Albany, N.Y Three physician scientists whose landmark research helped transform the treatment of cancer are the recipients of the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, to be officially awarded May 17. Peter C. Nowell, M.D., the Gaylord P. and Mary Louise Harnwell Professor Emeritus, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, will share the prize with Janet D. Rowley, M.D., University of Chicago, andBrian J. Druker, M.D., Oregon Health & Science University.

The $500,000 award, given to those who have altered the course of medical research, is one of the largest prizes in medicine and science in the United States. This year, the prize will recognize groundbreaking research into the nature of cancer, which has led to the development of a new generation of cancer drugs, most notably Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia that, unlike chemotherapy, target specific genetic defects causing cancer.

Dr. Nowells research, the first to show that a genetic defect could be responsible for cancer, has led to numerous discoveries into the growth of cells related to cancers and other disorders. In 1960, as a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, he and graduate student David A. Hungerford of Fox Chase Cancer Center, discovered a strange chromosome in blood cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), then an incurable form of leukemia. They further observed that the defective chromosome was found only in malignant blood cells in CML patients and that it was not present in healthy individuals. The results were published in Science. This pivotal discovery of what was later named the Philadelphia chromosome was the smoking gun for a much debated link between cancer and genetics.

Although a number of previous studies had shown chromosomal abnormalities in human cancer, the Philadelphia chromosome was the first documentation of a bona fide genetic signature of malignancy, and this discovery led Dr. Nowell to hypothesize that this genetic alteration might somehow provide a growth advantage to the abnormal cells, said J. Larry Jameson, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Nowell has won numerous regional, national, and international awards, including the Albert Lasker Medical Research Award. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences. At Penn, Dr. Nowell has been honored with the School of Medicine's highest honor, the Distinguished Graduate Award, the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Award of Merit. Most recently, he was the recipient of the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Philadelphia chromosome. He has co-authored more than 400 publications and is a member of the Institute of Medicine.

The Albany Medical Center Prize was established in 2000 by the late Morris Marty Silverman to honor scientists whose work has demonstrated significant outcomes that offer medical value of national or international importance. A $50 million gift commitment from the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation provides for the prize to be awarded annually for 100 years.For more on the prize, see this release.

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Cancer Pioneer from Penn Medicine to Share Albany Medical Center Prize

Weissport Council members recently discussed placing school zone and no parking signs on Bridge Street to accommodate a request from a school.

Behavorial Health Associates of 413 Bridge St., Weissport, owns and operates a state-licensed education facility and medical campus, with 110 full time and part time staff at this location. The school serves 22 students from eight surrounding school districts. The school is projecting 30 students for the 2013-2014 school year. The medical campus serves several professionals including a family practice physician, psychiatrists. psychologists, behavorial health specialists, mobile therapists, and billing office/support staff.

The school is requesting that Weissport to place "no parking" signs on four parking spaces in front of the school between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday and two school zone signs on Bridge Street to alert motorists about the school.

Council members discussed the request and then approved it.

"We're hoping they make a donation toward the costs," said Tim Rehrig, council member.

Council secretary Dana Brubaker "texted" Attorney Michael Greek and his advice was that council should consider making any changes to parking issues in Weissport as part of a new parking ordinance, which would consolidate and lower overall costs.

Council is also planning to make changes to the handicapped parking ordinance, so those two issues can be combined in the one new ordinance.

Council also discussed purchasing specialized equipment to mow the levee, but the cost at $50,000 was more than council can support.

Jonathan Troutman, mayor, said that with the warmer weather, he has noticed that people are beginning to put litter in the "run." The run, as it is called by residents is an open drainage ditch that carries storm water to the Lehigh River to prevent flooding in the town.

"It must be cleaned out before we get more rain," said Troutman.

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Weissport school wants designated no parking areas

From the Winter 2013 issue of Dalhousie magazine.

There was nothing medical missionary Dr. Jemima MacKenzie (MD 1904, LLD40) wouldnt do when it came to helping the poor and sick of India. She prevented an outbreak of cholera after inoculating people night and day. She learned how to do cataract surgery by correspondence. She adopted dozens of abandoned children.

And once, Dr. MacKenzie, the spinster daughter of a Pictou County farmer, detonated dynamite that she brought from home to blast a well and supply a rural community with safe drinking water.

Resourceful, determined, gutsy. These words seem like understatements when it comes to describing Jemima MacKenzie, who graduated from Dalhousie Medical School at the turn of the last century.

Her missionary zeal was ignited as a 10-year-old her head filled with stories of injustice and hardship in faraway India at Sunday School in Little Caribou River Church, Pictou County, N.S. She told us she heard about women and children dying unnecessarily because of lack of education and poor hygiene and because the women were too ashamed to be seen by male doctors, relates her daughter Sarina Bayer from her home in Mississauga, Ont. She told us that is when she made her vow. When she grew up, she would become a doctor. She would work to help the women in India.

In 1882, when young Mina, as she was called, made her resolution, there were a few things impeding her. First, she was female, and at the time, Dalhousie Medical School had yet to admit a woman for the study of medicine. Second, she was poor one of 14 children growing up on a farm in Pictou County. And third, as the youngest daughter, she was expected to care for her parents as they got older.

In the end, all three obstacles created detours for Mina, but they didnt deter her from her calling. When she died at the age of 84 in Pictou, she had spent more than three decades in India. For her selfless service, she earned Indias highest honour, the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for Public Service from the Viceroy of India, and an honorary degree from Dalhousie.

Jemima (Mina) MacKenzie was born August 18, 1872, the youngest of Simon and Ann MacKenzies children. The large Scots Presbyterian family lived on a struggling farm in Waterside, Pictou County, not far from where the Wood Islands Ferry wharf is located today.

When Mina was in school, not yet having passed Grade 11, she was teaching more than 100 students and commuting among three schools in Pictou, Scotch Hill and Saltsprings. Her mother was ill at the time, so she returned home each weekend. Minas life remained like this until her brother Simon and sister-in-law Libby came to live on the home farm, allowing her to complete Grade 12. She was 26 years old.

Mina and her sister Molly, older than Mina by six years, entered Dalhousie Medical School in Halifax together. Before them, only a handful of women had been admitted to the school and most of those, like the MacKenzie sisters, went on to do missionary work.

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Building a better world: Dr. Mina’s legacy

by Sage Larson

MGSH STaff Intern

Osseo High Senior School includes a Health Science Magnet School offering numerous health courses that prepare students for various medical fields. One special course they provide is the Nursing Assistant Program.

A student in the Osseo Senior High School Nursing Assistant Program gets ready for class. At the end of the year, a student has the choice to take the state test, allowing passing students to work in a nursing home afterwards.

The nursing program started in 1999 and is now taught by Laura Sotak. She was first an English teacher but went back to school and got her second degree in nursing. After school, she worked in orthopedics in San Francisco for a while. She came back to Minnesota working at Century Hennepin. Due to a back injury, she became a certified nurse judge for the state test. Once Osseo had an opening for the teaching position, Sotak grasped the opportunity.

The curriculum is focused on teaching students the activities of daily living and procedures in a nursing home helping the residents out of bed, feeding, cleaning, dressing, teeth brushing, using different types of equipment, exercising, etc. with the residents at a nursing home. Students receive more one-on-one learning due to small class sizes. Currently, Osseo has 12 students in one class and 13 in another. The class is only for one trimester and is a two hour class that holds two credits.

During the trimester, the students go to St. Therese of New Hope where they are paired with a mentor who guides them in the real work place. Fortunately, Osseo alumni are currently working at St. Therese, so the students have mentors that have been in their position before and can demonstrate how the Nursing Assistant class has brought them to where they are today. Having the students work within a real nursing home allows them to apply the skills they learned in class within the work force.

Brenna Klawiter, a senior at Osseo Senior High, is in the class and shes enjoying it. Its fun to work in the lab and try things out, she said.

At the end of the year, a student has the choice to take the state test. The student has to be at least 16 years old to take the test. In the state test, students are put in a scenario where their fundamental skills are examined. The test costs the students $146 dollars but if the student passes then the student can work in a nursing home afterwards. Osseo has an 87 percent passing rate.

This program isnt solely offered for students at Osseo High School, students within the district can take this course as well as students in Anoka-Hennepin District, Brooklyn Center Schools, Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose Schools, Elk River District, Mounds View Public Schools, Fridley Public Schools and Rockford Public Schools.

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Why wait till after college to start your career?

APPLE VALLEY Pat Schlosser is an alumnus of Apple Valley High School and taught there before becoming principal five years ago. He proudly showed off the programs that are better preparing students for college and careers, now with the active support of business leaders through Apple Valley Unified School District's new Steam 20-20 Program.

Schlosser described the schools comprehensive nature of both college-preparatory programs and the huge variety of career-technical programs. He emphasized that the career programs are classes from which all students can benefit.

We have a former student at Stanford in medical school who is in biodesign, Schlosser said. For the first couple of years, they would use grinders and drill presses, and he didnt know what he was doing. He told us he wished he had taken shop.

All the feedback, according to the principal, from colleges, businesses and alumni indicates that its critical to give students hands-on experience to augment book learning. The school is teaching students the core curriculum standards in a theoretical and academic way, but also in a practical and applied way. And many of them have internships at businesses.

We have a medical and health sciences academy, Schlosser said. We wrote another grant and started a computer and media pathway. We have welding, auto shop and wood shop. We are opening precision machining next. And this is a shop with some visionary decisions by school leadership.

The principal spoke about some of the aerospace and other manufacturers in the High Desert that arent able to hire many local machinists.

They are hiring folks who are driving long distances up the hill to take very good paying jobs because we are not producing any qualified machinists, Schlosser said.

The principal showed off the two new, state-of-the art computer-operated Haas lathe machines the school purchased.

Its exactly the machines youd see if you went to Scott Turbine Mixer, Schlosser said. We had a $95,000 grant from the county board of supervisors because this is absolutely what the industry needs so they are not hiring machinists from another county.

Schlosser said the great benefit of Steam 20-20 is the community connections with the businesses, which are central to each of the academies. Theyre forming partnerships with Victor Valley College as well.

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AV students let off some steam

Richard C. Wender, MD, Alumni Professor and Chair, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, presented on Cancer Screening, and Caroline M. Apovian, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Director, Center for Nutrition and Weight Management, and Director, Clinical Research of, Obesity Research Center of Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, presented on Risks and Benefits of Folic Acid Fortification.

Glendale, CA (PRWEB) April 17, 2013

The goals of this program are to improve cancer screening and to review the benefits and risks of folic acid (FA) fortification. After hearing and assimilating this program, the clinician will be better able to:

1. Implement screening protocols for cervical cancer.

2. Offer screening for prostate cancer using shared decision making.

3. Identify patients eligible for screening for lung cancer.

4. Summarize the role of folate in one-carbon, nucleic acid, and amino acid metabolism.

5. Advise patients on the risks and benefits of folic acid fortification.

The original programs were presented by Robert A. Wiebe, MD, Clinical Professor, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, and Lalit Bajaj, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Research Director, Section of Emergency Medicine, Childrens Hospital, Denver.

Audio-Digest Foundation, the largest independent publisher of Continuing Medical Education in the world, records over 10,000 hours of lectures every year in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics/gynecology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychology, and urology, by the leading medical researchers at the top laboratories, universities, and institutions.

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Audio-Digest Foundation Announces the Release of Internal Medicine Volume 60, Issue 04: Cancer Screening/Folic Acid ...

Over $400 Million Raised to Date, Including Largest Gift in the College of Medicine's History

BRONX, N.Y., April 15, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Addressing an enthusiastic gathering of more than 400 supporters, alumni and faculty, Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, tonight publicly announced the College of Medicine's largest fundraising efforta capital campaign to raise at least $500 million, known as "The Campaign to Transform Einstein."

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130415/DC95237-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130415/DC95237-b)

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On what was promoted as a "historic" evening at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, Dr. Spiegel revealed that a bequest of more than $160 millionthe largest gift in the school's 60-year historyhad recently been received from a leading Einstein supporter. The college has raised more than $400 million in this campaign, and is poised to meet or exceed its goal. The funds raised are allowing the research-intensive medical school to experience remarkable growth, spearheaded by the leadership of Dr. Spiegel, who arrived at Einstein in 2006 following a distinguished 30-year career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Of particular note was the recent bequest by longtime supporter Muriel Block, who died in 2010, having generously provided for Einstein through her estate. The gift, given in the name of Mrs. Block and her late husband, real estate executive Harold Block, will significantly advance the College of Medicine's goal of improving human health, and in recognition the school will name several significant entities for the Blocks, including:

(Learn more about how the gift from Harold and Muriel Block will be used and honored at Einstein.)

"I am grateful for the visionary leadership and support of Einstein's Board of Overseers, and for the remarkable generosity of Muriel Block and our other donors," said Dr. Spiegel. "They can all take pride in Einstein as a medical school that will excel in achieving its educational and research mission."

In addition to doubling the rate of fundraising during Dr. Spiegel's tenure, Einstein was awarded $160 million in NIH funding for 2012, a 61 percent increase over 20002003, when the NIH budget was doubling and the success rate for applications was twice what it is now. The 2012 funding allocation occurred at a time when the NIH budget was flat and securing grants incredibly difficult. Since 2006, the College of Medicine has added more than 140 faculty members, including key chairs and senior-level recruits from leading institutions. Einstein has also established institutes and centers in fields of national importance, including cardiovascular disease; cancer prevention and control; stem cell research and regenerative medicine; and clinical and translational research.

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Albert Einstein College of Medicine Announces $500 Million Capital Campaign

ALBANY, N.Y., April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Three physician scientists whose landmark research helped transform the treatment of cancer are the recipients of the prestigious Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, to be officially awarded May 17.

The $500,000 award, given to those who have altered the course of medical research, is one of the largest prizes in medicine and science in the United States.

This year, the prize will recognize groundbreaking research into the nature of cancer, which has led to the development of a new generation of cancer drugs, most notably Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia that, unlike chemotherapy, target specific genetic defects causing cancer.

The recipients are:

Prize award activities on May 17 will include a Grand Rounds lecture by Drs. Rowley and Druker followed by a press conference and luncheon in Albany, N.Y.

James J. Barba, president and chief executive officer of Albany Medical Center and chairman of the National Selection Committee, said, "These individuals exemplify the extraordinary impact that painstaking research can have on the lives of countless individuals. These visionary scientists have advanced our understanding of cancer, vastly improved our ability to treat this devastating disease and given hope to so many around the world. On behalf of cancer survivors everywhere, I thank Drs. Druker, Nowell, and Rowley for their contributions in our fight to eradicate cancer."

The Albany Medical Center Prize was established in 2000 by the late Morris "Marty" Silverman to honor scientists whose work has demonstrated significant outcomes that offer medical value of national or international importance. A $50 million gift commitment from the Marty and Dorothy Silverman Foundation provides for the prize to be awarded annually for 100 years.

Five Albany Prize recipients have gone on to win the Nobel Prize.

Joseph R. Testa, Ph.D., co-director of the Cancer Biology Program at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, called the trio's work on chronic leukemia "one of the finest examples ever of translational research," the process of making basic scientific research useful for practical applications.

"Their collective achievements opened new fields of cancer research and have improved the lives of many," Testa said.

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Cancer Treatment Pioneers to Share America's Most Distinguished Prize in Medicine

CHICAGO (AP) It has been six decades since doctors concluded that addiction was a disease that could be treated, but today the condition still dwells on the fringes of the medical community. Only 1 cent of every health care dollar in the United States goes toward addiction, and few alcoholics and drug addicts receive treatment. One huge barrier, according to many experts, has been a lack of health insurance.

But that barrier crumbles in less than a year. In a major break with the past, 3 million to 5 million people with drug and alcohol problems from homeless drug addicts to working moms who drink too much suddenly will become eligible for insurance coverage under the new health care overhaul.

The number of people seeking treatment could double over current levels, depending on how many states decide to expand their Medicaid programs and how many addicts choose to take advantage of the new opportunity, according to an Associated Press analysis of government data. The analysis compared federal data on the addiction rates in the 50 states, the capacity of treatment programs and the provisions of the new health law.

The surge in patients is expected to push a marginal part of the health care system out of church basements and into the mainstream of medical care. Already, the prospect of more paying patients has prompted private equity firms to increase their investments in addiction treatment companies, according to a market research firm. And families fighting the affliction are beginning to consider a new avenue for help.

"There is no illness currently being treated that will be more affected by the Affordable Care Act than addiction," said Tom McLellan, CEO of the nonprofit Treatment Research Institute and President Barack Obama's former deputy drug czar. "That's because we have a system of treatment that was built for a time when they didn't understand that addiction was an illness."

But those eager for a new chance at sobriety may be surprised by the reality behind the promise. The system for treating substance abuse now largely publicly funded and run by counselors with limited medical training is small and already full to overflowing in many places. In more than two-thirds of the states, treatment clinics are already at or approaching 100 percent capacity.

The new demand could swamp the system before even half of the newly insured show up at the door, causing waiting lists of months or longer, treatment agencies say. In recent years, many rehab centers have been shrinking rather than growing because of government budget cuts for patients who receive public support.

"Advocates just get so excited, but at some point, reality is going to hit and they'll find it's not all it was cracked up to be," said Josh Archambault of the Pioneer Institute, a nonpartisan public policy research center in Boston.

In the coming years, treatment programs and medical colleges will face pressure to ramp up to create a larger system.

But until then, addiction treatment may represent an extreme example of one of the Affordable Care Act's challenges: actually delivering the care that people are supposed to receive.

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Health law could overwhelm addiction services