!

The summary said the seven-member panel set out to find major themes and processes that could be improved, not to identify every risk identified in previous reports.

"I think they should give a tour of this facility to myself and news media to give us the opportunity to see whats going on inside this facility," Budkie said.

Harvard Medical School Wednesday did not release the full report "out of sensitivity to the privacy of our operations."

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Southborough primate lab to make changes