New Jersey Medical School Researchers Develop DNA Sequencing Tests for Hereditary Diseases

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Newswise NEWARKScientists at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ-NJMS) have developed new DNA sequencing tests that hold significant promise for decreasing costs associated with diagnosing cancer and hereditary diseases, including cysticfibrosis.

Officials at the New Jersey Department of Health approved the use of the new Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Carrier and Diagnosis Test, which was created at the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UMDNJ-NJMS. Using a semiconductor mechanism that was developed by San Francisco-based Ion Torrent, the microchip tests the entire gene for mutations. IGM now offers this certified Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory service for hospitals as well as obstetrics and gynecology practices throughout the Garden State.

According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation web site, More than 10 million Americans are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene. This chronic disease impacts the lungs and the digestive system. It occurs when a child inherits one defective CF genefrom each parent. Statistics show New Jersey averages 125,000 births of children who are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis annually.

We believe the adaptation of this new sequencing technology will drastically improve our ability to analyze genetic disorders, said Marvin N. Schwalb, PhD, director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine. Traditional CF sequencing testing costs thousands of dollars making the test unavailable for carrier screening. This new test costs less than $200. Most importantly, the genetic carrier test we developed improves the diagnosis rate to 98 percent. While the test provides significant improvement for all populations, the improved rate is particularly valuable for minorities because current carrier screening methods only detects approximately 65% of mutations in these populations.

The new technology provides many advances including the ability to test as many as 96 samples on a single platform and the fact that the equipment cost 1/10 as much as the previous technology.

IGM has developed another test, which was also approved by the NJHSS, for mitochondrial DNA. Mutations in mitochondria cause a wide variety of diseases, such eye and neuromuscular system disorders and possible cancer.

Schwalb, a professor of Pediatrics, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at NJMS, said, We are proud of the fact that the IGM is a world leader in the advancement of genetic diagnosis. DNA sequencing will keep us very busy for a while. In the state of New Jersey, there is nothing thatcompares to this advancement and this is just the beginning.

To arrange an interview with Dr. Marvin Schwalb, contact Kaylyn Kendall Dines at 973-972-1216.

About New Jersey Medical School:

Founded in 1954 as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry, UMDNJNew Jersey Medical School was the state's first medical school. Today, it is part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. NJMS has four mission areas: education, research, clinical care, and community outreach. It has 22 academic departments and more than 60 centers and institutes. In addition to offering the MD degree to its students, NJMS also offers, MD/PhD, MD/MPH, and MD/MBA degrees through collaborations with other institutions of higher education.

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New Jersey Medical School Researchers Develop DNA Sequencing Tests for Hereditary Diseases

Harvard pledges changes at primate research center

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BOSTONHarvard Medical School says it plans to follow the recommendations of an independent panel of scientists and veterinarians that reviewed the university's troubled primate research facility in Southborough.

The two-page executive summary of the report, released to The Boston Globe ( http://b.globe.com/NBhlZe) by Deborah Kochevar, dean of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and chairwoman of the committee, calls for establishing a new veterinarian position and appointing a biosafety officer.

The committee did not investigate the specific lapses in animal care and procedures that resulted in death and harm to monkeys.

Many of the recommended changes involve adding layers of oversight and direct reporting to Harvard.

Medical School Dean Dr. Jeffrey Flier said in a statement that the school has started "a timely implementation" of the recommendations.

Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Campbell University's new medical school gets $4 million in gifts, already has 700 applicants

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By Steve DeVane Staff writer

BUIES CREEK - Campbell University's medical school has more than 700 applications for its inaugural class of 150 students, school officials say.

Another 800 students have expressed interest in attending the School of Osteopathic Medicine, which will be the first of its kind in North Carolina when it opens in August 2013.

Campbell officials announced Wednesday that the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and the Golden LEAF Foundation each gave the school $2 million gifts.

Leaders of the groups said the private university's medical school will provide badly needed primary care doctors for rural communities in North Carolina. The school will eventually have 600 students who will train at the school in Harnett County for the first two years and learn in community hospitals during the third and fourth years.

Campbell's will be the first medical school to open in the state in 35 years. Osteopathic doctors use traditional medical techniques, such as prescription drugs and surgery, but also focus on wellness and disease prevention.

An economist estimated that the medical school will create more than 1,150 jobs and have an estimated economic impact of nearly $300 million in its first 10 years.

The medical school will be in a $60 million, 96,500-square-foot facility that also will be home to Campbell's physician assistant program. The two buildings on U.S. 421 between Lillington and Erwin are about a quarter mile from Campbell's main campus in Buies Creek.

The buildings, which will be connected by a hallway, are taking shape, with workers spraying insulation and laying bricks on the outer walls Wednesday. Inside, metal studs separate where classrooms, offices, the library, study rooms, labs and a cafe will be located.

Dr. John Kauffman, the school's founding dean, said the gifts from the trust and the foundation will allow the school to equip its simulation lab with state-of-the-art high-fidelity robotics.

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Campbell University's new medical school gets $4 million in gifts, already has 700 applicants

10 Medical Schools With the Lowest Acceptance Rates

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The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.

Becoming a doctor is hard work. Medical students spend three years studying symptoms, diseases, and treatments, endure long hours in residencies and fellowships, and then must pass a grueling series of board exams. But before any of that can happen, future M.D.'s need to get into medical school.

On average, fewer than 9 percent of medical school applications were accepted in 2011, according to data reported to U.S. News. In total, 500,900 applications were submitted in 2011 to the 111 medical schools reporting application and acceptance data to U.S. News in an annual survey. Prospective medical students often apply to multiple schools.

[Discover the top three reasons why med school applications are rejected.]

Grades, MCAT scores, letters of evaluation, and extracurricular activities all play a role in whether an application is accepted, but which programs students apply to can also impact their chances of getting into med school.

Among the 11 medical schools with the lowest acceptance rates, an average of 3.4 percent of applicants were accepted in 2011. (Due to ties, there are more than 10 schools on the list.) The Mayo Medical School in Minnesota accepted just 1.9 percent of applicants, the lowest acceptance rate among the medical schools that submitted acceptance data to U.S. News. George Washington University's School of Medicine and Health Sciences had the second lowest, sending acceptance letters to 2.5 percent of the 14,649 students who applied in 2011.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the University of North Dakota's School of Medicine and Health Sciences and Western University of Health Sciences's College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific in California each accepted more than 25 percent of its 2011 applicants.

Below are the 11 medical schools with the lowest acceptance rates, based on applicant and acceptance data reported by the institutions to U.S. News:

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Medical School Compass to find application and acceptance data for every school, residency statistics, and much more.

U.S. News surveyed more than 140 medical schools for our 2011 survey of research and primary care programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of school facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Medical Schools rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools.

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A new model for medical schools

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A week or so ago, my wife and I drove from Santa Barbara to the University of California, Irvine, to attend a "White Coat" ceremony for the incoming class of medical students, including our son, at the UC Irvine Medical School.

It was a very impressive event and, as parents, we felt very proud of our son, as we were a couple of years earlier when our daughter graduated from law school. But what I also found impressive about the ceremony where these would-be doctors are initiated into their first step as doctors by receiving their white doctor's coat was how diverse the students were. Not only were more than half of the students women, but ethnically, the mix was likewise impressive.

As a scholar of Latinos in the United States, I paid particular attention to the number of new Latino medical students, including my son. Here again, I was impressed. A good percentage was Latinos. What is important here is that UC Irvine is ahead of the curve with respect to the number and percentage of Latinos in our medical schools. Nationally, only about 5 percent of all medical students in the country are Latinos, while the percentage of Latinos in the U.S. is about 16 percent. Many Latinos, especially immigrants, do not regularly see doctors, and some studies suggest this has to do with the lack of Latino physicians.

Latinos as a whole suffer from many illnesses, including an almost epidemic number of diabetic cases, and the lack of Latino doctors in Latino communities only compounds the problem. I recently received a small grant to begin oral histories with the few Latino physicians in the Santa Barbara area as a way of using their stories to encourage potential Latino medical students to apply and to go to medical schools. I am encouraged at the same time by the Irvine model, where clearly the medical school understands the importance of recruiting qualified Latinos to attend medical school and to challenge the national lack of Latino medical students. My hope is that other major medical schools will follow this model. Much of our nation's health could depend on this because by 2050, Latinos are project to represent one-third of the national population.

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Independent committee recommends changes at Harvard’s New England Primate Research Center

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By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff

An independent panel of scientists and veterinarians enlisted by Harvard Medical School to review its troubled primate research facility in Southborough is recommending that new leadership positions be created and a committee be formed to assure animal safety and foster closer ties with the main medical school.

The two-page executive summary of the report, released to the Globe by Deborah Kochevar, dean of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and the chairwoman of the committee, calls for establishing a new veterinarian position and appointing a biosafety officer specifically dedicated to the New England Primate Research Center. The committee did not set out to investigate the specific lapses in animal care and procedures that resulted in death and harm to animals.

Our charge and our intent was the evaluation of process improvements and these long-term strategies that would impact the delivery of humane, effective animal care and also ensure productive research, Kochevar said in an interview. The information about recent primate deaths was part of our context, but we werent there to investigate those incidents.

Many of the recommended changes involve adding layers of oversight and direct reporting to Harvard, including the designation of a senior leader at the medical school who would act as an advocate for the primate center.

The new attending veterinarian specifically assigned to the primate center would report directly to Harvard Medical Schools executive dean for administration. The independent committee recommended a review of training and policies to ensure they encourage open communication and reporting of problems.

Similarly, authors of the review recommended that a subcommittee be formed with the express task of focusing on the care and use of primates at the Southborough center. Now, there is a single committee overseeing animal research and care at all of the medical schools research facilities.

In a statement, Dr. Jeffrey S. Flier, dean of the medical school, said Harvard accepted the recommendations.

We have begun a timely implementation of these recommendations, Flier said in the statement.

Of course, this has been a challenging period, for the primate center, Flier wrote, but it has also been a time of reflection and analysis that has led to more stringent oversight and to a rigorous process of quality improvement.

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Uni targets rural medical students

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In 2011, final-year University of Adelaide medical students Rachel Jones and Ben Rogers were looking forward to gaining rural practice experience. Now their uni is doubling the number of interviews with rural candidates. Picture: Calum Robertson Source: The Advertiser

THE University of Adelaide's medical school aims to double the number of rural students it interviews for places with changes to its entry process.

From this year the university will consider rural applicants' Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test scores separately from metropolitan applicants in a bid to ensure more get through to the interview stage.

The university hopes to interview about 120 rural students, up from the 61 it saw for this year's cohort.

Faculty of Health Sciences executive dean Professor Justin Beilby acknowledged rural students were under-represented but hoped the changes would see growth.

University of Adelaide second-year medicine student Matt Watson, from Tooligie on the Eyre Peninsula, said: "Where I'm from, the only person I could talk to who'd got into medicine was the GP."

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Medical Professionals Not Always Leading Healthy Lifestyles

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HERSHAW DAVIS JR., LEFT,said he is trying to eat better and exercise more to control his weight, but finds his 12-hour, overnight shift as an ER nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital makes it difficult. (GABRIELLA DEMCZUK | THE BALTIMORE SUN)

Taylor DesRosiers was a competitive swimmer throughout her life, always fit. But in her first year of medical school, she realized that had changed - she was at an unhealthy weight.

The rigors of her education had piled on top of two rough years in which she went through a broken-off engagement and supporting her mother through a health scare. During a course on obesity, she realized, according to body mass index charts, she was technically obese herself.

"It just kind of hit me: I need to make a large change," DesRosiers said.

She had some support in doing that: Two fellow Johns Hopkins University students recently launched the Patient Promise, a program that aims to ensure health professionals do as they tell patients when it comes to healthy lifestyles. It is one of many similar programs to arise in the industry as health professionals seek to tackle rising obesity rates nationwide by starting with themselves. (Lakeland Regional Medical Center, for example, offers Living Well: Lakeland Regional's Culture of Health. It includes classes on nutrition, diabetes, smoking cessation and more, as well as an exercises series and health screenings.)

Research has shown that healthy lifestyle choices on the part of physicians can translate into better care for obese patients. That care is important as the health industry seeks to tackle the rising costs of care, particularly for many chronic conditions that can stem from obesity.

About 36 percent of adults in the U.S. are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. For a 5-foot-4-inch adult, a weight above 174 pounds is considered obese, while a 5-foot-9-inch person weighing 203 or more would qualify, for example. Obesity-related conditions like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some types of cancer are among the leading causes of death.

Hopkins students Shiv Gaglani and David Gatz started talking about the idea behind the Patient Promise early this year, realizing that their career choices were taking a toll on their health.

"Our own healthy-lifestyle behaviors were going out the window," Gaglani said, given time spent sedentary in classes or studying and busy schedules leaving little room for exercise or healthy cooking. "It's sort of a sacrificial career. By sacrificing our own health, we would become potentially less effective as clinicians because we wouldn't be credible."

The pair got about a dozen students together, including DesRosiers, to draft the Patient Promise, and they launched it in June. Within a few weeks, 300 medical professionals and students across the country had signed it, and the organizers plan to raise that to a few thousand eventually.

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Dr. Saumil Merchant, ear specialist beloved by patients, colleagues

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As a clinician, research scientist, scholar, and teacher at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Dr. Saumil Nalin Merchant had a reputation that reached around the world.

He worked in the field of otology, treating disorders and diseases of the ear, and was one of the American members of the Collegium Oto-Rhino-Laryngologicum Amicitiae Sacrum, the premier international society for otologic research.

Yet despite such renown, his neighbors in Acton knew he was available to treat any medical emergency.

He was the kindest, most gentle man I ever met, said his neighbor Susan Pinsky, who added that Dr. Merchant was always glad to examine a neighborhood child with an earache.

He was so generous with his time, efforts, and knowledge, she said. My daughter burst into tears when she heard he had died.

Dr. Merchant, the son of two physicians, was the Gudrun Larsen Eliasen and Nels Kristian Eliasen Professor of Otology and Laryngology.

He died of complications following a heart attack June 27 in the Kaplan Hospice House in Danvers. He was 51 and had lived in Acton.

He was such a kind person and so caring, said Herb Chambers of Boston, who owns automobile dealerships. He would take whatever time was necessary for you and would come to my office in Somerville if I needed him. He was brilliant.

Dr. Merchants other research passion was the study of the pathology of the human temporal bone.

In a tribute, Dr. Joseph B. Nadol Jr., chief of otolarygology at Mass. Eye and Ear, and Dr. Michael J. McKenna, a professor of otolaryngology and laryngology at Harvard Medical School, wrote that Dr. Merchants research was consistently supported by National Institutes of Health funding, a clear testament to the high regard in which his research work was held.

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Dr. Saumil Merchant, ear specialist beloved by patients, colleagues

Brater to retire as dean of IU medical school

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Dr. Craig Brater will retire in June next year as dean of the Indiana University School of Medicine, he announced Wednesday, and the school has formed a committee to find his replacement.

Brater, 66, has worked at the Indianapolis-based school for 26 years, including the past 12 as dean. The school is the second largest medical school in the nation and the only one in Indiana.

Brater oversees a massive operation that includes a main campus in Indianapolis and eight satellite campuses throughout the state.

The medical school had a budget of nearly $426 million in the last school year, up by 30 percent over the past five years. It employs 1,900 professors who oversee a total student body of 1,880 and also serve as doctors at five hospitals in Indianapolis, including Wishard Memorial Hospital, the Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center, as well as IU Healths University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children.

Craig Brater has done a superb job leading the IU School of Medicine for the past 12 years and working in close partnership with IU Health and our other clinical partners," said IU President Michael McRobbie in a prepared statement announcing the launch of a national search for Braters replacement. "He has effectively and skillfully positioned the school as a research and clinical leader.

IU has formed a 20-member search committee, which will be led by John Williams, dean of the IU School of Dentistry. Other members of the committee include Dan Evans, CEO of the IU Health hospital system; Dr. Lisa Harris, CEO of Wishard Health Services; and Marion Broome, dean of the IU School of Nursing.

That committee will identify and screen prospective candidates, then recommend a group of finalists to McRobbie and to Charles Bantz, the chancellor of the IUPUI campus, where the medical school is based.

The search committee will be helped by an outside advisory committee, which will be chaired by Chuck Schalliol, a life sciences attorney at Faegre Baker & Daniels LLP, who is a former manager at Eli Lilly and Co. and the former CEO of BioCrossroads, an Indianapolis-based life sciences development group.

Brater is a native of Oak Ridge, Tenn. He attended undergraduate and medical school at Duke University. Before IU, he was part of the faculty at the University of California at San Francisco and worked for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Brater and his wife Stephanie have one grown daughter who lives in Florida.

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Grant to benefit Columbia-Bassett Medical School student

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August 9, 2012 Grant to benefit Columbia-Bassett Medical School student

Anonymous The Cooperstown Crier Thu Aug 09, 2012, 10:20 PM EDT

The Central New York KeyBank Foundation Committee has awarded Friends of Bassett Healthcare Network a four-year grant of $120,000 to provide scholarship support for one student over the course of their four year Columbia-Bassett Medical School experience beginning this fall, according to a media release from Bassett.

Innovative ways of attracting highly skilled physicians to practice in rural areas are crucial given the changing health care environment, Stephen D. Fournier, president of KeyBanks Central New York District said in the release. The Columbia-Bassett program goes well beyond that by also preparing medical school students to lead the health systems of the future, and thats why KeyBank felt it was important to demonstrate the Foundations support of the program in such a meaningful way.

Columbia-Bassett Assistant Dean for Education Dr. Henry Weil said in the release that the KeyBank grant will be life changing for the student who receives it.

Young physicians coming out of medical school face educational debts that can exceed $200,000, which forces them to make career decisions based upon maximizing their earning potential, Weil said. Our goal has been to make rural practice a more attractive and viable option by limiting future debt through substantial financial assistance, like the scholarship KeyBank will provide to one deserving medical school student.

The Columbia-Bassett Medical School Program is a collaborative endeavor of Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City. The program annually recruits 10 exceptional students with an interest in providing care in underserved rural communities and learning how to manage health care systems that promote both quality and cost-effective delivery of care. Bassett Medical Center underwrites the cost of education for the students, providing $30,000 in scholarships per year per student. The students spend their first 18 months learning the basic science curriculum with the rest of their class in New York City, but their clinical training for the following two-and-one-half years is based at Bassett Medical Center.

According to the release, this unique program attracts more than 750 applicants each year for the 10 slots. Applicants are from across the country and are among the most qualified of those applying to medical school.

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City weighs taxpayer burden of medical school, bond package

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Council Member Mike Martinez suggested increasing the package to $400 million, while trying to work around Mayor Lee Leffingwell's reluctance to raise taxes.

Leffingwell says he is hesitant to increase the size of the bond package because the council has already approved rate increases for electricity, water and natural gas service, among others.

The mayor also supports State Sen. Kirk Watson's push to establish a medical school at the University of Texas, and to build a new, state-of-the-art research hospital.

"Realizing that it is such a high priority for our city and for our region, I think it's very appropriate for other jurisdictions to keep in mind that we have to respect that request too," Leffingwell said.

Sen. Watson says his law firm is not at all involved in the efforts to bring a medical school to the University of Texas, but voters need to be educated about the benefits higher taxes will bring.

"They are going to want to create 15,000 jobs and $2 billion in economic activity, Sen. Watson said. They are going to want to take care of the indigent population, so they save money because people aren't at the emergency room."

However, it all still comes with a price tag. Travis County voters would pick up about 10 percent of the tab, or $35 million a year. That would cost the average Austin area homeowner about $88 more a year in property taxes.

"For every dollar of local money we put up, the federal government will match it with $1.46," Watson said.

Leffingwell expects Austin's bond package to be broken up into about seven partsincluding transportation, affordable housing and parks.

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Clinical trial for rabies monoclonal antibody

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Public release date: 7-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Mark L. Shelton mark.shelton@umassmed.edu 508-856-2000 University of Massachusetts Medical School

BOSTON, Mass. A pivotal clinical trial for an anti-rabies human monoclonal antibody (RMAb) being developed through a collaborative partnership between MassBiologics of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the Serum Institute of India, Ltd., is starting to enroll patients. The study, sponsored by the Serum Institute, will evaluate the efficacy of post-exposure prophylaxis following rabies exposure with RMAb and vaccine compared to standard treatment of human rabies immune globulin (hRIG) and vaccine. Post-exposure prophylaxis for rabies that includes a monoclonal antibody should provide a more affordable, safer alternative to prevent the disease, which is a world-wide public health problem impacting 10 million people a year and resulting in some 55,000 deaths.

"We are extremely pleased that this potentially life-saving product has moved forward to the pivotal clinical trial phase," said Deborah Molrine, MD, deputy director of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs at MassBiologics and an associate professor of pediatrics at UMass Medical School. "Rabies is a major public health problem in Asia and Africa, and we are hopeful that the findings of this study may result in a treatment option readily available in those areas where it is needed most."

The randomized, comparator-controlled study being conducted in India will enroll 200 patients who have had a high-risk (category III as defined by the World Health Organization) exposure to a suspected rabid animal. Study participants will receive proper wound care followed by injections of either the investigational RMAb or standard hRIG treatment in combination with a five-dose rabies vaccine series.

The primary endpoint of the study is to demonstrate that the level of neutralizing antibody to rabies virus in the blood of participants who received RMAb and vaccine is at least as much as the level of anti-rabies neutralizing antibody in the blood of those who received hRIG and vaccine.

While deaths from rabies in the United States are rare, rabies remains a significant problem with approximately 95 percent of human deaths from rabies occurring in Asia and Africa. Death from rabies is preventable with timely post-exposure prophylaxis consisting of wound hygiene, administration of rabies immune globulin, and active immunization with rabies vaccine. In persons wounded by a suspected rabid animal, the vaccine works to stimulate the immune system to fight the rabies virus, while the rabies immune globulin provides immediate protection with neutralizing antibodies before the immune system begins making its own antibodies.

Human rabies immune globulin, derived from human blood, is an expensive product and carries a potential risk of contamination with blood-borne pathogens. Equine immune globulin (eRIG), derived from horse serum, is used in many parts of the world, but its use is associated with significant adverse effects such as anaphylaxis or serum sickness. Both products are often in short supply and costly for inhabitants of areas of the world where rabies is endemic. In India alone, it is estimated only 2 percent of patients whose wounds require the rabies immune globulin receive appropriate post-exposure treatment.

To address the supply and adverse effects issues, MassBiologics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed an anti- rabies monoclonal antibody with the goal that it might be used in place of hRIG or eRIG. MassBiologics then partnered with the Serum Institute to develop and manufacture the monoclonal antibody in India. "A monoclonal antibody for rabies has the advantage of being able to be produced in large quantities, at much lower costs than blood products," said Prasad Kulkarni, MD, medical director at the Serum Institute of India, Ltd. "And since they are not derived from blood serum, they have none of the safety issues associated with human blood products. If the primary endpoint from this pivotal trial is met, a new therapy could become available to thousands of patients each year to prevent the too-often fatal outcome of this infection."

In a phase 1 trial at the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM) in Mumbai, India, 74 healthy volunteers were randomized into several groups that either received RMAb or of hRIG combined with vaccine. Results showed that the RMAb was well tolerated by all subjects, with no serious side-effects. A dose of RMAb was selected from this study that produced comparable levels of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies in the blood from volunteers who received RMAb and vaccine compared to those who received the standard regimen of hRIG and vaccine.

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UCF's largest medical class to train on video game simulation tools

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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.

The largest class so far at University of Central Florida's medical school began its first year on Monday.

Fifty-five men and 45 women make up the graduating class of 2016, and while it took substantial work to be able to earn admission into the school, the real work has yet to begin.

The class size is seven times larger than UCF's inaugural class four years ago.

Every one of the incoming medical students will train at UCF using medical simulation tools, which essentially are just video games.

The school is already one of the top universities in the nation for game design, which is poised to create a massive job boom in the metro area, and medical simulation could make it one of the top spots in the nation.

Many of the simulations will be built by graduates of the school's video game design school, which according to the Princeton Review, is ranked fourth in the nation after Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"Being able to simply hold up a device like this iPad and focus on the poster and have it come to life," said David Metcalf, of the UCF Institute for Simulation and Training.

And future employment for game designers is booming.

The VA is set to open a major medical simulation center in late 2013, which will train thousands of VA technicians across the nation.

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Hazmat crews respond to Harvard Medical School after acid spills in 10th-floor lab

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By Travis Andersen, Globe Staff

A Harvard Medical School building was evacuated this afternoon after chemicals spilled on the 10th floor, the Boston Fire Department said.

Steve MacDonald, a Fire Department spokesman, said three two-liter bottles containing acetic and hydrochloric acid broke and the substances spilled about 3 p.m. inside a lab at the building at 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur in Boston.

MacDonald said the spill was contained to the 10th floor, and no one was injured. A doctor who was in the area of the spill was wearing the proper protective gear and followed procedure for self-decontamination, MacDonald said.

She was allowed to go home after paramedics examined her at the scene, he said. There were no injuries.

MacDonald said at the scene at about 5 p.m. that a hazardous materials cleanup team was en route and it was not clear when the building would reopen.

My experiments ruined, said Russell Griffin, 28, a research technician who was working on the 6th floor when the spill occurred.

MacDonald said both acetic and hydrochloric acids are irritants and can cause burns, and that acetic acid is flammable.

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Hazmat crews respond to Harvard Medical School after acid spills in 10th-floor lab

Acid spill at Harvard Med School prompts evacuation

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A chemical spill prompted firefighters to evacuated a Harvard Medical School building for several hours Tuesday afternoon after a doctor working in a lab spilled several large bottles of acids, according to firefighters.

The doctor went to get a bottle off a shelf in a 10th floor lab on Avenue Louis Pasteur at about 3 p.m. and inadvertantly knocked three bottles containing acids, which rolled off the shelf and smashed, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald.

The doctor, who was dressed in protective lab clothing, followed protocol and immediately jumped under a lab shower to decontaminate herself, said MacDonald, who told the Herald no one was injured in the spill.

MacDonald said Harvard hired a cleanup company to clean up the spilled bottles, which were about two liters each and contained acetic and hydrochloric acids.

Acetic acid is flammable and both acids are irritants. They can cause burns if you come in contact with them and they can cause some distress if you inhale the chemicals, said MacDonald.

Boston firefighters, who sealed off the street during the incident, also conducted air quality readings to ensure the 10-story medical school building was safe, according to MacDonald.

Harvard Medical School issued a statement saying the chemical spill on the buildings top floor happened in the Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology and confirmed the top three floors of the building would remain evacuated until further notice.

A Harvard Medical spokeswoman declined to say whether the incident would prompt a review of chemical storage practices in the labs.

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Commonwealth Medical college names new leader

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The Commonwealth Medical College has named a new leader.

Steven J. Scheinman, M.D., professor of medicine and pharmacology at SUNY Upstate Medical University, will become the second permanent president and dean of the region's only medical school.

Dr. Scheinman's appointment comes less than two months after the school received provisional accreditation and as the college continues to seek an affiliation with a hospital or another college to ease financial difficulties. He will also be charged with seeing the school's first class of students through their fourth year, with the college's first medical-degree graduation this spring.

He begins Sept. 10.

After the school's founding dean and president Robert D'Alessandri, M.D., abruptly resigned in April 2011, Lois Margaret Nora, M.D., served as interim president for one year. Robert Wright, M.D., has served in the interim role since the end of June.

Dr. Scheinman previously served as SUNY Upstate Medical University's senior vice president and dean of the College of Medicine. He earned international prominence for his research into the genetics of inherited kidney diseases and kidney stones, according to TCMC. He has been on the faculty at Upstate for nearly 30 years, during which he served as chief of the nephrology division in the department of medicine for 10 years where he doubled the size of the faculty and grew the dialysis program.

He received his medical degree with honors from Yale University and is board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology.

"After an extensive national search, Dr. Scheinman emerged as an exceptional leader with a strong and broad vision to advance the college's educational, administrative, and research activities in exciting new ways," Louis DeNaples, chairman of the college's board of trustees said in a statement from the school. "TCMC is extremely fortunate to have recruited a leader with Dr. Scheinman's outstanding talents and breadth of experience in medical education. His character is consonant with TCMC's mission and values."

Check back for updates.

Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com

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Commonwealth Medical college names new leader

Medical school update to come tonight

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ABINGDON, Va. --

The Abingdon Town Council is scheduled to hear a presentation tonight from Tariq Zaidi, interim president and CEO for the proposed King School of Medicine, tonight.

Nearly two weeks ago, Zaidi spoke before the Washington County Board of Supervisors and got a mixed reaction of optimism and uncertainty.

Zaidi said the project, which is backed by the county, the town and the Virginia Tobacco Commission, could be shifting focus to a less expensive and more comprehensive health care education center.

Abingdon Mayor Ed Morgan said he is optimistic about the medical school projects future.

Im pleased with the progress Mr. Zaidi is making; hes building on the work of [King College President] Dr. Jordan did and bringing a lot of leadership and technical skills, Morgan said. Im optimistic he can bring the project to fruition.

The council is scheduled to meet for a work session at 5:30 p.m. today and a regular meeting, at 7:30. Zaidi is scheduled to speak during the regular meeting. The agenda and information packet are available online at http://www.abingdon-va.gov/.

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Medical school update to come tonight

For Pfizer, Boston’s medical labs a lure

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Pfizer Inc., the worlds largest pharmaceutical company, has a storied history of hunting for blockbuster drugs in its own labs. These days it is also hunting for collaborations with outside physician-scientists who could help it develop cures for diseases ranging from lung cancer to osteoporosis.

A natural habitat of this breed doctors who treat patients, teach at academic medical centers, and run government-funded research labs is Bostons Longwood Medical Area, home to Harvard Medical School and a cluster of its famous teaching hospitals. Thats where Pfizers new Centers for Therapeutic Innovation has established its worldwide headquarters.

The drug giant is betting it can bring more treatments to market by working with academic researchers in medical hubs like Boston. It also has set up satellite centers in New York, San Francisco, and La Jolla, Calif., outside San Diego, to strike alliances in those areas. Overall, Pfizer is committing up to $100 million to such collaborations over the next five years.

Were trying to change biomedical research globally, said Pfizers Jose-Carlos J.C. Gutierrez-Ramos in an interview from the companys perch on the top floor of a new glass-faced office tower at 3 Blackfan Circle. The old model is not efficient for us or for the academic medical centers, said Gutierrez-Ramos, who is Pfizers senior vice president and head of biotherapeutics research and development.

Other companies also are eager to share the costs and risks of developing new drugs with partners in the Boston area. Novartis AG, Sanofi SA, and Merck & Co. are among the global drug makers accelerating their partnering moves in the region.

Earlier this month Sanofi, which raised its profile by buying Cambridge-based biotech Genzyme Corp., entered into a diabetes research deal with Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Womens Hospital.

Boston is without a doubt number one for pharmas trying to cash in on the hope of a mother lode from academic drug research, said Kevin J. Gorman, managing partner at a Burlington life sciences consulting firm, Putnam Associates. Theyre placing bets on the roulette table. But its also a reflection that the internal efforts of the pharmas havent been terribly productive.

While each companys approach is different Novartis is codeveloping drugs with biotechs, while Sanofi is investing in life sciences start-ups Pfizers strategy may represent the most dramatic departure from its traditional research and development methods. The company signaled its intentions 17 months ago with the announcement it would move neuroscience and cardiovascular metabolic research operations to Cambridge from a sprawling campus in Groton, Conn.

Pfizers old business model involved either taking experimental treatments from the labs to the market by itself or buying companies that already had promising drug candidates. Both approaches were expensive generating fewer successes and alienating investors at a time when some of the companys best-selling products were losing their patent protection. That meant more competition from lower-cost generics.

Now, New York-based Pfizer is making fewer acquisitions and doing less early-stage research. Instead it is piggybacking more on the work of physician-scientists from other organizations. It is collaborating with Dr. Markus Frank at Harvard-affiliated Boston Childrens Hospital, for example, on a stem cell treatment for malignant melanoma. Pfizer also is partnering with Dr. David Salant at Boston Medical Center, a Boston University hospital, on a kidney disease therapy.

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For Pfizer, Boston’s medical labs a lure

2 from county begin medical school

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Two Marion County natives are among 14 students being admitted to the University of Kansas Medical School this year under a program designed to encourage rural students interested in working as physicians in underserved areas.

Benjamin Heyen from Hillsboro and JuliAnne (Chisholm) Rathbun from Durham were formally welcomed into medical school at a white coat ceremony Friday in Kansas City.

Students in the Scholars in Rural Health program learn about the rewards and challenges of rural practice by working alongside a physician mentor during their junior and senior years as undergraduates.

Heyen, a recent graduate of Tabor College, was mentored by Jon Casimir, M.D., of Newton.

Rathbun, a recent graduate of Kansas State University, was mentored by Douglas Hinkin, M.D., of Manhattan.

The program provides a pathway that ensures the students admission to med school.

Heyen attends the Kansas City campus. Rathbun attends the Salina campus. Both will be members of the Class of 2016.

No more than 16 candidates are accepted each year. Candidates must be Kansas residents with significant experience living in rural communities and ACT or SAT scores at or above the 75th percentile.

Students apply while they still have two years of undergraduate education remaining, after they have completed a year that includes both general biology and general inorganic chemistry.

In their application and interviews, students must declare their intention to practice medicine in rural Kansas and show evidence of dedication and compassion necessary to become competent and caring physicians.

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2 from county begin medical school