A Publication for the Faculty & Staff of the University of Maryland School of Medicine

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Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean, School of Medicine

Jennifer B. Litchman, Executive Editor
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Submitting Information to SOMNews Do you have news or information you would like to see in SOMNews? If so, please e-mail your submission to Jennifer Litchman, Director, Public Affairs, at jlitchman@som.umaryland.edu or fax it to 6-8520.
    

headerVol2Num4.jpg - 6867 Bytes December 2000  Volume 2   Number 4

Higginbotham Elected to Institute of Medicine; School of Medicine IOM Membership at Nine

Higginbotham.jpg - 2670 BytesEve J. Higginbotham, MD, professor and chair, Department of Ophthalmology, is the most recent School of Medicine faculty member to be elected to the prestigious Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

The mission of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is to advance and disseminate scientific knowledge to improve human health. Election to the IOM is certainly an honor, but also an obligation to work on behalf of the Institute to further its mission. Current IOM projects include studies on the creation of a medical system to support long-duration space travel beyond Earth’s orbit, the development of new technologies for the early detection of breast cancer, and the safety and efficacy of the anthrax vaccine used by the US military.

Other School of Medicine faculty in the Institute of Medicine are:
William T. Carpenter, MD, professor
Department of Psychiatry
Robert C. Gallo, MD, professor
Institute of Human Virology
Barbara C. Hansen, PhD, professor
Department of Physiology
Myron M. Levine, MD, PhD, professor
Department of Medicine
Paul D. Stolley, MD, MPH, professor
Department of Epidemiology & Preventive Medicine
Carol A. Tamminga, MD, professor
Department of Psychiatry
Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, dean
Theodore E. Woodward, MD, professor emeritus
Department of Medicine

A recent report from the Institute, which garnered much media attention, is To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which focused on medical errors – the fifth leading cause of death in the US – and ways to prevent them. The Institute has 613 active members.

“SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES, HEART AND OVARIES” – EXPERTS FOCUS ON TOBACCO & WOMEN'S HEALTH

The harmful effect of smoking on women’s health was the focus of the Seventh Annual Interdisciplinary Women’s Health Research Symposium hosted by the School of Medicine’s Women’s Health Research Group. Cancer specialists, reproductive health experts and cardiologists were among the participants who presented the latest research on the impact of tobacco on women’s health. The conference, titled “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Heart and Ovaries,” was held November 10th at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel.

“Smoking can cause serious health problems for anyone, regardless of age or gender. But some of tobacco’s harmful effects are reserved for women only,” says Pat Langenberg, PhD, professor and vice chair, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, and chair, Women’s Health Research Group.

“Women who smoke are four times more likely to develop cervical cancer than women who don't use tobacco,” says Sandra Brooks, MD, associate professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and one of a dozen leading researchers who spoke at the conference.

Smoking also increases the risk of infertility. “Studies have shown that tobacco use can decrease the supply of eggs within the ovaries, even in young women,” says Howard D. McClamrock, MD, associate professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. Research presented at the conference linked maternal smoking to underweight babies, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and learning and behavior problems.

In addition to the threat of cancer and reproductive problems, women smokers also increase their risk of developing cardiovascular disease, which is the number one cause of death among women. “Our prevention efforts need to be focused on young teenage girls because they make up the fastest growing group of new smokers,” says Mary Corretti, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine.

Opening remarks were made by Maryland State Senator Barbara A. Hoffman. As chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, Senator Hoffman played a key role in deciding how the state should spend the $1 billion it will receive to settle a national lawsuit against the tobacco industry. The keynote address was delivered by Michele Bloch, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute’s Tobacco Control Research Branch. Dr. Bloch, an expert on tobacco use in women and international tobacco control and prevention issues, was this year’s recipient of the Women’s Health Research award.

Anthony F. Lehman Named New Chair of Department of Psychiatry

Anthony F. Lehman, MD, MSPH, an expert in the treatment of severe long-term mental illness, and a leading researcher in the field, has been named chairman of the School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry.Lehman.jpg - 3022 Bytes

Dr. Lehman came to the School of Medicine in 1986 as director of Rehabilitation Psychiatry, and director of research at the Walter P. Carter Center. In 1990, he was named director of The Center for Mental Health Services Research. Since 1998, he has served as both the department's acting chair and interim chair.

As a professor of psychiatry, Dr. Lehman has focused his clinical, teaching and research activities on improving the quality of life for those who suffer from severe and persistent mental illness. In addition to investigating the impact of substance use on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, Dr. Lehman has studied the effectiveness of psychiatric treatment

 

programs for the homeless. In his current work, Dr. Lehman continues to evaluate innovative treatments and study quality of care issues for people with schizophrenia.

“Finding more effective treatments for schizophrenia will remain a research priority for the School of Medicine,” says Dr. Lehman. “But we also plan to expand basic science research in the areas of geriatric psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry and mood disorders.”

In addition to numerous scientific articles, Dr. Lehman is co-author of two books, Working with Families of the Mentally Ill and Double Jeopardy: Chronic Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders. Dr. Lehman has been cited by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill as an Exemplary Psychiatrist, and has been named in Best Doctors in America for the last four years.

Dean Wilson says, “I am confident that under Dr. Lehman’s leadership, the Department of Psychiatry will continue to make important strides in the research and treatment of mental illness, while maintaining the highest educational standards for our students.”
Quick Studies

Lillian Blackmon, MD, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics, received the Distinguished Health Professional Award from the Central Maryland Chapter of the March of Dimes. The prestigious award is given in honor of Dr. Jonas Salk to professionals who have dedicated their lives to improving infant health.

Miriam Blitzer, PhD, professor, Department of Pediatrics, and chief, Division of Human Genetics, was elected president of the American Board of Medical Genetics, a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Her term begins January 2001.

Steven J. DiBiase, MD, assistant professor, Department of Radiation Oncology, has been elected by the School of Medicine’s faculty as a representative to the 2000-2001 American Medical Association (AMA) Section on Medical Schools. The Section continues to assume an increasing role in the development of AMA policy of concern to medical schools, including education, patient care, and clinical research.

Kevin S. Ferentz, MD, associate professor, Department of Family Medicine, was recognized as one of 47 physicians nationwide selected by medical students for the 2000 Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Humanism in Medicine Award.

Robert C. Gallo, MD, professor and director of the Institute of Human Virology, received the 2000 Award for Technical and Scientific Research from the Prince of Austurias Foundation on October 26. This award, among the most prestigious in Spain, honors scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work. Dr. Gallo also received the Frank Annunzio Award in the Science and Technology Field from the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. The award, which recognizes Dr. Gallo’s pioneering research into human diseases, was presented to him on October 28 at the National Italian American Foundation in Washington, DC.

Stephen Havas, MD, PhD, professor, and Jean Ann Anliker, PhD, adjunct associate professor, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, and Michael Miller, MD, associate professor, Department of Medicine, have been awarded a $796,000 Nutrition Academic Award by the National Health, Lung and Blood Institute to provide and evaluate nutrition training to our medical students, residents and attending physicians.

 

Bruce K. Krueger, PhD, professor, Department of Physiology, was awarded a four-year grant for $1,039,500 from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke for “Neurogenesis in Disorders of Brain Development.”

Margaret M. McCarthy, PhD, associate professor, Department of Physiology, was awarded a five-year competing renewal grant for $1,670,625 from the National Institute of Mental Health for “Amino Acid Transmitters and Brain Sexual Differences.”

Thomas M. Scalea, MD, professor and director, Program in Trauma, was appointed to the editorial board of the Journal of Trauma at the American Association of Trauma annual conference in San Antonio in October. Carl A. Soderstrom, MD, professor, was appointed to the trauma prevention committee, and Sharon M. Henry, MD, assistant professor, was appointed to the fellowship program. All are in the Department of Surgery.

Philip A. Templeton, MD, professor and chairman, and Stuart Mirvis, MD, professor, Department of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, were inducted as fellows of the American College of Radiology (FACR) in New York in September.

Yibin Wang, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Physiology, was awarded a new four-year grant for $916,000 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute entitled “Stress Activated MAP Kinases in Heart Failure.” Dr. Wang was also awarded a new two-year $100,000 grant from the Mid-Atlantic Affiliate of the American Heart Association entitled “SR Function in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.”

Withrow G. Wier, PhD, professor, Department of Physiology, was awarded a new four-year grant for $1,113,750 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute entitled “Local Ca2+ in Adrenergic Control of Arterial Resistance.”

doctors-dean.jpg - 11404 Bytes Over 75 new School of Medicine faculty members attended the New Faculty Orientation on October 10. Geoffrey Mount-Varner, MD, MPH, Department of Surgery, Dean Wilson, and Robert Barish, MD, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs talk at the reception.