In this Issue:
School of Medicine (SMD) Alumni News and Information
Submit Class Notes to Rochester Medicine Magazine
News from the Medical Center
SMD Alumni News and Information
Hospital Staff Team Wins First Great Scholarship Shootout
In what some considered an upset, the Hospital Staff team won the first Great Scholarship Shootout Sunday, Nov. 13, beating the Medical School Students team 23-20 in a hard-fought final match in the Palestra at the University's Robert B. Goergen Athletic Center on River Campus.
In a come-from-behind win, the Hospital Staff team defeated a taller Residents team 29-26 to land a spot in the finals. The Medical School Students team outran the Faculty team 36-14 to earn the finals. In a consolation game, the Residents team defeated the Faculty team 25-15.
The winning roster for the Hospital Staff team included: Michael Facik, a supervisor in the cytopathology department; Eric Cox, an anesthesia technician supervisor; Eric Hernady, a research technical associate in radiation oncology; Demeatrich Pound, clinical laboratory technician; Walter Pratt, a surgical support services worker; Andre Smith, an environmental services employee; and Dave Weed, director of central utilities.
The Shootout benefited the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Endowed Scholarship Initiative. The scholarship initiative is a campaign to increase the School of Medicine scholarship endowment by $10 million. Medical students face a large and growing debt burden. Ninety-seven percent of Rochester's Medical School's Class of 2005 borrowed to attend the School. Their average debt at graduation was $134,000. Last year, the School announced a campaign to increase scholarship endowments. A $10-million increase would generate $550,000 each year in new scholarship aid.
Alumni Video Library
Be sure to check out the latest additions to the Alumni Video Library. Watch “Scribo Ergo Sum: Heeding Heroes (I write, therefore, I am.)" by 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Seymour I. Schwartz, R '57 and the 2005 Engel Lecture "Innovations in Cardiac Surgery…Hits & Misses" presented by Craig R. Smith, R '82.
Alumni Weekend 2006
Mark your calendars now for Alumni Weekend 2006 on October 12-14, 2006. Join the Class of 1956 as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their SMD graduation. Start making plans now to join us for this great weekend! The Department of Pediatrics will also celebrate the 2nd Peds/Med Peds Resident Reunion during Alumni Weekend. A tentative schedule will be posted on the web and mailed to reunion classes soon.
The Dean's Newsletter
Dean David S. Guzick, M.D., Ph.D., writes a weekly newsletter to share his thoughts and insights about the School of Medicine and Dentistry. We invite you to read the most recent issue. If you wish to receive an e-mail copy of the newsletter as it is issued, please contact SMD Alumni Relations.
SMD Class Notes
Be sure to keep us posted on the new and exciting things in your life! To submit a class note for publication in Rochester Medicine magazine, e-mail RochesterMedicineMagazine@urmc.rochester.edu.
News from the Medical Center
Below are a few of the press releases from the University of Rochester Medical Center. Check out the Public Relations web site to see what other exciting things are happening.
Heart Failure, Transplant Team Recognized for Work with Artificial Heart Pumps
The Artificial Heart Program, part of Strong Memorial Hospital's Program in Heart Failure and Transplantation at the University of Rochester Medical Center, has been named an ABIOMED Center of Excellence. This honor recognizes the team's outstanding work with ABIOMED ventricular assist devices and some of the best clinical outcomes in the country. As a Center of Excellence, the program has access to the newest experimental devices and will continue to assist with the development of these technologies. It also serves as a training site for physicians from other medical centers who are learning to implant the artificial heart pumps.
New Therapy Offers New Hope for Treating Advanced-Stage Lymphoma
Oncologists have been stymied by how to treat some patients with lymphoma who do not respond to new, targeted therapies. A study by scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center and other institutions shows there might be a new drug that combats indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when others fail.
Rochester Researchers Find Protein That Suppresses Prostate Cancer
University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have identified a protein that disrupts an important signaling pathway in prostate cancer cells and suppresses growth of the cancer. The protein also assists in the retention of vitamin E in prostate cancer cells and increases the effect of vitamin E in limiting the proliferation of cancer cells, the researchers found.
Rochester Medical Students Simplify Creating Health Care Proxy
Two University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry students have developed a Web site that makes doing the paperwork of health care proxies and living wills quick and easy. The Web site at www.doyourproxy.org offers free tools to create, print and save the forms required to designate a health care agent and to list specific health care wishes for a time when illness or injury prevents communication.
Supplement Tested to Treat Neurological Disorders
University of Rochester Medical Center scientists will coordinate two clinical trials involving 1,200 patients to verify whether a high dose of a popular nutritional supplement, coenzyme Q10, stalls the disabling symptoms of early Parkinson's Disease and Huntington's Disease. The university was awarded $13 million for the Phase III studies from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The trials were designed as follow-ups to previous studies, which showed that CoQ10 at lower doses appeared to slow the progression of the illnesses. But physicians believe that more evidence is needed before they can recommend CoQ10 as a treatment. The new Huntington's trial will test the safety and benefit of CoQ10 at a higher dosage; the second trial for Parkinson's disease patients will also attempt to confirm promising results from an earlier study of CoQ10, again by using a higher dosage.
To subscribe to ScienceCache, the bi-weekly electronic newsletter about research around the university, please contact Tom Rickey.
News and Information about Other Divisions of URMC
Please visit http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/development/ to learn more about the latest from the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, Visiting Nurse Service, Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong, Highland Hospital, Strong Memorial Hospital and the School of Nursing.
DEN Alumni News and Information
Check Us Out Online
We update our site weekly! For the latest updates and happenings in Dentistry at the University of Rochester, go to: www.urmc.rochester.edu/Dentistry
Year-End is Around the Corner
The end of the year is almost here. Have you made your gift to the UR yet? Your support is vital to our continued success.
You may make a credit card gift online to the School of Medicine & Dentistry, School of Nursing or Dentistry programs using our secure server. To make your gift, visit https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/development/gift/makeagift.cfm
If you wish to make a gift by transferring stock, please contact Mary Ann Kiely (SMD), Tandra Miller (Dentistry) at 800-333-4428. Gifts may also be mailed to: University of Rochester Academic Development, 300 East River Road, P.O. Box 278996, Rochester, NY 14627-8896.
If you intend to make a gift in the 2005 tax year, all checks must be postmarked by December 31, 2005.
Online Community Update
Click here to connect to the online community. If you aren't sure of your unique alumni ID, contact us at alumni@urmc.rochester.edu and we'd be happy to send it to you.
Events Calendar
A list of upcoming events is shown to the right. Please visit our Online Community Events Calendar for more specific details and contact information. (You must be registered for the online community to view the events calendar. Register today.)
Happy Holidays and best wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Brenda DeWind
Assistant Director, Medical Alumni Relations
