News
BUSM Researcher Receives Grant from CURE
Shelley J. Russek, PhD, professor of pharmacology at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), and director of the School’s Graduate Program for Neuroscience, was recently honored with an award from the CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy) Foundation. The prestigious award, given as well to her colleague Amy Brooks-Kayal, MD, from University of Colorado... More
BUSM Student Maya Woodbury Awarded PhRMA Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship
BU School of Medicine student Maya Woodbury was recently awarded the Predoctoral Fellowship in Pharmacology/Toxicology through the PhRMA Foundation. The title of her approved proposal is “miR-155/STAT3 signaling: a novel pharmacological target for Down syndrome.” The two-year grant of $20,000 per year is one of 10 grants awarded annually. According to the PhRMA Foundation’s 2012 Annual... More
Dec. 19 Emergency Preparedness Drill at NEIDL
On Thursday, Dec. 19, Boston University (BU) and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) will conduct a tabletop emergency preparedness drill as part of the ongoing safety and training program for laboratory personnel and internal and external response officials. This drill will simulate an earthquake, similar to the one that occurred in 1755 off... More
MED Physicians Among Boston’s Top Docs
Boston magazine’s annual list includes 68 faculty Boston magazine’s “Top Docs 2013” list includes 68 from the BU School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center.Among the 650 physicians named to Boston magazine’s recently released “Top Docs 2013” list are 68 from Boston Medical Center (BMC) and the BU School of Medicine. The list, which provides... More
National Academy of Inventors Announces Fellows
Two Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) faculty members, David Center, MD, and William W. Cruikshank, PhD, have been named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding... More
Strong State Alcohol Policies Protective Against Binge Drinking
According to a new study, a novel composite measure consisting of 29 alcohol policies demonstrates that a strong alcohol policy environment is a protective factor against binge drinking in the U.S. The study was led by researchers at the Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health and Boston Medical Center (BMC), and is... More
$30 Million from AHA Bolsters Framingham Heart Study
Sponsors collaboration between BU, University of Mississippi Thanks to a $30 million commitment from the American Heart Association (AHA), researchers from Boston University and the University of Mississippi will collaborate for at least five years on a shared mission to find better preventive measures and treatments for heart disease—the leading cause of death in the world, More
The Addiction Puzzle
As part of a week-long series on addiction research, BU Today highlighted the work of Alexander Walley, School of Medicine assistant professor of medicine and the medical director of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Pilot Program. Drug or alcohol addiction affects nearly 23 million Americans and costs the United States an estimated... More
Mayoral Prize for Innovations in Primary Care Ceremony Celebrated at BUSM
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Dr. Paula Johnson, Chair of the Board of the Boston Public Health Commission, honored recipients of the 2013 Mayoral Prize for Innovations in Primary Care at a reception hosted by the Boston University School of Medicine. The annual celebration, now in its fourth year, raises awareness about best... More
HIV-Infected Russians with Depressive Symptoms at Higher Risk for Subsequent Alcohol Use
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) have found that among heavy-drinking Russian HIV-infected patients, elevated depressive symptoms were associated with long-term alcohol use. These findings suggest that HIV-infected populations who are depressed are more likely to drink heavily. The study is published online in the... More
MED to Launch Physician Assistant Program
More than 1,000 apply for 28 slots in inaugural class In an effort to address the critical shortage of physicians—especially in the field of primary care—forecast for the coming decade, the School of Medicine recently announced a new Master of Science Physician Assistant (PA) Program, to be administered by MED’s Division of Graduate Medical Sciences. The Association... More
University’s Health, Clinical Rankings Climb
Times Higher Education puts BU 22nd among schools worldwide For the second year in a row, BU’s health and medical education programs have been named among the top 100 worldwide in the 2013–2014 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, conducted by Thomson Reuters. The influential survey ranked BU 22nd for clinical, preclinical, and health programs, an... More
GSDM’s Shenkin Third in Command among Dentists Nationwide
The American Dental Association (ADA) announced on Nov. 4, that Dr. Jonathan Shenkin of Freeport, Maine, clinical associate professor at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM), was elected ADA second vice president. ADA vice president is a two-year position, with two VPs (first and second) serving at any time. In his second... More
Few Patients with Newly-Diagnosed Hyperlipidemia Receive Recommended Thyroid Screening
Despite current guidelines that recommend newly diagnosed high-cholesterol patients have a TSH blood test done to make sure they do not have hypothyroidism, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that only about half of these patients were screened for thyroid dysfunction. The findings, which appear online... More
Study Shows Decrease in Sepsis Mortality Rates
A recent study from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) shows a significant decrease in severe sepsis mortality rates over the past 20 years. Looking at data from patients with severe sepsis enrolled in clinical trials, researchers found that in-hospital mortality rates decreased from 47 percent between 1991 and 1995... More
Robert Meenan to Step Down as SPH Dean
At helm 21 years, led school to national prominence University President Robert A. Brown has informed School of Public Health faculty and staff in a letter sent yesterday that Robert Meenan has decided to step down after more than two decades as dean of SPH. A rheumatologist with master’s degrees in public health and in business administration, More
Commemorating GSDM Excellence: The Kramer Symposium
On Oct. 24, the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) held the inaugural Gerald M. Kramer Symposium on Periodontology, led by Dr. Serge Dibart, Chair of the Department of Periodontology and Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Periodontics. Former colleagues, students, and acquaintances of Dr. Kramer along with other... More
Vitamin D Guru to Deliver University Lecture Nov. 6
MED’s Holick will discuss the sunshine nutrient and why we need it “Vitamin D chose me,” says Michael Holick, who has been an outspoken advocate worldwide for awareness of the ravages of vitamin D deficiency. As tonight’s 2013 University Lecturer, the School of Medicine professor of medicine, physiology, and biophysics will speak about his long career... More
Researchers Model Familial Amyloidosis in vitro Using iPSC Technology
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have generated the first known disease-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines from a patient with familial transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR). The findings, which are reported in Stem Cell Reports, may lead to new treatments for genetic diseases such as familial amyloidosis. iPSCs are... More
BUSM Professor, BMC Physician Appointed to National Health Information Technology Policy Committee
Devin Mann, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and attending physician at Boston Medical Center (BMC), has been appointed to the Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Mann, who was one of three new appointments, will serve as a researcher on the... More
2013 University Lecture Nov. 6: The D-Lightful Vitamin D for Health, Given by BUSM’s Holick
Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Biophysics at BU School of Medicine Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD, will be delivering the 2013 University Lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 6 on the Charles River Campus. Dr. Holick will speak on The D-Lightful Vitamin D for Health. Since 1950, the University Lecture has offered members of the BU community and... More
Higher-Level TB Research to Begin at NEIDL
Boston Public Health Commission gives go-ahead BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories will begin doing tuberculosis research at a higher biosafety level in the coming months, following approval of the work by the Boston Public Health Commission. The research will be transferred from another lab on the Medical Campus. TB researchers Igor Kramnik, a School of Medicine... More
Families Prone to Longevity Offer Clues to Disease Risk
People with longer life spans also are less likely to suffer from osteoporosis, cancer and other health problems, suggesting that longevity-prone families may be “an important resource to discover genetic and environmental factors” that keep people healthy longer, a study led by a BUSPH researcher has found. The study, published in the open-access journal Frontiers in... More
BUSM Researchers Study Epigenetic Mechanisms of Tumor Metastasis for Improved Cancer Therapy
A review article by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) suggests that epigenetics may be a useful target to stop the growth, spread and relapse of cancer. The findings are published online in Volume 14 of the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. The term epigenetics refers to the external modifications to DNA that turn genes... More
Apply for New Endowed Professor Position: Genetics
BUSM has established a new endowed professor position, the Aubrey Milunsky Professor of Human Genetics. Any faculty member with a superb research program in a discipline related to human genetics is encouraged to submit an application. For the purposes of this position, human genetics is broadly defined. It is considered to encompass... More