UIC College of Medicine Research News

UIC College of Medicine Research News http://www.news.uic.edu UIC News Bureau College of Medicine Research related news en-us Sun, 27 May 2012 13:32:02 -0500 UIC College of Medicine Research News http://www.uic.edu/favicon.png http://www.news.uic.edu UIC News Bureau College of Medicine Research related news Summer Camp for Kids with ADHD Begins June 11 http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3466&fromhome=1 Camp STAR, a comprehensive, evidence-based therapy for children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and other behavioral, emotional and social difficulties, begins its fifth season in June. The camp, whose name stands for Summer Treatment for ADHD and Related Issues, is a partnership of the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Jewish Council for Youth Services. The director of Camp STAR, Dr. Mark Stein, professor of psychiatry at UIC's Institute for Juvenile Research, says that the program is not only effective in reducing ADHD symptoms, but in teaching skills to children and their parents that can improve social functioning. Children with ADHD and associated problems often struggle to fit in at typical camps that do not address their special needs, Stein said. "At Camp STAR we have the opportunity to provide a very intensive treatment using behavior modification, modeling, medication and by looking at a variety of activities -- how the child participates in sports, and how the family structures the home," Stein said. "We're able to dramatically change their behavior. The really exciting thing is that many of the children, by the end of the summer, have had a successful experience, and it translates into them feeling better about themselves." Every child gets an individualized treatment plan to teach and reward social skills, improve attention, and control impulsive behaviors. A one to two staff-to-camper ratio ensures that each child receives individual attention. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology, education, or health-related fields staff Camp STAR. Camp STAR is based on the behavioral therapy principles used in the Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD, which showed that children who participated in a summer treatment program obtained a high level of success with lower doses of medication than children who did not receive behavioral treatment. Camp STAR combines typical camp activities with behavioral treatments to improve social skills and anger management, reduce oppositional behaviors, and enhance self-esteem. Campers express their creativity through arts and crafts, and work on classroom behavior in the Academic Learning Center. Weekly parent training sessions will discuss techniques to improve child behavior at home and family relations. Camp highlights include weekly field trips, Friday BBQs, swimming and an end of camp graduation ceremony. Camp STAR also includes a research component to help investigators learn more about personalizing ADHD treatment . In 2010 and 2011, Stein and collaborators from the University of Chicago examined the relationship between behavioral improvement in ADHD symptoms, sleep, and nutritional intake during the program. They found that even when campers were prescribed stimulant medication for their ADHD -- which often has a negative effect on sleep -- the children's sleep normalized on days they were at camp, but varied on weekends when they were not at camp. This year, Stein and colleagues will continue to look at interventions aimed at improving daytime behaviors and children’s sleep patterns. Children ages 6-12 with ADHD, oppositional disorders, learning disabilities, anxiety, and social challenges associated with high-functioning Autism/Asperger's syndrome may be eligible. Camp STAR starts June 11 and runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday until July 27 in Highland Park, Ill. For more information, contact (847) 814-STAR (7827) or visit http://www.jcys.org/campstar For more information about the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, visit <a href="http://www.hospital.uillinois.edu">www.hospital.uillinois.edu</a>. smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3466&fromhome=1 Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:05:54 -0500 Chicago Man Receives Robotic Kidney Transplant After 17 Years http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3461&fromhome=1 Jimmie Jones of Calumet Park, Ill., has beaten all odds to survive 17 years on the waiting list for a new kidney. Diagnosed with hypertensive kidney disease in his 40s, Jones' health quickly deteriorated to the point where he needed dialysis three times a week. Physicians at a south side Chicago hospital placed him on the waiting list for a new kidney in 1995 but told him that he needed to lose weight before he could be a candidate. A former high school athlete, Jones is a large man, and he had difficulty taking the weight off. "It's a miracle he's still alive," says Dr. Enrico Benedetti, head of surgery at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, who noted that 70 percent of hypertensive dialysis patients survive less than five years. Jones, now 64, had learned that physicians at UI Hospital were performing robotic kidney transplantation on obese patients who would not otherwise be candidates for surgery. He decided to make an appointment. Up to half of dialysis patients are obese, defined as those with a body mass index greater than 30. In the U.S., studies have shown that obese patients wait longer for a cadaveric kidney transplant and often have poorer outcomes, including surgical site infections. As a result, many U.S. transplant centers deny transplantation to very obese patients and will not put them on the waiting list if they have a BMI greater than 35, says Dr. Jose Oberholzer, chief of transplantation surgery at UI Hospital and the C.& B. Frese and G. Moss Professor of Transplant Surgery, Bioengineering and Endocrinology at UIC. "These transplant centers avoid listing morbidly obese patients for kidney transplantation, because obesity markedly increases the risk of wound infection, which lowers graft and patient survival," said Oberholzer. "However, we know that the benefits of transplantation outweigh the risks in this patient population. Transplantation in obese patients provides a clear survival advantage over dialysis -- and an improved quality of life." In a traditional "open" kidney transplant procedure, a six- to eight-inch incision is made in the right-lower abdomen to implant the donor kidney. In robotic kidney transplantation using the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System, surgeons transplant the kidney through a 2 3/4-inch incision above the patient's belly button, with four tiny incisions in the abdomen to accommodate the robotic laparoscopic instruments. "The majority of patients needing kidney transplantation are overweight or obese, and this procedure offers what we believe is a safer, minimally invasive procedure with fewer complications," says Dr. Pier Giulianotti, chief of general, minimally invasive and robotic surgery at UI Hospital and the Lloyd M. Nyhus Professor of Surgery at UIC. Giulianotti said robotic surgery provides a three-dimensional view and utilizes instruments with 360-degree range of motion, allowing surgeons to complete these more complex procedures. "The benefits to the patient are reduced surgical trauma, reduced risk for wound complications, and improved patient survival," said Giulianotti. Jones underwent robotic kidney transplantation on Feb. 17. His new kidney is functioning perfectly, and he no longer requires dialysis. Jones says he is grateful for his new kidney and "feels like a new man, 100 percent better." For more information about UI Health, visit <a href="http://www.hospital.uillinois.edu">www.hospital.uillinois.edu</a>. [Editors Note: Video report available at <a href="http://youtu.be/nCUDosmYce8">http://youtu.be/nCUDosmYce8</a>] smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3461&fromhome=1 Wed, 4 Apr 2012 10:05:34 -0500 Immediate Care Clinic Opens in University Village http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3451&fromhome=1 A new, after-hours Immediate Care Clinic staffed and run by the emergency department of the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System has opened in University Village. The facility is designed to treat patients who need non-emergency medical attention for minor injuries, illnesses and immunizations. "We can offer a much higher level of care than is commonly available with immediate care facilities," said Dr. Elizabeth Orsay, associate professor and vice chair of emergency medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago and medical co-director of the Immediate Care Clinic with Dr. John Zautcke, also associate professor of emergency medicine. "Our staff is not only experienced emergency department advanced practice nurses, they have the full back-up and support of the University of Illinois Hospital emergency department, which is just a phone call away," Orsay said. The clinic is equipped to retrieve electronic health records or establish new ones, connect patients with primary care providers, and share records for patients already in the UI network, Orsay said. The clinic will soon be connected to the UI Hospital emergency department, which will allow emergency physicians to consult via video link. "Many times you just need a quick look to resolve a question and save a trip to the emergency room," Orsay said. "We can offer comprehensive care at a far more affordable price than a visit to an emergency department." The Immediate Care Clinic at 722 W. Maxwell St., second floor, will be open Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, noon to 10 p.m.; closed major holidays. Adults and children ages 12 and older are welcome. Patients don't need an appointment. For more information call (312) 355-0517. For more information about the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, visit <a href="http://www.hospital.uillinois.edu">www.hospital.uillinois.edu</a> jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3451&fromhome=1 Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:40:26 -0500 What Does Delaying Childbearing Cost? http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3439&fromhome=1 Freezing eggs or ovarian tissue for the sole purpose of delaying childbearing for social reasons may prove too costly for society, according to a recent analysis by a University of Illinois at Chicago researcher. Fertility preservation -- freezing eggs or ovarian tissue -- was originally intended for women undergoing medical treatments that could affect their fertility. But now, fertility centers around the country are offering these technologies to women who are not undergoing treatment, but who are "trying to create a backup plan for delaying pregnancy," says Dr. Jennifer Hirshfeld-Cytron, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UIC and lead author of the study, published in the March issue of Fertility and Sterility. Using decision-analysis techniques, the researchers compared the cost-per-live-birth for three alternative strategies a 25-year-old woman might use if she wants to delay childbearing until age 40. Those scenarios included doing nothing (no cryopreservation), freezing eggs, or freezing ovarian tissue. The cost of each technique was based on published data. "We found, in order to create one additional live birth with the mechanisms of freezing either ovarian tissue or freezing eggs, it would cost society an additional $130,000," said Hirshfeld-Cytron, director of the fertility preservation program at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System. In the statistical model, women at age 40 would attempt natural conception for six months before using assisted reproductive technology. After trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant on her own, the woman would either receive the standard of care (in vitro fertilization), or she would utilize either the frozen ovarian tissue or frozen eggs. The analysis showed that freezing eggs was less expensive than freezing ovarian tissue, and doing nothing was the most cost-effective. "In any scenario where a woman has undergone a procedure to freeze eggs or part of her ovaries for future use, and then she changes her mind, that is tissue that is never used," Hirshfeld-Cytron said. "The cost estimates in our study are actually very conservative." Like all medical specialties, obstetrics and gynecology sometimes "can be victim to the tyranny of technology," Hirshfeld-Cytron said. Clinicians get excited about new options and offer them to a wider range of patients. "Whether or not this is cost-effective is something that needs to be talked about and potentially decided as a society," said Hirshfeld-Cytron. "It's also possible to argue that we could perhaps avoid these costs by providing an environment for young women that fosters career development and family-building at the same time," she said. Co-authors are Dr. William Grobman and Dr. Magdy Milad of Northwestern University. An extended interview as MP3 audio file is available at http://bit.ly/zbAAv8 For more information about the University of Illinois Hospital, visit www.hospital.uillinois.org smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3439&fromhome=1 Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:34:29 -0500 Rare Transplant Allows Young Woman to Forgo 60 Pills Daily http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3437&fromhome=1 Surgeons at the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System performed a rare living-donor parathyroid gland transplant to help a 22-year-old woman maintain normal calcium levels without the need for high-dose supplementation. Ashley Slussar, of Joliet, Ill., had all of her parathyroid glands removed in 2006 because they had grown large and were overproducing parathyroid hormone. The hyperparathyroidism was caused by years of kidney disease and dialysis, which she needed to survive. As a result of having no parathyroid glands, she required 60 calcium pills a day to maintain normal calcium blood levels. Without the supplements, she could suffer life-threatening complications. Slussar was first diagnosed with kidney disease when she was 12 years old. She had received two living-donor kidney transplants, one in 2003 from her mother and the other in 2006 from her sister. Slussar's parathyroid glands were removed following the first kidney transplant. The parathyroid glands (located in the neck behind the thyroid) regulate calcium levels in the blood. Slussar's parathyroid glands were overactive and needed to be removed to prevent dangerously high calcium and diffuse bone destruction. UIC surgeons began brainstorming how to help Slussar with a parathyroid transplant. Dr. Enrico Benedetti, chief of surgery at the University of Illinois Hospital, had read in the medical literature about the first successful parathyroid transplant, performed in 1984. But the patient and donor in that case were identical twins. Slussar did not have an identical twin, but Benedetti believed that her sister, who had already donated her kidney, was Ashley's best hope. "Ashley was already taking anti-rejection medication after receiving her sister's kidney, and we believed that transplanting one parathyroid gland would produce enough parathyroid hormone to help regulate her calcium levels," said Benedetti, the Warren H. Cole Chair in Surgery at UIC. A surgical team led by Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti, chief of minimally invasive, general and robotic surgery at the hospital, used the robotic-assisted da Vinci Surgical System to delicately remove one of Kimberly Slussar's four tiny parathyroid glands. Traditional surgery to remove the parathyroid glands, or the larger thyroid gland, involves making a 1- to 4-inch incision in the lower neck, leaving a noticeable scar after surgery. Instead, Giulianotti made one small incision under her sister's right arm to accommodate the robotic arms and endoscopic camera. One parathyroid gland was removed from Kimberly and transplanted into Ashley last September. This transplant procedure may be relevant for a only small number of patients, but the robotic-assisted parathyroidectomy and thyroidectomy procedures "are valuable for the vast majority of patients who want to avoid a neck incision for cosmetic reasons," said Giulianotti, the Lloyd M. Nyhus Professor of Surgery at UIC. For Kimberly, the robotic donor operation made the procedure more acceptable, since she would not have a visible scar in her neck. Ashley is now being weaned from calcium supplements -- she's down to 10 pills daily -- and will soon require no supplementation. Her parathyroid hormone levels are now within normal limits. "I'm very happy that I could help Ashley -- twice," said Kimberly, who finds it difficult to imagine everything her sister has gone through in the past 10 years. "I would do it again to help her live a more normal life without dialysis and without having to take all those pills each day." For more information about the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, visit www.hospital.uillinois.org smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3437&fromhome=1 Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:13:37 -0500 Discovery of Hair-Cell Roots Suggests the Brain Modulates Sound Sensitivity http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3434&fromhome=1 The hair cells of the inner ear have a previously unknown "root" extension that may allow them to communicate with nerve cells and the brain to regulate sensitivity to sound vibrations and head position, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have discovered. Their finding is reported online in advance of print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The hair-like structures, called stereocilia, are fairly rigid and are interlinked at their tops by structures called tip-links. When you move your head, or when a sound vibration enters your ear, motion of fluid in the ear causes the tip-links to get displaced and stretched, opening up ion channels and exciting the cell, which can then relay information to the brain, says Anna Lysakowski, professor of anatomy and cell biology at the UIC College of Medicine and principal investigator on the study. The stereocilia are rooted in a gel-like cuticle on the top of the cell that is believed to act as a rigid platform, helping the hairs return to their resting position. Lysakowski and her colleagues were interested in a part of the cell called the striated organelle, which lies underneath this cuticle plate and is believed to be responsible for its stability. Using a high-voltage electron microscope at the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research at the University of California, San Diego, Florin Vranceanu, a recent doctoral student in Lysakowski's UIC lab, was able to construct a composite picture of the entire top section of the hair cell. "When I saw the pictures, I was amazed," said Lysakowski. Textbooks, she said, describe the roots of the stereocilia ending in the cuticular plate. But the new pictures showed that the roots continue through, make a sharp 110-degree angle, and extend all the way to the membrane at the opposite side of the cell, where they connect with the striated organelle. For Lysakowski, this suggested a new way to envision how hair cells work. Just as the brain adjusts the sensitivity of retinal cells in the eye to light, it may also modulate the sensitivity of hair cells in the inner ear to sound and head position. When the eye detects light, there is feedback from the brain to the eye. "If it's too bright the brain can say, okay, I'll detect less light -- or, it's not bright enough, let me detect more," Lysakowski said. With the striated organelle connecting the rootlets to the cell membrane, it creates the possibility of feedback from the cell to the very detectors that detect motion. Feedback from the brain could alter the tension on the rootlets and their sensitivity to stimuli. The striated organelle may also tip the whole cuticular plate at once to modulate the entire process. "This may revolutionize the way we think about the hair cells in the inner ear," Lysakowski said. The study was supported by the grants from the National Institutes of Deafness and other Communication Disorders, the American Hearing Research Foundation, the National Center for Research Resources, and the 2008 Tallu Rosen Grant in Auditory Science from the National Organization for Hearing Research Foundation. In addition to Lysakowski and first author Vranceanu, graduate student Robstein Chidavaenzi and electron microscope technologist Steven Price also contributed by identifying three of the proteins composing the striated organelle and demonstrating how they arise during development. Guy Perkins, Masako Terada and Mark Ellisman from the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research in Biological Systems, University of California, San Diego, also contributed to the study. [Photos and video animation of the 3-D structure of the stereocilia (hair cells) is available at <a href="http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/lysakowski/">newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/lysakowski/</a>] For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3434&fromhome=1 Thu, 8 Mar 2012 14:59:01 -0500 Molecule's Role in Cancer Suggests New Combination Therapy http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3433&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that a molecule found at elevated levels in cancer cells seems to protect them from the "cell-suicide" that is usually triggered by chemotherapy or radiation. The study, published online in the journal PLoS One on Feb. 29, suggests that two common cancer-fighting strategies may have "tremendous synergy" if used in combination, says Andrei Gartel, UIC associate professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics and medicine and principal investigator on the study. Damage to a cell's DNA can set in motion a cascade of signals that triggers programmed cell death, or apoptosis. Radiation therapy and many chemotherapy agents target and damage DNA somewhat selectively in rapidly dividing cells, making them useful in fighting cancer. But many cancer cells develop resistance over the course of treatment and block the suicide pathway. Based on the observation that a protein molecule in cancer cells called FOXM1 is elevated following DNA damage, Gartel and his co-author sought to investigate whether FOXM1 might have a role in protecting cancer cells from apoptosis. Using human cancer cells that were exposed to either chemicals or radiation to damage DNA, the researchers used a variety of techniques to decrease the levels of FOXM1 in these cells. "We found a significant increase in DNA-damage-induced apoptosis in cells with diminished levels of FOXM1," Gartel said. The results were the same no matter what caused the DNA damage, or what method the researchers used to reduce FOXM1. The researchers were able to show that FOXM1 short-circuits apoptosis by suppressing the activity of another protein, JNK, which otherwise stimulates cell death, and by turning up an anti-apoptosis protein called Bcl-2. Besides the radiation and chemotherapy drugs long used in cancer treatment, a newer class of chemotherapy agents called proteasome inhibitors has been showing promise. All known proteasome inhibitors reduce levels of FOXM1, Gartel said. By combining standard chemotherapy drugs with proteasome inhibitors -- some of which are already FDA-approved for cancer treatment -- the drugs' effectiveness may be improved, he said. The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Marianna Halasi, a UIC graduate student in biochemistry and molecular genetics, is the first author on the paper. For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3433&fromhome=1 Thu, 1 Mar 2012 10:18:06 -0500 THURSDAY: Shaving Heads to Conquer Kids' Cancer http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3427&fromhome=1 WHAT: University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System will host an annual head-shaving event to raise money for the St. Baldrick's Foundation. Staff, physicians, and families of children with cancer volunteer each year to have their heads shaved to support childhood cancer research and fellowships. To sign up to be a "shavee," volunteer or to donate, visit www.stbaldricks.org. WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 23 8 to 10 a.m. WHERE: University of Illinois Hospital 1740 W. Taylor St. DETAILS: University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System provides comprehensive services to children and adolescents with cancer, leukemia, sickle cell disease, hemophilia and other blood disorders. The St. Baldrick's Foundation began as a challenge between friends and has grown into the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising program for childhood cancer research. smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3427&fromhome=1 Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:07:21 -0500 Entry Point for Hepatitis C Infection Identified http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3408&fromhome=1 A molecule embedded in the membrane of human liver cells that aids in cholesterol absorption also allows the entry of hepatitis C virus, the first step in hepatitis C infection, according to research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The cholesterol receptor offers a promising new target for anti-viral therapy, for which an approved drug may already exist, say the researchers, whose findings were reported online in advance of publication in Nature Medicine. An estimated 4.1 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C virus, or HCV, which attacks the liver and leads to inflammation, according to the National Institutes of Health. Most people have no symptoms initially and may not know they have the infection until liver damage shows up decades later during routine medical tests. Previous studies showed that cholesterol was somehow involved in HCV infection. The UIC researchers suspected that a receptor called NPC1L1, known to help maintain cholesterol balance might also be transporting the virus into the cell. The receptor is common in the gut of many species -- but is found on liver cells only in humans and chimpanzees, says Susan Uprichard, assistant professor in medicine and microbiology and immunology and principal investigator in the study. These primates, she said, are the only animals that can be infected by HCV. Uprichard and her coworkers showed that knocking down or blocking access to the NPC1L1 receptor prevented the virus from entering and infecting cells. Bruno Sainz, Jr., UIC postdoctoral research associate in medicine and first author of the paper, said because the receptor is involved in cholesterol metabolism it was already well-studied. A drug that "specifically and uniquely targets NPC1L1" already exists and is approved for use to lower cholesterol levels, he said. The FDA-approved drug ezetimibe (sold under the trade-name Zetia) is readily available and perfectly targeted to the receptor, Sainz said, so the researchers had an ideal method for testing NPC1L1's involvement in HCV infection. They used the drug to block the receptor before, during and after inoculation with the virus, in cell culture and in a small-animal model, to evaluate the receptor's role in infection and the drug's potential as an anti-hepatitis agent. The researchers showed that ezetimibe inhibited HCV infection in cell culture and in mice transplanted with human liver cells. And, unlike any currently available drugs, ezetimibe was able to inhibit infection by all six types of HCV. The study, Uprichard said, opens up a number of possibilities for therapeutics. Hepatitis C is the leading cause for liver transplantation in the U.S., but infected patients have problems after transplant because the virus attacks the new liver, Uprichard said. While current drugs are highly toxic and often cannot be tolerated by transplant patients taking immunosuppressant drugs, ezetimibe is quite safe and has been used long-term without harm by people to control their cholesterol, Uprichard said. Because it prevents entry of the virus into cells, ezetimibe may help protect the new liver from infection. For patients with chronic hepatitis C, ezetimibe may be able to be used in combination with current drugs. "We forsee future HCV therapy as a drug-cocktail approach, like that used against AIDS," Uprichard said. "Based on cell culture and mouse model data, we expect ezetimibe, an entry inhibitor, may have tremendous synergy with current anti-HCV drugs resulting in an improvement in the effectiveness of treatment." The study was supported by NIH Public Health Service grants, the American Cancer Society Research Scholar grant, the UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science NIH grant, the UIC Council to Support Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, and a grant from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan. Naina Barretto, Danyelle Martin, Snawar Hussain, Katherine Marsh and Xuemei Yu, of UIC; Nobuhiko Hiraga, Michio Imamura and Kazuaki Chayama, of Hiroshima University in Japan; and Waddah Alrefai of UIC and the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago also contributed to the study. [Editor's Note: Images available at <a href="http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/uprichard/">newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/uprichard/</a>] For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3408&fromhome=1 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:59:46 -0500 UIC Researchers Discover How Cells Limit Inflammation In Lung Injury http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3392&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found in an animal model of acute lung injury a molecular mechanism that allows cells of the immune system to reduce tissue damage from inflammation. The study is reported in Nature Immunology. Inflammation is part of the normal response to infection. One aspect of inflammation is the production of negatively charged oxygen-rich molecules by specialized white blood cells called phagocytes. The molecules, called reactive oxygen species (ROS), help to break up bacteria, allowing the phagocytes to "mop up" the broken pieces and clear out the infection. Unfortunately, ROS can also cause damage to normal tissue. The UIC researchers found that a channel through the cell membrane of phagocytes is able to modulate this destructive phase of inflammation. "Although the channel, called TRPM2, is found in many cell types in the immune system, including phagocytes, it’s function in these cells has been unknown," said Anke Di, UIC research assistant professor in pharmacology and first author of the study. The researchers were able to show that TRPM2 had a protective anti-inflammatory role in the animal model of ALI, and, further, it played a previously unknown role in protecting against inflammation and tissue injury generally. TRPM2’s protective effect was a result of its ability to dampen the production of the negatively charged ROS by modulating the electrochemical gradient -- the difference in charge between molecules within the cell and outside the plasma membrane of the cell. ALI and its more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) result from pulmonary edema (leaky blood vessels) and inflammation. Both direct lung injury from infection and indirect lung injury from trauma, sepsis, pancreatitis, transfusions, radiation exposure and drug overdose can trigger ALI. It is fatal in almost 40 percent of cases. Inflammation plays an important role in ALI and a number of other human diseases, said Dr. Asrar Malik, UIC Schweppe Family Distinguished Professor and head of pharmacology and principal investigator of the study. Understanding how inflammatory damage to tissues is controlled normally may help develop therapies in the future, he said. The study was supported by the Francis Families Foundation through the Parker B. Francis Fellowship Program, and the National Institutes of Health. Malik, Di, Xiao-Pei Gao, Feng Qian, Takeshi Kawamura, Jin Han, Claudie Hecquet, Richard Ye and Stephen Vogel, all of the UIC department of pharmacology and Center for Lung and Vascular Biology, contributed equally to the study. For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3392&fromhome=1 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:25:51 -0500 Cornea Specialist Named Dean of UIC College of Medicine http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3387&fromhome=1 Dr. Dimitri T. Azar, a renowned physician-scientist and expert on diseases of the cornea, has been named dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, effective Dec. 16. The University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved the appointment at their meeting today in Springfield. Azar has served as interim dean since May. He came to UIC in 2006 from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he was tenured professor at Harvard Medical School. At UIC he became professor and head of ophthalmology and visual sciences and B.A. Field Endowed Chair of Ophthalmologic Research. “With his experience as a researcher, administrator and clinician, Dr. Azar is uniquely qualified to lead the College of Medicine in this era of translational, collaborative science and medicine,” said UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares. "Our College of Medicine is poised to become one of the nation's premier urban-serving medical institutions, focusing on outstanding basic and translational research directed at those issues effecting urban populations, and the education of a uniquely diverse medical corps trained to deliver excellent health care to all persons, and especially to those from underserved populations," said Lon Kaufman, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. "I am confident that as dean, Dr. Azar, through his own commitment to these virtues and his certain excellence in these areas, is the leader we need to move us towards our goal." "The UIC College of Medicine is our nation's largest and most diverse medical school. It is also one of the best. I am honored to lead our students and distinguished faculty in our mission of academic achievement and leadership in education, research, and patient care," Azar said. "I take this opportunity to thank the faculty, Provost Kaufman, Chancellor Allen-Meares, Vice President for Health Affairs Garcia, and President Hogan in trusting me with the leadership of the College." The college, with campuses in Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana, traces its roots to 1882. The College is committed to providing medical education to the greatest number of underrepresented minority medical students and to ensure that there are doctors for underserved areas throughout Illinois. One in six doctors in Illinois received their training at UIC. As dean, Azar said he hopes to "spur academic excellence and leadership in medical education, to stimulate new discoveries through clinically relevant basic and translational research, and to serve the needs of our local community, especially the underserved minority population." Azar brings experience in administration, research, education and clinical practice to his new position. He earned an executive MBA with high honors at the University of Chicago. As department chair, he presided over a patient-care center seeing 55,000 patients each year; a laboratory and clinical research enterprise engaged in treating the most serious and complicated eye conditions; and the training of medical students, residents and clinical fellows, including one of the most sought after residency training programs in the U.S. Azar began his medical training at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, where he received his medical degree. He started his fellowship and residency training at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School and also received a research fellowship at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. Following his clinical fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard, Azar moved to the Wilmer Ophthalmologic Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Medicine, where he launched the institute's first refractive surgery service and became associate professor of ophthalmology. In 1996 he returned to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary as the director of the cornea and external disease service. In 2003, he became professor of ophthalmology with tenure at Harvard Medical School and senior scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. Azar is an innovative researcher who has made significant contributions to the treatment of corneal diseases and refractive surgery through sophisticated analysis and advanced optics. His research has resulted in better understanding of corneal wound healing, the applications and complications of laser keratectomy, and the molecular organization of the normal and injured cornea. He has published more than 190 peer-reviewed articles, more than 300 book chapters and abstracts, and he holds 15 patents. He is the editor or co-editor of 14 books on cornea and refractive surgery. Azar has mentored more than 100 clinical and research post-doctoral fellows and countless residents, many of whom occupy academic leadership positions. He sits on the boards of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He was named a University Scholar in 2009 and was the recipient of the Lans Distinguished Award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3387&fromhome=1 Fri, 2 Dec 2011 14:18:39 -0500 UIC Researchers Test Effects of Vitamin D on Asthma Severity http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3384&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are recruiting volunteers with asthma for a study of whether taking vitamin D can make asthma medication more effective. The study is called VIDA (Vitamin D add-on therapy enhances corticosteroid responsiveness in Asthma). “A number of people with asthma have low vitamin D levels,” says Dr. Jerry Krishnan, professor of medicine, pulmonary, critical care, sleep, and allergy. “Patients with asthma and low vitamin D levels tend to have worse lung function, and tend to have more asthma attacks.” The researchers are looking for participants who are 18 years or older and are using medications to control their asthma. Volunteers whose baseline vitamin D levels are low and whose asthma is not well controlled may enroll in the study. Study participants will receive vitamin D or a placebo and will continue on asthma medications. They will monitor their lung function at home as well as having regular clinic visits over the course of nine months. Participants will be compensated for their time. “We want to understand if taking vitamin D allows their asthma to get better,” Krishnan said. The researchers hope that for people with low levels of vitamin D, supplements of the vitamin will make it possible to use less asthma medication. “Improving your asthma control may be as simple as taking a vitamin a day,” Krishnan said. Taking vitamin D may result in side effects, so Krishnan warned against taking vitamin D for asthma outside of a study. In the study, researchers carefully monitor patients to detect potential side effects, Krishnan said. Krishnan urged anyone interested in learning whether low vitamin D is the reason their asthma does not get better to consider enrolling in the study. The researchers will enroll 25 people at UIC and 400 people nationwide. The study is supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute through AsthmaNet, a nationwide clinical research network. The UIC AsthmaNet Clinical Center is part of the Chicagoland Metropolitan AsthmaNet Consortium, which includes Northwestern University, Rush University Medical Center, the University of Chicago, and Children’s Memorial Hospital. If you are interested in participating or for more information, please call 1-855-I-WHEEZE (1-855-494-3393). [Editors note: Extended interview as MP3 audio file available at <a href=" http://www.uic.edu/depts/paff/newsbureau/podcasts.html"> www.uic.edu/depts/paff/newsbureau/podcasts.html</a>] jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3384&fromhome=1 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:09:20 -0500 UIC Study Identifies a Key Molecular Switch for Telomere Extension by Telomerase http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3382&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine describe for the first time a key target of DNA damage checkpoint enzymes that must be chemically modified to enable stable maintenance of chromosome ends by telomerase, an enzyme thought to play a key role in cancer and aging. Their findings are reported online in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. Telomeres are the natural ends of chromosomes, consisting of specialized DNA-and-protein structures that protect chromosome ends and ensure faithful duplication of chromosomes in actively dividing cells. An essential player in telomere maintenance is an enzyme complex called telomerase. Without telomerase, telomeres become progressively shorter each time the cell divides. If telomeres become too short, chromosome ends will be recognized as broken, prompting DNA-damage checkpoint proteins to halt cell division and DNA repair proteins to fuse or rearrange the chromosome ends. Telomere dysfunction has been linked to tumor formation and premature aging in humans. The UIC study, led by Toru Nakamura, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, focused on understanding how two DNA-damage checkpoint enzymes called ATM and ATR contribute to the regulation of telomerase. “Our current study found that ATM and ATR help to switch on the telomere complex by chemically modifying a specific target protein bound to telomeric DNA, which then attracts telomerase, much like honey bees are attracted if flowers open and show bright colors,” Nakamura said. The study was done in fission yeast cells, a model organism that utilizes very similar protein complexes as human cells do to maintain telomeres. Previous discoveries in fission yeast have provided key information that helped identify several key factors required in maintenance of human telomeres. Nakamura thinks that a similar ATM/ATR-dependent molecular switch may exist in human cells to regulate telomere maintenance. However, certain details of the protective complex regulation may be different, he noted. Because deregulation of telomere maintenance mechanisms is a key event in tumor formation, understanding how cellular components collaborate to generate functional telomeres may be important to finding ways to prevent cancer, Nakamura said. The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Federal Work Study Program. Bettina Moser, UIC research assistant professor in biochemistry and molecular genetics, was first author of the study. Graduate student Ya-Ting Chang and undergraduate student Jorgena Kosti also contributed to the study. For more information about UIC, visit <a href="http://www.uic.edu">www.uic.edu</a> jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3382&fromhome=1 Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:11:57 -0500 Free Prostate Screening Prior to Sunday’s Bears Game http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3379&fromhome=1 WHO/WHAT: The University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System will offer free prostate screening before the Chicago Bears kickoff against the San Diego Chargers. A free food buffet will be provided for the first 100 registrants. A simple blood test can measure the level of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, in the blood and can be used to screen for prostate disease. Prostate cancer is most common in African-American males and is one of the most common killers in men over age 50. WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 20 2:15 p.m. (kickoff is at 3:15 p.m.) Halftime screenings will be offered at approximately 4:45 p.m. WHERE: Union Park Lounge 228 S. Racine Ave. (corner of Racine and Jackson) DETAILS: To sign up for the screening, visit www.uillinoismedcenter.org/psascreening smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3379&fromhome=1 Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:06:45 -0500 $1.5M Grant Addresses Health Disparities in Rural Illinois Women http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3377&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender, in partnership with the Southern Seven Health Department, has received funding to improve the health of women and girls in the seven southernmost counties of Illinois. The five-year, $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expands on previous funding from HHS's Office of Women's Health to address health disparities in the counties of Alexander, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, and Union in rural Illinois. UIC and Southern Seven Health Department completed a regional health assessment of the area earlier this year and concluded that women in this southernmost region face significant health disparities compared to women in the rest of the state. Women in this region report higher rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity when compared to Illinois women overall. In order to address the multiple factors that affect women's health in this region -- access to health care, lifestyle choices, attitudes and beliefs about health, and community resources -- the project will implement Heart Smart for Women, an evidence-based lifestyle intervention to increase physical activity and improve nutrition among women, at 12 local churches. Heart Start for Women classes will be offered for 12 weeks. The classes will be followed by monthly maintenance programs for women, as well as men, to sustain behavior change in the long term. Cooking demonstrations and walking groups will be part of ongoing maintenance activities. "This grant provides an opportunity for the Center for Research on Women and Gender to collaborate with our partners in southern Illinois, a traditionally under-resourced area of the state, to improve the health of rural women," said Stacie Geller, director of the UIC center and professor of obstetrics and gynecology. When compared to Illinois women overall, a higher percentage of women in this region do not meet the recommended standard of five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, report less physical activity, and have almost double the state's adult female smoking rate. "We are extremely pleased to continue our partnership with UIC for five more years," said Patricia Moehring, community health education director for Southern Seven Health Department. "I am really excited for the women we serve in our region to have the opportunity to move themselves to healthier lifestyles." The HHS funding is part of a national initiative entitled the Coalition for a Healthier Community. The Office on Women's Health awarded grants in 2010 (phase I) and 2011 (phase II) to improve community health policies and programs for women and girls. UIC and Southern Seven Health Department have partnered on health promotion initiatives since 2007. smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3377&fromhome=1 Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:37:24 -0500 Study Looks at Bike Seats' Effect on Men's Pelvic Blood Flow http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3349&fromhome=1 Is it just an urban myth, or can long-term bike riding cause sexual dysfunction in men? Previous studies have not shed much light on the question, says Dr. Craig Niederberger, professor and head of urology at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, because they have not shown whether bike riding actually cuts off blood flow to men's genitals. It had not been possible to measure exactly where and how much pressure a bike seat exerts during a ride. Some earlier studies had measured the pressure on the bike seat, but not on the men's anatomy. "And we really aren’t concerned with what the bicycle is feeling," said Neiderberger, who is also professor of engineering at UIC. Niederberger and colleagues in engineering, urology and radiology designed a study to precisely measure pressure on the male anatomy. Volunteers will ride their bikes out on the street while a device designed and patented by the UIC researchers records data in real time as they try out six different seat designs. The device, designed by the researchers working with UIC engineering students, can measure pressure on the artery supplying blood to the penis. The thin, flexible sensors are comfortable to wear and send information to equipment compact enough to wear in a backpack while riding. A radiologist uses ultrasound to determine how much pressure completely blocks blood flow in each volunteer. That amount can differ for each man, according to Niederberger. With four sensors attached to the skin above the blood vessels, the men ride for five minutes on the six different seats -- some of classic design, and some modified in shape or with padding intended to improve comfort. Many new bicycle seats are designed to be more comfortable, but whether they are better for the men riding them is pretty much just a guess, Niederberger said. "So far, we’re seeing a surprising amount of variation in how different seats affect different men, depending on their anatomy, their riding posture, and their riding habits," Niederberger said. "The question we would like to answer eventually is whether we can design a universal seat that is good for each and every man." The researchers are looking for more volunteers for the study. If you are interested, please call Christine Corpuz at (312) 996-9330. [Editors Note: Video report available at <a href="http://youtu.be/LbTIQlOP2Zk">youtu.be/LbTIQlOP2Zk</a>] jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3349&fromhome=1 Wed, 2 Nov 2011 15:29:53 -0500 UIC Hosts Conference on Emerging Health Issues in Underrepresented Minorities http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3360&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois at Chicago will host "Bridging the Gap: Emerging Health Issues in Underrepresented Minorities," Oct. 26. The conference, hosted by the UIC Department of Surgery, will bring together physicians, nurses, community health providers, and outreach programs to learn about UIC programs aimed at caring for underrepresented minorities. The free event will be held at the UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road, from 8:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is open to the public. Dr. Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, University of Illinois vice president for health affairs and the Earl M. Bane Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Bioengineering, will provide the opening remarks and talk about how the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System is addressing health disparities in underserved communities. Physician experts will discuss craniofacial anomalies, solid organ transplantation, diabetes, colon cancer, stroke, prostate cancer, obesity, sickle cell disease, peripheral vascular surgery and wound healing. U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Damon Arnold, and 20th Ward Alderman Willie B. Cochran will speak about public health issues affecting minorities at the federal, state and local level, respectively. The UIC College of Medicine Urban Health Program will bring more than 220 area high school students interested in health-related careers to the conference to meet physicians and hear from current medical students and residents about pathways to the medical profession. The students will also participate in hands-on activities to learn about vital signs, heart disease, anatomical structures of the brain, and nutrition. Details of the program and registration are online at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2287720634. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 15 colleges. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. For more information about UIC, please visit www.uic.edu. smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3360&fromhome=1 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:33:14 -0500 'Sweetness Ball' Funds Treatment and Research for Liver and Digestive Diseases http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3359&fromhome=1 WHAT: The Walter Payton Center Guild at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System will host the "Sweetness Ball," its 12th annual fundraising gala in support of education, research, and treatment of liver and digestive-related diseases. Guests will enjoy dancing to the music of the Bill Pollack Orchestra. A raffle and silent and live auctions will include donations, gift and travel packages. Last year more than 600 attended the event. WHO: Brittney Payton, Walter Payton’s daughter and co-host of CLTV's "Chicago's Best," will emcee the event. Attendees will include Connie Payton; Dan Hampton, former Bears player and member of the NFL Hall of Fame; Jim Thornton, former bears player; Dr. Thomas Layden, Guild director and head of medicine at UIC; and UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares. WHEN: Oct. 22 6 p.m. WHERE: Union Station, 210 S. Canal St., Chicago DETAILS: In 1997, a group of concerned Chicago-area residents came together to improve the lives of those affected by gastrointestinal diseases such as hepatitis, liver cancer, fatty liver disease, colon cancer and peptic ulcer disease. These volunteers formed the GILD Council to increase awareness of these diseases and raise funds to assist the physicians and researchers at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. In 2009, the Guild partnered with the Walter Payton Foundation to become the Walter Payton Center Guild. For information about the Walter Payton Center Guild Sweetness Ball, email <a href=”mailto:laurenw@uic.edu”>laurenw@uic.edu</a> or call (312) 413-1279. smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3359&fromhome=1 Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:51:10 -0500 U of I VP Elected to Institute of Medicine http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3346&fromhome=1 Dr. Joe G. N. “Skip” Garcia, vice president for health affairs at the University of Illinois and vice chancellor for research at the University of Illinois of Chicago, has been elected a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Garcia is an internationally-acclaimed physician-scientist and innovator in the genetics, prevention, and treatment of inflammatory lung disease and pulmonary edema. “This is a very well-deserved honor. Dr. Garcia is not only a world-class researcher and physician, but also a visionary when it comes to charting the future for healthcare,” said University of Illinois President Michael Hogan. “In just a few months, he’s brought all these talents together as our new vice president for health affairs to expand the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System’s visibility and effectiveness in delivering state-of-the-art healthcare to citizens in Illinois and beyond.” Each year up to 65 new members are elected to the Institute of Medicine based on their distinguished professional achievement in medicine and health and their demonstrated and continued involvement with the issues of healthcare, prevention of disease, education, or research. New members are nominated and elected by the current membership and announced at the annual meeting in October. “It is an honor to be joining the Institute of Medicine, an organization recognized as the nation’s premier advisor on issues relating to biomedical science, medicine, and health,” said Garcia. “Membership in the IOM certainly represents the pinnacle of academic recognition in my field. More importantly, however, is the opportunity to share at the national level the expertise that we have at the University of Illinois for translating research-driven insights into disease toward the delivery of better healthcare, particularly to those who experience significant health care disparities.” “Dr. Garcia’s election to the Institute of Medicine is confirmation of our belief that he is an extraordinary leader who sees what healthcare can be in the 21st century and has begun to build the infrastructure for that vision here,” said UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares, a member of the IOM since 2004. Garcia joined the faculty of UIC in February 2010 as vice chancellor for research and as the Earl M. Bane Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Bioengineering. He was named vice president for health affairs in February. Author of 370 peer-reviewed publications, he is widely recognized as a leading NIH-funded scientist with a boundary-crossing approach to both science and medicine. Through his accomplishments at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois, he has achieved national recognition for his depth of leadership in building academic programs, for implementing innovative strategies that have increased the number of nascent physician-scientists, and for advancing diversity within the biomedical research workforce. Garcia serves as an extraordinary academic role model, nurturing the pipeline for under-represented minorities, guiding minority students into M.D. and Ph.D. programs as well as serving as a mentor for physician-scientists. He is well-known for his commitment to protecting the quality of care for the medically underserved. Under his leadership as vice chancellor for research, UIC’s sponsored research portfolio has realized significant growth. The Research Resources Center was able to obtain $6.8 million in federal funding to increase its equipment inventory. The Institute for Human Genetics, The Institute for Health Informatics and The Institute for Minority Health Research, all programs specifically designed to improve the medical management of human disease, were launched during his tenure at UIC. In addition, an aggressive Biospecimen Banking initiative for the large-scale acquisition of biospecimens for research use was initiated to serve as an institutional resource for accelerating the delivery of personalized medicine to patients cared for across the UI Hospital & Health Sciences System. Garcia is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the 2009 Diversity Award from the Association of Professors in Medicine, American Thoracic Society Distinguished Scientist Award, the Henry F. Christian Award for Meritorious Research from the American Federation of Medical Research and the David M. Levine Excellence in Mentoring Award from the Johns Hopkins University. Garcia received his B.S. from the University of Dallas and his M.D. from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1980. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas Health Center in 1985, moving to Indiana University School of Medicine in 1988. He joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 1998 where he served as the David Marine Professor and Director of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. He also served as professor in the biomedical engineering, and in environmental health sciences in the Bloomberg School of Public Health and director of the Center for Translational Respiratory Medicine. In 2005, he was appointed as the Lowell T. Coggeshall Professor and Chair of the department of medicine at the University of Chicago and led an increase in diversity and academic excellence of that department rising to the top 10 of NIH-funded departments of medicine. The Institute of Medicine is the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, which was chartered under Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Since 1970, the IOM has served as an independent, non-profit organization outside of government to provide unbiased and authoritative advice to decision makers and the public. UIC ranks among the nation's leading research universities and is Chicago's largest university with 27,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world. Photos available: <a href="http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/garcia/">newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/garcia/</a> jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3346&fromhome=1 Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:31:22 -0500 Hispanic Center of Excellence Celebrates 20th Anniversary http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3347&fromhome=1 Alumni and friends will gather Oct. 15 for “Ayer, Hoy y Mañana: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine’s Hispanic Center of Excellence (HCOE). An expected 120 Latino alumni and local physicians will learn more about opportunities for professional mentoring of current Latino medical and premedical students and the expansion of the HCOE Scholarship Fund, which assists Latino medical students in need to realize their dream of becoming physicians. The celebration, at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro Hotel, 733 W. Madison St., will begin at 6 p.m. with a reception, followed by a short program, dinner and dancing. The program will highlight HCOE pipeline programs and established partnerships. Alumni and friends will be invited to assist by mentoring local high school, college and medical students. “We hope to reconnect Latino alumni and friends with the college and current students,” said Dr. Jorge Girotti, associate dean of the college and director of admissions and special curricular programs and director of the Center. “The cost of medical school has gone up dramatically, and I would urge everyone to support our scholarship fund, even if they can’t join us Saturday evening.” HCOE reaches out to high school and college students to increase the number of applicants in the health care professions, Girotti said. Financial support is vital since many talented students come from financially disadvantaged families. “Spanish-speaking, bicultural professionals are key to improving care for Latino individuals who face linguistic and cultural barriers in accessing quality health care,” Girotti said. The Hispanic Center of Excellence was established in 1991. Through its efforts, UIC graduates the largest number of Latino physicians in the U.S. The UIC College of Medicine awards 60 percent of all M.D. degrees earned by Latinos in Illinois. More information on attending “Ayer, Hoy y Mañana: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” becoming a mentor, or contributing to the Hispanic Center of Excellence Scholarship Fund can be obtained by contacting Girotti at (312) 996-4493, <a href="mailto:jorgeg@uic.edu">jorgeg@uic.edu</a> or Juan Mosqueda, information resource specialist, at (312)996-4493, <a href="mailto:mosqueda@uic.edu">mosqueda@uic.edu</a>. jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3347&fromhome=1 Mon, 3 Oct 2011 16:06:47 -0500 Knockout of Protein Prevents Colon Tumor Formation in Mice http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3342&fromhome=1 A protein that regulates cell differentiation in normal tissue may play a different role in colon and breast cancer, activating proliferation of damaged cells, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. The protein, called PTK6, is found in normal skin and gut cells -- and in cancerous, but not normal, breast tissue. "Our research has primarily focused on the normal function of this protein in the gut, where it regulates growth and differentiation," said Angela Tyner, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics. Epithelial cells, such as skin cells and the cells that line the colon, turn over rapidly. To replace them, new cells must be continuously produced that become specialized, or differentiated, to perform specific functions. To further their investigation of PTK6, Tyner and her colleagues developed a mouse that lacked the PTK6 gene. Based on their observation of increased growth in the intestine, Tyner's group suspected that mice lacking PTK6 would be more susceptible to cancer. Using a carcinogen, the researchers induced colon tumors resembling human sporadic colon cancer in mice lacking the PTK6 gene and in normal mice. "Mice lacking PTK6 were highly resistant to the carcinogen and developed fewer tumors," Tyner said. "It was an unexpected result." Tyner and her colleagues were able to establish the reason for this unexpected result. They found that PTK6 was activating a protein responsible for turning genes on and off called STAT3. Previous studies have established a role for STAT3 in proliferation and found that it plays an important role in many epithelial cancers, including skin cancer and colon cancer. PTK6 seems to be playing opposite roles in normal and cancer cells, Tyner said. "We believe that PTK6 may play a role in initiation of cancer in the colon, but we don’t yet know what role PTK6 may play in metastasis." Tyner's laboratory is continuing to investigate the role of PTK6 in cancer, which may provide a future target for therapies not only for colon cancer but breast cancer as well. The study, published in Gastroenterology, was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the American Gastroenterological Association. Jessica Gierut was the study's first author, and Yu Zheng, Wenjun Bie, Robert Carroll, Susan Ball-Kell and Andrea Haegebarth also contributed to the study. For more information about UIC, visit <a href="http://www.uic.edu">www.uic.edu</a> jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3342&fromhome=1 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 13:08:48 -0500 Medical Center Receives Bariatric Surgery Center Accreditation http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3285&fromhome=1 The University of Illinois Medical Center's bariatric surgery center has received reaccreditation as an American College of Surgeons Level 1 Accredited Bariatric Center -- the only such center in Chicago. Accredited bariatric surgery centers provide not only the hospital resources necessary for optimal care of morbidly obese patients, but also the support and resources necessary to address the entire spectrum of care and needs of bariatric patients, from the pre-hospital phase through the postoperative care and treatment process. UIC was first accredited by the ACS Bariatric Surgery Center Network in 2008. Physicians at the medical center perform robotic-assisted laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, robotic-assisted laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, and laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery. In the past two years, more than 500 bariatric procedures were performed. "Obesity plays a critical role in type II diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and many other medical complications," said Dr. Subhashini Ayloo, UIC assistant professor of surgery and director of bariatric surgery at the medical center. "For some patients, the only effective, lasting treatment for severe obesity is weight loss surgery." The medical center offers patients a multidisciplinary approach to bariatric surgery with a state-of-the-art facility, the latest technology to minimize complications, and successful weight loss maintenance through the Nutrition and Wellness Center, said Ayloo. Body contouring procedures and psychological counseling are also available. More than 11 million people in the U.S. suffer from severe obesity. "As an accredited bariatric surgery center we are dedicated to providing the resources necessary to achieve the best outcomes for our patients with an experienced team of caregivers who have combined expertise in nutrition, weight management, diabetes and robotic surgery," said John DeNardo, chief executive officer of the UIC Healthcare System. Accreditation is voluntary and requires an on-site survey by experienced bariatric surgeons. Accredited centers are required to report their bariatric surgery outcomes data to the ACS. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recognizes medical center and allows expanded Medicare coverage of bariatric surgery for beneficiaries of all ages who have been diagnosed with other health problems associated with obesity. Medicare coverage has been limited to procedures performed in facilities certified by the ACS or the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. For more information about the University of Illinois Medical Center, visit <a href="http://www.uillinoismedcenter.org">www.uillinoismedcenter.org</a> smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3285&fromhome=1 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:50:44 -0500 TUESDAY: Pediatric Patients Demonstrate New Starlight Fun Centers http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3308&fromhome=1 WHAT: Pediatric patients will unveil and demonstrate two new Starlight Fun Center mobile entertainment units at the Children's Hospital University of Illinois. The Fun Centers are being donated by University of Illinois at Chicago alumni Carol and Roger Shiffman of Highland Park, Ill. Roger Shiffman is the global board chairman of the Starlight Children's Foundation and an initial inductee of the UIC Alumni Leadership Academy. Well known in the toy industry, Shiffman -- in separate phases of his career -- built two highly successful companies: Tiger Electronic Toys, makers of Furby, and Zizzle, the company behind the Pirates of the Caribbean and High School Musical lines of toys. Each Fun Center features a Sharp AQUOS LCD television, DVD player and Nintendo Wii gaming system to provide fun and distraction for hospitalized children. "We are grateful to the Shiffman family for their generous donation to the Children's Hospital University of Illinois," said Dr. Usha Raj, physician-in-chief of the Children's Hospital. "These new Starlight Fun Centers are a welcome addition to our hospital and will provide wonderful entertainment for children who must spend their days recovering from surgery or medical treatment away friends, classmates and family." WHO: Attendees will include: Carol and Roger Shiffman Joan Steltmann, executive director of Starlight Midwest John DeNardo, chief executive officer of the UIC Healthcare System Pediatric patients and families WHERE: Children's Hospital University of Illinois 1740 W. Taylor St. 5th floor WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 23 1 p.m. DETAILS: Starlight Children’s Foundation Midwest helps seriously ill children and their families cope with pain, fear and isolation through therapeutic entertainment, education, and family outings that are free for the whole family. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, Starlight Midwest provides ongoing support to more than 300,000 children, parents and siblings in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin with an array of outpatient, hospital-based and Web offerings. Children's Hospital University of Illinois is a 101-bed pediatric hospital located within the University of Illinois Medical Center to provide general and pediatric subspecialty care to children throughout the state. The hospital includes 10 centers of excellence and is comprised of 24 pediatric medical-surgical beds, 12 pediatric intensive care beds, 10 pediatric step-down beds, and a 55-bed neonatal intensive care unit. For more information about Children’s Hospital University of Illinois, visit <a href="http://www.uillinoismedcenter.org/chui">www.uillinoismedcenter.org/chui</a> smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3308&fromhome=1 Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:35:29 -0500 Free Hepatitis C Testing Sponsored by UIC http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3298&fromhome=1 WHAT: Free Hepatitis C Testing. Hepatitis C (HCV) is a virus that infects the liver. It is spread by direct blood-to-blood contact. Most people with HCV have no symptoms. It is estimated that more than 4 million Americans are infected with Hepatitis C. Screening for Hepatitis C is recommended for people: - with a history of injection drug use, - with HIV, - who have received a blood transfusion prior to 1992, - on hemodialysis, - who have had exposure to blood by needle stick or injury. WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 20 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. WHERE: UIC South Loop Physicians Group 2600 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 205 Free parking is available. No appointment necessary. Testing will be provided for up to 100 people. For more information, call (312) 949-9199. smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3298&fromhome=1 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:39:55 -0500 Children's Hospital University of Illinois Hosts Free Back-to-School Health Fair http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3290&fromhome=1 WHAT: Children's Hospital University of Illinois will host a free back-to-school health fair offering school physicals, vision screenings, dental screenings, and health counseling on nutrition, diabetes risk, asthma, and sickle cell disease. Parents are asked to bring their child’s immunization record to the health fair. The first 500 children to participate in the health fair will receive a goody bag with school supplies. Families will also receive health education materials and access to community resources. WHEN: Tues., Aug. 16 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. WHERE: UIC Student Center West, 828 S. Wolcott Ave. WHO: Attendees will include: - Alderman Danny Solis, 25th Ward - Alderman George Cardenas, 12th Ward - Alderman Lona Lane, 18th Ward - State Sen. Kwame Raoul, 13th District - Julian Posada, owner and president of the Chicago Fire These attendees will be available for interviews 11 a.m. - noon. Pediatricians will also be available to provide back-to-school health and safety tips. DETAILS: Children's Hospital University of Illinois is a 101-bed pediatric hospital located within the University of Illinois Medical Center to provide general and pediatric subspecialty care to children throughout the state. The hospital includes 10 centers of excellence and is comprised of 24 pediatric medical-surgical beds, 12 pediatric intensive care beds, 10 pediatric step-down beds, and a 55-bed neonatal intensive care unit. For more information about Children’s Hospital University of Illinois, visit <a href="http://www.uillinoismedcenter.org/chui">www.uillinoismedcenter.org/chui</A> smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3290&fromhome=1 Fri, 12 Aug 2011 13:36:18 -0500 Virologist Robert Pumper, 1921-2011 http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3281&fromhome=1 Robert W. Pumper, co-author of a textbook of medical virology, died July 31. He was 89. Pumper, professor emeritus of microbiology and immunology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, taught microbiology and virology in UIC's medical school for many years and continued to manage the course even after his retirement in 1992. He was a popular teacher who was awarded UIC's Golden Apple Award several times, based on student recommendations. His students appreciated his sense of humor, said his son, Mark. "He would often insert a relevant cartoon panel into the lecture," he said. Pumper was "an important part of the foundation of the UIC College of Medicine," said Simon Silver, professor and head of microbiology and immunology during Pumper’s tenure. In addition to teaching, Pumper served on numerous committees and pioneered access to computers for medical students. Pumper was born in Clinton, Iowa in 1921. He received his B.A. in chemistry in 1951 and his Ph.D. in bacteriology in 1955 from the State University of Iowa. He spent a year as assistant professor of bacteriology at the Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia before joining the UIC faculty in 1957. Pumper is survived by his wife of 60 years, Ruth Pumper, his son Mark and daughter-law, Joanne. A memorial service will be Sept. 3 at 10:30 a.m. at Faith Church in Homewood, Ill. jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3281&fromhome=1 Fri, 5 Aug 2011 12:48:55 -0500 UIC Participates in NFL Community Huddle for Mental Health http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3289&fromhome=1 WHAT: "NFL Community Huddle: Taking a Goal Line Stand for your Mind and Body." Forum will discuss mental health and the effects of sports-related head injuries. WHO: Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher and former NFL players will speak during this town hall meeting, held in partnership with the UIC department of psychiatry, University of Illinois Medical Center, the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Anand Kumar, the Lizzie Gilman Professor and head of psychiatry, along with other UIC faculty, will offer their expertise during the question-and-answer session to provide information on local resources and treatment programs. WHEN: Aug. 10 7 - 9 p.m. WHERE: Sheraton Chicago Hotel 301 E. North Water St. DETAILS: Free and open to the public. Register at http://shli.msm.edu/NFL smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3289&fromhome=1 Thu, 4 Aug 2011 13:44:48 -0500 Michael Barany, 1921-2011 http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3282&fromhome=1 Michael Barany, professor emeritus of biochemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago, died July 24, in St. Paul, Minn. He was 89. Barany, a holocaust survivor, was best known for his work on the physiology of muscle and his pioneering work in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the precursor to magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI. "Michael Barany was brilliant, an astute observer, courteous and ever the gentleman," said Mrinalini Rao, professor of physiology and biophysics at UIC, whose lab was next to Barany’s for many years. "Michael and Kate's passion for education and helping students is legendary. He will be truly missed." Barany was born in Hungary, where he was blocked from higher education by enrollment quotas aimed at Jews. During World War II he was drafted into a military working camp and in December 1944 deported to Buchenwald. When the camp was liberated in 1945, Barany returned to Hungary to begin his medical education at the University of Budapest. In 1949, Michael married another Holocaust survivor, Kate Fóti, an aspiring physicist, who would also become his scientific collaborator. Their courtship took place over four days at a student retreat. Their partnership resulted in over 80 joint publications -- and two sons, who also became scientists. The couple walked to work together and were known on the UIC campus as "the professors who held hands." Kate preceded Michael in death by six weeks. Michael received his M.D. in 1951 and a Ph.D. in 1956. While still working toward his research doctorate he provided the first evidence that actin, one of the two components of muscle, catalyzed its own transformation from one form to another. In 1957, the Baranys fled the communist regime in Hungary, walking 10 miles across the snow-covered border with a toddler son and Kate pregnant with a second. They immigrated to the U.S. in 1960 for Michael to head a department at the Institute for Muscle Disease, which had just been established in New York by the Muscular Dystrophy Association of America. His most famous discovery, of "fast-twitch" and "slow-twitch" muscles, was followed by an experiment showing that fast muscle could be changed into slow muscle and vice versa through cross-innervation, the first example of the neural influence on gene expression in muscle. The Baranys joined the UIC faculty in 1974, where Michael turned his attention to the emerging field of biological NMR spectroscopy and was the first researcher in the U.S. to study live tissue with these methods. He was instrumental in the development of the noninvasive MRI methods that are now used routinely in diagnostic medicine. His long career resulted in 190 peer-reviewed publications and several key discoveries. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Physiological Society, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Biophysical Society, the Cardiac Muscle Society, and the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. He was also a member of national research committees, served on the editorial board of journals, and edited the definitive book "Biochemistry of Smooth Muscle Contraction." At UIC, he was elected as a Distinguished Faculty of the Medical College, a Scholar of the University, and President of the Scholar Society. The Baranys were invited to write their autobiography for the "Selected Topics in the History of Biochemistry". Their chapter, entitled "Strife and Hope in the Lives of a Scientific Couple" was published in 2000. Michael and Kate are survived by their sons George (Barbara) and Francis (Rachel), and grandchildren Michael, Deborah, Isabelle, and Lilly. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael and Kate Barany Research Award, which honors graduating M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. students for outstanding research achievements. Checks may be mailed to UIF-Michael and Kate Barany Award, University of Illinois Foundation, 1305 W. Green St., Urbana, IL 61801. [Editor’s note: A photo of Barany is available for download at: http://newsphoto.lib.uic.edu/v/Barany+Michael/] jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3282&fromhome=1 Mon, 1 Aug 2011 16:44:28 -0500 $12 Million NIH Grant to Study Acute Lung Injury http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3276&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have been awarded more than $11.7 million to study the pathology of severe lung injury. The study, part of a multi-pronged investigation into acute lung injury, or ALI, is funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, one of the National Institutes of Health. ALI and its even more severe form, acute respiratory distress syndrome, result from pulmonary edema -- leaky blood vessels -- and inflammation. Direct lung injury from infection or indirect injury from trauma, sepsis, pancreatitis, transfusions, radiation or drug overdose can trigger ALI. It is fatal almost 40 percent of the time. “We are now ready to address the very important, clinically relevant aspects of the pathobiology of ALI and investigate novel therapeutic approaches,” said Dr. Viswanathan Natarajan, program director and professor of pharmacology and medicine at UIC, who has been studying ALI for 20 years. Natarajan also co-directs the Institute for Personalized Respiratory Medicine at UIC with Dr. Joe G.N. “Skip” Garcia, University of Illinois vice president for health affairs, UIC vice chancellor for research and Earl M. Bane Professor of Medicine. The NIH Program Project Grant is an interdisciplinary investigation of a bio-active lipid called sphingosine-1-phosophate, or S1P, and its receptors and their role in lung cell signaling, inflammation and injury caused by sepsis or radiation. One project, led by Natarajan, will use animal and cell-culture models to investigate how S1P is generated inside cells and how it exerts a protective effect in ALI -- an effect which Garcia, Natarajan and their collaborators had demonstrated previously in animal models of ALI. A second project, headed by Garcia, will investigate the role of S1P receptors in ALI. “Dr. Garcia brings cutting-edge expertise in genomics, genetics and clinical medicine to the project," Natarajan said, "and will address the very important question of modulating the S1P receptors to thwart ALI.” Dr. Steve Dudek, associate professor in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at UIC, will lead a third project, working with researchers at the City University of New York to develop analogues of S1P and another molecule to increase their therapeutic potential. “Our goal ultimately is drug development, working through the Institute for Personalized Respiratory Medicine to actually test some of these analogues in the clinical setting,” said Natarajan. The final project, led by Dr. Jeffrey Jacobson, associate professor in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine, and Dr. Ralph Weichselbaum, chief of services in radiation oncology at UIC and chairman of radiation and cellular oncology at the University of Chicago, will investigate ALI using the radiation-induced lung injury animal model. “Radiation also can cause ALI in people,” said Natarajan. “This study is likely to facilitate the development of tailor-made S1P analogues alone or in combination with statins to combat different forms of ALI.” Natarajan said the team "wants to quickly move from bench to bedside, finding ways to minimize the lung injury, and propel the patients on a path of rapid recovery.” jgala@uic.edu (Jeanne Galatzer-Levy) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3276&fromhome=1 Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:47:53 -0500 $3 Million Grant to Aid Minorities with Uncontrolled Diabetes http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3209&fromhome=1 Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Institute for Health Research and Policy and College of Medicine have received a $3 million federal grant to improve diabetes management in minority patients. The grant will fund a five-year study to evaluate a new intervention designed to improve lifestyle behaviors and medication compliance and to intensify therapy in minority patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. African-Americans and Latinos with diabetes often do not reach desired blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol levels, placing them at high risk for complications or death. "We know there's a breakdown in the current health care system," said Lisa Sharp, assistant professor of medicine and co-principal investigator of the study. "Even when patients have access to quality health care, there are many other economic, social and cultural factors that contribute to them not meeting their therapeutic goals." The researchers will enroll 300 African-American and Latino adults with uncontrolled diabetes from the University of Illinois Medical Center. Patients will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. In the first group, a clinic-based pharmacist will educate patients about diabetes, reconcile their medications, and address any compliance barriers. In the second group, a community-based lay health worker (or health promoter) will team with the clinic-based pharmacist to assist with cultural and language barriers, reinforce educational messages, provide support, help solve problems related to compliance, and assist in continuity of care. "The pharmacist, working with a lay health worker, may help create a bridge, because there's this huge chasm between the patient and the health care provider," said Dr. Ben Gerber, associate professor of medicine. "A lot of times, people will leave their doctor's office, and they have a lot of questions and don't understand things." For example, a physician may prescribe a new insulin pen, but the patient may not know how to use it properly. The pharmacist may demonstrate it, but some patients may need additional practice that can be reinforced by a health promoter. Language barriers may also hinder understanding. After one year, the participants who didn’t receive health promoters will begin to receive health promoter support, while health promoter support for the other group will be phased out to assess maintenance and clinical outcomes. "There needs to be some adaptability to serve the patient's needs," said Gerber, co-principal investigator of the study. Patients often bounce from the emergency room to the clinic to home and back again. Often there is a "hands-off" approach to figuring out what may be causing missed appointments or medication lapses, Gerber said. Instead, we should "try to figure out what the problems might be because if we address them it might actually help their ability to come to the clinic, to take their medicine, and maybe prevent them from being hospitalized, especially for diabetes-related problems," Gerber said. The grant, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, builds on a previous pilot study conducted by Gerber and Sharp funded by the UIC Institute for Health Research and Policy. Co-investigators, all of UIC, are Dan Touchette, assistant professor of pharmacy practice and pharmacy administration, Dr. Amparo Castillo, training and research coordinator in the Jane Addams College of Social Work, Dan Mihailescu, assistant professor of medicine, and Mike Berbaum, director of the Institute for Health Research and Policy Methodology Research Core. Gerber and Sharp are members of the UIC Cancer Center Cancer Control and Population Science Research Program. For more information about UIC, please visit <a href="http://www.uic.edu">www.uic.edu.</a> smcginn@uic.edu (Sherri McGinnis González) http://tigger.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/newsbureau/cgi-bin/index.cgi?from=Releases&to=Release&id=3209&fromhome=1 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:54:02 -0500