Student Updates

Nov. 2 Concert Given by Patients Treated by Neurology Department

The Department of Neurology in collaboration with the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and the Medical Campus Arts Outreach Initiative present a concert: "When Patients Heal You.”

This extraordinary concert features a group of talented patients who have been successfully treated by the Department of Neurology. Their musical performances, ranging from Nordic jazz, classical to Creole, are dedicated to the physicians and hospital staff who have cared for them, and to the friends and families who have supported these patients in overcoming their neurological challenges. Dr. Carlos Kase, chair of the Department of Neurology, will provide opening remarks. Come and witness how the best medical care is that which also heals the provider.

• Friday, Nov. 2
• Bakst Auditorium
• 7-8 p.m. Concert
• Reception with refreshments to follow
• Admission is free

Second Year of Record Attendance for GSDM Alumni Reception Held at AAP Annual Meeting

On Oct.1, 75 alumni and friends of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) gathered at the JW Marriott in Los Angeles for the School’s alumni reception held every year during the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) Annual Meeting.

Professor and Chair of Periodontology & Oral Biology and Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Periodontics Dr. Serge Dibart said of the gathering, “For the second year in a row we had record attendance at our AAP alumni reception in Los Angeles. Alumni from all over the U.S. came and mingled. There was a good mix of older and newer graduates. People had a very good time.”

Dr. Dibart also noted that he received many positive comments on his two AAP meeting lectures on the topic of Piezocision™, a new, minimally invasive procedure that combines micro-incisions and localized piezoelectric surgery.

Before addressing the attendees of the alumni reception, Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter took a moment to recognize Dr. Dibart, who was attending the AAP Annual Meeting in his second year as the GSDM Chair of Periodontology & Oral Biology; Dr. Paul Fugazzotto (PERIO 81), the newest member of the GSDM Dean’s Advisory Board; Dr. Ron Nevins, member of the School’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Committee; Steve Polins PERIO 73 for celebrating his 40th year as a member of the GSDM faculty; and Kimberley Branca, Director of Development at GSDM.

Dean Hutter updated the audience on a number of exciting developments at GSDM. Among them is the official Campaign Kickoff of Boston University’s billion dollar fundraising campaign, the first of its kind for the University. Dean Hutter also discussed the steady progress being made in implementing the Applied Strategic Plan launched in March 2011, including the plans for a new facility for the School.

In closing, Dean Hutter said, "It is truly an honor and a privilege for me to serve as the Dean of our Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, and Kathleen and I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we go forward in our Fundraising Campaign and in so doing realizing together our vision for the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine to be the premier Center of Excellence in Oral Health Education, Research, and Patient Care in this nation and the world."

Looking forward, the GSDM Alumni Reception at the 2013 AAP Annual Meeting— held in the 50th Anniversary year of the School’s founding—portends to be another year of success and record attendance.

Photos from the reception are available on Facebook and Flickr.

BUSM and BUSPH Students Learn About Neighborhood Services

In an effort to help incoming students learn more about businesses in the Medical Campus neighborhood, BU Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH) co-sponsored a vendor fair. Approximately 60 first-year BUSM MD and BUSPH students attended the 90-minute fair held Oct. 9 in Hiebert Lounge.

“The vendor fair was a great opportunity to learn about catering options and businesses in the community. As a student leader for interest and service groups, I will consider many of the participating businesses for future catering needs. I hope this continues to be a regular event for students in the future,” explained Thomas Shin, BUSM ’15.

Vendors participating in the fair included Barnes & Noble, Boston Duck Tours, Campus Convenience , FedEx, Sadhana Yoga, Sovereign Bank, South End Pita, South End Pizza, South End Yoga, Stop & Shop, Upper Crust Pizzeria , Walgreen’s and ZipCar.

The Fair was coordinated by BUSM Office of Student Affairs Student Programs Manager Liz Gallagher and BUSPH Program Coordinator Brendan Hoey. “Many students attended the Fair and found it to be both fun and informative. Most of the vendors brought goodies for the students and some terrific food. We are hoping this will be an annual event,” said Gallagher.

BU Alzheimer’s Disease Center Receives Donation

Researchers studying Alzheimer’s disease at Boston University School of Medicine are the recipients of a donation resulting from a September fundraiser, "An Evening at the Arbors.” This event raised $15,000 for the BUSM Skip Curtis Fund, which was donated to the BU Alzheimer's Disease Center. The Skip Curtis Fund was established by Meg Curtis in memory of her husband, Mr. Charles (Skip) Curtis, who died in 2010 at the age of 64 from Alzheimer’s disease, in order to support clinical research efforts at the BU ADC.  Mr. Curtis had been a research participant in several studies conducted at the BU ADC and Mrs. Curtis has become a vocal and active advocate on behalf of Alzheimer’s disease research.

Sponsors of the event presented the check in front of the Talbot Green. Pictured (l to r): The Arbors of Bedford Director of Marketing Paula Whittier, Executive Director of Brookhaven Hospice of New Hampshire Mary Hagarty, Director of the BU Alzheimer's Disease Center Clinical Core Dr. Robert Stern, Alzheimer's advocate Meg Curtis, Administrator of The Arbors of Bedford Michelle Ellis and Janet and Richard Sullivan, co-owners of Right at Home. Sponsors not pictured: Concord Orthopedics, Extra Touch Gourmet, Keller Williams Metropolitan and CPTE Physical Therapy.

Car-Free Week Stats Are In!

TranSComm sponsored Car-Free Week (Sept. 17–23) with transportation organizations throughout the state. As part of Car-Free Week thousands of Massachusetts commuters traded their cars for more sustainable methods of travel that resulted in:

• 27,456 fewer car trips
• 319 tons of CO2 emissions prevented from entering the air
• 724,488 fewer miles driven
• 13,587 cars taken off of the road

As part of Car-Free Week there were random drawings for daily prizes. Tom K. from BMC was the lucky winner of one of the $50 daily prizes.

“Car-Free Week was a great reminder for Massachusetts travelers to start, continue or increase efforts to utilize a mode of sustainable transportation when taking a trip. You can make a positive difference by taking green trips – public transportation, walking, bicycling, carpooling, vanpooling, or telecommuting,” explained Maureen Lacey, TranSComm director.

Massachusetts Car-Free Week is an annual promotion and collaboration sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, MassCommute and MassRIDES. Visit TranSComm to learn more about transportation solutions for commuters.

GSDM Student Andrew Jorgensen Fulfills His Wish to Help People Smile

Andrew Jorgensen DMD 13 has recently received well-deserved attention for his service to the community at large and for his excellence as a dental student of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM). Jorgensen was chosen as the first BU student to be presented on Boston University Provost Jean Morrison’s newly launched website feature, Faculty & Student Spotlight. Jorgensen’s Student Spotlight is titled “From Rockets to Retainers.” He was also featured in Sept. 17, BU Today story and video by Robin Berghaus titled “Extreme Dentistry in a Faraway Place: BU dental student takes his skills to Alaska.”

Both accounts convey the story behind Jorgensen’s choice of dentistry as a profession. His first career choice was to be an engineer. However—according to the Student Spotlight story—Jorgensen found aerospace engineering too intangible, in practice, and decided to move on.

Jorgensen included two criteria in his search for a new profession: that the job would help people and that he would work with his hands. This is the path that led to GSDM.

Now in his fourth year, Jorgensen has truly begun to realize his career aspirations. This is particularly apparent in his three-week summer externship to Bethel, Alaska.

Bethel lies in Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and is inaccessible by road. The area—as described by Robin Berghaus in “Extreme Dentistry”—has a Yupik Eskimo population with insufficient access to dental care and that has a dental decay rate that varies between 7 and 10 times the national average.

As quoted in “From Rockets to Retainers,” Jorgensen says of his externship, “Bethel is a once in a lifetime experience. They need help out there. It’s a fulfilling thing to do. People like to smile. It’s an important part of who they are, and so if I can do a little to help them, then that means a lot to me.”

Jorgensen has found a way to help people and to work with his hands.

Environmental Health Seminar: Occupational Heat-Related Illness, Oct. 12

As part of the BUSPH Department of Environmental Health’s seminar series, Climate Change: Science, Health, and Policy, Kathleen Fitzsimmons, MPH, will present on “Occupational Heat-Related Illness.”  Ms. Fitzsimmons serves as Epidemiologist for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Workers represent a distinct population at risk for heat-related illness (HRI), considered to be a leading occupational health effect of global climate change. Environmental heat is a potential hazard in a number of industries, including agriculture, yet there is a lack of information on the extent of HRI among US workers. Ms. Fitzsimmons will provide an overview of occupational HRI, summarize California's outdoor workplace HRI prevention regulation, and describe a pilot surveillance project conducted by the California Department of Public Health to assess the statewide burden of occupational HRI.

Environmental Health Seminar Series: Occupational Heat-Related Illness

• Date: Friday, Oct.12
• Time: Noon-1 p.m.
• Location: BUSM Instructional Building, Room L214

BUSM Study Investigates Genetic Variants’ Role in Increasing Parkinson’s Disease Risk

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) investigators have led the first genome-wide evaluation of genetic variants associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The study, which is published online in PLOS ONE, points to the involvement of specific genes and alterations in their expression as influencing the risk for developing PD.

Jeanne Latourelle, DSc, assistant professor of neurology at BUSM, served as the study’s lead author and Richard H. Myers, PhD, professor of neurology at BUSM, served as the study’s principal investigator and senior author.

A recent paper by the PD Genome Wide Association Study Consortium (PDGC) confirmed that an increased risk for PD was seen in individuals with genetic variants in or near the genes SNCA, MAPT, GAK/DGKQ, HLA and RIT2, but the mechanism behind the increased risk was not determined.

“One possible effect of the variants would be to change the manner in which a gene is expressed in the brains, leading to increased risk of PD,” said Latourelle.

To investigate the theory, the researchers examined the relationship between PD-associated genetic variants and levels of gene expression in brain samples from the frontal cortex of 26 samples with known PD and 24 neurologically healthy control samples. Gene expression was determined using a microarray that screened effects of genetic variants on the expression of genes located very close to the variant, called cis-effects, and genes that are far from the variant, such as those on a completely different chromosome, called trans-effects.

An analysis of the cis-effects showed that several genetic variants in the MAPT region showed a significant association to the expression of multiple nearby genes, including gene LOC644246, the duplicated genes LRRC37A and LRRC37A2 and the gene DCAKD. Significant cis-effects were also observed between variants in the HLA region on chromosome 6 and two nearby genes HLA-DQA1 and HLA-DQA1. An examination of trans-effects revealed 23 DNA sequence variations that reached statistical significance involving variants from the SNCA, MAPT and RIT2 genes.

“The identification of the specific altered genes in PD opens opportunities to further study them in model organisms or cell lines with the goal of identifying drugs which may rectify the defects as treatment for PD,” said Myers.

This study was funded by the Cogan Family Foundation, the Bumpus Foundation and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under award number PHS-NS076843.

Oct. 10 Public Health Forum, Thought-Provoking ‘Death with Dignity’ Ballot Initiative

Marcia Angell, MD, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, is the featured speaker for the Wednesday, Oct. 10, Public Health Forum, which will take place from noon-1 p.m. in L-112, BUSM Instructional Building.

Her talk, "Respecting the Autonomy of Dying Patients: The Massachusetts Death with Dignity Ballot Initiative,” focuses on Question 2, the measure on the Nov. 6 state ballot that would allow terminally ill patients to request a physician-assisted death to relieve their suffering. The bill is modeled after a successful Oregon law that is credited with easing the passing of more than 500 terminally ill patients.

In a recent Boston Globe opinion article, Angell outlines some of the proposed law's safeguards and notes, "This is not a matter of life versus death, but about the timing and manner of an inevitable death." However, the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) opposes the initiative and has fought similar bills since 1999. Two weeks ago, MMS President Richard V. Aghababian, MD told a forum at the Lahey Clinic that, "Physician participation in assisted suicide is fundamentally at odds with our duty to be healers."

Speak, the Movie, Screening and Panel Discussion, Oct. 24

Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC) Toastmasters, located at 72 East Concord  St. is screening the movie, SPEAK, on Wednesday, Oct.24 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the BUMC Toastmasters one year anniversary celebration. There will be a panel discussion following the film, which will be shown in Bakst Auditorium in the Boston University School of Medicine . Please join us for this event providing an RSVP by Oct. 20 to Yolanta Kovalko, VP of Membership, BUMC Toastmasters.

SPEAK , is based on the multi-faceted world of Toastmasters International in which 270,000 people strive to overcome their fear of public speaking. The movie follows six unforgettable finalists in the Toastmasters International Speech Contest as they prepare and compete in a grueling contest to be named “The World Champion of Public Speaking.” Katherine Morrison, recently profiled in the Boston Globe, and invited guest to this event, has been on this amazing journey. Katherine describes herself as a very shy child. “The first time I got up to teach a class, I was 22. I thought I was going to vomit. When I was living in Atlanta, I gave a presentation. I was horrible. A woman walked up to me and said, you have potential — but you need a lot of help.” She introduced me to Toastmasters.”

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. A Toastmasters meeting is a learn-by-doing workshop in which participants hone their speaking and leadership skills in a no-pressure atmosphere. There is no instructor in a Toastmasters meeting. Instead, members evaluate one another’s presentations. This feedback process is a key part of the program’s success! BUMC Toastmasters meets on the first and third Thursday of each month in room L-109, 72 East Concord St. from 5-6:15 p.m. BUMC Toastmasters is an unrestrictive, all inclusive club and guests are welcome to attend our regular meetings.