Famed cancer researcher joins AstraZeneca’s board – The News Journal

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AstraZeneca is betting big on its cancer oncology portfolio.(Photo: The News Journal File)Buy Photo

AstraZeneca has named cancer researcher Nazneen Rahman to its board of directors, effective June 1.

Rahman will serve as a non-executive director and will also become a member of the company's Science Committee.

Currently, Rahman is the head of the Division of Genetics and Epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, head of the Cancer Genetics Unit at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trustand director of the TGL Clinical Gene Testing Laboratory at the Institute of Cancer Research.

"We are delighted to welcome Professor Rahman to our Board and Science Committee," said Leif Johansson, chairman of AstraZeneca. "She brings world-renowned expertise in genetic research with a focus on cancer, which is a strategic therapy for our business."

Rahmanhas a degree in medicine from Oxford University and holds a doctorate in molecular genetics. Her research focuses on genes predisposed to cancer, and she has discovered genes that cause types of breast, ovarian and childhood cancers.

Elected as a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2010, Rahman is a member of the scientific advisory boards of Genomics Plc and the Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway, as well as the advisory board of Wellcome Open Research.

Contact Jeff Mordock at (302) 324-2786, on Twitter @JeffMordockTNJ orjmordock@delawareonline.com.

Read or Share this story: http://www.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/delawareinc/2017/06/16/famed-cancer-researcher-joins-astrazenecas-board/403707001/

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Famed cancer researcher joins AstraZeneca's board - The News Journal

Queen’s Birthday Honours 2017: Full list of great and the good awarded for services to their country – Mirror.co.uk

The Queen's Birthday Honour's List recognises the incredible achievements of extraordinary people across the UK.

Keith Palmer, the policeman killed after confronting the Westminster attacker outside Parliament, and Bernard Kenny, the heroic passer-by stabbed trying to protect MP Jo Cox, have been awarded medals for their bravery.

Those honoured from the world of entertainment include chart-topper Ed Sheeran and comedian comedian Billy Connolly, with the committee describing the list as "the most diverse yet".

And Oscar-winner Olivia de Havilland, who turns 101 next month, is the oldest woman to become a dame in the celebration.

In a break with tradition, the Queen's Civilian Gallantry List has been released at the same time as the monarch's birthday honours.

There is a total of 1,109 people on the Honours list, of whom 438 are awarded an MBE, 221 an OBE and 303 a BEM.

Here is the full list of those handed awards for services to their country.

Dame Stephanie "Steve" Shirley is the most successful tech entrepreneur you never heard of. After arriving in Britain as a Kindertransport child refugee in 1939, she went on to found a pioneering all-woman software company. The company, F International, was ultimately valued at $3 billion, making millionaires of 70 of her team members. She now uses the proceeds from the sale of the company for philanthropy.

Sgt Philip Baden Bower. Royal Auxiliary Air Force

Senior AC Shane Victor Staniforth. Royal Auxiliary Air Force Overseas Territories Police and Fire Service Medal

Moustafa Kemal. Chief inspector Sovereign Base Areas Police, Cyprus.

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Queen's Birthday Honours 2017: Full list of great and the good awarded for services to their country - Mirror.co.uk

Molecular mechanism underlies anxiety, autism – Cornell Chronicle

Dr. Zeeba Kabir/Weill Cornell Medicine

The top image shows the movement of a mouse in a behavioral test that measures social interaction. The blue to green color represents least to most time spent interacting with another mouse. The bottom set of images measures anxiety-like behavior exhibited by a mouse. The amount of filling in the vertical bars represents levels of anxiety.

A calcium-dependent molecular mechanism discovered in the brain cells of mice by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators may underlie the impaired social interactions and anxiety found in neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and autism.

The study, published June 6 in Molecular Psychiatry, reports that reduced function of a calcium channel at synapses, the site of contact essential for communication between neurons, impairs social behavior and heightens anxiety. The findings also illuminate how this occurs: overactivation of a molecule within protrusions in neurons, called spines, which receive communicating signals from adjacent neurons. Blocking the action of this molecule in adult mice repaired the abnormal social interactions and elevated anxiety, a finding that may lead to the development of new treatments for patients with certain neuropsychiatric and anxiety disorders.

Our study suggests that if we can repair malfunctioning synapses in humans, we can reverse behavioral abnormalities and potentially treat specific symptoms, such as social impairment and anxiety, in patients with these neuropsychiatric disorders, said senior study author Anjali Rajadhyaksha, associate professor of neuroscience in pediatrics and of neuroscience in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, and director of the Weill Cornell Autism Research Program at Weill Cornell Medicine. We believe that targeting this molecule and its pathway may provide us with a molecular framework for future exploration of treatment of patients.

Rajadhyaksha and her colleagues focused on a calcium channel gene called CACNA1C that has emerged as a significant risk gene across major forms of neuropsychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Impaired social behavior and elevated anxiety are common symptoms observed in patients with these disorders.

Studies using mice lacking CACNA1C production in neurons in a part of the brain, called the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for cognition, personality and decision-making, made mice less social and more anxious. This finding seemingly confirms those of human studies, which suggests that defects in protein production may underlie the symptoms of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders and autism.

The investigators then identified the culprit for the social impairments and elevated anxiety: increased activity of a molecule called eIF2alpha that has been linked to cognitive deficits in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimers disease.

Zeeba Kabir, the studys first author and a postdoctoral researcher in Rajadhyakshas lab, tested a small molecule called ISRIB, which had previously been shown to block the action of eIF2alpha and improve learning and memory in mice, in rodents missing the CACNA1C gene. ISRIB reversed the aberrant behavior found in these mice, improving their social interactions and reducing anxiety.

Some studies have revealed that ISRIB has side effects that may be harmful to human cells, Rajadhyaksha said, but research shows that there are two alternative small molecule inhibitors of eIF2alpha that may be safer for use in humans. A next step is to study these ISRIB alternatives in mice to determine whether they have a similar effect.

Neuropsychiatric disorders are complex and treatments remain suboptimal, Rajadhyaksha said. To be able to treat specific symptoms that are common across multiple disorders is an exciting possibility. We would also like to determine whether alterations in the eIF2alpha pathway are held in common among other rodent models displaying social deficits and anxiety that result from risk genes other than CACNA1C. If so, molecules like ISRIB could be widely applicable for treating these symptoms, in general.

The research team also included Weill Cornell Medicine researchers Natalia De Marco Garcia, assistant professor of neuroscience, and Michael Glass, associate professor of research in neuroscience, both in the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute.

Joseph Bonner is a freelance writer for Weill Cornell Medicine.

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Molecular mechanism underlies anxiety, autism - Cornell Chronicle

Personalized Medicine and the Role of the Oncology Navigator – Oncology Nurse Advisor


Oncology Nurse Advisor
Personalized Medicine and the Role of the Oncology Navigator
Oncology Nurse Advisor
Nurse navigators must understand which patients require molecular testing to ensure tissue collection and testing, timely results reporting, and education of patients as to the significance of testing results for treatment planning. The navigator may ...

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Personalized Medicine and the Role of the Oncology Navigator - Oncology Nurse Advisor

Lena Dunham reclaims her ‘joke’ body with nude Instagram upload – SHEmazing

Last month, Lena Dunham was forced to call Us Weeklyout on their coverageof her weight loss.

The magazine rana feature on the star and used her recent weight loss as a platform to provide so-called diet tips.

And Lena, unsurprisingly, wasted no time highlighting the fact that numerous medical conditions were actually responsible for her weight loss, and therefore not something any womanshould aspire towards.

In a similar vein this week, the Girls creator took to Instagram to share a nude photo of herself alongside a caption which illustrates the progress the actress has made in relation to her own self-worth and body image.

"Just wanted to share that one of the reasons@eatingboyshas inspired me so much is because of the way she mixes her humor and sexuality," Lena began.

"I spent so many years loving my body but thinking it wasn't lovable by others- its sole purpose was to be fodder for jokes," she wrote.

"I performed the insult so no one else could," she added. "I don't regret any of it- that's my art and that was my truth."

However, it sounds like the star's perspective has changed somewhat, and her medical history has gone a long way towards contributing to it.

"Now, at age 31, having been through hell and back with my health and other people's perceptions of my physicality, I feel deeply comfortable with the idea that this pear-shaped pot of honey is equally good for making people laugh and laying out like a Suicide Girl circa 2004. Love it all."

Lena's upload struck a chord with her followers and has amassed almost 40,000 likes so far.

"You are absolutely gorgeous andquite the inspiration to me as I have insecurities ab my body as well," wrote one Instagram user. (sic)

"Keep on keeping on@lenadunhamand continue to create & u will undoubtedly inspire more of us! Thank you for showing beauty is not restricted to a size 4 with minimal curves& that a woman's mind is just as beautiful (if not more so) than her body."

"I spent so many years loving my body but thinking it wasn't lovable by others" I've been there so many times, just reading it from you makes me feel less alone, understood. Calm," added another.

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Lena Dunham reclaims her 'joke' body with nude Instagram upload - SHEmazing

Blazing Fast Relief: A NASA-supported tool is accelerating wildfire recovery – YubaNet

June 16, 2017 Burned Area Emergency Response teams they may be one of most important parts of wildfires that youve probably never heard of. As the last flames of a raging wildfire are being contained, these BAER crews begin safeguarding lives, property, and natural resources threatened by additional perils that fires create.

Scorched Earth

Wildfire reduces or removes vegetation and ground cover protecting forest soils, said Mary Ellen Miller, a research engineer from Michigan Tech Research Institute. This loss of forest vegetation increases the risk of runoff, flooding, and landslides when soils become saturated.

For BAER crews, this means time is of the essence. Their first task? Create a burn severity map that reflects the changes in both land-cover and soil properties caused by the fire. The maps inform the teams recommendations and decisions on stabilization and recovery for the burned area, or burn scar. Actions typically include treatments such as laying down mulch, erecting silt fences, or planting quick-growing seeds. In order to be effective, those treatments must be in place before the first major storm hits, Miller added.

Assembling the spatial data needed to make these recommendations typically took multiple daystime the BAER teams can ill afford. With the need for speed in mind, Millers team created a database that now automatically integrates and assembles NASA satellite and other data needed to start the recovery planning process much sooner.

Rapid Response with RRED

In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Miller led an Applied Sciences project that developed an online tool called the Rapid Response Erosion Database. This RRED supports faster post-fire remediation by accelerating the time-sapping collection of spatial data.

With RRED, BAER teams and other users first upload their soil burn severity maps, which they derive from both satellites and field data. Landsat 8 is frequently used by BAER teams; however, multi-spectral aerial imagery and other imaging platforms like EO-1s ALI, MODIS, and VIIRS can be used as well. Miller noted. Once the user uploads the map, RRED combines it with vegetation, soil, and elevation layers derived from Earth observations, and delivers a composite map pre-formatted for model input.

With that data quickly assembled, the teams can focus the bulk of their efforts on modelling the effects of multiple weather scenarios. They can assess alternatives and determine which locations in the burn scar are most vulnerable to erosion, flooding, and landslides.

The extra time RRED gives was critical for busy response teams in California in 2016, as wildfires scorched more than a half-million acres across the Golden State.

Soberanes Fire

An illegal campfire sparked the Soberanes Fire. It eventually became Californias largest wildfire of the year, burning more than 132,000 acres. By the time crews finally contained the blaze, it was the most expensive firefighting operation in U.S. history.

For his post-fire strategy, Watershed Emergency Response Team member, Jeremy Lancaster, turned to Miller and RRED for rapid guidance. He was concerned about the impacts any rainfall runoff could have on nearby roads, infrastructure, recreation areas, and wildlifethings known as values at risk.

The state teams used the [RRED] resultsto identify areas of elevated sedimentation [with the] potential to impact drainage structures and other values at risk. The erosion model results assisted the teams in identifying areas of concern and in developing recommendations for emergency protective measures, Lancaster said. Typically these include t-posts, silt fences, debris racks, etc.

Less than a month later, California had another wildfire on its hands. And RRED helped response teams once again.

Cedar Fire

The Cedar Fire swept across Californias Sequoia National Forest during the late summer. This wildfire became Millers first chance to see how BAER team members were successfully using RRED on their ownwith minimal help from her. I stepped back and instead assisted Forest Service teams in performing the modeling independently, Miller said. Spoiler alertthey did great!

USFS Soil Scientist Lizandra Nieves-Rivera used RRED to guide her BAER teams post-fire recommendations for the local recreation areas, roads, and drainage structures impacted by the Cedar Fire. The potential threats to, and distance from, the values at risk didnt justify additional actions, so the team proposed no mulch treatments. The comparison between [the storm models] helped the team determine, explain, and backup the high cost versus the level of risk, she observed.

For Miller, this was a big step for RRED as a decision-making tool. The independent use of our new Rapid Response Erosion Database was an important milestone for the project, she remarked.

Blazing a Trail

In 2016, Miller worked feverishly to expand the RRED database from 17 fire-prone Western states to the entire Lower 48. She said the next stage of this project is to fully transfer RRED to a USFS server in 2017. Miller added, We also plan to continue to make the database more user friendly with our new open-source interface. BAER teams are under serious time constraints so streamlining the process is important for operational use.

Further down the road, Miller and her team hope to make RRED available to a much wider audience. I would like to expand spatial coverage to include all fire prone areas of the world.

What happens after a wildfire depends a lot on preparations and activities before any wildfire. Thanks to Miller and her teams application of Earth observations, communities are better prepared to deal with the aftermath of fires.

Mary Ellen Miller (memiller@mtu.edu(link sends e-mail)) leads this project.

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Blazing Fast Relief: A NASA-supported tool is accelerating wildfire recovery - YubaNet

Virustotal Redesign and new tools Sneak Peek – Ghacks Technology News

Virustotal, a service that Google acquired years ago, will get a facelift and new features soon according to a report on Bleeping Computer.

The redesign, which will go live in the coming months according to the report, is a work in progress. It has been specifically designed with responsiveness in mind, which means that the interface adjusts itself automatically to the screen size of the device that is used to access it.

A sneak peek version is available which anyone may use to test the new design and functionality. Without going into too much detail, there is a lot, and I mean a lot, of whitespace and large fonts on the site right now. It seems to be broken on Internet Explorer right now, but displays fine in modern browsers.

Take a look at the screenshot below to see the new start page of Virustotal.

One difference to the old Virustotal is that there is no URL tab anymore. It is unclear at this point if the feature is removed permanently, or if it is just not included in the demo.

You may run scans just like before; either drag and drop a file on to the interface, or use the file browser.

The scan results page has been redesigned as well. You get a one-sentence summary of the scan result, e.g. "one engine detected this file", or "no engines detected this file", which the old version did not have.

There is also a new "community score" metric listed on the page which seems to be based on community member votes (you can vote safe or unsafe).

Bleeping computer reports that Virustotal will get two new tools for Virustotal Intelligence users.

Virustotal Graph allows you to explore data visually. It produces a "the relationship between files, URLs, domains, IP addresses and other items encountered in an ongoing investigation" when run.

Virustotal Monitor is the second new feature that Google will integrate in Virustotal. It is designed for software developers, and enables them to upload their programs to the service to a "private storage space", to have it synced with the developer's software repository and get regular scans of the packages.

Virustotal informs the developer when one of the supported engines flags the software program so that it is easier to address the issue.

Tip: Read why it is better to recheck files on Virustotal

I don't think that design is the most important aspect of a service like Virustotal. I do prefer compact over endless whitespace though, and think that the new design is blown out of proportions, at least on my full HD monitor.

The two new security features sound nice, especially if they will help software developers make sure that their programs are clean and that antivirus solutions don't detect false positives.

Users who dislike the new interface can use the Virustotal service through programs such as Process Explorer,CrowdInspect, or the official Virustotal Uploader.

Now You: What's your take on the redesign and new features?

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Virustotal, a service that Google acquired years ago, will get a facelift and new features soon according to a report on Bleeping Computer.

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Michigan Medicine health system posts better bottom line | Crain’s … – Crain’s Detroit Business

Michigan Medicine, the new name for the combined University of Michigan Health System and UM Medical School, posted a 5.6 percent operating margin that exceeded results over the last several years. UM officials had projected a 3.7 percent margin for fiscal 2017.

The Ann Arbor-based academic health group, which includes three hospitals, 125 clinics and a large faculty practice plan, earned $210 million in operating profits, $67.7 million more than projected, on revenue of $3.7 billion. Michigan's medical school generates total annual research funding of more than $470 million.

At a UM board of regents meeting Thursday, UMHS President David Spahlinger, M.D., also told regents Michigan Medicine is projecting a 5.4 percent margin on $3.8 billion revenue for fiscal 2018 that begins July 1. He said the rosy picture is due to improving quality and safety and managing costs.

"These targets are aggressive but needed to fund our aspirations for the next five years and beyond," Spahlinger said in a statement. "We are challenging ourselves to reach those goals and give us the ability to invest in our future."

UMHS posted an operating margin of 4.6 percent in 2015 after posting deficits in 2012 and 2013.

Spahlinger, who also is executive vice dean for clinical affairs of the UM Medical School, added that the health system experienced somewhat higher patient volume than usual. Hospital discharges increased 0.8 percent in 2017 to 49,178. But 2018 projections call for a 2.1 percent increase in discharges to 50,213, he said.

Projects that are helping to add patient volume and completed in the past year include five operating rooms and five inpatient rooms to University Hospital, six patient rooms in the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital newborn intensive care unit and moving the psychiatry department into University Hospital South.

New projects underway include a new health center in west Ann Arbor set to open this fall and the Brighton Center for Specialty Care set to open in 2018. At newly affiliated Metro Health in Wyoming, Mich., plans call to activate 65 skilled nursing beds during the next year.

UMHS also has been busy the past year adding affiliate hospitals. Last December, UM finalized a deal to acquire Metro Health Corp. UM also owns about a 9 percent minority interest in MidMichigan Health in Midland.

Its UM Health subsidiary, which manages subsidiary companies, posted an operating margin of 0.2 percent on revenue of $377 million. Projected revenue for 2018 is $413 million for a slight loss of -0.3 percent margin. UM plans to make at least $40 million in capital investments at Metro Health.

From 2011 to 2015, Metro Health lost a total of $189.9 million on operations, according to American Hospital Directory Inc., a Louisville-based data company, based on Medicare cost report data. However, Spahlinger told Crain's that Metro Health earned a 2 percent margin in 2016.

In other action, the regents:

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Michigan Medicine health system posts better bottom line | Crain's ... - Crain's Detroit Business

Know Your Madisonian: Veterinarian is pioneer in shelter medicine – Madison.com

Sandra Newbury didn't set out to become a major figure in the world of animal shelters.

While living in Chicago working as an artist for 12 years, a fascination with helping stray neighborhood cats got her foot in the door with animal shelters.

After volunteering and working in shelters, Newbury attended the veterinary school at UW-Madison. She saw great need and wanted to make an impact on the well-being of shelters and their animals.

Newbury went on to help found the shelter medicine program at the University of California-Davis, while working remotely from her home in Madison.

She travels nationally and internationally improving animal shelters. In 2014, Newbury started the shelter medicine program, serving as the director of the program at UW-Madison's veterinary school.

While UW-Madison didn't have a formal shelter program until 2014, the school was likely teaching shelter medicine courses before anyone else, she said.

In May, Newbury was named one of 15 national winners of the Maddie's Fund's Maddie Hero Award. The award gives $10,000 grants to each winner's organization for their efforts to advance a no-kill mission in shelters.

A pioneer in shelter medicine, which only recently became a board-certified specialty, Newbury said she is one of about 10 board-certified shelter medicine practitioners.

"If you look at veterinary medicine and the number of animals that need help or assistance that end up in shelters, there is no other disease, there is no other thing that affects more animals than animal shelters or animal care," she said. "No cancer kills as many animals."

What is shelter medicine?

Shelter medicine is working with animal shelters they are kind of our patients instead of just an individual animal. Though, a lot of the time, we do work with individual animals. We look at the whole organization as our partner and our patients. We work with animal shelters to increase their lifesaving capacity. Our goal is to help shelters save more lives.

We work with them on infectious disease, sanitation, even the way they do adoptions, the way they do intake and we do work in the community to support lifesaving instead of having animals pouring into shelters.

Do you work with the Dane County Humane Society as a branch of your work at UW-Madison?

A long time ago I was the director of medical services (at DCHS) which is really nice. (DCHS) is our field shelter for the UW-Madison shelter medicine program. Our interns work here, our residents do other clinical work here... I consult with (the shelter) on a regular basis. I'm pretty involved in a lot of the decisions that are made. If we really want to try something that would be a great new idea we try it here (at DCHS) first. This shelter is a really nice example of how a shelter can be run.

How has shelter medicine changed the landscape for animal shelters?

Before I went to vet school, when I would work in shelters, vets would come to shelters to help, but they didn't understand how shelters worked.... Coming out of vet school I came back to shelters with a whole new perspective.... A lot of shelters didn't used to vaccinate when animals came in... now we've done enough research to see how incredibly important it is to vaccinate an animal as it comes through the door. Now we can do the outreach and education to show shelters that. We've worked on a document called the Guidelines for Standards of Care in Animal Shelters. A lot of people running shelters didn't know what the right things to do were.... Our goal is to get that information out to veterinarians and non-veterinarians. Sometimes shelters have vets, but sometimes they don't have vets. Sometimes we have to educate the board of directors or the shelter director so they understand the health implications of the decisions they are making.

Do you think because of shelter medicine shelters are becoming stronger, better places for animals to be?

Oh yeah I'd like to believe a lot of that comes from shelter medicine. Even in the standards of care we wrote we were clear that we didn't expect every shelter to go from where they are to getting all of this achieved, but what we want is for every shelter to go from where they are to a little bit better. If they are always doing that then everything is getting better and animals' lives are being saved.

Interview by Amanda Finn

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Know Your Madisonian: Veterinarian is pioneer in shelter medicine - Madison.com

WVU School of Medicine names new lead of surgery department – The Dominion Post

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FSTAR program prepares minority students for medical school – FIU News

FSTAR fellows Donovan Valentin Torres, Kiara Norman and Lyse Louis in the HWCOM Immunology lab.

The latest group of students reporting for class at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine (HWCOM) looks a little too young to be in medical schooltheir average age is 19. But these young men and women are old enough to start preparing for a career in medicine, and thats why theyre on campus. They are the new cohort of the HWCOMs Florida Science Training and Research Fellowship (FSTAR) program.

Now in its sixth year, FSTAR was established by the colleges Office of Diversity and Inclusion to increase the number of highly qualified medical school applicants from minority groups underrepresented in medicine, particularly African-American and Latino students.

Theres no particular formula that were looking for in a student other than, what is your motivation? Why do you want to be a doctor? says Cheryl Brewster, associate dean of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Brewster founded the program in 2011 and expanded the program in 2015 with a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The first year, the program only had one fellow. In 2016, 14students participated. This year, 13pre-med students are taking part in the full-time summer intensive at Modesto Maidique A. Campus.

The students come from FIU and three partnering institutions: Florida Memorial University in Miami, Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona and Louisianas Xavier University. Over the course of 8 weeks, they receive a variety of clinical, research and community-based experiences to try to help them decide which medical field to pursue.

Chloe Greene, a 19-year-old rising sophomore from Bethune-Cookman, says shes wanted to go into medicine since she was a little girl, and hopes FSTAR will help her focus her options.

I am excited to get experience, be put into the field and actually be hands-on to see what I have more of a passion for and am more drawn to, Greene says.

FSTAR is designed to follow students through their undergraduate degree, providing support until their acceptance into medical school. Although it is still relatively young, the program is already producing stars.

My first student is beginning her residency this year, says Brewster proudly.

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FSTAR program prepares minority students for medical school - FIU News

If This Foundation Has Its Way, Medical School Training May Never Be the Same – Inside Philanthropy

Patient-centered care is one watchword of American medicine these days. With health costs booming, and patients demanding a stronger say in treatment options, doctors are under pressure to adjust their practice from a top-down model to a more compassionate team-based partnership with their patients.

To stay ahead of the curve, medical schools also need to re-think the way they train their students to become doctors of the future, experts say.

In fact, its already happening. The Waukesha, WI-based Kern Family Foundation recently awarded a $37.8 million grant to the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) to overhaul its medical training program. The grant is intended to allow students to gain practical experience as medical professionals in their local communities as soon as they begin their studies. It also will help train medical students to work in teams, with the doctor or head nurse viewed as one vital component of a more collective treatment practice.

The new patient-centered medical education model supported by the Kern grant emphasizes the need for medical professionals to embrace compassion as a vital component of 21st-century health care alongside the traditional concern with medical expertise. Students that train to become doctors or nurses must invest in their patients and become knowledgeable about of their larger concerns as well as the actual settings in which they live.

The Kern-MCW partnership is hardly new. But its one of the largest such private grants awarded to fund training innovation at American medical schools.

Other examples include the University of South Carolina School of Medicine (USC-SOM) in Greenville where students undergo EMT training and certification even before they start the rest of their curriculum. Students also serve one shift per month as EMTs to the community for the first two years of their medical training.

At the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) in Camden, New Jersey, students are required to see patients at a free community health clinic once a week under the supervision of resident and attending physicians.

CMSRUs visionary training ethos is apparent from the front page of its website. Are you interested in joining a mission-driven medical school that focuses on community service, early clinical exposure, and an innovative curriculum? the site asks.

Aside from instilling greater compassion for patients, the programs at both USCSOM-Greenville and CMSRU incorporate team-based learning.

It used to be that the physician was the captain of the team, CMSRUs founding dean, Dr. Paul Katz, said in an interview. Now the physician is a member of the team, along with other health professionals. When you see how care is developed, its becoming less hierarchical. Now its important to have a team approach to problem-solving.

In some ways schools like CMSRU have a distinct advantage. The school was founded just five years ago as a partnership between Cooper Hospital and Rowan University. Its the first new medical school established in New Jersey in more than 35 years.

Its also a public university funded with taxpayer money. Using his executive authority, then-New Jersey governor John Corzine simply ordered the creation of the school with the stroke of his pen.

Other more long-established schools like MCW founded in 1893 dont have the luxury of starting from scratch with a new training model. Their traditional training culture is still deeply ingrained.

And with government subsidies to health under siege in Republican-controlled Wisconsin, public funding of a new hospital is not a serious option, either.

The Kern program initiative is not focused on a single university but on seven different medical schools across the country that Kern is funding as part of a National Transformation Network.

Besides MCW, the network includes: the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

Cheryl Maurana, a founding director of MCWs new Kern Institute, says the idea is to apply different models of training throughout the entire network. Shes hoping the seven schools will compare notes and share lessons learned.

Shes also hoping to sponsor formal evaluations to demonstrate that new training approaches impact quality of patient care and might affect student achievement and medical professional morale and retention rates.

The total initial investment in the Kern Institute is $52.5 million, which includes the gift from the Kern Family and Kern Family Foundation, and contributions from MCW, National Transformation Network partner medical schools and other philanthropic support.

The opportunity to transform medical education is consistent with the systemic change focus of the Kern Family Foundation. The foundation disdains mere charity and seeks to fund broad impact, long-term programs. Key focus areas include entrepreneurship, the value of hard work, character building, and quality education

Maurana says she has high hopes for Kerns new program effort. This model could allow us to set the standard in medical education around the world, she told the Milwaukee Business Times.

Kern was founded in 1998 from a partial selloff of the electric power generator manufacturing company, Generac Power Systems. It enjoys strong ties to one of the nations leading conservative philanthropies, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which IP profiled last month. Bradley President/CEO Rick Graber sits on Kerns seven-member board.

Excerpt from:

If This Foundation Has Its Way, Medical School Training May Never Be the Same - Inside Philanthropy

A ‘two-med-school’ town is a step closer – Fort Worth Star Telegram


Fort Worth Star Telegram
A 'two-med-school' town is a step closer
Fort Worth Star Telegram
It's been years in the making (and has hurdles yet to clear), but the University of North Texas Health Science Center is one step closer to offering both osteopathic (D.O.) and allopathic (M.D.) medical degrees. We have state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort ...

and more »

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A 'two-med-school' town is a step closer - Fort Worth Star Telegram

Sandoval signs bills earmarking millions for UNLV, including med school – Las Vegas Sun

YVONNE GONZALEZ

Gov. Brian Sandoval signs one of three bills benefiting higher education in front of a packed lobby at UNLVs Greenspun Hall on Thursday, June 15,2017.

By Yvonne Gonzalez (contact)

Friday, June 16, 2017 | 1:30 p.m.

Millions of dollars in funding are headed toward future engineering and medical school buildings at UNLV.

Gov. Brian Sandoval signed several bills in front of a packed Greenspun Hall lobby on Thursday. The new laws open up credits for certain military training, set up what Sandoval has called a Top Gun academy for teachers and appropriate funds for UNLV projects.

Senate Bill 553 sends $25 million toward construction of the School of Medicine, funding that matched a private donation, and puts $1.75 million toward planning for the universitys new building in the College of Engineering.

Sandoval said the state has invested millions in the medical schools development so far. With the arrival of the first class next month, Sandoval said its time to go from the theoretical to reality when it comes to building the facility.

Two weeks before the 2017 legislative session ended, Sandoval said an anonymous donor reached out, willing to contribute $25 million for the medical school on the condition that the state would do the same. He said legislative leaders were immediately on board.

The medical school is going to develop the doctors of the future, Sandoval said, noting the states doctor shortage and the need to keep graduates in Nevada.

The state also has a growing need for engineers, he said.

Weve gone from a state that is producing engineers that most likely had to go out of state in order to get a position, and now the conversations that Im getting are, we dont have enough engineers, he said. We need to build a state-of-the-art engineering school here at UNLV and in Reno.

Sandoval also signed Senate Bill 548, establishing the Nevada Institute on Teaching Educator Preparation, and Senate Bill 457, which makes it possible for student veterans to use certain military experience to gain college credit.

Students and school officials said the bills will benefit UNLV programs and help Nevada retain graduating engineers, teachers and doctors.

UNLV President Len Jessup said the medical schools first class will have 60 students, with a goal of eventually training 120 future doctors. Community donations made it possible for those first students to all attend the medical school on scholarships.

Jessup said depending on plans and construction, this inaugural group of students may end up taking classes at the new facility.

Launching this medical school is a key component of our top-tier strategic plan, and its critical for the community, he said. The communitys desperately in need of more doctors, and so for us, for that reason, its the most important thing that were working on.

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Sandoval signs bills earmarking millions for UNLV, including med school - Las Vegas Sun

Meeting WNBA heroes inspires poetry from young female athletes – ESPN

By Ellen Hagan | Jun 16, 2017 Special to espnW.com

Victoria Will for ESPN

Kiah Stokes poses with student Jakeema James.

Women show up for one another. They cheer in the stands. They make jokes, split massive bags of popcorn and nachos. They take endless selfies. They dance.They rock when the beat drops and break out new moves when it counts. They show up for basketball games, poetry slams, gigs and gatherings. They motivate and bless, encourage and bolster. They calm and soothe when it matters, and rally and instigate -- they make one another better.

This is what friendship among women looks and feels like.

We get to witness all of this at the New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury game on June 4. A Liberty game is a celebration. It's a multicultural crowd of young and old descending upon Madison Square Garden. The WNBA is a reminder of what women have always been capable of -- championship.

I get the chance to watch these players work as a collective with a group of students whom I've witnessed exhibiting that same strength and companionship over the past several years.

Although not an athlete myself, I've been the director of the poetry program at the DreamYard Project in the Bronx, New York. Partnering with Global Writes, I direct the BronxWrites poetry slam program for elementary and middle school students, so I know about competition, and what it means to work hard toward something you want and something you love.

I'm here with the young girls: Eliah Yode, Aylin Almonte, Jakeema James and Latavya Hinton, who are not only the superstar poets, but are also the starting basketball players for their middle school team. They are also best friends, and it has been clear over the past few years how much they love and carry each other through every competition -- whether with words or baskets.

Our students are amped up and ready for the game. They talk about their favorite players and show off the basketballs they brought, hoping to get them signed. Throughout the game, they talk about their futures, playing college ball, getting drafted or writing a collection of poetry. They talk about the state math test they will be taking in June and their performance for the Bronx Arts Festival.

We all love watching Kiah Stokes score a career-high 23 points and Shavonte Zellous sink a 3-pointer in the third quarter. We get giddy seeing Tina Charles lead the charge for her team and new Liberty player Bria Hartley make her mark as part of the new guard.

During the game, the Liberty block and pass, hold one another up when they win -- they charge, sink, high-five, dribble and laugh. They work seamlessly as a team, and everywhere on the court you can see their admiration and love for one another.

In the locker room, our students celebrate by posing in front of the camera -- strutting and stunting with newly signed basketballs. They are 13 and 14 -- fresh, with their whole lives stretching out before them.

Young basketball-playing poets who root for one another, who celebrate and honor one another -- they are sidekicks, classmates and best friends.

When Charles, Zellous, Stokes and Hartley walk in, we are all in awe. They are just as cool and mind-blowing in person as they are on the court. They pose with the students, ask them what position they play and thank us all for being witness to their work and win.

It is clear to all of us that these women relish life together -- both on and off the court.They stand up for one another and the issues they believe in, wearing #BlackLivesMatter shirts last summerand supporting the LGBTQ community with #OrlandoUnited after the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Florida.

They do not shy away from what they care about -- they are not silent. They speak out, and in doing so they carry one another. Our students follow their lead, with poems about the myth of beauty and identity, and writing about where they come from. They watch the women of the New York Liberty, and they see what it means to be a proud, radiant woman, and they are stepping right up.

These poems honor their mentors. This is what they mean to them.

Ellen Hagan is a Kentucky-born writer, performer and educator. Her latest collection of poetry, "Hemisphere,"was published by Northwestern University Press, Spring 2015. Ellen's performance work has been showcased at The New York International Fringe and Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival. She is the recipient of the 2013 NoMAA Creative Arts Grant and received grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts.

***

Victoria Will for ESPN

Kiah Stokes poses with student Jakeema James.

Kiah Stokes: Warrior Woman

By Jakeema James

Watching

warrior women

fly down the court

like nothing else matters,

representing all

the little girls and teens

that love ball--

how women can play

both parts,

showing them boys that ball

is not only for men.

Kiah Stokes drove down

the court, got that good

assist from her teammate

and made the points,

made her foul shots

like straight water. Kiah had

21 points because

her team had

them slick passes--

just good at what they do.

Jakeema James is a student at MS 328: New Millennium Business Academy in the Bronx. She is a starter for her basketball team and a BronxWrites slam poet.

***

Victoria Will for ESPN

Tina Charles poses with student Latavya Hinton.

Tina Charles: Rethinking the Game

By Latavya Hinton

Your passion

on the courts is

a different perspective

and then

meeting you in person--

you're a player

playing a game of

communication with

the other girls

on your team.

I've seen you play

so many times

and I like your

Focus on the courts.

Me meeting you

was very scary but

what I loved most was that

you are Funny--

a sense of humor

beyond magnificent laugher.

You made me think

of basketball

in a different way.

What I mean is that my team

is never communicating, listening,

being patient enough.

Us watching your team play

Together

Is the reason to write

my poem of leadership.

Latavya Hinton is a student at MS 328: New Millennium Business Academy in the Bronx. She is a starter for her basketball team and loves writing poetry for her slam team.

***

Victoria Will for ESPN

Bria Hartley poses with student Aylin Almonte.

Bria Hartley: Game of Hartley

By Aylin Almonte

Bria Hartley

traded to the Liberty this year,

making a great change

to her basketball career.

Hartley

drafted in the first round in 2014.

This June Sunday

With 7 points and an assist

She remained focused

On the defense

To take a win

With the team,

With her whole heart

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Meeting WNBA heroes inspires poetry from young female athletes - ESPN

Liberty and Liberation: Serving the Common Good in Filipino America – HuffPost

My twin brother and I have defined our career paths as opposite signs of the same coin. His career as a Navy officer and a civil engineer and my own trajectory in social justice and policy advocacy can also be seen as parallel lines- on the same course, but never meeting. For a long time, there were real barriers between the lives we set for ourselves- when I first met Maj. Gen. Tony Taguba and told him that my twin brother served in the Navy, he asked me why I wasnt in the military. I didnt skip a beat and said, Sir, I like to think I defend the Constitution in a different way. As an openly gay civil rights advocate in the days of Dont Ask, Dont Tell, I was fighting for, among other things, the right to serve in an institution that I couldnt serve in, and that in many ways, I have grave misgivings about.

My service on the Executive Committee for the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project to correct the injustices of the U.S. governments failure to keep its promises to Filipino WWII veterans who served in good faith has been one important way our paths have crossed. On a practical level, working with members of Congress to pass the Congressional Gold Medal and before that, the creation of the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund has allowed me to work with members of Congress who have a particular stake in our nations military, members who also work with my brothers service in the Navy from the Pentagon to the territory of Guam. On a deeper level though, we both pursue our work in service of something larger than ourselves. If the metaphor of parallel lines breaks down here, I like to think that public service is the intersection of the Venn diagram of how weve lived our lives.

By focusing on specific outcomes and working to address specific inequities, I have been able to hold in balance my conflicting opinions about the military and the need to recognize military service. I have been able to fight inequities in institutions, while recognizing that those institutions uphold other inequities that I am unable (or unwilling) to address at this particular moment. By no means do I claim to have the right algorithm of ideological purity, but I hope that I can show my work and demonstrate why what I do serves a larger purpose.

Words and symbols are important here. As an example, the notion of liberty demonstrates how a concept can be semantically and operationally framed to serve opposing ideals. While liberty has been a theme of the right to demonstrate freedom from the constraints of government and regulation, liberation has been invoked by the left as a means to transcend oppression and inequity. In a climate of contested ideologies, the snake eats its own tail and accusations of politicization are themselves politicized. While I am very clear about my own personal politics of gun control and do not want to suggest a broader false equivalency, yesterdays horrific shooting in Alexandria, VA of Congressmembers and staff resulted in finger pointing that at times, became a politicized act of accusing the other side of politicizing the attack.

In these times where real political differences are fueled by a 24 hour news cycle and a social media landscape that turns a microscopic lens into a landscape portrait, arguments over ideology and symbols can be both beside the point, and be the point exactly. The contested meanings over how inclusive the iconic rainbow flag is for the entire LGBT community and whether new or different iterations of that flag are divisive remind me that, as in the case of contested meanings of the Confederate flag, or the burning of the Stars and Stripes, that bickering over symbols is more than just distraction from larger more important issues. While I do think that individuals dont get to decide unilaterally what these symbols mean, the dialogue matters in helping shape the culture and determining which meanings and symbols will endure. Whats needed is a dialogue that reminds us that while we must own our own feelings and opinions and share them, we must respect the right of others to own and share contrary opinions. A dialogue that forces us to balance both conviction and empathy to come up with real solutions to real problems is one worth fighting for.

Ben de Guzman serves on the Executive Committee for the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project and is a Co-Chair for the National Host Committee for the 2018 Creating Change Conference. For more information about FilVetREP and its Remember, Register, Recognize campaign, visit our website at filvetrep.org or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Wake up to the day's most important news.

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Liberty and Liberation: Serving the Common Good in Filipino America - HuffPost

TRAFFIC: Clemente Bridge closing at 2 pm for Pirates game; Liberty Bridge closing tonight – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
TRAFFIC: Clemente Bridge closing at 2 pm for Pirates game; Liberty Bridge closing tonight
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The bridge will reopen around 5 a.m. Monday. Crews will conduct barrier removal, line eradication and painting, lane control system adjustments, and other construction activities. The outbound Liberty Tunnel and McArdle Roadway will remain open all ...

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TRAFFIC: Clemente Bridge closing at 2 pm for Pirates game; Liberty Bridge closing tonight - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Liberty Twp. brothers attending Yale featured on Steve Harvey show … – WRGT TV Fox 45

Liberty Twp. brothers attending Yale featured on Steve Harvey show (Photo courtesy: Steve Harvey show)

(WKEF/WRGT) - Getting in to an Ivy League school is no small feat, so imagine a Liberty Township family's pride when their four sons were all accepted to Yale.

The Wade brothers, Nigel, Zach, Aaron and Nick will be heading off to Connecticut for school this fall, and chose the school because of its "extraordinary" financial aid package. Oh that's right -- we forgot to mention -- not only were the brothers accepted to Yale, they were also accepted to Harvard.

The family's story earned them attention from news outlets all across the globe. Today, Friday, June 16, the family will appear on the Steve Harvey show. Harvey called the story a gift from God, but went on to say it's the result of good parenting, "you have got to be proud," Harvey said to the Wade parents, Kim and Wade. Kim Wade, who happens to be a principal, said she and her husband worked to make sure their boys stayed focused during the summers. The boys' father, Wade, said he and his wife didn't give their boys many choices when they were young, "they didn't know what they wanted," he said and now he says, as a result, they do have choices.

WATCH: Wade family talks to Steve Harvey about quadruplets attending Yale.

During their appearance on Steve Harvey's show, each boy received a check made out for $5,000 to help with expenses.

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Liberty Twp. brothers attending Yale featured on Steve Harvey show ... - WRGT TV Fox 45

Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty honors couple’s giving – Hamilton Journal News

WEST CHESTER TWP.

Bill and Jenny McCloy, are supporters of many impactful organizations and programs in the area.

Thats why The Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty presented the couple with the Patricia F. Alderson Philanthropist of the Year Award earlier this month.

The award is presented annually to a local philanthropist who has shown exceptional dedication to improving the community through time, talent, and treasure, according to Erin Clemons, the foundations president and CEO.

The McCloys, who have four children, focus their efforts of time, talent, and treasure on improving the lives of area neighbors living with disabilities.

They got their start after their second child, Sam, now 22, was born with Down Syndrome, a moment Bill McCloy said was probably the greatest and most scariest day of our life.

Being introduced to the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati was the spark that ignited the couples philanthropic efforts, he said.

Because we came from humble beginnings, I think we really didnt know all of the need of all of the non-profits out there that are really in need out there, Jenny McCloy said. Having Sam was an introduction into that world.

Jenny McCloy is a 20-year volunteer with organizations such as Melodic Connections, where she serves as board president, and ReelAbilities Cincinnati as Festival Chair.

Bill McCloy, who serves as chief strategic relations officer of CE Power, is board vice president of the Ken Anderson Alliance, an organization acting to create opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities. He is a past board member at Down Syndrome Association of Cincinnati.

The McCloys also support several local hospitals, parochial schools, and charitable organizations.

In addition, they are supporters of the Forever Fund Operating Endowment at the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty, and hold a philanthropic donor fund at the Foundation, as well.

Despite their generous giving, Bill McCloy said the couple never uses the word philanthropist.

We knew that we had a responsibility to give back, he said. What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind? What do you want to teach your children? What kind of money do you want to leave behind? What are you going to do with your money?

Patti Alderson, for whom the award in named, founded the Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty 18 years ago. She said the McCloys are amazing individuals and, as a couple, theyre a dynamo.

I was doing a little research on them and thought Lets see what theyve give to, Alderson said. Its easier just to say You name it, theyve given to it. What a wonderful example they set in their lives Theyre just great people and good souls.

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Community Foundation of West Chester/Liberty honors couple's giving - Hamilton Journal News

Bishops’ voices called ‘vital’ to fight challenges to religious liberty – National Catholic Reporter

Indianapolis

The U.S. bishops voted June 15 to make the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty a permanent standing committee.

The 132-53 vote came on the second day of the bishops' spring assembly in Indianapolis. There were five abstentions. A simple majority was required for approval.

The bishops' action came less than a week before the start of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' fifth annual Fortnight for Freedom June 21-July 4. It is a two-week period of prayer, advocacy and education on religious freedom.

Before the vote, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chairman of the committee since its creation in 2011, spoke in favor of making it permanent, arguing the need for the body stretches beyond the specific legal and public policy issues challenging religious freedom that continue to emerge.

"Rather, the very idea of religious freedom and its roots in human nature is challenged," he said, "along with the right of religious people and institutions to raise their voices in the public square and to perform ministries that serve the common good in accordance with their religious and moral convictions."

Sunday marks the two-year anniversary of the publication of Laudato Si'. Explore Pope Francis' environmental encyclical with our complimentary readers' guide.

Lori also expressed his hope the ad hoc committee's work up to now and in the future would help "plant the seeds of a movement for religious freedom, which will take years of watering and weeding in order for it to grow, to grow strong and to bear fruit."

"In the face of these challenges, our voice is vital," he said. "Debates about religious freedom in our country are often, sadly, polarizing. In our tumultuous political culture, Catholic laity must be equipped to participate in conversations about the future direction of our country."

Lori will celebrate the fortnight's opening Mass the evening of July 21 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore. The archbishop will celebrate a special closing Mass July 4 in Orlando, Florida, during the Convocation of Catholic Leaders.

In the discussion that followed Lori's presentation, some bishops spoke in favor of establishing a standing committee on religious freedom. Among them was Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl.

"The challenge to religious liberty is a growing one," he said. "The dominant culture increasingly now finds that it's not just a matter of disagreeing with religious principles and positions. But there's a certain level of hostility becoming more and more evident. This problem is not going to go away."

Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York, who was USCCB president when the ad hoc committee was created, also spoke in favor of making it permanent.

He noted that bishops around the world "look to us in the United States (as) real quarterbacks when it comes to the defense of religious freedom" and added that "ecumenical partners how deeply they cherish our leadership on this issue."

"I think it's enhanced the cause of interreligious and ecumenical dialogue, because we're not the only ones concerned," Dolan said. "So, we need some permanence. We need some stability. And I think this is the way to go."

Some bishops felt the ad hoc committee did not need to become permanent because they felt religious liberty could be addressed by existing standing committees.

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, also noted that it was "very unfortunate" that the vote on the committee was taking place a day after the bishops allowed its working group on immigration to cease to exist.

However, after the vote on the committee, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo announced he would allow the working group to continue its efforts, prompting applause from the bishops.

In a news conference after the meeting session, Lori said he was grateful "it was not a pro forma discussion, but rather an opportunity for bishops in a wonderfully respectful and dialogic way, to express their views about" religious liberty.

"It's a big step to establish a standing committee," he said. "And so no one would expect it to be a walk in the park."

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Bishops' voices called 'vital' to fight challenges to religious liberty - National Catholic Reporter