Decker delivers Spunt Lecture - Texas Tech University Health ...

OCTOBER 2, 2009
Decker delivers Spunt Lecture
Sharon
Decker,
Ph.D., CCRN,
ACNS-BC,
Covenant
Health
System
Endowed
Chair in
Simulation
and Nursing
Education and director of Clinical
Simulation in the Anita Thigpen
Perry SON, was recently invited
to deliver the 2009 Debra
L. Spunt Lecture, “...Until We
Reflect,” at the National League
for Nursing’s Annual Education
Summit in Philadelphia.
The Spunt Lecture honors
contributions to excellence in
nursing education, in particular,
leadership, design, development
and implementation of
simulation in nursing.
SON students Palm and
Bridgers receive scholarships
Jason Palm, a FNP student
in the Perry SON, recently
received a $2,000 Katherine
Kent Craig Scholarship. This
is the largest scholarship
awarded in the Helen Hodges
Scholarship Fund.
Sabrina Elizabeth Bridgers,
a traditional undergraduate
student in the Perry SON,
received a $1,000 scholarship
from the Hodges fund.
BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
(Left) The School of Medicine 40th Anniversary celebration began last month with birthday parties for
students, faculty and staff in the Academic Classroom building.
(Right) Paul L. Foster School of Medicine Founding Dean Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., finds himself in a
photo on the 40th Anniversary chronological display that featured School of Medicine highlights from the
school’s establishment in 1969 until now.
(Left) Doug Stocco, Ph.D., vice president for Research, makes a toast during the School of Medicine’s 40th
Anniversary celebration dinner at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center.
(Right) School of Medicine alumni gather for a special 40th Anniversary tailgate event at Raider Village
before the Rice vs. Texas Tech football game.
(Top) Founding members and other influential leaders of the TTUHSC School of Medicine line up on the Jones
AT&T Stadium football field during half time at the Rice vs. Texas Tech game as part of the 40th Anniversary
celebration last month.

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CAlENdAR OF EvENTS
Oct. 3
10 a.m.
ACB
Free Kidney School/Health Risk
Assessment
Sponsored by TTP Department
of Internal Medicine and the
National Kidney Foundation
Medical staff will conduct
mini-presentations on chronic
kidney disease, prevention and
transplantation.
Attendees may participate in
kidney health risk assessment.
Those at risk will be eligible for
screening. Space is limited.
Donations to the National Kidney
Foundation will be accepted.
For more information, call
799-7753.
Oct. 6
5:30-7 p.m.
ACB 100
Community Medical School
“Bioethics,” Edmund Pellegrino,
M.D., Professor Emeritus of
Medicine and Medical Ethics
adjunct professor of philosophy
at Georgetown University
For more information, call
743-2008.
SOM faculty members honored during 40th Anniversary dinner
The School of Medicine recently celebrated
its 40th Anniversary with several events
including a special halftime presentation at the
Texas Tech vs. Rice football game and a formal
dinner at Lubbock’s new Overton Hotel and
Conference Center.
More than 300 SOM people attended the
dinner, which featured an awards ceremony
recognizing some of the school’s most
dedicated alumni and faculty:
● Distinguished Alumni Service Award:
Jeffrey W. Oliver, M.D.
● Distinguished Alumni Award: Lorenz O.
Lutherer, M.D.
Texas Speaker of the House visits TTUHSC
(From left) SOM Dean Steven Berk, M.D.;
Doug Klepper, M.D., clinical associate
professor, Department of Pediatrics;
Surendra Varma, M.D., program director and
vice chair of Pediatrics.
● Distinguished Research Alumni Award: Gail Demmler-Harrison, M.D.
● Community Faculty Teaching Awards: Mark McClanaghan, M.D., Plainview, clinical
assistant professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine; Bryan Smitherman,
M.D., clinical assistant professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery; Doug Klepper,
M.D., clinical associate professor, Department of Pediatrics; and John Cobb, M.D.,
clinical assistant professor, Department of Psychiatry; Mark Gallardo, M.D., El Paso,
clinical assistant professor, Department of Ophthalmology.
(From left) TTUHSC Interim President
Elmo Cavin and Mike Sanders, vice chancellor
for Governmental Relations at Texas Tech
University, visit with Texas Speaker of the
House Joe Straus during his tour of the
TTUHSC Lubbock campus last month.
During his stay in the Hub City, Straus also
visited the Texas Tech campus and meet with
civic and business leaders from throughout
West Texas.
SOM Dean’s Ambassadors named at pinning ceremony
Twenty-five outstanding students from the School
of Medicine recently were selected to act as this year’s
Dean’s Ambassadors.
Dean’s Ambassadors are students who help recruit and
meet prospective medical students and are responsible
for greeting distinguished visitors to TTUHSC.
Katherine Ikard, MSIII, will serve as president of the
group. Other officers are Stephen Mathew, MSII, vice
president of recruitment; Matthew Richards, MSII,
vice president of admissions; J. Wesley Fletcher, MSII,
vice president of housing; and Nick Duncan, MSII, vice
president of transportation.
Each student received a lapel pin in the shape of the
TTUHSC coat of arms to signify that they are willing to
put forth extra time to support the School of Medicine.
School of Medicine student Casey
Stuhlman, MSII, shakes hands with
SOM Dean Steven Berk, M.D., after
being pinned at the Dean’s Ambassadors
ceremony last month.

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Oct. 7
Noon
ACB 120
CIMA Lectures on World Health
James Dembowski, Ph.D.,
CCC-SLP, “Slavically Speaking:
Treating Communication
Disorders in Poland”
For more information, call
743-1522.
Oct. 13
5:30-7 p.m.
ACB 100
Community Medical School
“What’s New Girlfriend? Recent
Research in Women’s Health,”
Betsy Goebel Jones, Ed.D.,
director, Department of Family &
Community Medicine; regional
chair, Laura W. Bush Institute for
Women’s Health
Oct. 16
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
ACB 120
QEP inaugural Fall Symposium
Keynote Speaker former
astronaut Rhea Sheddon, M.D.
TTUHSC faculty, staff,
administrators and students are
invited.
To reserve a box lunch, RSVP at
www.ttuhsc.edu/qep by Oct. 9.
Oct. 20
Noon
ACB 250
Center for International and
Multicultural Affairs October
2009 Film Series
“The Released”
Parking for visitors is available in
lots C1 and B1.
For more information, e-mail
cima@ttuhsc.edu or call
743-1522.
Distinguished Lecture Series begins at TTUHSC
Distinguished Lecture series is a new program that will bring some of the
world’s most accomplished scientists to TTUHSC to discuss their work.
The first lecturer, H. Ronald Kaback, M.D., comes at the invitation of the
Department of Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics and the Center for
Membrane Protein Research.
Kaback, an internationally-recognized expert in bacterial nutrient transport
and the biochemistry of membrane proteins, will lecture at 4 p.m. Oct. 15, in
ACB 110 with a reception to follow. The event is open to the public.
Kaback earned his medical degree in 1962 from the Albert Einstein
College of Medicine in New York City. After training in pediatrics at the Bronx Municipal
Hospital Center and research at the National Institutes of Health, he joined the Roche Institute of
Molecular Biology in 1970, advancing to chair of biochemistry in 1983.
He was an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and is now a distinguished
professor of physiology and microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of California,
Los Angeles.
Flock to Pinktober event, support breast cancer research
Pinktober, an event scheduled from 10 a.m.
to 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Lubbock Memorial Civic
Center, will provide support for breast cancer
research in the South Plains region.
The program, organized by the Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal’s A Time for Women, will
feature vender booths, a luncheon, workshops and
a cooking school. A portion of proceeds from the
event will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure
of Lubbock.
Sponsors for this year’s Pinktober include the
Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, Texas Tech Physicians, UMC Health
System and Southwest Cancer Center. For more information, call 766-2167.
Parikh named Interim
Chair of Anesthesiology
Nitin P.
Parikh, M.D.,
was recently
named interim
chair of the
Department of
Anesthesiology.
Parikh holds a
medical degree
from the Seth G. S. Medical College
in Bombay, India, and a M.S. in
Health Administration from the
University of Colorado. He completed
his anesthesiology residency at the
Nassau County Medical Center in
East Meadow, N.Y., in 1981, where he
served as chief resident.
TTP welcomes new surgeon
Joshua Demke, M.D., recently joined the
Texas Tech Physicians of Lubbock Department
of Surgery.
Demke earned his medical degree from the
TTUHSC School of Medicine in 2003.
He completed a surgical internship at the
University of Kentucky in 2004, and his
residency at the University of North Carolina
Department of Otolaryngology/Head and
Neck Surgery in 2008.
In 2008, Demke also completed an American
Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery fellowship in the Division of Facial
Plastic Surgery SUNY Upstate Medical
University, in Syracuse, N.Y.

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Oct. 20
5:30-7 p.m.
ACB 100
Community Medical School
“You did WHAT? Examining
the world of tattooing and body
piercing,” Myrna Armstrong,
Ed.D., R.N., FAAN, professor
and regional dean, Anita
Thigpen Perry School of Nursing
at Highland Lakes
Oct. 21
4-5 p.m.
ACB 100
Lecture Series on Healthy Aging
“Memory Exercises”
Free lecture sponsored by the
Garrison Institute on Aging
Coffee, tea and cookies
provided.
For more information, visit http://
www.ttuhsc.edu/centers/aging/
or call 743-7821.
Oct. 22-23
Board of Regents meeting
Oct. 27
5:30-7 p.m.
ACB 100
Community Medical School
“Emerging Health Issues in
West Texas,” Billy U. Philips Jr.,
Ph.D., M.P.H., vice president
and director, The F. Marie
Hall Institute for Rural and
Community Health
Medical students open free clinic to provide care to uninsured
After months of planning, the School
of Medicine has partnered with Lubbock
IMPACT, Inc. and Lubbock Ambulance
to open the TTUHSC/Lubbock IMPACT
Free Clinic in the Family Church
Building, 2707 34th St.
The clinic is open every Wednesday
from 6 to 9 p.m. and is staffed by 10 to
12 medical students and three to four
volunteer TTUHSC physicians who
provide free primary care and have a
program where some medicines can be
free of charge for uninsured Lubbock
residents. Clinic staff also helps patients
apply for assistance programs such as
Blue Card or Medicaid.
Brian Mahmood, MSII, said
(From left) Fiona Prabhu, M.D., assistant medical
director; Joseph Bishara, MS1; and Jeff Smith, M.D.,
a clinical faculty member from Lubbock Christian
University; work at the new TTUHSC/Lubbock
IMPACT Free Clinic.
Sudha Bhadriraju, MSIII, and Peter Wu, MSIII, were inspired to establish the clinic after
participating in Walk in My Shoes: A Cross-Cultural Experience with the Homeless for Pre-
Clinincal Students in the Early Clinical Experience course taught by professor Patti Patterson,
M.D., M.P.H. Bhadriraju and Wu approached Mahmood, Revathi Ravi, MSII, and Carlos
Ortiz, MS2, about starting the clinic.
“We were really called to action when we visited the homeless and found out how badly they
needed access to some primary care outside of the ER,” Mahmood said.
Under the guidance of Medical Director Kelly Bennett, M.D., and Assistant Medical
Director Fiona Prabhu, M.D., Mahmood and the rest of the clinic staff serve 15 to 20 patients
each week.
“We see typical things that are seen in a primary or family medicine clinic,” Mahmood said.
“Colds, sore throats, respiratory complaints, body aches and pains ... routine health check ups
and physicals for those who haven’t seen a doctor in years.”
Mahmood said the clinic needs more volunteers to expand its services. Physicians interested
in volunteering may e-mail Ryan Bullard of Lubbock IMPACT, Inc. at krsdad33@yahoo.com.
More information is available at www.Lubbockimpact.com. For student volunteer information,
visit www.ttuhsc.edu/studentservices/freeclinic.
Monetary donations or donations of medical supplies can be made through the Lubbock
IMPACT Web site or may be mailed to the clinic at 2707 34th St., Lubbock, TX, 79410.
GET FiT LUBBOCK IV begins in time for the holidays
The TTUHSC Garrison Institute on Aging recently launched
GET FiT LUBBOCK IV, an eight-week fitness and weight loss
contest, which runs until November 23.
GET FiT LUBBOCK is intended to motivate participants to lose
weight and increase their physical fitness. Teams of two to four
people are awarded points for exercise, weight loss and attendance
at special lectures and events throughout the contest. Team members also receive nutrition
tours, can track their progress online, and receive professional exercise trainers’ tips.
At the end of the contest, prizes will be awarded to winning teams and individuals.
More than 2,000 people have participated in GET FiT since 2007, with more than 8,300
pounds lost with 67,000 minutes of exercise.
Sponsors for GET FiT LUBBOCK IV include Bodyworks, Healthy Lubbock, Texas Tech
Physicians, Texas Department of State Health Services, Curves and Foot Tech.
For more information about GET FiT LUBBOCK, call 743-7821.

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Smith honored with
Murray professorship
The
Texas Tech
University
System Board
of Regents
recently named
Quentin Smith,
Ph.D., faculty
researcher at
the School
of Pharmacy in Amarillo, as the
sixth recipient of the Grover E.
Murray Professorship.
Smith is the first regional faculty
member to receive this high honor.
The Board of Regents
established the Murray
Professorship in 1995 to honor
Grover E. Murray, the first
president of TTUHSC.
Murray professorships are
granted to faculty in recognition
of the attainment of national and/
or international distinction for
outstanding research or other
scholarly achievements.
SEC Campaign runs
through Oct. 31
The 2009 State Employee
Charitable Campaign
officially began last month
and will continue through
Oct. 31. The SECC is an
annual workplace giving
campaign that allows state
employees to give to their
favorite charities through
payroll deduction. Last
year, TTUHSC employee
donations exceeded
$226,000 for both local
and national charitable
organizations.
For more information,
contact Darcy Pollock at
743-2900.
SOAHS sponsoring free stuttering meetings this fall
Judith P. Keller, M.S., CCC-SLP, and James
Dembowski, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, assistant professors
in the School of Allied Health Sciences’ Department
of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, will
coordinate meetings for the Lubbock chapter of the
National Stuttering Association this fall.
Meetings are scheduled from 6 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 13,
Nov. 10 and Dec. 1 in the Sunset Room of the Lubbock
Municipal Garden and Arts Center, 4215 University
Avenue. There is no admission charge.
Keller
Dembowski
Keller is the only board-recognized specialist in fluency disorders in West Texas. She teaches
classes in fluency, clinical methods, observation lab and professional issues in addition to
overseeing operation of the Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Clinic.
She primarily works with people who have fluency disorders. Keller is the director of Camp Tech
Talkers, a week-long summer camp for children who stutter and is the coordinator for the Lubbock
chapter of the National Stuttering Association.
The National Stuttering Association is the largest self-help support organization for people
who stutter in the United States. The association’s mission is to bring hope and empowerment
to children and adults who stutter, their families and professionals through support, education,
advocacy and research.
For more information, contact Keller at 743-5660, extension 225 or judith.keller@ttuhsc.edu.
O’Bryant receives three national professional peer recognitions
Sid O’Bryant, Ph.D., director of Rural Health Research Programs of the
F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health and Department
of Neurology, TTUHSC School of Medicine, has been selected to receive
the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) Early Career Award.
The award is presented to individuals who make substantial early career
contributions within 10 years of the doctoral degree, particularly regarding
scholarly activity. Candidates are nominated by the NAN membership and
judged by the Awards Committee and the Board of Directors.
O’Byrant also was selected for the Nelson Butters Award presented for the
best research paper published in the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology
(ACN) over the preceding year. O’Byrant was co-author of the article entitled, “Utility of the
RBANS in detecting cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer’s Disease: Sensitivity,
specificity, and positive and negative predictive powers.”
He will receive these awards on Nov. 13 during the Academy’s 2009 conference in New Orleans.
O’Byrant also is the principal investigator for Project Facing Rural Obstacles to health care Now
Through Intervention, Education and Research (FRONTIER), a longitudinal cohort study in rural
West Texas. He created the project and was recently awarded a NAN grant to generate normative
data through Project FRONTIER for English-speaking Mexican Americans on the Repeatable
Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). RBANS is a brief instrument
for the testing of cognitive functioning. In addition to obtaining funding, he is on pace to enroll
approximately 1,000 rural residents in the study by September 2010.
Danner selected as TRHA President-Elect
Pamela Danner, M.B.A., director of Rural Health Programs and the West Texas Area Health
Education Centers of the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health, was recently
selected as President-Elect for the Texas Rural Health Association (TRHA) effective Oct. 1.
TRHA was founded in 1984 as an advocate for improving the health of rural Texans through
advocacy, communication and education. She will serve two years as President-Elect prior to
assuming the position of President for an additional two years.

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Pediatric surgeon
McGill joins TTP
Thomas
McGill,
M.D.,
recently
joined the
Texas Tech
Physicians
of Lubbock
Department
of Pediatrics.
His specialty is pediatric
surgery.
McGill earned his medical
degree from Eastern Virginia
Medical School in Norfolk, Va.
He completed his residency
at the Naval Hospital in San
Diego, Calif.
McGill finished a pediatric
surgery fellowship at Miami
Children’s Hospital in July
1995.
He was certified with the
American Board of Surgery in
July 1992 and was recertified
in 2003.
Branham recognized
for nursing excellence
Steve
Branham,
M.S.N., R.N.
ACNP-BC,
FNP-BC,
faculty
member in
the Acute
Care Nurse
Practitioner
program in the Anita Thigpen
Perry School of Nursing, recently
received the Bronze Medal 2009
for Good Samaritan Foundation’s
Excellence in Nursing Award for
Small Hospitals.
Branham practices in Houston
and provides care for some of the
smaller hospitals and outlying
areas near Houston.
Shankar selected to serve on AIDS Study Section
Premlata Shankar, M.D., Ph.D., professor and co-director of the Center of
Excellence for Infectious Diseases at the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine,
recently accepted an invitation to serve as a member of the AIDS Discovery
and Development of Therapeutics Study Section, Center for Scientific Review
for a term ending June 30, 2013.
Members of the study section are selected on the basis of their demonstrated
competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the
quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals and
other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors, according to the
United States Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes
of Health (NIH).
Study sections review grant applications submitted to the NIH, make recommendations on
applications to the appropriate NIH national advisory council or board, and survey the status of
research in their fields of science.
Teams from TTUHSC join annual Race for the Cure
Several faculty, staff and students are
participating on teams or individually in the
Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure TTUHSC
teams include:
● TTUHSC Staff for the Cure
● TTUHSC Docs for the Cure
● Docs in Training
● TTUHSC Medical Alliance
● TTUHSC OB/GYN Dept
● Pedi in Pink
● SPTA
● Team MAT
● TTUHSC Perry School of Nursing
Docs in Training has more than 130 team
members. “Our students have an intense
School of Medicine Dean Steven Berk, M.D., far
left, and students from the Docs in Training team
at last year’s Race for the Cure.
course of study and spend many hours at night and on weekends caring for patients. To have so many
students participating in the Komen Race for the Cure is extraordinary,” said School of Medicine Dean
Steven Berk. “Their work to support breast cancer research and treatment is only one example of their
community service that has become the signature of the TTUHSC medical student.”
Since 1995, Susan G. Komen Lubbock has granted more than $1.7 million to help local non-profit
agencies with projects relating to education, treatment and screening of breast health and breast cancer.
The race is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Oct. 3 at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. You can still
register at komenlubbock.org.
Hire college students to help around the house this month
Several members of the Texas Tech chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
have volunteered to participate in a work day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 17. They will be available
to plant flowers, pull weeds, wash cars, clean out garages or rain gutters, or complete other
household chores throughout Lubbock in exchange for donations.
All proceeds will benefit the Stroke Recovery/Aphasia Group Therapy Program at the School of
Allied Health Sciences’ Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic. Last year, the students raised more
than $2,000 for the therapy program.
Send your name, address, telephone number, requested time, number of students requested (up
to six), type of work needed and tools/equipment students should bring (such as gloves) to Melinda
Corwin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, associate professor, TTUHSC Department of Speech, Language
and Hearing Sciences, 3601 Fourth St., Suite 2A-300, Lubbock, Texas 79430-2073. For more
information, call 743-5660, extension 223.

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Learn about medical
librarians this month
In honor of National Medical
Librarians Month, the Preston
Smith librarians will present an
informational display and will
be on hand to answer questions
about the library’s resources
and services from 11:30 a.m.
to 1 p.m. Oct. 1 near the UMC
Cafeteria, located on the second
floor of TTUHSC.
For more information about
medical librarians, visit the
Medical Library Association.
Statline submissions should be made to the
Office of Communications, beth.phillips@
ttuhsc.edu.
Nursing student commended for work at Fort Worth hospital
Lance Billings, R.N., a student in the Anita
Thigpen Perry School of Nursing’s Acute Care Nurse
Practitioner program, and son of Lynda Billings,
Ph.D., assistant professor for the Perry School of
Nursing, recently was awarded the Wiggins Award
at Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. Billings
works in the Emergency Department.
The award was initiated by Dr. Wiggins, a
radiologist who wanted a way to recognize employees
who do great work on a daily basis.
Staff, patients and a review board determines award
winners. Awardees are then placed in the running for
“Employee of the Year.”
REGIONAl NEwS
For regional TTUHSC news, visit
the regional campus Web sites or
contact the Communications offices:
Amarillo
http://www.ttuhsc.edu/amarillo
cinda.courtney@ttuhsc.edu
El Paso
http://www.ttuhsc.edu/elpaso
patricia.williams@ttuhsc.edu
Permian Basin
http://www.ttuhsc.edu/odessa
johnnie.jones@ttuhsc.edu