News
Boston University Receives ‘BEST’ Grant By NIH To Promote BioMedical Careers Beyond Academic Research
Boston University (BU) is one of seven institutions to receive the prestigious Broadening Experience in Scientific Training (BEST) award by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The five-year, $1.8 million award will provide biomedical research trainees from across the University with enhanced training to help PhD students and postdoctoral trainees prepare for careers beyond conventional... More
BMC Construction Update
The Medical Campus will start to see a lot of changes beginning this month as BMC’s clinical campus redesign project picks up speed. Continued soil excavation may be malodorous; however proactive measures are being implemented to minimize the smell. It is not harmful. There will be additional changes to pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns. Please... More
GSDM Volunteers Provide Oral Health Education and Care to Homeless Preschoolers
Volunteers from the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Global & Population Health office made three visits to Health Horizons for Homeless Children preschool program in Dorchester in May and July 2014. On May 20 and 21, Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri and Keenan Sandouk, Spring 2014 intern from Sargent College, More
MED’s Corley Appointed NEIDL Director
Takes charge at critical moment in research into infectious diseases Ronald Corley, whose five years as associate director of BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) saw the lab overcome several legal and political challenges, has been appointed NEIDL director, effective October 1. Corley will continue as a School of Medicine professor and chair of microbiology, More
Online Program for Medical Educators Allows Digital Display of Earned Competency
CME-Accredited Course Advances Teaching Skills of Health Care Professionals Medical educators have an opportunity to participate in a new, first-of-its kind online medical education badge program at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). The BUSM+ Medical Education Badge Program (BUSM+Program) allows access to online faculty development in medical education and allows course graduates to display and... More
Trio of Young Faculty Earn Peter Paul Professorships
BU researchers study cancer, HIV, and an aging workforce Junior faculty arrive at Boston University full of ambition and with a head full of ideas, but they often have relatively little money for research. So being awarded a Peter Paul Career Development Professorship can feel like winning the lottery; winners receive an annual stipend of $40,000... More
School of Public Health Has a New Dean
Sandro Galea, an internationally respected physician and epidemiologist known for his research linking health to such social disadvantages as poverty and lack of education, has been appointed the new dean of the School of Public Health. Galea, currently the Anna Cheskis Gelman and Murray Charles Gelman Professor and chair of the department of epidemiology at... More
Events to Celebrate National Postdoc Appreciation Week Sept. 15-19
Join in celebrating the contributions and achievements of BUMC postdocs at the fourth annual GMS celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week, September 15-19. Monday, Sept. 15 – Friday, Sept. 19th Take Your Postdoc to Lunch PIs will have a chance to appreciate their postdoc by taking them to lunch at following participating restaurants: Roka, Estragon, El-Centro. By... More
Sept. 11 BUMC Sustainability Festival, Talbot Green
Study Shows Complexities of Reducing HIV Rates in Russia
Results of a new study conducted in St. Petersburg, Russia, show that decreasing HIV transmission among Russian HIV-infected drinkers will require creative and innovative approaches. While new HIV infections globally have declined, HIV rates remain high in Russia. This is due in large part to injection drug use and spread via heterosexual sex transmission. Alcohol use... More
Should Alcohol Consumption be Encouraged as a Part of a Healthy Lifestyle? A Debate.
Over the past three decades, more than 100 large, long-term prospective studies have shown positive cardiovascular effects from moderate alcohol consumption of one or two drinks per day. Health professionals are increasingly feeling pressure to promote limited alcohol consumption as part of a healthy diet. But do the significant potential risks associated with increased alcohol... More
In-Utero Methadone or Subutex Exposure Could Alter Gene Expression, Cause Severe Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Some infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) secondary to in-utero opioid exposure have a more difficult time going through withdrawal than others, but the underlying reasons are not well understood. While genetic and epigenetic (when genes are turned on or off) changes have recently been identified as potential factors, researchers at Boston University School... More
Boston University/Boston Medical Center CTSI Pilot Funding Awards Announced
The recipients of the CTSI pilot grants for 2014 have been announced by BU Medical Campus Provost and BU School of Medicine Dean Karen Antman, MD. Funding for these grants come entirely from BU, BMC and the VA this year for the first time, without relying on NIH funds, an accomplishment meeting the goals of the... More
BU Researcher Awarded Lupus Foundation Fellowship
Shi Su, who received her master’s degree from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) Division of Graduate Medical Sciences in May and currently is a research assistant at BUSM’s Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, was awarded a fellowship from the Lupus Foundation of America to conduct research on lupus, an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease. Under the mentorship... More
BUMC Students to Enjoy Newly Renovated Space on 11th Floor Alumni Medical Library
A recently completed renovation on the 11th floor of the Alumni Medical Library now provides a state-of-the-art, 220 seat testing center. The testing center is among the first of its kind, and will serve to both facilitate the administration of exams while at the same time enhancing the quality of study space for BUMC students. Renovations include... More
Battling Ebola: How Ebola Kills
MED’s John Connor is devising diagnostics to spot Ebola and antivirals to treat the disease On Saturday, Aug. 2, the first of two sickened American health care workers was flown from Africa to a special containment unit at Emory University. Despite the risk of infection, medical personnel continue to travel to West Africa to help bring... More
Battling Ebola: Heading Into the Outbreak
NEIDL’s Nahid Bhadelia to care for patients, share expertise On Saturday, Aug. 2, the first of two sickened American health care workers was flown from Africa to a special containment unit at Emory University. Despite the risk of infection, medical personnel continue to travel to West Africa to help bring under control the worst Ebola outbreak... More
Conference: Personalized Medicine & Intellectual Property
Join the BU School of Law on Monday, Aug. 25, for a conference focused on personalized medicine and intellectual property. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Myriad that a human gene implicated in breast and ovarian cancer was not patentable subject matter. In Prometheus, the Court also recently ruled that a method for optimizing certain drug therapies was... More
SPH Ranked in Top 5 for Social Media Use
Courtesy image mkhmarketing.wordpress.com. MPH Programs List.com has ranked BUSPH in the top five among public health schools for social media use. The site evaluated 61 public health schools across the country to identify the 50 most social media-friendly schools. There were 100 points possible, with 24 for Facebook, 20 for Twitter, 18 for LinkedIn, 15 for YouTube, 11 for Flickr, More
Saying Goodbye to BU’s Former “First Lady”
Jasmine Chobanian remembered as a patron of the arts and a humanitarian. Jasmine Chobanian, who was regarded as the “First Lady” of Boston University during the many years that her husband Aram V. Chobanian, MD, served in University leadership, both as dean of the School of Medicine and the ninth president of Boston University (2003–2005), died... More
Health Care Funding Changes Impact STI Testing, Study Finds
Universal health coverage and changes in the way Massachusetts funds clinics that test for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have led to a shift in patients accessing testing that has both positive and negative implications, a study led by BU researchers says. The study, published in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases and led by Mari-Lynn Drainoni, associate professor of health... More
HIV Non-disclosure, Stigma, Incarceration Are Possible Predictors of Poor Follow Up in Research Trials
A collaborative effort between American, Russian and Ukrainian researchers offers new insight into a well-known barrier to high quality, longitudinal HIV research: loss of participant follow up. This study, led by researchers at the BU Schools of Medicine and Public Health, explored the factors that contributed to attrition in large HIV trial in Russia, a... More
Transparency Lacking in Clinical Trials, BU Study Finds
A significant percentage of completed drug clinical trials, especially those funded by industry, are not disclosed to the public, years after being completed—a trend that “threatens the validity of the clinical research literature in the U.S.,” according to a study led by a Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher. The study, published in the... More
Emergency Responders More Comfortable in Active Shooting Scenarios After Training
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) responders felt better prepared to respond to an active shooter incident after receiving focused tactical training according to a new study in the journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. This is the first study to specifically examine the EMS provider comfort level with respect to entering a scene where a shooter has... More
BUSM MD/PhD Candidate Tracks Osteoarthritis With Nanoparticles
A chronic disease afflicting more than 27 million Americans and 630 million worldwide, osteoarthritis occurs as the protective cartilage coating on joints in the knees, hips and other parts of the body degrades. No cure for osteoarthritis exists, but treatments can slow its progression, reduce pain and restore joint functioning. Now a team of researchers... More