News
BUSPH Researchers Link Dust on Office Surfaces with Workers' Exposure to Banned Flame Retardants
Flame retardants now banned internationally as organic pollutants are widespread in Boston offices, and the chemicals' concentrations in office dust are linked to traces found on workers' hands and in their blood, a new BU School of Public Health study has found. More
Journal of Dental Research Highlights Work of GSDM Trackman Lab
The July edition of the Journal of Dental Research published research by Professor Dr. Philip Trackman titled, “Loss of Basement Membrane Integrity in Human Gingival Overgrowth.“ This study extends findings that were published earlier this year in the American Journal of Pathology which detail evidence obtained for epithelial to mesenchymal transition contributing to the pathology... More
Yum! GSDM Indulges in Sweet Treats
The Ice Cream Social was held on a beautiful sunny Wednesday afternoon at GSDM. Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter hosted students, staff, and faculty as they made their own sundaes and congregated in groups on the benches outside the Dental School. “What a great day for ice cream!” said Dean Hutter. “Everyone at the School is very... More
BUSM's Levine Elected Chair of ABIM's Subspecialty Board on Geriatric Medicine
BUSM’s Professor Sharon Levine, who also serves as associate dean of Academic Affairs, has been named Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Subspecialty Board on Geriatric Medicine. She becomes the subspecialty board’s representative to ABIM’s Board of Directors. Levine has been a member of the Subspecialty Board on Geriatric Medicine... More
BMC Conducts High Rates of Thyroid Testing in Pregnant Women, Study Finds
A recent study completed by researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) demonstrates that BMC conducts a high rate of thyroid function testing in pregnant women. The retrospective study, which is currently published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, showed that if BMC had not done... More
California Alumni Open Their Homes to GSDM Family
Two BU alumni couples in California hosted events at their homes this month. The Dean and Mrs. Hutter and fellow alumni gathered for spectacular views and reminiscing about the School. “With nearly 700 GSDM alumni in California we have begun to focus on building a robust complement of alumni programs in the region,” said Dean Jeffrey... More
Instructional Building Lobby Construction Update
Just a month into the renovations that began Monday, May 23, both the interior and exterior of the BUSM Instructional Building, also known as the L-building, are changing. Please note that pedestrian traffic has been completely re-routed around the old entrance. Demolition of the front stairs is complete. A drill rig has completed the work on... More
School of Medicine Receives LCME Reaccreditation
BU President Robert Brown and School of Medicine Dean Karen Antman received notification from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) that the School of Medicine has been reaccredited for the next eight years. The LCME is the only nationally recognized accrediting body for all medical education programs in the U.S. leading to the medical education... More
Dorchester Families Start Living SMART
Community Health Programs Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri, Felicia Smith DMD 15, Thomas Horton DMD 14, Lillelenny Santana AS 2012, and Danielle Collins (a former dental hygiene student of Lituri’s) volunteered at the Living SMART Community Health Fair on June 11. The fair was held at the Perkins Community Center in Dorchester. Living SMART... More
BUSM’s Samet Recognized for Outstanding Contribution to International Cooperation in Drug Abuse Research and Training
Jeffrey H. Samet, MD, a professor of medicine and community health sciences at BUSM, has been selected as a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Program 2011 Awards of Excellence winner. Samet was recognized for his commitment and investment in mentoring scientists in their pursuits in patient-focused drug abuse research and treatment. Samet, who is... More
Emergency Room Treatment Twice as Likely Among Young Adults With Psychological Problems
Young adults with serious psychological problems are more than twice as likely as peers to use hospital emergency department services, according to a new study led by BU School of Public Health researchers. The study, published online in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, found that “serious psychological distress” was significantly associated with emergency department... More
GMS Welcomes Undergrad Summer Interns
Generating a burst of contagious energy, laughter and intellectual curiosity they arrived at the Division of Graduate Medical Sciences office on June 1. Johanna, Samanta, Vincent, Joshua, Jessica, Rachael, Maria, Carlos, Jordan, Derrius and Chinamere are undergraduate students from eleven different US colleges and universities. They are spending 10 weeks on the medical campus conducting biomedical research, participating in professional development seminars, attending “science talks” and enjoying the cultural and recreational opportunities in Boston. More
Study: Patient Safety Indicators Need Refinement
Efforts to identify hospital-based patient safety problems have culminated in a list of indicators known as PSIs that initially were intended to help to detect adverse events and prompt quality improvements. Now, however, PSIs are emerging as standards by which the public will be able to compare hospitals – a move that two VA Boston Healthcare System researchers, both professors at the BU School of Public Health (BUSPH), find problematic. More
Evidence-Based Research Workshop Held at GSDM
An ADA Evidence-Based Review (AER) workshop was held at the Dental School on June 2 and 3. The AER program is a unique opportunity which allows interested individuals to be trained in the concepts of scientific methods in dental research and study designs by the 13-15 members of the ADA Critical Review Panel (CRP). GSDM... More
US News & World Report: DASH Diet Number One, BU-created plan tops magazine’s list
Want the inside scoop on dieting? Ask BU’s Thomas Moore. The Medical Campus associate provost helped create the best diet plan going, according to US News & World Report. DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) topped 19 other diet plans in the magazine’s “Best Diets Overall” category, beating out such popular plans as Atkins, More
Higher Adherence to DASH-style Diet Reduces Excess Weight Gain in Adolescent Girls
Girls who followed the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet pattern had a lower incidence of excess weight gain as measured by body mass index (BMI) over the 10-year period of their adolescence according to BUSM researchers. These findings are reported in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Obesity is a major public health... More
Rising Rate of Cesareans Slowing in Industrialized Countries
After decades of steadily climbing cesarean deliveries, the rate of increase is slowing in many industrialized countries, Boston University School of Public Health researchers found. In a study published online in the journal Birth: Issues in Perinatal Care, researchers counter the belief that rising cesarean delivery rates in industrialized countries are inevitable. "The general slowing of the... More
Older Men More Likely to Lose the Ability to Orgasm Due to Gabapentin According to BUSM Researchers
BUSM researchers have found that Gabapentin, (trade name Neurontin) a medication commonly used to treat neuropathic pain, seizures and biopolar disease in older and elderly patients, seems to have a higher incidence of anorgasmia, or failure to experience orgasm, than previously reported. This study was published in the current issue of American Journal of... More
GSDM Alums Make Up Half of Mass Dental Society 2011 Ten Under 10
Five GSDM alums were named in the Massachusetts Dental Society’s prestigious Ten Under 10 list for 2011. The alums: Mark Doherty Jr. ENDO 05; Yael Frydman DMD 05; Jared Reid DMD 04; Anubha K. Sacheti PEDO 08; and Frank Schiano DMD 06, AEGD 07 attended a combination of both DMD and postgraduate programs at GSDM and have all gone on to achieve great success in their careers. More
GSDM Class of 2011 Celebrated with Unique and Personal Ceremony
On Friday, May 20, GSDM honored new graduates at the School's 47th annual Convocation. The late afternoon ceremony boasted 185 DMD and 76 postdoctoral student participants. Dean of Marsh Chapel Reverend Dr. Robert Allan Hill began the ceremony with an invocation. Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter followed by welcoming the graduating students, family and friends, and faculty... More
Array of Flame Retardants Found in Baby Products
Baby products containing polyurethane foam -- such as car seats, changing table pads, crib mattresses and nursing pillows -- contain flame retardants that could pose health risks to children, a new study co-authored by a BU School of Public Health researcher has found. The study in Environmental Science & Technology co-authored by Tom Webster, associate professor... More
GSDM Gets a “Thumbs Up” From Local Children
The 8th annual Orchard Gardens field trip to GSDM took place on May 16. Around 40 first and second grade children made the trip from the nearby Orchard Gardens K-8 School for a day filled with educational and fun activities. “This day is a lot of fun and a good way for the dental students to... More
128 Master of Arts and Sciences Degrees Conferred at Graduate Medical Sciences Commencement
The Boston University Division of Graduate Medical Sciences celebrated the commencement of 128 members of the Division who earned the Master of Arts and Master of Sciences degree on May 20 at the George Sherman Union. Representing 15 different departments and programs in the Division, the graduates are launched into careers including medical anthropology and cross-cultural... More
Celebrate GMS Student Research at Russek Day, May 27
Celebrate the accomplishments of GMS students at Russek Day on Friday, May 27 in Hiebert Lounge. The event honors the accomplishments of doctoral and master degree candidates and their mentors. Participants present poster presentations and answer questions about their research. Campus faculty, staff and students are encouraged to stop by. The Achievement Award will also... More
BUSM’s 164th Commencement Celebrates Achievement
Boston University’s Agganis Arena is the scene of many proud moments in the lives of BU students, faculty, and staff. There could be no more satisfying and rewarding event for the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) Class of 2011 and their families than the medical school commencement ceremony held there May 21. “I speak for my colleagues in saying that it has been a great privilege to work with you,” said BUSM Dean Karen Antman, MD. “We know you are resilient and adaptive, smart and serious. We hope you find fulfillment in the work that you have chosen and that the occasional bumps and diversions prove, with time, to be instructive. The faculty hopes you do well. Even more, we hope that you do good.” More