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July 8, 2011 Table of contents
Valley Medical Center becomes eighth entity of UW Medicine Dear Colleagues: The past week has been a busy and exciting time at UW Medicine. July 1 is the start of the new academic year and we welcomed a new cycle of students, residents and other trainees throughout UW Medicine. On July 1, we also welcomed Valley Medical Center to UW Medicine. And on July 6, we celebrated the groundbreaking of South Lake Union Phase 3’s first research building. Together, these noteworthy events reflect the major activities—teaching, research and patient care—that support UW Medicine’s mission of improving health for all people. I will focus this letter on the good news that Valley Medical Center has joined UW Medicine. I hope that by now you have been able to read in detail about this event and the long process of exploration that preceded it. In concert with Valley’s administrative team and outside consultants, a large UW Medicine “due diligence” team explored a strategic alliance with Valley over six months. Our conclusion was that the alliance is consistent with our strategic plan and will support UW Medicine’s teaching, clinical research and patient care programs. The Valley Board of Commissioners approved the alliance on May 23 and the UW Board of Regents approved the alliance on June 9. Effective July 1, 2011, Valley Medical Center became the eighth entity of UW Medicine. Valley Medical Center joins the seven existing entities of UW Medicine: the UW School of Medicine, Harborview Medical Center, Northwest Hospital & Medical Center, UW Medical Center, UW Neighborhood Clinics, UW Physicians and Airlift Northwest. In my recent announcement, I outlined the mutual benefits of this strategic alliance. The alliance will increase access to additional healthcare services for South King County residents, align best practice models, expand clinical, teaching and research programs, and position UW Medicine for future healthcare reform opportunities, such as the creation of an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). What most pleases those who have considered this alliance carefully over the past six months is the strong fit between UW Medicine and Valley Medical Center. Valley is an outstanding healthcare resource for the South King County community with a strong focus on the mission of improving the health of its community members. Please join me in welcoming Valley Medical Center—a truly outstanding healthcare organization—and its health professionals to UW Medicine. Sincerely,
Paul G. Ramsey, M.D.
UW Medicine faculty receive Life Sciences Development Fund grants
 Michael Schwartz, UW professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition, has received a $4 million award from the Life Sciences Development Fund (LSDF) under its 2010 Program Grant Competition. The grant will support the UW Medicine Diabetes-Stem Cell Program, an interdisciplinary effort to develop innovative technologies to overcome existing barriers to successful cell-based treatments for Type 1 diabetes. Schwartz is founding director of the UW Medicine Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence and holds the Robert H. Williams Endowed Chair in Medicine.
Other recipients in this round of awards are John Slattery, UW Medicine vice dean for research and graduate education, for a human biospecimen resource ($1.8 million) and David Flum, professor of surgery, for a comparative effectiveness research translation network ($2.3 million). The projects were chosen from among 11 proposals reviewed by national experts and evaluated for scientific, technical, organizational and economic merit. Funding for LSDF grants derives from Washington’s share of the Master Tobacco Settlement of 1998 with additional support from corporations and foundations. There will be no program grant competition in 2011. Pre-proposals for the next Commercialization Grant Competition are due Oct. 12. Visit the LSDF website for more information. Genetic factor linked to long-term success of leg bypass surgery Outcomes of bypass surgery to repair blocked arteries in the legs tend to be better in the roughly one-in-five people who have inherited a specific genetic variation from both parents, according to a study presented at the Vascular Annual Meeting in Chicago on June 18. The new findings may prove useful in weighing treatment options for the estimated eight million people in the U.S. with peripheral artery disease (PAD), a condition that can produce severe disability and lead to amputation. Treatment options include surgery and/or medication. More than 100,000 bypass and stent procedures and angioplasties are performed each year to relieve artery disease symptoms such as pain and numbness. Alexander Clowes, UW professor of surgery, and Michael Conte, professor, University of California- San Francisco, Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, led the study. "These studies represent a major breakthrough in our understanding of arteries closing after angioplasty and bypass grafting,” said Clowes. "More importantly, they may help us identify patients at increased risk of treatment failures. These results may also accelerate drug development to prevent re-narrowing of vascular reconstructions." Conte and Clowes performed a gene association study in 204 patients who had undergone a leg vein bypass graft. They tested the patients for a common variation of the gene p27, which is known to control how cells grow. The physicians are members of the Vascular Cures Research Network, a national research consortium. Members of this team share information and results in order to substantially accelerate the development of new drugs, technologies and predictive tools for vascular disease.
Jerry Palmer is ADA's 2011 Outstanding Physician Clinician in Diabetes
 Jerry P. Palmer has received the 2011 Outstanding Physician Clinician in Diabetes Award from the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The award was presented in June at the ADA scientific sessions in San Diego.
Palmer is a UW professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition, director of the Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center, and section head at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. He investigates immunologic, metabolic, and genetic processes in Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Palmer, a past president of the Immunology of Diabetes Society, has served in numerous leadership positions for the NIH, ADA, and national and international bodies concerned with diabetes. He chairs planning committees for the Diabetes Prevention Trial - Type 1 and the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet. He is a past recipient of the Robert H. Williams Rachmiel Levine Award and has been recognized among the Best Doctors in America. Visit the ADA website for more information. Get 'sun smart' to prevent skin cancer The following is an excerpt from an article by Prachi Munshi, an internal medicine physician, who practices at the UW Neighborhood Clinic in Woodinville. The article was published June 6 by the Journal Media Group. Skin cancers are the most common form of cancer, with more than 2 million cases diagnosed each year in the United States. The good news is that many skin cancers can be prevented or detected early and treated effectively. Keys to success are sun protection, self-exams and regular skin checks by a health care professional. Skin cancers originate in the epidermis (the outer layer of skin). They are classified as melanoma or nonmelanoma according to the types of cells involved. Basal cell and squamous cell, the most common forms of nonmelanoma cancers, generally grow slowly and are curable. Although less prevalent, melanoma is more dangerous. It often spreads from the skin to other tissues and organs, and it is the leading cause of death from skin disease. Read the original article.
American Society of Gene Therapy names David Russell vice president
 David W. Russell became vice president of the American Society of Gene Therapy during the society’s annual meeting last month in Seattle. He will be president-elect in 2012-13 and president in 2013-14. Russell is a UW professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and an active teacher and mentor. A member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, he studies viral vectors, gene transfer, and stem cells and their application to therapy.Other members of the Division of Hematology currently in national leadership positions include Hematology Division Head Jan Abkowitz, who is vice-president of the American Society of Hematology and will be president-elect in 2012 and president in 2013. James P. AuBuchon, president and CEO of the Puget Sound Blood Center, is the current president of AABB (American Association of Blood Banks). Tom Martin receives Beeson Award and says farewell Department of Medicine Vice Chair Thomas R. Martin has received the Paul B. Beeson Award for 2011 and was honored June 9 at the Department of Medicine Grand Rounds. He was chosen by the medicine residents for outstanding clinical teaching and for exemplifying scholarliness, humility, compassion, and integrity. The award commemorates Paul Beeson, a distinguished physician at the Seattle VA in the 1970s, who was celebrated for his teaching skills. Martin, UW professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, has been a member of the faculty since 1980. He has served as director of the Hospital and Specialty Medicine Service Line at the Seattle VA since 2000, when he became vice-chair. He retired from the UW faculty in June and will head translational research at Novartis in New Jersey. Martin received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed medicine residency, chief residency, and pulmonary fellowship at UW. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and was elected to the Association of American Physicians. He is a past president of the American Thoracic Society and a past chair of the Pulmonary Diseases Board of the ABIM (American Board of Internal Medicine). He has supervised 28 postdoctoral fellows, the majority of whom have continued on to academic careers. In presenting the Beeson Award, chief residents cited his great enthusiasm for medicine, concern for trainees, and compassion for patients. Speaking of UW residents, Martin declared in turn, “The future of medicine is in very good hands.”
Fourth-year medical student Maureen Fitzmaurice will use Ghanaian experience to benefit rural Idaho
 Maureen “Mo” Fitzmaurice, a 2011 WWAMI Idaho graduate, plans to use her experience in Ghana to help with her planned future practice in rural Idaho. Fitzmaurice is originally from Grangeville, Idaho, a community of approximately 3,500 people. During medical school, she looked for opportunities to develop skills she will need to return to rural Idaho after residency. Fitzmaurice did her RUOP (Rural Underserved Opportunities Program) experience in McCall, Idaho and returned to McCall for the WRITE (WWAMI Rural Integrated Training Experience) program in her third year. She recently started her family medicine residency at the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho in Boise. She will have the opportunity to return to McCall or Grangeville during residency for month-long rural rotations during each of her three residency training years. Fitzmaurice has a passion for women’s health and plans to make that part of her future practice in rural Idaho. Her recent experience in Ghana reinforced this desire. "It was one of the most rewarding and challenging medical experiences I have ever had. I had the opportunity to deliver numerous babies, assist in surgery and see patients in clinic. Despite the limited medical resources in Ghana, I was struck by the resilience and strength of the Ghanaian women. I watched many lose babies, struggle with extremely painful and difficult labors and suffer through illnesses, such as malaria. They persevered through these situations with minimal complaints, and a sense of stoicism that I do not see often in the U.S." Fitzmaurice traveled from Idaho to Kumasi, Ghana, and spent the last two months of her medical school training at the second largest referral hospital in Ghana, Komfo Anokye, which averages 15,000 deliveries per year. When asked about her experience, Fitzmaurice said, "I learned how to practice medicine with extremely limited resources and staff. Most importantly, this experience really challenged me to differentiate what I believed was "standard of care" versus a different mode of delivering care than I was accustomed to. Overall, this was one of the most valuable experiences I have had in medical school." Fitzmaurice plans to carry the lessons she learned abroad into her residency training and her future practice in Idaho. Contact Maureen Fitzmaurice at 206.871.8753 or fitzmamb@uw.edu. 2011 WWAMI Excellence in Teaching Awards announced Five WWAMI faculty received the Department of Medicine’s Richard M. Tucker WWAMI Excellence in Teaching Awards for 2011: Sharolyn Baldwin, Anchorage, Alaska; Michael Caldwell, Missoula, Mont.; Matt Hollon, Spokane, Wash.; Justin Hopkin, Lander, Wyo.; and Victor Yapuncich, Sheridan, Wyo. These annual awards honor outstanding teachers at sites in rural Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and/or Idaho in recognition of their enthusiasm for and consistent dedication to teaching medical students and residents. Candidates are nominated by third- and fourth-year medical students, residents, and faculty. Recipients are chosen by a selection committee. The late Richard Tucker was a longtime WWAMI site coordinator for Wenatchee. George Novan, UW clinical professor of medicine and associate director of WWAMI Spokane Pre-clinical Education, was selected for the Lifetime Excellence in Teaching Award that recognizes a WWAMI physician who has received the annual teaching award four times. Novan, a fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP), has also received the Laureate Award from the ACP Washington Chapter and the Department of Medicine’s WWAMI Distinguished Teacher Award.
The following is a listing of some upcoming events that may be of interest to the UW Medicine community. Additional events are listed on the UW Medicine events calendar Wednesday Evenings at the Genome, July 13 – 27 The Department of Genome Sciences hosts a free summer lecture series designed for a general audience with no background knowledge in genetics and provides opportunities to chat with presenters: July 13: Confessions of the genome: Solving rare disease mysteries by Mike Bamshad, UW professor of pediatrics and adjunct professor of genome sciences; July 20: Meet your tenants: A genomic tour of your inner microbial zoo by Elhanan Borenstein, UW assistant professor of genome sciences; and July 27: Paleovirology: Ghosts and gifts from ancient infections by Harmit Malik, affiliate UW assistant professor of genome sciences and associate member of Division of Basic Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Presentations begin at 7 p.m., W.H. Foege Building Auditorium (S-060) on the UW campus, followed by refreshments at 8 p.m. Contact Carlene Cross at crossc2@uw.edu or 206.221.5374 for more information, or visit the Genome Sciences website. Algae and Human Health Symposium, July 15 Algae and Human Health Symposium, 8:30 a.m. - noon, July 15, Kane Hall. Health professionals and biomedical scientists interested in algal toxins or the nutritional benefits of algae can register to attend speaker sessions in the morning and paper sessions in the afternoon. Speakers include Gabriela Riscuta, of the Nutrition Science Research Group, National Cancer Institute, who will speak on Nutrition Funding Opportunities and Challenges, and John Finley, of the U.S. Food and Drug Adminsitration, who will speak on Entering the food supply with a new health-promoting topic: Regulatory and nutritional concerns. The symposium is a special session at the combined Phycological Society of America and International Society of Protistologists 2011 annual meeting. The symposium is sponsored by the Phycological Society of America and the UW Pacific Northwest Center for Human Health and Ocean Studies. For more information, contact Patricia Tester, 252.728.8792; Susan Brawley, 207.581.2973; or Gaile Moe at 206.281.2238. Ethical considerations in research collaborations conference, Sept. 22 – 23 The Ethical Considerations in Research Collaborations conference will bring together nationally recognized speakers for a discussion of ethical challenges in three areas: university to industry collaboration, researcher to researcher collaboration, and international collaboration. Among the objectives of the conference are to create a summary document of best practices for sharing primary data and biological samples, including maintaining and building research repositories; and to create and share an executive summary of the discussion of shared definitions, regulatory requirements and common practices among researchers in the university and industry sectors. Participants will take home suggested best practices and educational materials, and will create new networks for industry and cross-cultural collaborations. The conference is sponsored by the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity. Visit the conference website for more information or to register. Continuing Medical Education Visit Continuing Medical Education for more information on upcoming classes.
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