October 2006

NIH Chooses Rochester to Lead National Initiative

Announcing the News: Senior leadership talk to faculty, staff and media about the new $40-million NIH grant. From L. to R.: University President Joel Seligman; Medical Center CEO Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D.; School of Medicine and Dentistry Dean David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D.; and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research Thomas Pearson, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.

On Oct. 3, history was made at the University of Rochester, as senior leadership announced that the National Institutes of Health had made its largest grant ever to the University when it selected the School of Medicine and Dentistry as one of 12 institutions to lead the emerging field of clinical and translational research.

The $40-million grant will be spread over five years to establish a Clinical and Translational Science Institute, which will work to produce innovative technology and methods that more efficiently and more quickly advance treatments to patients.

"We have been piecing together the building blocks for clinical and translational science at the School of Medicine over my entire time as dean," said David Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine since 2002 and principal investigator for the NIH project. "We share a common vision with NIH that there should be an academic home for such research. Our Institute is the next logical step in this area of investigation. The School of Medicine increasingly will be known as one of the places for conducting translational research and for training successful academic researchers."

In winning the award, the School takes a seat among some of the nation's most prestigious medical schools and universities including Yale, Duke and Columbia universities and the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.

"We won the Super Bowl of clinical translational research," said Medical Center CEO Bradford C. Berk, M.D., Ph.D., during the press conference announcing the grant. "Now the work begins."

That work is multifaceted and will include increased funds for pilot projects and faculty training; enhanced services for data management, computer simulation, biostatistics, epidemiology, research ethics and community involvement; new master's and doctoral degree programs in clinical and translational science; and formation of a network of hospitals and biomedical research institutions in upstate New York whose members will collaborate on projects and share resources.

For more in-depth information visit: Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

Orthopaedics Reaches No. 1 Spot in NIH Funding

Advancing in Research: From L. to R.: Edward M. Schwarz, Ph.D., professor of Orthopaedics; Randy Rosier, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Orthopaedics, and J. Edward Puzas, Ph.D., professor of Orthopaedics recently review research findings.

The Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation has reached a major milestone, earning the No. 1 ranking spot based on funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2005. In reaching this distinction, the Department heads a list of some of the nation's top-rated academic medical schools including Yale University, Washington University, Thomas Jefferson Medical School and the University of Pennsylvania.

"The University of Rochester has a distinguished history of musculoskeletal research, a heritage that was furthered strengthened with the creation of the Center for Musculoskeletal Research in 2000," said David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the School of Medicine and Dentistry. "I applaud the tireless efforts of Department Chair Randy Rosier, Center Director Regis O'Keefe, and their team, whose hard work and creative focus are resulting in notable orthopaedic research accomplishments that have true translational importance for patient care."

A majority of the Department's research is conducted in the Musculoskeletal Research Center, one of the few formal musculoskeletal research centers in the country. Headed by Regis O'Keefe, M.D., Ph.D., Center staff of 65 includes 16 faculty, and close to two dozen graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who work in the areas of Bone Biology, Cartilage Biology, Skeletal Repair, Inflammatory Bone Diseases, as well as Musculoskeletal Clinical Research.

Recent research by faculty garnering recent national attention includes studies allowing scientists to transform transplanted bone graft into living tissue; studies of the effects of lead on skeletal growth and development, as well as bone fracture healing; investigations into the causes of bone loss in joint implants; and the development of a gene therapy to augment bone repair.

Most recently, the Department landed a $7.8 million Center of Research Translation (CORT) grant in orthopaedics from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. A team of orthopaedic faculty will work on a variety of basic science and clinical research aimed at speeding the conversion of basic bone science into new treatments that prevent arthritis, improving fracture healing and saving limbs.

"This is an exciting time for us, both as researchers and as physicians," Randy Rosier, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, said. "We are getting close to the point where decades of research is finally paying off, with several of our teams on the cusp of translating exciting research discoveries into clinical treatments. I congratulate all orthopaedics faculty and staff for reaching this accomplishment, and also thank our colleagues throughout the Medical Center, who have helped to support our work."

You Have the Power to Beat the Flu

Strong Memorial Hospital is arming itself with more than needles this year to encourage all clinical faculty and staff to obtain a flu vaccine. Through the newly launched InFLUence program, a series of informational and convenient vaccination programs will begin reaching hospital employees to help boost vaccination rates among frontline clinicians.

According to Paul Graman, M.D., Strong Memorial's epidemiologist, influenza is a serious infectious disease responsible for about 36,000 deaths and 226,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. each year. He said that health care professionals play a special role in preventing the deadliest cases of this disease because they directly interact with those at greatest risk of experiencing serious complications from the flu.

"Health care professionals are at risk both of transmitting flu to their patients and being exposed to flu from their patients," Graman said. "We need to do all we can to keep ourselves, our patients, our co-workers and our families as safe and healthy as possible."

Research shows that the most effective way to prevent influenza is through annual vaccinations. Unfortunately, research also shows that less than half – just 40 percent – of health care professionals nationwide receive the influenza vaccine each year.

Representatives from Infection Control, Occupational Health and Safety, University Health Service, Human Resources, and the Pharmacy Department formed a team to develop a program to increase influenza vaccination rates among clinical faculty and staff.

"Our goal in creating InFLUence is to remind our clinicians how important it is that they get vaccinated," said Strong Memorial's Chief Operating Officer Kathy Parrinello. "By providing them with timely information, and making the actual vaccination as simple and convenient as possible, I'm confident we'll be able to boost our rates this year."

Program components include:

• Peer Vaccination Program: Almost all units in the hospital and at outpatient clinical locations have designated a nurse who will be available to vaccinate faculty and staff right where they work. See your nurse manager or supervisor for more information.
• Mobile Vaccination Carts: Beginning in November, Mobile Vaccination Carts will visit Strong Memorial Hospital departments to vaccinate large groups of faculty and staff. Please call 275-7795, Option 1 to arrange a visit. The Mobile Vaccination Cart also will attend several Grand Rounds throughout November and December.
• Flu Clinics: In addition to the flu clinics run by the HR Benefits Office for all University faculty and staff, flu clinics geared toward health care professionals will be held in the House of Six Nations cafeteria during November through January.
• Health Updates: Those faculty and staff who participate in Health Updates during October to January can receive a flu shot during these annual exams.
• InFLUence Hotline: A hotline (275-1732) for faculty and staff is available to call with any questions and concerns about the program, or any general questions about the flu and the vaccine.

There is no charge for Strong Memorial employees to receive a flu shot, though please bring both your employee ID and insurance card when getting vaccinated.

For more information about the flu, including information on frequent vaccine myths, flu vaccine myths, and a complete schedule of upcoming flu clinics, visit the InFLUence website, accessible through the Medical Center's intranet. If you have any questions on the program, please call 275-1732.

MCNet Substantially Upgrades Medical Center Computer Network

A comprehensive upgrade to the Medical Center's networking infrastructure, MCNet, is underway. When completed MCNet is expected to boost network capacity, add a new level of reliability, and place wireless technology throughout the Medical Center allowing connectivity for wireless laptops and other Wi-Fi mobile devices in most areas. Enhanced security features are also part of the package.

Led by Information Systems Division staff, MCNet will cover the entire Medical Center campus. The Medical Center's current network design and equipment, which connects more than 20,000 computers and devices, is over eight years old. With increased staff and computing demand, network requirements have been growing at about 10 percent each year. The MCNet upgrade will replace the existing network with a newly designed state-of-the-art network provided by IBM and Cisco Systems.

MCNet also will include exceptional security features to address a growing amount of critical systems and general concern about a safe computing environment. These features will be turned on once the network is in place and will have minimal visible impact to users. It will, however, create one of the safest computing environments available while maintaining broad access capabilities.

"We are very excited about the opportunities MCNet will bring to our operations – both academic and clinical," said Jerry Powell, chief information officer for the Medical Center. "This network upgrade will enhance the quality and effectiveness of our network and will make wireless connectivity available throughout the medical center."

MCNet will be phased in over a period of nine months. Planning, testing, and configuring the network components is underway now. The actual upgrades are expected to begin in November, and will continue well into 2007. Most of the work will be done behind the scenes and will have little noticeable impact to users. In fact, the majority of the work to take place between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

All work will be carefully scheduled and monitored to minimize impacts to users and systems. A detailed schedule is under development and will be posted on the MCNet Upgrade project web page at http://intrashare.urmc.rochester.edu/MCNET/default.aspx. Specific notifications will be posted in affected areas prior to work being done. November is the first month end users might encounter a brief disruption in connectivity.

Any questions or concerns regarding this project should be addressed to the MCNet Project Manager Dave Lindsey at 275-0175 or Dave_Lindsey@URMC.Rochester.edu.