Monthly Archives: April 2013

Hey Coders! NASA Wants You to Help Robot Astronaut See

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NASA is asking software coders on Earth to help a robotic astronaut helper on the International Space Station use its cold mechanical eyes to see better.

Robonaut 2 a humanoid robot being tested by astronauts on the space station is designed to perform mundane and complex tasks to help make life on the orbiting lab easier for human crewmembers. So far, the robot (which NASA affectionately calls R2 for short) has carried out a series of routine tasks on the space station, performed sign language and learned how to shake hands with human crewmates.

But NASA thinks the robot can do more and launched two new contests under the $10,000 Robonaut Challenge on Monday (April 1) to make it happen.

The new competitions, managed for NASA by the group TopCoder under the agency's NASA Tournament Lab, will give 470,000 software developers, digital creators and algorithmists the chance to help the robot butler "see" and interact with the station in a new way.

Each of the competitions will run for three weeks, and $10,000 in prize money will be awarded. As of this article's publication, 533 people have registered for the first competition, and 10 have submitted final algorithms. [Robonaut 2: NASA's Space Droid (Photos)]

"Do you think your code and your solutions can help advance humankind by advancing a humanoid kind?" a promotional video for the competition exclaims.

Contest participants in the two Robonaut competitions may eventually enable Robonaut 2 to better perform "repetitive, monotonous tasks" so that astronauts won't have to, according to a statement issued by TopCoder.

Robonaut vision showdown

The first contest involves writing an algorithm that will make Robonaut 2 locate and understand whether buttons and switches on a dashboard are turned off or on. NASA has provided images of the boards on the station, in a laboratory and in a simulator. Every setting has a different set of circumstances that the robot would need to work within.

"The successful algorithm application must work with each of several different camera systems and varying lighting conditions within each environment," TopCoder officials said.

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Hey Coders! NASA Wants You to Help Robot Astronaut See

NASA to Announce Major Astrophysics Discovery Today

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UPDATE for 11 a.m. ET:The first official announcements for today's news have been released. See the latest story here:Dark Matter Possibly Found by $2 Billion Space Station Experiment.

NASA will unveil the first discoveries from a powerful $2 billion particle physics experiment on the International Space Station in what could be a major vindication for the science tool, which almost never made it into space.

The space agency will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT) today, April 3, to reveal the first science results from the experiment, called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. You can watch the AMS science results live on SPACE.com, via NASA TV.

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer is an advanced cosmic-ray detector designed to seek out signs of antimatter and elusive dark matter from its perch on the backbone-like main truss of the International Space Station. More than 200 scientists representing 16 countries and 56 institutions are part of the science team, which is led by Nobel laureate Samuel Ting, a physicist at MIT.

"AMS is a state-of-the-art cosmic ray particle physics detector located on the exterior of the International Space Station," NASA officials said in an announcement Tuesday (April 2). [See photos of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer in space]

NASA and the AMS team have not revealed exactly what the first science results from AMS will be, but Ting has assured that it will be a significant announcement.

"It will not be a minor paper," Ting said on Feb. 17 during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, adding that it would represent a "small step" toward understanding the true nature of dark matter, even if it is not the final answer.

The spectrometer consists of a huge, 3-foot wide magnet that bends the paths of cosmic particles and steers them into special detectors designed to measure particles' charge, energy and other properties. The complicated space experiment was 16 years in the making, but despite its lofty mission, the 7-ton AMS almost never flew.

In fact, NASA canceled the space shuttle mission originally slated to launch AMS to the space station in 2005. At the time, the space agency cited safety concerns following the 2003 space shuttle Columbia accident an event that led directly to the space shuttle fleet's retirement in 2011.

But NASA's decision to cancel the AMS mission did not sit well with the science community. Scientists launched a persistent campaign to resurrect the AMS launch, including an intense lobbying effort to sway lawmakers in Congress to their side.

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NASA to Announce Major Astrophysics Discovery Today

NASA Mega-Rocket Could Lead to Skylab 2 Deep Space Station

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NASA's first manned outpost in deep space may be a repurposed rocket part, just like the agency's first-ever astronaut abode in Earth orbit.

With a little tinkering, the upper-stage hydrogen propellant tank of NASA's huge Space Launch System rocket would make a nice and relatively cheap deep-space habitat, some researchers say. They call the proposed craft "Skylab II," an homage to the 1970s Skylab space station that was a modified third stage of a Saturn V moon rocket.

"This idea is not challenging technology," said Brand Griffin, an engineer with Gray Research, Inc., who works with the Advanced Concepts Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

"It's just trying to say, 'Is this the time to be able to look at existing assets, planned assets and incorporate those into what we have as a destination of getting humans beyond LEO [low-Earth orbit]?'" Griffin said Wednesday (March 27) during a presentation with NASA's Future In-Space Operations working group. [Gallery: Visions of Deep-Space Stations]

A roomy home in deep space

NASA is developing the Space Launch System (SLS) to launch astronauts toward distant destinations such as near-Earth asteroids and Mars. The rocket's first test flight is slated for 2017, and NASA wants it to start lofting crews by 2021.

The SLS will stand 384 feet tall (117 meters) in its biggest ("evolved") incarnation, which will be capable of blasting 130 metric tons of payload to orbit. Its upper-stage hydrogen tank is big, too, measuring 36.1 feet tall by 27.6 feet wide (11.15 m by 8.5 m).

The tank's dimensions yield an internal volume of 17,481 cubic feet (495 cubic m) roughly equivalent to a two-story house. That's much roomier than a potential deep-space habitat derived from modules of the International Space Station (ISS), which are just 14.8 feet (4.5 m) wide, Griffin said.

The tank-based Skylab II could accommodate a crew of four comfortably and carry enough gear and food to last for several years at a time without requiring a resupply, he added. Further, it would launch aboard the SLS in a single piece, whereas ISS-derived habitatswould need to link up multiple components in space.

Because of this, SkylabII would require relatively few launches to establish and maintain, Griffin said. That and the use of existing SLS-manufacturing infrastructure would translate into big cost savings a key selling point in today's tough fiscal climate.

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NASA Mega-Rocket Could Lead to Skylab 2 Deep Space Station

Pfizer inks deal with nanotechnology drugmaker

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) BIND Therapeutics said Wednesday that Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay at least $160 million per drug as part of a collaboration to develop targeted medicines using nanotechnology which use particles measured in billionths of a meter.

BIND is developing an experimental group of targeted, programmable medicines called Accurins to treat cancer, heart disease and inflammatory disorders. The privately held companys technology comes from two laboratories that specialize in nanotechnology at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Pfizer will make initial payments of roughly $50 million, plus $160 million in regulatory and milestone payments for each targeted drug, according to an announcement from BIND.

Both companies will work on early-stage research for the drugs, and Pfizer will have the exclusive option to develop and market any products produced from the collaboration.

BIND has one product in early-stage clinical testing called Bind-014, a targeted Accurin that contains the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. The product is designed to attach itself to a protein that is expressed in some cancer cells and new blood vessels that feed tumors.

In an unrelated announcement Wednesday, the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia said it will collaborate with Pfizer on therapies for children. Pfizer has research relationships with 21 academic hospitals throughout the U.S. with the aim of developing new products.

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Pfizer inks deal with nanotechnology drugmaker

Pfizer to Pay Bind Up to $210 Million in Nanotechnology Deal

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Pfizer Inc. (PFE), the worlds biggest drugmaker, will pay closely held Bind Therapeutics Inc. as much as $200 million per potential drug to develop medicines using its nanotechnology platform.

The companies will collaborate on preclinical work and New York-based Pfizer will have the option to pursue development of compounds it selects, Bind said in a statement today. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company may receive as much as $50 million in upfront and development payments and is eligible for $160 million more per compound tied to regulatory and sales goals.

The deal is the second this year for Bind, which uses nanotechnology to selectively reach disease sites in the body in treating cancer, inflammatory ailments and cardiovascular disorders without affecting healthy tissue. In January, Amgen Inc. said it would pay as much as $180.5 million for the right to develop cancer drugs using Binds technology.

The pharmaceutical industry is reaching an inflection point in terms of adopting this as a major strategic technology for the industry, Bind Chief Executive Officer Scott Minick said in an interview.

Binds technology comes from the laboratories of Robert Langer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Omid Farokhzad, of Harvard Medical School. Its nanoparticles, which it calls Accurins, can travel through the body without being detected or destroyed by the immune system, Minick said. Carrying potent drugs, the particles home in on specific disease cells and avoid poisoning healthy ones.

In addition to partnerships with Pfizer and Thousand Oaks, California-based Amgen, Bind is developing a slate of potential drugs in-house. The companys leading therapy is BIND-014, which targets tumors with the cancer drug docetaxel. Bind said last week it will present results from a first-stage study of the treatment at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting on April 9.

Pfizer partnered with Bind because these delivery systems are a unique approach that potentially offer highly precise targeted therapeutics increasing the window for broader patient treatment options, said Lauren Starr, a spokeswoman for the drugmaker.

Pfizer declined less than 1 percent to $29.03 at the close in New York. The shares have increased 16 percent this year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Drew Armstrong in New York at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net; Meg Tirrell in New York at mtirrell@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reg Gale at rgale5@bloomberg.net

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Pfizer to Pay Bind Up to $210 Million in Nanotechnology Deal

Pfizer inks deal with BIND Therapeutics, a Cambridge nanotechnology drugmaker

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By Associated Press

BIND Therapeutics said Wednesday that Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay it $160 million per drug as part of a collaboration to develop targeted medicines using nanotechnology which use particles measured in billionths of a meter.

BIND is developing an experimental group of targeted, programmable medicines called Accurins to treat cancer, heart disease, and inflammatory disorders. The privately held companys technology comes from two laboratories that specialize in nanotechnology at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Pfizer will make initial payments of roughly $50 million, plus $160 million in regulatory and milestone payments for each targeted drug, according to an announcement from BIND.

Both companies will work on early-stage research for the drugs, and Pfizer will have the exclusive option to develop and market any products produced from the collaboration.

BIND has one product in early-stage clinical testing called Bind-014, a targeted Accurin that contains the chemotherapy drug docetaxel. The product is designed to attach itself to a protein that is expressed in some cancer cells and new blood vessels that feed tumors.

In an unrelated announcement Wednesday, the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia said it will collaborate with Pfizer on therapies for children. Pfizer has research relationships with 21 academic hospitals throughout the U.S. with the aim of developing new products.

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Pfizer inks deal with BIND Therapeutics, a Cambridge nanotechnology drugmaker

The Top Docs in Concierge Medicine of 2013 Honored by Concierge Medicine Today

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Concierge Medicine Today, chooses only a few select physicians in the concierge medicine and/or direct pay business model environment across the U.S. each year who meet the criteria to qualify as a Top Doc. This year, they selected only 15.

ATLANTA, GA (PRWEB) April 03, 2013

"We feel it is very important to acknowledge and recommend specific practices within the concierge medical and direct primary care marketplace that reflect and represent the care, value and benefits of this industry," said Michael Tetreault, Editor-In-Chief of Concierge Medicine Today. "What makes this year unique is we have more seasoned physicians in specialties other than primary care. They are operating in more rural areas than weve seen in the past.

We look for physicians each year who have made an impact on patients, their community, their State, social media, technology and more. There are so many great doctors to choose from each year. In 2013, we found doctors who are opening up extraordinary practices in markets like Kansas, Montana, Utah, Vermont and even Bismarck, North Dakota, says Tetreault.

Criteria Evaluated for Concierge Medicine Todays TOP DOCS 2013 Recognition and Nomination Includes (but is not limited to...)

Educational Efforts (ie. about concierge medicine/direct care)

Patient Ratings/Reviews

Value-Added Services Inside Their Practice

Innovative Services/Marketing

Charitable Efforts

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The Top Docs in Concierge Medicine of 2013 Honored by Concierge Medicine Today

Government of Canada invests to help youth in Medicine Hat get jobs

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MEDICINE HAT, AB, April 3, 2013 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is providing support for Medicine Hat youth to help them gain the skills, knowledge and experience they need to enter and succeed in the job market. The announcement was made by LaVar Payne, Member of Parliament for Medicine Hat, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

"Our government's top priorities are creating jobs, economic growth and long-term prosperity," said Mr. Payne. "The Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy is helping youth develop the skills and gain the experience they need to get jobs now and prepare for the workforce of tomorrow."

The Medicine Hat Family YMCA is receiving more than $556,000 from the Skills Link program to help youth overcome barriers to employment. Skills Link is part of the Government of Canada's Youth Employment Strategy (YES).

Through workshops, participants will gain valuable life and job skills including budgeting and teamwork. They will also benefit from on-the-job experience with employers, based on their career goals and development plans.

The Medicine Hat Family YMCA is grateful to the Government of Canada for this funding," said Jim Smith, CEO, Medicine Hat Family YMCA. "This continued support will enable us to provide unemployed youth in the Medicine Hat region with life skills, employment training and job placements."

With an annual budget of more than $300 million, YES helps youth, particularly those facing barriers to employment, obtain career information, develop employment skills, find jobs and stay employed. YES includes the Skills Link and Career Focus programs and the Canada Summer Jobs initiative, which creates thousands of job opportunities for students every summer.

Economic Action Plan 2012 provided an extra $50 million over two years to enhance YES with a new initiative that connects young Canadians with jobs that are in high demand and helps them develop tangible skills and gain work experience. Economic Action Plan 2013 proposes an additional investment of $70 million over three years to support 5,000 more paid internships.

Youth employment programs are part of the Government of Canada's broader strategy to create an educated, skilled and flexible workforce. The Government underscored its commitment to this strategy in Canada's Economic Action Plan. A key component of the Plan is to create more and better opportunities for Canadian workers through skills development. To learn more about Canada's Economic Action Plan, visit actionplan.gc.ca.

The Government of Canada is helping youth plan their careers, learn new skills and find jobs through enhanced online services available at youth.gc.ca.

Backgrounder

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Government of Canada invests to help youth in Medicine Hat get jobs

European Nuclear Medicine / Radiopharmaceuticals Market Worth by Reach $1.6 Billion by 2017

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DALLAS, April 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

The European Nuclear Medicine / Radiopharmaceuticals Market[SPECT/PET Radioisotopes (Technetium, F-18)], [Beta/Alpha radiation therapy (I131, Y-90)], [Applications (Cancer/Oncology, Cardiac)] & Stable Isotopes (Deuterium, C-13) - Global Trends & Forecast to 2017].

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http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/european-nuclear-medicine-radiopharmaceuticals-market-1107.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

This report studies the European nuclear medicine market over the forecast period 2012-2017.

The European radiopharmaceutical market was valued at $1.1 billion in 2012 and is poised to reach $1.6 billion by 2017 at a CAGR of 6.8%.

The radioisotopes market is categorized into diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The diagnostic market consists of PET and SPECT technologies, while the therapy market comprises of beta emitters and brachytherapy seeds. The SPECT market accounted for a major share of the diagnostic segment in 2012. Significant radioisotopes in the SPECT diagnostic market are Tc-99m, Tl- 201, Ga-67, and I-123, while PET market is dominated by F-18 and Rb-82. The therapy market is led by I-131, Sm-153, Re-186, Y-90, and Lu-177. Alpha emitters are being developed and considered for cancer treatment, however not available commercially.

It is estimated that Tc-99m diagnostic procedures are expected to increase by more than 15% in mature markets of Europe, and other developed regions between 2010 and 2030, however shortage of Mo-99/Tc-99m has been a threat to this industry. The scheduled shutdown of the NRU reactor in Canada in 2016 and OSIRIS in France in 2018 is a major risk for manufacturers in the near future. Companies have increased the production of thallium to meet the shortage, as it is the most commonly used substitute for technetium-99 in cardiac-stress tests, conducted to evaluate the functioning of coronary arteries. Radiopharmaceuticals in neurological applications such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and dementia are also being preferred by practitioners besides conventional treatment. Further, upcoming radioisotopes such as Ra-223 (Alpharadin) and Ga-68 possess huge potential for clinical applications.

Increasing use of SPECT and PET scans, technical advancements in equipment and other factors such as rising awareness of radiopharmaceuticals among physicians, alpha radioimmunotherapy based targeted cancer treatment, and ready availability of radiopharmaceutical from cyclotrons have driven the market. High cost of devices using radioisotopes, short half-life, lack of good manufacturing practices, and stringent regulatory approvals are major hurdles to growth of the market.

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European Nuclear Medicine / Radiopharmaceuticals Market Worth by Reach $1.6 Billion by 2017

Precision for Medicine Raises $150 Million to Fund Growth and Expansion

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CHEVY CHASE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Precision for Medicine, Inc., formed in 2012 to support next-generation approaches to drug development and commercialization, today announced that it has secured $150 million in private equity financing to support acquisitions and development. Precision for Medicine is building a comprehensive platform of specialized development and commercialization services to support life science companies that are seeking to capitalize on the benefits of patient centered, precision medicine. Oak Investment Partners, J.H. Whitney and Company along with Precisions Co-Founders Ethan D. Leder and Mark P. Clein provided the financing.

Ethan D. Leder and Mark P. Clein, co-founders of the Maryland-based company, said the funding will be used to acquire the expertise and infrastructure necessary to guide innovative medical products from discovery to patients. Precision for Medicine is the most recent endeavor in a series of highly successful health care businesses the two have created over the past 20 years. Their most recent company, Chevy Chase, MD based United BioSource Corporation, employed approximately 1,600 researchers prior to its sale to Medco Health Solutions (NYSE-MHS) in 2010 for an estimated $750 million.

Next generation medicine is about placing greater emphasis on the patient as the focal point of all product development activity, says Ethan D. Leder, CEO. Life science companies that are moving to embrace precision medicine will fundamentally improve the efficiency of drug development and will deliver products that offer better results for patients. Our mission is to build the services and infrastructure to support life science innovators as they develop new products that deliver the best outcomes to patients.

This financing will allow us to aggressively acquire and grow a unique portfolio of capabilities designed to deliver lower development costs, speed the time to market, and improve success rates, said Mark P. Clein, President. Precision for Medicines growing team of over 130 employees includes recognized experts in regulatory sciences, clinical development, commercialization, and product strategy. Precisions experts collaborate with clients to speed approval, reduce costs, and optimize market launch through solutions that combine innovative approaches to patient selection with a deep understanding of payers, regulators, science, and policy.

Precision also provides next generation bioservices solutions including biorepository, sample management and cellular productsfrom its state-of-the-art biorepository facilities in Frederick and Gaithersburg, MD managing more than 15 million samples.The Precision Bioservices team has a distinguished reputation and many long-term relationships with life science and academic research institutions, including the US Governments National Institutes of Health.

About Precision for Medicine

Precision for Medicine is a specialized service company providing services and infrastructure to support life science companies as they develop new products in the age of precision medicine. Precision brings expertise, technology and project execution to support innovative, patient centric solutions from discovery through commercialization. The company is headquartered in Chevy Chase, MD with offices in Gaithersburg, MD, Frederick, MD and Cambridge, MA. For more information about Precision, visitwww.precisionformedicine.com.

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Precision for Medicine Raises $150 Million to Fund Growth and Expansion

Foundation Medicine and Agios Announce Diagnostic Discovery Collaboration for IDH1 and IDH2 Cancer Metabolism Programs

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Foundation Medicine, Inc., and Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced a multi-year diagnostic partnership for Agios lead programs in cancer metabolism. These programs focus on developing new cancer metabolism inhibitors targeting tumors carrying mutations in either the IDH1 or IDH2 metabolic enzymes. Foundation Medicine and Agios are collaborating to identify tumor genomic alterations that can be used to identify which patients are most likely to respond to Agios IDH1 and IDH2 drug candidates, and to develop and potentially commercialize diagnostic products for these programs.

Our lead IDH1 and IDH2 programs demonstrate Agios ability to leverage deep understanding of cancer metabolism to design first-in-class cancer medicines for genetically defined patient populations, said David Schenkein, M.D., chief executive officer of Agios. As we prepare to enter the clinic, Foundation Medicine provides us with the most advanced genomic profiling and analytical expertise in the industry. This collaboration will further expand our insights on how best to target IDH mutations therapeutically and will help us in our mission to bring important new drugs to patients with cancer.

Agios is forging a new and different path to cancer treatment by targeting cancer metabolism, said Michael J. Pellini, M.D., chief executive officer of Foundation Medicine. Foundation Medicines comprehensive cancer genomic profile helps match a patients individual molecular alterations with relevant targeted therapies. For this reason, it is important for us to partner with innovative biopharmaceutical companies like Agios to help expand the number of targeted therapies available and open new treatment options for patients.

About Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Agios is the leading biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel drugs in the fields of cancer metabolism and rare metabolic genetic diseases. In addition to an active research and discovery pipeline across both therapeutic areas, Agios has multiple first-in-class programs in cancer metabolism and inborn errors of metabolism advancing toward the clinic. All Agios programs focus on genetically identified patient populations leveraging our knowledge of metabolism, biology and genomics. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.agios.com.

David Schenkein, M.D., chief executive officer of Agios Pharmaceuticals, is also a member of the board of directors of Foundation Medicine.

About Foundation Medicine

Foundation Medicine is a molecular information company dedicated to a transformation in cancer care in which treatment is informed by a deep understanding of the genomic changes that contribute to each patients unique cancer. The companys initial clinical assay, FoundationOneTM, is a fully informative genomic profile to identify a patients individual molecular alterations and match them with relevant targeted therapies and clinical trials. Foundation Medicines molecular information platform aims to improve day-to-day care for patients by serving the needs of clinicians, academic researchers and drug developers to help advance the science of molecular medicine in cancer. For more information, please visit http://www.foundationmedicine.com or follow Foundation Medicine on Twitter (@FoundationATCG).

Foundation Medicine is a registered trademark, and FoundationOneTM is a trademark of Foundation Medicine, Inc.

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Foundation Medicine and Agios Announce Diagnostic Discovery Collaboration for IDH1 and IDH2 Cancer Metabolism Programs

Ross University School of Medicine Establishes Education Agreement with Atlanta Medical Center

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MIRAMAR, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Ross University School of Medicine (RUSM) today announced a new affiliation agreement with Atlanta Medical Center (AMC) that will enable RUSM students to complete required clinical rotations in family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology and surgery at the Atlanta teaching hospital.

Dr. Joseph Flaherty, dean and chancellor at RUSM, said AMC fits well with the schools model of an ideal teaching affiliate. Atlanta Medical Center shares with Ross University School of Medicine a commitment to teaching and a sense of obligation to serve a diverse community. The high caliber of the hospitals graduate medical education programs gives us confidence that students who rotate through AMC will receive great preparation for residency.

Atlanta Medical Center is a 762-bed acute care hospital and a leading provider of advanced medical care to the metro Atlanta area. It is the second largest licensed-bed hospital in Georgia and a Level 1 trauma center. Atlanta Medical Centers services include surgery, neurology, oncology and orthopedics. The hospital is widely recognized for its womens services program and for outstanding performance in the treatment of stroke patients. Its weight-loss program is designated as a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. The hospital has campuses in downtown Atlanta and East Point, GA.

AMCs programs in internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and family medicine are approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

AMC welcomed Ross students in December 2012, and the hospital will become a track rotation affiliate in the spring. This allows Ross students placed there to complete all of their third-year clinical rotations over 48 consecutive weeks. Currently, more than 180 Ross students are from Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Atlanta Medical Center is pleased to offer this training to RUSM students, said Dr. Steven Saltzman, medical director for RUSM Medical Student Education. We have a history of training the next generation of doctors, and our programs will ensure that Ross students are well prepared for a career in medicine.

Atlanta Medical Center is a great addition to our network of teaching affiliates and will be an anchor location for RUSM students desiring to complete their medical education in the Southeast, said Flaherty.

RUSM students begin their journey to become physicians on the schools campus in Dominica, located in the West Indies. Students complete a rigorous, four-semester accelerated study program in the basic sciences. The campus features a cutting-edge anatomy and medical imaging laboratory, as well as a simulation center where students begin to develop clinical skills. Students then complete their medical education by taking core and elective clinical rotations in one of RUSMs teaching affiliates across the United States. Over the last year, RUSM has accelerated efforts to strengthen its network of affiliates.

In recent months, RUSM has begun or expanded clinical education affiliations with a number of highly regarded teaching hospitals. In May, RUSM entered into a 10-year affiliation agreement with Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, Calif., which provides about 100 core clinical rotation slots annually to RUSM students. That partnership is the largest clinical affiliation in RUSMs history. RUSM also has added rotations recently at Cleveland Clinic and Memorial Regional Hospital, both in South Florida, California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif., and Vanguard MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Ill a suburb of Chicago.

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Ross University School of Medicine Establishes Education Agreement with Atlanta Medical Center

Medical school can wait: No. 1 Serena Williams next for rising star Mallory Burdette

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Quick links to other pages on this site | Still can't find it? see Site Index Burdette

Mallory Burdette has crossed paths with the great Serena Williams. She's said hi.

But I've never had a conversation with her, Burdette said.

As the latest young American to pull a Family Circle Cup upset, the 22-year-old former Stanford All-American gets a dream-come-true shot at the world's top-ranked player today.

Burdette took a deep breath Wednesday after a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 victory over No. 15 seed Sabine Lisicki. She pumped her left fist a few times and took a sweet walk across green clay on the Althea Gibson Court for a handshake from the former Family Circle Cup champion.

Burdette upset then-No. 27 Tamira Paszek at Indian Wells last month, but this was just as special, probably more. Lisicki, famed for her power serve, is currently No. 41 but has been ranked as high as No. 12.

Burdette is from Jackson, Ga., approximately 50 miles southeast of Atlanta. Her mother, the former Judy Bernat, grew up in Charleston.

We've had a lot of fun going out to dinner, Burdette said. I just feel very relaxed and comfortable here. That's the same way I was feeling out on the court, and I think it definitely helped me pull through that match. I'm really looking forward to my next round. It will be a great experience to play Serena and see how my game matches up against the best.

Opportunities like this are exactly why Burdette decided last summer to skip her senior year at Stanford. Yes, she is delaying entry to medical school and a career as a psychiatrist.

But win or lose against Serena, Burdette will shoot up the WTA rankings from No. 99.

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Medical school can wait: No. 1 Serena Williams next for rising star Mallory Burdette

Kaiser Permanente Southern California Supports UCR Medical School ’s Aims to Build Diverse Physician Workforce in …

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$3 million grant will strengthen and augment schools successful programs that prepare students for health professions

By Iqbal Pittalwala on April 3, 2013

Imagining Your Future in Medicine addresses student needs that are distinctive at each phase of the path toward becoming a physician.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. The School of Medicine at the University of California, Riverside has been awarded a grant of $3 million over a two-year period from health care provider Kaiser Permanente Southern California to increase the size and reach of the schools existing pipeline programs a continuum of student enrichment and academic support programs and thus broaden and diversify the pool of students applying to medical school.

Imagining Your Future in Medicine, the theme of the augmented pipeline programs, addresses student needs that are distinctive at each phase of the path toward becoming a physician middle school, high school, community college, university and medical school. It extends beyond the School of Medicines two signature pipeline programs, the Medical Scholars Program and FastStart, which focus on the undergraduate phase of the medical education continuum.

This timely and generous support from Kaiser Permanente Southern California will help us vastly expand the capabilities of the medical school and inspire more young students in Inland Southern California to become service-minded physicians, said G. Richard Olds, the founding dean of the School of Medicine and the vice chancellor for health affairs. Best of all, the gift will allow us to reach students even in middle schools, engage them early in the sciences and prepare them for admission to medical school and eventually health-related careers.

G. Richard Olds is the founding dean of the UC Riverside School of Medicine. Photo credit: UCR Strategic Communications.

By integrating pipeline programs for middle school, high school and community college students in Inland Southern California, Imagining Your Future in Medicine aims to ultimately bring greater diversity to the Inland Southern California physician workforce, which currently does not reflect the ethnic fabric of the region. Its activities, such as academic and career enrichment tactics, parental involvement and financial support, are specifically designed to enhance students eligibility for entry into medical school.

Imagining Your Future in Medicine strives to maintain continuity between the individual pipeline programs, leading to sustained student engagement and retention into and through completion of medical school. Once students join the pipeline, the medical school will provide a seamless pathway for academic preparation and enrichment, preparing students for entry into medical training and ultimately residency, particularly in primary care and short-supply specialties.

Our model of outreach and engagement begins at an earlier stage than most models because we believe that if we are to effectively prepare students for successful admission to medical school, we must begin focusing our efforts when they are just starting to formulate ideas about their futures as their life aspirations begin to take shape, said Neal Schiller, the senior associate dean for student affairs at the School of Medicine.

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Kaiser Permanente Southern California Supports UCR Medical School ’s Aims to Build Diverse Physician Workforce in ...

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School ‘s Dr. Jeanne Ferrante to Receive Best Research Paper Award

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Newswise New Brunswick, NJ Jeanne Ferrante, MD, MPH, associate professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been selected by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (SFTM) to receive the 2013 STFM Best Research Paper Award.

The international competition is designed to acknowledge the best research published by an SFTM member in a peer-reviewed journal. Awards are based on the quality of research, as well as its potential impact. This year, the Society is recognizing Dr. Ferrante for her work with collaborators at University of South Florida and Harvard University regarding Medicare beneficiaries with colon cancer.

In the study, published in Archives of Internal Medicine, Dr. Ferrante and her team examined the relationship between primary care utilization and colorectal cancer screenings, the stage at which Medicare beneficiaries are diagnosed, mortality resulting from colorectal cancer, and all causes of mortality. The study indicated that Medicare beneficiaries with colorectal cancer had better outcomes (earlier stage at diagnosis, lower colorectal cancer mortality, and lower overall mortality) if they had a greater number of visits to primary care physicians before their diagnosisunderscoring the importance of adequate access to primary care providers, particularly for Medicare beneficiaries.

We congratulate Dr. Ferrante on her selection for this prestigious award, says Alfred F. Tallia, MD, MPH, professor and chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She joins a long list of prominent researchers who have been honored since the awards inception.

A resident of Morristown, Dr. Ferrante also is a member of The Robert Wood Johnson Medical Groupthe faculty practice of Robert Wood Johnson Medical Schooland has been a member of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey faculty since 2001. She joined Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2007. She was director of the Postdoctoral Health Services Fellowship Program in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and is currently the director of the New Jersey Primary Care Research Network. She is particularly interested in the areas of cancer prevention and womens health and focuses her research on obesity and cancer screenings in primary care, as well as promoting and demonstrating primary cares role in improving health outcomes and decreasing disparities.

During her tenure at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, Dr. Ferrante was chair of the cancer control committee at the University Hospital, Newark; coordinator for community outreach for the University Hospitals Cancer Program; a member of the Cervical Cancer Workgroup, Task Force on Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer in New Jersey; and a member of the New Jersey Obesity Prevention Task Force.

Previously, she served as director of predoctoral education at University of South Florida, and director of the High Risk Breast Cancer Clinic at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.

After earning her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University, Dr. Ferrante completed her residency at Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore and served in the United States Air Force during Desert Storm. She completed fellowship trainings at Duke University School of Medicine, University of Missouri, and the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. She received her masters degree in public health from UMDNJ-School of Public Health.

Dr. Ferrante will receive her award at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Annual Spring Conference in Baltimore, May 1-5.

About UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical SchoolAs one of the nation's leading comprehensive medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in education, research, health care delivery, and the promotion of community health. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, the medical school's principal affiliate, comprise one of the nation's premier academic medical centers. In addition, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has 34 other hospital affiliates and ambulatory care sites throughout the region.

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Robert Wood Johnson Medical School 's Dr. Jeanne Ferrante to Receive Best Research Paper Award