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Bolli recognized for lifetime of achievement by international research society

Bolli recognized for lifetime of achievement by international research society

Roberto Bolli, M.D.

The International Society for Heart Research (ISHR) has honored University of Louisville’s Roberto Bolli, M.D. for his contributions to cardiovascular science. The Peter Harris Distinguished Scientist Award, which recognizes a senior investigator for lifetime contributions of major discoveries in cardiovascular science, was presented to Bolli at the organization’s European Section meeting in Bordeaux, France earlier in July.

“This award is significant because it comes from an international community. I was chosen not by people I work more closely with in the United States, but by people from all over the world. It is truly an international recognition,” said Bolli, chief of UofL’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, director of the Institute of Molecular Cardiology and director of the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, as well as vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine.

The Peter Harris Distinguished Scientist Award is the most prestigious award presented by the ISHR, an international organization devoted to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge in the cardiovascular sciences on a world-wide basis. The ISHR’s 3,000 members are affiliated with seven sections based on five continents.

As recipient of the 2015 award, Bolli received a $3,000 honorarium and presented a keynote lecture at the meeting on July 2 on the state of cell-based therapies for ischemic cardiomyopathy. His research is focused on the use of stem cells to treat patients with coronary artery disease. Bolli led the Louisville-based SCIPIO trial that pioneered treatment with a patient’s own heart stem cells to regenerate dead heart muscle. Larger studies are underway which could lead to widespread use of this treatment.

“Smaller studies, including what we did in Louisville, have shown promise and the data are encouraging. We are awaiting final demonstration that the cells are truly beneficial in patients,” Bolli said.

Bolli also has conducted research on preventing damage caused during heart attacks by studying ischemic preconditioning, the phenomenon in which heart muscle exposed to brief periods of stress becomes resistant to the tissue death that might be caused by a heart attack.

UofL physicians conducting vaccine trial for children with relapsed tumors at Kosair Children’s Hospital

UofL physicians conducting vaccine trial for children with relapsed tumors at Kosair Children’s Hospital

Kenneth Lucas, M.D., injects Tyler Foster with a cancer vaccine made from Tyler's own cells.

Zach feels “pretty good.” Sam wants to be “done with shots!” And Tyler finds it helps to “just keep thinking that at least I’m getting out of school.”

They are normal boys who had normal lives until cancer came into the picture. All have faced the disease for two years or more, with surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. All were diagnosed with various malignant solid tumors, went into remission and then relapsed.

Today, however, they and their parents are finding hope in a Phase I research study led by Kenneth G. Lucas, M.D., chief of the division of pediatric hematology/oncology and stem cell transplantation at the University of Louisville. Leading a team of his colleagues at Kosair Children’s Hospital and in the UofL Department of Pediatrics, Lucas is making progress in developing a vaccine that one day could possibly prevent recurrence of some childhood cancers.

Lucas began the trial – the only one of its kind – while on the faculty of Penn State in 2011. Coming to Louisville in 2012, he now has three patients enrolled in the trial. Another 13 have previously completed the regimen. He uses the patient’s own blood cells in developing the vaccine.

“The vaccine is designed to stimulate the patient’s immune system to attack specific tumor proteins, and then fight the tumor,” said Lucas, who also is the chief of pediatric hematology/oncology at Kosair Children’s Hospital.

The vaccine is prepared and frozen in a cell therapy lab and then thawed for injection. Patients come to UofL’s Kosair Charities Pediatric Clinical Research Unit for a week of chemotherapy that helps make the tumor cells express these cancer proteins. These proteins enable the tumors to be killed by immune cells that are stimulated by the vaccine.

The following two weeks are devoted to vaccination, followed by another two weeks of observation for side effects to the vaccine. The process is repeated four times, making the treatment take anywhere from four to five months. Thus far, the vaccine has been well tolerated by most patients, Lucas said.

Patients may be referred by their own physician or can self-refer, Lucas said. Anyone interested in the trial should contact KCPCRU@louisville.edu or 502-629-5820.

The trial is partially funded by the Children’s Hospital Foundation and raiseRED, a dance marathon fundraising effort organized by UofL students to support pediatric cancer research.

Sam Rosebrock, age 5, Morganton, N.C.

Like any 5-year-old, Sam Rosebrock of Morganton, N.C., is anxious prior to his injection.

“I don’t want a shot,” he repeatedly said amid tears as mom Denielle Rosebrock comforted him. After the injection, he asked her, “Are we done with our shots?” Hearing that there would be no more injections, he was happy to repeat, “Done with shots! Done with shots!”

Sam had neuroblastoma, a type of cancer most commonly found in young children that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body. Sam’s neuroblastoma was originally diagnosed in 2012 in the adrenal glands. Following chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, stem cell transplantation and antibody immunotherapy, he went into remission.

The cancer later came back in the groin area and left testicle. More chemo and immunotherapy followed, putting Sam into remission again. Sam’s oncologist in Charlotte, N.C., learned about the trial in Louisville and Denielle said it was easy to make the decision to enroll him.

“With neuroblastoma, even when you have no evidence of disease, the likelihood of it coming back is extremely high,” said Denielle, who with her husband, Mark, has another son, Isiah, age 10. “When you relapse, you have to do something.”

Zach Hartwell, age 20, Lyndonville, Vt.

Doing “something” also is uppermost in the mind of Bill Hartwell, father of 20-year-old Zach who was diagnosed in 2011 with a medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor found in children and occurring in the cerebellum, which is the part of brain located at the base of the skull, just above the brainstem. Bill, wife Nancy and Zach have been on a four-state odyssey since diagnosis, from their home in Lyndonville, Vt., to Dartmouth, N.H., where the diagnosis was confirmed, to treatment in Boston and now to Louisville.

Along the way, Zach had surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation and more. He also experienced posterior fossa syndrome, a condition that affected his ability to move and speak.

Through a Facebook group, Parents of Kids with Medulloblastoma, Nancy learned about the experimental therapy.

“At 8 o’clock on a Saturday night, Nancy is checking Facebook and she saw information about Dr. Lucas and his trial, so she emailed him,” Bill said. “At 10 o’clock, he returns the email – it was just that quick – and says he thinks Zach may be eligible.”

Zach is the first patient in the trial with medulloblastoma. He receives a similar round of treatment as Sam: First week of chemotherapy, second and third weeks for vaccination, and fourth and fifth weeks for observation.

In speech halted by posterior fossa syndrome but still clear, Zach said, “I knew I was going to have to do something – chemo or radiation or both – and this just seemed like it was the better option.”

“To us, this treatment seems like a very logical thing to do, a very logical approach. And much less invasive than the other treatments he has had,” Bill said.

Tyler Foster, age 14, Beechmont, Ky.

The fact that the vaccine therapy is less invasive is a plus for Tyler Foster’s dad, Michael Foster of Beechmont, Ky.

“This is a lot milder than any other treatment he has had,” Michael said.  “I believe this has been the easiest treatment he has faced.”

Tyler is 14 and was originally diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma in 2013 in his right knee, femur and lung. It also is known as osteosarcoma and is a type of bone cancer. It often starts in the ends of the bones where new bone tissue forms as a young person grows.

After chemotherapy and surgeries, Tyler went into remission at Christmastime in 2013. In September 2014, the cancer came back, followed by more surgeries, including removing all of his femur and hip. He then underwent a rigorous chemotherapy regimen known as “ICE” – a three-drug combination of ifosamide, carboplatin and etoposide.

“It’s hard enough to hear your child has cancer. That’s a blow out of this world,” said Michael, who with wife Susan has another child, Alexis, age 20. “And then to hear it a second time is even harder.

“ICE was hard, very, very hard. We almost lost Tyler a couple of times. He had feeding tubes. He was vomiting. He vomited up around 17 liters (of fluid) in one day.

“So that was a pretty rocky road. But he got better and had radiation after that.”

Tyler speaks with the wisdom of a teenager who tests above his grade level but still is … well, a teenager.

“When I heard I had cancer, my first thought was that I was going to get out of school for awhile,” he said with a laugh.

The journey since, however, has the ginger-haired teen philosophical. “I just really have tried to not think too much about what was happening,” he said, “and just look towards the future, that one day, I can get over this.”

Hope for the future

That focus on the future is what keeps Bill Hartwell going, too. “We feel like this treatment is going to be the cure. People always talk about statistics, but we don’t even think about that kind of stuff.

“We saw this trial, the treatment seemed to make good sense, and so we think … this is going to cure Zach, and we’re going to move forward from there.”

Denielle Rosebrock has hope as well. “We don’t get ‘definites’ (definitive answers) because it is a trial and it’s very new,” she said. “We also know that participating in the trial is one of our choices. We have to do something to prevent the cancer from coming back. We know there is a lot of promise in it.”

“If this works, man, it would be terrific for other kids that face this,” said Michael Foster. Adds Tyler: “It helps me to know that if this does work, it wouldn’t put other kids through the same thing I’ve been through.”

HD digital video accompanying this story is available at https://youtu.be/jvUks4uwl9U. Print-quality still photos can be found at http://louisville.edu/medicine/news/photos-childhood-cancer-vaccine-research-at-uofl-kosair-childrens-hospital-1. Video and still photography furnished byKosair Children’s Hospital.

UofL medical student selected for Universal Notes student editorial panel

Andrew Smith will help improve app designed to assist students with licensure exams

University of Louisville medical student Andrew Smith has been selected as a member of the 2015-2016 Student Editorial Panel for Universal Notes, a subscription-based web application that assists students in preparation for Step 1, 2 and 3 exams as well as the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) assessments. Smith is one of 10 students selected from medical schools in the United States and abroad to serve on the panel for one year beginning this month.

Smith, a third-year student in the School of Medicine, responded to a call for applicants who are interested in learning about medical education.

“It sounded like a great opportunity because I hope to teach medicine. One of the things we get to do is write questions for the Q-bank, so I hope it will improve my question writing. Also, I will be studying as I am updating the questions, so it will improve is my knowledge base,” Smith said.

Universal Notes was developed by Aaron McGuffin, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, as a tool for assisting medical students prepare for the exams they must pass on their way to becoming physicians. McGuffin created the student editorial panel to critique the material and to serve as a training ground for medical educators of the future.

“Students are the lifeblood of the success of Universal Notes,” McGuffin said. “One job of the panel is to use it and evaluate it and say how it could be better. The other thing is we put them in the role of teacher so they have to look at the curriculum as if they are teaching it. That gives them a respect for the challenges of preparing information for delivery. My hope for these student editors is they eventually want to be academic clinicians.”

Students were selected for the editorial panel based on their demonstrated desire to teach. Smith has been involved in teaching his fellow students at UofL both as an undergraduate and in medical school, tutoring students in chemistry and anatomy and teaching sections of the prematriculation program, which helps medical students get a head start on the curriculum for the following year of study.

“Andrew was one of the best student instructors I have had in the prematriculation program. He went above and beyond in preparing and presenting the lectures. He even hosted evening and weekend review sessions and created a practice practical lab exam for the students,” said Mary Joshua, UofL’s director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion and prematriculation program coordinator. “He has a real passion for sharing his knowledge with other people.”

Smith already has begun evaluating the material in Universal Notes and developing questions.

“It needs more information, but that’s what we are here to do,” Smith said. “It is pretty exciting. I do love this kind of thing.”

About Universal Notes:  Universal Notes is a comprehensive online study and assessment tool for medical students, helping them prepare for Step 1, Step 2, Step 3 and NBME. A companion app is available for Android and iOS devices. Universal Notes is compiled and edited by medical students and educators. The database contains information on basic sciences, drugs, diseases, labs, competencies and board review questions.

Better Breathers Club to discuss nutrition, lung disease

Monthly support group offers information for people with chronic lung conditions
Better Breathers Club to discuss nutrition, lung disease

“Nutrition and Lung Disease” will be the topic when the University of Louisville Better Breathers Club next meets from 2-4 p.m., Thursday, July 9. The free support group is open to the public and meets in room 120 of the UofL Physicians Outpatient Center, 401 E. Chestnut St.

Metered parking is available on East Chestnut and parking for a fee is available in the Chestnut Street Garage at 414 E. Chestnut Street, directly across the street from the outpatient center.

Participants will discuss the role diet plays in management of lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic bronchitis and others. UofL staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide information.

Better Breathers Clubs are an initiative of the American Lung Association, giving people with lung disease, their caregivers and loved ones support, education and information. At UofL, the Better Breathers Club is sponsored by the American Lung Association, UofL Physicians-Pulmonology and the UofL School of Medicine.

For information, contact the UofL Better Breathers Club at 502-852-1917.

 

UofL, AARP host free aging conference ‘Watch Party’ on July 13

Public, professionals invited to live-streamed 2015 White House Conference on Aging
UofL, AARP host free aging conference ‘Watch Party’ on July 13

The University of Louisville Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging and AARP will host a free “Watch Party” of the 2015 White House Conference on Aging, Monday, July 13. Registration opens at 9 a.m. and the conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The conference is open to the general public as well as to professionals engaged in all aspects of senior caregiving and service provision. Space is limited, so RSVPs are needed by contacting Ann Burke at optimalaging@louisville.edu or 502-852-5629. For additional information, contact Mary Romelfanger, associate director of the Institute for Sustainable Health & Optimal Aging, mary.romelfanger@louisville.edu.

The conference will be live-streamed in the recently renovated Lecture Hall, room B215 of the UofL School of Medicine Instructional Building, 500 S. Preston St. Metered parking is available on South Preston, East Muhammed Ali and East Chestnut streets and parking for a fee is available in the Chestnut Street Garage, 414 E. Chestnut St.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the White House Conference on Aging, an event held once a decade since 1961 that helps chart the course of aging policy. Watch Party attendees will be able to send questions and comments directly to the conference and a panel of local aging specialists will be available to answer questions at the event.

“The year 2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Medicaid and the Older Americans Act, as well as the 80th anniversary of Social Security,” said Anna Faul, D.Litt., Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Health and Optimal Aging. “The 2015 White House Conference on Aging is an opportunity to recognize the importance of these key programs as well as to look ahead to the issues that will help shape the landscape for older Americans for the next decade.”

According to the conference website, the four areas the conference will examine were developed after hearing from older Americans in forums held across the country. The common themes that emerged from this input were the following:

  • Retirement security is a vitally important issue to older Americans. Financial security in retirement provides essential peace of mind for older Americans, but requires attention during their working lives to ensure that they are well prepared for retirement.
  • Healthy aging will be all the more important as baby boomers age. As medicine advances, the opportunities for older Americans to maintain their health and vitality should progress as well, and support from their communities, including housing, are important tools to promote their vitality.
  • Long-term services and supports remain a priority. Older Americans overwhelmingly prefer to remain independent in the community as they age. They need supports to do so, including a caregiving network and well-supported workforce.
  • Elder justice is important given that seniors, particularly the oldest older Americans, can be vulnerable to financial exploitation, abuse and neglect. The Elder Justice Act was enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act, and its vision of protecting seniors from scam artists and others seeking to take advantage of them must be realized.

Cancer immunotherapy to be discussed at next "Beer with a Scientist" event

Can we teach our own immune cells to kill cancer? Jason Chesney, M.D., Ph.D. of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center will discuss recent research at the next “Beer with a Scientist” program July 15
Cancer immunotherapy to be discussed at next "Beer with a Scientist" event

Jason Chesney, M.D., Ph.D.

One of the most promising areas of research in the fight against cancer is immunotherapy, or stimulating the body’s own immune system to destroy cancer. Jason Chesney, M.D., Ph.D., a professor in the University of Louisville Department of Medicine and the deputy director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, is conducting clinical trials using checkpoint inhibitors as well as modified herpes virus in the treatment of melanoma with impressive results.

Chesney will speak at the next “Beer with a Scientist” event about immunotherapy research being conducted at UofL and elsewhere and treatments that may be available in the next few years.

“We finally understand how to activate the human immune system to clear cancer cells, having developed new classes of immunotherapies that dramatically improve the survival of cancer patients,” Chesney said.

The program begins at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15 at Against the Grain Brewery, 401 E. Main St. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.

The Beer with a Scientist program began in 2014 and is the brainchild of UofL cancer researcher Levi Beverly, Ph.D. Once a month, the public is invited to enjoy exactly what the title promises:  beer and science.

Admission is free. Purchase of beer, other beverages or menu items is not required but is encouraged.

Organizers add that they also encourage Beer with a Scientist patrons to drink responsibly.

For more information and to suggest future Beer with a Scientist topics, follow Louisville Underground Science on Facebook.

Research to Prevent Blindness awards RPB Stein Innovation Award to UofL researcher

Research to Prevent Blindness awards RPB Stein Innovation Award to UofL researcher

Douglas Dean, Ph.D.

Douglas Dean, Ph.D., the Robert W. Rounsavall Jr. and Gretchen C. Rounsavall Endowed Chair in Ocular Molecular Biology in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Louisville, has been awarded the 2015 RPB Stein Innovation Award from Research to Prevent Blindness.

The award is $300,000 over three years and provides funding to scientists actively engaged in research that investigates the visual system and the diseases that compromise its function. Dean is one of seven researchers at six institutions who have received the award since it was established in 2014.

“We are most grateful for the research support provided by Research to Prevent Blindness,” said Henry J. Kaplan, Evans Professor of Ophthalmology and chair of UofL’s Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. “Dr. Dean and his collaborators have recently made very important observations concerning the rescue of cone photoreceptors in retinitis pigmentosa, the leading form of hereditary retinal degeneration in the United States. His demonstration that cone photoreceptor demise in this disease appears related to ‘glucose starvation’ may have enormous translational impact.”

Dean’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health. He has published more than 150 articles in peer-reviewed journals including Cell, Molecular Cell, Nature and Genes & Development.

Prior to coming to UofL in 2004, Dean served on the faculty in the departments of Cell Biology and Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. He completed a three-year fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He then completed a second postdoctoral fellowship at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif.

Research to Prevent Blindness is the world’s leading voluntary organization supporting eye research. Since it was founded in 1960, RPB has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars to medical institutions for research into the causes, treatment and prevention of blinding eye diseases. For information on RPB, RPB-funded research, eye disorders and the RPB Grants Program, go to www.rpbusa.org.

Five from UofL presenting at National Neurotrauma Society symposium

Five from UofL presenting at National Neurotrauma Society symposium

Scott Whittemore, Ph.D.

Three faculty members holding endowed positions, an associate professor and an instructor from the University of Louisville Department of Neurological Surgery will share their expertise this summer at the annual meeting of one of the nation’s premiere organizations of brain and spinal cord injury specialists and researchers.

Neurotrauma 2015, the 33rd Annual Symposium of the National Neurotrauma Society, will be held in Santa Fe, N.M., June 28-July 1. The annual symposium is considered the primary scientific forum for exchanging information in the fields of both traumatic brain injury (TBI) and spinal cord injury (SCI).

On Sunday, June 28, assistant professor Enrico Rejc, Ph.D., will present Lumbrosacral Spinal Cord Epidural Stimulation for Standing After Chronic Complete Paralysis in Humans. At UofL, Rejc investigates the effects of different combinations of stimulation parameters, weight-bearing related sensory information and training on the modulation of the spinal neural networks, with the intent to promote the recovery of motor function for standing.

On Monday, June 29, Scott Whittemore, Ph.D., will chair the presentation on Genetic Dissection of Locomotor Circuitry. Speaking during the presentation will be David Magnuson, Ph.D., on Conditional Silencing Propriospinal Neurons: Hopping to a New Tune.

Whittemore is the Dr. Henry D. Garretson Chair in Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research and the scientific director of the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, considered one of the largest such centers in the nation. Magnuson is the Friends for Michael Endowed Chair in Spinal Cord Injury Research and also serves on the Symposium Program Committee organizing the 2015 event.

On Wednesday, July 1, Michal Hetman, M.D., Ph.D., will chair and Whittemore will co-chair the presentation, Cell Death is Still Alive, a look at the effect of cell death on TBI and SCI. Hetman is the Endowed Professor of Molecular Signaling and his research is concentrated on identification of the molecules controlling neural cell survival and  growth. Instructor Sujata Saraswat-Ohri, Ph.D., will present one of the three sessions of the presentation, Targeting the Homeostatic Arm of the ER Stress Pathway Improves Functional Recovery After SCI.

“The Neurotrauma Annual Symposium has informative discovery, translational and clinical sessions and workshops, as well as programs for students and early career investigators,” Whittemore said. “We are proud to bring the accomplishments of the University of Louisville into this discussion of the latest research and evidence-based medicine with our peers from throughout the country.”

UofL Physicians launches interactive game to raise awareness of academic medicine

UofL Physicians launches interactive game to raise awareness of academic medicine

University of Louisville Physicians today launched the “Academic Physician Precision Challenge,” a fun, interactive game to raise awareness of academic medicine.

Every day, doctors make discoveries and develop innovative treatments that change the lives of patients and their families everywhere. Most of these breakthroughs are made by academic physicians, dedicated doctors who see patients in clinical practices while researching and teaching at universities like the University of Louisville. Because of their academic affiliation and research activities, they have the opportunity to take the latest in clinical research and apply it for real-world use. They also often help shape health policy, sitting on government and professional panels.

The Precision Challenge measures anatomical knowledge while giving users insight into how academic doctors may have contributed to their health, or that of their family or friends.

“The game is designed as a unique way to grow awareness of the groundbreaking contributions academic physicians have made in the field of medicine, and why people would want to choose an academic physician for their health care,” said Diane Partridge, vice president of Marketing and Communications for UofL Physicians.

The game, designed by Louisville-based DBS>Interactive, invites users to test their knowledge of anatomy by placing 11 organs, such as the pancreas and liver, in the correct spot. If the user is precise, a box appears presenting them with a medical advancement or discovery relating to that organ made by an academic physician. If they aren’t, the user hears a buzzer and the screen shakes, and they have to try again.

When all the parts are placed, the user gets a ranking, with a corresponding badge based on their number of errors:

  • Medical doctor
  • Medical resident
  • In med school
  • Pre-med
  • High school biology

The game will be shared with teachers and schools across the U.S.

Find the game here at www.uoflphysicians.com/academic-precision-challenge

Conference to examine multidisciplinary approach to treating metastatic brain and spinal cancer

UofL James Graham Brown Center hosts meeting July 10 open to providers and public

Experts from around the country will join faculty experts from the University of Louisville’s James Graham Brown Cancer Center, a part of KentuckyOne Health, to look at the latest evidence-based medicine in treating metastatic cancer of the central nervous system.

“Evaluation and Management of Patients with Brain and Spinal Metastasis” will be held July 10 from 7:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the UofL Clinical and Translational Research Building, 505 S. Hancock St. Admission is free but pre-registration is strongly encouraged at the conference website.

“We are bringing together some of the leading clinicians and researchers from our cancer center and beyond to discuss the latest innovations in caring for patients with central nervous system cancer,” said Conference Director Eric Burton, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Neurology. “Disciplines represented include neurosurgery, radiation oncology, neuroradiology, neuro-oncology and more.”

The conference is designed both for health care providers and the general public, Burton said. “If you are a health care professional working in the neurological cancer field, if you are a patient with neurological cancer or if you are a caregiver to someone with neurological cancer, this conference will benefit you.”

In addition to Burton, presenters include:

 

  • Donald Miller, M.D., Ph.D., director, James Graham Brown Cancer Center, and James Graham Brown Foundation Chair, UofL
  • Michael Glantz, M.D., professor of neurosurgery, medicine and neurology, Penn State University
  • Roy Patchell, M.D., neurologist, Capital Health Medical Center-Hopewell and Capital Institute for Neurosciences, Pennington, N.J.
  • Warren Boling, M.D., interim chair and professor, Department of Neurological Surgery, UofL
  • Vinai Gondi, M.D., clinical assistant professor, University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center and Radiation Oncology Consultants, Chicago
  • Maxwell Boakye, M.D., associate professor and the Ole A., Mabel Wise and Wilma Wise Nelson Chair in Clinical Geriatrics Research, UofL Department of Neurological Surgery
  • Shaio Woo, M.D., chair and professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, and the Kosair Children’s Hospital/Norton Healthcare Chair in Pediatric Oncology, UofL
  •  

    Continuing education credit is available to health care providers. For additional information, visit the conference website or contact Emily Rollins in the UofL Department of Neurological Surgery at emily.rollins@louisvilleneuroscience.com.

    Health professionals to train in transgender care

    UofL School of Medicine to host sessions for 140 area providers on June 11

    Physicians without formal training in transgender health can be unprepared when a transgender patient needs basic health care, or help with a transgender specific issue such as hormonal transition. If the physician is unfamiliar with the typical barriers faced by transgender people in the health-care system or current standards of care, the patient’s health may suffer.

    The University of Louisville will host two events on June 11 at the School of Medicine to close this gap by providing physicians and other health-care providers with a better understanding of treatment practices and standard of care for transgender patients.

    First, a panel of physicians and community members will discuss best practices in transgender health care in a grand rounds presentation for approximately 80 physicians and other health professionals. Following the panel presentation, about 60 health-care providers and transgender community leaders will meet to network, identify gaps in care and discuss steps needed to improve care for this population.

    The events are part of a UofL initiative, known as the eQuality Project,* established to ensure that individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), gender nonconforming or born with differences of sex development (DSD) receive the best possible health care in the community.

    “This is a topic that has been taboo for a long time. Physicians want to provide the best care for these patients, but they may not be aware of issues and how to address someone in a culturally responsive manner,” said Faye Jones, M.D., Ph.D., M.S.P.H., assistant vice president for health affairs -- diversity initiatives at UofL’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion. “This is a group that has many health disparities and this program will help alleviate these disparities.”

    People who are LGBT, gender non-conforming or born with DSD often experience challenges when seeking care in doctors’ offices, community clinics, hospitals and emergency rooms. Research shows that these health disparities result in decreased access to care or willingness to seek care, resulting in increased medical morbidity and mortality for LGBT and DSD-affected patients.

    “Ultimately, it is our goal to have an identified medical ‘home’ that provides all aspects of care for transgender patients in Louisville, as has been developed in other major clinical centers in the United States,” said Amy Holthouser, M.D., associate dean for medical education at the UofL School of Medicine.

    Beginning in August, the UofL School of Medicine will serve as the nation’s pilot site for training future physicians on the unique health-care concerns and issues encountered by LGBT individuals and those who are gender nonconforming or DSD-affected.

    The Institute of Medicine, The Joint Commission, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) have all recently highlighted the need for more in-depth provider education on LGBT health.

    “At least forty hours of content in the UofL school of medicine curriculum have been targeted for revision to be more inclusive and affirming of LGBT and DSD patients,” Holthouser said. “This will reinforce the core stance that a competent physician is skilled in the care of all patients within their community and can approach each patient with sensitivity, compassion and the knowledge necessary to promote health and wellness.”

    For more information about attending the event on June 11, contact Stacie Steinbock, director of the LGBT Center Satellite Office on the Health Sciences Center Campus at Stacie.steinbock@louisville.edu.

     

    *About the eQuality Project:  The eQuality Project at UofL is an interdisciplinary initiative that includes the School of Medicine’s Undergraduate Medical Education Office, the Health Sciences Center’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and the UofL LGBT Center. The purpose of the eQuality Project is to deliver equitable quality care for all people, regardless of identity, development or expression of gender/sex/sexuality.

    Bumpous named chair of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Communicative Disorders

    Bumpous named chair of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Communicative Disorders

    Jeffrey Bumpous, M.D.

    The University of Louisville Board of Trustees has named Jeffrey “Jeff” Bumpous, M.D., chair of the newest department in the UofL School of Medicine, the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Communicative Disorders. Bumpous was named chair at the board’s meeting on June 4.

    The board established the new department at its May 14 meeting by elevating the program from two divisions within the Department of Surgery in a move that strengthens the provision of clinical care to patients and education and training to future physicians as well as audiologists and speech pathologists. At UofL, otolaryngologists practice with University of Louisville Physicians-Ear, Nose and Throat. Communicative disorders professionals practice with UofL Physicians-Hearing & Balance and UofL Physicians-Speech Pathology.

    “Dr. Bumpous brings a wealth of educational, clinical and research experience to the department chair’s position,” said Toni Ganzel, M.D., dean of the UofL School of Medicine. “We could have no one better to launch our new department for the benefit of our students, residents and faculty as well as the patients we serve.”

    Bumpous is the J. Samuel Bumgardner Professor of Otolaryngologic Surgery and chief of the former Division of Otolaryngology in the Department of Surgery. He has been at UofL since 1994 and leads a multidisciplinary team of health care providers in treating cancers of the head and neck. These include cancers of the mouth, larynx (voice box), pharynx (throat), nasal cavity, sinuses, salivary glands and thyroid gland.

    A native of Fort Benning, Ga., Bumpous earned his bachelor’s degree from Morehead State University and his medical degree from UofL. He completed his internship and residency in general surgery, otolaryngology and head and neck surgery at Saint Louis University and a post-graduate fellowship in advanced head and neck and cranial base surgery at the University of Pittsburgh.

    Bumpous currently is president of the Society of University Otolaryngologists and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Otolaryngology. He has served as associate editor of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery and on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Surgery and Laryngoscope. He also has served in leadership roles in the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Head and Neck Society, the Kentucky Society of Otolaryngology, the Louisville Otolaryngologic Society and other professional organizations.

    Bumpous was named St. Louis University’s 1989 Intern of the Year. During his tenure at UofL, he has won three Vincent J. Hyams resident teaching awards signifying his leadership in mentoring young physicians. He is a 2003 Recipient of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Honor Award. In 2013, he was named Physician of the Year by UofL’s James Graham Brown Cancer Center, a part of KentuckyOne Health. He is board-certified in otolaryngology and is lead or co-author of more than 60 journal articles and scientific book chapters.

    Single dose of HPV vaccine may prevent cervical cancer

    Study shows one dose could be as effective as the three now recommended
    Single dose of HPV vaccine may prevent cervical cancer

    Diane Harper, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.

    A single dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Cervarix appears to be as effective in preventing certain HPV infections as three doses, the currently recommended course of vaccination. That is the conclusion of a study published today in The Lancet Oncology and co-authored by Diane Harper, M.D., M.P.H., the Rowntree Endowed Chair and professor in the Department of Family and Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

    In the study, data from two large trials of the vaccine Cervarix were analyzed to compare the effectiveness of one, two or three doses of the vaccine in preventing HPV infection. In the trials, women were randomly chosen to receive three doses of Cervarix or a control vaccine. Although a number of the women received fewer than the three doses, follow-up tests were completed to evaluate the effectiveness of the vaccine in all the women for a period of four years.

    The analysis determined the protection from one dose is similar to that achieved by three doses of the vaccine.

    "These exciting findings address the fact that nearly two-thirds of people who get HPV vaccines do not get all three doses in a timely manner," said Harper, who was a principal investigator in one of the trials included in the analysis. “Knowing that Cervarix offers protection in one dose reassures public health agencies that they are not wasting money when most of their vaccines are given to those who never complete the three-dose series.”

    “Kentucky is one of the states that has not had a program in place to make Cervarix available to all of its citizens, and has very low three-dose completion rates of Gardasil, the other HPV vaccine,” said Harper.

    Worldwide, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women. HPV types 16 and 18 are responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancers worldwide. These and other types of HPV cause a cancer precursor known as CIN 3.

    “From all studies done, we see that Cervarix protects against CIN 3 caused by all HPV types at 93 percent efficacy,” Harper said.

    The study is published in The Lancet Oncology with the title, “Efficacy of Fewer than Three Doses of a HPV-16/18 AS04 adjuvanted Vaccine:  a Meta Analysis of Data from the Costa Rica Vaccine Trial and the PATRICIA Trial.”

    UofL medicine dean, education chair, professor to be honored

    Presentation Academy’s Tower Awards on Oct. 8 will recognize women leaders

    The dean of the University of Louisville School of Medicine and a professor and chair in UofL’s College of Education and Human Development will be among the recipients honored with Tower Awards from Presentation Academy of Louisville on Oct. 8 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, 280 W. Jefferson St.

    Now in its 20th year, the Tower Awards is an annual event honoring women leaders in their fields and highlighting the contributions and talents of these role models to Presentation Academy students and the Louisville community. Funds from this event are applied to the academy’s tuition assistance program. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $2 million.

    From UofL, Toni Ganzel, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the medical school, will receive the Tower Award in Science and Health Care, and Gaëtane Jean-Marie, Ph.D.,professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership, Foundations andHuman Resource Education in UofL’s College of Education and Human Development, will receive the Tower Award in Arts and Communications.

    Ganzel was named dean in 2013 and joined UofL in 1983 as an assistant professor in otolaryngology. She served as director of the division of otolaryngology at UofL from 1993 to 2001, when she was named associate dean of student affairs for the School of Medicine. A native of New Mexico, Ganzel earned her bachelor of science and medical degrees from the University of Nebraska. She earned a master’s degree in business administration/medical group management from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. She completed her residency in otolaryngology at the University of Nebraska before joining the faculty at the Creighton University School of Medicine. She is a fellow of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, the nation’s only in-depth program for women leaders in academic health care.

    Jean-Marie came to UofL as chair and professor in 2013. She was previously a faculty member in educational leadership at the University of Oklahoma and Florida International University. She has a doctorate in educational leadership and cultural studies and post-baccalaureate certificate in women’s studies from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. A native of Haiti, she obtained her masters’ and bachelor degrees from Rutgers University. Her research focuses on leadership preparation and development in the United States and global context, women and educational leadership and urban school reform through educational equity and social justice. She is co-principal investigator on two industry grants and contracts totaling approximately $1 million funded by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, and U.S. Department of the Army. She also is editor of the Journal of School Leadership and has authored more than 60 publications.

    Other Tower Award recipients scheduled to be recognized are Rebecca Matheny, Louisville Downtown Partnership, in the category of Business Technology and Trade; Susan Gatz, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, in Education; Kathleen Quinn Abernathy, Frontier Communications, in Government and Law; and Maria Price, St. John Center, in Service and Advocacy. The Queen’s Daughters Inc. will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

    Tickets to the event are $100 per person or $1,000 for table of 10. For more information and to obtain tickets, contact Martha Brown Stephenson at Presentation Academy, 502-583-5935, extension 117, or mstephenson@presentationacademy.org.

    Spike it to Cancer sand volleyball event benefits cancer center at UofL, June 13

    Spike it to Cancer sand volleyball event benefits cancer center at UofL, June 13

    Benefactors of a fund to support patients at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville are sponsoring their third annual sand volleyball event to raise money for the fund.

    In 2013, Alex and Tommy Gift established the Mary Jane Gift Quality of Life Fund at the cancer center, a part of KentuckyOne Health, in honor of their late mother. The fund helps patients and their families enjoy life while facing a cancer diagnosis.

    To benefit the fund, the Gifts are sponsoring the Third Annual Spike It to Cancer Sand Volleyball Tournament at Baxter Jack’s sand volleyball complex, 427 Baxter Ave. on Saturday, June 13. Player or spectator admission is $25 per person. Pre-registration is recommended and is now open at the cancer center’s secure online link. Games will begin at 2 p.m. and end by 6 p.m. Registration at the door will be accepted but only from 1-2 p.m.

    “All proceeds from this event go to the Mary Jane Gift Quality of Life Fund that pays for extras provided to our patients and caregivers,” Michael Neumann, executive director of development, said. “Additionally, Ward 426 on Baxter Avenue directly across the street from Baxter Jack’s has agreed to donate a portion of all food and beverage sales to us during the event.

    "These gifts go a long way in bringing cheer to our patients and their families. For example, the fund has provided Thanksgiving turkeys to many of our patients and their families over the past two years as well as provide picnic baskets to patients on Easter morning.”

    For additional details, contact Neumann at 502-562-4642.

     

    UofL physicians, student win 2015 Louisville Medicine essay contests

    Mary G. Barry, M.D., editor of Louisville Medicine, announced the winners of the eighth annual Richard Spear, M.D., Memorial Essay Contest during the Greater Louisville Medical Society Presidents’ Celebration on May 31 in the Muhammad Ali Center. The theme of the physician essay contest was “Medicine and the Unexpected” for the practicing/life category and “Using Technology in Medicine Without Becoming a Robot” for the in-training/medical student category.
    Nina Vasavada, M.D., was the winner in the practicing/life category for “The Unexpected in Front of Us.” Vasavada is an assistant clinical professor with the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension in the University of Louisville Department of Medicine. She practices with University of Louisville Physicians-Kidney Disease Program.
    There was a tie in the in-training/medical student category. Joseph Bales, M.D., was the first of two winners for his piece, “The Machine in All of Us.” Bales will graduate from his residency in UofL’s Department of Emergency Medicine this month and will practice in College Station, Texas, beginning in July.
    Sarah Khayat, a third-year medical student at UofL, was the second winner in the in-training/medical student category for her piece, “Hold the Phone.”
    Spear was a respected Louisville general surgeon who also served on the faculty of the UofL School of Medicine. When he died in 2007, he left GLMS a bequest to fund the annual essay contest. Spear wished to support high quality writing about the practice of medicine. The winning essays will be published in Louisville Medicine’s July edition.

    Paying attention to rising ADHD rates at the next "Beer with a Scientist" program

    Find out what’s behind increased diagnoses at “Beer with a Scientist," Wednesday, June 10.
    Paying attention to rising ADHD rates at the next "Beer with a Scientist" program

    Paul Rosen, Ph.D.

    Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has become one of the most common, controversial and important public health issues in the United States. Rates of ADHD have increased by more than 50 percent in the past 10 years, and the CDC reports that Kentucky has the highest rates of ADHD in the nation.

    Is ADHD a real disorder or just a drug company scam? Why are the rates of ADHD going up so quickly, and why are they so high in Kentucky?

    Paul Rosen, Ph.D., an assistant professor of psychology at UofL, will address these and other questions in the next “Beer with a Scientist” program:  “Paying attention to increased ADHD rates:  increased prevalence, over diagnosis or a better understanding?”

    Rosen is the director of UofL’s Research on ADHD and Children's Emotion Regulation (RACER) Lab, where his research focuses on emotion regulation and dysregulation in children with and without ADHD and emotional and behavioral problems in children with ADHD.

    The program begins at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 10 at Against the Grain Brewery, 401 E. Main St. A 30-minute presentation will be followed by an informal Q&A session.

    The Beer with a Scientist program began in 2014 and is the brainchild of UofL cancer researcher Levi Beverly, Ph.D. Once a month, the public is invited to enjoy exactly what the title promises:  beer and science.

    Admission is free. Purchase of beer, other beverages or menu items is not required but is encouraged.

    Organizers add that they also encourage Beer with a Scientist patrons to drink responsibly.

    For more information and to suggest future Beer with a Scientist topics, follow Louisville Underground Science on Facebook.

    Schapmire receives national award for leadership in oncology social work

    Tara Schapmire, Ph.D., M.S.S.W., of the University of Louisville’s Interdisciplinary Program for Palliative Care and Chronic Illness, today receives the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW)/American Cancer Society Leadership in Oncology Social Work Award for 2015. The national award recognizes an AOSW member for contributions to the field of oncology social work and leadership through administration, education, clinical practice or research.
    Schapmire receives national award for leadership in oncology social work

    Tara Schapmire, Ph.D., M.S.S.W.

     

    Schapmire, an assistant professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and affiliated faculty member at the Kent School of Social Work, will receive the award and give remarks today at the AOSW Conference in Seattle.

    Schapmire is co-investigator on a five-year, $1.5 million National Cancer Institute grant to create and evaluate an interdisciplinary oncology palliative care curriculum known as iCOPE (Interdisciplinary Curriculum in Oncology Palliative Care Education). The program is implemented across schools of social work, medicine, nursing and chaplaincy residency programs.

    In addition to her work on iCOPE, Schapmire is a co-investigator on the $7.5 Million Kentucky LEADS Collaborative dedicated to reducing the burden of lung cancer in Kentucky through community-based interventions to educate providers and care for survivors, and the prevention and early detection of lung cancer.

    As a practicing oncology social worker, Schapmire was responsible for securing grant funds to provide support for all aspects of psychosocial adjustment in all phases of the cancer experience by providing direct financial support, social support and teaching coping skills to patients and their families. She also created a palliative care program, support groups and provided continuing education for hospital employees in these areas.

    “Dr. Schapmire’s work affirms UofL’s emphasis at addressing the comprehensive needs of cancer patients and their families through an interdisciplinary approach in treatment and education,” said Donald Miller, M.D., Ph.D., the director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center.

    “My nominators, and the committee who voted for me are all leaders in this field who equally deserve this award.  To be ‘lifted up’ and celebrated by these amazing people is especially meaningful,” Schapmire said.

    Scientists meet in Louisville to share research that could lead to improved treatments for spinal cord and head injury

    Scientists meet in Louisville to share research that could lead to improved treatments for spinal cord and head injury

    The second participant to receive an epidural stimulator as part of the investigation of standing, stepping and voluntary control in individuals with complete spinal cord injury.

    More than a dozen leading basic scientists from around the nation and the world studying neurological function will make presentations to 160 fellow researchers in Louisville Wednesday and Thursday. The goal is to facilitate collaborations that will advance science leading to improved spinal cord and head injury rehabilitation.

    Scientists from Sweden, Canada and the United States will share their latest neurotrauma research at the 21st Annual Kentucky Spinal Cord & Head Injury Research Trust Symposium.

    The symposium, sponsored by Kentucky Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust, Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center, KentuckyOne Health, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation and University of Louisville School of Medicine, is organized to advance the study of neurotrauma and ultimately lead to methods of restoring function to those with spinal cord and head injuries.

    Among those speaking are Abdel El Manira, Ph.D., and Tatiana Deliagina, Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, and Paul Kubes, Ph.D. and Christopher Power, M.D., F.R.C.P.C. of Canada. El Manira will discuss his research into locomotor circuits in zebrafish. His research shows that neuron groups are selectively wired for slow, intermediate or fast movement, and the fish’s nervous system selects distinct motoneurons for different swimming speeds.

    Deliagina will discuss her work studying feedback mode of postural control in quadrupeds. Loss of postural control is one of the major motor disorders following spinal cord injury. Marc Freeman, Ph.D. of the University of Massachusetts Medical School will present the keynote address on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of nerve degeneration.

    This work is similar to basic science research that led to the groundbreaking clinical studies, done at the University of Louisville and Frazier Rehab Institute, in which stimulators were transplanted into spinal cord injured patients who subsequently gained the ability for volitional movement in their legs (see the patient photo below).

    The event will be held May 20-21, 2015 at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, 280 W. Jefferson St. Hours are 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

    The UofL Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center is dedicated to developing successful spinal cord repair strategies in the laboratory that can be taken to the clinic in a timely and responsible fashion.