HSC News December 16, 2004

In this issue:

December 16, 2004

1. $2.85 million Porter gift to benefit USF Alzheimer's research with Byrd Institute.

2. In memoriam: Johannes Rhodin, MD, PhD.

3. USF explores link between stress and black women's higher risk for premature deliveries.

4. Expert in minimally invasive surgery joins bariatric team.

5. Dr. Michel Murr testifies for Medicare panel.

6. Nursing students helped by gift frrom Morton Plant Mease Health Care.

7.USF designated Center of Excellence for work in Huntington's disease .

8..Getting out and teaching in .

9..Dr. Pat Burns named Dean of the Year .

10.USF nursing PhD students receives National Research Service Award.

11.Gov. Jeb Bush appoints Dr. Paul Boyev to board.

$2.85 million Porter gift to benefit USF Alzheimer's research with Byrd Institute

Left to right: Dr. Huntington Potter, Pfeiffer Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research at the USF Suncoast Gerontology Center and CEO of the Byrd Alzheimer's Insititute; J. Michael Gramling, trustee of the Porter estate; Tom Porter; Don Porter; and Michael Rierson, vice president of University Advancement. Photo by Eric Younghans.

By Anne DeLotto Baier

The USF College of Medicine has received a $2.85 million gift to support Alzheimer's disease research in collaboration with Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute.

The James H. and Martha Porter Charitable Lead Annuity Trust established by former Pasco County cattle rancher and citrus grove owner James H. Porter will pay the USF Foundation $113,961 a year over 25 years. The gift was inspired by Mr. Porter's wife Martha, who struggled with Alzheimer's disease at the end of her life.

"The Porters' gift is a wonderful legacy that will help us advance the fight against Alzheimer's disease,"said Stephen Klasko, MD, MBA, dean of the USF College of Medicine and vice president for Health Sciences. "USF and the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute will work with a common purpose – to understand how and why Alzheimer's happens so physicians can effectively treat, and possibly even prevent, the disease."

"This very generous gift from a family touched by Alzheimer's disease will support research collaboration between USF and the independent Byrd Alzheimer's Institute for years to come," said USF neuroscientist Huntington Potter, PhD, CEO of the Byrd Institute. "Such research is absolutely essential if we are to develop early diagnosis, prevention, and, one day, a cure," said Dr. Potter, who holds the Eric Pfeiffer Endowed Chair in Alzheimer's Disease Research at the USF Suncoast Gerontology Center. "The Porter family, past and present, recognized the value of Alzheimer's research and through their trust will now bring us closer to being free of this dreaded disease."

The James H. and Martha M. Porter Alzheimer's Research Fund will support research conducted jointly by the USF College of Medicine's Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Byrd Institute. A portion of the fund will be allocated to state-of-the-art equipment used for the collaborative research.

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In memoriam: Johannes Rhodin, MD, PhD

USF Professor Emeritus and former chairperson of the COM Department of Anatomy Johannes Rhodin, MD, PhD, died Dec. 10 of cancer-related illness. He was 82.

Dr. Rhodin was internationally known for his scientific work and considered a pioneer in electron microscopy. Most recently, his work examined the etiology and histology of Alzheimer's disease and he successfully captured through imaging the effects of Alzheimer's disease on blood vessels. That work translated into the effects of estrogen, as well. Dr. Rhodin was born in Lund, Sweden, and received his MD and PhD degrees from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1958 to Bronxville, NY, where he worked at New York University. He then worked at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, the University of Michigan, and the Karolinska Institute. Dr. Rhodin joined USF in 1979.

He is author hundreds of scientific publications and of three well-known medical texts, which have been translated into several languages. Last May, the Karolinska Institute presented him with an honorary degree. Dr. Rhodin believed strongly in foreign study for his students so in lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Rhodin International Medical Studies Fund, USF Foundation, MDC 70. Contributions may also be made to the Florida Orchestra.

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USF explores link between stress and black women's higher risk for premature deliveries

By Anne DeLotto Baier

USF researchers want to know whether helping black pregnant women cope with psychological and social stresses will decrease their disproportionately higher rates of premature birth.

"Pre-term birth is a very serious problem in the United States – the leading cause of death among infants born without congenital defects," said perinatal epidemiologist Wendy Nembhard, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor at the USF College of Public Health. "And, premature infants who survive face a high risk of lifelong disabilities. We're interested in determining whether we can decrease the higher incidence of pre-term deliveries among black women."

Wendy Nembhard, PhD, MPH, on faculty at the USF College of Public Health, is working to lower the risk of pre-term delivery for black women with interventions to reduce stress during pregnancy. Photo by John Lofreddo.

Dr. Nembhard is the lead investigator for Pride & Joy: The Tampa Pregnancy and Health Study, a community-based study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine. The study, which begins this month, seeks to enroll 700 Hillsborough County black women, ages 18 to 44, who are eight to 18 weeks pregnant. Infants born to black women are more than twice as likely to be small (less than 3-1/2 pounds) and one-and-a-half times more likely to be delivered early, Dr. Nembhard said. This disparity in birth outcomes between black and white women remains even when studies take into account the socioeconomic status, education and prenatal care of the mothers, she added. "The gap is not improving, and the increased risk for black women has not been explained."

The USF researchers will explore the role of psychosocial stress in premature births. Their goal is to find a way to predict, and possibly help reduce, prematurity. Dr. Nembhard and her colleagues will compare the rates of premature births for black women who attend a 16-week comprehensive stress management program during pregnancy to those who do not. The program, led by a stress management therapist, will be conducted in small-group sessions and incorporate a variety of techniques such as muscle relaxation, breathing and imagery exercises, massage, and cognitive therapies like anger management and worry control. Women who do not attend the program will receive health information in the mail.

"It's designed to be a highly interactive program in a nurturing environment. The idea is to help the women identify recurrent stresses in their lives and find the tools that work best for them in alleviating the stress," Dr. Nembhard said. "Some stresses can be avoided and others cannot, but the individual's reaction to stress can be managed."

The USF study will also examine the link between premature birth and stress-related hormones. If the research confirms the connection, she said "we may be able to lower the risk of pre-term delivery with interventions to reduce stress during pregnancy."

The Tampa Pregnancy and Health Study is funded by two CDC grants totaling more than $1.1 million. For more information about the program, please call 813-974-8608, or contact prideandjoy@hsc.usf.edu.

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Expert in minimally invasive surgery joins bariatric team

By Anne DeLotto Baier

Scott F. Gallagher, MD, a surgeon who specializes in the latest surgery for morbid obesity, known as laparoscopic adjustable gastric band (Lap-Band), recently joined the USF Division of General Surgery. Dr. Gallagher also performs Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and is experienced in all aspects of minimally invasive surgery, including laparoscopic intestinal and abdominal surgeries.

He completed his surgical residency and an advanced GI and Bariatric Surgery Research fellowship at USF.

An assistant professor of surgery, Dr. Gallagher has joined the multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurses, psychologists and dietitians who make up the growing bariatric surgery practice at Tampa General Hospital. Since the program was established in 1998 by USF surgeon and director Michel Murr, MD, a pioneer in the field of weight loss surgery, the number of bariatric surgeries has increased from less than 100 a year to more than 300 a year.

Lap-Band is performed laparoscopically, which means surgeons make several very small incisions and use specialized instruments to insert an adjustable rubber band around the top of the stomach.

The band is gradually tightened after surgery to decrease stomach size and thereby restricts the amount of food that can be consumed at one time.

The Lap-Band is the least invasive of all weight loss surgeries, including the gold standard Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, because the procedure involves no cutting, stapling or rerouting of stomach contents. Lap-Band promotes weight loss only by restricting stomach capacity to limit food intake, while gastric bypass restricts both food intake and intestinal absorption of calories and nutrients. As a result, Lap-Band patients typically do not experience vitamin and mineral deficiencies or unpleasant side effects associated with certain foods as do gastric bypass patients.

"The advantage (of Lap-Band) is that the procedure is completely reversible if the patient develops a problem with the band or the patient does not lose weight," Dr. Gallagher said. "The complications are also much less than with gastric bypass."

Dr. Gallagher said the TGH Bariatric Surgery Program screens and follows patients carefully to help ensure they will achieve optimal results. "Whether they undero gastric bypass or Lap-Band, patients need to participate in exercise programs, support groups and nutritional counseling and commit to a healthy lifestyle modification."

The USF program at TGH maintains a strong research component, emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to care and is a statewide referral center for patients with complications after bariatric surgery. Dr. Murr and his team continue to follow patients for more than five years and are looking at trends in weight loss surgery outcomes, especially improvement of comorbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and stress urinary incontinence.

Drs. Murr and Gallagher have published landmark papers on the cost-savings following weight loss surgery and on obesity-related chronic conditions, including last year in the journal Obesity Surgery. In a recent pilot study, Dr. Gallagher looked at the significant incidence of blood clots in patients who undergo weight loss surgery. Dr. Gallagher is one of the authors of the recently published textbook Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery published by Lippincott-Williams.

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Dr. Michel Murr testifies for Medicare panel

USF surgeon Michel Murr, MD, was one of seven physicians across the nation called upon to testify to a Medicare advisory committee evaluating the safety and effectiveness of bariatric surgery.

Dr. Murr, director of the bariatric surgery program at Tampa General Hospital, provided written testimony to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (MCAC) this fall. The testimony helped the MCAC to determine there is significant scientific evidence supporting the ability of open and laparoscopic weight loss surgery to improve life-threatening, obesity-related conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, in the general adult population. The MCAC panel concluded more research is needed to evaluate the outcomes of bariatric surgery in patients age 65 and older. The morbidly obese typically do not live to 65 and therefore are not a large population covered by Medicare.

More than 140,000 people will undergo weight loss or bariatric surgery this year. About eight million people in the United States are morbidly obese — 100 pounds or more overweight or with a body mass index of 40 or higher.

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Nursing students helped by gift from Morton Plant Mease Health Care

Nursing students will get a fresh experience of hospital nursing thanks to a gift of $250,000 from Morton Plant Mease Health Care to the USF College of Nursing. This gift is eligible for a 50-percent match by the state of Florida, which could make it a $375,000 contribution to the USF College of Nursing. The gift creates the Morton Plant Mease Clinical Education Program fund to support a learning community and a faculty position at USF centered on students' experiences.

"Morton Plant Mease is making a bold statement that they support better education for nurses," said Patricia Burns, PhD, RN, FAAN, dean of the USF College of Nursing. "The result will be nurses who succeed in careers in hospitals, which is where we see the most acute nursing shortage."

USF is currently constructing a new College of Nursing facility that will double the size of the current College to house the growing numbers of students and faculty needed to address Florida's nursing shortage. The modern headquarters will demonstrate the latest advances in education and technology, and will transform the way nurses are taught and how they care for their patients.

"Quality nursing care is the heart and soul of great hospitals. This collaborative partnership will facilitate advanced patient care," said Philip K. Beauchamp, president and chief executive officer of Morton Plant Mease Health Care.

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USF designated Center of Excellence for work in Huntington's disease

By Anne DeLotto Baier

USF has been designated a regional Center of Excellence by the Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA). USF was one of four universities across the nation competitively awarded the prestigious designation this year, and is the only HDSA Center of Excellence in Florida. The designation includes $50,000 a year in funding to help support a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals with expertise in Huntington's Disease. The team will provide comprehensive medical and social services as well as education, outreach and research opportunities to the HD community.

"This is great news," said neuroscientist Juan Sanchez-Ramos, PhD, MD, who directs the HDSA Center of Excellence at USF. "The Center will offer services, comfort and hope to patients and their families while moving towards real solutions to the illness. The designation gives us national visibility and helps strengthen our neuroscience program. It sets us up to offer more clinical trials of potential new therapies that may slow progression of the disease."

USF joins 21 HDSA Centers of Excellence across the country, including those at Johns Hopkins, Harvard/MGH, the University of Virginia, Emory and Baylor. Huntington's Disease is an inherited degenerative disease that progressively robs patients of the ability to think, judge appropriately, control their emotions and perform coordinated tasks. Huntington's Disease typically begins in mid-life, between the ages of 30 and 50. Each child of an affected parent has a 50 percent risk for inheriting the disease. There is no effective treatment or cure for this fatal illness that affects 30,000 Americans and places another 200,000 at risk.

Since 1999, USF has treated more than 250 patients with Huntington's Disease from across Florida. The Center of Excellence designation is expected to increase referrals from throughout the Southeast. USF is one of the sites for an ongoing multicenter, placebo-controlled clinical trial investigating whether the drug tetrabenazine is beneficial and at what dosage might it improve chorea — the excessive, involuntary movements affecting most people with Huntington's Disease.

Core members of the HDSA Center of Excellence at USF are Marci McCall, MA, clinical coordinator; Patricia Newkirk, MS, certified genetic counselor; and Jean Miller, patient advocate. The center also plans to hire a part-time social worker. Other faculty who work with the Center include neuropsychologist Cynthia Cimino, PhD; Francisco Fernandez, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry; neurosurgeon Thomas Freeman, MD, medical director of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair; neurologist Robert Hauser, MD, director of the USF Movement Disorders Center; geneticist Thomas Mueller, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics; Paul Sanberg, PhD, DSc, director of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair; neurologist Theresa Zesiewicz, MD; associate director of the USF Movement Disorders Center; and William Haley, PhD, director of the School of Aging Studies.

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Getting out and teaching in

From left, Tania Condarco, Ruan Ramjit and Natalia Regales, all second-year medical students, explain the rigors and rewards of medical school with students from RCMA Charter School at Beth-El Mission in Wimauma, which serves a Hispanic migrant population. They were among the more than 45 students and faculty from HSC who participated in the Great American Teach In in November. Students from the Colleges of Medicine, Nursing and Public Health and the School of Physical Therapy visited more than 800 students in 35 classrooms in 16 elementary, middle and high schools to share information about careers in the health professions. Photo by Ellen Kent.
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Dr. Pat Burns named Dean of the Year

Patricia Burns, PhD, FANN, dean of the USF College of Nursing, received the 2004 Dean of the Year Award, from the Florida Nursing Students Association Nov. 5 at the FNSA Annual Conference in Orlando. The FNSA's 50 chapters across the state are invited to nominate deans or directors of nursing programs for the award.

The award recognizes a dean or director who has demonstrated outstanding support to his or her local chapter of the student nursing association throughout the year. Dr. Burns has given the CON Student Council and USF chapter of FNSA space in the college's administrative offices, including a phone and computer, to handle their business.

"This gives students the opportunity to interact with the staff and Dean Burns," said Melissa Molinari, CON Student Council president. "The Dean always takes the time to compliment us on our efforts or just to check in and see how we're doing. She is also very supportive of our membership in the FNSA. As each new class enters the College of Nursing, she pays for the first year of membership in the organization. We are truly grateful for her leadership."

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USF nursing PhD student receives National Research Service Award

Versie Johnson Mallard, one of 36 PhD students in the USF College of Nursing, has received a prestigious Kirschstein National Research Service Award, a pre-doctoral fellowship from the National Institute of Nursing Research. The $44,973 fellowship will support two years of full-time doctoral study.

Mallard will evaluate the effects of education and behavioral intervention on African American and Hispanic women's knowledge, beliefs and perceived risks about sexually transmitted infections (STIs). STIs are expected to increase dramatically as a public health concern, and the prevalence of STIs is highest in African American and Hispanic women under age 24.

Mallard received her bachelor's degree in nursing from Florida A&M University and her master's degree in nursing from the University of Florida. Cecile Lengacher, PhD, RN, professor of nursing, is Mallard's major research and dissertation advisor.

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Gov. Jeb Bush appoints Dr. Paul Boyev to board

K. Paul Boyev, MD, assistant professor of otology and neurotology at USF was appointed to the Gubernational Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. He is one of seven members appointed to this position by Governor Jeb Bush.

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