News Briefs
Prospective Med Students Seek Admission to UND at Rate of 5:1
Outstanding Occupational Therapy Awards
UND Neuroscience Research Takes Center Stage in India
INBRE to Host States Regional Meeting in May
Sens Appointed to National Association of Medical Examiners' Board of Directors
Neuroscience Addition Completed
Nominations Sought for Charles E. Kupchella Preventive Medicine and Wellness Award
New Program Brings Research into Rural Practice
Summit Addresses State's Health Workforce Shortages
Wakefield Receives U-Mary Excellence in Health Care Award
UND to Host Rural Surgery Symposium
Grants Encourage Use of Technology to Improve Rural Health Care Delivery
Hostetter Appointed Program Director at Family Medicine-Bismarck
Prospective Med Students Seek Admission to UND at Rate of 5:1
Five applications for each available seat have been received for the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) Class of 2011, according to Associate Dean Judy DeMers, student affairs and admissions, at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
A total of 276 applications have been received for the 55 state-supported seats in the first-year class which begins study in August 2007, DeMers said.
"We are very pleased with the quality of the applicant pool this year," DeMers said. "Not only are they well-qualified academically, but they also appear very committed to helping people with their knowledge and skill."
The medical school's admissions committee recently completed about 140 interviews to select students for the regular seats in next year's incoming class. In February, the committee will conduct interviews for seven federally-funded seats to select qualified students to be admitted through its Indians Into Medicine (INMED) Program.
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Outstanding Occupational Therapy Awards
Jan Stube, Ph.D., O.T.R./L., associate professor of occupational therapy, was recognized with the Occupational Therapist of The Year Award for 2006 by the North Dakota Occupational Therapy Association. Sonia Zimmerman, M.A., O.T.R./L., F.A.O.T.A., assistant professor of occupational therapy, was recognized nationally with the Pi Theta Epsilon Scholar of the Year Award for 2006. Monica Lemoine, a senior OT student, was recognized by the North Dakota Occupational Therapy Association with the Occupational Therapy Student of the Year Award.
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UND Neuroscience Research Takes Center Stage in India
"This helps put UND on the international screen," says Jonathan
Geiger, Ph.D. (Pharmacology and Physiology M.S. ‘75, Ph.D. ‘82), professor and chair of pharmacology, physiology and therapeutics, about the symposium he organized for the International Update on Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Advances and 24th Annual Conference of Indian Academy of Neurosciences in December at Lucknow, India.
He organized the symposium on neuropathogenesis of HIV-1 dementia which showcased his research and that of other authorities from the U.S. and India. At the event, supported by grants from the International Society of Neurochemistry and the UND medical school, speakers presented their latest findings to an audience of clinical and academic neuroscientists.
The event is part of UND's efforts to increase ties with India. Peter Alfonso, Ph.D., UND vice president for research, spoke at the assembly about UND's research generally and neuroscience research in particular. Surendra Parmar, Ph.D., Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Physiology, also has been involved in advancing UND's association with academic leaders in India.
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INBRE to Host States Regional Meeting in May
The North Dakota IdeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) will host the annual IdeA (Institutional Development Award) States Regional Meeting May 21-22, 2007, at the Radisson Inn in downtown Fargo.
Participating states include North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. INBRE and Center of Biomedical Research Excellence investigators and staff are encouraged to participate. Meeting participants will include staff from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Research Resources which funds and administers the IdeA program.
The IdeA program broadens the geographic distribution of NIH funding for biomedical and behavioral research. IdeA increased the competitiveness of investigators through support for faculty development and enhancement of the research infrastructure at institutions located in the currently eligible 23 states and Puerto Rico.
North Dakota INBRE is a statewide network administered by the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences in collaboration with North Dakota State University. Major projects are led by researchers at Dickinson State University, Mayville State University, Minot State University, Turtle Mountain Community College and Valley City State University.
To learn more or register
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Sens Appointed to National Association of Medical Examiners' Board of Directors
Mary Ann Sens, M.D., Ph.D., chair and professor of pathology at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been appointed to the board of directors of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME). NAME is a professional organization of physician medical examiners, medical death investigators and death investigation system administrators who perform the official duties of the medical and legal investigation of deaths of public interest in the United States.
Her appointment is significant because rural areas have not had representation on this board. She also is a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP), currently serving on the group's nine-member Fellows Council. She serves on ASCP's President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief committee which oversees the Bush Administration initiative to establish quality laboratories in Africa. Sens also serves as medical coroner for Grand Forks County in North Dakota and Marshall and Red Lake counties in Minnesota.
Neuroscience Addition Completed
The recently completed, $1 million addition to the Neuroscience Research Facility provides 2200 square feet of laboratory space for investigators studying neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, epilepsy, HIV-associated dementia, multiple sclerosis and nerve regeneration. The Neuroscience Research Facility, located west of the UND medical school at Hamline and Fifth Avenue North, is a 17,000 square-foot structure constructed with total funding of $4 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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Nominations Sought for Charles E. Kupchella Preventive Medicine and Wellness Award
Nominations are being sought by UND for the Charles E. Kupchella Preventive Medicine and Wellness Award.
The award recognizes the achievements of individuals and organizations who have worked to improve health and wellness through lowered rates of disease and disability by developing and delivering effective health promotion and prevention initiatives.
Named for the current president of UND, the Kupchella Wellness Award will be presented in May during the UND medical school's M.D. Class of '07 commencement awards brunch.
UND is seeking nominations of individuals and organizations in North Dakota and surrounding states who have contributed significantly to disease prevention and healthful living.
The award recipient will receive a $1,000 cash award and a commemorative plaque. A picture of the recipient will be displayed on a plaque in UND's Student Wellness Center.
The award has been made possible by a gift to the UND Foundation from Dr. Manuchair Ebadi, senior advisor to the president and associate vice president for health affairs and medical research at UND and associate dean for research and program development at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The nomination letter and supporting materials are due by 5 p.m. on March 1, 2007, in the Office of Public Affairs, UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 501 N. Columbia Road Stop 9037, Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037.
Award criteria
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New Program Brings Research into Rural Practice
The UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences is bringing rural physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants together to look at the best way to maintain high quality of care in their practices. The new program is funded by a Physicians' Foundation for Health Systems Excellence grant of $370,000 a year for up to three years. Selected from over 200 applicants, the UND program is one of only 15 grantees to receive funding.
The Department of Family and Community Medicine at the UND medical school will use the grant to establish a practice-based research network of rural health care professionals in the Upper Midwest. There are more than 100 such networks nationwide, but the UND network will be one of the few focused on rural practices.
Participate in the research network or learn more about the project
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Summit Addresses State's Health Workforce Shortages
Nearly 200 people with an interest in the state of North Dakota's health care workforce met in Bismarck in December to discuss expanding, recruiting and retaining the workforce.
The North Dakota Health Workforce Summit brought together state policy makers and government agencies; primary, secondary and college-level educators and career counselors; health care administrators, state health care organizations and licensing boards and public health representatives.
Participants shared efforts underway in North Dakota and other states to expand, recruit and retain the health workforce, consider current and projected health workforce information in North Dakota and the nation, and work together to develop strategies to address North Dakota's health workforce needs.
Today, 81 percent of North Dakota's 53 counties are federally designated health professional shortage areas and approximately a quarter of the state's physicians and nurses could retire within the next ten years, according to a study by the Center for Rural Health.
The summit was sponsored by the Dakota Medical Foundation and Center for Rural Health Programs including the Dakota Geriatric Education Center, North Dakota Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, State Office of Rural Health, Robert Wood Johnson Policy Forums. The summit was supported by the North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education, Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas, North Dakota Medical Association and the North Dakota Healthcare Association.
Wakefield Receives U-Mary Excellence in Health Care Award
Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., associate dean and director of the Center for Rural Health at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, received the Schafer Excellence in Health Care Award from the University of Mary.
The Schafer Excellence in Healthcare Award recognizes those who contribute or have contributed to even greater possibilities in the field of health care for the citizens of North Dakota.
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UND to Host Rural Surgery Symposium
The Department of Surgery at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences will host the Third Annual Rural Surgery Symposium, a national meeting for surgeons who practice in rural areas in Grand Forks this fall.
The event is dedicated to addressing and resolving problems encountered by rural surgeons in the United States, as well as providing an educational forum for these surgeons, according to Robert Sticca, M.D., UND surgery department chairman and residency program director.
David Antonenko, M.D., Ph.D., professor of surgery and director of surgical education, is coordinating the educational component of the meeting, set for September 2007 at the Alerus Center and Canad Inn. It is expected to draw up to 200 rural surgeons from throughout the United States, especially those who practice in the Midwest and West.
The UND Department of Surgery's residency program also has earned an exemplary reputation for its training of surgeons for rural areas, Sticca said, noting that more than 45 percent of its graduates practice in rural communities in North Dakota and around the country.
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Grants Encourage Use of Technology to Improve Rural Health Care Delivery
Six grants have been awarded to North Dakota facilities that have shown the initiative to utilize information and communication technology to improve health care delivery in rural communities.
Nearly $350,000 was awarded through the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota's (BCBSND) Rural Health Grant Program, administered by the Center for Rural Health at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
List of grantees
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Hostetter Appointed Program Director at Family Medicine-Bismarck
Jeff Hostetter, M.D. (Family Medicine Residency ‘03), assistant professor of family and community medicine, has been named director of the UND Center for Family Medicine-Bismarck, effective Dec. 1, 2006. He replaces Guy Tangedahl, M.D. ‘82, who served as director for the past 12 years and will continue on a part-time basis as an assistant professor with the Center.
Hostetter has been on the Center’s faculty since he completed the program in 2003, serving part-time until 2005 when he accepted a full-time appointment. In addition to teaching and caring for patients, he provides coverage of emergency room and hospital services on weekends in Garrison, N.D. He has served as assistant professor and community faculty preceptor during his tenure at the UND Center for Family Medicine.
His research includes work on resident education and hepatitis C treatment for state penitentiary inmates, the latter he presented at national conferences sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Corrections Association. He is serving as sub-investigator for a study of an investigational medication for obese patients.
A graduate of Montana State University, he earned the Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, and has received special training in Indian Health Pathway and wound care. He is a former teacher with extensive background in education.
Upon completion of residency training in 2003, Hostetter received the William Buckingham Award for an Outstanding Family Medicine Resident. He practiced at Standing Rock Indian Health Services Hospital in Fort Yates.
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