Summer 2008
STAT
News and announcements from the Medical College of Wisconsin
College’s renal transplant program has top outcomes in Midwest
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin has the best kidney transplant outcomes in the Midwest, according to data released this year by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.
Of the 15 largest renal transplant centers in the Midwest (which includes Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan and six other states), Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin ranks No. 1 in both patient and graft survival. At one year, 99.2 percent of patients are alive after transplant compared with the national average of 96.1 percent. In addition, 96.4 percent of kidneys are still functioning. The national average is 92.4 percent.
“We have been successful for many reasons,” said Christopher Johnson, MD, Professor and Chief of Transplant Surgery. “Froedtert Hospital has historically been a strong supporter of this program. The transplant surgery and nephrology physician groups are both nationally recognized for their expertise in transplantation. The physician groups have a very strong working relationship that goes beyond being collaborative and collegial. As a result, we are synergistic in our effectiveness together. Translational research has been an important contributor to improved patient outcomes. We have very dedicated and experienced staff on both the MCW and Froedtert sides, which is present throughout the pre- and post-transplant phases. There is abundant talent present at this medical center to assist in multidisciplinary care. We continuously examine our outcomes and are always looking to improve.”
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients is a national database of transplantation statistics. It is administered by the Arbor Research Collaborative for Health and the University of Michigan.
College students give ‘Ovations’ to alumni individuals and groups
Among those selected for 2008 Standing Ovation awards from the Medical College of Wisconsin Student Assembly were a faculty alumna, an entire class and the Alumni Association.
Beth Krippendorf, PhD ’93, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, received an award for her “excellence in teaching the basic sciences” and for “setting an example for how all faculty should view teaching.”
The Class of 1972 and the Medical College of Wisconsin/Marquette Medical Alumni Association received an award for their efforts to “improve student life” at the College and for their establishment of the Student Lounge Endowment, which funds the continued development and improvement of the Class of 1972 Student Lounge.
The Standing Ovation awards recognize those affiliated with the College who have enhanced the quality of campus life for the students of the College and gone above and beyond their required duties to provide exemplary educational, social or organizational improvements in the student community.
 Gerald J. Dorff,
MD ’64, Fel ’70, accepts
a Standing Ovation
award on behalf of the
Alumni Association for
the student lounge
project. Pictured L-R:
M2 Steven Schuckit;
M3 and Student
Assembly President
Javad Sajan; Dr. Dorff,
Alumni Association
Board and Executive
Committee member;
M3 Jackson Lever; and
M3 Timothy Lefeber. |
NIH grant for $7 million funds hypertension research
The Medical College has received a $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to identify targets for drugs controlling high blood pressure. Hypertension affects more than 50 million Americans and remains largely uncontrolled in 75 percent of these patients, leading to an increased incidence of stroke, heart and kidney disease. Allen W. Cowley, Jr., PhD, Chairman and Harry & Gertrude Hack Term Professor in Physiology, is principal investigator. He is Director of the NIH’s Specialized Center for Hypertension Research at the Medical College, where a search for the genes responsible for high blood pressure is being conducted.
The overall goal is to achieve an understanding of the long-term regulation of arterial pressure and the consequences of high blood pressure. Dr. Cowley’s team believes the kidney controls long-term arterial pressure, and that salt intake can importantly influence kidney function in genetically predisposed persons. This can impact the structure and function of the circulatory system.
Alumni Association awards seven medical student scholarships
 Seven medical students received scholarships this year from the Medical College of Wisconsin/Marquette Medical Alumni Association. M1s Jennifer Yacub and Michael Truong, M2s Abigail Schneider and Elizabeth Burnes, and M3s Jackson Lever and Owen Sweis received Bob Herzog Alumni Scholarships, awarded from the proceeds of the Bob Herzog Alumni Scholarship Golf Classic. M2 Alexis Vosooney received a Symposium for Senior Physicians Scholarship. Pictured, L-R, are College President and CEO T. Michael Bolger, JD; Vosooney; Yacub; Burnes; Schneider; Lever; and Robert H. Herzog, Jr., son of Bob Herzog, former Alumni Relations director. Not pictured are Truong and Sweis. |
NIH renews funding of Medical College’s national EPR Center
The National Biomedical Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin has received a five-year, $5.66 million renewal grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The EPR Center, in the Department of Biophysics, was established in 1976 and is classified as a Biomedical Technology Resource Center (BTRC). It is one of eight major federally-designated research centers at the College. The renewal represents years 32 to 36 of the center’s BTRC funding.
James S. Hyde, PhD, Professor of Biophysics and Director of the center, is principal investigator for the grant.
In what is regarded as one of the strongest EPR groups in the world, Dr. Hyde leads a group of distinguished electrical engineers in technology research and development of novel analytical instrumentation for EPR spectroscopy, an essential tool for biophysics researchers worldwide.
Commencement celebrates student, alumni, faculty accomplishments
|
186
MD
degrees
19
PhD
degrees
16
MS
degrees
18
MA
degrees
31
MPH degrees
|
The Medical College awarded 270 degrees at its 95th commencement ceremonies on May 16, 2008. Catherine D. DeAngelis, MD, MPH, editor–in-chief of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) delivered the keynote address and received an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
Top faculty honors
At commencement, four faculty members received Distinguished Service Awards, the College’s highest honor. They are: Michael J. Dunn, MD ’62, Dean Emeritus, Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Physiology, and Director of the Translational Research Resources Office of the Clinical and Translational Science Institute; Michael J. Chusid, MD, Professor and Associate Chair of Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases; James S. Hyde, PhD, Professor of Biophysics and Director of the College’s National Biomedical Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Center; and Sally Twining, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and of Ophthalmology.
Teaching awards
Three alumni received teaching awards at commencement. Surgeon Christopher J. Fox, MD ’98, GME ’04, received the Milwaukee Academy of Medicine Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is presented each year to a physician in private practice for exemplary teaching. This talent runs in the family as Dr. Fox’s father, Paul S. Fox, MD ’68, GME ’73, has won this same award twice before, in 1998 and in 2005.
Jill M. Bader, MD ’04, and Patrick C. Hettinger, MD ’06, both received the MCWAH Housestaff Award for Excellence in Teaching, which is presented annually to residents and fellows who make outstanding contributions to medical education. Dr. Bader is a resident in OB/GYN. Dr. Hettinger is a resident in Plastic Surgery.
White Coat Ceremony is a family reunion
On the day of her White Coat Ceremony, Erica L. Gruner, Class of 2011, had the opportunity to pose with her grandfather, Clark H. Boren, MD ’46 (March), in front of the Class of 1946 (March) photo hanging at the Medical College. Erica’s father is also an alumnus – Dean Gruner, MD, GME ’83. |