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THE06•06HealthScienceCenterUNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA50 yearsof caring for the communitypage10GeriatricsclerkshipBlindchickens seeSavvystudent’s software8 1219DENTISTRY • MEDICINE • NURSING • PHARMACY • PUBLIC HEALTH & HEALTH PROFESSIONS • VETERINARY MEDICINE

UP FRONTTable of Contents3POST IT8EDUCATION – New geriatrics course15RESEARCH – Walking for future health4JACKSONVILLE – New division chairman10COVER STORY – Health disparities16COMMUNITY – Preparing for disaster5JACKSONVILLE – DMAT training12RESEARCH – Giving vision17DISTINCTIONS – $1 million gift6PATIENT CARE – Dental digital age13RESEARCH – Cutting calories adds health18DISTINCTIONS7PATIENT CARE – Shands AGH grows for kids14RESEARCH – Little lab that could(EXTRA)ORDINARY PEOPLE – Software studies1612 1919ON THE COVER: During the past 50 years, the Health Science Center has contributed to the community in a variety of ways. The clinicfeatured on the cover, established in Mayo, Fla., by the College of Medicine, is just one clinic, program or activitywhere HSC faculty, students and staff have made a difference over the years. The story starts on page 10.Readyfor takeoffBob Rowley, of Ocala, prepares torelease a mature American bald eagleinto a meadow May 31 at PaynesPrairie in Gainesville. Assisting is zoomedicine technician Elijah Rooneyfrom UF’s Veterinary Medical Center.The eagle, which had been found on anearby road and taken to UF fortreatment on April 20, is believed tohave been hit by a car. NamedSamantha by UF veterinary students,the bird was treated for shock and headtrauma and was released May 3 toAudubon’s Center for Birds of Prey inMaitland for further rehabilitation.PHOTO BY SARAH KIEWEL2POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

JACKSONVILLEIntrigued by the heart and stirred by medicineWhite is fi rst chairman of the department of radiology in JacksonvilleBy Patricia Bates McGheeFrom the get-go, he didn’t want to go to medical school. But a trustedundergraduate adviser gave Richard D. White, M.D., some advice that set himon a long, rather unorthodox path to being named the first chairman of thedepartment of radiology in the UF College of Medicine–Jacksonville.“I was a biology major at all-male Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., and had noidea what I wanted to do but knew I wasn’t going the route of medicine,” says White.Along came Duncan Chiquoine, Ph.D., White’s academic adviser, who cared aboutWhite but showed it in an unusual way — by frustrating him.“He told me I was a good kid but I was boring and that I should go to med school andDr. Richard D. White is stirred up by his new position as the fi rst chairman of the departmentof radiology in the UF College of Medicine–Jacksonville.do two things — get stirred up and fall in love,” he said. “To this day I sort of thank himfor having not been gentle with me, even though his advice frustrated me.”To White’s surprise, medical school did stir him up…eventually. Born inSchenectady, N.Y., and raised in the Saratoga Springs area, he earned his biologydegree at Hamilton in 1978 and was ready to start med school at the University ofRochester when the first frustration hit. Just days before he was to leave for Rochester,Duke University med school called with an offer. White made a whirlwind trip toDuke — his first trek south of the Mason-Dixon Line.“To me at the time, going south was going to visit my grandparents in Queens,” hesays, “but I was intrigued about going to an Ivy League school within a tobacco town;talk about getting stirred up!”He accepted Duke’s offer. Once at Duke, White didn’t understand why he was there.He hated every minute of it and was ready to quit until he stumbled onto a researchopportunity. Always intrigued by the heart, he began working with two cardiacpathologists and a cardiologist, Galen S. Wagner, M.D., who became his next mentor.White received his M.D. from Duke in 1981 before spending 1981-82 in cardiacinvestigation as one of the first 10 fellows of the Sarnoff Foundation for cardiovascularresearch. Still, he anguished over how to express an interest in heart work and inresearch without spending 12 years training in cardiac surgery or years of residencyin general internal medicine prior to a cardiology fellowship.“Ironically, I had a very interesting experience with a radiology rotation at Duke,but I thought that wasn’t really medicine and wanted a different route.”Again, White found himself in a new place without knowing what he was gettinghimself into. He completed an internal medicine internship atthe University of California–San Francisco Hospitals from 1982until 1983. During this time he realized that his personalinterest in cases waned once a diagnosis was made.“I was intrigued about the issues that existed before thefundamental problem was identified,” he says. “My attractionwas really in the diagnostic end of things but yet I always lovedthe heart.”Radiology became more attractive to White, thanks to UCSF’simpressive radiology department, directed by Alexander R.Margulis, M.D. White completed a residency at UCSF indiagnostic radiology.“At San Francisco I was lucky enough to be one of the firstpersons to do cardiac MRI and CT scanning in the early 1980swhen we were still trying to figure out how to do it, even thoughI never had any formal training in it,” says White, who stayedon at UCSF for a two-year National Institutes of Healthfellowship in cardiovascular imaging.After completing his training, White served as director ofcardiovascular magnetic resonance at Georgetown UniversityHospital in Washington, D.C. from 1987-88 and as head ofcardiovascular imaging at University Hospitals of Clevelandfrom 1988-89. In 1989 he joined the Cleveland ClinicFoundation, where he eventually became clinical director ofthe Center for Integrated Non-invasive CardiovascularImaging and held appointments in radiology, medicine andsurgery and a joint appointment to the department of medicalsubspecialty pediatrics (division of pediatrics).Throughout his career, he has focused on the development, initial implementationand eventual broad-scale clinical application of advanced MRI techniques foranatomical and functional assessment of diseases of the heart and central vasculature.More recently, White has been involved in comparative and integrative work withboth cardiovascular MRI and multidetector CT.“My own path is a little atypical — not what I consider a traditional radiologyapproach,” he admits. “I view myself as sort of actually circling back into radiologyrather than having gone directly at it.”At UF White is already stirred up.“My goal is to try to replicate what I was able to do in a subset of radiology(cardiovascular imaging) but apply it across the board,” he says. “The department ofradiology is going to be more and more of a central technology facility for imagingphysicians and scientists that interfaces with all of the clinical services in patient careand research, as well as providing a backbone for the growth of this institution.” P4POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

DMAT teams streamline the first responseJACKSONVILLEBy Patricia Bates McGheeNearly a hundred emergency first responders and staff met last monthon the UF Health Science Center–Jacksonville campus to attend thelargest medical simulator-based national training event for avian fluand hurricane preparedness, and for lessons in hospital administration duringsuch emergencies.Conducted by UF’s Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research atthe College of Medicine–Jacksonville, the event targeted first respondersassigned to Disaster Medical Assistance Team, or DMAT, FL-4 as well as otherdisaster management staff from as far away as Washington, D.C. and Colorado.A DMAT is a group of professional and paraprofessional medical personnel(supported by a cadre of logistical and administrative staff) operating underHomeland Security that provides medical care during a disaster. DMAT FL-4 is located in northeast Florida and includes Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay,Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Nassau, St. Johns and Unioncounties.Attendees trained in several techniques and faced several scenarios — allfollowing an avian flu outbreak. They role-played during an initial meetingbetween DMAT and hospital administrators, as DMAT arrived on the scene atthe hospital after the outbreak. The next scenario jumped to midday of thesame day, after tents had been set up and DMAT personnel were evaluatingpatients for avian flu and were treating trauma patients because the localtrauma center was overrun. The third scenario was set four days later andUF’s Center for Simulation Education and Safety Research at the College of Medicine–Jacksonville was the site for a DMAT-4 training exercise for disaster fi rst responders.“Training large groups like thisis a new approach fornonmilitary disaster responseteams, and it is very realistic atall levels.” —David Vukichinvolved a death toll of 30, logistical and communication failures, brokengenerators, contaminated water and anxious health-care providers.“Training large groups like this is a new approach for nonmilitary disasterresponse teams, and it is very realistic at all levels,” said David Vukich, M.D.,a professor and chair of the emergency medicine department at the College ofMedicine–Jacksonville. “Everyone is familiar with how the military trains infunctional units, but civilian health-care teams likeDMATs rarely have the opportunity to bring all theirmembers together for coordinated, high-fidelitytraining,” he said. “By simulating a mass casualtyevent, all members of the DMAT can be trained andtested in their individual roles and we can test thecoordination, management and performance of theentire team.”CSESaR is a collaborative effort supported by theCollege of Medicine-Jacksonville and ShandsJacksonville Medical Center. The 24,000-square-footcenter allows special forces medics, emergencyresponders, hospital personnel, residents andstudents to receive specialized computer simulationtraining for anticipated environmental, medical orterrorist disasters. CSESaR’s mission is to promotequality patient care, expand patient safety initiativesand enhance multidisciplinary health care, educationand teamwork through simulation and goal-directedtraining.CSESaR’s simulation training unit uses “highfidelity”mannequins in place of actual patients.Computer-controlled, the mannequins are complex,lifelike robots that mimic almost every knownphysical condition. A state-of-the-art adult femalerobot, for example, can have a heartbeat, workingarteries and veins and have the ability to move, talk,breathe and give “birth” to an infant robot. PVisit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.06•06 POST5

PATIENT CAREAdapting to the digital ageRadiography in dentistry gets in-sync with the timesJames Pettigrew Jr., D.M.D., left, division head of oral and maxillofacial radiology, with Madhu Nair,D.M.D., an associate professor in the division, utilize cone beam computed tomography imaging toenhance patient service.By Lindy McCollum-BrounleyGerman physics professor Wilhelm ConradRoentgen discovered X-rays by chance inNovember of 1895 while conductingexperiments using a cathode ray tube.Roentgen’s interest in the tube was to studyfluorescent light generated by electricity. What hediscovered instead was that the tube’s invisible rays,which he called “X-rays,” had the ability to make some,but not all, solid objects seem transparent whenrecorded on photographic plates. One can imagineRoentgen scouring his laboratory for objects to test thepower of his new X-rays — books, coins and, eventually,his wife Anna’s hand.When Roentgen developed the film plate on whichthe image of Anna’s hand had been recorded, the X-rayrevealed clearly defined and delicate bones encased in aghostly shadow of flesh, the third finger adorned by theblack shadow of a ring.It was the first X-ray image of human anatomy, and, ascrude as it was, it set off a cascading chain of scientificand medical advancement unimaginable by its inventor.Modern X-ray technology, or radiography, has comea long way since Roentgen’s discovery. X-rays for dentalpurposes, known as oral and maxillofacial radiology,was accepted by the American Dental Association as arecognized specialty in 1999 and has long been a fixtureof dental practice — yet dental imaging has transformedin terms of technology just in the last few years.“Oral and maxillofacial radiology may be seen as aservice area as it has been in the past, where radiographswould be acquired based on a dentist’s prescription,much like a lab service,” said Madhu Nair, D.M.D.,Ph.D., an associate professor of oral and maxillofacialsurgery and diagnostic sciences. “But that has changedwith the increased use of advanced imaging modalitiessuch as CT and MRI.“More complex procedures are now routinely doneby dentists and dental specialists, with radiologistsproviding specialized expertise in digital processingand interpretation of the images,” Nair said.Increasingly sophisticated oral, head and necksurgeries, and other nonsurgical procedures have madethe immediacy and flexibility of digital radiography acrucial tool for dental providers. Likewise, staying atthe forefront of cutting-edge technology is crucial tothe College of Dentistry’s dental education and patientservice missions.Recognizing that and with help from a $2 millionU.S. Human Resources and Services Administrationgrant, the college is bringing its clinics into the digitalage with installation of digital radiographyenterprisewide. The college also received an anonymousdonation through its Implant Center, which enabledintegration of cone beam computed tomography, orCBCT, in the division of oral and maxillofacialradiology earlier this year.Digital radiography, which is quickly gainingacceptance across the globe, does away with traditionalradiographic film and light boxes. It takes advantage ofsophisticated software and electronic sensor technologyto capture radiographic images, which are stored onsecure college servers.Radiation doses are usually comparable or lowerwith digital radiography than with film-basedradiography, but digital images can be enhanced withsoftware when they are less than perfect, furtherreducing radiation dose sustained during re-takes.Once the images are captured, they become part of thepatient’s electronic chart, easily shared amongdepartments, clinics and specialists for increasedefficiency in patient care.CBCT is another exciting addition to the college’simaging capabilities. It uses cone beam technology toscan the head and neck region; then the softwarereconstructs the “slice” data as well as 3-D images thatcan be explored inside out on the computer screen.“The CBCT is going to enhance patient servicebecause it’s convenient and gives us CT capability inhouse,”said James Pettigrew Jr., D.M.D., an associateprofessor and division head of oral and maxillofacialradiology. “We’ve been referring patients to Shands forCT scans, and we will continue to do that for contrastedstudies (where dye is injected) and those more difficultstudies needing medical grade images.”Head and neck scans, or studies, produced by CBCTimaging are acquired at a fraction of the radiation dosedelivered during a regular, medical-grade CT scan.CBCT reconstructs soft tissue as well as bone andcan drill down to very specific areas with ease, usuallywith quality of detail necessary for radiologists toclearly identify certain dental or maxillofacial diseasesand conditions. The images are useful for orthodontics,implant imaging, presurgical planning for implants,maxillofacial trauma and infections, some dentaltumors and diseases, and any other malady within thescope of dentistry and oral and maxillofacial surgery.CBCT and digital radiography are very differentimaging technologies, but they share a commonoutcome of improved patient care through detaileddental imaging and electronic access to the digitalimages they produce.There’s no doubt that dental imaging has advanced intoa digital age filled with possibilities for the future. Onewonders if Roentgen would be all that surprised. P6POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

PATIENT CAREShands AGH’s future to include relocated children’s servicesBy Kim JamersonShands HealthCare has outlined a vision to expand services offered at Shands AGHand strengthen the community hospital for the future.As part of Shands’ strategic plan to enhance patient care in the Gainesville area,a major portion of the children’s services currently offered at Shands at UF will berelocated to the Shands AGH campus and will feature private rooms for childrenand their families.“This is an exciting time for Shands HealthCare,” said Tim Goldfarb, ShandsHealthCare chief executive officer. “We believe our plans will a provide a long-termsolution to revitalizing Shands AGH while maintaining the essence of the hospitalby supplementing its existing programs, such as family medicine and emergencyservices.”Programs moving from Shands at UF will include most pediatric nonsurgicalservices as well as pediatric otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), orthopaedics,oral surgery, outpatient surgery and corresponding consultative and supportservices. Children’s services staying at Shands at UF include cardiology, cardiacsurgery, bone marrow, neonatology, general surgery, transplantation, trauma/burn,neurosurgery and a portion of pediatric intensive care. Vacated space at Shands atUF will be used to expand other clinical services.Phase two of the recommended plan includes building a dedicated patient towerfor children’s services at Shands AGH. This goal may take several years, dependingon outside fundraising.“Offering children’s programs at Shands AGH will almost immediately improvethe access to health care for children and families in our community,” said TerryFlotte, M.D., College of Medicine chair of pediatrics. “There is great benefit to theease of a more intimate and easily navigable facility. This will also allow us to createa door-to-door, child and family friendly environment for families under the greatstress of having an ill child. This is a practical model with much to gain in thefuture. We ultimately hope to consolidate all children’s services on a single campuswhere there’s room to expand.”In addition to resolving the underutilization of available resources at ShandsAGH, Goldfarb said the plan alleviates capacity issues that Shands at UF has beenwrestling with due to ongoing demands for care.Shands developed the strategy based upon extensive input from Shands and UFCollege of Medicine leaders. Goldfarb said they are in the early stages of the planand have not worked out specifics related to budget and timeline, although theyhope to have phase one changes complete in September.The Shands HealthCare board of directors will finalize and approve the plans atan upcoming meeting. PUF Physicians offer patients new Web-based way to access health serviceBy Kim JamersonFor years patients seeking their doctors’ advicehave had two choices — schedule anappointment for an office visit or try to catchthem by phone. Now, University of FloridaPhysicians, the UF College of Medicine’sGainesville-based faculty group practiceaffiliated with Shands HealthCare, is offeringits patients an alternative, RelayHealth.The RelayHealth service allows patients,clinicians and staff to communicate with eachother in a secure, online environment using theircomputers. Patients can use the service to resolvenon-urgent health matters, such as gettingprescription refills, scheduling appointments,receiving lab results and requesting referrals.They can also participate in a webVisitconsultation, which is an online medicalinterview that gathers information about theirsymptoms and relays it to their doctors.Aida Vega, M.D., UF College of Medicine’sdivision of internal medicine associate chief, isthe medical director at Tower Hill InternalMedicine and has been using RelayHealth toprocess prescription refills and referralrequests. Soon she will begin using thewebVisit feature.“My patients have given me a lot of positivefeedback about the increased level of access tome and other clinic staff,” Vega said. “I thinkit’s a wonderful system. In fact, I was onvacation the other week and used it tocommunicate with my nurse and staff, so Icould stay in the loop about my patients’ needs.”While not a replacement for traditional officevisits, Vega said RelayHealth facilitates essentialfollow-up care that is convenient for her and herpatients. Currently, 81 UF physicians haveregistered to use the online system.“We feel online care provides a goodopportunity to strengthen the doctor-patientrelationship,” said Kelly Kerr, Faculty PracticeClinics senior director. “Patients can send andreceive messages any time from any computer,which decreases time away from work waitingin a doctor’s office. Physicians benefit fromincreased productivity and improved patientsatisfaction.”RelayHealth services are free to patients withthe exception of the webVisit feature, which isabout the same price as a face-to-face office visitand may be covered by the patient’s insurance.Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida issponsoring UF Physicians’ introduction to theRelayHealth system.UF Physicians’ patients can accessRelayHealth through Shands.org. PKim Jamerson is a public relations coordinator for Shands at UF.Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.06•06 POST7

EDUCATIONNew clerkship makes the most of geriatric educationBy Denise TrunkBeginning July 10, all fourth-year medical students will add a new component to theirmedical education – a two-week clerkship in geriatric medicine.Coordinated by the Geriatric Clerkship Development Team and led by director JohnMeuleman, M.D., and Miho Bautista, M.D, in the UF Institute on Aging, the course will exposestudents to numerous situations in treating and communicating with geriatric patients.Miho Bautista, a clinical associate professor in the College of Medicine’s department of agingand geriatrics, said the new program will make a substantial contribution toward improvinggeriatric medicine.Rebecca Beyth, M.D., an associate professor in the College of Medicine’s department ofgeriatrics and aging research and associate director of the Rehabilitation Outcomes ResearchCenter, will, as of July 1, be chief of a new division that will oversee the clerkship, the division ofcareer development and education.“The students are going to see patients in different clinical settings — whether it is the VA oruniversity private practice, nursing home or Shands Hospital — to make sure they are gettingexposure to everything they would see, depending on what they do in their future careers,”Beyth said. “Maybe they won’t go into geriatrics, but even if they go into internal medicine theyare going to have to deal with older patients, and even if they go on to be pediatricians they aregoing to have to deal with the parents or grandparents of the patients they treat. So they need tohave understanding.”During the weekdays the students will make rounds,develop patient assessments, attend selected clinics andparticipate in interdisciplinary meetings at one of fourlocations. Two are in Jacksonville, at the Translational CareUnit at Shands and the River Garden Hebrew Home, andtwo are in Gainesville at Shands Rehab at UF and theGeriatric Evaluation Management Unit at the MalcomRandall Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Each week willend on Friday afternoon with a small group meeting withBautista in Gainesville at the Geriatric Research, Educationand Clinical Center at the VA. The first week’s small groupwill focus on falls and immobility, and the second week willfocus on dementia.Under the direction of Marco Pahor and the Institute onAging, the team is working to help UF become a nationallyrecognized presence in the training of future clinicians andresearchers in geriatrics and aging.“Starting with students is a good way to develop a brandname and reputation because they’ll go up through thesystem and say, ‘I was trained at UF and there was thegeriatric model,’ ” Beyth said. “The resident and the fellow— they may already be jaded about what they think aboutgeriatrics. So we are focusing on starting with the studentsbefore their mind is made up on the subject.”Third-year medical students will continue to encountergeriatric patients as part of their family medicine andambulatory care clerkship.Peggy Smith, education coordinator in the division of geriatrics and one of the coursedevelopers, said the program’s tagline of “Caring, Respect and Communication” sums up thecourse philosophy.“The secondary goal of the clerkship is to teach practitioners to communicate with olderpatients. They are sometimes difficult to communicate with, but they need a lot of care andrespect,” Smith said. “With this course we need to get all of that integrated so doctors know howto properly communicate with the patient, with the family and the interdisciplinary team.” PPHOTO BY SARAH KIEWEL“The students are going to see patientsin different clinical settings — whetherit is the VA or university privatepractice, nursing home or ShandsHospital — to make sure they aregetting exposure to everything theywould see, depending on what they doin their future careers,.”— Rebecca Beyth, M.D.Dr. John Meuleman, left, Dr. Rebecca Beyth, Dr. Miho Bautista,Peggy Smith and Michelle Griffi n developed the department ofaging and geriatric medicine’s new mandatory two-weekrotation in geriatrics. The fi rst group of fourth-year students willattend the course beginning July 10 in four clinical sites, two inJacksonville and two in Gainesville.8POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

EDUCATIONMPH students give immunizationtracking system a boostSTOP! Children’s Cancerfunds new professorshipBy Chris BrazdaTwelve-year-old Bonnie Freeman’s dying request 25years ago to spare children the pain and agony of cancernow has more possibilities of being answered thanks tothe efforts of an organization created to fulfill her wish.STOP! Children’s Cancer, Inc., founded in 1981 inGainesville, announced at its 25th anniversaryfundraising gala a donation of $1 million to theUniversity of Florida to establish The STOP! Children’sCancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professorship for PediatricOncology Research in the College of Medicine.“There’s no gift great enough to put an immediatestop to cancer in children,” said Howard Freeman, cofounderof STOP! Children’s Cancer Inc. and father ofBonnie, who died of cancer in 1983, “but we feel thatMaster of Public Health student participants are (from left) Meghan Schuck,Dana Mora, Cynthia DePew, Evelyn King, Kelly Palmer, Travis Johnson,Fahima Sharker and Amanda Lampe.By Jill PeaseMaster of Public Health students in the College of Public Health and HealthProfessions spent their spring break bringing the state closer to its goal ofregistering nearly all of Florida’s children in the state online immunizationdatabase.The State Health Online Tracking System, or SHOTS, is designed to contain thecomprehensive immunization history of children born in Florida since Jan. 1, 2003to ensure immunizations are up-to-date, to prevent unnecessary duplication ofimmunizations and to consolidate immunization records from all health-careproviders.The state hopes to meet the objective set by the Healthy People 2010 initiative —a 95 percent enrollment of children ages 6 years and under in SHOTS.However, useof SHOTS by pediatricians has been slow. Only 30 percent of private providers inFlorida are accessing and entering patient records into the confidential Web-basedsystem, which was established in 2000.“Offices may not be participating because the program is new and different andis perceived to be time-consuming, although it actually saves time in the long runand improves patient care,” said Joelisa Sherman, Florida SHOTS regionalcoordinator.To address this issue, 11 Master of Public Health students, in partnership withthe Suwannee River Area Health Education Center and Florida Department ofHealth, brought along laptop computers and set up shop in the offices of five areapediatricians during spring break. By week’s end, the students had added severalhundred new child immunizations records to the SHOTS database.“Having students in the providers’ offices helped to jump-start their participationin SHOTS and allowed students to have actual live contact with the offices,”Sherman said.The spring break initiative was so successful that plans are under way to continuethe UF students’ participation during the summer and to expand the collaborationto include graduate students at other state universities, Sherman said. P“STOP! Children’s Cancer’scommitment to research inpediatric cancer is motivationto all of us at UF in all fieldsand all disciplines.”— UF President Bernie Machenthis research professorship at UF is a huge step in theright direction.”In its 25 years of fundraising, Stop! Children’s CancerInc. has provided more than $1.3 million towardpediatric cancer research projects, research scholars andequipment in the Department of Pediatric Hematologyand Oncology in UF’s College of Medicine. This latestgift is the first that will create an endowment.“STOP! Children’s Cancer’s commitment to researchin pediatric cancer is motivation to all of us at UF in allfields and all disciplines,” said UF President BernieMachen.The courage of Bonnie Freeman’s expressed wishes isclearly evident in this gift.”Income from the endowment will support aprofessorship in UF’s Department of Pediatricsfocusing on translational or laboratory research ofchildhood cancers.“The recruitment of a world-class researcher in thearea of pediatric leukemias will enable us to developnew treatments for those children, for current therapiesare not enough,” said Terrence R. Flotte, M.D.,Nemours Eminent Scholar Professor and chair of thedepartment of pediatrics in the College of Medicine. PVisit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.06•06 POST9

COVER STORYLendinga helpinghandPHOTO BY SARAH KIEWELDBy April Frawley Birdwelloris Rehberg sits, hands folded in her lap, waiting for the doctorto examine her ear. The minutes pass, but Rehberg doesn’t mindthe wait. She doesn’t mind the 18-mile drive to get to the AlachuaCounty Organization for Rural Needs clinic, either.She knows most everyone who works in the office — they often peek in herroom to say hi or coo about her hat, a white number with beige flowers tacked onit — and she adores her doctor, Mimi Balch, M.D., a UF adjunct professor ofcommunity health and family medicine and a co-medical director of the clinic.If it weren’t for them, Rehberg doesn’t think she would be able to access qualityhealth care at all. The grandmother of eight wouldn’t be able to afford it.“I appreciate the ACORN clinic for taking me in,” Rehberg said. “I wouldn’t begetting the care I need without it. I think it’s wonderful, myself.”Tucked away on a rural highway near Brooker, Fla., about 12 miles north ofGainesville, the clinic provides medical, dental and psychological care to patients,nearly all of whom live at or below federal poverty guidelines.Since the ACORN clinic opened in 1974, faculty, staff and students from theUF Health Science Center have been there, volunteering their time to help peoplelike Rehberg, who have little access to affordable health care or to the resourcesavailable in cities. UF medical and pharmacy students often have clinical rotationsthere and dental students provide much of the care in the dental clinic, under thesupervision of UF College of Dentistry faculty.But helping out in rural clinics is just one of the ways faculty and students fromthe colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicineand Public Health and Health Professions have contributed to the community inthe 50 years since the Health Science Center opened.There have been community campaigns to spay and neuter feral cats and specialcamps to help sick children realize they’re not alone. But no matter what the cause,HSC faculty and students generally get involved for one reason: to help people.The Mayo, Fla., cl inicBy 1969, there hadn’t been a doctor in Lafayette County for 10 years. Back then,patients with serious injuries often died before they could get the care theyneeded.Newly hired to head theUF College of Medicine’sdepartment of communityhealth and ambulatory care,Richard Reynolds, M.D.,didn’t recognize anything atthe teaching hospital then thatreminded him of what his ownprivate practice had been like.Establishing a clinic in Mayo,Fla., the county seat, would notonly help the area’s citizens butalso give students a taste of lifeas a doctor, Reynolds thought.“We ran it 24/7,” remembered Reynolds, still a UF courtesy professor and avice president of Boca Raton Community Hospital. “The (medical and nursing)students lived there … We saw about 5,000 patients a year.”The program was one of the first community rural health programs HSCleaders launched. College of Medicine founding Dean George T. Harrell hadhoped to establish clinics in nearby communities, but several local doctors,worried about their own practices, weren’t keen on the idea.The clinic is still in Mayo, although the rural county now has a few doctors ofits own.10POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

The Equal Access Cl inicPatients usually line up outside the door before the Equal Access Clinic opens onThursday nights. Only 15 patients are seen at the weekly free clinic, which UFmedical students established in 1992.“It’s not a huge number of people, but it’s something,” said Adam Mecca, afirst-year medical student and one of the clinic’s co-directors. “We have somepeople who come here all the time. Without it, they wouldn’t have anything else.”UF medical students began planning the weekly clinic in 1988. Four yearslater, with the help of faculty members and financial support from the UFAlumni Association, it opened in a Salvation Army building.Now housed in the UF Family Practice Medical Group, the clinic also allowsfirst- and second-year medical students the chance to work with patients. Medicalstudents typically do not work with patients until their third year, when theybegin their clinical clerkships.“It’s a huge opportunity for us and for the patients,” Mecca said.Operation CatnipPeople aren’t the only ones in need. Cats and kittens have problems too, namelythat there are too many without homes.In Alachua County alone, there are 36,000 stray and feral cats, said Julie Levy,D.V.M., a UF associate professor of veterinary medicine. Raised without humancontact, feral cats often turn wild and form colonies in neighborhoods.“Many of them will end uphomeless or in shelters,” Levysaid. “That’s a lot of suffering.”That’s why Levy startedOperation Catnip at NorthCarolina State University in1994. A trap-neuter-returnprogram, Operation Catnipallows community members totrap neighborhood strays andbring them to a monthly clinicwhere they are spayed orneutered for free by veterinarianvolunteers. This is a humaneway to battle the kittyoverpopulation problem, Levy said.Levy expanded the program to Gainesville in 1998, one year after she joinedthe UF faculty. So far, she and her colleagues have spayed and neutered 15,000cats in Gainesville.“I think this is a nice example of how UF and the residential community canwork together to solve a problem,” Levy said.Hands to Love campFor one weekend each year at Camp Crystal Lake in Keystone Heights, there’s noteasing or self-conscious worrying for children born with arm or hand defects.For one weekend, 30 children can be with kids who are just like them.Paul Dell, M.D., a UF professor of orthopaedics in the College of Medicine, andtwo Shands Rehab hand therapists founded the Hands to Love camp in 2001 togive children with congenital hand differences and their families a chance tointeract with each other and explore new resources.“The main focus of the camp is for the kids to get together, meet new friends,enjoy the camp experience andplay together,” said Wendy Holt,OTR, a UF lecturer in theCollege of Public Health andHealth Professions. “This givesthem a chance to relax.”While there, the children cantry out archery with a specialdevice that allows them to shoota bow and arrow, as well as aropes course and even waterskiing. The families also have access to psychologists, hand therapists, orthopaedicphysicians, nurses and family counselors, Holt said.Many of the volunteers at the camp are PHHP occupational therapy students,who participate as family pals for the entire weekend. Dental students also cometo the camp to teach children proper dental care, Holt said.For parents, the camp also serves as prime networking ground. But mostly, it’sall about fun, Holt said.“They’re amazing kids,” Holt said. “To see them climb ropes and do all thisstuff; they’re competitive, fearless. It is always a weekend to remember.”UF Area Health Education Centers programThe UF Area Health Education Centers program isn’t a special clinic or officewhere community members can go for help. But it is the program that linksphysicians, health professionals and students from every college in the HSCexcept veterinary medicine to medically underserved communities from Ocalato Pensacola.AHEC, a state- and federally funded program, supports programs and clinicsin medically underserved areas, in rural and inner-city neighborhoods. Becauseit is difficult to keep doctors in isolated, rural towns or in poor, urban areas,AHEC also helps recruit and retain doctors there, providing them with continuingmedical education and linking them to the HSC and its resources.“Many of the medically underserved communities are underserved for areason,” said Larry Rooks, an associate professor of community health and familymedicine and medical director of the UF AHEC. “AHEC fills the gap and does alot to get quality health care in these areas.”AHEC, which has programs in 40 states, was started at UF in the early 1990s,Rooks said.Program leaders are also working on ways to diversify health care and fix futureproblems. The group established a Boy Scouts of America medical explorers postin Jacksonville, as well as summer camps in other areas. They also formed theCommunity Health Scholars program, which allows health professions studentsto spend the summer studying health needs in rural areas. These students workon finding solutions to health-care problems specific to rural areas.“One thing I think the university needs to be careful of is forgetting we’re alittle island in a rural sea,” Rooks said.One of the rural programs AHEC supports is the ACORN clinic, arranging forfaculty and students from HSC colleges to work there.The help is needed. Most of the patients who come to the ACORN clinic havenowhere else to go. Many are uninsured, said Chris Hoffman, R.N., coordinatorof the ACORN medical clinic. Without insurance, some patients would spend$500 to $600 on medicine alone.“They’re struggling to get by,” Hoffman said. “They all have their stories to tell.”Patients like Rehberg are just glad someone is listening.“They’re such good doctors,” Rehberg said. “Everyone is just so nice.” PVisit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.06•06 POST11

RESEARCHPHOTO BY SARAH KIEWELUF scientists restore sight tochickens with blinding diseaseNeuroscientist Sue Semple-Rowland of the University of Florida’s McKnight Brain Institute poses with a type of Rhode Island Red chicken born blind. Rowlandhas developed a gene therapy that enables these animals to hatch with their sight intact, which proves in principle that a similar treatment can be developedfor an incurable form of blindness in children.By John PastorUniversity of Florida scientists have delivered agene through an eggshell to give sight to a typeof chicken normally born blind.The finding, reported in the online journal PublicLibrary of Science-Medicine, proves in principle that asimilar treatment can be developed for an incurableform of childhood blindness.“We were able to restore function to the photoreceptorcells in the retinas of an avian model of a disease that isone of the more common causes of inherited blindnessin human infants,” said Sue Semple-Rowland, Ph.D.,an associate professor of neuroscience with UF’s EvelynF. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute. “Thevision capabilities of the treated animals far exceededour expectations.”The bird — a type of Rhode Island Red chicken —carries a genetic defect that prevents it from producingan enzyme essential for sight. The condition closelymodels a genetic disease in humans that causes Lebercongenital amaurosis type 1, or LCA1. About 2,000people in the United States are blind because they havea disease that falls in the LCA family.Semple-Rowland, a College of Medicine facultymember, has worked since 1986 to first discover themalfunctioning gene, known as GC1, and then todevelop a viral therapy to treat it.“I will always remember the first animal that wesuccessfully treated,” said Semple-Rowland, who is alsoa member of the UF Center for Vision Research and theUF Genetics Institute. “I thought I saw signs that thechick was responding visually to the environment, butI didn’t want to believe it. Scientists always doubt whatthey see — it’s intrinsic to how we operate. So I did thissimple little test, drawing little dots on a piece of paper.The chick, which was standing on the table, came overto the paper and started pecking at all of them. It was soexciting.”Later, more precise tests showed that of the seventreated chickens, five displayed near-normal visualbehavior. Measurement of electrical activity in theretinas of the same five animals showed they respondedto light. In comparison, tests on three untreatedchickens showed no meaningful responses.To develop the treatment, UF scientists constructed avirus able to infect photoreceptors, delivering a normalcopy of the GC1 gene to these cells. Using a very fineglass needle, they injected the viral vector into thedeveloping nervous system of a chicken embryo througha tiny hole in the eggshell. The shell was resealed and theegg was incubated to hatching to produce a live chick.“The process sounds straightforward but it reallyisn’t,” Semple-Rowland said. “It took quite a long timeto build the vector, develop the injection procedure andfigure out how to hatch the eggs. By doing the injectionearly during development, we actually treat the cellsbefore they become photoreceptors.”Work remains to refine the viral delivery system thattransfers the healthy genes to the photoreceptor cells. Inaddition, solutions have to be found to make the treatmentlong-lasting — scientists have restored sight and sloweddegeneration, but the retinal cells still degenerate.“We can do amazing things in animal models,”Semple-Rowland said, “but this work can’t be donequickly. That’s the hardest thing — knowing there arepeople who need these treatments now. But we work asfast as we can. You’ll see the first treatments for some ofthese genetic eye diseases soon, especially after thegroundwork for an approved therapy is laid and thetherapy works.” P12POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

RESEARCHCutting calories slightly can reduce aging damageBy Denise TrunkA lifelong habit of trimming just a few calories fromthe daily diet can do more than slim the waistline — anew study shows it may help lessen the effects of aging.Scientists from UF’s Institute on Aging have foundthat eating a little less food and exercising a littlemore over a lifespan can reduce or even reverse agingrelatedcell and organ damage in rats. The discovery,described in the journal Antioxidants and RedoxSignaling, builds on recent research in animals andhumans that has shown a more drastic 20 percent to40 percent cut in calories slows aging damage. TheUF findings indicate even small reductions incalories could have big effects on health and shedlight on the molecular process responsible for thephenomenon, which until now has been poorlyunderstood.“This finding suggests that even slight moderationin intake of calories and a moderate exerciseprogram is beneficial to a key organ such as the liver,which shows significant signs of dysfunction in theaging process,” said Christiaan Leeuwenburgh,Ph.D., an associate professor of aging and geriatricresearch at the UF College of Medicine and thepaper’s senior author.UF scientists found that feeding rats just 8 percentfewer calories a day and moderately increasing theanimals’ activity extended their average lifespan andsignificantly overturned the negative effects ofcellular aging on liver function and overall health.An 8 percent reduction is the equivalent of a fewhundred calories in an average human diet andmoderate exercise is equivalent to taking a short walk.To reveal the workings of the body’s chemicalclimate when aging-related damage happens, UFresearchers tracked levels of biomarkers — chemicalsand molecules present in the liver — in groups ofrats. The liver, a crucial organ for maintaining goodhealth during aging, cleans the blood and helpsregulate the body’s immune system. The researchersalso plan to assess the same biomarkers in a study ofrats’ hearts, muscle and brains.The research team was surprised to find one of thebiomarkers, RNA, which is important for coding DNAand for protein synthesis, is more quickly damaged byaging than the more frequently studied DNA. RNAdamage, therefore, could be an excellent early signal toCHRISTIAAN LEEUWENBURGHindicate the onset of aging, researchers say.“Because it is more sensitive to oxidative stress,RNA can be useful as an early marker of oxidativedamage and even aging,” said Arnold Y. Seo, adoctoral student in UF’s Institute on Aging. Seoauthored the report along with Tim Hofer, Ph.D., anInstitute on Aging research associate. PDon’t ask, might not think to tell:Communication key to preventing risky drug interactionsBy Tracy Brown WrightOlder women who regularly mix prescription, overthe-counterand herbal medications are risking theirhealth, UF nursing researchers warn.Many also don’t think to tell their health-careproviders about the nonprescription medicines theyare taking — and too often practitioners fail to ask.That lack of communication is especially alarming,the researchers wrote recently in Geriatric Nursing.“Many of these older women do not consider overthe-counterand herbal medications ‘real drugs’ andtherefore don’t report them,” said Saunjoo Yoon, Ph.D.,R.N., an assistant professor at UF’s College of Nursingand the study’s principal investigator. “However, it isclear that many health-care providers are notfollowing through to learn their patients’ completemedication history.”Recent research has shown that nearly half of peopleaged 65 years or older take five or more prescribed,over-the-counter and herbal medications, and 12percent take at least 10 medications. Yet little researchhas focused on drug-drug interactions among thesethree types of medications in elderly people, who aremore susceptible to their harmful effects.Using a Web-based pharmaceutical program, Yoonand co-investigator Susan Schaffer, Ph.D., A.R.N.P.,a clinical assistant professor, studied 58 older womenwho had reported taking at least one herbal productwhile using at least one over-the-counter or prescribeddrug. The study’s participants were a subsample of143 women from previous published studies. Seventyfourpercent of the study’s participants were in dangerof experiencing adverse effects from a moderate- orhigh-risk drug interaction. Calcium supplements orover-the-counter pain relievers like ibuprofen, whentaken in combination with certain prescriptionmedications, were among the most common culprits.“It’s so important for health-care providers to takea careful medication history to evaluate allprescribed, over-the-counter and herbal drugs tomonitor interactions in older women, particularlybecause these women have been shown to take anumber of different types of medications,” Yoonsaid. “Although it is difficult to determine the impactof the drug interactions for any given individual,prevention of possible interaction is the safestpractice.” PVisit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.06•06 POST13

RESEARCHThe little research lab that couldBy April Frawley BirdwellNasser Chegini’s eyes twinkle ashe points to the photos tackedon the wall of his lab. Therehe is in most of the snapshots, posingwith postdoctoral fellows, medicalstudents, residents and collaboratorswho have worked with him in his labover the past 20 years.The higher the photo on the wall, theless silver there is in Chegini’s darkhair, but the twinkle is still there in theUF researcher’s green eyes. You mightcall it pride.“Each individual postdoc, residentand student has contributed to theoverall success of the research group,”said Chegini, Ph.D., a UF professor ofobstetrics and gynecology. “By havingtheir picture in the lab, I do not forgetthem, and at the same time, it remindsme of their success in their own right,which is most important to me.”But as proud as he is of his students,there’s no doubt the real star ofChegini’s lab is the research. For years,Chegini has received grants for work inareas of women’s health that are oftenoverlooked. He doesn’t study AIDS orobesity — conditions that receivesignificantly more grant funding fromthe National Institutes of Health.Instead, Chegini and the researchers inhis lab are focused on uncovering themolecular roots of endometriosis andbenign uterine tumors, commonlycalled fibroids.Fibroids affect more than 70 percentof women at some point in their lives,and endometriosis often leads toinfertility, but unlike cancer or AIDS,these conditions don’t kill women,meaning they’ve typically been a lowpriority for researchers and fundingagencies. Because endometriosis andfibroids only affect humans, there alsois no animal model researchers canstudy.Chegini hasn’t let that stop himthough.“We’re using various approaches toidentify the differences in themolecular environments ofendometriosis and fibroids as comparedwith their normal tissue counterparts,”he said. “Fibroids are benign tumorsbut they account for one-third of allChegini and the researchersin his lab are focused onuncovering the molecularroots of endometriosis andbenign uterine tumors,commonly called fibroids.hysterectomies performed in theUnited States annually.”Much of his work has centered onunderstanding how inflammatory andimmune-related molecules affect theseconditions. Among them is a proteinproduced in the reproductive tractcalled transforming growth factor beta.Too much of this protein can lead totissue fibrosis. Chegini and theresearchers in his lab studied genesregulated and expressed by thisprotein, uncovering the regulatoryproperties it has on benign tumors inthe uterus. The National Institute ofChild Health and DevelopmentPHOTO BY SARAH KIEWELrecently recognized this discovery asan important scientific advancement inwomen’s health.Understanding what causes theseabnormalities may help doctors findways to stop fibroids from growing,said Qun Pan, M.D., a postdoctoralfellow who works with Chegini.They’re juggling several studies,among them, a clinical trial testing tosee if a common antibiotic can helpwith abnormal uterine bleeding incontraceptive users. The researchersalso are studying why black women aremore apt to develop fibroids than whitewomen.“We’re at the forefront of research inthe field,” said Xiaoping Luo, M.D.,one of the postdoctoral fellows whoworks in Chegini’s lab.Chegini works closely with UFclinicians, obtaining specimens fromthem after hysterectomies or otherprocedures. He’s actually been workingwith one of them since before eithercame to UF. Chegini and StanWilliams, M.D., a UF professor ofobstetrics and gynecology and chief ofthe department’s reproductiveNASSER CHEGINIendocrinology and infertility division,first met when both were at theUniversity of Louisville more than 20years ago. They have beencollaborating since then.These diseases are important tostudy because there is currently noeffective medical therapy for benigntumors, which lead to about one-thirdof all hysterectomies, or endometriosis,which results in fertility problems inabout half of the women who develop it,Williams said. Once researchers likeChegini have answers, therapies can bedeveloped to solve these problems inpatients, he added.Chegini’s work with fellows andstudents also has proved to be anotherway to further research into thesedisorders.“Dr. Chegini has probably had adozen or more postdocs get traininghere who are now scattered all aroundthe world now doing their ownresearch,” Williams said. “(Thisresearch) has been extended becausehe’s training them in the same area.“He goes out of his way to help eachand every one of them.” P14POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

COMMUNITYHurricanes’ latent hazards tracked by poison centersBy Patricia Bates McGheeWith the June 1 start of this year’s hurricaneseason, Florida’s residents are preparing forthe all-too-familiar havoc the storms canwreak. But hurricanes cause more than flooding, highwinds and power outages — they also spawn publichealth hazards that often aren’t evident until days afterwinds die and storm waters recede.Now, after fine-tuning it for the past two hurricaneseasons, a UF toxicologist and state Department ofHealth officials have pioneered a real-time system formonitoring storm-related public health hazards,including carbon monoxide inhalation andcontaminated food and water supplies.Using electronic data from Florida’s PoisonInformation Center Network hotline, the expertsdesigned a surveillance system to identify public healththreats and make this information readily available overthe Web to state health department epidemiologists.Florida health officials, for example, were able to track200 percent to 300 percent spikes in carbon monoxideand gasoline poisonings related to generator use afterHurricanes Katrina and Wilma made landfall last yearin Florida, according to data recently published in theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidityand Mortality Weekly Report. The CDC adopted theFlorida model and used data provided by the AmericanAssociation of Poison Control Centers to monitor otherhurricane-prone coastal areas, including Gulf Coastregions in the aftermath of Katrina.“The primary benefit is that you’re not waiting andreporting on things that happened three days ago —you’re seeing something and interacting in real time tostop it,” said study co-author Jay Schauben, Pharm.D.,a UF clinical professor of emergency medicine andpharmacy and director of the Florida PoisonInformation Center-Jacksonville. “The quicker youcan identify a problem, the faster you can focus yourattention, the more individuals you might spare doingthe wrong thing which gets them into trouble, healthwise.And I think that’s the concept here.”For example, higher-than-normal reports ofgastrointestinal distress in a small geographic area mayindicate problems with a municipal water supply,allowing health officials to warn residents to switch tobottled water until the local water source is cleared.Florida Department of Health officials startedreviewing data collected by the Florida PoisonInformation Center Network during the 2004 hurricaneseason. In 2005 the agencies began monitoring poisoncontrol center records daily to see if any were connectedto storm-related health hazards.“We monitored these hazards using a sophisticated,JAY SCHAUBENWeb-based data-gathering system we already had inplace here that was originally designed to characterizeepidemiological information — the incidence and spreadof disease — for our statewide poison control centers,”Schauben said. “Now this same system provides valuablereal-time information and surveillance to identify publichealth threats left in the wake of hurricanes.”Created by the Florida Legislature in 1989, thenetwork includes three poison control centers inMiami, Tampa and Jacksonville. Health professionalsand the public can call the network via the nationwide24-hour, toll-free telephone “POISON HELP” hotline,1-800-222-1222.Poison information specialists at each center gatherexposure and substance information from callers andenter it into a local database that is then uploadedwithin seconds to a statewide database, housed at theJacksonville site.During the 2005 hurricane season, state healthofficials monitored exposure to carbon monoxide,hydrocarbon fuels, batteries, fire, matches and explosives,stings, snake bites, contaminated water and foodpoisoning. They compared exposures from 30 daysbefore and up to one week after a hurricane’s landfall.The system provides a collaborative, onlinereporting system, displaying surveillance graphs andGeographic Information Systems mapping data withhour-to-hour updates that can be accessed in the officeor on a laptop in a car, in an airport or in the field.Health officials rely on spikes in the data to helpidentify health-hazard incidences.“Data spikes provide clues and allow us to zoom in onsomething exactly when it’s happening in a certainlocation,” said Schauben, adding that the system allowsusers to track patients’ names and addresses and thenalert the nearest local health department of the incident.“For example, we’ll tell the local health departmentthat we’ve had five carbon monoxide cases in acertain area in the past 24 hours and ask them to getout there and educate the people about generators,”Schauben said.Operating generators in enclosed or poorly ventilatedareas can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Twentyeightincidents of carbon monoxide exposure werereported to the network in the two days after HurricaneKatrina made landfall in Florida.“A couple of weeks after a hurricane hits, peoplestart running out of gas because of gas shortages,”Schauben added. “When we saw data spikes forinhalation of gasoline, we stepped up our messagesabout using proper siphoning equipment.”Department of Health epidemiologist Robyn Kay saidthat using a real-time, pre-existing sentinel surveillancesystem increases state health officials’ ability to detectpublic health hazards and prevent deaths.“Still, during emergencies and times of distress it’sjust as important for Floridians to think with a clearmind about how to approach each situation as it is forthem to have emergency plans to help ensure theirsafety before, during and after the storm,” she said.Schauben said he sees a future for the system in otherstates. “Poison control centers are the only entities inthe country that have an infrastructure to share databetween 64 centers (the number of centers in the UnitedStates) in real time,” he said. “We detect it, we see itand we move on it.” P16POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

DISTINCTIONSCOLLEGE OF DENTISTRYROGER B. FILLINGIM,Ph.D., an associateprofessor of communitydentistry and behavioralscience, has been awardeda UF Research FoundationProfessorship Award. Thethree-year professorshiprecognizes Fillingim for his Fillingimdistinguished record of researchand scholarship, which is expected to lead tocontinued distinction in the fi eld of pain research.The professorship term is 2006 through 2008,and includes a $5,000 salary supplement foreach of those years as well as a $3,000 one-timeallocation in support of his research program.BARBARA HASTIE, Ph.D., aresearch assistant professorof community dentistry andbehavioral science, received afi ve-year, $8 05,194 N ationalInstitutes of Health grantto study ethnic differencesand genetic factors in acutepostoperative pain andHastieanalgesic response. In addition,Hastie is the recipient of the 2006 “Future Leadersin Pain Management” small grant award from theAmerican Pain Society. This award is given to threeresearchers from around the country and is aimedto advance pain research. Hastie will investigateethnic differences in pain and side effects using theThird Molar model.UF dental students MANAV MALIK andMAGGIE M. NOVY have been awardedscholarships from the Thomas P. Hinman DentalSociety. The awards were presented at a specialluncheon held recently during the 94th HinmanDental Meeting in Atlanta.Student recipients of the scholarships areknown as “Hinman Scholars.” Malik and Novyare members of the American Dental Associationand rank among the top 10 percent of juniordental students from 37 Southeastern collegesand universities.COLLEGE OF MEDICINEPARKER GIBBS, M.D.,an associate professorof orthopaedic oncology,and surgeon THOMASBEAVER, M.D., anassistant professor insurgery, were honored as“Doctors of the Day” April5 by the Florida Legislatureas part of Gator Day 2006at the Florida Capitol. TheFlorida Medical Associationcreated the honoraryDoctors of the Dayprogram to provide medicalcare for legislators and theirstaffs. It is an honorary,one-day position; however,the doctors chosen couldbe called upon to providemedical care if necessary.GibbsBeaverMARK GOLD, M.D., adistinguished professorand chief of addictionmedicine with UF’sMcKnight Brain Institute,received the NelsonJ. Bradley lifetimeachievement award fromthe National Association Goldof Addiction TreatmentProviders.“As a person who has spent 30 years inaddiction medicine, receiving an award fromthe nation’s leading treatment professionals andfrom representatives of centers such as the BettyFord Center is a great honor,” Gold said. “It’sparticularly exciting and gratifying that recoveryprofessionals feel my research has beenvaluable and has helped make a difference inhow they care for patients.”Gold is recognized for changing the medicalfi eld’s understanding of how opiate drugs andalso cocaine hijack the human brain. His workhas led to new treatments for addicts, testsfor drug intoxication and understanding ofhow heroin, other opiates and cocaine causedependence and withdrawal. His research hasalso shed light on the dangers of secondhandexposure to smoke and other drugs.A faculty member in the psychiatrydepartment since 1990, Gold follows in along line of innovators who have received theprestigious award since it was fi rst issued in1983.$1 million gift creates College of Pharmacy’s first graduate endowmentThe UF College of Pharmacy has received a welcomedose of support to create its fi rst-ever graduateendowment.The A.J. Spiegel Foundation has pledged $1 millionto create the Dr. Allen J. Spiegel Graduate Endowmentin Pharmaceutical Research. The fund will supportgraduate students in the Department of Pharmaceutics’Ph.D. program.Allen J. Spiegel, a UF alumnus and member ofthe College of Pharmacy’s National Advisory Boardsince 2000, is a trustee of the foundation. He saidhe decided the endowment was the best way to helpfund the college’s graduate programs after discussionswith College of Pharmacy Dean William H. Riffee andExecutive Associate Dean Bill Millard.“We need a good graduate research program,”Spiegel said, “and in order to have one, we needmore support. Hopefully this will provide the supportnecessary to aid those pursuing a Ph.D. in pharmacy.”Spiegel, who previously donated $100,000 to thecollege to create the A.J. Spiegel Graduate Fellowship,earned his Ph.D. in pharmacy from UF in 1957 andretired as senior director of international patentsoperations from Pfi zer Inc., where he worked for 43years.Millard said the college needs this type of privatefunding for translational research, where scientistsfi rst study disease at a molecular or cellular level andlater translate their fi ndings to clinical applications forpatients. Also benefi ting from the gift is research inpharmacogenetics, the study of how genes infl uencedrug response.“Dr. Spiegel’s endowment will now allow theCollege of Pharmacy to expand its graduate trainingprogram in both translational and pharmacogeneticsresearch by providing additional graduate student linesand support in each of these research areas,” Millardsaid. “We are indebted to Dr. Spiegel’s generosity andsupport of our college.”The gift is eligible for matching funds from the State ofFlorida Major Gift Trust Fund and will count toward theFaculty Challenge Initiative. The initiative, which wasannounced last year by UF President Bernie Machen,aims to raise $150 million to meet the demands ofeducating Florida’s growing population and make UFone of the nation’s premier research universities.PHOTO BY JEFF KNEEDean William Riffee, left, and Allen J.Spiegel together after the A.J. SpiegelFoundation pledged $1 million to createthe Dr. Allen J. Spiegel GraduateEndowment in Pharmaceutical Research.Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.06•06 POST17

DISTINCTIONSJACKSONVILLEJAMES CHINGOS, M.D.,is the new president of theAssociation of CommunityCancer Centers, thepremier education andadvocacy organizationfor the multidisciplinarycancer care team. He isan associate professor andChingosdivision chief of the divisionof hematology/oncology at the College ofMedicine–Jacksonville and an associate directorof the UF Shands Cancer Center. He also servesas interim program director of the medicaloncology fellowship program.The ACCC’smembership comprises more than 650 hospitalcancer programs and oncology private practicesand includes all members of the cancer careteam. The organization seeks to promote qualitycancer care for patients and communities byhelping oncology professionals adapt to complexclinical, regulatory and legislative changes.ERIC CONDE, M.S.A.,has joined the UF staffas assistant dean foradministrative affairs — anew position in the Offi ce ofthe Senior Associate Dean/Associate Vice President forHealth Affairs at the Collegeof Medicine–Jacksonville.CondeWith his more than 14 yearsof experience in health-care administration, hewill be responsible for a wide range of complexadministrative, operational and governancetasks. Conde comes to UF after having servedfor 20 years in the U. S. Navy. His last activeduty assignment was as deputy director for healthSARAH CAREYaffairs in the offi ce of the Honorable WilliamA. Navas Jr., assistant secretary of the Navy formanpower and reserve affairs. He also served asa staff assistant and adviser for all health-relatedissues, policies and programs within the Offi ce ofthe Secretary of the Navy.DAVID A. HARMON, M.D.,an assistant professor ofpediatrics in the UF Collegeof Medicine–Jacksonville, hasbeen named the medicalfoster care statewide physicianconsultant for Children’sMedical Services. A program Harmonof the Florida Department ofHealth, CMS serves children whose serious orchronic physical, developmental, behavioral oremotional conditions require extensive preventiveand maintenance care beyond that required bytypically healthy children.Harmon — currentlymedical director and primary care physicianfor Kids ‘N Care in Jacksonville, Florida’s fi rstmedical home for children in foster care — hasalso served as the Jacksonville MFC medicaldirector since 2002.PUBLIC HEALTH AND HEALTH PROFESSIONSBRIAN DODGE, Ph.D., anassistant professor in publichealth programs, receivedthe 2005-06 Excellence inMentoring Award from the UFGator Launch program. Dodgewas honored for his ongoingwork with undergraduatestudent Omar Martinez, who Dodgetranslated, from English toSpanish, all materials associated with a study ofsexuality education in Florida public schools. TheA story about Yankee, a dog that receivedsuccessful surgery to remove a bamboobarbecue skewer from its heart thanks to UFhuman and animal doctors, took top honorsin the printed tools category of the 2006Image Awards competition sponsored bythe Gainesville chapter of the Florida PublicRelations Association.The story, written by SARAH CAREY, M.A.,A.P.R., the College of Veterinary Medicine’sdirector of public relations, received a fi rstplace Image Award in the news releasesubcategory and a Grand Image, or grandprize, in the printed tools category. Awardswere presented April 26 at the annual FPRAImage Awards banquet.Yankee, a 6-year-old yellow Labradorretriever owned by the Stazzone family ofSatellite Beach, continues to recuperate wellfrom her ordeal.Gator Launch program is designed to enhancethe career development of UF students of diversebackgrounds.BONNIE SACHS, a doctoralstudent in the departmentof clinical and healthpsychology, received theBehavioral Science StudentFellowship from the EpilepsyFoundation. She will receive$3,000 to support herresearch on the effects ofSachsage and neurosurgical siteon postoperative seizure and cognitive outcome.LINDSEY KIRSCH DARROW, SARAHMCCANN, KIMBERLY MILLER andUTAKA SPRINGER, graduate studentsin the department of clinical and healthpsychology, have been accepted into the 2006Vivian Smith Advanced Studies Institute of theInternational Neuropsychological Society. Themonthlong program will be held in Greece thissummer. Russell Bauer, Ph.D., a professor in thedepartment of clinical and health psychology,will serve as one of the institute’s instructors.COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINEROGER REEP, Ph.D., aprofessor of neuroscience,and Bob Bonde, a biologistwith the U.S. GeologicalSurvey’s Sirenia Project,have co-authored a bookon manatee biology andconservation geared towardprofessionals and lay peopleinterested in the unique andendangered marine mammal.Reep and Bonde, who also is pursuing hisdoctoral degree at the UF veterinary college,have collectively devoted 45 years to manateeresearch. The result was “The Florida Manatee,Biology and Conservation,” recently published byUniversity Press of Florida.Reep has published numerous papers andlectured on the organization and evolutionof mammalian nervous systems. He was leadorganizer for the First International Manatee andDugong Research Conference in 1994 and forthe Florida Marine Mammal Health Conferencesin 2002 and 2005. Bonde has publishedmany scientifi c papers on manatee geneticsand mortality and on his aerial surveys, radiotracking and observations of manatees in theirnatural habitat.Know someone who has earned adistinction? Please let us know.E-mail dtrunk@ufl.edu18POST 06•06Visit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.

(EXTRA)ORDINARY PEOPLEVet student developscomputer-based studytool in a flashBy Sarah CareyNews flash: At age 33, Mary Gardner, a sophomore veterinarystudent, is fast becoming an entrepreneur, marketing acomputer-driven flash card study program to students not justat UF, but all over the country.The program enables students to create flash cards on their personalcomputers. They can organize the cards by subject, attach pictures, testthemselves, print out cards on paper and swap cards between friends.For example, animal science majors might quiz themselves withcards that ask questions like “What is a nutrient?” “What are the sixclasses of nutrients?” or “What type of cattle is this?”“If you have a PDA, you can put the cards on the PDA version of thesoftware to study away from your PC,” Gardner said.This may not exactly be news to members of the class of 2008, whofirst heard about Gardner’s program a few weeks after startingveterinary school in the fall of 2004. At that time, Gardner hadreserved a classroom after hours to present a demonstration of theproduct she developed with help from her father, a computerprogrammer, and her brother, a Webmaster.“The pitch was, we have to memorize all these facts, so let’s split up thework,” Gardner said. “Everyone takes a chapter and we swap the cards.”Although only about 20 of her classmates wound up buying the$29.95 software package, called PC Flashcards, nearly the entire class of2009 purchased the program, Gardner said.“That’s because my class by then had done all the work and createdso many flash cards, over 20,000 to be exact, that were thenautomatically available through our Web site to anyone else whopurchased the program,” Gardner said.One of PC Flashcards’ key selling points is that a portion of theproceeds from each sale goes to a student club, class or organization thebuyer designates.“My class has earned more than $500 just from sales,” Gardner said.“It’s been our best fundraising event to date. There is no overhead andno inventory, and we’ve learned while we made the cards.”Prior to being accepted into veterinary school, Gardner traveled theworld as a software training and design expert employed by the globalfirm Ecometry, a company that specializes in creating software formail, phone and Web-oriented businesses such as Nordstrom, NineWest, Ross-Simons, Coach, Lego and other household names.But after a few too many red-eye flights and fluorescent lights, as sheputs it, Gardner burned out on corporate life and decided her truedream was to attend veterinary school.“The flash card business all started because before I was able to applyfor veterinary school, I had to complete my prerequisites, whichnaturally involved a lot of study,” Gardner said. “I was makinghandwritten flash cards and I’d have stacks of them in my house. Ithought, this is ridiculous, there needs to be a software product toautomate all this.”Mary Gardner with her personal handheld computer outside the VeterinaryAcademic Building.So Gardner drew up specs and conceptualized the product “onpaper.” Then she asked her father if he would write the software.“Within a week, he had a prototype,” she said. “Now I take care ofcustomer support, marketing and product design, while my fatherprograms the changes and my brother takes care of the Web site. Itworks out really well.”Students from six other veterinary schools, including those inHawaii, Puerto Rico and even Canada, are now using the program.“The program is not just for college students,” Gardner said. “Wehave real estate agents, pilots and high school students using theprogram. It’s a great feeling to know that so many other people havefound the product helpful in their studies.”Gardner’s goal is to make $1 million by the time she’s 40 to help fundthe cost of starting her own small animal clinic.For more information about PC Flashcards, go towww.pcflashcards.com. PPHOTO BY SARAH CAREYVisit us online @ http://news.health.ufl.edu/ for the latest news and HSC events.06•06 POST19

BACK PAGEPHOTO BY SARAH KIEWELPHOTO BY SARAH KIEWELJohn Williams, a veterinary research assistant at the University of Florida’sVeterinary Medical Center, exercises a Thoroughbred horse named BabyFrank on a treadmill May 24. The VMC is conducting a series of drugclearance studies for the UF Racing Laboratory using the treadmill to keep thehorses conditioned and also to assess the effectiveness of certain drugs usedin the racing industry.Gainesville Fire Rescue’s hazardous materials team conducted a mockdisaster drill for approximately 50 College of Medicine students in May.The drill took place in the HPNP Plaza. In a scenario of a mock gasattack on a crowded sports stadium, the students role-played as victimsand triage specialists.POSTTHE06•06Published byUF Health Science CenterOffi ce of News & CommunicationsSenior Vice President, Health AffairsDouglas J. Barrett, M.D.Director, News & CommunicationsTom FortnerEditorDenise TrunkSenior EditorsMelanie Fridl Ross, John PastorDesignerMickey CuthbertsonWritersChris Brazda, April Frawley Birdwell, Tracy Brown,Sarah Carey, Linda Homewood,Kim Jamerson,Lindy McCollum-Brounley, Patricia McGhee, JohnPastor, Jill Pease, Melanie Fridl Ross, Denise TrunkUF Health ScienceC E N T E RCelebrating 50 YearsPhotographerSarah KiewelInternChristopher HiattSupport StaffCassandra Jackson, Beth Powers, Kim Smith,The POST is the monthly internal newsletter forthe University of Florida Health Science Center,the most comprehensive academic health centerin the Southeast, with campuses in Gainesvilleand Jacksonville and affi liations throughoutFlorida. Articles feature news of interest for andabout HSC faculty, staff and students. Contentmay be reprinted with appropriate credit.Ideas for stories are welcome. The deadlinefor submitting items to be considered for eachmonth’s issue is the 15th of the previous month.Submit to the editor at dtrunk@ufl .edu or deliverto the Offi ce of News & Communications in theCommunicore Building, Room C3-025.www.news.health.ufl.eduPHOTO BY SARAH KIEWELJamie Woodcock (left), a second-year medical student, evaluates astandardized patient’s condition at the College of Medicine’s HarrellProfessional Development and Assessment Center. The standardizedpatient Frances Harrell is an actor who imitates a specifi c medicalcondition to test the student’s examination skills. Instructors monitoreach student’s performance on a computer screen in another room.