Pictured clockwise from top left:

Chris Triske, M.S. ’06, Clinical Laboratory Science;

Jeremy Gawryluk, Ph.D. ’08, Pharm, Phys and Therapeutics;

Aneel Damle, M.D. ’10, Medicine; 

Leah Marti, B.S. ’07, Athletic Training;

Mandy Caspers, D.P.T. ’07, Physical Therapy;

Sara Mayer, M.D. ’10, Medicine;

Kelsey Hoffman, M.D. ’10, Medicine;

H. David Wilson, M.D., Dean;

Lei Ding, Ph.D. ’07, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology;

Sarah Wehmhoefer, B.S. ’07, Cytotechnology

Dean’s Letter

People often ask me, like other medical school deans around the country, where I get my energy. With the responsibility of managing limited budgets, juggling resources to meet program needs and maintaining relationships with key investors of the school, a dean sometimes needs to give himself a reason why he became a dean in the first place! A quick answer for me is in the photograph on this page – well, actually there are nine reasons! It’s the students. What I, and every other faculty member at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences do each day, affects the medical and allied health students and their future. And we’re proud of that!

A school without walls

Our medical school classes consist of 62 students for each of the four year classes and that often confuses people, because they think that only a few students train here. It’s exciting to tell them about our “real” numbers, which include students in physical therapy (142), occupational therapy (148), physician assistant (60), athletic training (43), clinical laboratory science (270), cytotechnology (4), anatomy and cell biology (12), biochemistry and molecular biology (15), microbiology and immunology (11), and pharmacology, physiology and therapeutics (13).  Faculty members also teach over 1,500 undergraduate students who will become nurses, dieticians, teachers and forensic scientists.  

And we do more. The school is a virtual education center, with programs designed for elementary school children to senior citizens, and some program or another located in nearly every community in the state.

Be sure to read the Workforce Pipeline article featuring the Center for Rural Health. The program is introducing students across North Dakota to careers in healthcare, and knowing that our state, like many others, will experience a healthcare shortage in the future, it’s important that we provide early education about these opportunities.

Each summer the campus hosts the Summer Institute Program for American Indian students. This has been a successful program at UND for 25 years, with a purpose of providing a 6-week enrichment study in science and math courses for 7 through 12th graders.                   

The school also focuses on research that is relevant to the citizens of our state and region. This issue of North Dakota Medicine features a study being done at the school on tai chi, and the positive effects it has on college age students to senior citizens. The evidence is solid that tai chi is beneficial in cardio-respiratory function, balance and flexibility ~ all important elements to an aging population.

Thank you for your help!

I want to thank all of you who have contributed to the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences this past year. The center section of the magazine contains a listing of the donors for the fiscal year 2006-2007. The number of alumni and friends who have invested in us continues to rise and we are very grateful and appreciative for this support. It is this level of commitment that provides the school the ability to grow and move forward. A financial investment today IS an investment in the future. Thank you!

H. David Wilson, M.D.

Vice President for Health Affairs & Dean

Printable PDF version of issue