For more about faculty research and other items, see Faculty News.

BILLION-DOLLAR IMPACT

It is gratifying to hear so many people declare the College of Medicine an unqualified success. But beyond anecdotal evidence, exactly what impact has the College of Medicine had on the communities it serves across the state?

Now that question has a glowing, 88-page answer. Dean John Fogarty commissioned MGT of America to conduct a socioeconomic impact study, and the result is a must-read for friends of the medical school. For example, the study reports that the College of Medicine's cumulative investment into state and local economies during its first 10 years is estimated at more than $1 billion. Also, the college's research program has grown its grant funding by more than 700 percent since it began in 2002. About 80 percent of each grant goes toward personnel costs -- which means job creation. In Tallahassee alone, the College of Medicine has created more than 600 jobs over 10 years.

Besides a mountain of charts, graphs and meaningful numbers, the report includes dozens of comments from interviews with students, faculty members, community board members and others. This is a sampling:

• "I have had more hands-on opportunities than my counterparts at other medical schools."

• "Faculty members feel they have now gone to medical school twice, and learned more the second time."

• "Based on my prior teaching experience at another medical school, I can tell you that the FSU model should be the model."

You can read the entire study on the College of Medicine website, or a condensed version there if you prefer. If you're new to the Florida State approach and want to learn more about it, please visit the website and look for the heading "Our Innovative Model." If you would like a hard copy of the socioeconomic impact study, call the Department of Public Affairs, Communications and Alumni Affairs at (850) 645-9698.

THE INNOVATORS

Research at the College of Medicine is leading to important discoveries and potential new ways of approaching the fight against disease and injury. In November, the Office of Research honored five College of Medicine faculty members and staff during the Sixth Annual Florida State University Innovators Appreciation Ceremony. They were recognized, along with other university researchers, for their roles in inventions, patents and entrepreneurship.

Professor Michael Blaber, Associate Professors Branko Stefanovic, James Olcese and Xian-Min Yu and postdoctoral staff member Kate Calvin were recognized with the 2010 Innovator Award for varying degrees of progress in the patent application process. Blaber received three U.S. patents in 2010 for his work with mutant forms of human proteins that have been shown to help the human body grow new blood vessels to restore blood flow in damaged areas of the heart. Calvin and Yu both filed application submissions in 2010. Blaber, Olcese and Stefanovic all submitted disclosures.
 

"Research in any field has the potential for useful intellectual property, but the traditional responsibilities of faculty do not historically include training or preparation in thinking along such lines," Blaber said. "Not all intellectual property will ultimately prove useful, of course, but intellectual property that does can have a major impact upon improving people's lives, as well as the economic health of the university and local community."

'FROM MOLECULES TO MEDICINE'

The inaugural Florida State University Life Sciences Symposium, which took place in January at the College of Medicine, took an unorthodox approach -- and was a major success, bringing together more than 185 life scientists from across the university and beyond. Planning is already under way for next year's session.

Titled "From Molecules to Medicine," it was sponsored by the Department of Biomedical Sciences, with support from the Office of Research; the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry; the Department of Biological Science; Nikon; and Olympus.

"The 17 talks and 53 posters were exciting and stimulating," said Richard Nowakowski, Ph.D., chair of Biomedical Sciences, "and even more stimulating were the hallway, coffee break and lunch conversations."

Nowakowski praised the work of Biomedical Sciences Professor Michael Blaber, Ph.D., who chaired the organizing committee. Blaber (pictured below) explained the thinking behind the symposium:

"As time goes on, research in biomedical sciences is being pursued in more and more different departments at FSU, and includes such diverse departments as physics, mathematics, engineering, molecular biophysics and chemistry, in addition to the more traditional departments such as psychology, biology and, of course, the College of Medicine. The researchers within these diverse departments apply widely different tools in solving the biomedical problems they are studying; they naturally also have a different viewpoint. The intent of the symposium was to bring these diverse researchers together in order to understand and benefit from each other's insights.

The typical symposium, he said, focuses on a narrow subject or area of excellence, and each talk is related to that subject. But not this time. "We took a different approach," Blaber said, "casting a wide intellectual net, if you will. The result was that the symposium was an eclectic mix of biomedical research, and included talks that covered the spectrum from 'molecules to medicine.'"

Those who attended, he said, gained "a better understanding of the vast biomedical research going on at FSU, and familiarity with colleagues' research in other departments, generating ideas for collaborations and new approaches to solve old problems."

Looking ahead to the next symposium, Blaber hopes to cast an even wider net. "We hope to have a few more medically related talks in order to encourage attendance by the medical students and College of Medicine faculty outside of the Biomedical Sciences Department," he said. "To that end, we are planning a Thursday/Friday meeting that will include a Grand Rounds talk as part of the schedule."

FOR CAREGIVERS AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

One of the world's leading authorities on Alzheimer's disease will be the keynote speaker Feb. 19 at Tallahassee's 26^th Annual Alzheimer's Education and Training Conference. The conference, scheduled for 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at the College of Medicine, offers both professional and caregiver tracks. It is open to the public and free, except for those seeking CME/CEU credits.

Peter Whitehouse, author of "The Myth of Alzheimer's: What You Aren't Being Told About Today's Most Dreaded Diagnosis" (2008), is the keynote speaker. Whitehouse, a physician with a Ph.D. in psychology, trained at Brown and Johns Hopkins universities and is the founder of the University Alzheimer Center (now the University Memory and Aging Center) at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

The conference's primary sponsor is the Alzheimer's Project. Alice Pomidor, Alzheimer's Project board member, said one of the event's strengths is that it offers something for both caregivers and medical professionals.

"Caregivers can bring their questions and learn about all kinds of subjects, from behavior management to medications to the latest research," said Pomidor, associate professor in the Department of Geriatrics. "There's really nothing else like it in the area that gives caregivers such a wonderful opportunity to learn from professionals, find out about support services, and get some help. For professionals, this conference provides practical tips for clinical care as well as evidence-based medical updates about the management of patients with dementia. There are also many professionals who are involved with a family member or friend suffering from dementia who may need both the professional and caregiver support."

Registration is free to the general public; CME/CEUs, $25 for 4 credit hours. Contact James Smith, MSW, Alzheimer's Project, (850) 386-2778. Deadline: Feb. 17.

'NEVER TOO LATE' HEALTH FAIR COMING UP

Here is one more large-scale event scheduled for the College of Medicine in February: the "It's Never Too Late to Learn" Sexuality and Aging Health Fair. The event is aimed at people 65 and older.

Among the activities will be free health screenings. Many groups are taking part in the health fair,  including the Tallahassee Senior Center, the Area Agency on Aging for North Florida, and four student organizations from the College of Medicine: the Family Medicine Interest Group, American Medical Student Association, Geriatric Interest Group and Student National Medical Association.

The event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11, and is free and open to the public. But anyone planning to participate must RSVP. For more details, check this calendar listing. To RSVP, contact Ceola Grant, 850-645-1512.

JUMP-STARTING COMMUNITY RESEARCH

A FULBRIGHT FIRST

Nadira Muratova, a physician and health researcher from Uzbekistan who will be in Florida exploring patient safety through October 2011, is the College of Medicine's first Fulbright Scholar. "The Republic of Uzbekistan health care system has just started to develop a system of quality control and quality assurance," Muratova wrote in her Fulbright project proposal. "We are just at the beginning of the development of standards." One year from now, she wrote, she can return to her country and begin to "help other doctors to make their own research in the field of patient safety and try to collect information on adverse events in one of the national hospitals for further implementation of prevention and hospital risk management." Muratova has earned M.D., MPH and Ph.D. degrees and previously was a senior lecturer at Tashkent Institute of Advanced Medical Education (TIAME).

Her mentor at the College of Medicine, Center on Patient Safety Director Dennis Tsilimingras, M.D., MPH (pictured above), said: "My hope is that when she returns to Uzbekistan, she will become the mother of patient safety."

BREASTFEEDING BOOST

Joan Meek, M.D., pediatrics clerkship director at the Orlando regional campus, was at the White House on Jan. 20 when U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin issued a call to action to eliminate obstacles to breastfeeding in the workplace and elsewhere. "It was very exciting to see this level of national attention," said Meek, chair of the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. "The document is very good." At the beginning of the report, Benjamin wrote:

"For nearly all infants, breastfeeding is the best source of infant nutrition and immunologic protection, and it provides remarkable health benefits to mothers as well. Babies who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight and obese. Many mothers in the United States want to breastfeed, and most try. And yet within only three months after giving birth, more than two-thirds of breastfeeding mothers have already begun using formula.... I have issued this Call to Action because the time has come to set forth the important roles and responsibilities of clinicians, employers, communities, researchers, and government leaders and to urge us all to take on a commitment to enable mothers to meet their personal goals for breastfeeding."

Meek (far left in the photo, beside Benjamin) is listed on Page 84 of the report as one of the experts who advised the surgeon general and first lady.

RESEARCH FAIR

The atrium will be filled with posters and easels again Feb. 8 for the College of Medicine's annual Research Fair. Dozens of medical students, graduate students and faculty members will display their posters, and from noon to 1:30 p.m. they will be in the atrium to answer questions about their work.