Message
From The Dean
Focus
on Residents
By
Cam E. Enarson,
M.D., M.B.A.,
Dean, Creighton School of Medicine
Vice President for Health Sciences
 The
beginning of a new academic year is a good time to highlight
a critical component of our educational mission – graduate
medical education.
The Creighton University School of Medicine sponsors eight
residency programs and 10 fellowship programs and shares several
programs with the University of Nebraska Medical Center. We
have 212 house staff physicians participating in these programs.
Over the past several years, we have focused on the competency
areas outlined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education’s (ACGME) Outcome Project. These six ACGME
competencies are patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based
learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication
skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice.
The ACGME Project impacts two fundamental aspects of resident
training by:
• Broadening the required content of physician education
by adopting six general competencies, including new categories
of systems-based practice and practice-based learning and
improvement.
• Shifting accreditation standards to focus on outcomes
and assessment of learners using competency-focused evaluation
tools.
Creighton is now in stage three of this four-phase process.
Phase three calls for “full integration of the competencies
and their assessment with learning and clinical care.”
We also recognize that residents play an important role in
the teaching our medical students – in small groups,
in clinics, and in wards. Our GME programs are helping residents
develop their teaching skills with programs at the institutional
and departmental levels.
The School of Medicine is very fortunate to have a strong
GME staff. I want to personally thank Dr. Cecile Marie Zielinski,
Dr. Robin Graham, Angie Alberico and Mary Kay Waltz for their
dedication to our educational mission.
Dr.
Graham, Alberico, Dr. Zielinski and Waltz. |
Graduate
Medical Education
New
Residents Getting Rave Reviews
By Cecile
Marie Zielinski, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education
 Diverse.
That’s the best way to describe the School of Medicine’s
new 2006 residents.
In July, we welcomed 57 individuals to eight Creighton-sponsored
residency programs in family medicine, internal medicine,
medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, pathology, psychiatry,
radiology and surgery.
Thirty-seven percent (21 residents) are Creighton University
graduates, 14 percent (8 residents) are from other U.S. medical
schools, and 49 percent (28 residents) are international students.
Women account for 42 percent of the 2006 residents.
A month into their residencies, the class of 2006 is getting
rave reviews. Academically, this is one of our best groups
in a long time. These residents are well-rounded – not
only intellectually, but in their ability to communicate and
interact with patients, faculty and others.
Internally, the School of Medicine is taking new and innovative
steps to help ensure that our residents are prepared to hit
the ground running and continue to grow.
Reflective of a national trend, the number of international
residents at the medical school has grown dramatically in
recent years. This shift has created special challenges as
international residents adapt to the English language, our
culture, and U.S. medical practices and protocols.
For a third consecutive year, the Department of Internal Medicine
– the medical school’s largest residency program
– has held a two-week transitional curriculum to help
international students acclimate to their new surroundings.
Creighton was cited for these efforts at the Association of
American Medical College’s annual spring meeting.
We are taking additional steps as well to give residents forums
for sharing feedback about their experiences, both positive
and negative. Residents now have the opportunity to attend
monthly lunches with hospital administrators to discuss a
different topic each month. Graduate Medical Education also
holds monthly dinners with house staff physicians to meet
and talk.
Our ultimate goal is to produce physicians who are ready to
meet the increasingly complex health care needs of Americans
on a human as well as a clinical level.
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Appointments
Recker
Appointed Associate Dean for Research
 Robert
R. Recker, M.D., professor of medicine and director of Creighton
University’s Osteoporosis Research Center (ORC), has
been named associate dean for research in the School of Medicine.
Recker is an internationally recognized expert in the field
of metabolic bone disease. A 1963 graduate of Creighton’s
School of Medicine, he has served on the school’s faculty
since 1970 and as head of the ORC since 1973.
He is a master in the American College of Physicians and fellow
in the American College of Endocrinology. He is past governor
of the Nebraska Chapter of the American College of Physicians
and past president of the American Society for Bone and Mineral
Research.
Recker also serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the
National Osteoporosis Foundation and chairs its Research Grants
Subcommittee. His list of professional publications includes
more than 250 original papers, chapters, and monographs that
deal with calcium physiology, metabolic bone disease, bone
histomorphometry, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis,
adaptation of bone to loading, and, more recently, the genetics
of bone mass.
Rich Awarded Fellowship
Eugene C. Rich, M.D., former chair of the Creighton University
Department of Internal Medicine, has been awarded a prestigious
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellowship.
Rich is one of only seven persons nationwide selected to participate
in the fellowship program in 2006. The Robert Wood Johnson
Health Policy Fellowship provides midcareer health professionals
and behavioral and social scientists with an opportunity to
experience and directly participate in the formulation of
federal health policies.
Rich will live in Washington, D.C., for 12 months, beginning
in September, and work with key executive branch officials
responsible for health policy and programs or with members
of Congress and their staffs. Fellows also participate in
seminars designed to increase their knowledge in such areas
as current priorities in federal health policy, health economics,
and the congressional budget process. Following the one-year
experience, fellows return to their home institutions or practices
to assume leadership roles in improving health policy and
management.
John A. Hurley, M.D., is serving as interim department chair.
Goering
Named Microbiology/Immunology Chair
 Richard
V. Goering, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Medical
Microbiology and Immunology, has been named chairperson of
that department.
Goering earned his doctorate from Iowa State University. He
joined Creighton’s School of Medicine in 1975 as an
assistant professor.
Goering serves as a reviewer and editorial board member of
numerous journals related to microbiology and infectious disease.
In addition, he is the only American author of the Mims Medical
Microbiology textbook. Co-authored by colleagues in the United
Kingdom, the book has been translated into several languages
and used by medical students worldwide.
His research efforts have focused primarily on the use of
molecular approaches to the epidemiological analysis of problem
pathogens, including Staphylococcus aureus. His current research
centers on the use of DNA sequence-based approaches to the
identification and tracking of pathogens – an area that
the National Institutes of Health has identified as particularly
important in the prevention of bioterrorism.
Murray Appointed Pharmacology
Chair
Thomas F. Murray, Ph.D., has been appointed chairperson of
the Department of Pharmacology.
Murray comes to Creighton from the University of Georgia,
where he was a distinguished research professor and headed
the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the College
of Veterinary Medicine.
Prior to his position at the University of Georgia, Murray
served for 14 years on the faculty of the College of Pharmacy
at Oregon State University. Active in research, he has published
in more than 130 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of
molecular neuropharmacology, neurotoxicology and signal transduction.
He currently serves on the National Institutes of Health NIDA-K
Training and Career Development Review Committee and is the
editor of Critical Reviews in Neuroboiology.
Murray earned his doctoral degree in pharmacology from the
University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle.
Clark Named Public Relations
Coordinator
Kathryn Clark has been named public relations coordinator
(health sciences) for Creighton’s Department of Marketing
and Public Relations.
Clark, who holds English and journalism degrees from the University
of Nebraska, Lincoln, began her career in public relations
at Creighton University as health sciences news editor, 1985-89.
She also has served as assistant news director/science writer,
Dartmouth College; news director, University of Kansas, Lawrence;
and Nebraska communications director, American Heart Association.
She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers
and the Omaha Metropolitan Medical Response System’s
communications committee.
Back to Contents
In
the News
Lynch
Joins Family for Las Vegas Reunion
 The
work of Henry Lynch, M.D., director of Creighton’s Hereditary
Cancer Center, made national news when a family reunited in
Las Vegas over the Memorial Day weekend for a special celebration
of life.
Lynch identified the family as carriers of a rare and lethal
genetic defect that caused almost an entire generation of
the family to die from stomach cancer. As a result, 11 cousins
opted to undergo pre-emptive surgery and had their stomachs
removed. The Las Vegas reunion was the first time all eleven
cousins, as well as Lynch and other doctors involved in the
case, reunited to celebrate the cousins’ survival and
remember those who died before the genetic defect was detected.
The reunion captured the interest of such national media as
ABC News and CNN. Omaha World-Herald columnist Mike
Kelly also wrote a column on Lynch.
Soukups’
Findings on Riboswitches Published
Garrett Soukup, Ph.D, associate professor of biomedical sciences,
and Juliane Strauss-Soukup, Ph.D., associate professor of
chemistry, have published an article on riboswitches in the
June issue of Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
magazine.
Riboswitches are ribonucleic acid (RNA) elements that naturally
regulate gene expression in essential bacterial metabolic
pathways through direct interactions with metabolic compounds.
The increasing need for new antibiotics due to drug-resistant
bacteria and the possible emergence of "super bugs"
make riboswitches an attractive target for drug development.
The Soukups' research is on one riboswitch (the glmS riboswitch)
that controls a gene important for cell-wall biosynthesis
in at least 18 different bacteria including human pathogens.
The glmS riboswitch is unique among riboswitches in that it
is also an RNA catalyst whose function is critical in regulating
glmS gene expression.
The Soukups' work demonstrates that the glmS riboswitch is
also unique among RNA catalysts in that it utilizes the metabolite
as a coenzyme to perform catalysis - a biochemical strategy
common among protein enzymes. Better understanding of the
function of the metabolite is anticipated to impact the development
of artificial coenzymes that perturb riboswitch-regulated
gene expression and possibly inhibit bacterial cell growth.
Haddad Speaks Against Proposed
Amendment
 Amy
Haddad, Ph.D., director of the Center for Health Policy and
Ethics, spoke against a proposed amendment to the Nebraska
constitution in a July editorial she wrote for the Omaha
World-Herald.
The amendment, which concerned end-of-life care, ultimately
did not collect enough valid signatures to be placed on the
Nov. 7 ballot.
“Now, a group calling itself America at Its Best and
funded mostly by out-of-state sources, wants to take away
Nebraskans’ right to make these difficult choices through
an amendment to the state constitution. …If adopted,
Nebraskans would no longer be able make decisions for loved
ones who can no longer tell us what they want for end-of-life
care. Only individuals with advance directives (ADs) such
as a living will or a legally designated substitute-decision
maker, would be protected.” Haddad wrote in her editorial.
Cancer
Center Research Breaks New Ground
Loggie |
Wang |
New findings
by ZhaoYi Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of medical microbiology
and immunology and of pathology; Brian Loggie, chief of surgical
oncology and director of the Cancer Center; and researchers
from two other institutions could significantly advance the
understanding of the effects of estrogen in breast cancer and
point the way towards new and potentially more effective treatments
of the disease.
In June, an advanced online edition of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences published research by the group.
Wang, the principal author, and Loggie helped discover a novel
variant of a known human estrogen receptor (hER-a66). The new
variant - called hER-a36 - "functions very differently"
from hER-a66 in response to estrogen signaling, the study said,
inhibiting key estrogen-dependent and estrogen-independent activities
of hER-a66 and stimulating cell growth.
Medical
Center Pilot Site for RRT Initiative
Schuller |
Creighton
University Medical Center is one of 16 hospitals nationwide
selected to participate in an Association of American Medical
Colleges’ initiative to implement rapid response teams
(RRTs) at academic medical centers.
“The initiative’s goal is to provide a standardized
trained response to a medical emergency in which intensive-care
resources move to a bedside outside the ICU” said Creighton
project leader Dan Schuller, M.D.
Hospital RRTs are interdisciplinary health care teams trained
to improve patient outcomes through early detection and treatment
of serious changes in a patient’s condition. The goal
is to prevent codes outside the Intensive Care Unit.
Deployment of RRTs is one of six key interventions outlined
by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (www.IHI.org)
and shown to reduce hospital mortality as part of the institute’s
100k Lives Campaign.
A rapid response team is intended to add an extra layer of defense
or safeguard to rescue a patient who may be slipping through
the cracks, Schuller said.
Creighton’s RRT team, started in April, includes a respiratory
therapist, a critical-care nurse, an ICU resident/fellow, and
a surgical resident. The team is expected to respond within
five minutes to any call in the hospital. The team has already
saved several lives, but a lot of work remains to strengthen
the initiative and further improve outcomes, Schuller said.
“The intended structure of the response is with an attitude
of “How can we help. . .,” and facilitating the
transfer of the patient to a higher level of care if needed,”
he commented.
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Briefly
Noted 2006
Golden Apple Award Recipients Selected
Recipients of the 2006 Golden Apple awards are James Phalen,
M.D. (selected by Class of 2006); Alfred D. Fleming, M.D.
(selected by Class of 2007); William Hunter, M.D. (selected
by Class of 2008); and Thomas Quinn, Ph.D. (selected by Class
of 2009).
The Golden Apple is awarded each year by medical students
to faculty who exemplify outstanding teaching, concern for
student learning, kindness and a willingness to go the extra
step to help students achieve academic success.
Creighton Experts Named to Health Commission
Bradberry |
Wilson |
Two members
of Creighton University’s School of Medicine – Daniel
Wilson, M.D., chairman of the Department of Psychiatry; and
Chris Bradberry, Pharm.D, dean of the School of Pharmacy and
Health Professions – have been named to U.S. Sen. Chuck
Hagel’s 10-member expert commission that examines health
care issues. Members will make recommendations to the Nebraska
senator for possible pursuit of legislative changes in the health
care arena.
Knoop Elected to IAMSE Board
of Directors
 Floyd
C. Knoop, Ph.D., component I director in the Office of Medical
Education at Creighton University Medical Center, has been
elected to the Board of Directors of the International Association
of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE).
As a member of IAMSE, Knoop will promote the advancement of
medical education and work to strengthen public awareness
of the crucial role of medical education in health care issues.
The IAMSE board provides a multidisciplinary forum to promote
the discussion of issues that are central to medical education,
advance the practice and educational mechanisms of modern
medicine, and support innovative methods for the advancement
of educational issues at all levels of medical science.
Creighton Psychiatrist Named Young
Investigator
 An
international scientific jury has elected Sriram Ramaswamy,
M.D., an instructor of psychiatry at Creighton University,
as Young Investigator of the Year of the Collegium Internationale
Neuro-Psychopharmocologicum, the principal international scientific
organization to further clinical care, research and education
in neuropsychopharmacology.
Lovas Named to Editorial Board
Sandor Lovas, Ph.D., has been named an editorial board member
of Protein and Peptide Letters, a journal for rapid communication
of research results in the fields of protein and peptide science.
Brumback is Co-author of Alzheimer’s
Guide
 Roger
Brumback, M.D., professor of pathology and psychiatry and chairman
of the Department of Pathology, is co-author of a new book titled
A Caregiver’s Guide to Alzheimer’s Disease:
300 Tips for Making Life Easier. The book focuses on the
capabilities that remain instead of those that have been lost
to the disease. Copies are available through Demos Medical Publishing.
YWCA Recognizes Kosoko-Lasaki
 Sade
Kosoko-Lasaki, M.D., Creighton associate vice president for
health sciences, was one of 10 women recognized recently during
Tribute to Women, one of Omaha’s largest events focused
on increasing awareness of the tremendous contributions women
make in the community. Kosoko-Lasaki was recognized for her
efforts in the medical professions. The event is a fundraiser
for the YWCA in Omaha. More than 800 business professionals
and community leaders attend the luncheon each year.
 Creighton
Glaucoma Screening Initiative Gets Van
Creighton University’s Glaucoma Screening Initiative
is expanding its efforts to serve a five-state area.
On July 13, CU’s Office of Health Sciences’ Multicultural
and Community Affairs (HS-MACA) dedicated a new van to be used
to bring the division’s free glaucoma-screening program
to at-risk populations in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas
and Colorado.
Since 2001, HS-MACA has reached out to populations that are
at particular risk of developing glaucoma, including African
Americans and Hispanics, through free eye screenings and educational
programs and materials. Until now, those efforts have been
limited primarily to north and south Omaha and several Native
American reservations in Nebraska.
Pascotto Receives Alumni Achievement
Award
 The
founder of “Heart to Heart Mission,” Robert D. Pascotto,
M.D., received the Alumni Achievement Award during Creighton
University’s spring commencement.
Pascotto, a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon, is a 1966
School of Medicine graduate. He founded “Heart to Heart
Mission” in 2002 in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The
mission makes three medical mission trips annually, during
which his team performs free heart surgeries. Pascotto spearheads
donations from local hospitals, pharmaceutical companies,
and manufacturers of medical products and their distributors.
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Research
Despite
the threat of continuing cutbacks in National Institutes of
Health (NIH) research funding nationwide, new NIH dollars
continue to play a critical role in ground-breaking research
conducted at Creighton University. Since Jan. 1, 2006, the
following School of Medicine faculty members have received
major grants from this federal agency:
- Dan
Wilson, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry. “Relapse
Prevention: Long-Acting Atypical Antipsychotic.” Total
award: $1,047,277; five years
- Diane
Cullen, Ph.D., Department of Medicine, Osteoporosis Research
Center. “Anabolic Action of Wnt in the Adult Skeleton.”
Total award: $1,696,564; four years
- Dr.
Roger Reidelberger, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Sciences.
“Regulation of Food Intake and Body Adiposity by Peptide
YY.” Total award: $1,212,560; five years
- Reidelberger.
“Regulation of Food Intake and Body Weight by GLP-1.”
Total award: $1,161,704; five years
- Jason
Bartz, Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Immunology.
“Mechanism of Prion Strain Selection.” Total
award: $1,452,940; five years
- Bernd
Fritzsch, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Sciences. “Dissecting
the Ear Neuosensory Development.” Total award: $1,945,187,
five years
- Zhaoyi
Wang, Ph.D., Cancer Center. “Estrogen Signaling in
Normal and Transformed Cell Growth.” Total award:
$1,470,875; five years
- Venkatesh
Govindarajan, Cancer Center. “Molecular Regulation
of Ocular Gland Development.” Total award: $1,722,000,
five years
- Govindarajan.
“Regulation of Parietal Bone Differentiation.”
Total award: $143,500; two years
Back
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Faculty
News
Arrivals
- Aimin
Chen, M.D., Ph.D., Preventive Medicine and Public Health
- Jason
Foster, M.D., Surgery
- Thomas
Jerabek, D.O., Anesthesiology
- Kathryn
Kenna, M.D. Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Jeffrey
Knajdl, M.D., Surgery
- Lisa
Lee, Ph.D., Pathology
- Erin
Loucks, M.D., Pediatrics
- Syed
Qadri, M..B.B.S, Psychiatry
- Christy
Rentmeester, Ph.D., Health Policy and Ethics
- Lisa
Rice, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Edgar
Sotomayor, M.D., Pathology
- Brooke
Sweeney, M.D., Medicine
- Randy
Wobser, M.D., Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Sandra
Baumberger, M.D., Family Medicine
- Nancy
Koster, M.D., Medicine
- Leon
Sykes, M.D., Surgery
- John
Stone, M.D., Ph.D., Health Policy and Ethics
Departures
- Donald
Babin, Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences
- Monique
Kusler, M.D., Medicine
- Martina
Tribulato, M.D., Medicine
- Jose-Luis
Prendes, M.D., Neurology
- Rifaat
Bashir, M.D., Neurology
- Natalie
Morgan, M.D., OB/GYN
- Michael
Bradley, Ph.D., Pharmacology
Promotion
and Tenure
Laura A. Hansen, Ph.D., to associate professor of biomedical
sciences; and Garrett A. Soukup, Ph.D., to associate professor
of biomedical sciences
Promotion
Chhanda Bewtra, M.D., to professor of pathology; Scott E.
Fletcher, M.D., to professor of pediatrics (primary department),
professor of medicine (secondary department), and professor
of radiology (secondary department); and Sandra J. Landmark,
M.D., to associate professor of anesthesiology
Tenure
Kirk W. Beisel, Ph.D., professor of biomedical sciences; Andrew
I. Gelbman, D.O., assistant professor of radiology; Huagui
Li, M.D., associate professor of medicine; and Shailendra
K. Saxena, M.D., assistant professor of family medicine (primary
department) and assistant professor of biomedical sciences
(secondary department)
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