Category Archives: Medical School

Five firms will compete to design and build the University at Buffalo’s new School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences proposed for Main and High streets at the edge of downtown.

The five firms were introduced Thursday at the Greatbatch Pavilion of the Darwin Martin House, where university officials described to architects what UB is looking for in a new $375 million medical school.

“This whole competition is an attempt to elevate the dialogue about the quality of the architecture,” said Robert Shibley, dean of UB’s School of Architecture and Planning, who is directing the competition. “We want to do this in the very best possible way.”

In describing the project, UB officials released a few new details about the targeted property at Main and High streets. The site currently includes an HSBC Bank branch, parking lot and the Allen- Medical Campus Metro Station.

UB is still working to acquire the land from property owners, Shibley said, but envisions a Phase I of the Medical School project to include 520,000 square feet of space within a 12-, nine-, or seven-story building at the site.

UB’s preference, Shibley said, would be a seven-story building that would incorporate a more grand Metro station at Allen Street, but that’s going to depend on the outcome of property negotiations. Plans also show a Phase II for the Medical School, but that would be another decade down the road.

“We want it to create a ‘front door’ to the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, emphasize its student-learning environment and emphasize the interdisciplinary collaboration between the school’s academic departments,” Shibley said.

A competition selection committee comprised of eight design and engineering professionals from the state and UB pared the 19 applicants down to a short list of five: Cannon Design; Diller Scofidio+ Renfro/Gensler; Grimshaw Architects; Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum; and Rafael Vinoly.

Interim UB Provost Bruce McCombe and Dr. John Canty, chief of the cardiovascular division, talked to the architects and got them up to speed on the university, its strategic plan and the relocation of the Medical School from the South Campus to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus with the help of $35 million in seed money from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The competitors will take tours of the downtown and Main Street campuses today, then meet with the selection committee for a workshop.

The firms will present their proposals March 16 to 22. They will be publicly exhibited March 27 and 28. A final selection will be made March 29.

UB wants to begin construction of the new Medical School in September 2013 and complete the building by fall 2016.

jrey@buffnews.comnull

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Medical school architect's list pared to five

Five firms will compete to design and build the University at Buffalo’s new School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences proposed for Main and High streets at the edge of downtown.

The five firms were introduced Thursday at the Greatbatch Pavilion of the Darwin Martin House, where university officials described to architects what UB is looking for in a new $375 million medical school.

“This whole competition is an attempt to elevate the dialogue about the quality of the architecture,” said Robert Shibley, dean of UB’s School of Architecture and Planning, who is directing the competition. “We want to do this in the very best possible way.”

In describing the project, UB officials released a few new details about the targeted property at Main and High streets. The site currently includes an HSBC Bank branch, parking lot and the Allen- Medical Campus Metro Station.

UB is still working to acquire the land from property owners, Shibley said, but envisions a Phase I of the Medical School project to include 520,000 square feet of space within a 12-, nine-, or seven-story building at the site.

UB’s preference, Shibley said, would be a seven-story building that would incorporate a more grand Metro station at Allen Street, but that’s going to depend on the outcome of property negotiations. Plans also show a Phase II for the Medical School, but that would be another decade down the road.

“We want it to create a ‘front door’ to the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, emphasize its student-learning environment and emphasize the interdisciplinary collaboration between the school’s academic departments,” Shibley said.

A competition selection committee comprised of eight design and engineering professionals from the state and UB pared the 19 applicants down to a short list of five: Cannon Design; Diller Scofidio+ Renfro/Gensler; Grimshaw Architects; Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum; and Rafael Vinoly.

Interim UB Provost Bruce McCombe and Dr. John Canty, chief of the cardiovascular division, talked to the architects and got them up to speed on the university, its strategic plan and the relocation of the Medical School from the South Campus to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus with the help of $35 million in seed money from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The competitors will take tours of the downtown and Main Street campuses today, then meet with the selection committee for a workshop.

The firms will present their proposals March 16 to 22. They will be publicly exhibited March 27 and 28. A final selection will be made March 29.

UB wants to begin construction of the new Medical School in September 2013 and complete the building by fall 2016.

jrey@buffnews.comnull

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Medical school list pared to five

08-02-2012 19:03 (November 29, 2011) Thomas Quertermous explores how genetics influence cardiovascular diseases and how much risk heritability presents as opposed to behavior. This course is a single-quarter, focused follow-up to the the yearlong Mini Med School that occurred in 2009-10. The course focuses on diseases of the heart and cardiovascular system. The course is sponsored by Stanford Continuing Studies and the Stanford Medical School. Stanford University http://www.stanford.edu Stanford Continuing Studies http:///continuingstudies.stanford.edu/ Stanford University School of Medicine med.stanford.edu Stanford University Channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com

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9. Genetic Risk Factors | Mini Med School - Video

Dr. Edward Boyer, professor of emergency medicine at UMass Medical School.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

By Lori Valigra

UMass Medical School researchers in Worcester used smartphone programming, artificial intelligence, biosensors, and wireless networks to develop a device to help treat drug abusers.

The device is designed to detect physiological stressors associated with drug cravings and respond with user-tailored behavioral interventions that prevent substance use, according to the researchers, who published preliminary data about the multi-media device, called iHeal, online recently in the Journal of Medical Toxicology. The device is still in experimental stages and needs some improvements in technical issues, such as privacy and design, before it’s ready for prime time, according to the researchers.

According to the study’s authors, many behavioral interventions used to treat patients are ineffective outside of the controlled clinical settings where they are taught. The failures stem from several factors, including a patient’s inability to recognize biological changes that indicate increased risk of relapse and an inability to change their behaviors to reduce health risk.

Dr. Edward Boyer, professor of emergency medicine at UMass Medical School and lead author of the study, worked with colleagues at UMMS and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to design a mobile device using enabling technologies to make substance abuse behavioral interventions more effective outside the clinic or office environments. The iHeal combines sensors to measure physiological changes and detect trigger points for risky health behaviors, such as substance use, with smartphone software tailored to respond with patient-specific interventions.

The researchers asked individuals with a history of substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder to wear an iHeal sensor band around their wrist to measures the electrical activity of the skin, body motion, skin temperature, and heart rate, which all can serve as stress indicators. The band wirelessly transmits information to a smartphone, where software applications monitor and process the user’s physiological data. When the software detects an increased stress level, it asks the user to input additional information about their perceived level of stress, drug cravings, and current activities. That information is then used to identify, in real-time, drug cravings and deliver personalized, multimedia drug prevention interventions at the moment of greatest physiological need, according to the researchers.

Boyer and his teams examined the iHeal system architecture, as well as preliminary feedback from initial users, to identify key attributes and assess the device’s viability. They found that there are a number of technical issues related to data security and the need for a more robust and less stigmatizing version before the device could be worn in public.

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UMass Medical uses smart phones to treat drug abuse

MIAMI, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Dade Medical College concluded the American Cancer Society's Miami-Dade fundraising efforts for the 2011 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer with a generous contribution of $10,000. Dade Medical College President and CEO Ernesto Perez noted that "supporting health-related organizations was a natural for the College," and added that "helping fight breast cancer was paramount as in today's world with education and early detection, the war could be won."

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120223/CG58946)

The check was presented at the college's Homestead Campus during a community health fair and School of Nursing Open House where the college offered free glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure screenings.

Funds raised through Making Strides Against Breast Cancer support breast cancer research, provides up-to-date breast cancer information, ensures everyone has access to breast cancer screening and treatments – regardless of income – and provides services that improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk supports the American Cancer Society's unique mission to fight cancer on all four fronts: research, education, advocacy and patient services. Over time, the Society has invested more in breast cancer research than any other voluntary public health organization. Since 1972, it has invested nearly $323 million in breast cancer research grants, resulting in many of today's breast cancer treatments.

The 2012 Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk is scheduled for Sunday, October 13 at Tropical Park. For more information or to sign up for the 2012 American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Miami, please contact Arlene Hidalgo, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Manager at 305-779-2879 or Arlene.Hidalgo@cancer.org.

About Dade Medical College

With more than 400 academic, administrative and support professionals at four South Florida campuses and corporate office, Dade Medical College offers and provides quality, outcome-based education through professionally credentialed and certified faculty whose commitment to excellence in education is unparalleled by other colleges and institutions. Dade Medical College offers Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees in programs that include nursing, radiologic technology, cardiac sonography, diagnostic ultrasound, medical assistant, massage therapy and more. The School of Continuing Education offers non-credit courses for students and professionals in support of their professional development, advancement and licensing/registry attainment and/or renewal.

Classes start every four weeks. Online course and program offerings will be available soon. Dade Medical College is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools, the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (Miami and Hollywood Campuses) and is licensed by the Florida Commission for Independent Education. Dade Medical College has also been approved by the Florida Board of Nursing and the Florida Board of Massage and is a member of the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges and the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association.

For more information, visit http://www.DadeMedical.edu, like them on http://www.facebook.com/DadeMedicalCollege or call 305.644.1171.

Media Contact: Elizabeth Martinez of Dade Medical College, +1-786-374-4997, liz@dademedical.edu

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: https://ireach.prnewswire.com

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Dade Medical College Presents $10,000 to the American Cancer Society in Support of the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Prospective medical students will face an entrance examination that expands its focus beyond natural sciences starting in 2015.

The Medical College Admission Test will add a section covering the psychological, social and biological foundations of behavior, the American Association of Medical Colleges finalized Feb. 16 after three years of review.

Richard Riegelman, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health and Health Services, served on the association’s 21-person committee that conducted the review of the test and said the change will ensure students have a thorough medical background.

“The changes in the MCAT aim to prepare students for the changing world of medicine and clinical practice,” he said.

Riegelman added that aspiring doctors face an increased demand to be prepared for the job’s social and behavioral aspects.

Students will also be tested in social sciences and humanities in a new critical analysis and reasoning section, bringing the total number of sections to four.

The changes, which are the first alterations to the test since 1991, came in light of mounting evidence that shows how patient health can improve by weaving an understanding of people into scientific knowledge.

The revised MCAT, likely to be in place until 2030, will increase in length by about 1.5 hours, for a total testing time of about 6.5 hours. There will also no longer be a writing section, after admissions officers said it did not give them sufficient or accurate information about a student’s qualifications for medical school.

Senior Melissa Delgado, a pre-med student, said she supports the newly implemented changes to the MCAT, noting that the current test format “fails to capture the humanistic aspect of medicine.”

Medical school applications have been rising for a decade, reaching a record 43,919 applicants in 2011, according to the AAMC.

Diane McQuail, assistant dean for admissions at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, said it is too soon to predict if the broader MCAT will encourage or discourage students from pursuing medical careers.

“These changes are being made to prepare medical students to become doctors that can address issues in health care in the years ahead,” she said, adding that medical schools nationwide have also adjusted their curricula in order to better train students.

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Medical school entrance exam broadens scope