Ancon Medical Researchers Make Nanotechnology Breakthrough for Disease Screening Technology

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BLOOMINGTON, MN (PRWEB) March 25, 2015

Researchers at Ancon Medical Inc. have made a breakthrough in nanoparticle technology that will enable broader and less invasive screening for cancer, tuberculosis and many other diseases with a simple breath screen. The Minnesota-based medical device maker will move ahead on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process and is targeting a fall 2016 launch of the innovative Nanoparticle Biomarker Tagging device.

Ancon Medicals nanoparticle breakthrough comes as scientists continue to find ways to use nanotechnology in cancer treatment, as this week researchers at UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute announced the development of a pancreatic cancer treatment that can reduce the need for chemotherapy, according to Phys.org on March 24.

Though known for their microscopic size, NBT works by using nanoparticles to make certain molecules appear bigger and easier to detect. NBT technology can detect the presence of a wide array of diseases just by testing an individuals breath for biomarker molecules that serve as a chemical fingerprint for the disease.

Detecting individual molecules is extremely challenging, but doing so opens a whole world of medical screening possibilities said Ancon Medical President Wesley Baker. For more than a decade, researchers at Ancon Medical have been working with nanotechnology in order to make NBT technology the most sensitive breath screening disease detection technology available.

Nanotechnology made the goal of single molecule discovery possible for researchers at Ancon Medical, who were working in aerosol science to find a method of breath screening for disease detection, Baker said.

At first, Ancon Medical researchers were focused on technology that allowed nanoparticles to be enlarged through means of nucleation and condensation so they could be detected with visual equipment such as photomultipliers. In the 1990s, Ancon Medical researchers were successful in their ability to detect a single molecule of sulfuric acid using this technology. However, this nucleation-condensation detection technology based on aerosol science was effective for only certain chemicals, giving the technology limited overall practical application.

We needed to find a way to take what we had discovered in aerosol technology and apply it more broadly. Then, nanotechnology came along and gave us the breakthrough we needed, Baker said.

In 2002, Ancon Medical researchers expanded on their discoveries by working on ways to enlarge a molecule to make it easily detectable. Advances in nanotechnology made it possible to tag molecules with nanoparticles that would increase the molecules size to that of the tagging nanoparticle. Thus, it became possible for Ancon Medical researchers to detect any molecule, regardless of its chemical nature.

This breakthrough eliminated the chemical limitations of existing molecular detection methods and paved the way for the creation of Ancon Medicals NBT technology, which utilizes both aerosol science and nanotechnology to be able to detect individual molecules in an individuals exhaled breath.

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Ancon Medical Researchers Make Nanotechnology Breakthrough for Disease Screening Technology

What Angelina Jolie's Very Personal Medicine Tells Us About Personalized Medicine

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Angelina Jolie told the story yesterday of her decision to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes surgically removed to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer due to the faulty BRCA1 gene she was born with. This follows a similar decision to undergo a double mastectomy in 2013 to reduce the even higher risk of breast cancer the mutant BRCA1 gene bestows.

As a human being, its hard not to feel enormous sympathy with her for facing such a decision a thoroughly 21stCentury decision that no-one ever had to face until the advent of molecular medicine. For centuries humanity has had to face the many adversities of life head on, but for the most part without much forewarning and even less hope of intervention.

The knowledge that certain mutations in this BRCA1 gene confer such high risks of cancer (as much as 87% chance over a lifetime for breast cancer and 50% for ovarian cancer) has the potential to be empowering or frightening (and perhaps both at the same time) in equal measure.

The interventions are hugely invasive. The surgeries themselves are major, and come with short-term risks. The hormonal imbalances that will result can change not only health but also the person. But perhaps hardest of all to quantify is the psychological and emotional impact.

In addition to sympathy for having to face such a decision, Ms Jolie also deserves admiration for her self-awareness and the clarity of her thinking that has allowed her to make such a clear choice the right choice uniquely for her. Not everyone is blessed with such gifts.

That matters because we all of us are going to face these kind of decisions much more frequently in the future.

We hear from all sides about the benefits of personalized medicine the product of refined molecular diagnostics that offer a glimpse into the future health of the individual. But Ms Jolies experience of personalized medicine highlights some of the challenges that also remain.

The biggest hurdle seems to be one of education. The default state of humans is to be pretty bad at understanding risks and the output of all precision medicine algorithms is precisely that: an estimate of individual risk. While science can make the estimate more accurate, what it cannot provide is the calibration of what that risk estimate means to the individual. A 50% risk of ovarian cancer over a lifetime sounds, on the face of it, like a death sentence. But it needs some context. First and most importantly we have to remember we are all born with a death sentence. The only questions are when and how. Something like 33% of everyone alive today will suffer cancer in their lifetime.

Of course, BRCA1 mutations carry a material risk of an early death and no doubt that influenced Ms Jolies decision (as it would likely have done for most of us). But the important point is that properly understanding the implications of the genetic diagnosis is a complex education process. It cannot be nicely packaged up into a single number or a simple decision.

And BRCA1 carries one of the larger risks associated with any single genetic marker. As molecular diagnostics are refined (as they are being at an impressive rate), that picture will become more complex still and the decisions facing the patient ever more challenging.

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What Angelina Jolie's Very Personal Medicine Tells Us About Personalized Medicine

MDC researchers greatly increase precision of new genome editing tool

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CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful new tool for editing the genome. For researchers around the world, the CRISPR-Cas9 technique is an exciting innovation because it is faster and cheaper than previous methods. Now, using a molecular trick, Dr. Van Trung Chu and Professor Klaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbrck Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Dr. Ralf Khn, MDC and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), have found a solution to considerably increase the efficiency of precise genetic modifications by up to eightfold (Nature Biotechnology: doi:10.1038/nbt.3198)**.

"What we used to do in years, we can now achieve in months," said gene researcher and immunologist Klaus Rajewsky, indicating the power of this new genome-editing technology. CRISPR-Cas9 not only speeds up research considerably - at the same time it is much more efficient, cheaper and also easier to handle than the methods used so far.

The CRISPR-Cas9 technology allows researchers to transiently introduce DNA double-strand breaks into the genome of cells or model organisms at genes of choice. In these artificially produced strand breaks, they can insert or cut out genes and change the genetic coding according to their needs.

Mammalian cells are able to repair DNA damage in their cells using two different repair mechanisms. The homology-directed repair (HDR) pathway enables the insertion of preplanned genetic modifications using engineered DNA molecules that share identical sequence regions with the targeted gene and which are recognized as a repair template. Thus, HDR repair is very precise but occurs only at low frequency in mammalian cells.

The other repair system, called non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) is more efficient in nature but less precise, since it readily reconnects free DNA ends without repair template, thereby frequently deleting short sequences from the genome. Therefore, NHEJ repair can only be used to create short genomic deletions, but does not support precise gene modification or the insertion and replacement of gene segments.

Many researchers, including Van Trung Chu, Klaus Rajewsky and Ralf Khn, are seeking to promote the HDR repair pathway to make gene modification in the laboratory more precise in order to avoid editing errors and to increase efficiency. The MDC researchers succeeded in increasing the efficiency of the more precisely working HDR repair system by temporarily inhibiting the most dominant repair protein of NHEJ, the enzyme DNA Ligase IV. In their approach they used various inhibitors such as proteins and small molecules.

"But we also used a trick of nature and blocked Ligase IV with the proteins of adeno viruses. Thus we were able to increase the efficiency of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology up to eightfold," Ralf Khn explained. For example, they succeeded in inserting a gene into a predefined position in the genome (knock-in) in more than 60 per cent of all manipulated mouse cells. Khn has just recently joined the MDC and is head of the research group for "iPS cell based disease modeling". Before coming to the MDC, he was on the research staff of Helmholtz Zentrum Mnchen. "The expertise of Ralf Khn is very important for gene research at MDC and especially for my research group," Klaus Rajewsky said.

Concurrent with the publication of the article by the MDC researchers, Nature Biotechnology published another, related paper on CRISPR-Cas9 technology. It comes from the laboratory of Hidde Ploegh of the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, MA, USA.

Somatic gene therapy with CRISPR-Cas9 is a goal

The new CRISPR-Cas9 technology, developed in 2012, is already used in the laboratory to correct genetic defects in mice. Researchers also plan to modify the genetic set up of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), which can be differentiated into specialized cell types or tissues. That is, researchers are able to use the new tool to introduce patient-derived mutations into the genome of iPS cells for studying the onset of human diseases. "Another future goal, however, is to use CRISPR-Cas9 for somatic gene therapy in humans with severe diseases," Klaus Rajewsky pointed out.

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MDC researchers greatly increase precision of new genome editing tool

Open Discussion March 25, 2015

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Nightcrawler17 hours ago

Question of the day, what would be your dream end-of-credits scene for Avengers: Age of Ultron?

During the movie we are apparently already going to see Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, War Machine and Falcon, but since I am greedy and I want more, I would like the teaser to show me other superheroes we havent seen yet. This movie is the best moment to make any marketing move, so I think it would be brilliant if they would aim for the longer game (i.e. Phase 3 culminating in Infinity War) and tease precisely that.

My scene:

- Loki talking to Thanos in Asgard or wherever - Loki says that his brother suspects something and that soon he and his friends will know the truth - Thanos says that they wont be the only ones and that others will find out too (we see the GotG Milano ship we see Benedict Cumberbatch in typical Doctor Strange attire meditating this part is meant to be a glimpse into the future) but that by then it will be too late - Thanos says that others will try to oppose him (we see a cool shot of Paul Rudd in the Ant-Man suit shrinking, we see Chadwick Boseman as TChalla or in Black Panther attire training martial arts, we see whoever they cast as Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel as an air force pilot btw I would be happy with Emily Blunt or Yvonne Strahovski or Katheryn Winnick for that role) but that they will all be crushed and blablabla - Thanos questions what hope there is for humanity? (blank, buildings in NY and then a shot of Spiderman in his Spidey outfit swinging CUT big cheers and some heads in the audience explode)

So basically if they would do this, they would be somehow promoting ALL of their upcoming movies. Captain America: Civil War is already set up by the very events in Avengers: Age of Ultron (plus perhaps a mid-credit scene), so that one doesnt need as much hype as the introduction of Ant Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther or Captain Marvel in the MCU for the very first time. Spiderman you use simply because you finally can and doing this even GotG 2 (the Milano), Thor 3 (through Loki) and of course Infinity War (through Thanos, the big baddie) would get a nod too because #itsallconnected you know :).

Anyone in the audience that doesnt know who those people being shown to him are will want to find out right after. Why miss the chance to show off all the goodies when you expect a big audience for this? If Captain Marvel rumours are true, everybody is cast except for Spiderman, who you dont really need yet as he could be wearing the mask (for major impact, it would be better to take this opportunity to break the news of his casting, but it is not totally necessary).

#Bringiton

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Open Discussion March 25, 2015

Cosmic Truth – Tree Medicine – Janine Regan-Sinclair & Patti Negri 28 – Video

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Cosmic Truth - Tree Medicine - Janine Regan-Sinclair Patti Negri 28
Join Janine Patti for live chat about the healing power of trees and how to communicate with them. Plus, personal insight, spiritual guidance healing over the airwaves. This is your opportunity...

By: Janine Regan-Sinclair

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Cosmic Truth - Tree Medicine - Janine Regan-Sinclair & Patti Negri 28 - Video

USF Health Morsani College of Medicine moving to Downtown Tampa – Video

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USF Health Morsani College of Medicine moving to Downtown Tampa
USF #39;s board of trustees voted unanimously to build a 12-story tower to house the new Morsani College of Medicine and the USF Heart Health Institute in downtown Tampa. "This is our rendezvous...

By: CityofTampa

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USF Health Morsani College of Medicine moving to Downtown Tampa - Video

Penn Medicine study: In debated surgical procedure, technique trumps technology

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Improved decision-making in how to use new technology may be key to decrease in complications associated with fracture healing procedures

LAS VEGAS - A team of orthopedic surgeons from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has found that modern technology for healing distal femur fractures is as safe and effective as its more established alternative, without a potential shortfall of the older approach. The team found that when done correctly, there are no significant differences between the two approaches - "locked plating" and "non-locked plating" - in terms of healing rates, need for corrective surgery, or hardware failure. The findings are being presented on Thursday, March 26, 2015, at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

The team examined medical records of 95 patients who underwent surgery to repair distal femoral fractures. Though relatively uncommon in the general population, an increase in the number of these fractures is expected as the population ages. For 80 percent of the patients studied, the fracture healed within 3.5 months of surgery, while 20 percent needed corrective surgery. The researchers found that patients whose surgeons used locked plating - which historically required a second revision surgery roughly 40 percent of the time - had no more setbacks than patients whose providers used non-locked plating.

The two methods differ by virtue of their use of locking and non-locking screws, respectively, to attach metal plates to fractured bone in order to provide stability and promote healing. While locked plating virtually eliminates the possibility of the plate moving, it has been associated with pronounced stiffness and rigidity around the healing bone, which can prevent the broken bone from healing.

"Plates used in distal femur surgery come in various sizes, and have as many as 16 to 20 apertures, or screw holes," explained the study's senior author Samir Mehta, MD, chief of the division of Orthopaedic Trauma at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "In the early days of locked plating, some surgeons used screws in every one of these apertures, which we think lead to stiffness, rigidity and pain for patients. Today, surgeons are more judicious, using far fewer screws and picking and choosing which holes to insert the screws in based on factors in the case at hand. This improved decision-making on the part of surgeons is what we believe has resulted in the significant decrease in technical problems associated with locked plating."

According to the researchers, the one factor that had a significant impact on fracture healing was if the fracture was open. Additionally, two factors increased the risk of poor healing for the participant population, but did not reach statistical significance: diabetes and non-weight bearing status post-operatively. The latter finding points the way toward early weight-bearing by patients, typically within a few days of surgery, rather than remaining in bed.

"As surgeons become more adept at application of both established and developing implant technologies, outcomes will continue to improve," said lead investigator Ryan M. Taylor, MD, a fifth-year resident in the department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "However, we must remain cognizant of patient specific variables such as age, weight, and pre-existing comorbidities, which can affect overall care strategies and management."

###

Other Penn co-authors are Andrew H. Milby, MD, Jaimo Ahn, MD, PhD, and Derek J. Donegan, MD. Other co-authors are F. Omoleye Roberts, MD, of Northwestern University and Mara L. Schenker, MD, of the University of Washington, Seattle.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.9 billion enterprise.

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Penn Medicine study: In debated surgical procedure, technique trumps technology

WSU medical school in Spokane gets Senate OK – Thu, 26 Mar 2015 PST

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OLYMPIA Washington State University should soon have the authority to start a new medical school on its Spokane campus. The question now is, will it have the money to dothat?

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 47-1 to send Gov. Jay Inslee a bill repealing a 1917 law that says only the University of Washington can operate a state-sponsored medical school. Considering bills had passed both chambers in identical forms by large margins in the past month, that result wasnt really indoubt.

Inslees office said the governor expects to take action on the bill next week during

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OLYMPIA Washington State University should soon have the authority to start a new medical school on its Spokane campus. The question now is, will it have the money to dothat?

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 47-1 to send Gov. Jay Inslee a bill repealing a 1917 law that says only the University of Washington can operate a state-sponsored medical school. Considering bills had passed both chambers in identical forms by large margins in the past month, that result wasnt really indoubt.

Inslees office said the governor expects to take action on the bill next week during a visit to Spokane, although details must still be determined. His staff doesnt confirm a bill will be signed before it happens, but Inslee has already said he wouldnt stand in the way of the legislative decision, and hes unlikely to travel 280 miles to veto abill.

Some indication of whether WSU will get the $2.5 million it is requesting to seek accreditation for the new school and begin hiring faculty could surface late Friday morning when House Democrats release their proposal for the 2015-17 operating budget, which includes money for public university programs. Although the House also gave the authorization bill strong support on March 9, among the No votes were the leaders of the Appropriations, Finance and Health Carecommittees.

After Wednesdays vote, supporters were buoyed by the fact the proposal drew votes from members across the state in bothchambers.

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WSU medical school in Spokane gets Senate OK - Thu, 26 Mar 2015 PST

Legislature clears way for WSU medical school – Wed, 25 Mar 2015 PST

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OLYMPIA The Legislature gave Washington State University the authority to start its own medical school in Spokane this morning as the Senate gave final approval to a bill that repeals a 1917 statute that gave University of Washington the sole rights to a state-sponsored medical school.

In a 47-1 vote, the Senate sent to Gov. Jay Inslee the House version of a bill that says both schools can operate a medical school. But no money is attached to that legislation. The approval was not in doubt as both chambers had passed separate versions of the same bill by large margins

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OLYMPIA The Legislature gave Washington State University the authority to start its own medical school in Spokane this morning as the Senate gave final approval to a bill that repeals a 1917 statute that gave University of Washington the sole rights to a state-sponsored medical school.

In a 47-1 vote, the Senate sent to Gov. Jay Inslee the House version of a bill that says both schools can operate a medical school. But no money is attached to that legislation. The approval was not in doubt as both chambers had passed separate versions of the same bill by large margins earlier this month.

Thank you for your confidence and trust in WSU, President Elson Floyd, who watched the debate from the Senate gallery, told legislators who gathered after the passage in Majority Leader Mark Schoeslers office for a celebration. We will deliver.

A decision on WSUs request for $2.5 million to seek accreditation and hire faculty for a medical school on its Spokane campus will be made separately in the 2015-17 budget. Inslees initial budget proposal has no money for that program, or for UWs program on the WSU-Spokane campus, which is part of the established medical schools five-state consortium known as WWAMI for the first letters of the states involved: Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

House Democrats are scheduled to release their proposal for the operating budget on Friday, which will give the two schools an indication of what type of financial support they will give expanded medical education in Spokane, where UW also has plans to increase the number of students it trains.

WWAMI has 40 first-year students and nine second-year students in Spokane and until last fall the two universities worked together on that program. When WSU announced plans to start its own medical school, UW officials broke off the partnership and began discussing a new arrangement with Gonzaga University just across the Spokane River from the current location.

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Legislature clears way for WSU medical school - Wed, 25 Mar 2015 PST

Legislature OKs bill paving way for WSU medical school

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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A nearly-century old restriction giving the University of Washington in Seattle the exclusive right to operate a public medical school in the state of Washington was removed by the Legislature on Wednesday, opening the door for a new Washington State University medical school in Spokane.

Senators approved House Bill 1559 on a 47-1 vote and the measure now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature. The Senate had previously passed an identical version earlier this month, but took its final vote on the House version of the bill.

Sen. Barbara Bailey, a Republican from Oak Harbor who is chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said that the bill was an important step to increase the number of medical students in the state. She noted that the state needs more medical providers and that the measure was a great start in answering that shortage.

By adding WSU as a school that is authorized to establish, operate, and maintain a school of medicine, the bill eliminates a restriction dating from 1917 that gives the University of Washington the exclusive right to do so. The UW medical school admits only 120 Washington medical students each year, though it also currently trains additional medical students in Spokane through a multistate program it runs.

The bills sponsor, Democratic Rep. Marcus Riccelli of Spokane, said that the state is giving more local students the opportunity to stay in state to continue their education.

A new generation of doctors will engage in cutting-edge community-based training to ensure Washington patients get the care they deserve, he said in a statement in which he thanked Republican Sen. Michael Baumgartner, who was the Senate sponsor of the measure.

The bill doesnt appropriate any state money to a new school, but lawmakers are in the process of crafting budget proposals for the next two-year state budget.

WSU is estimating it would cost $2.5 million to pursue accreditation for the medical school. If a school is ultimately established, they estimate they would need $60,000 in state funds per student each year.

Sen. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat from Seattle, was the lone no vote.

He said he had concerns about the amount of money that the school would cost the state, and suggested there were less expensive ways to address physician shortage issues, such as expanding the current multistate program that UW runs, or a loan repayment program.

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Legislature OKs bill paving way for WSU medical school

DREAMer Medical Students at Loyola Stritch to Address the Latino Medical Student Association

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Newswise MAYWOOD, Ill. (March 25, 2015) Four Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine students with deferred action for childhood arrival (DACA) status will address the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) delegate congress at its Annual Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., March 27 and 28.

The students will speak in favor of passage of an LMSA policy that supports Latino students applying for medical school regardless of immigration status. It will encourage medical schools to amend their policies to welcome applicants with DACA status and will call upon organizations such as the American Medical Association to support the education and employment of medical professionals with DACA status.

The resolution encourages the American Association of Medical Colleges and other advocacy groups to develop legislative solutions that would eliminate road blocks for individuals with DACA status who are seeking higher education, specifically in the medical fields.

Our students of DACA status are a shining example of the attributes and talent DREAMers can bring to the medical profession. Not only by their testimony but also by their very presence they will show how patients across the nation will be better served when all medical schools embrace more socially just admissions policies, said Mark Kuczewski, PhD, chair of the Department of Medical Education at Stritch.

Stritch was the first medical school in the U.S. to change its admissions policy to allow individuals with DACA status to openly apply for medical school. In 2014, Stritch was one of the first medical schools to openly welcome DACA students when seven DREAMer students joined their colleagues as part of the 140-plus member class of 2018.

With media inquiries, please contact Evie Polsley at epolsley@lumc.edu or call (708) 216-5313 or (708) 417-5100.

The Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Division (HSD) advances interprofessional, multidisciplinary, and transformative education and research while promoting service to others through stewardship of scientific knowledge and preparation of tomorrow's leaders. The HSD is located on the Health Sciences Campus in Maywood, Illinois. It includes the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing, the Stritch School of Medicine, the biomedical research programs of the Graduate School, and several other institutes and centers encouraging new research and interprofessional education opportunities across all of Loyola University Chicago. The faculty and staff of the HSD bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and a strong commitment to seeing that Loyola's health sciences continue to excel and exceed the standard for academic and research excellence. For more on the HSD, visit LUC.edu/hsd.

-LOYOLA-

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DREAMer Medical Students at Loyola Stritch to Address the Latino Medical Student Association

Washington Legislature frees WSU to open medical school

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OLYMPIA -- A nearly-century old restriction giving the University of Washington in Seattle the exclusive right to operate a public medical school in the state of Washington was removed by the Legislature on Wednesday, opening the door for a new Washington State University medical school in Spokane.

Senators approved House Bill 1559 on a 47-1 vote and the measure now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee for his signature. The Senate had previously passed an identical version earlier this month, but took its final vote on the House version of the bill.

Sen. Barbara Bailey, a Republican from Oak Harbor who is chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said that the bill was an important step to increase the number of medical students in the state. She noted that the state needs more medical providers and that the measure was "a great start in answering that shortage."

By adding WSU as a school that is authorized to establish, operate, and maintain a school of medicine, the bill eliminates a restriction dating from 1917 that gives the University of Washington the exclusive right to do so. The UW medical school admits only 120 Washington medical students each year, though it also currently trains additional medical students in Spokane through a multistate program it runs.

The bill's sponsor, Democratic Rep. Marcus Riccelli of Spokane, said that the state is giving more local students the opportunity to stay in state to continue their education.

"A new generation of doctors will engage in cutting-edge community-based training to ensure Washington patients get the care they deserve," he said in a statement in which he thanked Republican Sen. Michael Baumgartner, who was the Senate sponsor of the measure.

The bill doesn't appropriate any state money to a new school, but lawmakers are in the process of crafting budget proposals for the next two-year state budget.

WSU is estimating it would cost $2.5 million to pursue accreditation for the medical school. If a school is ultimately established, they estimate they would need $60,000 in state funds per student each year.

Sen. Jamie Pedersen, a Democrat from Seattle, was the lone 'no' vote.

He said he had concerns about the amount of money that the school would cost the state, and suggested there were less expensive ways to address physician shortage issues, such as expanding the current multistate program that UW runs, or a loan repayment program.

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Washington Legislature frees WSU to open medical school