March 18, 2011

Table of contents

• Message from Paul Ramsey
• Research
• Clinical Care
• Education and Training
• WWAMI Regional News
• Upcoming Events
• In the News

Message from Paul Ramsey

Dear Colleagues:

I am very pleased to report that for the 18^th consecutive year, the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) has been ranked the No. 1 medical school in the nation for primary care training in U.S. News & World Report’s 2012 professional school rankings. The UWSOM’s teaching programs in family medicine and rural medicine were ranked No. 1 in the nation for the 20^th consecutive year. In other specialty training programs, AIDS and bioengineering (a joint program with the College of Engineering) both were ranked No. 5 in the nation, geriatrics was tied at No. 5, and internal medicine and pediatrics were each ranked No. 8 in the nation. The MEDEX physician assistant program was tied at No. 8 in the nation.

The UW School of Medicine was again ranked No. 2 in the nation in NIH research funding among all medical schools and No. 1 among all public medical schools. UW Medicine faculty received $717.8 million for NIH research awards in fiscal year 2010. In the research medical school rankings, UWSOM was ranked No. 9 and was just two percentage points behind four schools that tied for the No. 5 position. Only three medical schools among the 123 schools in the U.S. News rankings were in the top 10 for both primary care and research: University of Washington, University of Pennsylvania, and University of California-San Francisco. This ability to excel in both vital areas is an indication of exceptionally committed and collaborative faculty, staff, students and trainees.    

As a nation and world, we are living through difficult times. We are observing tragic natural disasters that profoundly impact nations, and we are experiencing fiscal uncertainties and budget cuts that constrain the ability of people to receive the basic requirements of living, including health services. It is easy to feel helpless in the face of such difficulties. Yet commitment to improving the health of individuals everywhere has never been more important. UW Medicine faculty, staff, students and trainees located throughout the five-state WWAMI region have worked tirelessly and collaboratively on behalf of that mission. As a result, you have had a profound impact on the lives of countless people locally, regionally, and globally, and the U.S. News rankings are a strong affirmation of the impact of your outstanding work.

Each of you is to be commended for your success, as shown by the U.S. News & World Report rankings, in focusing on our mission of improving health. Your commitment to excellence is exemplary, and the quality of your work is a standard to which other medical schools can aspire.

Sincerely,
 

Paul G. Ramsey, M.D.
CEO, UW Medicine
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and
Dean of the School of Medicine,
University of Washington

 

 
Research

   Scientists show that an HIV vaccine impacts the genetic makeup of the virus

An AIDS vaccine tested in people, but found to be ineffective, influenced the genetic makeup of the virus. The findings suggest new ideas for developing HIV vaccines.

This is the first evidence that vaccine-induced cellular immune responses against HIV-1 infection exert selective pressure on the virus. "Selective pressure" refers to environmental demands that favor certain genetic traits over others.

The results were published Feb. 27 in Nature Medicine. James I. Mullins, UW professor of microbiology is the senior author of the multi-institutional study.

The research team analyzed the genome sequences in HIV-1 isolated from 68 newly infected volunteers in the STEP HIV-1 vaccine trial of a Merck HIV-1 subtype B vaccine. The vaccine, MRKAd5, was designed to make the body produce infection-fighting white blood cells, commonly called killer T-cells, which recognize and target specific parts of HIV-1 known as Gag, Pol and Nef.

The STEP trial enrolled 3,000 participants at 34 North American, Caribbean, South American and Australian locations where the HIV-1 subtype B was the predominant virus in the local HIV-infected populations.  Preliminary tests indicated the vaccine was encouraging the appearance of the desired virus-attacking cells. More than 75 percent of vaccinated participants produced HIV-1 specific T-cells.

However, this response to the vaccine did not predict protection. The trial failed. Immunizations were halted after the first interim analysis indicated that the vaccine neither prevented HIV-1 infection nor reduced the load of virus in the body.

The research team tested for a "sieve effect," which occurs when a vaccine successfully blocks some strains of virus and not others. The researchers wanted to know the genetic characteristics of those breakthrough viruses that slipped past the immunization barrier erected by the MRKAd5 vaccine.

The researchers said their findings on breakthrough viruses suggest that new vaccines should be designed to put selective pressure on the virus in a controlled manner. The new vaccines should select for genetic mutations in regions of the virus known to be associated with viral control and avoid strains that can either escape the immune defense or act as decoys to fool the immune system.

Other institutions participating in the study were: U.S. Military Research Program, Rockville, Md.; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Merck Research Laboratories, West Point, Pa.; San Francisco Department of Health; and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  

Read the article in Nature Medicine. 
  

   Lawrence Corey receives 2011 Behnke Leadership Award

Lawrence "Larry" Corey, UW professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and professor of laboratory medicine, received the 2011 Ned Behnke Leadership Award last month from the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Corey is the president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

This award honors a person who demonstrates exceptional vision and courage in promoting AIDS awareness in the community.

Corey, an internationally renowned expert in virology, immunology and vaccine development, became president and director of FHCRC Jan. 1 and has been a member of the UW School of Medicine faculty since 1977.

The Alliance said of Corey, “His discoveries have been recognized as having advanced the understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of diseases caused by viruses, especially HIV.”

He is perhaps best known for his expertise in leading complex scientific coalitions and partnerships in the United States and abroad. These include an international clinical trials network dedicated to HIV-vaccine development. Corey's own research is on novel therapies and vaccines for human viral infections, in particular herpes viruses, HIV and infections related to cancer.

The award was presented last month at Lifelong's Caring for Our Community Breakfast, a fundraiser attended by community leaders and supporters of Lifelong.

Based in the Northwest, Lifelong AIDS Alliance is a service organization committed to AIDS prevention, as well as assistance and advocacy for people living with HIV and AIDS.

The award was established in the early 1990s in honor of Ned Behnke, a prominent local deaf artist who died in 1989. The award was created by his family and has since been presented to 14 other community leaders.

Last year's recipient of this award was King Holmes, the William H. Foege Endowed Chair of Global Health and professor of medicine. 

   Research Coordinator Core offers investigators regulatory support and research coordination services

The UW Institute of Translational Sciences Research Coordinator Core (RCC) was established to support the UW research community across disciplines and professions, including dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health and social work.

As part of the Regulatory Support and Bioethics Core, the RCC offers trained research coordinators, nurses, scientists, and assistants for immediate, temporary or ongoing guidance and support to investigators throughout the various stages of their research.

The Research Coordinator Core assists researchers in a wide range of areas, including:

• Protocol Development and Budgeting: Provides assistance for principal investigator-initiated protocols and development of study-related documents, grant budgeting, and scope of project development.
• Institutional Review Board Application: Prepares and provides support for review of institutional review board (IRB) documents to ensure completeness, adherence to application requirements, and inclusion of all required documents.
• Study Implementation: Provides assistance with recruitment, screening, consenting, conduct of study visits, chart abstractions, blood draws, etc.

The Institute of Translational Health Sciences is an interdisciplinary consortium at the UW. Its goal is to make a positive impact on human health locally and globally by enabling and sustaining innovative translational research and research collaborations across disciplines and professions. Since its founding in 2007, the RCC has successfully served more than 50 investigators from across the Health Sciences schools.

The RCC charges on a fee-for-service basis. New investigators are offered discounted rates for the first 40 hours. For a free consultation or to learn more about the services, contact the Regulatory Support and Bioethics Core at rsbcore@uw.edu or 206.221.6009.

Clinical Care

   Robin Bennett receives the 2011 Genetic Alliance Listening Award

Robin Bennett, UW clinical associate professor of medicine in the Division of Medical Genetics, has been selected to receive the 2011 Art of Listening Award by the Genetic Alliance, an international health advocacy organization.

Bennett is co-director of the UW Medical Center Medical Genetics Clinic where she is senior genetics counselor and director of program operations. Bennett, one of the most prominent genetic counselors in the nation, teaches human genetics in the medical school and lectures widely in the community. She is a pioneer in developing genetic counseling practices that have become standard worldwide. She is also author of Practical Guide to the Genetic Family History.

Virginia Sybert, UW clinical professor of medical genetics, nominated Bennett for the award.

“Robin has been a tireless advocate for families, paying attention to text and subtext, responding to explicit and implicit needs, respecting and valuing the individual, honoring the compact with patients to serve them according to their individual agenda as well as our own.”

Bennett will receive the award June 25 at an awards dinner during the Genetic Alliance Annual Conference in North Bethesda, Md.

Read more about Genetic Alliance.

   Airlift Northwest saves lives with flying intensive care unit

A fishing vessel capsizes near San Juan Island. A bear mauls a man in remote British Columbia. A lawnmower runs over a child’s foot in Wenatchee.

The response to each of these emergencies can be traced to a 1978 house fire in Alaska. Michael Copass, then director of emergency services at Harborview Medical Center, tried in vain to have three critically injured children flown from rural Sitka to Harborview’s burn center. The children died before transport could be arranged.

The event impelled Copass to seek a solution. With his persistence, a group of hospitals founded Airlift Northwest in 1982. Nearly three decades later, the air-ambulance service has cared for more than 90,000 people.

“When it was founded, Airlift Northwest represented a world-changing idea for improving critical care in remote areas,” says Chris Martin, executive director. “When seconds count, the air ambulance saves time and lives by flying critical care nurses to the scene so that they can provide pre-hospital emergency treatment on the ground and in the air.”

As with any emergency room, patients’ outcomes are determined through team effort. Ground crews swiftly get aircraft off the tarmac, pilots navigate the Northwest’s steep slopes and buffeting winds, and nurses offer critical care to adults, children and premature babies.

The team’s 24/7 availability benefits thousands of Northwest residents every year. Two critical care nurses are on board each flight. They not only provide care to airborne patients, but also frequently join hospital teams to prepare patients for the return trip.

Airlift Northwest serves communities spread across thousands of miles. Pilots must manage unpredictable air currents to reach Alaskan islands and wooded villages in the shadow of the Olympics, while flights to Eastern Washington involve crossing the Cascade Range.

The service’s fleet is stationed strategically: helicopters are located in Bellingham, Arlington, Seattle and Olympia. One Learjet flies out of Seattle, another out of Juneau, Alaska, enabling access to any airport in the continental United States and Canada.

Like a fire department, Airlift Northwest maintains a communications center to receive service requests and dispatch crews. However, Airlift Northwest receives no tax-based funding. All revenues go to cover the operational expenses of providing aircraft, pilots, mechanics, nurses and staff that offer emergency service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Education and Training

   UW School of Medicine Colleges program selects new faculty

The UW School of Medicine Colleges program has selected five new faculty members to join the program beginning July 1 to replace faculty who will be leaving the program.   

UW faculty members joining the Colleges program are: 

• Anne Eacker, associate professor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine
• John Ilgen, acting assistant professor of medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine
• Margaret Isaac, acting instructor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine
• Molly B. Jackson, acting instructor of medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine
• Tom McNalley, acting assistant professor, Rehabilitation Medicine

The Colleges program provides medical students with dedicated mentoring and bedside teaching by a diverse group of faculty members who not only teach but model the attitudes and behaviors expected of the profession.

The Colleges program develops and implements a four-year, coordinated clinical skills and professionalism curriculum and augments and strengthens mentoring and academic and career advising.

The Colleges are named for natural wonders within the five WWAMI states: Rainier (Washington), Wind River (Wyoming), Denali (Alaska), Big Sky (Montana), Snake River (Idaho), and Columbia River (Eastern Washington).

The Colleges leadership and faculty work with curriculum committees, the Student Progress Committee, and WWAMI leadership to achieve the Colleges program’s objectives.