Research Enterprise Newsletter - October 2007: Faculty News
Office of Research Hosts Life Science Expo
The Office of Research and Life Science Exhibits will host the Vanderbilt Life Science Expo from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on October 18 at the Student Life Center. The Expo is part of the annual OOR Shared Resource/Core Facility Day and will include vendors, poster sessions, and short presentations highlighting selected Shared Resources/Cores. Anyone involved in life science research at Vanderbilt is welcome to attend. For more information, contact Robert Hall, PhD, Susan Meyn, or John Manning, PhD.
Heitman edits collection on responsible conduct of research
Elizabeth Heitman, PhD, and former VUMC faculty Lida Anestidou, DVM, PhD, were guest editors of a special collection in the September issue of Academic Medicine. The issue, which arose from a panel that Heitman organized for the 2006 annual meeting of AAAS, focused on education in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). Heitman and her colleague Ruth Bulger contributed an editorial/policy piece on efforts to expand RCR education across Vanderbilt.
Chazin presents on Protein Structure Initiative
Walter Chazin made a presentation September 24 to the NIGMS-appointed Protein Structure Initiative Assessment Panel in Bethesda, MD. Along with colleagues Steven Harrison (Harvard) and Philip Coe (Johns Hopkins), Chazin met with the panel for 90 minutes and made a formal presentation on the reasons why the value and impact of the PSI on the field of structural biology is so low.
Gore talks Tesla in The Netherlands
Dr. John C. Gore, director of VUIIS, presented the guest lecture "7Tesla—The new frontier" at the opening of the Leiden University Medical Center high field MRI facility, which was opened Sept 6th by the Minister of Economic Affairs for The Netherlands.
McLaughlin awarded Young Investigator Award
BethAnn McLaughlin, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurology, has received the New York Academy of Sciences' Young Investigator Award in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. This award is given annually to independent tenure-track faculty members no more than five years after completing their fellowship or residency. It recognizes those who have developed innovative research programs, are highly regarded for their scientific service, and have highly promising academic careers. McLaughlin's award speech was on "Endogenous Protective Mechanisms Elicited by Neurological Stress: Efforts to Design Clinically Relevant Markers of Stress and Neuroprotective Agents."
Kennedy Center announces Research Family Partners recruitment tool
The Kennedy Center now provides the opportunity for families with children with and without disabilities to register as a Research Family Partner. Research Family Partners are immediately notified of any VKC study at the Kennedy Center in which their child could participate. The program will supplement the Study Finder searchable database, already operational on the Kennedy Center website. Study Finder allows families to obtain descriptions of studies and contact information for the projects. The Research Family Partners database takes this process one step further—allowing active, two-way communication between VKC researchers and families. For more information contact Lynnette Henderson, (615) 936-0448.
Hodapp and Urbano publish in Journal of Intellectual Disability Research
Robert Hodapp, PhD, and Richard Urbano, PhD, have two papers upcoming in the December 2007 special issue of the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. "Hospitalizations of Infants and Young Children With Down Syndrome: Evidence From Inpatient Person-Records From a Statewide Administrative Database" concerns the high risk of health concerns for individuals with Down syndrome. Hodapp and Urbano analyzed statewide hospital discharge data to determine the amount, reasons for, and timing of hospitalization, and to explore how congenital heart defects (CHD) relate to the hospitalization of children with Down syndrome. They discovered that nearly half of the children were hospitalized before age 3, that the children with CHDs were more likely to be hospitalized than those without CHDs, and that 65% of the hospitalized children with CHDs were diagnosed as suffering with respiratory illnesses. The second paper, "Adult Siblings of Individuals With Down Syndrome Versus With Autism," compares the quality of the relationships, the time spent in contact with the brother or sister, and the levels of perceived health and depression between siblings who have a brother or a sister with Down syndrome versus a brother or sister with autism. Analyzing data from an adult sibling survey, Hodapp and Urbano found siblings of individuals with Down syndrome report closer, warmer relationships, better health, lower levels of depression, and more contact compared to siblings of individuals with autism or other disabilities.
Report shows cost of chronic disease—and how to reduce impact
The Milken Institute recently released a study that demonstrates the heavy economic burden chronic disease places on the U.S. and how much worse this burden could become in future decades if Americans don't improve their health. "An Unhealthy America: The Economic Burden of Chronic Disease" shows the current treatment costs of seven chronic diseases (cancers, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, stroke, mental disorders, and pulmonary conditions) and the economic impact of lost workdays and lower employee productivity across all 50 states and the nation as a whole. It also looks at how much these costs are expected to rise as America's population ages. Institute researchers have projected the costs and potential savings into two paths: the one we are now on, and one that could change the course of this personal and national economic burden if we take moderate steps through prevention and healthier lifestyles. The study is the first of its kind to estimate the possible avoidable costs if a serious effort were made to improve Americans' health. For more information, visit milkeninstitute.org.
Smith to track research space, projects
In an effort to improve Research Space Management, the Office of Research (OOR) has appointed Niki Smith as liaison between the department chairs, faculty, the Office of Research, and Space & Facilities. Smith will be tracking the various projects related to research activities in the Medical Center and keeping things moving. OOR has prepared a short survey regarding research space to provide baseline data and identify the weakest links in the process. Please take 5 minutes to complete the survey.
