A Miller School Neurological Surgery Team Performs Surgery on Earthquake Survivors with Spinal Cord Injuries
2/8/2010

Wrapping up the first of many anticipated medical specialty missions, a Miller School neurological surgery team spent the past weekend treating earthquake survivors with spinal cord injuries at the University's hospital in Port-au-Prince.

Led by Michael Wang, M.D., associate professor of neurological surgery and rehabilitation medicine, the team worked through the weekend, performing minimally invasive fracture fixations on about 10 newly paralyzed patients.

"This approach will reduce the likelihood of infection and wound healing problems associated with traditional open spinal surgeries," Wang said.

Dean Goldschmidt and Marc Buoniconti Cross the Finish Line at ING Marathon
2/1/2010

Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., and Marc Buoniconti, president of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, approach the finish line at Sunday's ING Half-Marathon.

As runners and their battered feet crossed the Biscayne Boulevard finish line of the ING Marathon and Half Marathon Sunday morning, the nearly 18,000 men and women signaled victory in various ways: Some raised their hands in triumph, some struck happy poses, and some collapsed in the arms of marathon officials who promptly took them to be checked out by Miller School physicians and volunteers who staffed a UHealth clinic at the event.

Among the throng of triumphant was Marc Buoniconti, President of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, who rolled his wheelchair across the finish line with Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., by his side. They broke out in smiles and Dean Goldschmidt, who was participating in his third ING Marathon, made the victory symbol and then hoisted a sign that said, "Run for those who can't."

Study Shows GHRH-Agonists Can Activate Cardiac Repair After Myocardial Infarction
1/18/2010

Rosemeire M. Kanashiro-Takeuchi, Ph.D, Joshua M. Hare, M.D., Andrew V. Schally, Ph.D., M.D.h.c., D.Sc.h.c., and Anna Klukovits, Ph.D.

Despite major therapeutic advances, congestive heart failure remains a leading cause of death and disability. There is currently no therapy that fully reverses heart failure and/or left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, leaving physicians with a great need for viable treatments.

A team of physician-scientists from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, including a Nobel Laureate, have demonstrated that growth hormone-releasing hormone agonists (GHRH-A) can stimulate major recovery of the heart injured by a heart attack. GHRH is a master regulator of growth hormone that is produced by the brain. Joshua M. Hare, M.D., Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division, was the principal investigator of the study that included fifteen researchers, among them co-senior author Andrew V. Schally, Ph.D., M.D.h.c., D.Sc.h.c., the 1977 Nobel Prize winner for Physiology or Medicine, Distinguished Medical Research Scientist of the Department of Veterans Affairs, distinguished professor in the Department of Pathology at the Miller School of Medicine. Their work is published in the January 18 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Miller School and College of Engineering Host Third Collaborative Research Exchange Forum to Discuss Innovations in Medical Devices and Biomaterials
1/14/2010

UM faculty members were part of a CREF panel discussion at the Miller School. From left, Cherie Stabler, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering; Ozcan Ozdamar, Ph.D., professor and chair of biomedical engineering; Norma Kenyon, Ph.D., director of the Coulter Center for Translational Research; Joshua Hare, M.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute; Richard Cote, M.D., professor and chair of pathology; Na Li, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; and Michael Wang, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Personalized medicine for everyone. Medical devices that, through nanotechnology, become so small they are nearly undetectable. More ergonomically enhanced medicine containers.

While some of these ideas are now reality and others are being developed, it has become clear that the future of medicine is entwined with the future of the biotechnology arena of engineering. The University of Miami has made note of this joint future and is marching toward it with enthusiasm and a spirit of collaboration that brought together the Miller School of Medicine and the College of Engineering for the third session of the Collaborative Research Exchange Forum (CREF).

The forums – this year's was titled "Medical Devices and Biomaterials" – are hosted by Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., and College of Engineering Dean James Tien, Ph.D., and are designed to enhance collaborative research between medical and engineering faculty.

Dean Goldschmidt Challenges All to Get in GEAR and in Shape at the Medical Wellness Center in the New Year
1/14/2010

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., encouraged everybody to exercise at the Medical Wellness Center’s New Year event

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., kicked off the Medical Wellness Center’s “Be the Best You’ve Ever Been” annual New Year event Tuesday by extolling the benefits of exercise confirmed by Miller School researchers – and the yoga, aqua, cycling, and other fitness classes and programs offered at the world-class gym.

Consider the case of a group of 20- to 30-something “couch potatoes” who were enlisted into a half-marathon training program, the Dean said. At the end of their training, their hearts were pumping 25 percent more.

“That’s huge,’’ he said. “Think about increasing the amount of blood circulating by 25 percent.’’

Dr. Jerry Goodwin Named to New Position at Sylvester
1/11/2010

W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D.

Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School of Medicine, has appointed W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics.

“Looking back at what Jerry Goodwin has accomplished over the past 14 years as director of Sylvester, it is nothing short of heroic,” said Dean Goldschmidt. “Step by step, Jerry was able to build a successful business model for the clinical affairs of the Center, and recruit, either directly or through collaborations, an army of cancer faculty, scientists, educators and physicians, who have metamorphosed the quality of the academic production and clinical delivery at Sylvester to make it a top-tier organization.

“We will always be grateful to Jerry for what he has done for us and our patients, and I am looking forward to working closely with him in his new role as Chief Medical Officer for Sylvester and the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics.”

TeleHealth Program at UM Health System Receives Verizon Grant
1/12/2010

From left, Scott Simmons, director of telehealth, Joycelyn Lawrence, M.D., and Anne Burdick, M.D., M.P.H.

The TeleHealth program at UHealth-University of Miami Health System has received a $24,500 grant from the Verizon Foundation to use telemedicine to provide pediatric specialty care to underinsured and underserved students in the North Miami Beach feeder pattern of the Miami-Dade County Public School System.

"Verizon'’s support of our telemedicine program will allow children to receive care from UHealth experts,"” said Anne Burdick, M.D., M.P.H., professor of dermatology and associate dean for telehealth and clinical outreach. "Children will also have improved access to specialty care and their time in the classroom will therefore be maximized. This program is a model of how physicians will provide convenient quality health services by telemedicine technology in the very near future across Miami-Dade County and the nation."

Most Advanced CyberKnife Comes to Sylvester
1/12/2010

CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

UM Physicians to Develop Unique Treatments

South Florida patients who are candidates for radiosurgery now have the most advanced technology available at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System. Sylvester is now home to the fastest, most powerful model of CyberKnife® currently on the market.

The Accuray CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System does not involve any cutting; instead it delivers a powerful, pinpoint precision beam of radiation to tumors, sparing healthy tissue nearby. Physicians are able to use CyberKnife on cancer of the prostate, lung, brain, spine, liver, pancreas and kidney, providing a non-invasive alternative to surgery for treating tumors.

New Miller School Mitochondria Research Could Impact Effects of Aging
12/31/2009

Carlos Moraes, Ph.D.

A research group led by Carlos T. Moraes, Ph.D., professor of neurology and cell biology and anatomy at the Miller School, has published new findings about how increased mitochondrial levels may improve overall health and increase longevity.

According to the article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the researchers increased the amount of mitochondria in a mouse model by a transgenic expression of a gene called PGC-1α. The protein produced by this gene controls the expression of many genes that are involved in mitochondrial biogenesis.

Mitochondria, known as the powerhouses of the cell, make the energy that powers cells and are a key player in deciding whether cells live or die.

"By increasing the number of mitochondria in the muscle cells of aged mice, we saw a remarkable improvement in their overall health and they also experienced increased longevity," explains Moraes, senior author of the article titled "Increased muscle PGC-1α expression protects from sarcopenia and metabolic disease during aging."

Exchange Program Planned With Italian Medical School
12/29/2009

From left, Paolo Romanelli, M.D., associate professor of dermatology, Luigi Murri, dean of the medical school at the University of Pisa, and Laurence B. Gardner, M.D., executive dean for education and policy, during Murri's recent Miller School visit.

Miller School students and faculty may want to brush up on their Italian, in light of an alliance being formulated with the medical school at the University of Pisa in Italy.

"We're talking about having an international affiliation between our medical schools," says Laurence B. Gardner, M.D., professor of medicine and executive dean for education and policy at the Miller School. "This will present an opportunity for the University of Pisa's most advanced and brightest residents to come to the Miller School and spend up to a year in the specialty in which they have been trained in Italy," Gardner adds.

University of Pisa residents may begin arriving as soon as July, or as late as October 2010, Gardner says. The following year, Miller School medical students may be able to spend a one-month elective abroad at the University of Pisa, as part of a two-way exchange.

Phase III Trial Shows Biomarkers Predict p53 Gene Therapy Efficacy
1/4/2010

W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Discovery Allows Selection of Treatment for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

In most cases, patients with recurrent, late-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck are facing a disease that is incurable. The vast majority of patients do not respond to standard therapies after a recurrence, and even if they do, the median survival is only four to six months. Those factors point to a clear need for improved therapies.

One of the first Phase III gene therapy clinical trials has determined that biomarkers can predict the efficacy of gene therapy in these recurrent cancers. W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was one of the study's senior authors. The results have been published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Despite Some Advances, Melanoma Rates Still Vary by Race and Ethnicity
12/21/2009

Robert Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., and Shasa Hu, M.D.

While white and Hispanic individuals are being diagnosed with melanoma more frequently in recent years, Hispanic and black patients continue to have advanced skin cancer at diagnosis, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Those findings were made by a team of researchers from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, led by Shasa Hu, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery and Robert Kirsner, M.D., Steifel Laboratories Professor and vice chairman of the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery.

Nationwide, the incidence (rate of new cases diagnosed) of melanoma increased 2.4 percent per year in the last decade. Hu and Kirsner note that research and public education efforts have focused on melanoma prevention in white populations because of their higher risk of developing melanoma. They believe that improvements in secondary prevention have resulted in earlier detection of early-stage melanoma, which likely accounts for survival among whites increasing from 68 percent in the early 1970s to 92 percent in recent years. However, they did not see similar advances in other racial and ethnic groups. “Blacks in the U.S.,” says Kirsner, “have more advanced melanoma in association with worse survival rates.”

The Dean's Office Celebrates UHealth and Miller School Executive Assistants at Holiday Breakfast
12/23/2009

Executive Assistant Roberto Estrada Wins First "Dean's UCare Hero Award."

They help UHealth serve patients and myriad other constituents with compassion and remarkable efficiency. They can rearrange the tightest schedules with finesse and find cell phone numbers most think are non-existent. They can plan perfect meetings for five or 500. Accomplishing these tasks and so much more - aided by their talents for strategizing and prioritizing - are all part of the daily working life of the dozens of executive assistants who help make the health system a smooth operation.

With that in mind, the Office of the Dean hosted a breakfast and award ceremony on December 16, a first-time event held to recognize UHealth - University of Miami Health System and Miller School executive assistants for their hard work. Hosted by Magaly Robitaille, assistant chief of staff to Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., the event also awarded its first "Dean's UCare Hero Award" to the year's "most outstanding" executive assistant.

The inaugural title and an accompanying plaque went to Roberto Estrada, executive assistant to the senior leaders of the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery - Alan S. Livingstone, M.D., professor and chair, Rafic S. Warwar, vice chairman for administration, and Eva Calderon, senior department administrator.

The Miller School’s Diabetes Research Institute Teams Up with Military Surgeons to Give Wounded Warrior an Historic Islet Cell Transplant
12/15/2009

Patient Tre Porfirio visits Tuesday with the doctors who helped save the airman’s life with a historic islet transplant at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. From left, Camillo Ricordi, M.D., of the Miller School, and Craig Shriver, M.D., and Rahul Jindal, M.D., of Walter Reed, teamed up to perform the surgery.

A 21-year-old Georgia airman who was gravely wounded in Afghanistan and faced a future as a severe diabetic may live a normal life after the Miller School’s Diabetes Research Institute helped doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center perform an unprecedented transplant of the serviceman’s own insulin-producing cells.

The Thanksgiving Day transplant was performed by Walter Reed surgeons in Washington, D.C., under the telemedicine-assisted guidance of DRI Director Camillo Ricordi, M.D., the professor of surgery who invented the machine and method for isolating large numbers of islets and transplanting them into the liver to reverse diabetes.

Just 15 hours earlier, Ricordi and his four-member DRI team began an all-night race against the clock to isolate U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Tre Porfirio’s islets from his damaged pancreas, which had been partially removed after he was shot three times in Afghanistan five days before Thanksgiving. Completely removed at Walter Reed, the organ was rushed to Miami, arriving late Wednesday as most people were readying for bed, and the long holiday weekend.

By Thanksgiving afternoon, Walter Reed doctors had more than 220,000 of Porfirio’s re-purified islets suspended in a Ricordi infusion bag and, with Ricordi’s remote guidance, began injecting them into the Air Force enlistee’s liver via his portal vein. Today, the transplanted islet cells are producing insulin in the normal range.

UM Researcher Identifies Gene Linked to a Rare Form of Progressive Hearing Loss in Males
12/17/2009

Xue Z. Liu, M.D., Ph.D.

A gene associated with a rare form of progressive deafness in males has been identified by an international team of researchers led by Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of otolaryngology at the Miller School, and funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD). The gene, PRPS1, appears to be crucial in inner ear development and maintenance. The findings are published in the December 17 early online issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

"This discovery offers exciting therapeutic implications," said James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director of the NIDCD. "Not only does it give scientists a way to develop a targeted treatment for hearing loss in boys with this disorder, it may also open doors to the treatment of other types of deafness, including some forms of acquired hearing loss."

The gene is associated with DFN2, a progressive form of deafness that primarily affects males. Boys with DFN2 begin to lose their hearing in both ears roughly between the ages of 5 and 15, and over the course of several decades will experience hearing loss that can range from severe to profound. Their mothers, who carry the defective PRPS1 gene, may experience hearing loss as well, but much later in life and in a milder form. Families with DFN2 have been identified in the United States, Great Britain, and China.

Dean Goldschmidt Focuses on Information Technology in Delivering the 10th Biennial Gross Lecture at Calder Library
12/11/2009

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., center, presented the 10th Biennial Ralph H. and Ruth F. Gross Lecture at the Louis Calder Memorial Library. Also pictured are, from left, Carol Clarkson and Patricia Bergman, daughters of Ralph and Ruth Gross, Roger Medel, M.D., M.B.A., member of the UM Board of Trustees, and Mary Moore, Ph.D., professor and chair of the medical library and biomedical communications.

On the occasion of the 10th Ralph H. and Ruth F. Gross Biennial Lecture, an event held to honor the man whose legendary thirst for knowledge made him a regular at the Louis Calder Memorial Library, the medical library's committee wanted a speaker with a similar yen for learning. The committee chose Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School, who used the opportunity to present a panoramic view of the development of medical knowledge and how UHealth – University of Miami Health System is incorporating critical advances in the access of knowledge to better care for patients.

Exploring related topics such as cognitive and autonomic brain functions and the development and importance of evidence-based medicine, Dean Goldschmidt used much of his December 10 lecture, "Medical Knowledge in the IT Era," to discuss UChart, UHealth's state-of-the-art Epic electronic medical records system. The system, which will be installed starting next year, will revolutionize the storage and coordination of patient and other medical data.

"It is impossible to keep health care at a very high level in the United States and the world without having a very strong IT skeleton," said Dean Goldschmidt, also the CEO of UHealth, and an advocate of consistent modernization of medical records and medical library research systems.

Former Miller School Surgical Fellow Performs Haiti's First Organ Transplant with Assistance from UM Specialists
12/9/2009

Dr. Jean Boisrond's transplant team included, from left, Erick Mendieta, R.N., Jacques Jeudy, M.D., Ernesto Pretto, M.D., George W. Burke, M.D., Magalie Martial-Paul, R.N., and Tara Mendieta, R.N. Not pictured is Gaetano Ciancio, M.D.

Haiti's only transplant surgeon and Miller School transplant specialists gave Haiti's former minister of health an extraordinary birthday gift – and thousands of dialysis patients on the island a glimmer of hope – by making the popular doctor the first recipient of a solid organ transplant in his impoverished nation.

For obstetrician Jean Boisrond, M.D., who lost his sight and mobility as his end-stage renal disease worsened, the Nov. 30 kidney transplant arranged and performed by Haiti's Jacques Jeudy, M.D., with assistance from Miller School surgeons George W. Burke, M.D., and Gaetano Ciancio, M.D., and anesthesiologist Ernesto Pretto, Jr., M.D., was literally a life-saver.

"Last Wednesday was Dr. Boisrond's birthday – he turned 63 – but really it was his rebirth," said Jeudy, who founded his homeland's transplant program in 2008 after serving as a surgical fellow under Drs. Burke and Ciancio at The Miami Transplant Institute at UM/Jackson. "If he didn't get the transplant, he would have died."

Head and Neck Cancer Survivors Who Use Alcohol and Cigarettes Have Increased Death Risk
12/4/2009

W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption before a head and neck cancer diagnosis strongly predict the patient's future risk of death, according to previously published studies. Now, results of a new study show a similar effect among those who continued these habits after their cancer diagnosis.

W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., director of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was a senior author of the study. "We found that survivors who smoked after their diagnosis," said Goodwin, "were two times as likely to die."

"Most cancer survivors are counseled to quit smoking; despite this, many still smoke. In our study, 21 percent continued to smoke even after their cancer diagnosis, increasing their risk of death," said lead researcher Susan T. Mayne, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at the Yale Schools of Public Health and Medicine. They also found that patients who drank alcohol were three times as likely to die following their diagnosis.

Prominent Sylvester Researcher Enrique A. Mesri, Ph.D., Appointed To Argentina's Government Scientific Advisory Committee
12/2/2009

Enrique A. Mesri, Ph.D.

Enrique A. Mesri, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the Miller School and a member of the Viral Oncology Research Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been appointed to Argentina's Committee of Advisors for Scientific and Technological Cooperation in Foreign Countries. The prestigious honor recognizes Dr. Mesri's leadership among prominent Argentine scientists living in the United States and his success at forging collaboration among the group's members, organizations in Argentina and around the world, and the Miller School and Sylvester.

The two-year renewable ad honorem appointment, from the Argentina Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation (MINCyT), is bestowed upon Argentine scientists living abroad who have been recognized for their contributions to the international research community. Dr. Mesri will function as a scientific ambassador of Argentina to the United States and will work closely with the Consulate General of Argentina in Miami.

Dr. Gary Kleiner Wins Micah Batchelor Award for Stem Cell Transplant Research
12/2/2009

Gary Kleiner, M.D., Ph.D., received the Batchelor Award from Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., at a Monday reception attended by UM President Donna E. Shalala and others.

Gary I. Kleiner, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of clinical pediatrics and the director of the Jeffrey Model Center for Primary Immune Deficiencies, is the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Micah Batchelor Award for Excellence in Children's Health Research.

His winning research proposal is designed to make stem cell transplants an option for more children afflicted with hematologic disorders, primary immune deficiencies and cancer.

Kleiner, a specialist in pediatric immunology and allergy, plans to use the $300,000 grant that accompanies the award to test his hypothesis that using a combination of stem cells from a sick child's parents and unrelated umbilical cord blood from a bank will reduce the risks of, and barriers to, stem cell transplants, enabling more children to qualify for them.

"From a transplant standpoint, I think it will open up the doors to more children who are turned away,'' Kleiner said. "Currently, patients are not considered candidates because they don't have a suitable donor or because they have infections."

Miller School Researchers Publish Two Studies in Prestigious Cardiology Journal
11/30/2009

Joshua M. Hare, M.D.

For First Time, Study Proves Stem Cell Therapy for Heart Patients Is Safe

An FDA-approved clinical trial is the first to show that treating patients with adult stem cells after a heart attack is safe and that it appears to repair damaged heart tissue. Results of the study are published in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The trial, lead by Joshua M. Hare, M.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, found that the stem cell-treated patients had lower rates of side effects, such as cardiac arrhythmias. Moreover, "they had significant improvements in heart, lung and global function," Hare explained. "Echocardiography showed improved heart function, particularly in those patients with large amounts of cardiac damage."

Ralph Sacco, M.D., M.S.

Miller School Researchers Design a New Model for Global Vascular Risk and Prevention

Cardiovascular diseases and stroke remain the number one and three killers in the United States, and finding ways to reduce risk and prevent disease onset is essential. Few risk models are currently available that predict heart attack, stroke, or vascular death in an ethnically diverse population, and most models do not fully include behavioral risk factors.

Researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Columbia University have constructed a model that addresses both issues and have published the details in the December 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Miller School Scientist Knighted in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
11/25/2009

Consul General Marco Rocca (left) at the knighting ceremony with Dr. Camillo Ricordi.

Camillo Ricordi, M.D., the Stacy Joy Goodman Professor of Surgery, Distinguished Professor of Medicine, and Scientific Director of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, was knighted in the Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic) during a ceremony last night at the Coral Gables home of the Consul General of Italy, Marco Rocca.

Dr. Ricordi was bestowed with the Italian honor of "Cavaliere Ufficiale" (Officer). Only in exceptional circumstances can someone be knighted at the level of "Cavaliere Ufficiale," skipping the mandatory first level of "Cavaliere" (Knight).

Knighthood in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic is the highest recognition that can be conferred by the President of the Republic. The Order rewards merit in the fields of science, literature, arts, economics and public service as well as social, philanthropic and humanitarian contributions.

Department of Pediatrics 'Families First' Program Wins Excellence Award
11/24/2009

Department of Pediatrics staff, from left, Geysell Guarin and Miriam Escobar, and faculty Connie Morrow, Ph.D., and Elana Mansoor, Psy.D., pictured with the 2009 Excellence Award for the department's Families First program.

The 'Families First Network,' a Department of Pediatrics program that's funded by The Children's Trust and uses extensive community-based partnerships to serve families with young children, was awarded the 2009 Excellence Award for Early Childhood Programming "for providing exemplary culturally competent, interactive and strength-based curriculum and services to a broad and diverse population of children ages birth to 5."

Department of Pediatrics research associate professor Connie E. Morrow, Ph.D., principal investigator of Families First, and Elana Mansoor, Psy.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and program coordinator, collected the award, which was presented by The Children's Trust at its fifth annual Champions for Children ceremony held at Jungle Island on November 13.

Second UM Innovation Technology Showcase Wows Investors with Breadth of UM Discoveries
11/20/2009

The second annual UM Innovation Technology Showcase featured numerous posters including the one shown above, "Molecular Biology Studies of the Endocrine Pancreas." Samuel Rosero, M.D., (left) associate scientist and Margarita Nieto, M.D., post-doctoral associate, are part of the Diabetes Research Institute team working on the scientific discovery.

Standing by the poster that represented research from their team at the Diabetes Research Institute, Miller School researchers Margarita Nieto, M.D., and Samuel Rosero, M.D., proudly repeated the same information to potential investors and visitors at the UM Innovation Technology Showcase.

And for good reason. Led by principal investigator Ricardo Pastori, Ph.D., "Molecular Biology Studies of the Endocrine Pancreas" explores the manipulation of microRNA to improve insulin production – research with enormous potential to help millions of diabetics.

"This research could have such high impact in the lives of so many people in our society," said Nieto, a post-doctoral associate. "Through UM Innovation we are meeting directly with people who understand the importance of this level of research and are looking for ways they can take the best research to the marketplace."

UHealth and Jackson Announce Plans to be Smoke Free Campus in 2010
11/19/2009

Dr. Pascal J. Goldschmidt and Dr. Eneida Roldan sign up to be Smoke Free Ambassadors as Dr. Asma Aftab and Dr. Ted Vana (background), members of the Smoke Free Campus Initiative, look on.

The Miller School of Medicine, UHealth – University of Miami Health System and Jackson Health System came together to take a bold step during the 34th annual Great American Smokeout. During this year's event marking the national program, Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean, stood side-by-side with Eneida Roldan, M.D., president and CEO of Jackson Health System, to announce that the University of Miami/Jackson medical campus will become smoke free March 1, 2010.

The Smokeout, started by the American Cancer Society, is aimed at encouraging people to stop smoking for one day with the hope that they will kick the habit for good. Dean Goldschmidt, a renowned cardiologist and CEO of UHealth, told the scores of people gathered Thursday morning in Alamo Park that he has seen the damage smoking can cause. Tobacco use is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. While he acknowledged that quitting smoking can be difficult, the Dean declared that the goal is "to promote health and to promote wellness for everyone."

HIV-Infected Children on Multiple Antiretroviral Drugs Could Suffer Heart Damage
11/20/2009

Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D.

One of the big questions surrounding the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) for patients, especially children, with HIV has been the risk of long-term complications. New findings from research headed by Steven E. Lipshultz, M.D., professor and chairman of pediatrics and associate executive dean for child health at the Miller School, show the hearts of HIV-positive children treated with this multi-drug antiretroviral therapy had less muscle and smaller heart chambers but had increased heart function, which may be a compensation for their smaller hearts. However, there was progressive deterioration in heart function such that the HAART-associated effect was lost by 10 years of therapy.

Some of the abnormalities were sustained, and researchers found a decrease in heart muscle from normal to inadequate during the first 10 years of exposure to antiretroviral therapy.

Cancer Survivor Meets Researcher Who Helped Save His Life
11/18/2009

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., introduces cancer survivor Steven Guarin to Eckhard Podack, M.D., Ph.D., inventor of the antibody that saved the UM student's life.

The thank you meeting between 21-year-old cancer survivor Steven Guarin and veteran Miller School cancer researcher Eckhard Podack, M.D., Ph.D., lasted only 30 minutes, but was nearly two decades in the making.

In the early '90s, Podack, Sylvester distinguished professor and chairman of microbiology and immunology, created the antibody that is a key component of SGN-35, a potential new drug that vanquished Steven's anaplastic large cell lymphoma, bringing him back from the brink of death in June.

So when Steven, a UM communications student, returned to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Tuesday for another dose of SGN-35 he's receiving under the auspices of a Phase II clinical trial, he was delighted Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., introduced him to the man he calls his hero.

"Thank you very much," Steven told Podack, shaking his hand. "I'm thankful you dedicated your life to research. There are many to thank, but you are the first. It feels good to not be sick."

Miller School Researchers Present Findings at AHA Scientific Sessions
11/17/2009

Pictured in the front row from left are collaborators Si Pham, M.D., Liliana Cesar, D.V.M., Jennifer Adi, Ph.D., and Keith Webster, Ph.D. and in the back row Christian Marin y Kall, M.D., Nikhil Adi, Ph.D., Samuel Vasallo Suarez, D.V.M. and Tomas Salerno, M.D.

A multidisciplinary team of clinical and basic science researchers in the Vascular Biology Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has discovered a possible molecular signature of coronary artery disease in bone marrow stem cells. The dramatic findings were presented on November 16 at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in Orlando.

Coronary artery disease remains the number one killer in the United States and much of the Western world. It is characterized by a buildup of plaque that narrows blood vessels leading to and from the heart, but how the disease develops is still poorly understood. One long-held hypothesis is that the ability of the bone marrow to continuously release cells that repair vascular damage, preventing plaque buildup, somehow goes awry in people with coronary artery disease.

UM Miller School Names Interim Chief of Division of Rheumatology and Immunology
11/17/2009

Eric L. Greidinger, M.D.

UM Miller School Names Interim Chief of Division of Rheumatology and Immunology Eric L. Greidinger, M.D., associate professor of medicine, has been named interim chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

"Eric Greidinger is an outstanding rheumatologist doing groundbreaking work in the fundamental immunologic lesions which underlie collagen vascular diseases," said Marc Lippman, M.D., Kathleen and Stanley Glaser Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine. "He has already developed a robust plan for building the division academically and clinically."

President Shalala Reminds Medical Students and Policy-Makers to Remember Patients in Health Care Debate
11/11/2009

President Donna E. Shalala briefs second-year medical students on health care reform.

University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala came to the Miller School Wednesday to brief first- and second-year medical students on the progress of -- and prospects for -- the health care reform bills making their way through Congress.

Confident that lawmakers will be debating the conflicting House and Senate measures extending health coverage to many of the 47 million Americans without insurance by early next year, the former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offered sage advice to both the future doctors and the rule-makers who will be implementing the legislation:

Get to know and understand the behaviors of the people who the reform measures -- and the young doctors-to-be -- intend to serve.

UM Researcher Receives $9 Million NIH Grant
11/10/2009

Sara Czaja, Ph.D.

Sara J. Czaja, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and co-director of the Center on Aging at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has received renewed funding of $9 million over five years from the National Institute on Aging for the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE). The renewal marks the eleventh straight year of grant funding from the National Institutes of Health and has resulted in CREATE I, CREATE II and now CREATE III.

A multi-site center, CREATE is a collaborative effort between the Miller School of Medicine, UM's College of Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Florida State University to help older people adapt to the information age. Dr. Czaja also has a secondary appointment in UM's Department of Industrial Engineering.

Open House at Hussman Institute for Human Genomics is Celebratory and Informative
11/10/2009

Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., addresses attendees at the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics open house, including, left, Terri Hussman and John P. Hussman, Ph.D.

An entity Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., deems one of the Miller School's crown jewels, the John P. Hussman Institute for Human Genomics, recently hosted an affair that put its technological and human prowess on display for an appreciative audience.

Ostensibly an open house, the event on the third floor of the Biomedical Research Building also served as an opportunity to fete the Institute's accomplished scientific staff, as well as a visionary philanthropist who's fully onboard with the Institute's mission.

"We have created a formidable genomics program that's been made stronger by an extraordinary $20 million naming gift from John Hussman and his wife, Terri,"Dean Goldschmidt told more than 100 people, including the Hussmans. "John and Terri, we are forever grateful for your support."

Five Miller School Faculty and Students Awarded University’s Highest Honor
11/10/2009

Eduardo C. Alfonso, M.D., (in green jacket) was among five new Miller School faculty and students inducted into Iron Arrow Honor Society. Alfonso is pictured with past inductees W. Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., philanthropist John Schulte, and Steven Falcone, M.D., M.B.A.

In a traditional ceremony that was at once solemn and celebratory, Iron Arrow Honor Society, the University of Miami’s highest honor reserved for those who go above and beyond in displaying the society’s qualities – love of alma mater, character, leadership, scholarship and humility – welcomed five new members from the Miller School on November 2.

The newest members are:

Eduardo C. Alfonso, M.D., chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and director of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Holder of the Kathleen and Stanley J. Glaser Chair in Ophthalmology, Alfonso is known for his clinical expertise and research in eye diseases, corneal surgery and ocular microbiology.

UM Miller School of Medicine Names New Chair of Psychiatry
11/05/2009

Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D.

One of the world's leading experts in the field of psychiatry, Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D., is joining the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth – University of Miami Health System, as professor and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Dr. Nemeroff spent the past 18 years building the psychiatry department at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta into one of the top ten departments in the United States. Currently he is the Reunette W. Harris Professor of Psychiatry at Emory.

"The Miller School of Medicine needs a strong leader in psychiatry and behavioral health and we have found that person in Charlie Nemeroff," said Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Miller School and CEO of UHealth. "Like other large metropolitan areas, South Florida has a sizeable population of individuals with significant mental health disorders, and the presence of a world class leader in psychiatry can positively impact the community in a broad and deep manner."

Miller School and UHealth Partner with Alonzo Mourning Charities and Overtown Youth Center to Launch Clinic
10/29/2009

NBA great Alonzo Mourning, Overtown Youth Center (OYC) executive director Carla Penn, and Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., at the opening event for the OYC Clinic. Alonzo Mourning Charities, OYC and UHealth teamed up to launch the clinic where UHealth physicians will provide health care for the center's children.

For many years, the Miller School of Medicine has provided compassionate health care that has made a difference in the lives of thousands of people in Overtown. That longstanding relationship, built on the Miller School's commitment to the community, took another leap forward today with the announcement of a new clinic at the Overtown Youth Center (OYC), born through a partnership among the OYC, Alonzo Mourning Charities and the Miller School and UHealth - University of Miami Health System. The clinic will bring high quality health care to the center's children and young adults.

Through the new partnership, announced by Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., NBA great Alonzo Mourning, and Carla Penn, executive director of the youth center, UHealth physicians will screen OYC participants for various illnesses, refer them to other doctors in certain cases, and provide care as needed.

A Decade Later, Lifestyle Changes or Medication Still Lower Type 2 Diabetes Risk
10/28/2009

Long-time study participant Iliana Gonzalez has her blood pressure checked by program coordinator Juliet Ojito during a check-up with Ronald Goldberg, M.D., the study's principal investigator at the Diabetes Research Institute.

Study reports on persistence of benefits seen in the Diabetes Prevention Program

After following participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study for 10 years, researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and at 26 other medical centers in the United States conclude that intensive lifestyle changes aimed at modest weight loss reduced the rate of developing type 2 diabetes by 34 percent compared with placebo in people at high risk for the disease. Results of the study, which examines the persistence of the interventions first tested in the Diabetes Prevention Program, appear online in The Lancet on October 29.

Participants randomly assigned to make lifestyle changes also had more favorable cardiovascular risk factors, including lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels, despite taking fewer drugs to control their heart disease risk. Treatment with the oral diabetes drug metformin reduced the rate of developing diabetes by 18 percent after 10 years compared with placebo.

Miller School Wins Reaccreditation
10/23/2009

The Liaison Committee for Medical Education praised Miller School operations at its Miami campus, above, as well as at Florida Atlantic University.

The Miller School of Medicine has been reaccredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), it was announced on Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The news had been awaited for more than half a year, following a multi-day, on-site LCME evaluation of the Miller School's Miami and Florida Atlantic University campuses back in February.

In a letter dated Oct. 16, LCME officials announced that the Miller School’s status as an accredited medical school had been renewed for eight more years. The letter also identified five areas of excellence singled out within the Miller School.

“It’s gratifying to have the strengths of the institution recognized by an external peer-review group,” says Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean, and CEO of the University of Miami Health System.

“Our core education programs were endorsed by the same LCME process that granted us reaccreditation,” Goldschmidt adds. “We have the hard work of Miller School education team, faculty, students and staff to thank for this strong vote of confidence.”

Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute Holds Open House
10/23/2009

Attending the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) open house are, left to right, patient Emilio Rodriguez, M.D., UM President Donna E. Shalala, ISCI Director Joshua Hare, M.D., patient Albert Veloz, M.D., and Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D.

A Miller School component whose mission is to redefine how medicine is practiced held its official coming out party Thursday evening, Oct. 22.

More than 100 people, including Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., and University of Miami President Donna E. Shalala, were present for the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute’s open house ceremony.

Simply stated, the goal of the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) is to use stem cells to replace human cells and organs that have been damaged by disease and age.

“Every once in a while in medicine, new opportunities materialize that can really change the way medicine is conducted, and offer new opportunities to improve human health,” ISCI Director Joshua Hare, M.D., told an audience under a white tent erected alongside the Biomedical Research Building.

Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Professor Named Educator of the Year
10/22/2009

Steven J. Gedde, M.D., shows his Excellence in Health Care Award in the Educator category.

Steven J. Gedde, M.D., professor of ophthalmology and director of the residency program at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, was named Educator of the Year by the South Florida Business Journal. The 2009 Excellence in Health Care Awards were presented during a ceremony today at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale.

“We all want to make a difference in the world and enhance our profession,” says Gedde. “Recognizing that I can best accomplish this by teaching others has helped me to become a more effective health care educator.”

Under his leadership, the Bascom Palmer residency program is ranked the nation’s top ophthalmology training program. Gedde, Bascom Palmer’s residency program director for the past ten years, is a glaucoma specialist with a special interest in glaucoma surgery and medical education.

UM HEAT-IT-UP Program Gets Off the Ground
10/21/2009

John Ryan, Dr.P.H., spoke to a group of participants at the launch of the HEAT-IT-UP project in Overtown.

Ten newly trained and now computer savvy volunteers heard themselves called medical pioneers for their participation in a unique project aimed at changing the way primary care is delivered and how patients interact with their health care providers by using a computer and the Internet. The official launch of the Overtown "Health Education and Access Through an Information Technology Utilization Project (HEAT-IT-UP)" took place on October 14 the Jefferson Reaves Sr. Health Center in Overtown. The primary care clinic serves as the family medicine residency training site and is also a United Health Foundation Center of Excellence.

"You are pioneers and on the cutting edge of changing the way health care is delivered in this country," said Robert Schwartz, M.D., professor and chair of family medicine and community health and project director. "This project would not have been possible without your willingness to take part and you will now influence how millions of people across the country will receive their health care in the future."

UHealth Senior Leadership Team Discusses Best Practices at UCare's Seventh Leadership Development Institute
10/19/2009

Members of the UHealth leadership team respond to questions at the seventh UCare Leadership Development Institute. Pictured from left, Michele Chulick, Paul Hudgins, Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., William J. Donelan and Eduardo de Marchena, M.D.

As part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System‚’s targeted efforts to create a unified, patient-centric health system, about 400 leaders participated in the latest UCare Leadership Development Institute (LDI). The sessions – the seventh iteration of the LDI series launched in 2008 to strengthen the culture of teamwork and excellence – were held October 15 and 16 and covered a range of topics that participants could immediately use in their respective departments as they push themselves and their staffs to excellence.

The sessions covered several learning objectives, including standardizing the process for selection (peer/behavioral interviewing to ensure commitment to standards of behavior); effectively managing performance; sharing best practices for results across the health system; conducting effective meetings; and building pride in the system by sharing stellar “Pillar” results and showcasing physician achievement. The Pillars of Excellence of UHealth are service, people, quality, growth and finance.

Medical Student Meets His Match, and the Dean, in the Gym
10/16/2009

Trainer Jeff Farmer gives Paul Rothenberg a tip as the first-year medical student works out with Dean Goldschmidt.

Not everybody would appreciate a workout as a gift, but first-year medical student Paul Rothenberg was thrilled when his aunt gave him a high-intensity, weight resistance session she won at a silent auction for his 27th birthday.

Neither was the former college football player and gym denizen daunted about his exercise partner — Miller School Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., a marathon runner and weight trainer who's known almost as much for his physical fitness as his expertise in cardiology.

Miller School Student DOCS Bring Compassionate Care to Little Haiti with Fifteenth Annual Health Fair
10/13/2009

Molleine Elmeus, a patient at the DOCS Little Haiti Health Fair, gets an intraocular pressure eye exam from voluntary assistant professor of ophthalmology Mark Werner, M.D., and first-year medical student Raye Zhu.

Two weeks before this year’s Little Haiti Health Fair, project manager and Miller School medical student Tameka Joseph and two classmates took to the airwaves of local Haitian radio to spread the word about the annual health fair and invite listeners to pre-register. Later the trio and other students would hit the streets of Little Haiti to encourage residents to attend the 15th Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service (DOCS) Little Haiti Health Fair and receive the free health screenings that have helped save many lives.

On Saturday, it was evident their efforts paid off. At 10 a.m. when the gates of the Center for Haitian Studies opened, dozens of men, women and children streamed in, eager to be seen by Miller School faculty and other volunteer physicians, and dozens of medical students who provide a wide range of services while gaining valuable patient contact experience.

Dr. Roberto Heros to Receive Prestigious Harvey Cushing Medal
10/13/2009

Roberto C. Heros, M.D.

Roberto C. Heros, M.D., professor and co-chair of neurological surgery and residency program director, has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Harvey Cushing Medal.

The Cushing Medal is the highest honor given by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) to a neurosurgeon. The award, established in 1976 and given annually since 1977, recognizes an AANS member for distinguished service in the field of neurosurgery.

In his award letter, AANS president Troy M. Tippett, M.D., praised Heros for his selfless dedication to medicine and neurosurgery. "Your contributions to neurosurgical education, your efforts in helping to bring the XIV World Congress of Neurological Surgery to fruition, and your personal traits, scientific honesty... are models for all neurosurgeons and deserve the highest recognition our specialty can bestow," Tippett wrote.

Dr. Nestor de la Cruz-Muñoz Named to Key Positions at the University of Miami Health System and Miller School of Medicine
10/12/2009

Nestor de la Cruz-Munoz, M.D

Nestor de la Cruz-Muñoz, M.D., has been named chief of the Division of Laparoendoscopic and Minimally Invasive Surgery and co-director of the Center of Excellence for Laparoscopic and Minimally Invasive Surgery and assistant professor in the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. de la Cruz-Muñoz will also retain his current position as medical director for bariatric surgery at University of Miami Hospital, part of UHealth – University of Miami Health System. Previously, he was head surgeon of Miami’s Surgical Weight Loss Institute specializing in general, bariatric, and advanced laparoscopic surgery.

“It is an honor to join the Miller School and UHealth which provides leading-edge patient care based on clinical research,” said Dr. Nestor de la Cruz-Muñoz. “The benefits of laparoscopic surgery for patients are tremendous, and with the health system’s commitment to groundbreaking research and education, the opportunities for innovations are endless.”